I Will Not Bow

[Silence Sei]

(Sei Note: This quest takes place during Sei's stay in Lavinya during Weapon OF Choice (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=21038))

Never leave the road, never travel at night.

These two phrases are what the greeters in the port town of Otaria told people when they left the boat. Sei had traveled to the country of Revan to meet the people of Lavinya. He had heard many stories about the whole country's plight, about a vampyric council that allowed humans to stay alive in order to have an infinite food supply. Sei knew he had not yet amassed a big enough army to attack another country head-on. Furthermore, doing so might throw off the natural course of everything. The humans that had been kept in check for so long might run rampant if left to their own devices.

As much as it sickened Sei, he couldn't liberate Revan while he was here.

His secondary reason for coming to the country was for his kusari-gama. Sei had just started a mission to go about naming his weaponry after great heroes of Althanas. He had planned on naming his scythe-chain after Lavinya's greatest accomplishment, Seth Dahlios. In order to fully grasp what that meant, the mute had decided to travel to the city to learn more of the local hero. When he had gotten off the boat in Otaria, however, he was quickly taught those two primary rules of the country.

Sei looked to the horizon to see the sun starting to set. He began to walk to the town gates at a brisk pace. He focused on the two massive doors that began to slowly close in sync with how far the sun was going down. He didn't know if there was some sort of mechanism about it, or if the people had just learned the exact moment it gets dark in their country. Either way, Sei could not be stuck here for a night. He had to witness the horrors of night time Revan first hand. Sei's pace went from a quick walk to an all-out run as the echo of the doors moving closer together reached everyone's ears.

He heard nearby doors closing. The sounds were quickly followed by that of locks being turned. Apparently the people here took their vampire protection to great extremes. Sei was a good three feet away from the crack that was left in the doors. Leaping forward with all of his might, Sei popped his butterfly wings out of his back. Luckily the wind had been in his favor today, and the mute's speed picked up. He could feel the back of his legs sliding against the steel doors as they nearly closed his feet in. They made one final, thunderous slam, and Sei knew that he was now on his own.

Of course, in his haste, Sei had not flapped his wings at all. This resulted in a nose dive that sent the telepath rolling forward several feet. As the mute stood up and dusted himself off, he could hear the shuffling of feet. The sound was quickly getting closer, as well as an eerie moan that began to reach the mute's ears. It seemed that vampires were not the only type of undead that plagued Revan. Zombies were also a pest problem.

The moans were coming from a forest a good forty or so feet away. The mute caught notice on the lack of insects that typically plagued other countries at dusk. Perhaps even the bugs were afraid to come out at night in Revan. A smell of rotted flesh invaded Sei's nose, something that would have caused a much weaker man to vomit then and there. Before he knew it, the shuffling zombies were getting closer to the telepath’s form, and it would soon be time to fight.

Sei reached down to his waist and untied his kusari-gama. The mute shifted his eyes around back and forth as he traveled the road. It was going to be a long night.

[Play Back]

"Dangit," Play Back said as he looked through the seemingly desolate village, "I didn't make it!" He had been taking a trip to his home town of Lavinya when he realized that the sun was setting just a bit faster than he remembered. There was a town between Lavinya and Otaria, but it was not as well armed as its brethren towns. He felt that he could have made it had he not been so slow on his way from Otaria into this forgettable village.

"Once again, the Gods are showing me I'm not cut out for this!" He yelled in frustration. He had tried working for a detective agency during his stay in Radasanth, but money was tight and it seemed that the investigation unit would not stay open. Furthermore, Play Back had only engaged in one citadel battle and found it to be only slightly exhilarating. It seemed that adventuring was not what the higher ups had in mind for the teen.

Furthermore, all reports of the Dark Hearted Man had gone cold. Sure, he was getting help from Robert and Adam, but they could only do so much in the ways of helping. Robert seemed to be cold to the world, and Adam was always looking at the bottom line. If something seemed financially hurtful, the man would not take a chance on it. Perhaps that was why CG Investigations had stayed aloft as long as it had without any sort of actual income.

Now Play Back was stranded, at night, in a village that was surrounded by hordes of zombies and vampires. The masked teen looked around for somewhere he could find sanctuary for the night. Shifting himself behind a few houses, Play Back began to search closely to the ground, eventually finding a hidden shelter behind one of the homes. Play Back felt around for his entry point and found it in a giant steel ring. Pulling up on the ring with all of his might, the panel flipped itself onto the opposite side of the ground, and Play Back found himself face-to-rung with a ladder.

As Play Back shimmied down the ladder, he couldn't help but think of his good luck. When his feet touched the ground, the masked one felt around for some sort of light switch. When he found the small device, he flipped the switch upwards, a small humming echoing in the steel room. When the lights came on, Play Back was absolutely mortified at where he was.

Blood packets lined the green shelves of the area. All three walls in front of the boy seemed to be just for the blood bags of other people. It was now that Play Back realized how cold the inside of the room was. Such a thing as this was so uncommon, even in Lavinya and Otaria. Why was there a blood bank here? In the middle of a ....

"Vampire-laden country...."

As Play Back finished his epiphany, he heard the sounds of a shotgun cocking from above. The child closed his eyes and screamed in frustration.

"OH FUCK ME!"

[Chibimon Blue]

I Will Shut The World Away

"Go MysLight, use your bite attack!" Hsa yelled at his Chibimon. The wolf-like creature obeyed, diving towards the zombie currently unburying itself and taking a good chunk out of its undead head. Hsa had been warned the dangers of night time in Revan, but rather than being scared, he embraced it. Fighting creatures of the dark was absolutely perfect for his Chibimon training. If he could get MysLight to become stronger in this country, obtaining more Chibimon would be a piece of cake.

"MysLight, behind you! Use Mystic Protection!" The wolf turned to find another zombie, a female with half of her bosom exposed, lunging at him. The dark creature opened its mouth in an attempt to take a fresh hunk of meat out of the 'pet'. Hsa shielded his eyes as the subsequent blast of radiance shined throughout the forest. The lady-zombie had activated MysLight's Mystic Protection, which caused a blinding light to appear once his shield was shattered.

This action scared most of the zombies away, and the boy swore he heard the hissing of a vampire somewhere in the area. As good as his Chibimon was at fighting zombies, Hsa had doubts that even MysLight could handle an undead Count. The boy thought he was safe for the time being. Nobody in the area would be stupid enough to come at him again for at least a little while. Not when he had the creatures primary weakness at his side.

MysLight quickly walked over to the youth, the trainer taking note of the ragged look in his friend's face. Hsa kneeled down and began to pet the pup behind his white furry ears. MysLight had been a good companion to Hsa ever since the day they left their home. He enjoyed the canine's company so much, he allowed the dog to stay out of his chibiball. This was a reward most trainers only allowed to the most loyal of companions, and MysLight was already giving himself such a title in his masters eyes.

Suddenly, the duo heard another sound of fighting. The teen first seethed with anger upon thinking that his rival, Yrag, may have followed him to learn the trainer’s secrets. Angrily looking through the dense trees of the forest, Hsa instead found a much different figure than that of his rival. Upon the dirty road that was completely surrounded by crab grass leading to his forest, a long white cloth was whipping around, temporarily blinding and distracting several undead. Orange hair became a blur in the boy's eyes while he watched the outnumbered man fight.

A scythe flew out, connected by a chain, and quickly decapitated three zombies standing shoulder-to-shoulder. A bladed ring found itself severing the head of another undead beast. "He's good..." Hsa said in awe, MysLight whimpering in agreement. The trainer felt his familiar’s ache at not being in the action. He looked down to MysLight with a smile.

"What's say we help a fellow suicidal warrior out, eh buddy?" The wolf howled in excitement for a reply. Without another word, the two friends dashed towards Sei Orlouge, intent on showing this stranger just how powerful a Chibimon could really be.

[Silence Sei]

The help was welcome as far as Sei was concerned. The mute watched as the boy's wolf dived and took out several zombies with ease. Teeth bit into flesh, claws tore into faces, the beasts savagery was almost a thing of beauty. As for the child, he pretty much stood behind Sei and issued orders directly to the dog, named 'MysLight'. Sei didn't know who this mysterious duo was, or where they came from, but it was nice to have some living company.

The mute found himself punching the head of an undead minion, the ring on his right hand forming an emei piercer made of light and impaling the creature's skull. Sei then flipped around to deliver a roundhouse kick to a zombie attempting a rear attack. The foot cracked the neck it connected with, and threw the zombie to the ground. MysLight used this opportunity to pounce on the creature, and rip it apart bit by bit.

Sei winced at the gruesome display of chunks and blood flying everywhere. Such a sight was sickening, but the telepath had seen enough war to hold his stomache contents in place. It was around that time that the mute had noticed that there was no longer any undead around the group. Apparently, the zombies wised up, or their masters no longer wished to throw them any more bodies. Both Sei and MysLight were completely out of breath, huffing and puffing to try and relax their nerves a bit. Drips of cold red blood still trickled down the canine's mouth as his master came over and petted him.

"Good job MysLight! I new you could do it," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out some sort of doggie treat before feeding it to his friend. He then stood up and looked to Sei, extending a hand towards the exhausted man. "My name's Hsa, Hsa Eulb. You carried yourself pretty well in that fight. MysLight could stand to learn a thing or two from you." The dog growled in protest to the comment, as if his master were insulting his abilities.

Sei's hand gripped Hsa's, and the mute smiled. "Sei Orlouge," he said, watching Hsa's initial shock of a voice entering his head, "I don't suppose you know of a village that's -not- completely sealed off at this time?"

To the mute's surprise, his newfound compatriot nodded. "Sure, just follow us," Hsa said excitedly, almost as if he were having fun doing this. The boy and his Chibimon took off down the road. Sei took a step forward, stopping for a minute when a flash of green entered his peripheral vision. Sei turned his head towards the forest that his 'rescuers' had come out of, not seeing anything. Sei was a bit cautious as he followed Hsa. He was really starting to wish Anita was here so she could sense all of these undead...

[Play Back]

"You have ten seconds to tell me what you're doing down here in my blood bank," the voice said through grit teeth. Play Back looked upwards to try and see the source of the threat. The bright light from the flashlight blinded his vision, his mind realizing that the device was one of the specially designed ultraviolet lights created to keep vampires at bay. Apparently by just flashing the lights rays on the teen, his captor knew he was not one of the undead.

"I was just trying to get back to Lavinya!" Play Back yelled, waving his arms frantically, "I live there, and stupidly didn't take into account Daylight Savings for Revan. It got darker quicker than I thought! I'll leave, I was just trying to find shelter for the night!"

After a couple of seconds, Play Back heard the sounds of steps upon the ground. "Get out," the voice said. Play Back nodded and began to climb the ladder, grabbing each rung with a trembling hand. He had almost gotten his head blown off just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It seemed like that was the story of the kid's life.

When his head revealed itself from the manhole-like shelter, Play Back looked up to see the same shotgun now at his face at point-blank range. "Take the mask off," the voice said, the teen still not being able to take in the features of the figure due to the flashlights beams.

"What?! Why?!"

"Mask could be protecting you from the light. If you're going into my house, I'm making damn sure you're not an undead before you even get out of that shelter." Play Back blinked at the reasoning behind the hostile treatment. The boy nodded and reached for his mask, pulling the clothing off of his head.

White hairs fell all around the youth's face, with two bangs showing blood red to them. This had always been the boy's reminder that vampires were everywhere, waiting to sink their bloodied teeth into him. His silver eyes seemed to hint that he was blind, which was completely untrue obviously. A small scar ran just under the teen's chin, a memento from a run-in with a zombie he had as a youth.

"Okay, mask is off, I haven't sizzled yet, will you let me out of here now?" Play Back asked. The light turned off and a delicate hand reached out to help him. Play Back grabbed the hand and stood, his eyes starting to adjust to his now friendly encounter. The youth was quite thankful that their little stand off was only a temporary distrust. Of course, Play Back knew it was foolish to completely trust anyone in this town upon first meeting. That kind of thinking got you killed or turned.

The blonde hair had been wrapped up in two buns on each side of the head. Crystal blue eyes shined into Play Back's soul, but the boy only noticed the weary bags under the orbs. The ghost white complexion of the girl had Play Back in utter shock that he had been so afraid to lose his life to this woman only minutes before. She was around his age, maybe a bit older, but when she smiled, she showed youthfulness unlike anything Play Back had come across.

"Maggie-Beth," she said, the seriousness of her original tone dropping for a more southern-like accent, "Ah guess it's a pleasure to meet you. Come on in the house, you're probably starvin'." Play Back nodded and watched as the girl turned and made her way to the back porch of her home.

Of course, Play Back, being a teenage boy, was busy noticing the rear of his would-be captor now that the danger was gone. He followed her inside, placing his mask over his face with the hugest grin he could muster on his hidden face. Feelings of passion were starting to bubble up in the teen. Perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad nigth after all, especially if he could put on the charms enough to become a little bit closer to this Maggie-Beth.

[Chibimon Blue]

They were safe.

At least, for the moment there were no zombie or vampire attacks. That was about as safe as anyone could be in these parts. Hsa looked over his shoulder to the mute trailing behind him. "So, the name Sei Orlouge sounds kinda familiar. Are you related to any Orlouges in Peachy Village?"

The question caused the mute to stop in his tracks. Whether or not it was because the village had such a ridiculous name remained to be seen. "I don't believe so, no." Sei simply said, cutting off any small talk the trainer was trying to make with the mute. The boy sighed a bit as he looked to his precious MysLight, a hand coming down to stroke the fur of the beast.

"So I hear the vampire council has a new ruler for this district. Simply goes by the name 'The Countess'. My goal was to find some more Chibimon and then go show her an old fashioned butt whooping. Thing is though, I can't seem to find any Chibimon worth taking. MysLight can't do it all by himself though. If he gets too strong, he'll start ignoring my orders."

The child's rambling fell on deaf ears, as Sei was too distracted in his thoughts to say anything. "You're not much for talking, are you?" Hsa said, turning around to try and greet the mute. The boy's eyes widened once he saw that the telepath had collapsed on the ground, a cloud of dust quickly spreading over the collapsed form. Rushing over to Sei, Hsa began a series of apologies for not realizing sooner that the mute had seemingly fainted. The youth grabbed the body of Sei and lifted him upon MysLight's back. The canine seemed to grunt a bit before starting his journey with Hsa again, this time with much more haste. Hsa felt bubbling guilt in the pits of his stomach for not realizing that the telepath had fainted sooner.

Half way to the next town, however, they were stopped by a green haired woman. She had piercing blue eyes that seemed to make the hairs on Hsa's head stand up straight. MysLight growled a bit, indicating the dangerous aura this woman possessed. Not like Hsa couldn't feel it himself. She approached Sei, Hsa too frozen to do anything, and MysLight being weighed down by the mystic's body. A pale hand stroked the cheek of the passed out mystic before the girl looked back over to the trainer. While the boy knew he was no match for this woman just by feeling her sheer power levels, he felt at ease letting her approach.

Her pale face seemed to indicate she was something sinister, and yet she had such a sincere look on her face. "Take him to the house with three lanterns around the door. There you will find a doctor named Maggie-Beth. She will be able to take care of him." The womanly figure then turned around, her brown cloak flapping in the wind as she did so. Within seconds she had disappeared, with Hsa breathing a giant sigh of relief.

More so because he didn't just urinate on himself than anything else.

"I guess we're going to see that Maggie-Beth girl MysLight." The dog barked at his master's command. "Don't be like that, we'll be fine...I hope." With a sense of caution, Hsa and MysLight broke out into a full-on run towards the nearby village, Sei's body bouncing up and down on the animal's coat as they ran.

[Silence Sei]

The gentle hand across his face brought back dozens of memories. Sei's face curled into a smile as he dreamed what was now a wonderful dream. That single touch sparked so many memories of Ryoki Nishoba, Sei's only true love on Althanas.

Sei had found her beaten up and left for dead in the Radasanth streets. He took her in, gave her a home, and did his best to support the two of them as best he could while still being a hero. The two had developed a bit of a romance of sorts during the nights when Ryoki would tag along as Sei's 'sidekick' as it were. Sei being a proper gentleman, however, didn't even kiss her until after about the third or fourth 'date'...

...And that's when the dream turned into a nightmare.

The top two canine teeth of Sei grew in size over night. He had been running a fever all night while his body had gone ice cold. When Sei had opened his eyes the next morning, he had found that his pupils had changed auras, the sun slightly annoyed him, and no matter how much water or milk he drank, he was still thirsty. This was all due to that one kiss, that one small little gesture that left Sei Orlouge a vampire for the rest of his unnatural life. The thing that hurt the most was that Ryoki was nowhere to be found. She had left Sei to live the life of an immortal alone, forever.

It's funny how things have a way of never turning out how one thinks they will. Sei's body had lost all evidence of its vampyric traits over three years ago now. Sei began to rouse from his sleep slowly, hearing several voices talking about this and that. Sei couldn't really understand what was being said, but it sounded as if it were a battle plan of some sort. The mute slowly felt around and found his hands meeting with the soft mattress of a bed, his body covered with a warmed up brown comforter, and a cold rag placed upon his forehead.

The mute reached for the rag and took it off, his gaze first turning to the person behind some sort of black mask. "Hey, he's getting up," the figure said, drawing the attention of both the blonde haired girl and Sei's traveling companion directly towards the telepath. Sei's head was still woozy from the drugs he had been given, and the procedure that had taken place in his slumber. The drugs that were still in the mystic's system gave him an even warmer feeling than what he normally portrayed. Everybody in this room seemed trustworthy, even the guy in the mask.

"That was a close call, Lord Orlouge," The blonde woman said, "Ah've never seen anyone suffer so bad from Undead Reconstruction." Sei blinked a few times at this woman. She knew who he was, what had happened to him, and was seemingly doctoring him the entire time he was out. Who was this girl?

Furthermore, what the heck was 'Undead Reconstruction' supposed to mean?

[Play Back]

Play Back had just wanted to enjoy his Lavinian vegetable stew in peace. However, when the 'Hero of Radasanth' falls on your hostess' doorstep with no indication of being sick, you have to tend to the more immediate matter at hand. As such, Play Back hurriedly drank most of his stew down with a combonantion of swallowing liquid and chewing solids before running and following Maggie-Beth to her 'infirmary'.

The room was lined up with several cots, and two actual beds. The beds had been used to make the worse of Maggie's patients more comfortable, as they not only supported mattresses, but some sort of foam that made them extremely comfortable. It was on one of these beds that Play Back's companion told the teenage boy to ease the body on. There was a small but steady stream of blue liquid on the elm floorboards leading to the bed. Once the man had been placed upon the mattress, Play Back realized from the stained coat of the dog that the blue liquid was blood. The boy took a hard swallow in fear that this stranger might die, or worse yet, become an undead. Maggie-Beth began to get to work so such things would not happen.

During the short dinner they had been having, Maggie had told Play Back that she was a doctor. She specialised in 'Undead Reconstruction'. This strangely named technique was a science that had learned to reverse the effects of the zombie virus and vampyrism. Maggie was the only doctor who knew how to utilize such a procedure, and it involved a lot of blood. This explained why the girl had a blood bank in her storm shelter.

Now, Play Back got to see all of the blood be put to good use. It seemed as though Sei Orlouge had been cut during an altercation with some zombies. During the scuffle, some of the undeads blood managed to find its way into the open wound of the hero. Everybody in Revan knew what would happen to the protector if he didn't get the cure fast. He would become a zombie in a matter of hours.

Luckily, it seemed as though the hero was not traveling alone. His rescuers, a boy and his wolf, informed Play Back and Maggie of the situation. It took about an hour of blood transfusion, cutting, and sewing up before the hero regained consciousness. In that time, the boy, Hsa, began to talk about the mysterious woman who had told him about this place. It wasn't until Maggie finished that she turned around, her once cute features now resembling that of a pale white ghost.

"The woman you described sounds like The Countess...." she managed to stammer out. "The Countess is the ruler over this district of Revan."

"District?" Play Back had been gone from home for far too long. It seemed as though a lot had changed since the boy initially went to see the world. The boy leaned against the elm walls of the infirmary, crossing his arms as he spoke with a voice that radiated concern. "They've divided into districts now? The Vampire Lords, that is?"

Maggie nodded, realizing that Play Back truly was from the country. "Yes, it happened about a year or two ago. They began to divide up the land and each bLord got their own little bit. The Countess is the only female on the Vampyric Council. She earned her way there through blood and sweat, and the decapitated heads of her rivals. She is not to be trifled with. But....why would she want Lord Orlouge?"

"I guess there's just one way to find out, huh?" Hsa spoke up finally, "Let's go to her home turf and kick her butt!" The energy of the youth brought mad laughter from both Play Back and Maggie-Beth. Hsa looked to the both of them as if they were cowards, and his puppy simply growled as if he had been insulted.

"You're not getting to a Vampire Lords castle with just energy and grit," Play Back would have wiped a tear from his face, had his mask not been in the way. "You need stregnth. You need someone who could rival Seth Dahlios in power. You need---"

"--A Hero..." Maggie interrupted the youth, pointing tob the rousing Sei. Play Back raised an eyebrow at the girl, and then shifted his gaze to Hsa. The Boy was grinning from ear to ear. The two had the same idea, and said idea involved using the guy who almost became a zombie! Play Back sighed, knowing he was not going to win a battle with two people, especially when one of them was a moron who relied on his dog.

"Fine then. Let's go do the suicide mission," Play Back's eyes shifted back to Maggie, a grin crossing his features, "but I plan on getting a kiss if we survive this..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" The teen shouted sheepishly as Sei Orlouge rose from his slumber. It seemed as though the child did not have the 'charms' he thought he had possessed not even three hours before.

[Chibimon Blue]

"So what's the plan?" The masked boy asked the group. Sei had been recovering in the span of a few minutes quite nicely. The mute had already been informed of the trio's decision to attack the Countess. After some pleading for help on the part of Maggie-Beth, the mute agreed that he would lend his services to stopping the evil woman. The sheer way Sei had carried himself the entire conversation filled Hsa up with a sense of pride. It was as if just being in the same room with this guy was one o the greatest honors ever.

"We strike tonight," Sei replied, causing a look o concern to paint over the features of all in the room. "She knows I'm here. Knows I could pose a danger to her reign. However, if the woman Hsa encountered was the Countess, she also doesn't expect me to recover quickly enough to attack her in the same night I fell."

"Because your not!" Play Back exclaimed. It was obvious the boy held a deep significance for human life, even if it were not his own. "There's no way you're in any condition to fight tonight. I think we should just wait and send some scouts in the morning. It's only about five hours until the sun comes up anyways. It would make more sense to just go into the forest while the vampires sleep and gain a good grasp on where we have to go."

Sei shook his head, slinging his legs on the side of the bed. The mute began to stand, stumbling a little bit as he grew accustomed to standing again after being sedated for a bit. "The forest will not have any vampires, but it will have all of the zombies if we go during the day. A scouting party is going to be dead in a matter of seconds if we do it like that."

"Ah actually agree with Lord Orlouge," Maggie-Beth spoke out, holding a small pendant to her chest. The silver cross seemed to give the female doctor confidence. "Attacking now is our best bet. Ah know where the castle is, so Ah can lead you all there. Ah can also arm mahself so I can get out of there if things start getting too heavy. Mah family is pretty wealthy, so we gots us some guns." Hsa found it amazing someone so beautiful and smart sounded so dumb with her words.

Play Back slammed both hands into his face, fully aware he was not winning this battle. The older teen looked to Hsa. "I'm guessing you agree with them?" Hsa nodded, Play Back shaking his head before walking out the door. It seemed that the rebellious teen would stay with the group, but he was fighting them on every point every step of the way.

"As long as Maggie promises not to involve herself in any real danger, I guess I'm game," Play Back's voice echoed in the large infirmary.

"Ah promise!" Maggie shouted, a slight smile crossing her features. It didn't take Hsa long to realize that the two were enamored with one another. MysLight was busy nibbling at his hind quarters as the conversation went on. Hsa laughed at the act before looking to the two remaining people in the room. "I'm ready when you guys are, but I would think Maggie would need to go get equipped, as well as return Sei's weapons to him first."

Both characters nodded, and Maggie quickly left the room, the sounds of her wedge-like shoes thumping against the floor as she did so. Sei looked to Hsa, who returned the gaze to the mute. This was the boy's first real test. His first real battle. He was unsure if he could willingly do this, despite his quick agreements earlier. Yet, for some reason, the mute's presence inspired something in the teen. It was something he had never felt for himself before.

It was pride in himself.

"I guess I'm going to be outside waiting. Come on MysLight!" Hsa whistled to his pup, who quickly finished the job he was performing on his butt to follow him. Hsa looked to his dog with a big smile on his face, they were really about to do this. They were about to fight an army of zombies and vampires with a measly group of five.

Yet, the thought excited Hsa, rather than scared him. The boy just hoped this was a sign of good things to come in his life.

[Silence Sei]

"You're going to get us all killed," Play Back said sternly to the mute, "Me, Maggie, the dog and the kid. Our deaths are all going to be on your shoulders. If you think you're such a big guy to handle that responsibility, that's on you. I'm just saying that I am not for this plan. Like, at all."

With that, the boy left the room, presumably to follow either Hsa or Maggie. Sei shook his head at the hopelessness that the teen seemed to exude. The telepath remembered when he was like the youth, full of piss and vinegar.

Then he grew up and took a shower.

Maggie returned to the room armed to the teeth. Across her chest sat an x-shape of several high round bullets. On each of the girl's hips stood a sawed-off shotgun. She had strapped what appeared to be several vials of holy water and wooden crosses to her clothing. Sei quirked an eyebrow at the unusual appearence of the woman. Even with all this equipment, the doctor seemed to have that one silver cross necklace out front and center.

"I have to ask you something," Sei said as he stood out of bed. "That pendant of yours, you seem to go to it for comfort. Is there a reason?"Maggie smiled and nodded, gripping the silver jewelry once more and taking a dep breath.

"Mah Pa gave it to me when Ah was lil. It was just before the monsters outside got em. He told me that so long as Ah had this necklace on, Ah'd be protected from the undead. So far, Ah got to say that its worked. All my close calls, and they just seem to go past be as if Ah were one'a them." Sei nodded after hearing the story, understanding the pain of losing someone close to the undead.

The Mystic finally looked around the infirmary, finding his weapons scattered about all over the floor. It seemed that the rush to heal him was the first priority for Maggie, with the safety of Sei's arsenal being second. The mute gathered up each piece as he looked over to Maggie with a grin.

"Play Back fancies you. He's listening outside the door right now. I'd say that perhaps now is the best time to leave" Maggie returned Sei's expression and walked towards the door of the infirmary. She quickly slung the entrance open, resulting in the wooden boards slamming against their eavesdroppers face. Play Back yelped in pain as he snuck out from behind the thrown open door.

"Let's go," Play Back said, rubbing his face while Maggie and Sei followed, both in hysterics.

[Play Back]

The forest was too quiet for anybody to feel comfortable in. The soft crunching of dried leaves against the feet of the party put everyone on edge. The chilling cold breeze seemed to herald in a certain sense of doom that Play Back did not like. He stayed close to Maggie, attempting to act brave in front of the attractive girl. If they got out of this situation alive, he would ask her out. Maybe see where a few dates went...

Play Back was brought back to attention when Hsa began to chatter his teeth. The masked boy looked back to the younger man, scowling from behind his leather face cover. Maggie's eyes were shifting around, armed with one of her shotguns should the undead start calling.

"I don't like this," Play Back whispered to break the silence. "We've been out here for over an hour without a single encounter. What's going on?"

"They're baiting us," was the mute's reply. Play Back looked to the features of the orange haired Mystic. Sei's eyes were darting above them in various directions, as if he were following something. "They've told their minnions to hold back until there's no hope of one of us escaping. They've been stalking us for the last fifteen minutes now, waiting for a moment of weakness to pick one of us off."

As if he were alerted by this revelation, Hsa's dog began growling into the dark nothingness as he walked. Play Back would have found great amusement in the sight, if he weren't so concerned for the safety of Maggie. Under the new circumstances, Play Back moved his feet more carefully, seeming to try and stop any of the foilage that lie beneath his foot to crackle. Everybody else continued to walk as on-end as they had been. Our of all the travelers, Play Back could tell that he was the least experienced.

"Rumors are that the vampires stopped feeding on humans since The Countess took power, unless it's a special holiday for them," Maggie-Beth whispered to the group, "If y'all see a decayin' deer walkin' around, or a zombified bear, don't be alerted. They're just the dinners the vamps have been havin' recently."

"Why would they turn the animals? Wouldn't it make more sense to drain all of their blood?" Play Back retorted, curious as to what happened to the vampires in his home country.

"They're plannin to seige the towns," Maggie replied, "The Countess, not wantin' to risk any important casualties, wants em to send out zombie animals first to weaken us. Then, she'll send in the zombies, and send her followers in as a means to the end, offerin' release from the brutality of it all. Be it by turnin' our people, or completely drainin' em."

"Ah," was Play Back's only response. The sound of Hsa's canine emanting in the background as the conversation went on. Finally, when Play Back could take no more, he turned around and shouted.

"WILL YOU SHUT THAT BITCH OF YOURS UP?!"

The entire group paused and looked among themselves. Severals leaves fell down from the trees thanks to their occupants making sudden stops. Each member of the party shifted eyes with one another before focusing on Play Back and MysLight.

And they realized the dog had stopped, but the growling had not...

[Chibimon Blue]

"RUN!" Maggie and Play Back had shouted in unison. Sei wasted no time heeding their advice, and the three of them took off like bolts of lightning. Hsa followed as best as he could, MysLight by his side in case he needed protection from whatever this thing was. Unfortunately, being much smaller and frailer than the rest of the group, the boy's foot lodged itself in the root of an oak, and caused him to fall.

Maggie and Sei looked back to Hsa, who lifted his dirt covered face to look at them. He could hear the other guy shouting for the duo to leave him, that it was survival of the fittest from this point out. Maggie soon followed after these words, but Sei seemed to have stayed behind, unable to leave the youth, but helpless to do anything for him.

"Go! I got this!" Hsa shouted to Sei, who still seemed withdrawn. Hsa could hear the growling getting louder, even as MysLight began to help him back up to his feet. The boy turned around towards where the sounds were coming from. His eyes widened when he saw the point of origin for the threatening tones.

A mountain lion, or what was left of one anyways, began to sneak itself out from the underbrush. It circled Hsa and MysLight, the gleams of moonlight adding to the mystique that the cat only had one functional eye. The other was dangling from its socket like a rested yo-yo. Half of the head was also missing from the animal, resulting in the sight of exposed brains. The beast reared his back up, prepared to pounce, and Hsa could see that the beast was missing most of its tail.

The beast leapt at the Chibimon Trainer, its mouth revealing several missing teeth. The ones that remained had been sharpened to a point, and there were plenty of them to make Hsa and MysLight a decent meal.

Before Hsa could issue an order, a the feral animal was stopped in mid-pounce by a scythe. The cat was then pulled towards Sei, courtesy of his kusari-gama, and decapitated all in the same move. Hsa's expression was one of true horror at the sight, not expecting himself to be so useless in the first fight. Sei smiled and nodded towards the boy in a 'you're welcome' fashion before running to reunite with the others.

Hsa did not hesitate now, he stayed on Sei's heel like a loyal pooch, and his own dog stayed at his side the entire time. All around the two, they could hear the sounds of wild animals, some of them a bit more gurgled than others. It was truly a chilling setting, surrounded in utter darkness by trees and undead beasts. Attempting to find the other members of their troupe. Hsa was about to lose faith that he would never be a good enough warrior to match the likes of these people.

And then he heard a particular sound. Something that sounded a bit off from the other undead creatures of the night. MysLight caught it too, the dog's ears perking up at the prospect of a challenge.

Out from the forest flew what appeared to be projectile stingers that headed straight for the Chibimon duo. MysLight jumped in front of its master at Hsa's beckoning, glass shattering the area where the dog stood. A bright light flashed around the pair, blinding anyone foolish enough to set their gaze upon them while giving the group a brief glimpse of the horrors that were surrounding them. The stingers dropped to the ground uselessly and MysLight landed and began to bark.

Buzzing out from the trees was a giant wasp. Its stinger was tearing itself out of its thorax, insinuating the ability to regenerate such things. The insect was without one of its antennae, and its wings appeared to be filled with holes, despite the fact that the thing could still fly.

Sei was the first to say it. "What is that thing?!"

"That's ZomBee, the undead insect Chibimon..."

[Silence Sei]

Sei stepped forward to help Hsa, reaching for the scythe to his kusari-gama. They didn't have time for this. By now, Play Back and Maggie were already at the castle! Still, the youth turned to Sei and shook his head. There was a kind of ferocity in the kid's eyes that Sei had not yet seen from him. Just as saving people was Sei's passion, so were battles such as this Hsa's. Sei paused for a moment, shocked by the sudden take charge attitude of the child.

"MysLight," Hsa said calmly before pointing at the ZomBee, "Use your bite attack to weaken it!" The dog leapt through the air, biting at the thorax of the animal. MysLight clamped down as the blood from the insect spilled onto the moitening grass below. The ZomBee attempted to swing the dog off of its appendage, but to no avail.

Out of the mouth of the bug came a gooey substance. If Sei did not know any better, he would assume it to be N'Jalian spidersilk. The paws of MysLight began to get covered in the substance, and the beast growled in retort to the move. "ZomBee used it's Silk Shot attack! MysLight has been slowed down!" Hsa shouted, as if Sei needed a play-by-play to what was going on.

Reaching towards his belt, Hsa withdrew a small ball with a button on it. The top of the toy was blue, and the bottom black. Hsa pressed the buttom and the ball went from fitting inside the boys hand, to barely having enough room for Hsa's fingers to cover it. The child threw the ball towards the ZomBee, MysLight jumping off of the wasp last second. The button of the ball hit the insect dead on the head, and the undead creature was soon sucked into the contraption.

The ball fell to the ground after ZomBee was completely enveloped inside of it. It struggled back and forth a good three times before stopping, the button in the middle becoming red. Hsa jumped with joy as he approached the ball with a smile, looking back to give Sei a peace sign.

"Yes! ZomBee was caught! New information will be written in my journal regarding ZomBee!" Hsa reached into his pocket and pulled out a small notebook, but Sei had had enough of this silliness.

Grabbing the child by the collar, Sei ran off towards where he had last seen glimpses of the duo before them. He only prayed he was not too late...