Tenebria, City of Shadows

[Dante]

Where to start? Where to begin the history of this dialogue? Should we start in the darkness, in the unknown years before the Industrial Revolution; when our subject was confined to the myths and legends of the simple folk, the uneducated masses? These tales are sketchy at best, and offer little insight into the phenomenon we now know as the

[exatreide]

Ryan flipped the Safety on his FN P-90 off, allowing the 5.57 mm rounds to fire at his finger tips command. He entered the warehouse un-escorted his Praetorian guard waiting in the car outside. He had to Speak to Franklin, give him the message that the time was approaching and offer him a hand in alliance.

      Things were changing in the city of Tenebria, plans all around the world were being put into effect, the damnable humans would finally be put in there place, like the cattle they fed upon with so much un caring.  The vampires were faced with outright war with the overlords, or crushing the humans

      Ryan's two glock 18's rested inside his winter coat ready to be drawn if the p90's 50 round magazine failed to preform. Dark and empty the warehouse was nearly pitch black, the double doors closed behind him, shutting the sunlight and the human world out. He was on his own.

He could feel a dozen eyes upon him, watching him, filled with anger and hate, he could hear there thoughts in the distance, hushed whispers just out of his minds range of understanding.

He called out,

[Dante]

[ExSPlug]

A screech broke the slience in the lightless room. Sound of thunds on stone and metal clashing followed...another screech, this one less hurting to the ears and much shorter. Finally, one loud slam ended it all.

"It is now ready, mi' lady."

"Now get out! Let no one..." the voice hesitated for a moment, "nothing to disturb us."

The screeching sound again, following some short and swift footsteps.

Total darkness. But not so in her eyes. The room is about the size of a typical classroom. Actually, it was one, but now it was bare inside except for two large stone caskets, linked by a bunch of transparent tubes with about half an inch in diameter, standing at where the blackboard used to be.

She walked without a noise, like a phantom gliding through the air, towards one of the caskets. She opened it without any effort, and smiled as she sees the content.

A blond woman in about her mid-twenties was there, with her mouth gagged and tied in chains. On her body are numerous needles pierceing deep into her flesh, and something is being drawn out of her body into those tubes attached to the other end of the needles. The woman was still twitching, and twitched more as she sees her.

"Ahh. So lively, but so helpless...Beautiful, beautiful indeed!" the voice gave a short and sinister laugh, from which one could sense that is filled with desire. "But not as beautiful as you!" spoke the voice as she opend the other casket, revealing another girl in the same condition like the other, except that something is flowing in from the needles. Her mouth is wide open gasping, like in extreme pleasure. The skin of her is of dull grey golour. Just like the dead.

"Feed...on...me, Fiona...", the body spurted these words out slowly.

"Absolutely, my pretty sister!"

==========

When will this curse, this bloodlust ends? thought Fiona as her eyes turned from greyish-white to red as she removes her fangs from the neck. "Noa!"

"Mi' lady?" the voice came from where bright white light emitted.

"Switch them off before I turn you into that!" commanded Fiona in rage as she turns her head aside and point at the body of the blond woman.

"Apologies, mi' lady." the bright white light flickered off, and turned into two beams of milder, green light, night-vision goggles."What do you ask of me?"

"The progress?" hissed Fiona.

"Emm...that...well..." muttered Noa nervously, "No improvement, after five days the subject still turned into an underling, and in that five days, it even bit into itself for flesh and blood...He is...also the last of the stock." said Noa shivering.

"Then it's the museum again."

[GhostHunter]

Could it be I still live?

---

Nothingness. Though various sections of the city were littered with the continuing struggles between races John had located a secluded few blocks to claim residence. Here he had regained the few scraps of sanity he had left after the continuing violent onslaughts and fierce clashes he had been victimized to.

Tonight he found shelter within an old two story house amidst several small businesses. Though nothing special, it had given him a calming feeling he hadn

[exatreide]

Ryan

[Dante]

Slowly he began to descend up the fleet of stairs,

Descend up? ;D

"Is that all the smaller homes destroyed, Neil?" Roman asked casually as the last house went up in flames.

"All the ones you found." Neil answered, watching the flames lick around the rooftop.

"Good." The vampire smiled, looking up at the moon. "And in plenty of time, too."

"What do you want to do with the museum?" Neil asked, checking the petrol can at his feet. It was nearly empty.

"Nothing." Roman dismissed the issue. "The humans in there should be able to repel at least one wave of underlings, and if they do that then it doesn't matter whether they win or not."

"If they win, the underlings are depleted; and if they lose then the army won't be any bigger because there aren't enough humans in there to sustain the number of underlings that would have fallen in the first wave, right?"

"I wouldn't have put it quite like that, but yes." Roman smirked. "We don't need to bother with the museum. Besides, they've got the place defended like a fortress. It wouldn't be sensible for the two of us to attack it."

"I could lure them out." Neil suggested.

"And give away our greatest secret?" Roman feigned shock. He blurred for a moment, instantly standing behind Neil. "A human who'll betray his species..." He rested his hands on the human's shoulders, leaning in close.

"You're not a seperate species, Roman." Neil said with a smirk. "You're just unwell."

"I've been half-alive for centuries." Roman drew back, "any traces of humanity I might have had are long since dead."

"Oh stop being so melodramatic." Neil rolled his eyes, turning to face the vampire. "Predator or parasite, you're still human. Just different."

"Very touching." Roman muttered. He glanced up at the moon again. "Come on, I want to gauge the strength of this horde and we'll need to get good seats." He led Neil away from the burning house, which was sure to catch a few unlucky underlings in its embers later, and towards the human encampment to the East.

It wasn't far to walk, and Roman stopped some way from the imposing stone building anyway. He peered up at the surrounding buildings, most of which were tall, empty skyscrapers. "This is good." He stated, stooping forward slightly and holding his hands out expectantly.

"We're not going to take the stairs?" Neil asked nervously, eyeing the tall building that they stood beside.

"I don't think we have time." Roman glanced behind him at the museum. "Besides, the chances are quite high that there are underlings lurking in there, and I don't want to take any unnecessary risks with you."

"Very touching." Neil smiled, though he said it in a very different way from Roman. He put his arm around the vampire's neck and let himself be lifted into Roman's arms.

"Ready?" The vampire asked.

"As I'll ever be." Neil gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. He felt Roman tense his legs, and suddenly his stomach fell away as he felt himself rise sickeningly quickly. He whimpered involuntarily and clung tightly to the vampire who held him. The ascent seemed to take forever, with Neil's heart hammering somewhere in his throat, and the space where his stomach used to be screaming nausia. He held on tight and kept his eyes shut, knowing that if he saw the ground at this height he would lose it.

Finally he felt the rise slow, slow... to a stop for a second... and then reverse as Roman began to fall. With a jarring sensation, he landed. Neil opened his eyes.

"Oooaaarrrgggg....." He groaned, and Roman gently set his feet on the floor and supported him with his other hand.

"You're not going to be sick again, are you?" He asked, rare concern in his eyes. Neil shook his head blearily, but pushed himself away to stagger a few paces towards the centre of the roof. There he collapsed and lay on his front, moaning quietly.

"D'n like t' j'mp..." He burbled.

"I know you don't like to jump." Roman sighed as he checked the roof for security. Finding it adequate, he walked over to the edge of the building to peer down at the museum. "But sometimes we just need to get places quickly." He frowned, watching the outer searchlights of the museum light up one by one. "It seems they have arrived. Want to watch?"

[Seal89999]

The full moon glared down apon the city of Tenebria....it was late into the night but as normal the city was desolate. Not a sole on the streets.....

Derrek walked through the outskirts of the city where alot of residential communities once thrived with life. Now the neiborhood was just a dark, cold, deserted place that housed a few scared humans here and there.

Derrek walked the empty streets looking for some food. It had been quite awhile since he had last fed as food was becomming harder and harder to find everyday.

-------------------------

Derrek was a very large individual. He towered at a hight no shorter than 6'8 and was very, very, muscular. His figure would make bodybuilders look wimps. His arms were atleast 27 inches around and the rest of his body was equally enormous. He was relatively young by vampire standards as he was only 123 years of age but physically was not a day over 25. His parents were killed and he was turned as a child and he grew until he reached maturity in his mid twenties. Despite his age Derrek was very respected because of his shere strength and size. Most of his kind were small and scrawnie which made Derrek an oddball. Almost everybody knew who he was but nobody really knew anything about him. Everyone knew not to screw around with him because he dident care who he killed.

[ExSPlug]

The searchlights all focus onto a speeding object. A truck with about 20 underlings chasing behind it, and a few hanging onto it. The truck moved in a zig-zag path towards the muesum, trying to shake off the underlings on it. In the process, something dropped from the back of the truck. It smashed open as it hit the floor, revealing cans and cans of canned food the rolled all over the road.

Seeing what the truck carried, gunfire erupted as the gates of the muesum opened for the truck. Under the immense firepower, all the underlings are taken cared of long before the truck enter the gates.

Or is it?

The truck moved into the rear of the muesum through a torn down wall, which now serves as a drop-off area for cargos and vehicles. Two men, obviously guards, moved forward to greet the driver, and to unload the goods. As one of the guards stretches his hand forward for a handshake, and the other guard hops to the rear of the truck, the sound of gunfire erupted, followed by the sound of mastication.

"Done, mi' lady. Me and the underlings are now inside..." spoke Noa through the radio as the underlings reveal themselves from the other cargos.

"Catch as much as you can, kill those who return fire, and espically those who are ugly." ordered Fiona as she leaps to the rooftop of a building nearer to the museum.

[Dragoon Knight]

Darryl watched the scene before him unfold from a nearby rooftop.  Hiding behind the chimney, he could clearly see the carnage that was going to occur if he didn't do something.  Looking closely, he examined the situation...

Two humans still left in the area around the truck... by the time I can do anything, they're underlings or dead.  Loads of underlings and an unidentified person... but not human.

Quickly running a few mental calculations through his head, Darryl reached for his radio, moving as he did so to a spot several metres away.

"Rick, this is Darryl.  Drop off area's been breached; underlings everywhere, possibly an overlord as well.  I'm gonna torch the van.  Seal off the doors!"

"Roger.  Falling back and sealing the doors." came the crackly reply.  Darryl smiled inwardly... Rick had long ago learned to just do what he was told when it came to orders.

Positioning himself on the corner of a rooftop, Darryl poised to jump.  As he did so, his features were momentarily lit by a streetlamp below.  He was of average height and weight, but of a muscular build.  He wore a blue short-sleeved T-shirt under a black leather jacket, and had a pair of torn black jeans on.  He had a scar along his right cheek, but his facial features were otherwise mundane... they gave away no sign of emotion.  His eyes were focused... he leaped.

Through a complex series of aerial moves and wall jumping, Darryl landed on top of the truck.  While he was in mid-air, he had produced a molotov cocktail from the recesses of his jacket, which he now lit.  Jumping off the truck, he proceeded to kick and punch some surrounding underlings away from him, using a blend of martial arts.  Darryl quickly rolled under the truck, and lodged the molotov cocktail beside the truck's fuel tank, then rolled out the other side.  Another few underlings fell foul of his deadly fists and feet, before he jumped once more onto the wreckage of a wall and over the other side.  He took cover.

The explosion could be heard for miles, and seen for many more in the blackness of the night.  The truck had blown up with sufficient force to incinerate any underling nearby... almost 90% of the entire force.  Shifting some bricks that had blocked his way, Darryl quickly returned to where the truck had once been.  Any underlins which was seen to be getting up had its skull promtply crushed.  Looking around in an animal-like manner, Darryl examined the scene once more.

"No sign of that other person... no matter.  The battle is won for now." he thought to himself, then darted through a gap in another wall.  He would need to report to Rick.

[Dante]

"Well, that was quick." Roman smirked from the skyscraper rooftop nearby. "Methinks the humans are developing some skills."

"It wasn't a very big force." Neil pointed out, "Though I'll admit the gymnastics were impressive."

"Could you do that?" Roman asked.

"No." Neil shrugged. "I've always been more of a brains person than a brawns."

"Is that even a word?"

"Meh."

Roman continued to watch as the remaining underlings were taken down by the museum's defenders. Of the lone pyromaniac there was no sign. The flames of the truck continued to lick around the wreckage. "Damned waste of petrol..." He muttered. Neil walked up to stand beside him, shivering slightly. Roman glanced over at him. "Time to go home, I think." He stated.

Neil unhooked the rope he carried around his belt, unwinding it and checking the grappling hook on the end. Satisfied, he hooked it around the lip of the building, and began to abseil down. It wasn't the height of the jumps that bothered him, just the speed.

Roman peered down after the human, making sure that the hook remained in place. Neil could maintain his grip, especially with the gloves he wore. He waited for the long minutes while Neil made his way down, before unhooking the rope and sailing over the edge himself. He landed with a roll, and stood up.

"Wait here for a moment." Roman told Neil, who was winding his rope back up. "I'm going to get something for the kids." He began to walk in the direction of the museum.

Several minutes later, Roman returned with three humans, one over his left shoulder and two over his right. They were all unconscious, knocked out by blows to the head. Two men and a woman.

"Take one of these, will you?" Roman shifted the woman onto Neil's shoulder. The human sagged under her weight, but stood up. Together they made their way back towards the East of the city, where the vampires held their ground.

"Honey, I'm home!" Roman shouted gleefully as he entered the penthouse suite. Behind him, Neil closed the door on the last of the underlings as they chewed their way through the food Roman had brought back.

"Hi'arioush, 'oman, I'ng sure." The dry, husky voice from the window answered back, before switching to a more direct communication. 'You shouldn't say that when you get back. It upsets the boy.'

'He knows I'm only playing, Felicity.' Roman dismissed telepathically. 'Where is the dear Valarian? I didn't see him as I came in.'

'Valarian is out hunting' Felicity replied, her mental voice carrying a tone of sniffiness.

"If you're going to talk, could you let me in on it, please?" Neil asked from the kitchen, where he was fixing himself a steak.

"Felicity does find it difficult to talk without her tongue..." Roman pointed out. He walked over to the windows where the haggard figure sat, wrapped in a shawl.

"I'ng getter ack it dan mos' 'ungies." Felicity grumbled.

"Yes, I know you're better at it than most." Roman soothed, while at the same time translating the mummy's speech for Neil. He resisted the temptation to pat Felicity on the head. You never knew when it might cave in.

Felicity was the oldest mummy that Roman knew of, and he had met quite a few. She claimed to have died eighty years ago, and been about twenty when she died. She estimated her age, alive and dead, to be about one hundred and seven. No other mummy claimed even half that much; or at least, none that Roman had met. Well... maybe one. But most of them fell apart after forty or fifty years, condemned to suffer as their bodies rotted. Not Felicity. She had been in Egypt at the time, and had tried to escape after being bitten. Out into the desert she ran, where she died. The sun had dried her up, preserved her by boiling away the moisture. She had no tongue, and no nose, but what remained of her tendons and muscles was like iron. Her eyes were completely rotted away, and she could only see through her powerful telepathy. Even that, however, did not allow her to see inanimate objects. She rarely left the building, eating what Roman, Neil and Valarian brought back to her. When she moved, she leaned heavily on a stoud oaken pole for support.

A knocking at the door.

Valarian sidled in, the stick-thin vampire easily holding the underlings at bay. He flashed a fanged grin at Roman and Felicty, before slipping into the kitchen as Neil walked out. The human carried a plate of steak and a glass of wine. No vegetables.

"Sun'll be up soon." He commented, taking a seat opposite Felicity. "You'd better get to bed."

"I don't see why we can't just block the windows..." Roman grumbled, shifting away from the brightening sky.

"'ecause I ge'ch 'ew enough 'hings 'oo 'oo ash i' ish; ang I 'ant 'oo 'ee uh eew!" Felicity scowled, her leather-like skin wrinkling above her eye sockets.

"She-" Roman started.

"Like the view, I know, I know." Neil smiled. He indicated the back rooms, where Roman and Valarian spent the days. "Go on, hop it."

"Join me later." Roman muttered with a half-hearted smirk, even as he left the window and trailed into the next room. Felicity turned her blind gaze back out towards the city.

"Was that just to get rid of him? Liking the view?" Neil asked, opening a packet of ketchup for his steak.

"'o." Felicity said. "'us' 'ecause I'ng glind, 'oesn' eeng I 'an' 'ee."

"I suppose someone has to be able to keep watch." Neil shrugged, biting into his steak as the sun slunk over the horizon. He smiled as he chewed, listening to Valarian shriek as he dashed into the dark rooms.

[ExSPlug]

Another one that can't take the stress and suicide again?

Fiona kept her eyes on the man as she prepares to see him turn into a smashed tomato. To her surprise, the man leaped from wall to wall, and wrecked havoc from the middle of the small squad of underlings.

Vampire? Not so I guess, no way with that kind of skin tone...

"Amazing." praised Fiona as she see the battle ending with the truck blowing up.

"Eek! Mi...mi' lady! A man..." Noa radios his master for help.

"I saw it with my own eyes, keep hiding and stay slient." replied Fiona coldly.

The vampire leaped directly from the roof. Even though she was taking a longer distance then the man just did, her cursed body allowed her to cover that in one single leap, without all the fancy tumblings. The floor slightly cracked and dented as she lands infront of the man.

Infront of the man is now a figure slightly taller then him, covered by a stiff heavy cape and a big pointed hat. He could only see a pair of black leather high-heel boots and a long narrow blade revealing.

"That was impressive, young man." said Fiona calmly as she stares down onto the man, which is getting into combat stance, "I'm not intrested in sheding blood...or sucking blood if you like, at least not now. You prove worthy of my cause, so how about us setting a deal?"

(OOC: Pressed edit and forgot to add. Noa is 100% human, at his thirties, bald, loosing his right eye but wear night-vision goggles...dresses in lab coat. Picture him like some mad scientist.)

[Dragoon Knight]

"I don't do deals with the undead." Darryl said simply.  He examined the woman with a quick up and down glance... "A vampire, it would seem." he thought to himself.

"You'd do well to consider this particular offer, human." the female bloodsucker proposed.

"I'd do well to behead you right now and end your torment." Darryl riposted.  This seemed to evoke a reaction in the vampire.

"And you think you could do that, do you?" she asked icily.

"Maybe one day," Darryl said, finally locating the molotov cocktail he had in his left pocket, "I'll have the privelege of finding that out."

Darryl lit and threw down the molotov cocktail at the vampire's feet.  Hissing at the presence of the deadly flame, the vampire jumped backwards a few feet and tried to extinguish the small blazes that had engulfed her legs.  Petrol covered her shins and feet, and it was blazing merrily as Darryl sprinted down a side alley.

"Curse you, human!" she screamed, still trying to douse the flames that licked along her undead legs.  Darryl, meanwhile, had already managed to re-enter the museum.  After passing several barricades and security points, he managed to find Rick.

He was sitting at a table, looking at some blueprints for the museum.  He was about the same height and weight as Darryl, perhaps a few pounds heavier if anything.  He had wiry hair, which naturally turned his medium length locks into sort of drooping spikes.  His features looked like those of a person who was always worried about something or other.

"Finally." he said, looking up from the blueprints.  "What took you so long with getting back in?"

"Ran into a female vamp on the way." Darryl said, sitting down heavily in one of the museum's lounge chairs.

"Did you kill her?" Rick asked, returning to the examination of the blueprints.

"No.  She mentioned something about a deal that she wanted to strike with me."

"A deal?"

"I didn't accept, but striking a deal is a human trait.  You know what I'm like."

"Yes, I know." Rick sighed.  "There isn't a cure yet, though."

"But there may be soon." Darryl said flatly.  "There has to be."

As the night drew to a close, Darryl fell asleep in the chair.  There was much more to be done tomorrow.

[ExSPlug]

"So energetic and rash...how much better would it be if there are more of his kind. I must get him into working for the great cause..." mumbled Fiona as she remove her pair of boots. "Noa!"

"Yes, mi' lady?" replied Noa as he popped out from inside a wooden box.

"Bedtime." Fiona lifted Noa by the collar and leaped onto a building.

"But we haven't got any test subjects? How can I test the new drugs?" asked Noa as he feel the wind cutting through him.

"We'll go shopping tomorrow." Fiona pointed towards an abandoned shopping mall, "I'm sure that I can get myself a new pair of overlord skin boots, and some test subjects for you."

[Dante]

Since nobody seems to have quite grasped that it is daylight now...

Valarian paced back and forth furiously, his rapid steps landing with muffled thumps on the thick carpet of the Dark room. Back and forth, back and forth, his feet landing with almost mechanical precision in exactly the same spots each time; each footstep landing with the timing of clockwork. Roman watched the younger vampire from the stately double bed, his eyes lazily following Valarian from left to right. Every so often they would both dart a glance at the glimmer of natural light under the door. It was extremely faint, duller than moonlight and invisible to ordinary eyes, but the vampires used it as their sundial, timing the minutes and hours until they could once again leave the Dark rooms.

"You must be the only person in the world to which the phrase 'wearing a hole in the carpet' literally applies to." Roman smirked. "I mean really, it's like watching a caged panther."

"I am caged." Valarian muttered in return, turning abruptly to begin another march across the carpet. "Every day I find myself locked away in a prison in order to stay alive."

"A fine prison, though." Roman replied, indicating the rich surroundings that both of the vampires percieved clearly in the candlelight.

"It could be a palace and all the same it would be a prison." Valarian growled. "It's not the surroundings I mind, it's the inability to leave! I'm trapped and I don't like it."

"You are not trapped." Roman said sternly. "I've taken care to ensure that. If you wanted to leave then you are more than able."

"Not with any safety..." the other vampire sighed.

"Then stop complaining. You do this every day."

"You ask me to leave every day."

"I ask you to move down a few floors." Roman corrected him.

"Whatever." Valarian muttered. He glared at the door again, willing the light to pass.

* * *

'Most people would cringe at the idea of eating their fellow man.' The mummy Felicity commented telepathically, as Neil washed the dishes. 'Why, I wonder, are you so unconcerned about your current lifestyle?'

'Must you ask this every day?' Neil mentally sighed. Though devoid of telepathy himself, he was able to communicate with Felicity since, as a mummy, she could both project her thoughts and read his mind.

'I have to pass the time somehow.' Felicity's tone grinned. So did she, in fact. But this was less for expression and more because she didn't have lips. 'You live with three people who could kill you easily, surrounded by the walking corpses of human beings; you hunt people and cook their flesh over a stove so that you can eat it; your lover is a vampire; you are having a telepathic conversation with someone whose brain rolls around in her skull if she moves too quickly, and I want to know why.'

'The answer is in the question.' Neil replied, drying the final plate and walking over to sit next to the window again. The sun shone brightly on the devastated city. A few underlings could be seen shuffling through the streets. Most of them would be hammering away at the human defences, or defending the citadels of the various vampires, overlords and mummies that wished to guard their homes.

'Not good enough.' Felicity snapped. 'What kind of person goes from being a semi-professional gymnast to a cannibal surrounded by zombies without a few psychological mishaps?'

'Me.' Neil shrugged. 'Perhaps there's something wrong in my head, perhaps I just adapt easily. Does it really matter?'

'It matters to me because one day you might snap and go crazy.' Felicity said stonily. 'Not that I couldn't defend myself, but the thought counts. Or you might suddenly decide, as so many of the uninfected have, that the sufferers of the Moribundum are abominations that must be killed on sight. You'd have a difficult time with me, but it would be only to easy to set up a trap for Roman. Maybe even Valarian.'

'He's too paranoid.' Neil told her, gazing out at Tenebria. Even in the daytime, he mused, it earned its title. The buildings cast long shadows, and there were no lights in any of them. Light was a sure way of attracting unwanted attention. Roman and Valarian kept their candlelight strictly behind closed doors.

The streets were dark, the alleys black. Shadows everywhere. Even on a day like today, Neil thought, with the sun shining brightly. On the other hand, winter wasn't far away. The skies would be overcast soon enough. And as the days got shorter, the vampires gained more action time during the nights...

'Hmph.' Felicity's mental interruption shook Neil away from his daydreaming. 'I dare say anyone capable of creating a charade as complex as yours would be more than capable of using Valarian's paranoia against him.' She sniffed. Not literally.

'I'm not that capable of disassembling.' Neil smirked back. 'Tell me, Felicity, why do you stay here? What do you get out of this partnership?' The mummy immediately became defensive.

'I gain protection that I couldn't maintain on my own.' She said snappily. 'And free food as well.'

'And yet you don't do anything.' Neil pointed out. 'You sit here all day, and usually all night, doing nothing.'

'I am patient, Neil.' Felicity replied. 'I am not doing nothing, I am waiting. For what exactly I either don't know or won't say, but I will wait for another hundred years if I have to.'

'Spooky.' Neil smiled.

'Oh go join Roman.' Felicity sighed. 'Valarian will have moved down a few floors by now.'

[Seal89999]

I know this has sunken to the depths but does anybody care to bring it back?

[exatreide]

Currently I'm writing a fic with the same basic outline, smart zombies controling dumb ones, human factions, ect.

Where the hell have you been Sard?

[Dante]

I liked this fic. Put a damned lot of work into the introduction as well. If anyone wants to start it up again, be my guest.

[ExSPlug]

Always ready...

[exatreide]

Maybe Friday..

[Dante]

Well Friday has come, and Friday has gone. But since it has been brought up, and because someone has to do it, I shall make the attempt to bring this thread back. I usually let dead threads sink nowadays, because I've been disappointed too much before. So take part, and restore my faith in humanity, hmm? :)

"It's a wonderful night." Roman faced the wind, which was unusually strong, and let the black rags that he wore billow out behind him. The effect, accompanied by the movement of his long, black hair, made him seem more insubstantial. Like a black cloud.

"Too cold." Neil grumbled, shivering behind him. The two stood on the roof of their home, the skyscraper. The moon shone frigidly down on Tenebria.

"Why are we here? I should be out hunting. Hunt-ingggg..." Valarian dashed from side to side, now peering over the edge, now watching his footprints in the frost.

"We are here, because it is a nice view." Roman stated. "And also because I want to give you directions."

"Directions?" Valarian looked up, confused. "Directions to where? We don't need to go anywhere. No we don't no we don't."

"Calm down." Roman frowned. "You see that building in the distance, the one with most of the windows smashed?"

"Yeah, yeah, I see it. Burned. They burned it a few days ago. Yeah, burned." Valarian jittered. He pointed a shaking hand toward the skyscraper in question, which was not especially tall, but was badly blackened by soot.

"Yes, indeed." Roman sighed. "A few days ago the vampire Kyorli was burned to death in there, along with her horde of underlings. She wasn't a powerful vampire, nor a particularly nice one, but her death has given me an idea."

"Oh?" Neil looked up. "This is the first I've heard of it.

"That's because you're not coming this time, Neil. It's too dangerous." Roman sighed. "Don't argue, please." He held up a hand as the human started to protest. "Trust me on this. I don't know if Valarian and I are going to survive what I have planned. I won't risk you."

"If you don't come back, I'll die anyway!" Neil argued.

"If you come with me, it could be worse." Roman said darkly. "Now pay attention please, both of you. I pointed out that building because that is where I wish to hold a conference."

"Ghoulish." Valarian commented.

"I want to light a bonfire there." Roman continued.

"You what?" Neil looked aghast. "Roman-"

"A bonfire will attract almost anything in this city." Roman went on. "A large enough fire will be a beacon to everything that can see it, which in this case will be everyone within the city limits. Possibly further. The weaker or more fearful, or possibly the more intelligent or paranoid, will stay well away. The big players, on the other hand, the movers and shakers, they will recognise a deliberate message when they see it, and I hope that they will come calling."

"This is suicide..." Neil protested.

"I will light the bonfire on that building, and retreat to a nearby location with a smaller light." Roman went on. "Everyone attracted by the fire will then gather to the smaller light. Vampires and overlords. Maybe even a few mummies, if Felicity has it right. If we're really lucky, some of the braver humans might turn up."

"But but but but why?" Valarian asked. "Why why? Why bring together all these these enemies? These foes? They will fight and they will die and we will hurt and-"

"Shut up, Valarian." Roman snapped. "The location will be out of the reach of any underlings. Without our armies to fight for us you will find that most vampires, and especially overlords, do not relish the idea of being defeated. I am hoping that mutual caution will ensure that we can at least talk before we try to obliterate each other."

"And if not?"

"Then I have miscalculated." Roman smiled brightly.

"And why would you want to meet anyway?" Neil asked.

"Last night I realised that we are profoundly unsafe. All of us." Roman told him. "I am hoping that we can agree on acceptable boundaries for our territory, ensuring that we do not need to fight further. And then, when we have an agreement, I will do my utmost to undermine it and use it to destroy my enemies, one by one. Maybe even get them to destroy each other." He grinned.

"I think it's too risky." Neil said firmly, folding his arms. "If we just wait long enough, sooner or later the others will destroy each other anyway."

"Yes, leaving us with the strongest left to fight." Roman nodded. "Please Neil, don't worry. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself." He stepped forward, and plunged down the face of the building. Valarian followed.

Neil sighed, and pulled his collar up. He turned around and headed for the passage back to the penthouse. On the stairs down, he encountered three underlings, who stared at him blankly and shuffled about, held in check by Felicity's iron will. He entered the apartment, and sank down miserably into his chair opposite the mummy.

'I knew you wouldn't like it.' Felicity said sympathetically. Neil did not reply.

* * *

"There's easily enough material around to start a fire." Roman scowled, "If only it weren't for the damned wind."

"Why not wait until tomorrow, tomorrow?" Valarian asked. He was jumping back and forth, rubbing his hands frantically.

"I don't want to." Roman shrugged. "Go get someone to eat, and meet me back here to build the fire."

* * *

several hours pass

* * *

"Ah, midnight. Or close to it." Roman smiled at the massive heap of cardboard boxes, splintered wooden supports, various pieces of furniture and assorted debris that he and Valarian had collected over the past few hours. Once the younger vampire had got his nightly fix, he had calmed down considerably, and now stood near the edge of the roof with his arms folded tightly across his chest.

"You're absolutely sure?" He asked.

"Positive." Roman nodded, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing a box of matches. "After all, the wind's died down a bit and-"

"Do you have to keep those on you?" Valarian winced at the sight of the matches. He twitched as Roman set light to the blaze, and both vampires leapt back to avoid the petrol-fuelled ignition.

"Come on." Roman dropped the rest of the matches, and picked up a small torch that he had found a few weeks ago. "We'll retreat to that office block over there, and wait to see who comes calling.

Yeah, it's not much, and it's not well written, but I figure that this should involve everyone who wants to get involved. Which is kind of what we want, da?

[ExSPlug]

Just awakened from her slumber, Fiona is now streching herself out on the rooftop of the abandoned school, with Noa aside, reporting what had happened during her sleep.

"Too bad that the grunts got that family that roam by first." said Fiona as she cracked the neck of an underling which she uses as a dummy. Suddendly she notices an exceptionally bright light source in distance, one that is much brighter than the fullmoon tonight.

Who would have done that? thought Fiona as she ordered Noa to handle her some visual aids. Soon Noa returned and handed his master a broken sniper rifle. Finoa smacked him with the butt of the rifle then detached the scope and observed through it.

No corpses, no guards, and in such a position...this would be a beacon then.

"Noa, get along five of the best grunts and strap them on with gear. Get five more into the truck. We'll go check that out, and perhaps harvest what we will be needing." said Fiona as she pocketed the scope and leaped down the roof.

======Later======

Fiona positioned herself and her grunts at a six storey high building about 200m from the building where the fire had been set-up. She left Noa and the underlings hiding at the ground floor, with herself observing at the rooftop. From here she can't see the fire, but can clearly observe the entrance of the building and the street across it.

"Mi'lady, something's wrong..." muttered Noa over the radio.

"Didn't I say that keep radio silence unless someone is coming into the building?"

"Yes mi'lady! But the underlings...something's wrong with them. They're twitching randomly, and even the best ones crashes into one another!"

"You disobey my orders only at such measly troubles!" Fiona replied as she concentrate her mind onto the control of the underlings, and at the same time, thinking of how to deal with Noa later. As she concentrated, however, she sense that something was interfering with her control, and that the number of underlings had increased. All this strange feeling sourced from an office building nearby.

"I'm going over to that office building on the right. Seems like we have a guest over there..or maybe it's the host even. Just keep hiding." said Fiona over the radio as she strengenthened her control on her underlings, then leaped through an open window of the office building from the roof.

[Dragoon Knight]

Darryl had been one of the first to see the fire.  He had been on watch outside the museum when the blaze had started.  What looked at first to be nothing more than a random fire could soon be identified as a controlled inferno.

"Why would someone make a signal in Tenebria?" Rick had asked.  "It's not as if anyone wants to be the source of attention."

"Well, someone obviously does, Rick." Darryl had said, pointing at the fire.  "Hence said bane of Guy Fawkes."

"Oh, ha ha." Rick replied mirthlessly.  "So what do you suggest we do?"

"I'm checking it out." Darryl had said.

"You're crazy." Rick stated.  He knew better than to try to convince Darryl against doing something, but he thought his state of mind was in need of address regardless.

"Maybe.  But this is too good not to check out."

And so Darryl had set out into the night, using his special brand of stealth to avoid the roaming undead.  Upon reaching the building where the bonfire was located, he noticed that he wasn't the only one attracted by the blaze.

"Minions..." he whispered to himself.  They didn't seem to be all that active; almost suppressed.  Still, Darryl wasn't going to risk it.  He slipped down a side alley, intending to climb up the adjacent building to get a better look.  It was then that he noticed the light coming from a small office block.

"Hmm..." Darryl mused.  He quickly decided that a small light was much more interesting than a large bonfire, and went to check it out.

As he approached the building, he could hear voices from within.

"No hostilities, if you will; that beacon was made for a reason." said one, a male.

"Alright." said a female.  "You have my attention... for now."

"Good." said the same male.  "Now, we wait for others."

"Others?" asked the female.

"Surely you don't think you're the only one who saw this?" asled another male.

Jumping through a broken window, Darryl landed with a roll.  "She's right... I saw it, too."

[Seal89999]

Currently I'm writing a fic with the same basic outline, smart zombies controling dumb ones, human factions, ect.

Where the hell have you been Sard?

I really dont know I just kinda sunk into the depths and havent been that active around Fed2k lately. No real reason......but ive been trying to get back into the swing of things. But dam man theres so much ive missed its kinda daunting.

On another note I too worked for awhile to get my intro to my liking so I wanna see this thing get going.