Disclaimer- I do not own Vampyre Hunter D. I do not own Meier Link. I am a poor sophomore in high school without a job. This is merely a hobby and I do not make any money off of it. On the contrary though, Radha is mine! As well are Lady Carfax, Mina, and Blaise. These are my creations and cannot be used without MY direct permission. If you wish to use them, contact me via e-mail.

Author's notes: Yes I realize many people spell vampyre as vampire. I do not. If this different spelling bothers you then I apologize. This chapter is pretty much clean with some mild violence, not much though.

Dhampire

Hunter vs. Huntress

The looks of the mortals did not phase her as she rode quietly through the town. She had been told on more than one occasion that she resembled a certain Dhampire hunter. Perhaps she did. Her pale skin appeared to have never seen the light of the sun, which contrasted the dark colors of her clothes. Her normal garb consisted of a skin tight black two piece body suit. Over it she wore a blood red bodice, wicked looking van braces of the same color, knee-high black leather boots, a demonic clawed glove on her left hand, and a mini-silver crossbow on her right. To complete the outfit, she wore two criss-crossing belts at her waist, a black cape lined with crimson that closely resembled bat wings, a broad sword slung over her back, and a black large brimmed hat with red plumes to block the sun from her sensitive eyes. The aspects that truly set her apart from the other hunter, other than being a woman of course, were her burning jade green eyes and the fiery red hair that fell in heavy locks to her waist.

"Silly humans." She smirked. The sight of them cowering out of the way of her black and red DL-7 cyborg, which appeared to be the spawn of hell itself, always amused her. She pulled on the reins to stop when a seemingly bold man stepped in front of her with a shining star blazing on his left breast.

"You! Dhampire! You are not welcome here!" The man stated in a rather harsh tone.

"I'm just looking for a place to stay for the night. I mean you no harm." She informed, not looking at the man from under the brim of her hat.

"Get out of town, Demon." A second man commanded as he grabbed her left wrist. The light reflected from his star hit her in the eyes, causing her to squint.

"Recant that insult now…" She hissed. It was taking all her will power to stop from breaking his arm on the spot.

"Oooo! You hit a nerve there, Mitch! Seems the Demon rejects its own title! Ha!" Laughed a third man who was just now stepping out of the crowd. He too had a star. Oh how she hated all sheriffs and their deputies at this moment.

"I warned you…" With those words, the Dhampire grabbed the arm that held her wrist and squeezed. An inhuman grin formed on her pale lips at the sound of the bones crushing under her powerful grip. A solid kick later, the man collided with a wall, screaming and holding her injured arm. Turning in her saddle, she shot the other man who had dared to call her a demon in the thigh with her crossbow. She ignored the second deputy's screams as her attention once again turned to the man in front of her. He was now wielding a very large firearm, not that that worried her in the least.

"Get out of town or I'll blow your head off!" He bellowed his eyes full of fear and hatred.

"How can I move when you stand in my way?"

"NO! Don't leave!" A frantic woman yelled as she ran toward the mounted hunter. The woman grasped the Dhampire's cape to show her urgency.

"M'lady! Get back!" The man with the gun ordered.

"No! She can help!" The woman spat at the sheriff.

"The other hunter is already on his way." The man retorted. His eyes silently begged the woman to step away from the monster she so desperately clung to.

"Two hunters are better than one." The woman said with such authority that the sheriff gave into her command but did not lower his weapon. She then turned her attention back to the Dhampire. "You are the vampyre huntress they call Radha, yes?"

"That is correct." The hunter replied. She glanced down at the woman. The lady was dressed in finery uncommon in even the richer towns. Her long blond hair was captured in a single French braid. Her face was soft and her eyes were a collage of clearest blues. She was beautiful, yes, but tired lines under her eyes clouded her beauty. She did not appear to have slept well in a long time.

"Huntress Radha…I beg of you…come to my house. I have a proposition for you." The woman breathed, a single tear fighting its way down her cheek. Radha thought for a moment and then handed her reins to the woman, allowing her to lead the way.

The house the woman led her too was more of a mansion than a house. It was large, white, and rich. The holder of the reins was obviously a very prominent citizen. The woman brought the horse back behind the house and lodged it in a stable fit for the pegasuses or unicorns of legend. She then bade Radha to dismount and follow. Radha followed her hostess into what seemed to be the parlor of the house. It was furnished with furniture of old, all beautifully brought back to life. The fabric of which the furniture was covered was of a floral pattern highlighted with gold thread. The wood of the furniture itself screamed royalty. The carpet was so lush it seemed that stepping foot on it was the equivalent of sin.

The trance like state brought on by the rooms beauty was broken by the soft words of the woman. "Please take a seat." Radha did so. Something in the woman's voice commanded obedience and it was received. "I am Lady Carfax," she continued. "And I apologize for the actions of the town. It was not always so, you see, but a fortnight ago, a full blood of your kind attacked. Many souls where lost and my sister, Mina, was taken captive." The lady handed Radha a picture of her sister. The picture was in color, yet another statement to the wealth of the family. Radha took in every detail. The woman in the photograph looked very similar to Lady Carfax. She had the same wild blond hair, but instead of eyes the color of the calm ocean, they where a brilliant purple.

"Vampyre eyes…No wonder the vampyre took interest in her," she breathed to herself.

"I hope it does not offend you, but there is another hunter on her trail. I'm just so worried…I knew of your reputation…that you never failed to find your prey…Please…Please bring my sister back." The woman tried her best to hold back the tears but they fell like a waterfall held back by a dam for too long.

"Lady Carfax…no need to put on a show…I will take the bounty…but at a heavy fee of course, " Radha said, her tone apathetic as she looked about the room once more. "I doubt you'll have trouble securing the funds."

"No…name your price. It will be met when you return with my sister." The lady replied, dabbing her eyes with a silk handkerchief.

"You do realize that your sister, Mina, may be changed…in which case I will have to kill her, quickly…but it must be done," the huntress informed, looking down at the picture.

"I realize that is a possibility…and at the amount of time that has passed…it may very well be true…if that be the case, bring back her unicorn pendant. She wears it always…it will prove you have completed the task."

Radha nodded. "I want twice what you have offered the other hunter, and I want 300,000 pieces as a down payment."

"40 million pieces it is then…Edward!" Lady Carfax raised her voice only slightly while ringing a delicate, gold bell.

"Yes, m'lady?" A young man asked as he trotted into the room.

"Please bring Ms. Radha here 300,000 pieces quickly," Lady Carfax said in such a way that it seemed that amount where mere pennies. The young man returned a few minutes later with a large black velvet bag and handed it to Radha. He then bowed to Lady Carfax and left.

"Before I go, tell me about this vampyre," Radha said, tying the bag tightly to one of her criss-crossing belts.

"He is old, powerful. Little other than that is known about him but it is said he has lived for over seven thousand years. All is known is his first name, Blaise."

"Maybe I should have asked for more than twice the amount," Radha thought to herself. "Who is the other hunter you hired?"

"D"

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He had been on the trail for two days now, using the symbiot's keen senses to find the trail of the vampyre. The trail led to the edge of the Great Wasteland. It was a hundred miles of nothing but desert in all directions. To attempt to cross normally meant certain death.

"Come on, D…Let's turn back. There is no way we can cross this and you know it." A small voice ordered.

"Nightmare's water reserves are at full. It can be done." D said simply.

"Don't be so stubborn, D! Don't you remember what happened the last time you where exposed to too much sun?" D didn't respond. "You may have no problem dying from the heat but that doesn't mean I want to. Becoming a corpse in the scorching sand is not my life's goal!"

Before D could reply to the sym, a figure on a black and red cyborg and a flowing cape rushed by. He watched as the figure stopped about twenty feet away and turned around. His eyes widened slightly. The figure, although female, was almost an exact mirror image of him except for some deviants in color and weapons. His face returned to being emotionless as the woman rode toward him, drawing her sword. The sword was at least as long as D's but it was not a thin and graceful Samurai-type sword. It was wider with runes down the blade. The handle was a fearsome dragon, which held the blade in its mouth. Its wings provided the cross bars, its tail the grip. The dragon was forged of some black metal and the fine details were etched in silver poured onto the beast by some unknown master. The eyes of the dragon were perfect, tiny rubies. It was a fine sword, but its nature was barbaric.

She stopped when there was about seven feet of distance between them. "You must be the great vampyre hunter D…We do look alike, don't we." She held her sword so that it pointed toward the ground. It was not a threat yet, more of a deterrent of any attack.

"I have no quarrel with you, Huntress." He stated, his voice giving no hint to any emotion.

"But I have one with you…You see…we are after the same prey. And, I'm afraid I was never any good with competition. So, surrender your right to the vampyre, Blaise, or I shall have to kill you." Her tone was crisp and also did not relinquish any weakness to be played.

"You know I cannot do that." D replied, slowly pulling his sword out of the sheath.

"I figured as much." She raised her sword, kicking her heels to send her horse into a charge. D mirrored her attack. The two clashed as steel met steel. Each slash was met and blocked. Neither hunters had the advantage. Radha forced her horse to rear and kick out at D. Nightmare in turn reared and struck back. The two stallions instinctively battled, as if there was a female in heat nearby.

D and Radha took to the sands, running at each other with their weapons held high while their steeds kicked and bit in their own battle. D leaped into the air, sailing down at Radha, his sword aimed for her heart. Just before the attack connected, Radha raised her cape, deflecting his attack. D had seen such a cape before, in the hands of another vampyre, Meier Link. She lunged at him, swinging her sword at his head. D ducked, slicing her right hand. With a hawk like screech, she dropped her heavy blade, but was far from unarmed. With a twist, she turned to D and shot a silver bolt at his heart. He caught it and threw it back at Radha. She didn't have time to react. The bold embedded itself in her right shoulder, disabling that arm for the time being. The only weapons she had left were her unnatural strength, cape, and terrible clawed glove.

She got into a fighting stance for hand-to-hand combat, her unhindered left side facing D. The Dhampire nodded and returned his blade to its sheath. She was again the first to attack, running toward D with inhuman speed. D readied himself for her attack.

"She's gonna pull something," his hand informed. He just ignored it.

About three feet away from D, she went into a skid, sending a cloud of sand his way. As he raised his hands to protect his eyes, she jumped at him, lashing out with her glove, but he was not there. Looking up, she saw him with just enough time to raise cape to block his fist. Radha spun, kicking D in the side with her powerful legs. She landed like a cat and was dashing after him in seconds. It was his turn to be tricky. He waited for her to come to him. When she was a bare breath away, he kicked up some sand. With her distracted, he had enough time to pin her. Her eyes began to glow an eerie green and her fangs grew. She bit at him in a desperate attempt to free herself. It was to no avail. She had lost. Radha soon ceased her struggles.

"You are good, Huntress…blinded by rage and pain but still good…" He then released her and called Nightmare to him. The cyborg was not as fortunate as his master was. Radha's cyborg was newer and a tad stronger which gave it the upper hand. Nightmare was not seriously damaged, but if went unchecked, the damage could cause the cyborg to deteriorate even more. He was left with no choice. He would have to return to the nearest town for repairs. It would be a long trek since it was obvious that riding would only worsen the damage. He sighed. It appeared that the huntress might have won anyway. Or maybe not. D glanced at the fallen woman to see if she had moved. She had not and her blood was now staining the sand. If he would take her horse, he could get Nightmare to a town within half a day. D nodded at his own decision and walked back to the huntress. She had passed out. With a sigh, he carefully removed the bolt and stripped her of her cape, bodice, and the top half piece of the body suit to bind her wounds. He then redressed her except for the cape, which he held onto himself. He did not need her waking up and striking out with it. D then mounted her cyborg with her in his arms and told Nightmare to follow. With a gentle kick, they sped off toward the nearest settlement.

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