Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted material shown herein. They are all the rightful property of their creators and associated companies. I make no money off of this whatsoever. I write for my own personal enjoyment and for those readers who enjoy my work.

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The Mansion of Corvenus Elder Viktor, Twenty Minutes Later, Selene's P.O.V

This is not looking very good. Selene thought as she dispatched yet another Iscariot soldier before moving onto her next available target, Where are those bloody reinforcements!?!

Normally her confidence in the abilities of her fellow Death Dealers was much stronger than this but Kraven's conspiracy had left them significantly unprepared for an assault of this nature. With the scheming snake being the regent in charge of this entire region, he had possessed all the authority he'd needed to make sure that only those loyal to him were within close proximity of the mansion. All others were deployed so far out that it couldn't easily take them another hour before they could arrive and, based on the tactical situation at the moment, she doubted they'd last that long. While it was true that they had home field advantage, the Iscariot Organization's surprise attack had allowed Vatican's Section Thirteen to strike first and strike hard. Many of the guards that had been out patrolling the grounds had been slain within minutes of the front gates being knocked off their hinges, with those that survived being seriously injured. Add to that the fact that at least half the vampires in the mansion were fops and aristocrats who had little, if any, experience fighting and Iscariot had a distinct advantage over them. The only positive thing she had to say about the entire situation was that Viktor had ordered the architect behind the construction of the mansion itself to make it as a carefully disguised fortress. Armor plating hidden within the stone walls, windows at strategic positions on all sides of the building, sniper's nests on the roof and two inch thick solid steels doors as well as shutters that could come down with a push of a button were just some of the hidden tricks present.

Those tricks were pretty much the only thing keeping them from being completely overrun by Iscariot forces.

At last count she put their numbers as being roughly sixty-five in total, whereas the number of battle ready Death Dealers numbered about fifty. She didn't count the fops and the aristocrats because, while they might be vampires like her, they were more likely to shoot themselves in the foot than actually hit one of these humans. At first glance the odds weren't so bad because the enemy only had a fifteen man advantage over them and the use of automatic weaponry meant those numbers could go down quickly if her comrades chose their shots carefully.

The problems came in the form of three Iscariot agents who were currently doing the work of five people each without showing any sign of getting tired. The tallest one she could recognize from the files she read during the last intelligence update on the anti-vampire organizations surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Paladin Alexander Anderson. Currently the strongest Regenerator ever to come out of the Vatican's Section XIII in the last three hundred years, he was cutting down vampires as though they were stuffed toys. Occasionally some of her fellow Death Dealers managed to hit him and occasionally knock him to the ground, but then the fools, who obviously hadn't read their reports, lowered their guard thinking their foe dead.

If it wasn't for the fact that their being dead only made the situation harder for the rest of them, she'd say 'goodbye and good riddance'.

The next was this Asian human woman in a Nun outfit. She couldn't attach a name at the moment but it was clear that the bitch was one of the Vatican's cracked agents. Those were agents who, while loyal to the Pope, were somehow damaged goods, whether it be mentally or physically, and thus were unfit to be seen working in the more public venues. These sorts of followers often got sent to the more covert groups like Iscariot where they could still be of use to the Vatican but not tarnish its reputation should their 'issues' get the better of them. This one was a berserker since she showed little skill but attacked with such an animalistic zeal that tracking her movements proved to be no easy thing to do.

BANG!

As a piece of the windowsill in front of her exploded into a cloud of dust, she remembered the final member of the trio that was showing most of her colleagues that vampires weren't as superior as they thought. The last one she couldn't see but the results of that person's efforts could be seen by counting the number of Death Dealers with big holes where their hearts used to be or those that were missing most of their heads. A sniper. She hadn't yet pinned down where the sniper's nest was but, considering the number of targets and how spread out they were, it had to be a place with a great view of the mansion grounds. It also had to be a spot where the view of the window she was stationed at wasn't the best because, with the skill the sniper had shown so far, missing wasn't a possibility with a clear view.

Taking aim with her twin handguns, she fired off another salvo of normal bullets, taking down three Iscariot soldiers attempting to charge the front entrance.

Things hadn't gotten so desperate that Viktor would order the steel doors and shutters deployed but, unless those runners got back with reinforcements sooner rather than later, they'd have no choice.

It was about then, though, that the gods proved their existence and their dislike of the Corvenus vampires because filling the air were the howls of multiple Lycans. For a moment she closed her eyes and tried to pick out just how many there were but every time she thought she had counted them all, more made their presence known with their war cries. It wasn't long before the sound of many sets of four legs (or, in the Lycan's case, two legs and two arms that could be used as legs if needed) could be heard and more than one person on either side of the fight stopped for a moment to figure out what was going on.

Those idiots didn't last long past one second.

"Lycan's! At a time like this!!" Exclaimed one of the fops who'd gotten drafted into helping to defend the mansion, "We're done for."

"No. Only you." She said before putting two high caliber bullets through the neck of the coward, "Listen! All of you! Everyone fights! You try and run and I'll end your cowardly existence myself! UNDERSTAND!"

This had the desired effect of making the vampires more afraid of her than they were of the approaching Lycans but she knew that that would change the moment the first group of her people's enemies appeared. Being assaulted by Iscariot was bad enough but if Lucien and his Lycan army attacked, then this area would quickly become a free for all where one could be attacked at any time. It would be sheer chaos! Nevertheless, it could prove beneficial since no one group was on particularly good terms with the other two. If she and her fellow vampires carefully took advantage of the situation, there was a chance that they could eliminate either the Iscariot or the Lycan group before wiping out what was left of the surviving enemy group. It would be difficult but it was the only way she could see her comrades surviving the night.

Less than a minute passed before the first group of Lycans leapt over the wall surrounding the mansion and then things really began to lose what order it may have had before. Firing and aiming happened in almost constant counterpoint to one another with her not being able to spare more than a single shot for each target before circumstances forced her to move on. It was very good for her that she was such a skilled marksman that one shot was usually all it took because, if that was not the case, then she'd have been overtaken much earlier in the fight. Sparing what time she could to look around, she was heartened to see that her people had been given at least some good luck since Iscariot and the Lycans were indeed dividing their efforts. Making her way over to Viktor, she intended to advise her Lord to have them take up the strongest defensive position possible so as to make sure that their numbers did not decrease anymore than was necessary. They would need every vampire able to wield a weapon when either the Lycans or Iscariot fell so that they could make quick work of the survivors.

When she looked over at Viktor, though, she saw that something had her Lord's attention so firmly that the sole Elder awake ceased to play with his foes but rather dispatched them in as few moves as possible. Following her Sire's gaze, she saw the man who had bitten Michael on the ground floor of the human's apartment and whom her research had identified as the Lycan, Lucien. The leader of the Lycans was in his human form but without the jacket that she'd seen him wear last time. The man was looking at Viktor with unbridled hate from his position on top of the wall and this fury eventually became too much apparently as the dark haired werewolf leapt from the wall nearly making it to his counterpart in that single jump. With a quick yet graceful move, the Lycan snatched up one of the swords left on the ground by its dead owner and proceeded to march towards his hated foe.

She wanted to get to her Sire's side and help him but there were simply too many combatants that were either Iscariot or Lycan in nature. At this point she could only hear what they were speaking about while keeping herself alive amidst the chaos that had been unleashed.

"It's been a long time, Viktor." Lucien said with mock friendship even as he spit out his enemy's name like a curse, "A little over five hundred years if I recall correctly. A long time even by immortal standards."

"Indeed. I shall make sure that Kraven understands my displeasure at being lied to and betrayed." Viktor said mimicking the Lycan's tone as well as his dislike for an enemy's name, "Though I suppose I should have known better from the beginning. It was my own fault for overestimating the traitor. Still, at least today I get the chance to rectify a great many wrongs that have been made against me."

"Quite. It would seem we both have an opportunity to gain some closure on the past this night." Lucien said with more anger and venom entering his words, "Shall we get started then?"

"We shall indeed." Viktor replied before lunging forward with his sword aimed at his foe's heart.

With those last three words the battle was joined.

A battle she was abruptly forced to ignore in light of multiple enemies choosing to make her the choice prey of the moment, two Iscariot soldiers and one Lycan. With a set of evasive moves that might look to an observer to be movements from a complex dance, she used her skills with her guns to their fullest. She first targeted the Iscariot since, in the end, they were only human and with a shot to the heart each she expected them to fall quite quickly. However it was soon made evident that these two had had the foresight to wear some form of bulletproof vests that prevented her shots from penetrating flesh. It did, though, have the effect of stopping their advance and distracting them for a moment. This was enough for her to adjust her aim to their heads and pull the trigger on her pair of handguns twice shooting them in the one place they weren't protected. However, as the bullets exited her weapons, the slides locked letting her know that she was out of bullets and as she ejected the clips she tried to figure out whether she had any of the silver nitrate rounds with her.

With a curse, she realized she did not.

With quick thinking, she dropped the guns from her hands and, with a rolling movement, picked up one of the swords strapped to the sides of the dead Iscariot soldiers. Using a two handed grip she turned to face the oncoming Lycan with determination in being that she would not fall in this battle. Watching as the werewolf leapt at her with arms outstretched, she slipped to the side at the last moment and, with a powerful overhead slash, severed the beast's head from the Lycan's shoulders along with both its arms. Taking stock of her situation, she could see no more immediate threats but she knew that this momentary respite would not last long. Sooner or later an ambitious enemy would target her or perhaps one that believed that she was weak enough to gain a victory from. She would take this time to get back to the mansion and get more ammunition for her guns. While she possessed skill with a sword, getting too close to an enemy in a situation like this was not a good idea. It pinned you down and made you an easier target to hit than if you wielded modern firearms. She couldn't afford to be pinned down in a situation like this.

Turning towards the mansion, she broke into a sprint since she knew that the clock was ticking before she was targeted again. Even as she got closer and closer to the mansion, her mind took a moment to wander and think about the human that had started it all.

Michael Corvin.

The man who had tipped her off to the Lycans in the city and whom her Sire had ordered her to kill if she wished to avoid being prosecuted.

Where was he and was he alright?

Those were the things she wanted to know.

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Viktor's Estate, One Minute Later, Paladin Alexander Anderson's P.O.V

Today is truly a glorious day! Anderson thought as he viciously cut a Corvenus vampire in half from shoulder to hip, By the time we're done here, there will not be a single unholy beast left in this entire city. It will be reclaimed for the Almighty never to be stained by the presence of Satan's children.

Still, while he was indeed enjoying laying waste to these foul beings, he was quickly becoming bored with these commoners as well. Despite their infernal powers and the weapons they were bringing to bear against him, they were little better than ordinary soldiers in his opinion. No great amounts of skill, no real strategy aside from what a basic recruit from boot camp would possess, the only thing the enemy had to offer were numbers. Nevertheless, even if claiming victory over filth once was fun, it got rather dull after the tenth time unless each successive opponent was stronger than the last. He'd noted at least one or two creatures that might be amusing to kill but they were both on the other side of rather large clumps of combatants from all three groups. While he didn't mind wading through a throng of enemies, there were enough Iscariot soldiers in the mix to stay his hand. He was as devoted as ever to the Almighty and his cause, but the casualness with which Enrico Maxwell was willing to use up the lives of those under his command made him determined to show more concern for his comrades. They might not be as strong as him and may have seen it to be the greatest joy to die in service to the Lord, but he would not send the others to their graves before their designated time. So, for the time being, he would focus on clearing up the small fries and hope that by the time he was done that at least one strong foe would still be around for him to do battle with.

"So, this is the great and mighty Paladin Alexander Anderson," came a mocking voice that sounded like it came from everywhere yet nowhere at the same time. "I must say you're quite good. Maybe the next time my place gets a bug infestation, I should just call you rather than the exterminators. Hehehehehe-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

While he did not recognize the voice, the intimidation tactics and sense of humor was all too familiar to him. So much so that it actually managed to bring a smile to his face since it meant that the so-called No Life Prince had finally arrived, providing him with the strong foe he so desired. Looking about the immediate area for a sign of Alucard's spawn, he soon began doubting the courage of this foul vampire who'd mocked him. This doubting didn't last long, though, for, just as he was about to try and provoke the creature out into the open, a shadow ten feet in front of him began to move as though it were alive. Then, like a creature from a monster movie, a figure rose out of the shadows like it was made from oil straight from a tanker with the only anomaly being that the black substance didn't stick to the figure. Examining the foe, he could see some similarities to the foul Hellsing vampire Alucard but also enough differences to indicate a more modern outlook. The combination of black, grey and blood red was similar but most of the articles of clothing looked to be made of leather or some sort of animal hide. Black combat boots, grey cargo pants, red vest, red trench coat and black fingerless gloves made up the red-eyed vampire's outfit. He could see signs of guns hanging from holsters beneath his coat making for another similarity to Alucard, but the No Life Prince had obviously been a human teenager when he'd been turned into his present, unholy form. Combining what he could see with the vampire, it was unlikely that his potential opponent had been a vampire for very long making him wonder if there'd be much of a challenge in fighting him.

It does nae matter! It is my purpose, my cause, to destroy the unholy filth that dare tread upon His Earth. He thought as be pulled out two fresh blessed silver short swords from beneath his coat, Hopefully, though, this boy will be enough of a challenge that I can get at least some fun out of this before I remove him from His Earth.

"Still, I hope you understand that you'll have to pass a competency test before I sign anything. It's only good business, after all." The boy said with a smile that was definitely inspired by that monster Alucard, "Depending on whether or not you survive, I might just hire you on."

"Do nae take me lightly, vampire. Based on yuir appearance, I'd say ye were turned nae more than decade ago. Yuir about five hundred years too young to be a match for me." He said a little annoyed that this young vampire was not taking him seriously.

"Quite the opposite actually, Judas Priest. YOU are not taking me seriously enough," the boy said as his eyes began to glow a brighter shade of red. "Please allow me to introduce myself: my name is Xander and I guess you could say Alucard's a relative of mine. From what Lilith has told me, you've only faced Alucard when he was sealed under Hellsing's control arts. Let me just say that the difference between a sealed True Nosfuratu and one without anything holding them back is like the difference between the sun and the moon."

In an attempt to prove this no doubt, wisps of black energy began to flicker around the Xander's body and the very shadows about them for easily forty yards began to develop life-like appendages. He was unimpressed. He'd been fighting the forces of Hell for decades and had seen all manner of trickery meant to intimidate the human race. In his experience, the more flashy the trickery, the weaker the unholy beast truly was and rarely did those who used intimidation tactics actually prove to be as strong as they claimed. It was time to either expose this weakling for who he truly was or experience the strength the youth possessed firsthand.

"Then let us see who is the sun and who is the moon! Have at ye!" He declared as he charged the vampire with his swords bared and ready to draw blood.

Minutes ticked by as the two of them dueled with warriors on all sides getting hit each time either he or Xander missed one another. Much like his 'relative', Alucard, the boy used guns but unlike Hellsing's pet vampire, Xander did not seem to be taking care to place his shots in the vital areas of his body. In fact the leather clad young man didn't appear to be putting forth more than the bare minimum amount of effort to make sure to hit something. Did this youth truly think him so little threat that this level of effort was sufficient or was it that he was merely lazy? In either case he refused to let the fool continue to show such disrespect towards him! He was Paladin Alexander Anderson of Iscariot! He was to be respected! He was to be feared!

Closing the distance between him and his foe, he used a feint maneuver he'd developed for the trickier demons he'd encountered and delivered a double slash that not only severed the boy's hands at the wrists but also damaged the vampire's guns. He allowed himself a chuckle of satisfaction at what he'd managed to pull off but no more than that since he knew that the monster's hands would grow back momentarily. He was not disappointed in this regard as he watched the bloody flesh from the stumps grow outwards at incredible speed before coalescing as bone, then nerves, then muscle and finally new flesh. He'd still made progress, though, by depriving the creature of his weapons and whether the fool tried to fight without them or sought out new ones, it provided him with more openings for his blades. He'd pulled ahead of the vampire and now it was time to lay the first stone in the unholy creatures tomb.

"Heheheheh. Not bad. You're pretty good with those blades." Xander said flicking his hands to get rid of the last drops of blood, "Maybe I should give it a try."

With those words the vampire thrust his right arm into the shadows at his feet, shadows that once more looked like pools of ink, before being slowly pulled back out. The meaning of this action became clear shortly afterwards as perfectly spherical ruby gripped in the jaws of dragon appeared, from followed by a grip wrapped in black leather around which the vampires fingers gripping it tightly. From there came a crossguard that was shaped like the wings of a dragon before going to the blade which was about thirty-five inches long and eight millimeters wide with a thickness of about half-to-three quarters of an inch. Inscribed upon the blade right in the middle were symbols that were unknown to him but they glowed with an unholy crimson light that made him decide to see it destroyed once he'd slain the sword's wielder. Such an unholy item could only taint the world around it and was as much an affront to the Almighty's Earth as the vampire himself.

"Now that we're both armed with a blade, let's see how things go from here!" Xander said before charging forward with his sword gripped with both hands.

Bringing up a short sword to block the side slash the vampire had executed, it was with great shock that not only did the monster's blade force him to bring up the other but also left sizeable cracks in the short sword it hit. He had locked horns with Alucard many times and, while the Hellsing agent used guns rather than a longsword, he had thought that he had a solid concept of how strong a True Nosfuratu could be. This… this was strength above what he'd expected but not something beyond what he could deal with. However his weapons at the moment, given their composition and their design, would be ill suited to facing a longsword with such strength behind it. It was true that there were a few strategies he could use to eliminate the reach advantage that the weapon gave the vampire but he was unsure if his weapons would last until the final blow was struck.

He needed a change in weaponry to emerge victorious.

Moving with the True Nosfuratu's next strike, he parried it and then, as the cracked sword finally shattered, he shoved the remaining one into the throat of his foe. Just as he'd predicted the recently turned beast reacted as a human would when struck in such a spot and reached for the weapon lodged in the throat in an effort to pull it out. Using this opportunity, he swiftly relieved a downed Iscariot soldier of his broadsword and assumed the proper fighting stance for such a weapon. He watched as Xander finished pulling the short sword from his throat before tossing it aside and attempting to speak what was no doubt some sort of promise of revenge.

No.

As the seconds passed he realized it wasn't an attempt at speaking but rather an effort at laughing if the manic smile on the vampire's face.

"Go—ck… good… hack… good choice, Judas Priest. I-it would have been real disappointing if you'd stuck with those short swords for the rest of our match." Xander said as his throat finished healing until there was no sign that it had been pierced in the first place, "Now that you have a better weapon, let's start fighting for real!"

The clashing of swords was the only response made to that statement.

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The Roof of Viktor's Mansion, Three Minutes Later, Lucien's P.O.V

"Good to see that life as an Elder hasn't dulled your skills as a warrior, Viktor." Lucien said as he leapt back a few feet from the killer of his beloved Sonya, "It would be completely unacceptable if our fight ended before I had a chance to fully savor your pain. I want you to suffer as she suffered!"

The look of anger that flared up at that last sentence was more than enough to confirm that the vampire Elder knew precisely who 'she' was and that this knowledge was more than enough to infuriate the bloodsucker.

"She received a fate that you brought upon her, Lycan! It was law! She knew it and still chose to defy it to indulge in her twisted infatuation with you!" Viktor declared showing his disgust about the entire time period involved, "I could show no leniency!"

"I see you're still spouting the same lies as before. You claim that she was slain for breaking the law of the Coven, for nurturing the child within her that would have been a mix of the species, but I know the truth." He said with no humor and no anger in his voice, "This entire war has been about only one thing: removing a threat to your rule for all time. You knew that if a child of mixed blood was ever created between a vampire and a Lycan that that offspring would possess more power than any pureblood, including the Elders. You feared what would happen if the child was born and so you killed her, your own daughter, without a second thought!"

He could tell just from the way Viktor's eyes narrowed that what had only been his personal theory up until a few seconds ago was in fact the truth. All those times he'd heard vampires spout the propaganda of the Elders, that the war was about wiping out the mongrel dogs that bit the hand of their superiors, he'd known there was a deeper meaning behind it. Off and on for years he'd tried to fathom what was truly going on in the minds of Amelia, Marcus and Viktor until he came to the theory that had just been confirmed. The war between the Lycans and the vampires was not started out of a need to permanently punish slaves who'd rebelled against their masters, but rather a desire on the part of the Elders to eliminate a potential threat to their rule.

"However, I will now show you that your efforts to prevent a blending of the species have been in vain." He said as he called upon his newly acquired power, "Watch and DESPAIR!"

He could still feel some lingering pain as his body began to shift as bones changed and organs were either repositioned or reconfigured but it was significantly less than the first time. It only took a little longer than it used to in order to change into his werewolf form and, when it was over, he could feel the power surging within him. Looking back over at Viktor, he could see rage, disgust and fear warring for dominance within the Elder. It pleased him greatly to see this and so he did nothing for a minute or two as he drank in the sight of his hated foe as the vampire struggled with the sudden change in circumstances. Eventually, though, past memories prompted him to shove aside the pleasure he was feeling and focus on finishing this centuries long war. He let Viktor get away in their first battle as leaders of their respective races but he would not make the same error in judgment twice.

"Now you will pay for all the lives you've ended in your desperation to maintain your powerbase. Now I will show you how powerless you truly are!" He said as he let his newfound instincts and abilities guide him as he attacked his centuries-long foe.

It was a battle that, at first, might have seemed to be evenly matched to the common warrior.

Neither of them appeared to have the edge in speed, strength or skill but only those with a keen eye would know that he was purposefully keeping it even to give the Elder the impression that a hybrid was not as powerful as had originally been feared. Then, just as he saw the first signs of confidence show on Viktor's face, he began to slowly increase the performance level of his body in all the mentioned areas. As time passed his movements became faster, causing the Elder to push his vampire body harder in order to keep up and, when that proved insufficient, strategic thinking was brought into play. When he increased the power behind his blows, this too caused the bloodsucker to try and match it strength for strength but it was all for naught. With a single slash of his sword, he shattered both of their swords and then followed up this devastating attack with a slash of his claws marring the aged face of Viktor.

"ARGH!! DAMN YOU!!" Viktor yelled as with a vicious backhand the vampire Elder managed to create a break in the fighting.

"Oh, no, don't start cursing me just yet, Viktor!" He said as he began to advance on the vampire Elder, "There's still so many wounds I want to give you, so much pain you have yet to experience, that I'd hate to see you run out of curses to throw at me before I'm done."

With true fear now in his enemy's eyes, he unleashed the maximum potential of his new hybrid body and began to tear into the Elder's body with all the fury he'd stored up since Kraven helped him to fake his death. He cared not about the amount of blood that began to cover his body, nor the feeble attempts by Viktor to stop the torture, but rather focused only on conveying his rage to the cause of this emotion. A storm of action matched the storm of emotions inside his body until it finally peak in a vicious vertical slash of his claws that send the Elder to the ground in pool of his own blood.

He took in the sight of his foe as he took a moment to regain his composure as well as his rational mind. Viktor, quite frankly, was a complete mess. His clothes torn to shreds, blood over everything and wounds that, had the Elder been human, would have rendered him either dead or unconscious by now. Even with the regenerative abilities of the Corvenus virus that birthed the vampire strain, the old man before him would require significant quantities of blood to fully recover. He wondered for a moment whether or not he should toss the broken form before him at Kraven's feet to honor the deal made in the burning fortress so long ago. It was after all thanks to the regent's aide that he had been able to slowly rebuild his Lycan forces as well as search for keys to his present power. In the end, though, he decided not to since he knew that even if he went all the way in honoring the pact the ambitious vampire would only betray him sooner or later. Kraven had entered and, up until this night, held the stronger position due to his need to keep the growing numbers of Lycans a secret. Once it was revealed that he had the ability to easily kill any baseline Corvenus vampire, then it wouldn't matter if he gave the regent control over his kind the fool would inevitably plot to retake the dominant position. Better to finish off both Viktor and Kraven before scattering the remaining vampires in the Coven to the winds just as the Lycans were once upon a time.

"Well, I think it's about time for me to bring the curtain down on this battle of ours. My pack needs my help against the Iscariot and, when the humans have been dealt with, I think I'll wipe out what survivors are left of your kind." He said as he stalked towards his prey, "While it's true that there are others of your kind spread out throughout the world, all of the movers and shakers of your kind are here for your little Awakening scenario. What small fry might exist elsewhere will likely cling to whatever power exists in their area rather than try to restore the Coven to its former glory. Die knowing that everything you've built up over the centuries with Amelia and Marcus is about to crumble into a pile of dust."

With those words he brought back his right hand with the intent of ramming it through Viktor's head, killing him once and for all. However, before he could begin the charge towards his foe, a sound reached his ears that made him stop in his tracks. With his enhanced hearing made all the more powerful by his hybrid status, he could hear what sounded like leather in the wind approaching him swiftly through the air. Turning to see what it was, he was unprepared for the sight of a winged hybrid much like himself wearing only a skirt often worn by the Elder Corvenus vampires. That was all he was allowed to see before the hybrid impaled him through the shoulder before casting him aside to roll across the roof. He managed to keep himself from falling of said roof and, even as his hybrid body went to work healing his injuries, he rose to his feet to see who precisely had interfered with his revenge.

It was obvious, based on what he'd learned from his transformation as well as Michael Corvin's, that this was a hybrid who'd been a vampire prior to being transformed into a hybrid. With this in mind he searched through his memories and tried to match the face of the hybrid in front of him to a vampire he'd met in the past. It took getting past the lesser vampires and focusing on the upper elite but eventually he identified the hybrid in front of him.

"Marcus." He growled out as he identified the Vampire Elder reluctantly re-evaluated the situation he was now in.

"Lucien. I see that your planned revolution with Kraven didn't go according to plan." Marcus said as he briefly looked down at the battlefield Viktor's mansion had turned into, "It was a good plan at its core but you should have planned for the unforeseeable like Iscariot."

"It's a basic rule of battle that no plan survives the first few minutes of battle." He said as he tried to figure out what his next move should be, "Besides, Kraven would have become bothersome if I'd altered the plan this late in the game."

"True. The fop always whined whenever someone disrupted one of his 'plans'." Marcus said in agreement as the two of them began to circle one another, "I truly hope you don't intend to imitate him now. Viktor is mine."

This would be a problem.

He still desired the right to deliver the final blow to the man who had taken so much from him and the thought of some outsider getting in his way stoked the fires of rage within him. Viktor was his prey! HIS! Right then and there he decided that he would do whatever it took to make sure that this vampire dominant hybrid never went anywhere near Viktor. He would kill this latecomer and then finish what he started with his hated foe.

"Then it appears we have a problem. I won't let anyone, anyone, keep me from exacting my revenge." He said as he prepared to tear this winged freak to pieces, "Not even you."

"Then I suppose there's only one way we can settle this issue." Marcus said as he readied his wings for use in battle.

Thus began a battle between two beings who before tonight would not have even entertained the idea of fighting each other one-on-one.

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A Rooftop A Short Distance Away, Same Time, Lilith's P.O.V

Pick a rooftop he says! Pick off anyone that might upset the numbers balance he says! Asshole! Lilith thought as she looked down the scope of her silenced sniper rifle, He just wants to keep all the fun to himself!

Still, there had been something in Xander's eyes that had hinted at a devious plan being put into motion and her curiosity had been enough to go along with her orders. Thus she had chosen a rooftop that was within the range of her weapon but, at the same time, an excellent sniper's nest and it would provide them with a defensible location. By them she meant Sorina and herself. That was the other half of her orders: keep an eye on the little girl and, if the blonde asked, let her take a few potshots at the beings fighting at the mansion. It had been about twenty-five minutes since they'd arrived and, so far, her well placed shots had managed to keep the Iscariot from bringing in any rocket launchers or heavy weaponry. If anything like those weapons got brought in, Iscariot could make pretty quick work of the Corvenus vampires and their Lycan counterparts. She did the same if she saw one of Viktor's brood attempt to bring out similar weapons. She, fortunately, didn't have to do anything for the Lycans, though, but whether this was because they preferred using claws or simply couldn't afford more powerful weapons. In any case, it made her job easier but also a little boring since the only challenge to what she was doing was making sure she didn't accidently tip things the wrong way and thus endanger the balance.

"What's going on? How's Xander doing?" Sorina asked as she got off of the desk that was in the office they'd borrowed for the night.

"The fight is still stalemated between the three groups, thanks to my efforts. Xander is currently crossing swords with Paladin Anderson." She replied taking her eyes away from the scope to look at the teenager, "Do you want to look?"

"YES!" Sorina exclaimed, walking quickly moving over to where the rifle lay.

"I have it adjusted to the right setting so you shouldn't have to mess with the scope any." She said as she moved aside so the young one could get into position.

Watching as the teenager cocked her head to the side in order to look through the scope, she didn't have to ask when the blonde could see the battle.

"Whoa! It's like World War Three down there!!" Sorina exclaimed before pausing for a moment, "Well…a third World War with vampires, priests and werewolves. Whatever! I'm glad I'm up here rather than down there!"

"Indeed. You are about twenty years too young to be fighting on that sort of battlefield." She stated offhand as her own vampire eye sight allowed her to see the battlefield easily, "Looks like such fun."

"You want to be down there, don't you?" Sorina asked, taking a moment to look away from the scope.

It was true.

While she might have some glaring differences with her father, the one thing they did share was the thrill they got from the carnage of battle. The rush that came from fighting someone truly worthy! It was better than sex under the right circumstances! So it was fairly accurate to say that she really did want to be down there so she could have her bit of fun. Instead she would have to content herself from messing with the fools down there from a distance.

"You can go if you want. I can handle things from up here." Sorina offered with no humor in her voice.

"Oh really?" She asked, unable to keep her skepticism from her voice.

"Really." Sorina said with a glare before returning to the scope and adjusting the aim ever so slightly.

PHT!

Looking with her True Nosfuratu eyes, she was pleasantly surprised to see the head of one of the vampires explode as the high caliber sniper round slammed into the undead man's head. At first she thought that it was just luck but when Sorina chambered a new round with surprising smoothness and fired again, successfully hitting an Iscariot, she was forced to reconsider her opinion of the girl. It was only when she saw a move that she recognized as hers that she realized that Sorina must have been watching her closely from the very beginning. Yet that didn't explain how the child could be hitting her targets, even with the scope assisting her. Turning to the blonde, she raised her eyebrow silently, asking the question believing the teenager would know how to answer.

"What can I say? I spent a lot of time at the arcades growing up. I guess some of it rubbed off." Sorina replied before returning to the scope to look for her next potential target.

Not exactly the most confidence-inspiring answer but she couldn't argue with the proof she had been shown. The teenager had successfully managed to hit everything she'd aimed for up until now and, with the silencer in place, the odds of the nest being spotted were slim. Still… she was wary of leaving the girl alone. If someone, by some chance, of the concerned parties found her alone, there was no telling what would happen. If either a vampire or a Lycan, they would likely kill the girl out of revenge for the deaths caused by the sniper rifle. If an Iscariot soldier came, her situation might be slightly better but only if the person took the time to realize that Sorina was human rather than a vampire or Lycan. That might get their religious fanaticism going enough that they might feel compelled to free her from 'the wicked clutches of the unholy creatures'. It might also go the other way though and the foolish human might decide that the only way to save the girl was to kill her so that her soul could go into the arms of their God.

Leaving to fight held a high probability of Sorina dying.

Xander would NOT react well if that were to occur.

In fact, she believed he would react much the way her father usually did when a human he was fond of was slain in an unfitting way.

While she could not keep from smiling greatly at the images that brought into being within her mind, she knew that Xander would be most put out with her if she disregarded the blonde's safety just to have a bit of fun on the battlefield. Perhaps put out enough that he would not tolerate her presence for at least a century or two. She… did not want that. The young True Nosfuratu had saved her from the control of Das Millennium and was aiding her in becoming more accustomed to her newly returned sanity. She did not wish to be parted from him.

"I will stay. There is a slight chance that someone might find this place and seek to harm you for killing one of their comrades." She said, moving to a chair that was near the desk the teenager had been sitting on minutes ago, "Every sniper needs a spotter, no matter how good they are."

"Right!" Sorina said before resuming the sniping of choice targets on the battlefield.

She had to wonder how the child would fair once all the fighting was over with and the reality of the murders she was committing caught up with her. Humans could dress up things like war, law enforcement and prison executions as much as they liked but in the end it all came down to one thing: murdering the undesirables of the world. Whether it be because they have something you want, have done something you consider unacceptable or simply because you enjoy the act of killing it was all murder in the end. It was all about taking the life of another. While those in the business were somewhat desensitized to the killing Sorina was far too young to have been hardened to such things as blood and death. From what she could ascertain the only crimes that this young one had committed were things like pickpocketing and maybe a con game or two.

Murder was something altogether different from her usual activities.

She hoped that Sorina would be strong enough, both in mind and in spirit, to endure the trouble that her morals would give her later.

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The Battlefield That was Once Viktor's Mansion, Two Minutes Later, Michael Corvin's P.O.V

This sucks!! All I wanted was to become a doctor! Just learn medicine so I could help people and save lives! Michael thought as he finally arrived at his destination, Now I'm some sort of monster from a horror movie! WHAT THE FUCKIN' HELL IS GOING ON!?!

He'd been thinking these sorts of thoughts ever since he'd recovered from whatever Lucien had injected into his body. It had been disorienting to say the least when he'd woken up in that underground room to find just about all the Lycans gone. New smells, new sounds, and more bombarded his mind as he viewed the world to such a detailed degree that the amount of information he was receiving was almost too much to bear. He had snapped his restraints in an instant, without even the least bit of effort, and it was then that he'd gotten his first glimpse of the changes his body had underwent. Claws where his fingernails should exist, skin a few shades shy of ink blank and muscles that were so unlike what he was used to. Then there were things that he couldn't see without the aid of a mirror, something that had taken him awhile to find, like a mouth full of sharp teeth and eyes that were completely black in color. He had almost gone into shock at the sight but then he remembered the current situation including the fate that most likely awaited Selene. That had been enough for him to push aside his own issues and focus on getting to her as soon as possible to save her life. He'd left the makeshift laboratory with no idea where he was and with only one plan for getting out of there and that was to keeping going up until he saw the sky.

Needless to say there was quite a bit of backtracking but he eventually made it out but only to be hit with a new series of smells as well as a problem he'd had trouble coping with. The smells of a sewer hadn't been so bad, although he suspected that that was because his unconscious mind had grown accustomed to the smells. Once he'd hit the surface, though, he'd been hit with such a variety of smells that he'd experienced a moment of dizziness at the overload. A scream of fear had snapped him back to reality and he realized how he must look to the people of this city. Half with instinct and half with a conscious plan in mind, he'd made for the rooftops as quickly as he could. He didn't even realize on his way up how he somehow managed to wall crawl or crush parts of the fire escape as he ascended. It was only once he'd reached the top that he'd realized that the changes he'd undergone went further than simple looks. As he'd heard an explosion in the distance, though, he'd chosen to sprint for the mansion where Selene lived rather than dwell on something he'd need time to understand. Now, seeing the carnage around him, he realized that he had much bigger problems than his new form to deal with and that Selene would need help to survive this bloodbath.

He could identify the vampires based on what he'd seen the last time he'd been at the mansion and he could see Lucien's Lycan soldiers, but there were also humans in the mix. Clad in a cross between commando gear and priest clothes, he didn't know who they were but he could see that they were targeting both vampires and Lycans.

The list of things I don't understand is getting larger by the minute. He thought as he cast his gaze about the battlefield to find Selene, I gotta find her so she can give me some answers!

Skirting his way around the various battles being waged around him, he did his best not to attract attention to himself. He had no interest in these people or their fights. All that mattered to him right now was getting to Selene, finding out what's going on and then getting out of town as quickly as they could manage. He had a few close calls, moments when he was afraid one of the fighters would come after him, but they always got sidetracked by others. He eventually managed to spot Selene who was fighting against two Lycans and began to make his way over to her when a bloody corpse flew across his path stopping him in his tracks. Looking down at the now still body, he recognized it as one of Selene's fellow Death Dealers but the man looked like he'd been cut completely wide open. Turning back the way the body had come he saw a sight that had him take a step back, but whether this was in fear or shock he would never be able to say. Walking towards him, with blood splashed across her clothes and her face, was an Asian nun with a katana in hand that dripped blood as she walked. However it was not her weapon of choice that scared him or even the fact that she was covered in blood really but rather her eyes.

He'd only seen those eyes once before in person.

It was in the eyes of a fanatic terrorist that had barged into the hospital as he was about to leave and almost killed him with a spray of bullets. A security guard had managed to eventually put the man down but, for the next week, he had had nightmares of the terrorist that always focused on that look the man had in his eyes. It was the look of devotion that danced on the line that divided those that lived normal lives and those that were kept sedated and restrained in a padded room. This woman had that look but, judging from the way she moved and the blood stained blade she wielded, she was still a couple of toes on the side of sanity. At least he hoped that was the reason why she could wield a blade so well because if an insane person could cut people up like this without getting hurt herself, he might just piss himself.

"So… another pig's come to be slaughtered, eh?" The nun said with her odd eyes locked onto him, "A strange one I think but you'll die just as easily as the others. Shall we find out?"

Backing away step by step he said, "I'd rather not if it's all the same to you. I'm not here to fight. I'm just looking for a friend of mine."

"A friend eh? You'll find no friends here, beast. Just executioners and the soon to be dead." The nun said with a feral smile as she raised her katana in preparation to use it, "Shall we see which one you are?"

Deciding that it would be best to put some distance between himself and this crazy woman, he leapt upwards into one of the broken windows of the mansion. With luck it would take the lady some time to climb the stairs or climb up the side of the building to pursue him. He could use that time to slip out of another window and go to where Selene was so he could finally find out what the hell was going on as well as figure out a plan to get to safety. It was because he was so sure that she would not be immediately behind him that he was surprised to hear the sound of feet touching down on the window sill a few seconds after he'd landed there himself. Turning around, he was shocked to see the katana wielding woman coming at him and only instincts that he had not possessed yesterday kept him from being sliced clean in half with the first slash. Instead he merely got a deep cut across his chest and would have gotten more if he hadn't leapt up to cling to the ceiling. His chest hurt and he could see the blood from the wound falling to the floor below but had to scramble back like a spider when the Asian woman leapt up to attack him once more. Pushing off the ceiling, he dropped back to the ground and made a run for it hoping that whatever Lucien had transformed him into was quicker than the crazy lady chasing him at the moment. Running caused the pain from his chest wound to flare with every step but he could already feel it beginning to lessen along with the flow of blood trickling down his body.

"What's the matter beast?! Scared?! YOU SHOULD BE!!!" The Nun yelled at him from behind as she pursued him.

Seeing a window, he made a break for it and hoped it would take him to someplace near to a clump of fighters that hopefully would distract the insane woman following him long enough for him to get away and, without hesitation, he jumped. He found that his ears had served him well because, not fifty yards from him, was a large group of vampires, Lycans and armed priests that were trying to kill one another. Running right at them at full speed, he waited until he was sure that the crazy person following him had caught up before he leapt right over the group to the other side. Once there, he went down into as low a stance as he could manage and did his absolute best to sneak away while using his nose along with his ears to keep the group between him and the crazy lady. When he heard the sounds of screaming, both the painful type of the newly hurt as well as a singular unstable female one, he knew that his plan had worked and darted off to the side of the building that he'd seen Selene fighting on.

When he arrived, he was somewhat gratified to see that pretty much all of the fighters that had been there were either dead, gone or about to leave the area.

"Selene!" He yelled calling out for the only person here who he'd consider an ally.

She turned her head in his direction almost immediately but the light of recognition dimmed a bit as he got closer. This confused him for a moment until he realized that he looked decidedly different than the last time he'd seen her and so he slowed his approach in order to seem less threatening. He wished he knew how to change back into his old self. He knew that Lycans could change back and forth from their human forms to their werewolf forms at will so, by this reasoning, he should be able to turn back to normal if he could just figure out the trick.

"Selene… it's me… Michael." He said with his hands up in what he hoped was a non-threatening stance, "I know I look… different… but it's me."

"What happened to you?" Selene asked with wary acceptance of who he was.

"Lucien injected me with blood from someone named Amelia and it mixed with whatever he put in me when he bit me." He replied, summing up the entire thing as best he could, "I got knocked out and, when I woke up, I was like this."

"So he's done it… he's really done it…" Selene whispered as though he was the living proof of a story she'd heard.

"Done what?" he asked, even though he had a feeling he knew the answer already.

"Lucien's been trying for centuries to find a way to unify the two species, to create a hybrid possessing the strongest traits of both vampire and Lycan, so he could finally gain enough power to defeat his enemies." Selene replied with a look of unrest in her eyes at the implications she was coming up with, "He was certain that the key was finding the descendent of Corvenus that had chosen to remain human."

"Me." He said, finishing her explanation and finally getting the big picture settled in his head.

"Yes." She stated sympathetically at how this situation had to make him feel.

"So that's what you monsters have been plotting. Scheming to unleash a new unholy breed upon the world." Came the voice that sounded entirely too sure of himself, "I will not allow that to happen! With my fellow warriors of Iscariot, we will wipe out this infernal experiment before it has a chance to infect His Earth."

Turning, he saw what appeared to be a person of commanding rank wearing the same sort of outfit as the rest of the warrior priests he'd seen on the mansion grounds so far. He looked young, early to mid-twenties by his estimation, but also confident of his power and in the outcome of this mission. Given his lack of experience fighting and Selene being the only other person present that he could trust to watch his back, he wasn't entirely sure that the commander wouldn't succeed in making good on his promises.

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The Southern Side of Viktor's Estate, One Minute Later, Xander's P.O.V

"Hahahahahaha! C'mon, oh Judas PRIEST!" Xander yelled as his arm was lopped off for what had to have been the twentieth time since the battle began, "Is this the best you can do!?!"

"Nae even close, MONSTER!!" Cried Paladin Alexander Anderson as he pressed his advantage, "I'm just prolongin' things to make sure you feel all the pain yuir kind has done to this world! Only when I'm satisfied will I finish ye!!"

"Glad to hear it, because I'm havin' way too much fun to have it end now! HA!" He said as he lashed out with his sword and added what would likely be another scar to the Iscariot enforcer's face.

Indeed! While the previous battles had been nice, comparing them to what he was experiencing now was like comparing a single Twinkie to an entire world made out of his favorite snack cakes. He couldn't get enough! The pain he was feeling was barely registering and, thanks to the healing powers of a True Nosfuratu, any damage done to him healed up within seconds. While he didn't know what the outer limits of his healing abilities were, he was fairly certain that it would take far more than what Anderson was currently capable of. Nevertheless, the paladin was likely the only fighter on the battlefield he could truly cut loose with and not have to worry too much about the fight ending prematurely. From how Lilith had described Anderson's ability, he'd been afraid that all it would take to defeat the fanatic was the severing of all his limbs and that would be that. However, if he was right, then the Vatican had improved the paladin's regenerator abilities to the point where reattaching severed limbs simply took pressing the two parts together for a minute before everything was as good as new. It had taken right up until this very moment for him to figure out the details but, now that he had a better grip on Paladin Anderson's upgraded abilities, he could really enjoy the fight.

He just had to let Anderson reattach any limbs without letting the fool realize that he was being permitted to do so rather than the Iscariot's skill buying time to do so.

In terms of swordsmanship, Anderson had the advantage because, while he might have inherited quite a bit in terms of memories from Alucard, it wasn't something he could immediately use without practice. Much like if someone read every book there was on marksmanship, that didn't mean that they could use firearms with any significant degree of skill. His time fighting alongside Buffy gave him some experience and, with the memories of the No Life King, he'd gotten a little better but in this fight with Alexander Anderson, it was his high speed healing abilities that were keeping him in the fight. As fast as the Vatican warrior could cut him up, his body could patch itself back together almost as quickly. A fact, based on the look on Anderson's face, that was becoming apparent to the Iscariot enforcer.

"It'd appear that I need to go a bit further to send you back to hell. Fortunately our Lord's warnings reached our seers in plenty of time for me to prepare for this night. PREPARE YERSELF!!" Anderson bellowed as he pulled a hard cover book out of his jacket, opened it up and then slammed it down onto the ground with his right hand flat up against the pages.

As a golden glow began to come from the pages of the book, the pages shot out of the book to paste themselves on every available surface. Whether it was a wall, a door or even the grassy lawn, the pages never failed to secure themselves to what they hit. When the book was completely empty, a golden energy wall shot up from the edges of the territory covered by the pages completely separating the two of them from the rest of the battle. He didn't need to think long to know what the purpose of this little light show was: it was meant to hamper or otherwise hinder his True Nosfuratu powers. No doubt the paladin thought that this would retard his healing powers enough to finally 'destroy the unholy creature', but it was clear that the fool didn't realize just how vast that power truly was. Still, it was a decent enough handicap that it would make the fight more interesting and force him to work that much harder to keep it going a little while longer.

It was a mix of painful and pleasurable each time that Anderson succeeded in cutting him, with his slowed down healing adding an extra thrill factor to the mix.

It was about five minutes later, though, that his telepathy picked up on a spike of pain from a mind he'd been keeping a metaphorical eye on, causing him to deliver a particularly nasty blow to Anderson to buy him enough time to learn more. Looking around he was just in time to see the duo of the Death Dealer Selene and one hybridized Michael Corvin running and dodging from a group of pursuing Iscariot soldiers. This was unacceptable. It would appear that he would have to cut his little sparring match with Paladin Alexander Anderson a little short.

Pity.

"Now that is truly pitiful, Anderson. A group of eight Iscariot against only two?" He mocked as he began to draw on the power within him, "Is Iscariot so afraid of a Corvenus vampire and an amateur hybrid that they cannot fight fairly?"

"Fair means little in times of war monster!" Anderson replied as he locked swords with his foe once more, "And make no mistake, Iscariot is most definitely at war with you and your filthy kind!"

"War, eh? Allow me to show you what it truly means to go to war with someone like me!!" He yelled before channeling his willpower and sending his power skyrocketing.

He could feel his power expanding within him and could see as it pressed itself against Anderson's 'holy barrier', causing crackling energy to go up and down as it strained to remain stable.

"'Tis useless, vampire! This holy barrier system was designed to work against Alucard himself!" Anderson said, making it clear he didn't think his chances of breaking it were great, "There is no way a so called No Life Prince can beat something meant to humble the self-proclaimed No Life King!"

"Then you have nothing to worry about, then." He said as he pushed his power even higher, causing the bolts racing across the barrier to become more frequent as well as lasting, "Let's test that theory!"

With an insane smile on his face, he pulled more and more on the power within him, privately marveling at how there seemed to be no end to his power. Just when he thought that he would finally arrive at the limit of his powers, he mowed right by it, proving to him that his prediction was completely wrong. It was such a power trip to feel it grow higher and higher until he was sure that he was causing the space around him to warp with all the energy he was producing. This continued until he could feel the barrier about to break and with a split second decision chose to break it with a little flair.

"HHHAAAA!!" He yelled at the top of his lungs as he thrust out his arms just as the golden barrier shattered under the strain his power had placed on it.

Alas, because he had never before tapped into his power to this degree, the sudden absence of the holy barrier cause his power to expand outwards like a wave shaking the foundation of the mansion and knocking just about everyone, save Paladin Anderson, off their feet. Deciding that he didn't have the time to waste, he shot forward, riding off the last of the power he was slowly reigning in, so that he could close the distance between himself and the Iscariot enforcer. Then, with two diagonal slashes that formed a V, he severed Judas Priests arms and legs from his body, leaving only the head still attached to the torso. Curses and the conveying of pain naturally, Anderson made vows of retribution, pain and death but he was pretty much oblivious to this as he turned to face the humans that had pursued his lovely couple. Half were already back on their feet and the rest would be so soon but his eyes focused on the one those on their feet were positioned to protect. Obviously the commanding officer and just the sort of person he would need to 'persuade' to withdraw the Iscariot forces from the region.

"I take it you're the one in charge of these so-called pious warriors of the Vatican, little man?" He asked rhetorically as he advanced on the fool who thought he was in charge, "Not very impressive if you ask me. Insufficient protection of their vital areas, foolishly equipped melee weaponry and poor use of the environment to your group's advantage. I would expect such sloppy work from a low class street gang or an overnight militia, but not from a group that claims to have honed their skills over many centuries. PATHETIC!!"

By this time all ten of the Iscariot group were back on their feet and, the moment he reached the halfway point between where he'd been to where they were, they opened fire with their guns. Holy silver was sent his way by the dozens and he endured it all for, at his current power level, they hurt him about as much as normal bullets would. Before too long, though, they had expended all their rounds and were quickly trying to put fresh clips but he would not let them bother him with more of their pitiful bullets.

"Nice try. Now let me show you how to truly make every bullet count!" He declared as he used the telekinetic ability that was now his to summon two Heckler & Koch MP5s to his hands.

Flicking the switch that would set it to single shot firing rate, he took aim at his first target and fired.

With the blood spraying out the back of the Iscariot soldier's head as the bullet flew into the front and out the back, he began to teleport from shadow to shadow. Every time he materialized, another member of either the Iscariot or Viktor's most loyal subjects died a most horrible death. Even though he knew that normal bullets, which was the current ammunition of his weapons, was not as effective against the Corvenus vampires as, say, the ultra violet rounds cooked up by the Lycans, he made do with what he had. Fortunately for him the Lycans had been trimmed down in number to the point where they wouldn't be overly eager to do beyond what they had to to stay alive. That fit perfectly with the future that his imagination was crafting for him with while he dealt out death to those he thought needed to die. By the time he was done and all his chosen prey had fallen dead to the ground, he was right back standing fifteen feet from the leader of the Iscariot forces, who stood frozen in fear amidst the fallen forms of his troops. The only ones he left alive were Paladin Anderson and the two ladies who seemed to be more than your run of the mill Iscariot agents.

He figured he couldn't be a complete ass and take away Section Thirteen's best operatives.

Well, he could… but he wanted to see if they could get any stronger. It'd certainly make the re-match all the more entertaining when they came looking for payback.

"Well, I think that just about does it for your group, little man. I suggest you, Anderson and the two ladies still breathing pack up your toys." He said as he dropped the empty guns to the ground, "True, you might find dying in battle preferable to running back to your boss with your tail between your legs, but, then again, forgiveness is divine. It's what your God likes to do, right? Then everything should be fine."

The twenty-something man just stood there, staring at him in complete horror as though actually physically paralyzed.

With a sigh he decided he'd have to give the idiot a little visual incentive to get his ass in gear.

Deciding to employ one of Alucard's favorite moves, he used his power to cause two demonic hellhound heads to burst out of his body and turn to face the Iscariot commander.

With bark from each head, both perfectly in synch with one another, he watched with some disbelief as the Iscariot boy's eyes rolled back and the idiot faint completely.

"Pathetic!" He muttered in disgust as he turned away from the fool's unconscious form and walked to where Michael Corvin stood next to a wounded Selene.

Hopefully the next time he tangled with Iscariot, he'd actually face a worthy commander.

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The Grounds of Viktor's Estate, Same Time, Selene's P.O.V

I… I can't believe it. Selene thought as she watched the True Nosfuratu walk towards her and Michael, He killed over twenty people in forty seconds!

She was completely shocked. She had heard stories from the others about the True Nosfuratu and what they could do but seeing it first hand put even the most detailed tales to shame. She had felt his power when it had washed over her, knocking her and Michael to the ground, and she had been able to tell right then and there that he was the most dangerous being on the battlefield, without question. The fight could have gone either way, depending on which side this True Nosfuratu chose to lend his strength to. Now the Iscariot forces had been decimated, the Lycans had been forced into a perpetual defensive position and her own people's numbers had been trimmed to only those Death Dealers and bureaucrats she saw as being trustworthy. Almost all of those that had been killed had been supporters of either Viktor or Kraven, leaving only those who were either on the fence or whose only loyalty was to the Coven as a whole. While not the way she would have chosen to go about it, she found herself somewhat approving of the current circumstances since it would allow her people to regain their honorable ways without interference, whether it be from within or without.

"Indeed it will, Selene. I am so happy we're on the same page here." Spoke the True Nosfuratu with a smile that only got larger if that was at all possible, "But I'm afraid there's one more fight to be fought before we can truly call it a night."

Almost as though the high level vampire had timed it precisely, two dark figures dropped to the ground twenty meters away, snarling and slashing at one another. It took her only a moment to realize that the two figures were hybrids like Michael was and, once the pair separated long enough for her to see their faces, she knew who they were as well. The one missing a single wing with its partner barely attached to the main body was none other than the Elder Marcus while the other bleeding quite heavily was the Lycan Elder, Lucien. How had they become hybrids?

"That's an easy enough question to answer, dear Selene." The True Nosfurate replied, obviously telepathically hearing her mental question, "Lucien used a cocktail of Amelia and Michael's blood to become a hybrid. As for dear Marcus, he has you to thank for his newfound status. If you hadn't brought that Lycan doctor into show Viktor, then the werewolf's blood wouldn't have trickled down in Marcus' open mouth."

Was the red eyed demon now standing beside her and Michael telling the truth? Was she truly to blame for turning Marcus into his current form? And if she was what did that truly mean?

"Merely that you've managed to spice up an otherwise boring battle with some new talent." Replied the seriously unstable looking vampire who once again proved he was eavesdropping on her thoughts.

"Stay out of my mind." She growled, fixing the man with her best glare.

She knew she had no real way to oppose him, whether it was physically in the real world or mentally inside her head, but she refused to let his acts go unanswered. Her pride as a Death Dealer, as a vampire, wouldn't allow her to be pushed around by someone like him. However she could see by the sparkle in his eyes that her attempts at opposing his actions only amused him more, so instead she decided she would ignore him entirely. It was a proven way for thwarting the desires of bullies to simply ignore them since it was a reaction that such people were after.

"Then I suppose it wouldn't interest you to know that your dear Sire Viktor is currently bleeding out on the roof of the mansion. It's doubtful that he'll survive without a fresh infusion of blood and some vampiric medicine." Spoke the crimson clad creep before chuckling at Viktor's predicament.

"You find this amusing!?" She asked reaching her limit for tolerating this jackass.

"Of course and you would as well if you knew the truth about your dear, vampiric papa." The creature replied, never once losing the unhinged smile, "He is both responsible for your new life as well as the destruction of your old one."

"What do you mean?" Michael asked, entering the conversation for the first time.

"I thought I'd made it pretty clear but I guess a newbie to the weird needs a map drawn for him," replied the True Nosfuratu, shaking his head in disbelief. "Did you not find it odd, Selene, that out of all the Corvenus vampires hunting Lycan's, their ruler happened to be the one leading the way during the attack on your home? After all, how many times has the old fool left his throne since he turned you, my dear? Not many, I'd wager."

It was true that after Viktor had finished helping her to adapt to her new status as a vampire, he had retreated into his domain as Elder but she had accepted this, believing that his responsibilities were important. In the decades that followed, her time with him was spread out as the chain of command was passed from Viktor to Amelia to Marcus with a hundred years of reigning bestowed on each of them. If how he had behaved since she'd been turned was typical of how he'd lived his life prior to meeting her, then it was indeed abnormal for him to personally lead a group of Death Dealers against the Lycans. What was this man trying to get at? Was he trying to imply that there was some sort of hidden motive in Viktor being present at the time of her family's destruction?

"The truth of the matter is that it wasn't the Lycans who slaughtered your family, dear Selene. It was Viktor who ordered and led the group of Death Dealers that killed your family," stated the beast in human form with glee at the big revelation. "Yet when he came to you, he just couldn't bring himself to slay you as well since you reminded him so much of the daughter he executed before the start of the war. Instead he turned you and tried to forge you into the perfect daughter, one far superior to Sonya, as a means of atoning for past mistakes."

"You lie!!" She yelled, forcing herself to her feet despite her injury.

"Oh really? Then perhaps you'll believe it if it comes from the mouth of the person I purloined the information from." Declared the True Nosfuratu before he stretched out his right arm and, with a slow rising of that limb, summoned a form from the darkness.

The form was instantly recognizable as Kraven and it looked like the fop had seen better days as his clothes were in tatters with blood coming from his wounds. Apparently the fool hadn't been slain in the opening moments of the battle as she'd hoped but rather had been captured at some point by the one who'd turn her against her Lord.

"Kraven was, after all, Viktor's right hand vampire for quite a while, as you well know. He'd know all of the Elder's dirty little secrets." Said Mr. Scarlet before he turned to his prisoner, "Tell her, Kraven, tell her of the night that her family was slain, and I may decide to let you live."

"I-It's true. Viktor w-was the one who killed your family. Not the Lycans." Kraven said as he raised his battered head to look her in the eye, "Never could follow his rule about drinking only animal blood. Had to taste the good stuff, human blood, every once and a while. I kept this secret from the others and cleaned up after him when he finished. One by one he drained your family dry until he came to your room. In the end, due to your resemblance to his dear daughter Sonya, he chose to turn you instead of killing you. A surprise, given how he ordered the execution of his daughter for the same crime you seem to be committing right now: falling in love with a Lycan."

"It can't be true…" she whispered as she wavered on her feet at the revelation assaulting her mind.

"If you don't believe me or Kraven, then ask Viktor himself." The True Nosfuratu said as he freed Kraven from his grasp, "I believe the old fart is still conscious, if more than a little unable to help himself."

Before she could say yes or no, the shadows around her seemed to leap from their perches and wrap around both her and Michael, submerging them in darkness. For a second she tried to fight it but just as quickly as it came, it left leaving her in the open air once more but not on the grass where she'd been a moment ago. Instead she was atop the mansion standing less than ten feet from the bloodied form of Elder Viktor, who had managed to sit himself up against one of the statues that were placed at the corners of the roof. Looking at the man that sired her, the first instinct she had was to go to him and render all the aid she could in his recovery. However she restrained herself as a whisper of suspicion in her mind bade her at least determine whether the Nosfuratu's accusation had any truth to it.

"Selene…" Viktor rasped out as he seemed to be having trouble finding the strength to do more than speak, "…help me."

"I will but first I need to know the truth about something, my Lord." She said doing her best to keep her voice even, "An accusation has been made by a True Nosfuratu that it was you, not the Lycans, that slew my family centuries ago. This claim has been somewhat support by the testimony of Kraven. While I know better to take that traitor's words at face value I would know the truth from your own lips. Were you the one who slew my family?"

For a time they stood there, looking at one another, until Viktor seemed to come to a decision regarding his reply.

"Yes. I took them from you." Viktor replied with nothing but honesty in his eyes, "But I gave you so much more. Was it not a fair trade? The lives of your mortal family for immortality! So long as you drink blood and avoid the weaknesses of our kind, you will live forever never aging even a little. What is a group of mere mortals compared to that?"

"More than you are capable of comprehending." She stated with an icy rage that surprised everyone present even herself.

Seeing the Elder's own weapon laying nearby, she walked over to it and smoothly picked it up before giving it a practice twirl with her right hand. Seeing the weapon and seeing the still unrepentant Elder looking at her, she knew what had to be done and had no qualms about doing it. Leaping into the air she adjusted her grip on the sword and, with the power of both her arms, thrust it downwards, sending the tip of the blade right through Viktor's head. So anger-driven was this that it actually cracked the stone beneath her Sire but she didn't care. The moment that the Eder had admitted to being the one behind the deaths of her family, all that had mattered to her was retribution. Now, though, as the gravity of what she'd done hit her, she realized that with Viktor and Amelia dead only Marcus remained to rule the Corvenus breed of vampire. Add to that the odds of Iscariot returning in order to make up for their defeat here and she could very well have laid the groundwork for the destruction of her people.

Perhaps. Then again, maybe you've simply cleared the way for a new beginning. Came the voice of the True Nosfuratu inside of her head, After all, 'the enemey of my enemy is my friend', right?

Mentally growling a bit at yet another mental intrusion, her mind just wouldn't let her just delete what had been said and so she tried to figure out what the mentally unstable male had been getting at. It was true that with so many of the old guard dead that an opportunity had formed to abolish many of the policies she found distasteful but there was one obstacle that would have to be removed.

Marcus.

Looking over the side of the mansion roof, she could see that the Elder-turned-hybrid was still battling with Lucien with neither side really gaining an advantage over the other. So long as the last Coven Elder lived, few that thought as she did would dare to defy him if he chose to adhere to the old ways. It was then, though, that the second part of the Nosfuratu's message gained significance since she could see that, if she allied herself with Lucien, they could conceivably defeat Marcus. It would not be easy but perhaps if she had Michael's support, the centuries-old immortal would be more receptive to the idea. Then, once all of it was done and Marcus was slain, she could take the lead and enter into a truce with the Lycans. Such a thought was thoroughly outside her normal mental territory since, up until she'd met Michael, she'd been determined to hunt down and kill every last one but the events since the subway had changed her point of view rather drastically. Besides, it was inevitable that Iscariot would return and in greater numbers than before to redeem themselves in the eyes of their God. If either the Lycans or her kind were to survive, they would have no choice but to join forces and defend this region side-by-side against those who would see them dead.

With that in mind and Viktor's sword still in her hand, she stepped off the side of the roof and dropped to the ground below.

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The Mansion Grounds Formerly Owned by the Elder Viktor, One Minute Later, Lucien's P.O.V

"I have had about enough of your interference, Marcus." Lucien growled as he tried to hide the pain his injuries caused him.

"Likewise, Lucien. I think it is time that we put an end to this fight." Marcus stated with his hybrid form missing both wings now, "Viktor won't wait forever, you know."

With that they charged one another, both with renewed determination to wipe the other out by any means necessary, tearing into the other's flesh as soon as they got close enough. It had been like this almost from the moment the fight between him and the former vampire Elder had begun but with his successful removal of his foe's wings, he knew that victory for him was only a matter of time. Marcus' primary strength had been his aerial advantage as well as the superior reach his wings gave him. With those appendages removed, they both had the same number of limbs and so it came down to who was the superior hand-to-hand combatant. At first this seemed as though they were evenly matched but it soon became clear that the former vampire Elder's recent slumber had still not left him entirely. Add to that the fact that he had learned more than a few new fighting styles that had not existed the last time that Marcus had been awake and he was quickly gaining ground. Despite the enhanced healing abilities that he had gained a greater understanding of as the fight progressed, they were nowhere near swift enough for his foe to turn matters around anytime soon. At the same time though he himself was beginning to reach the limits of how much damage he could take and still survive. He had to end the battle soon or else the revenge he sought for so long would be lost to him.

NO!

He had worked so hard for so long to avenge Sonya's death!

Pooling all that remained of his strength together with his determination, he began to systematically strike at each vital spot on Marcus' body one after another. With breaking bones and severed tendons, he began to chip away at his enemy's body while at the same time using some of the more advanced defensive techniques he knew to minimize the damage he himself took. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but in the end he was still standing and the bat hybrid was on his knees. Bringing back his right hand, he prepared to drive it through his weakened opponent's head but, before he could move, a silver blade came out of nowhere to rest lightly at his neck. He chastised himself for not being more aware of his surroundings but he knew that he'd been so focused on Marcus and holding back the effects of his injuries that someone sneaking up on him wasn't impossible. As the blade moved around without leaving his neck he saw that the person who currently had the ability to behead him was none other than the Death Dealer that Michael Corvin had been so enamored with.

"Not one move, Lucien" the Death Dealer said with cold, blue eyes.

"Is there something I can help you with, my dear?" He asked her while also monitoring Marcus' recovery, "In case you missed it, I'm in the middle of something here."

"I-I would never h-have thought that Viktor's favored Death Dealer would come to my aide." Marcus said as he tried numerous times to get back to get back to his feet.

"You're not wrong." Stated the Death Dealer as she took the sword away from his throat and rammed it into Marcus' head from the underside in one smooth move.

To say that it was a shock would be putting it mildly.

So much so that he couldn't bring himself to feel angry at the vampiress for taking his foe from him.

"And so dies the Old Order," declared the female Death Dealer as she pulled the sword from the bat hybrid's head, scraping against bone the entire time.

What did she mean by that statement? Had this been her intention from the beginning?

"What precisely do you mean by that?" He asked now wary of her since technically he could be considered a member of the Old Order.

"Precisely as it sounded, Lucien. From Viktor himself I learned the truth of my family's deaths. From Michael I learned about the death of your lover Sonya mere moments ago." The Death Dealer declared as she turned to face him, "These two events have made it clear that the source of the war between our peoples and the destruction of my family can be nothing else than the ruling class of the vampire Covens. It was their intolerance of your relationship with Sonya that caused the war. It was Viktor's disgusting habits that destroyed my family. If there is ever to be a lasting peace for our two people then they had to be removed. It's as simple as that."

Peace.

It had been a side deal between him and Kraven that once he became ruler of both Covens that an ironclad peace treaty between the two branches of the Corvenus family. Mentally, though, he hadn't been all that certain he would bother to pursue it. After all, it had been his plan that if he was successful in achieving his current hybrid status that he would kill that useless vampire himself and lay waste to every vampire he could find after finishing off Viktor. That, however, had changed with the arrival of Iscariot, at which he'd been forced to adjust things accordingly. Now, though, wiping out the vampires of Corvenus appeared to be less of a certainty with his pack reduced by more than half. Add to that Iscariot's reputation for returning the humiliation of defeat upon their foes threefold and it was unlikely they would allow this defeat to go unpunished. Prolonging the fight between the vampire Covens and the Lycans would only benefit the Iscariot when they returned.

In the end, peace was the only option that would lead to victory.

"Indeed. Then I suggest you speak with your people just as I will speak with mine." He said noticing the finer details of the sword in her hand and realized what it meant, "Both sides will have to be unified if peace talks are to succeed."

The female Death Dealer had killed Viktor.

Pondering this as he walked away, he was intrigued by how he wasn't all that bothered by this fact. For so long images of killing his former master himself had been all that had sustained him since Sonya's death and now his chance to personally kill the Elder vampire was gone. If he had to guess, he'd say that the reason he wasn't upset was because in a way Viktor's end was just poetic enough to satisfy him. If the vampiress had told him the truth, she had been one of Viktor's favorites, a daughter of sorts, and if so then it was indeed proper for one of the fiend's daughters to avenge the death of another. Besides, while revenge had indeed been a priority of his, he was not blind to the needs of his people. He had assembled every Lycan in the region for the assault and now most of them were dead with the survivors wounded. While not all Lycans had come when he'd sent messages requesting their aid, those that lived elsewhere in the world were few and lived far apart from each other. With Viktor dead and his people's numbers depleted it was clear where his focus should be.

Issuing a command to the others with a growl, he led them from the mansion grounds back to their lair where he would convey the idea of entering into a truce with the Corvenus vampires. It would not be an easy idea to sell to them. The older Lycans like Raze would oppose the idea due to the number of wrongs the vampires had committed against him since the day they first met. The younger ones would still have fresh wounds from their first brushes with the war and what it meant to be a Lycan hunted by a Death Dealer. Still, he was the acknowledged Alpha of the pack and now that he had the added strength of being a hybrid as well, there would be no one who'd be able to oppose him. While Lycans were equal part wolf and man, most chose to keep their inner animals under control while placing their human selves in a place of dominance. Nevertheless, there were still times that their inner beast influenced their behavior and one such instance was in how they established who their leaders would be. As long as the majority of the pack adhered to this method, he would have no problems winning most of them over. All he would need was a logical enough reason for them to put aside their hatred of the vampires and accept peaceful co-existence as being the way they would live their lives from here on out.

Difficult, but he could do it.

He'd managed to convince them to follow him this far, so what would a little farther matter to them.

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One Week Later, London, The Hellsing Mansion, Office of Sir Integra Hellsing, Integra's P.O.V

"What news out of Pardubice, Walter?" Integra asked as her right hand man and surrogate father entered the room.

"It would appear that matters there have stabilized somewhat, Sir Integra, although the new power structure is making others in our line of work nervous." Walter replied as he walked up to the leader of Hellsing's desk to place a full folder before her.

"How so?" She asked as she perused the file.

"Most of the old order amongst the Corvenus vampires have been slain, including all three Elders. All that remain of them are a few of the more experienced Death Dealers and the lesser members of the bureaucracy," Walter replied as he stood before her dutifully. "While it has yet to be made official, our operatives in the area believe that a Death Dealer by the name of Selene will be selected to rule over the Covens."

"Oh? How old is she?" She asked wondering if this Death Dealer could truly do the job.

"Roughly six hundred years old or so. Give or take a decade. She was apparently the favored Death Dealer of the Elder Viktor and, while there exists no corroborating evidence, our agents there believe that Selene is the one that slew him," Walter replied, reciting what he knew from memory. "It has been confirmed, though, that she was indeed the one to kill the Elder Marcus."

"Impressive," she stated since it was something unheard of for a Corvenus of only six centuries to best the oldest of her kind. "But I suspect there is something more to your report than a change of leadership."

"Indeed it is. The element of the report that concerns our demon hunting community is on page four of the report." Walter replied indicating that she should look on the mentioned page.

Flipping over pages one through three, she came upon the one her right hand man had wanted her to look at. Reading a bit more thoroughly than before, it didn't take long before she found what had truly set her counterparts throughout the world abuzz. Somehow a new breed of demon had been born into this world and, apparently, possessed the power to match the strength of a Corvenus Vampire Elder. Match it and, perhaps, surpass it. The agents, by their own admission, had been a fair distance from the battle so they could not do more than pass on what they could see clearly. A difficult thing, considering the chaos that usually accompanied a fierce battle. Nevertheless it was a potentially dangerous thing to have a new breed she knew nothing about, whether it be their strengths or their weaknesses. Also, considering the viral nature of the Corvenus breed, this new species had the potential to grow astronomically. The only thing that prevented her from mobilizing Hellsing to wipe out the two surviving hybrids was the fact that Corvenus breeds were not guaranteed to turn a human when they made the attempt. Due to the viral nature of their condition, a bite from a Corvenus vampire or a Corvenus Lycan stood just as great a chance of killing a bitten human as it did of converting them. If this new kind of demon had similar difficulty making more of its kind then perhaps the state of affairs was not as bad as some feared.

"Order our agents to draw back for the time being but to monitor traffic both into and out of the city. We must ascertain the abilities of this new breed in order to determine whether or not it poses a threat to the world." She declared placing the open folder down on the ground.

"Understood. I will inform them at once." Walter said before turning to leave the room.

"And Walter?" She said, thinking of one possibility that might be worth exploring.

"Yes, Sir Integra?" Walter asked, pausing in the process of reaching out for the doorknob.

"Monitor the activity of Iscariot in that region of the world. I wish to be notified if they choose to make another assault on Pardubice." She commanded as her idea took hold in her mind, "It may prove to be to our advantage to invite ourselves to the next confrontation."

"As you wish, my lady." Walter stated before exiting the room altogether.

Alone in the room if not in her thoughts, she wondered what new chaos lay in the future for the world. With the birth of this No Life Prince at the hands of Das Millennium, she felt as though the Earth was about to enter a time of change although whether it would be for the better or for the worse she knew not.

"Indeed, but it should be amusing nonetheless," came the amused voice of Agent Alucard before he emerged from the ceiling. "I find myself looking forward to it with great anticipation."

That did not improve her mood.

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London, Across Town, Watcher's Council HQ, Same Time, Quentin Travers' P.O.V

Dark times are on the horizon. Travers thought as he finished reading the report from the Council's spies in the Czech Republic.

Ever since they'd first learned of the possible existence of a True Nosfuratu by the name of the No Life Prince, he had devoted considerable amounts of Council resources monitoring the situation. Some had questioned this, dismissing the possible threats in Pardubice, but he had used his power as head of the Council to force their compliance. He knew better than them the shadowed paths that events such as these could take and refused to wait until it was too late to take action. Yet, if these reports were accurate, they may have already passed the point of no return. A new breed of demon? Terrible. As if they didn't have problems enough with the various breeds of creatures that already inhabited the world! The only saving grace was the fact that these abominations were only two in number and, as such, could be easily monitored. Already his mind was beginning to form plans for learning the strengths and weaknesses of this new species so that, when the time came, they'd be able to wipe them out before they could grow in number. It was quite boon, indeed, to be in a position to dispose of a harmful new breed before it could grow. So many times he wished that there was some way that he could travel back to the time just after the last Old One left this realm so he could make quick work of all the demon breeds that now existed. With them so confused and scattered with the departure of their masters, it'd have been a simple task to dispose of them with the soldiers the Council could bring to bear.

Alas, wishful thinking never solved anything, he thought as he set down the folder he'd been brought from the communications room. No. Better to keep one's mind on the present, one what one could affect, then spend countless hours on what was set in stone.

Hopefully it would not take long to learn what they needed to know about this new breed and, once properly informed, he would order the best black ops team they had in their employ to eliminate both members of this new species of demon. After all, while he was not prejudiced enough to think that all demons were evil, he did know from his younger years in the research division that the harmful species far outweighed the neutral or benevolent ones. As such, he felt safe in his judgment that these new monsters were of the harmful variety and needed to be removed from the world before they became too plentiful to properly deal with.

Then there was the issue of the No Life Prince himself.

Not even a week since they'd confirmed his presence in Pardubice and things had drastically changed, though it was debatable as to whether it was for the better or worse. The old guard amongst the Corvenus breed had been wiped aside, with the sole exception being the Lycan Alpha, leaving only the younger and less experienced ones in command of the region. On the one side this was good since it would ensure that both foul breeds were too busy reorganizing the pecking order amongst their kind to cause mischief elsewhere. On the other side, though, it meant that their actions would be less predictable since it was unlikely that they would go about their evil ways as established by the vampire Elders. No, their way of doing things would change, change in ways that may not be able to be predicted, and unless mankind was truly fortunate something truly horrible could happen before actions could be taken to prevent it. By upsetting the status quo in that region, the old measures for battling the foul Corvenus breeds could very well become invalid if the changes inspired by the Nosfuratu's presence were great enough.

We will have to be very watchful of where the No Life Prince goes in the future. He thought with a frown as he began to recall all the various 'Hot Spots' that existed in the world, He would seem to create chaos and change where ever he goes.

Chaos and change, the two things he despised unless it was he who was the origin of both.

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Vatican City, Rome, Italy

Headquarters of the Special Section 13 'Iscariot Organization, Office of Father Jacob

Father Jacob's P.O.V

He was due for an audience with his Holiness in twenty minutes.

Contrary to what some might think, this was not a good thing.

It had not been two days since Paladin Alexander Anderson, Sister Yumiko and Heinkel Wolfe returned with Timothy but rather than in victory, the four had returned utterly defeated. With anger and shame, the facts of the operation were related to him without censorship, causing him to feel similar emotions even though he had not been there. A force had been sent in with the objective of destroying the unholy monsters and had come back with only their three strongest warriors as well as one pathetic halfwit. Even worse was the fact that, unless he was very much misreading the events, it sounded like the No Life Prince had let them leave rather than being unable to prevent their departure. This would not be a good thing for Section Thirteen. The Pope's confidence in them had already been shaken by Maxwell's power hungry actions and news of their defeat would only reduce their confidence in his organization even further. The only points of the debriefing that would work in his favor was the fact that both the Corvenus Lycans and the Corvenus vampires had been reduced heavily in number. The fact that it was Anderson who slew the Elder Amelia would also be a positive point due to the notoriety of the female vampire. Still, someone would have to shoulder the blame for the loss of so many lives especially since the mission wasn't completely authorized.

He refused to let that someone be him.

Better that someone such as Timothy bear the full blame for the fiasco.

If the blame for the defeat was placed on his head, then it could very well sound the death knell for Iscariot as it was torn down so that something else could be constructed in its place. However, if young Timothy was fingered as the sole reason for the defeat, then Iscariot as a whole might get off with only a stern warning. Yes! This could work! After all, there was no written proof that he had had anything to do with the assault aside from the fact that Timothy was a subordinate of his in Section Thirteen. He could merely act on his earlier plan to claim that the young agent had stolen his cross and used it to gather what he needed. As for why he had not become aware of this theft along with the unauthorized procurement of manpower and weapons sooner, he could simply say that he'd been so busy with the obligations of his new position that he was not aware of Timothy's actions until after the assault group had left. From there, unanswered communications and an inability to send a team to recall the assault group without drawing unwanted attention Iscariot's way would cover his trail nicely.

Neither he nor Iscariot would be able to avoid damage entirely but, so long as the damage was kept to a minimum, then their survival would be assured.

So long as Section Thirteen survived, that was all that mattered.

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The Highway Outside of Pardubice, Inside a 'Borrowed' Maserati 3200 GT, Sorina's P.O.V

"So where are we going now?" Sorina asked from the back seat of the car.

"Well, with the matter of the Corvenus breeds handled, I thought it'd be a good idea to spin by the land of Tweed & Tea." Xander replied from the driver's seat as they sped along the highway, "It'll be nice to visit the Old Bat and see him face-to-face. Besides, I have some business that needs taking care of."

"Business? What business?" Lilith asked from her place in the passenger seat.

"Well… let's just say that I plan to make a few complaints on behalf of the U.S.D.H.S to their current employers." Xander replied with a manic smile that implied that the complaints would be quite violent in nature.

"U.S.D.H.S?" Sorina asked, not recognizing the letters.

"The Unified Sisterhood of Demon Hunting Slayers, of course." He replied his smile only growing in size as he spoke, "I have a list of grievances that they want me to bring up with a man by the name of Travers."

As Alexander began to chuckle and then laugh, she found herself almost feeling sorry for this Travers person. She might not known her friend for very long but she knew enough that seeing him behave like this was a solid clue that pain was in someone's future. The part that she found odd though was the fact that she wasn't all that objectionable to the idea of someone getting a pounding or even dying at Xander's hands. Sure, it might have something to do with the fact that this Travers person was just a name as far as she was concerned, but some might argue that it was her two current guardians' bad behavior rubbing off on her. She knew that neither Lilith nor Alexander were perfect examples of sanity but, at the same time, they were better than some of the other people she knew. Better than her family, better than the creeps on the street and leagues higher than those villainous Corvenus vampire in how they behaved. It was just like Lilith often said: True Nosfuratu were the true vampires and the rest were just trash.

And it was kind of fun hanging with them! She thought remembering the night of the fight.

Lilith had taken over the sniping after the first two clips she'd used up but it'd been fun picking off those Corvenus vampires. It was so much like a videogame that she almost forgot that she was ending lives as she fired. Still, as far as she was concerned, it wasn't a crime to kill trash and that's all the Corvenus vampires were from her point of view. She'd stayed away from the people in priest robes, despite the stories she'd heard about the Iscariot people. They might have been jerks but they were still human and she wasn't ready to kill humans just yet. Despite how her family had treated her and the creeps on the streets, they were still human.

Humans could change, become better people, but monsters couldn't.

"London bridge is falling down, falling down, London bridge is falling down, my fair lady! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Xander laughed as he sang the song.

Though in Alex's case, I hope he can change because he's gonna drive me bananas if he keeps this up. She thought as she did her best to block out the No Life Prince's singing.

THE END…FOR NOW!

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NOTE: Well we've reached the end of the No Life Twin but let me make one thing completely clear to those of you who really liked this fanfic.

THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL!!!!

I can't say when I'll start working on it with so much other stuff on my plate but once I've completed a few more of my in progress fanfics (or all of them) then I'll come back and write the sequel. I know a lot of you won't like this but there are people who like my other fanfics who are emailing me often asking when the next chapter of this fanfic or that fanfic will be up. I can't just ignore them. So I ask that you be patient and try to scratch your itch with some of my other fanfics until I get going on the sequel.

Thank you for all your fabulous reviews!! They've helped me out a lot!!