Damien and his father's work isn't what normal people would consider a job. Some people have simple desk jobs. Damien and his father both work for the San Diego Anti-Mining Corporation: a governmental-funded organization that is, to the public eye, tasked with going into underground mines and excavating for any lost workers or minerals. That, however, is only a cover for their true intentions: to find a new unlimited source of power to fully develop a secret peacekeeping program. When Damien and his father finally got there, they donned their bright yellow hazmat suits and gas masks and entered the dark and wet mine.

"Took you long enough, Masters," a man in an orange suit snapped, walking toward the father and son duo.

"Sorry, Mr. Yakamora," Damien's father said over the clamoring of pickaxes and hammers, "We had a...slight delay." He looked at Damien with a stern expression, as if he blamed him for being late. Damien scoffed at his father and walked deeper and deeper into the mine. When he was sure he was out of earshot, he took up a pickaxe and hammer and began hitting the walls of the mine. For hours upon hours, Damien began hacking at the edge of the mine, constantly wiping the sweat off his brow.

"This is work?" Damien scoffed, "Feels more like slavery than working." He hacked and hacked until he heard a bell ring throughout the mine. The lunch bell. He dropped his axe and made his way outside to the lunch area, where his father and Mr. Yakamora were waiting. Mr. Yakamora looked significantly older than his father, with steely black eyes stretched into a permanent squint. He stood opposite of Damien's father who had his back to Damien. Damien walked up to his father and caught a small snippet of the conversation.

"...there's a lot at stake with this," Mr. Yakamora spoke in his thick, native Japanese accent, "If you find some sort of source of power, you can earn a fortune..."

"I understand, sir," Damien's father sighed, "But this is a lot of work and stress, especially for my son..."

"I don't care what is stressful on you and your son," Mr. Yakamora snapped again, standing close to Damien's father, "If you don't get your ass working, you and your son will be out of a job." He walked away, knocking into Damien as he passed.

"Watch where you eavesdrop, kid," Mr. Yakamora said, still walking away. Damien snarled silently and went to see his father. His father was sitting on a bench, a small glass bottle of coke in his hand.

"How can you take that bullshit from that asshole?" Damien said, standing in front of his father, eyeing him down with mild disappointment.

"First: language," his father sighed in sadness, "Second: Damien, you know I would leave if I could, but let's assume I did. What will we do? Where would we go?"

"Anywhere but here," Damien snapped, looking back at Mr. Yakamora, who was busy raging at another worker, "I hate that f***ing asshole."

"I know you hate him," Damien's father sighed, handing his son a bottle, "But give it some time. We won't deal with him anymore."

"You said that last time," Damien responded sarcastically, "And the time before that...and the time before that...and the time before that...and the time before th-"

"Okay, I get it," his father laughed. He stood up and began to approach him when the bell to end lunch sounded. Every worker dropped their assorted sandwiches, drinks and salads and got back to work.

"Guess lunch time is over," Damien said, looking back to the workers, "And now back to slaving in an abandoned mine." Damien walked back to his work, his fist clenched when he passed Mr. Yakamora. Damien's father sighed and followed his son.

"This will not end well for anyone," he whispered to himself as he entered the mine once again.

The mine was filled to the brim with the clamoring and screaming of men and women working non-stop, hacking and hammering at the inner wall of the mine. While the rest of the workers worked in a large and sweat clump, Damien isolated himself in a small tunnel away from the others. Damien never liked working with other people, and placed himself farther away from the common folk. Unfortunately, his loneliness is always short lived, as he is constantly brought back to the masses.

"Gentlemen!" Mr. Yakamora roared in the mine, "Gather around here!" The people around him dropped their tools and turned to their boss, except for Damien. When he heard Yakamora call the workers, he dropped his head and kept working. Mr. Yakamora looked over his workers, and his face contorted into one of anger.

"DAMIEN!" Mr. Yakamora hollered. Damien groaned to himself, dropped his hammer and axe and walked over to the crowd. As he walked over, Mr. Yakamora's eyes flashed quickly to a deep shade of red and back to his beady black eyes. He gave Damien a steel cold look, then turned to the rest of the workers.

"As you know," Mr. Yakamora said, "We have been assigned to look for a new source of energy to power my new peacekeeping program."

Yeah, no s***, Damien thought, rolling his eyes at every slimy word that came out of Yakamora's mouth, why else would we be here, you pale f***?

"Our deadline is in a few weeks," Yakamora continued, "And we have NOTHING?! The government said you were the best that they have to offer to me, and this is the s*** you give me?"

"Who does he think he's talk-" Damien started to whisper, but his father nudged him before he finished.

"In the next two weeks," Yakamora snarled, "One of you better have some sort of lead or every damn one of you is getting a huge pay cut! Now get your asses back in gear!" He stormed away as the mine was refilled with annoyed groans and tired moans.

"Who does he think he is?" Damien snarled, turning away.

"Our boss," Damien's father sighed, following him.

"And also our slaveowner," Damien responded, going back to his work in the corner, "What we get paid is not what we deserve for the s*** we do."

"Damien,  watch your tone," his father ordered sternly.

"Or what, Dad?" Damien said, standing back up, "He's going to magically appear right behind us?"

"Be careful what you wish for, Masters," Yakamora's voice echoed. Both Damien and his father jumped at the sound. Mr. Yakamora stood right behind the two, arms crossed.

Joy, Damien thought. Mr. Yakamora looked down at Damien, his face coming only inches away from Damien's face.

"Mr. Damien Masters," Yakamora spoke through his teeth, "I'd do what your father said and watch your tone when it comes to me. I'm not like your friends at school."

"Yeah," Damien whispered, "My friends have souls." Yakamora snapped, lashing out and slamming Damien on the walls of the mine. Damien's father stood in shock, then went to pry Yakamora's hands off of his son's neck.

"Mind your tongue, boy," Yakamora hissed in Damien's ear, "It would be a shame to die in a old, wet and abandoned mine..."

"Oh, verbal threat," Damien croaked, straining under the surprisingly hard grasp of Yakamora's hands, "I feel threatened."

"Yakamora..." one of the workers ran to him, a small computer in his hand, "Something's wrong..."

"What?" Yakamora snapped, still holding Damien by the throat.

"I took a re-scan of the mine," the worker stammered, his computer shaking in his hands, "And I saw that..." Then, the ground under them began to shake and rumble. Small pieces of the mine began falling from the ceiling. Cracks began to line the walls and floor.

"The mine's collapsing!" Workers began to scream. They all threw their tools aside and tried to run to the exit. Yakamora dropped Damien, who collapsed almost out of breath. He ran away from the fallen teen and Damien's father rushed to his son's side.

"Damien," he said, helping his son up, "We have to go. The mine's collapsing in on itself."

"I know Dad," Damien coughed, "And I also totally called it." The two began to hastily walk toward the outside world. On their way there, Damien saw bigger and bigger chunks of debris fall from the ceiling. The mine kept shaking violently, almost ready to shatter like a piece of fragile glass. Damien kept glancing around and saw someone trapped under a pile of debris.

"Dad," Damien said, walking towards the injured worker, "Get yourself out. I'll be quick."

"Damien Anthony Masters," his father scolded, "Come on."

"I said go," Damien said, kneeling down near the worker. The worker struggled to pull his leg out from under the debris.

"Hey hey," Damien said softly, "Stop straining. Let me see..." He moved towards the debris. His leg was completely destroyed; wet blood wrapped around the chunk and small sections of muscle laid around his leg. Damien felt around the worker's leg. The bone was crushed into dust and powder; Damien only felt small remnants of the bones. Damien braced himself on the rock and pushed hard, slowly freeing the worker's almost non-existent leg. He helped the worker up and began to run toward the exit. As he made it to only yards away, Damien felt the ground beneath him cracking and separating. He tossed the injured worker out and stood still in front of the exit.

"Damien!" his father ran to him. Damien began to tell him to stop, but he was too slow. The ground beneath Damien gave in, swallowing Damien with it. All he could hear was the screaming of onlookers and the panicked screams of his father as darkness enveloped him.

The last thing Damien remembered was falling. And falling fast. He fell weightless, almost flying. Except not nearly as fun. Damien fell for what seemed like hours, the only thing he could feel was the piece of the floor that came with him.

Today is fantastic, Damien thought as he kept falling, Not only did I just lose my job, but I'm probably going to die. Perfect.

Damien felt himself still falling until he hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out of him. Damien lightly groaned, pain shooting up from his back. Then, one of the falling pieces of debris fell next to him, leaving a huge gash in his arm. Damien howled in pain, blood slowly oozing out from the open wound. Damien stripped off his hazmat suit and ripped a large piece of it off. He tied it around the gash to try and stop the bleeding. Damien grimaced, his blood raining down his arm. He looked around to find some sort of exit. To his surprise, he sees a a small speck of light to his right.

There's for home, Damien sighed and began limping toward the light. Each step was taxing to him, his arm still throbbing from pain. His back still ached from the fall, and his head felt heavy, almost as if he might pass out. As he walked, the light began to grow brighter and bigger. Before he got to the end, however, something tripped him. He tumbled to the floor face first, cursing.

"The hell," Damien groaned lightly, standing up. He turned and saw a man sitting down on the ground, legs stretched out. He looked very old with his pale, wrinkly skin and shaggy grey hair. When the man saw Damien, he stood up shakily.

"Are you ok, lad?" the old man asked, looking concerned.

"I'll live," Damien sighed, "But I need to get home. Or at least find a medic."

"What happened?" the old man asked, walking closer to Damien. Damien sighed and showed the old man his arm: the blood began to seep through the makeshift wrap.

"The ground just caved in beneath me," Damien winced, "I fell and something cut my arm..." his voice trailed off when he took a gaze at the old man's face. The old man expression contorted into one of hunger. His distant blue eyes suddenly faded into a deep shade of red. Before Damien could react, the old man lunged at him. He knocked Damien onto the floor, pinning his wounded arm to the ground. The old man smiled, showing off two not-before-seen fangs that protruded out of his mouth.

"What the f***?!" Damien hollered, struggling to get free from his grasp. The man got closer and closer to Damien's arm, licking his lips hungrily. Damien reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver knife and stabbed the man through the skull. The man howled, backing away from Damien. The man writhed in pain, his skin glowing until he burst into ash. Damien crawled away from the pile of ash.

What in the actual f*** just happened? Damien thought, panting hard, He just...blew up into dust. Like a goddamn vampire.

Damien stood up, and walked away, picking up his knife from the clump of dust. He kept walking towards the light and finally made it. He shielded his eyes for a second, and then dropped his hand.

"Oh...my...f***...," Damien breathed. He stood in the opening of a cave that led into a city. Even with no sun, the city glowed with a natural bright light. People clamored in and out the streets, living their lives like nothing is wrong. In the distance, Damien could see a large castle, emanating a red aura. Damien walked into the crowded streets, trying to keep himself secret. He looked around at the people that walked near him. They all were pale like the old man, with red glowing eyes.

Vampires, Damien said, Vampires. Everywhere...vampires.

Damien slipped from the streets into a dark alley, his arm still stinging from pain. He sighed until he saw a bright light shining in his face.

"You there!" a voice called to him, "Stay right where you are!" Damien yelped in surprise, and took off running into the streets. He pushed pedestrians aside as he tried to make a break for the place he came from. He almost made it when he felt a rush of wind knock him over on his face.

"Stay right where you are," the person said, wrapping Damien's arms with a rope, "You are trespassing. And therefore must go to the king and queen for punishment."

Damien groaned, his arms being pulled tightly by the person behind him.

"Let's go," the voice said, pulling Damien to his feet and pushing him towards the red castle.

"Fascists," Damien huffed.

Great, Damien sighed as he was dragged by his tied wrists by a masked guard, I'm wounded and arrested. As if this day couldn't get any worse.

The masked guard led Damien towards the red castle in the middle of this city. As they got closer and closer, Damien begin to notice the details on the huge palace. The castle looked like a modified Victorian-era castle with glowing red spotlights shining on the ground below it. The walls were lined with a sickening sight: dozens of ripped -off flesh from other people. As the two walked up to the front gate, Damien felt drops falling down on the crown of his head and his nose. He looked at his nose and saw the red and shuddered.

"Gross," Damien whispered. The masked person pushed Damien inside the flesh-covered castle and walked him down a long corridor. Along the walls were huge paintings of two people: man and woman. Some pictured them above a pile of bodies, others pictured them as king and queen ruling over a city.

"Someone has a God complex," Damien said as he and the masked person walked up to two 6 feet tall red double doors.

"You have no idea," the masked person whispered and opened the door to an ivory throne room. It was fairly empty, yet awkwardly painted. Red lined the entire room like some dipped a brush in a bucket and waved it wildly around the room. Damien looked around for a long time before he heard the sounds of laughing. He looked towards the direction of the laughter and gawked at the two giant thrones before him. Sitting in said thrones was a fairly young man and woman. The man looked in his early 20s, with slick-back black hair and pale skin. His eyes glowed bright red, just like the woman next to him. The woman was almost the same age, with long and flowing brunette hair. The two looked down at the Damien and the masked person.

"Who are you?" the man on the throne asked, "And why are you here?"

"I'm here to plow your mother," Damien scoffed.

The man looked down at Damien while the woman bared her fangs at him evilly.

"Our mother is dead," the man growled.

"'Our'?" Damien looked back and forth at the two people on the thrones, "Ew."

"Lord Marcus and Lady Alexandra," the masked person spoke out, "I found this one near the entrance of the city. It's another human." The two vampires' eyes widened and Marcus stood up.

"Lord and Lady?" Damien asked, "So you guys rule this place?" Marcus nodded, still eyeing Damien intently.

"Our mother bequeathed this town to me and my sister on our 18th brithday," Alexandra said.

"Great birthday present," Damien smirked, "Also...still doesn't sound right at all." Alexandra stood up from her throne and took a small step toward Damien's direction.

"Let him go," Alexandra spoke softly. The masked person cuts the ropes on Damien's wrists.

"At least someone has some inkling of common sense," Damien scoffed, rubbing his wrists, "Tying someone up for no reason.." Then, Alexandra almost flew towards Damien and grabbed him by his neck. She turned his head back and forth, looking at Damien's neck.

"Please get off me," Damien whispered, "I need an adult."

"We haven't seen a human in almost years," Alexandra cooed, "It gets very lonely here...and I've always needed a snack." Damien started to break into a heavy sweat, his hands reaching back for his silver knife. The masked person looked down at Damien's hands intently.

"Ok, you're hungry. I get it," Damien smirked slightly, sliding the knife out silently, "But tell me: can you bleed?" Alexandra tuned Damien's face so that she is looking into his eyes.

"Because you will..." Damien said, moving his hand from his pocket. Then the masked figure snatched the knife from Damien's hand and slashed at Alexandra. Alexandra gasped, jumping backwards and letting go of Damien's face. Damien jumped back as well, taken aback by what happened. The masked person grabbed Damien' hand and ran towards one of the windows.

"Wait, wait, wait..." Damien stammered, hastily following the runner, "I hope you know thats a window!" The person jumped out the window, dragging Damien along. Damien screamed on the way down, people on the streets looking up at the falling bodies. The person landed flat on her feet and took off, dragging Damien like a flag. Even though they ran farther and farther away, Damien heard Marcus and Alexandra screaming "AFTER THEM!" in the distance. The person kept running until they got back into the cave entrance and set Damien down.

"You couldn't have just said 'Hi. Let's just jump out a window. You're welcome'." Damien huffed, trying to catch his breath. He sat on the ground, exhausted.

"I don't know who you are," he said, "But I do thank you for..." He was cut off by the masked person picking up a large block of wood off the floor.

"Oh, f*** me," Damien said as the masked person smashed the wood into Damien's skull, rendering him unconscious.

Damien found himself in a dream. He was in a small, dimly-lit hotel room standing on the balcony. He looked into the window and saw a young woman sitting on one of the beds in the hotel room. She had long black hair and light caramel skin, just like...

Mom, Damien thought. He tried to speak, but nothing came out. His mother sat down on the bed, looking at a picture in her hands. She smiled and ran her hand down the picture. Then, she turned to a loud knocking at the door. She got up and walked toward the door. Damien banged on the window and mouthed screams, but still nothing came out.

No no no, Damien thought. His mom went to the door and opened it. Damien couldn't see much, but a few seconds later, she fell on the floor right in front of the window. Damien slammed against the door and tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. A few black figures stood around her. The tallest one had a bag in his hand. He dropped it and nodded to his compatriots, who pulled his mother onto the bed and tied her arms to the bed. Then they all went to the bag and pulled out large knives in their hands. Damien's vision started to go black, but he could still hear his mother's blood-curdling screams.

Damien woke up in a cold sweat. He looked around in his surroundings. It wasn't the cave he was in before. He was in a small space, lying down on a comfortable plush bed. Damien, surprised, sat up from the bed.

"That's it," Damien said, "I'm in jail. And I'm probably gonna die in here."

"It isn't jail," a soothing voice said. The door to his room opened and a young woman, about his age, walked into his room. She had dark red shoulder length hair and shiny ruby red eyes. She stood at right in front of Damien's bed. Damien stared dumbfounded at the beautiful woman in front of her.

"Helloooo nurse," Damien whispered. The woman leaned closer to Damien's face, her red eyes locked into Damien's.

"You're welcome for saving you," she said.

"That...that was you?" Damien stammered, "Uh...thanks..." The woman scoffed, going to the other side of the room.

"When I found out that another human was here," she said, standing near a window, "I was told to find him. You would've led me to Marcus and Alexandra. I took the disguise as a guard to catch them by surprise and..."

"Slow down," Damien said, standing up, "My head is still ringing. Thanks for that, by the way."

"Pleasure," she turned to him and smiled.

"So you knew I was a human or something?" Damien sighed, sliding his jacket on, "How'd you tell?"

'Smelled you," she smirked, c***ing her head, "C'mere. Let me show you something."

"You smelled me?" Damien said, walking slowly towards her, "That's...whatever. What do you want to show me?" Damien stood next to the woman and looked at the shaded window.

"Ready to have your mind exploded?" she said, pulling back the curtain covering the window. Damien looked through the window and choked. Below him were hundreds of vampires dressed in combat gear with guns and bladed weaponry strapped to their sides. Damien stared at the men and women below him, feeling slightly sick.

"Wh...what is this?" Damien stuttered, backing away slowly. The girl flew behind him so that Damien would back up into her.

"It's a rebellion," she said, "A rebellion against Marcus and Alexandra." Damien looked up at the girl and gulped.

"In just a few days, the Lord and Lady plan to...well, it's hard to explain. But we do need your help, human." Damien shook his head in disbelief, taking a knee.

And I thought jail was bad, Damien thought, but this...this is much, much worse.

"There's much you need to be caught up on," she said, walking to the door, "And by the way: my name is Rosalina."

"Rosalina," Damien said, "Right. I'm...Damien." Rosalina smiles at Damien and c***s her head towards the direction was walking to.

"Come on then, Damien," Rosalina cooed, "We're all waiting downstairs." Damien looked down, scrunching his eyebrows in confusion.

"...whose 'We'?"

Rosalina led Damien down a narrow walkway that hung above the onlookers. Damien cautiously looked over the edge, spotting dozens and dozens of vampires all conversing with each other.

"That's a lot of red eyes in one place," Damien sighed in astonishment.

"There used to be more of us," Rosalina responded, standing in front of a gold plated door, "but a lot of them either left or died. Usually it was death."

"Which begs the question," Damien asked as Rosalina entered a code in a keypad, unlocking the door, "Who's this 'us' you speak of? Some sort of rebellion group or something?"

Rosalina turned to Damien as the door creaked open behind her, "Actually, yes it is."

"Wow," Damien quipped, "I swear it just a wild guess."

"We started this years ago when Marcus and Alexandra came into power," Rosalina explained as she kept walking, "They were given this city by their mother Cassandra..."

"I am aware," Damien whispered, "And it still doesn't sound right."

"And they've been running it for the last 4 years," Rosalina continued, opening another door.

"What's bad about them?" Damien asked. Rosalina slammed the door behind them and threw Damien on the wall.

"What's bad?" Rosalina snarled "What's BAD?! Those two are cruel and tyrannical people who..."

"Rosalina," a voice called out in the room. Rosalina turned around to look at the voice. Damien moved his head lightly to see who was speaking. He looked around and noticed that they were in an ornate dining hall with a long table in the middle of the room. At the head was a middle age man with wild black hair. Rosalina dropped Damien and walked over to sit to the left of the man. Damien looked at Rosalina with anger.

"Mr. Damien Masters," the man said, "Please have a seat." The man offered the chair next to him to Damien. Reluctantly, Damien walked over and took the seat. Rosalina smirked at Damien, taking a small sip out of a golden chalice. Damien glared at her.

"Forgive my daughter," the man said, cutting a raw hunk of meat with a fork and knife, "She's a bit more aggressive than the others here."

"I've noticed," Damien sighed, keeping his eyes glued to Rosalina, "But I have a few questions for you. Starting with what the f*** is going on here?"

"Is that your only question?" the man asked, taking another bite of the raw meat.

"No. That's the what. The other questions include: who, where and why?"

"Well first," the man responded, "would you like a drink? I sense that you are thirsty after what happened to you."

"How did you...?" Damien asked, then sighed, "I'll have a Dr. Pepper then." A vampire dressed in a black tuxedo nods and hurries to the back. A few seconds later, he returned with another golden chalice with Damien's desired Dr. Pepper.

"So for the who part," the man answered, "I am Maximus. I started this rebellion years ago. And, of course, you know my daughter, Rosalina. She is the best soldier in our rebellion, and she has led many successful missions."

"So that explains the noticeable lack of a rebellion force," Damien said under his breath, taking a sip of his drink. The table grew silent, Rosalina giving Damien a death stare.

"Unfortunately, sometimes a mission doesn't always go as planned," Maximus sighed, "There were a lot of sacrifices made along the way, but..."

"Sacrifices?!" Rosalina snapped, slamming her cup on the table. Damien jumped slightly. Her father sighed, putting his utensils down lightly.

"You sent thousands of people die out there!" Rosalina screamed at her father.

"Rosalina, that's not..."

"Yes it was and you know it," Rosalina stormed off out of the room, leaving Maximus and Damien alone. Maximus sighed, taking a giant swig from a bottle of red liquid Damien assumed was blood.

"Her time of the month?" Damien asked.

"No no," Maximus sighed, "It's more complicated than that." Damien shrugged, draining the rest of the glass and tossing it aside.

"Now we covered the what: this is some sort of rebel group that wants to either dethrone or destroy the king and queen."

"Destroy," Maximus snarled.

Damien choked, "Ok...destroy. You want to destroy said rulers." Damien scooted closer, looking Maximus deep in his eyes, "so why do you need me?"

Maximus sighed and stood up, "For the last two years, we have been working on a secret project: to create genetically superior hybrids."

"Ok then, Dr. Wu," Damien said, "But again: why me? I'm just a guy."

"That's not what I see," Maximus said, "I sense something special about you. Something that none of the others had..."

"Hold the phone," Damien stood up, "There were others?"

"Yes, yes, but the tests were unsuccessful," Maximus continued, "Each subject died. But you might just be the break that we have and could give us the edge in this fight." Damien looked at Maximus and shook his head. He walked over to Maximus and patted his shoulder.

"Thanks for the offer," he said, "But I'm not risking my life so you can maybe have a shot of creating some superhuman."

Damien smiled and walked back to his little room. On his way, he looked over at this so-called rebellion. Dozens of vampires lied on cots badly wounded. Others roamed around, carrying bottles and cloths to help around. Damien sighed and kept walking to his room.

What is so special about me? he thought, What makes me more capable to undergo this crazy-as-s*** plan of his? He opened the door to his room and stopped. Rosalina was standing by the window, looking out over the people.

"Nice outburst, by the way," Damien smiled. Rosalina glared at him, so Damien stop talking and looked down to his feet.

"I don't know what Dad sees in you. Believe me: I don't," Rosalina hissed, "But I don't want all that trouble to be for nothing."

"Like I told your old man," Damien sighed, "I'm just a guy. I'm nothing different from any other human."

Rosalina glared at him again, and motioned for him to join her. Damien scooted next to her, looking out the window.

"What do you see, Damien?" Rosalina asked.

"A bunch of red-eyes all doomed to die," Damien answered, "That's what it seems like to me."

"Well I see a family down there," Rosalina said, "Friends. And if we don't try this, they'll all die. Everyone will."

"Everyone?" Damien's eyes widened. Rosalina heaved a great sigh and turned to Damien.

"Damien: Marcus and Alexandra aren't content with what they have. They want more: more power, more property to call their kingdom. They're amassing an army and they are going to storm the surface. Your father, your friends, coworkers...everyone you love is going to die."

Damien gulped, "Unless you stop them, right?"

"No Damien," Rosalina said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Unless we stop them." When Damien looked down, Rosalina gripped his chin tightly, turning his face to hers.

"Damien, listen to me: this is about your home. This is about saving our world and yours. We need a beacon of hope..." Rosalina started, choking back her words, "Be the hero that my father sees you can be. Be our symbol, be everything he and we need you to be. You don't owe us anything, but you owe your family." Damien sighed in frustration, moving her hand away.

"Alright, alright," Damien said, "I'll do it. But if I die: I'm haunting you forever."

Rosalina smiled, "Knew it would work. You humans are so easy to fool with emotions."

"You...did you just...?" Damien stammered.

"Let's go,"Rosalina grabbed Damien's arm and dragged him out the door, "We have to prep you for the operation."

"Damien, know what you are doing is a great step in winning this," Maximus said, walking with Rosalina and Damien through the huge crowd of vampire soldiers. Damien shuddered as he felt the stares of hundreds of vampires trained on the back of his head. Rosalina looked over to him, sensing a problem with him and patted his shoulder.

"Relax, kid," Rosalina whispered, "They won't kill you. Everyone's waiting to see if this works."

"Right," Damien sighed, "Watch right before I get there someone's gonna rip my throat open. Not gonna be cool."

"We've taken the necessary precautions," Maximus said, turning to Damien, "Like Rosalina said: this is a huge moment for everyone." He led Damien into a little clear box situated in the center. Damien looked around the room through the glass. The walls are lined with tubes filled with different color liquids. Vampires dressed in white raced around the room, organizing tools and setting up for him. In the middle of this room was a huge black box filled with clear liquid.

"That's where it happens?" Damien asked, pointing to the box. Rosalina nodded as Maximus unlocked the door. Maximus led Damien and Rosalina inside the room and closed the door.

"Before we can begin, we need you to..." Rosalina said, "Undress." Damien looked at her curiously, but shrugged. He slipped off his jacket and shirt and placed them on a tray next to him. Rosalina looked at him and blushes lightly.

"What's wrong?" Damien asked, sliding his pants off and puts them on the tray as well.

Rosalina shrugged, "Nothing. Give me one of your arms." Damien stretched his arm to her reluctantly. Rosalina took his arm and picks up a syringe filled a green substance.

"What is it?" Damien said as she sticks the syringe in his forearm.

"Something to help the process," Rosalina said. She pushes the green substance into his arm and takes it out throwing it to the side. She guided Damien to the box and motions for him to step in. Damien stepped in and shivered.

"Cold as s***," Damien said, sitting down. Rosalina pushed his head, submerging him down into the box.

"You won't say that for long," Rosalina said as she pushed Damien's head down. She closed the box and walked over with her father, who was standing next to a dial.

"Are we ready?"  Maximus asked. Rosalina nodded, placing her hands on the dial. Maximus nodded to his coworkers, who began to work on panel around the room. The already dim lights grew even dimmer in the room, as a lot of the power began to converge inside the box. Damien began to feel the power as the box began to get warmer. He sighed in relief, feeling the warmness crawl over his body.

This feels nice, Damien thought, what do they mean by people died?

"His vitals are stable," one of the workers said.

"Increase to 20 percent," Maximus ordered Rosalina. She nodded, turning the dial slightly. Damien, whilst in the box, notices sparks jumping over him.

Oh f*** no, Damien thought, trying to move. Maximus nodded to his daughter, who increased the power again. Damien screamed in pain, as he felt the sparks spreading onto his skin. The sparks began to sear his body, dead flesh evaporating in the liquid. Damien kept screaming in pain, more of his skin burning off as the power increased. Once it reached it's peak, Maximus nodded to his workers, who pressed a red button on the panel. The liquids in the tubes along the walls began to flow into the box. Rosalina grimaced as she heard hollering from inside the box. As he felt his consciousness slipping away, Damien began to see visions of his dream again. The last thing he remembered before blacking out was seeing the death of his mother over again.

What felt like an eternity later, Damien woke up on a cot. His vision was blurry, but he made out a face looming in front of his own. He closed and reopened his eyes, trying to clear his vision. As his vision came back, he saw Rosalina looking over at his face.

"Hello dear," Damien smiled, "That hurt a lot."

Rosalina smiled, "Well, congratulations. You're not dead. So I'm haunt-free." She held out her hand to Damien. Damien smiled and took it as she pulled him up onto his feet.

"Can you walk?" Rosalina asked. Damien nodded slightly, walking to the tray with his clothes. Rosalina stood a bit farther from Damien as he slowly put his clothes back on.

"Count yourself lucky," Rosalina said, "Most people disintegrated in the box."

"Were you gonna tell me that before or after this s*** happened?" Damien huffed.

"Before," Rosalina shrugged, "But I forgot. So I decided to wait until after. Assuming you survived." Damien glared at Rosalina before Maximus put his hand on Damien's shoulder, guiding him away.

"It finally worked," Maximus beamed, "With a minor side-effect, but nevertheless a success..."

"Please tell me you didn't say 'side effect'," Damien choked. To much of his chagrin, Maximus nodded and handed him a large round glass.

"You'll be able to see yourself because you aren't fully vampiric," Maximus explained. Damien snatched the glass away and gazed into it. He looked deeply at his reflection to notice an odd change. While his left eye was still its natural brown shade, his right eye glowed a deep scarlet red. Damien turned his head to look for any other differences, but fortunately, there weren't any.

"It could have been worse," Damien shrugged, tossing the glass aside, "I could have had a face that looked like fried chicken. That would've been terrible." Maximus caught the glass and set it down softly.

"Does this mean I'm going to have an insatiable bloodlust?" Damien asked.

"No. You're mostly human," Maximus explained, "But we infused your DNA with remnants of the strongest vampire to create something better. A human with the speed, strength and sense like us."

"That includes super speed, right?" Damien asked, his eyes widening.

"Yes. Super speed," Maximus said. Damien smiled gleefully at him.

"Boo-yah," he said, "Maybe being part vampire won't be such a bad idea."

Rosalina led Damien back to his room, looking closely at his newly-acquired eye color.

"Throws everything off, don't you think?" Damien said, holding a small mirror up to his eye, "I mean: one's red. The other is normal. It's just weird." Rosalina groaned in frustration, opening the door to his room.

"Yes. Yes it does," Rosalina agreed, slightly annoyed, "Now if you would stop looking at yourself like you're a f***ing princess, get changed into combat gear. We have work to do."

"Three things," Damien said, turning around to face Rosalina, "One: don't talk to me like that. Two: don't talk to me like that. And three: I don't believe in combat gear."

"Fine then," Rosalina snapped, slamming the door behind them. She walked off in front of Damien, who instantly followed her back down to an open section with a padded floor. She stood at one end and pointed to Damien to stand at the other end.

"What's this about?" Damien said, standing at the opposite end of the padded area.

"You're not going to be able to master your new abilities in an instant like those superheroes you guys seem to be fond of," Rosalina said, "So I'm going to train you. Condition you to become accustomed to these new powers." She took a step to the side and held her hand out, "First: I want you to run to the end of this area and back as fast as you can." Damien smiled and began running at his top speed. Rosalina took out a tiny gold stopwatch and clocked him. When he got back, heaving and sweating, Rosalina checked her watch and shook her head.

"You know: for a guy who was fantasizing about superspeed," Rosalina said, looking at Damien, "That sure didn't seem like it."

"You try...running that long," Damien huffed, "And not...get tired..."

Rosalina shrugged, "With gusto." At that instant, Rosalina took off quickly and reappeared back at Damien's side seconds later with a cold bottle of water in her hand. She handed it to Damien, who snatched it out of her hand.

"F***ing show-off," Damien huffed again, taking a giant gulp of the water.

"A common misconception about some vampires is that we are just innately fast," Rosalina said, "But actually, it's like a lot of things. To run fast, you have to want to run fast."

"So I just have to 'want it'?" Damien said, standing up. Rosalina nodded, standing out of Damien's way. Damien sighed, and took another running stance.

Be fast, he thought, I want the speed. Damien began to run faster, faster than he ever ran before in his life. He looked around at his surroundings. Everything around him was blurry, zooming past other people around him. He went back to Rosalina and skidded to a halt, looking around frantically. Rosalina looked back at her stopwatch and nodded.

"Not bad," Rosalina says, tossing the stopwatch aside with slight jealousy, "You learn faster than I thought."

"Haha," Damien snickered, "I'm better than you."

"Don't push your luck, Damien," Rosalina sneered, running to Damien in a second and slugs him in the stomach. Damien collapsed, trying to catch his breath.

"You're not good enough yet," Rosalina laughed, staring down at Damien, "You still need a lot of training. Like how to take a punch."

"F*** you," Damien wheezed, flipping Rosalina the middle finger. She smiled, picking Damien up by his jacket and throwing him to the other side of the floor.

"Wish you had that combat gear now, don't you?" Rosalina laughed again, prancing over to him. Damien coughed, crawling to his knees.

"Sucker punch, much?" Damien coughed. He tried to get up, but Rosalina was on him in an instant, stomping him in the back. Damien howled, trying to wriggle out from under her boot.

"Marcus and Alex are brutal, unfeeling creatures," Rosalina said, "You have to be ready. Be glad I'm being nice."

"This is nice?!" Damien screamed, "I don't see it!" Rosalina sighs, and picks up Damien again. This time, she slammed him repeatedly against the ground and tosses him back. Damien spun around, landing onto his feet. He ran towards Rosalina, swinging at her face with a fist. Rosalina chuckled, slightly moving her head away. Damien snarled, lunging at Rosalina with flurries of punches and kicks. Rosalina seamlessly dodges all his attacks and boots Damien in the face. Damien fell backwards, then hopped back to his feet.

"You have to outwit them," Rosalina said, "Outsmart them. Find another angle of attack." Damien looked at her, drops of blood falling down his nose. He ran to Rosalina, who shook her head. Then, Damien dropped and slid between her feet, tripping her. She fell to the ground, surprised. She climbed back up just to see Damien swing his fist into her face. She flew back a few feet from the blow. Rosalina rubbed a finger on her lip and smiled.

"Took you long enough," Rosalina said. Damien breathed heavily, on the verge of collapsing onto the floor.

"Well...I do learn faster," Damien mocked. Rosalina cracked her neck and ran to Damien. Damien braced himself, lunging his fist at hers. The two collided, sending a mild shockwave throughout the area. Rosalina kneed Damien in the stomach, while Damien slugged Rosalina in the jaw. They both staggered backwards, panting. Rosalina nodded to Damien, who fell to one knee.

"Good..." Rosalina huffed, "You're getting used to the changes in your body. Get some rest."

"Rest?" Damien replied, "I just got my nutsacks kicked in. How can I rest?" But Rosalina was gone, leaving Damien alone in the darkness. He sighed and made his way back to his room and closes the door silently behind him. He laid back on the bed and looked at the ceiling. As Damien looked up, he felt his eyes becoming heavier and heavier until they closed, falling asleep.

Damien awoke once again in a dream, but in a scene much different than before. He awoke what looked like to be Santa Monica, but consumed in fire, the screaming of civilians rang in the sky. He looked around to figure out what happened. Then, Damien heard laughter behind him. He turned to see Marcus and Alexandra, both dressed in blood red armor, walking towards him. In Alexandra's hand was, to Damien's shock and fear, Rosalina's newly dismembered head. Marcus leaned down to Damien's level and whispered in his ear.

"They asked for a savior," Marcus slyly whispered, "And all they got was a human. How pitiful..."

"You won't save them all," Alex laughed, tossing Rosalina's head over to Damien, "You'll never save them. They're doomed. This is the end of your world...and the beginning of ours." Marcus smiled as he bit hard into Damien's neck.

Damien awoke from his dream screaming, his hands grasping at his neck. He rubbed it everywhere to make sure there weren't any bite marks on his neck. Damien sighed in relief, as he couldn't feel anything on his neck. He laid back on the bed slowly. He was about to drift to sleep when Rosalina bursted into the room.

"Damien!" Rosalina said, looking around his room, "What happened? Who attacked you?"

"It's nothing," Damien said, shaking his head smiling, "It was just a nightmare." Rosalina looked at Damien curiously and sat next to him.

"You...wanna talk about it?" Rosalina asked, patting his shoulder. Damien sighed, but told Rosalina about his nightmare. He left out the part about her head being torn off; he wasn't so comfortable talking about it. When he finished, Rosalina sighed and looked down at the floor. Damien looked at her and reaches to hold her shoulder, but Rosalina shrugged it off.

"I don't have anything to say," Rosalina said, "Except to keep training and training until you're ready."

"Is that all you think about? Fighting and fighting?" Damien asked, crossing his arms. Rosalina glared at Damien angrily. She stood up and walked back to the door before she turned around.

"We don't have a lot of time," she said, "so come on. We have a lot to do." She walked out of the room, leaving Damien back alone in his room. Damien sighed and slid out of his bed.

"She needs a drink," Damien said, throwing his clothes back on and walks out of his room, "Or maybe dinner and a movie. That'd be nice and relaxing." For the next few days, Rosalina worked on Damien's abilities. Each day, Rosalina could see Damien becoming more of a force to be reckoned with: his speed and strength matched and even surpassed her. Rosalina smiled at Damien, who laid on the floor smiling and huffing.

"You're growing stronger and stronger by the day," Rosalina said, "Tomorrow is the last stage of training. Let's see if the last few days really paid off." Damien gave her a thumbs up as she walked off. That night, Damien had the same nightmare again, this time he could feel the smoke and fire burning on his skin. And just like before, he awoke just as Marcus latched his jaws onto Damien's neck. Damien looked around, panting and sweating. When he saw he was alone, he laid back down, unable to go back to sleep.

Damien walked back down to the "training area" where he found Rosalina laying down on the floor. Rosalina smiled as Damien stepped onto the padded floor.

"What took you so long?" Rosalina said, "I almost thought you weren't coming."

"This is my last stretch of training," Damien smirked, poking her side with his foot, "Kind of have to be here." Rosalina smirked, standing up and brushing herself off.

"Good," Rosalina, "So we have been training very hard. You've grown a lot..."

"Oh you're being sweet," Damien joked.

"But now you have one last exercise left," Rosalina said. Instantly, the entire vampire army surrounded the two. Damien looked around at the vampires, clenching his fists nervously.

"So...we have to take all them on?" Damien whispered.

"No," Rosalina smiled, "They're here to watch."

Damien raised an eyebrow, "Watch...what?" Then, Rosalina ran towards Damien and slammed her fist into Damien's jaw, sending him spiraling. Damien looked at her and smiled.

"Sparring match?" Damien asked, "You couldn't have just said that?"

"Wouldn't have been much fun," Rosalina smiled, "This is the end of your training. You have to beat me in a sparring match, which won't be easy..." Damien smirked and sped in front of her, kicking her in the face. Rosalina fell backwards on her back, looking at Damien in shock.

"Couldn't have let me finished?" Rosalina said, wiping her face.

Damien, wiping his feet, smirked at her, "Wouldn't have been much fun." He leapt towards Rosalina and tried to stomp her in the chest. Rosalina scooted away from his foot and slid to her feet. She zoomed behind Damien and grabbed him by the neck and threw him down to the ground. Damien groaned in pain and spun around, sweeping Rosalina's leg. She yelped in surprise and flipped back to her feet. She started to punch and kick at Damien. Damien evaded Rosalina's attacks and tried to counterattack. She leaped over Damien's head and kicked him in the jaw. He spun around, gathering himself again, and tackled Rosalina to the ground. He tried to repeatedly punch her in the face. She caught his hands and tossed him to the side. She vaulted on top of Damien and jabbed at Damien's side. Damien struggled under her and kicked her in the chest. She rolled on the floor and ran back towards him. Damien braced himself and when she got close, Damien rammed her in the stomach with his shoulder. Rosalina gasped for breath and collapsed to the floor.

"You...you done yet?" Damien asked, breathing heavily, "'Because I know...I know I am..." Rosalina roared and leapt towards him again. Damien grabbed her by the face and threw her on the ground. Damien raised his fist in the air, ready to slam it into her face. The entire crowd fell into silence, watching in surprise as Rosalina laid under Damien's knee. When she saw all the stares on her, she smiled turning back to Damien.

"Congratulations, Mr. Damien Masters," Rosalina said, patting Damien's knee cap, "I concede. You win."

"Do I get a medal?" Damien joked, offering a hand to Rosalina.

"Unfortunately, no," Rosalina answered, taking his hand and stands up. Maximus walked towards the two, ordering the crowd to disperse.

"I'm glad Damien's training was successful," Maximus smiled, walking towards the two.

"It hurt," Damien smiled, playfully pushing Rosalina, "A lot."

"Well, it might just get even worse," Maximus said, "Because I just found a lead." Rosalina and Damien both looked at each other in confusion and followed Maximus.

"Someone found that may have some key information on Marcus and Alexandria," Maximus said, leading the two into a briefing room with a few folders sitting on a sleek ruby table. Damien took a folder and opened it, glancing at the files inside. Damien held a picture up to his face: it was a picture of a young woman, about his age or older. She had long blonde hair with silver streaks coursing down her hair and the same dark red eyes. Damien eyed suspiciously the scar on her face, a seemingly long knife wound that lined her left cheek.

"Who's this?" Damien asked, turning the picture around to Maximus.

"That, Damien," Maximus responded, "Is Myyara Vacas. She's one of the best mercenaries that Marcus and Alex have at their disposal. Rumor has it that she was Marcus' ex-lover."

"Ew," Damien shuddered.

"Your job is to find her and get whatever information you can out of her. However it takes." Maximus looked over to Rosalina, "You'll lead Damien on his first mission. Show him how it's done here."

"Yes, Dad," Rosalina said, then grabbed Damien's hand, "Come on. Let's go." Damien looked down at her hand as she pulled him out the room.

She totally wants me, Damien thought, grinning from ear to ear.

Damien followed Rosalina out of the room. Damien kept looking at the picture of Myyara while Rosalina pulled a small pager out of her pocket.

"You guys still have those?" Damien asked, still looking at the picture intently.

"We are going to pretty much try to capture a skilled killer," Rosalina sighed, putting the pager back in her pocket, "And the first thing you ask is if we use pagers. Really?"

"...well I mean, yeah," Damien said, "It was just a simple query. Also..."

"Yes, for f***s sake," Rosalina groaned, "We do. You happy now?"

"Didn't have to be an ass about it," Damien retorted, folding the picture up and putting it in his pocket, "So where do we start?"

"Not far," Rosalina said, leading him out into the city, "She was just spotted outside the city. But we have to act fast." She said, running to a large metal door. Damien stood next to her, looking up at the door.

"Ready to see what's behind this door?" Rosalina smiled, looking at Damien.

He gulped, "Guess I have to, don't I?" Rosalina nodded, and knocked on the metal door thrice. After the third knock, the doors slid open slowly. Damien sighed heavily, watching the metal doors creak open. When it stopped, Rosalina grabbed Damien's clammy hand and led him back into the city. The citizens walked around, living their seemingly normal lives.

"This is it for them," Damien shuddered, "They have no idea what's coming..."

"Damien," Rosalina sternly droned, "Find Myyara now. Wallow in a corner later." Damien huffed, but continued to follow Rosalina through the city.

"So..." Damien said, shifting his feet awkwardly as he walked alongside Rosalina, "How long have you been...like this?"

"A few years now," Rosalina answered quickly, "Now focus. Reports said that Myyara was about 15 miles..."

"Do you remember what it was like," Damien asked again, "Being human?"

Rosalina groaned in frustration, "You are not about to do this right now..."

"I'm just saying," Damien shrugged, "I always wondered if vampires remember their times as..."

"Yes, dipshit, we do," Rosalina snapped, "And it's a memory I don't want to relive at the moment." She fell silent as they walked on a long stretch of empty road. Damien looked around the ground and saw skulls and bones littered everywhere around them Damien shivered and looked back over to Rosalina.

"The Dead Zone," Rosalina said, "When Marcus or Alex want to find pleasure in killing innocent civilians, they banish them to this empty stretch of nothing. We're about 65 miles from the main city."

Damien's jaw dropped, "How f***ing big is this place, huh?!"

"Compared to America?" Rosalina pondered, "About the size of Nevada."

"That's pretty damn huge," Damien sighed, as he ran his fingers along his arm, "But...why won't you talk about your past?"

"Pardon?"

"I mean," Damien shrugged, "It can't be that bad. Like where's your mom? She must be worried that you're gone so long."

Rosalina sighed, "My mother died, Damien."

Damien shuddered, "Wow...sorry."

"It's fine," Rosalina said, rolling up her sleeves, "She was a b**** anyway." She walked faster, looking at the small PDA in her hand. Damien looked down, following her closely. He closed his eyes, taking a chilly breath. An hour went by with no results. And another hour. And another hour. Damien wiped the sweat off of his brow and loudly groaned at Rosalina.

"It has been," Damien yelled, "3 f***ing hours...and you haven't found even a f***ing hair is found."

"Don't get an attitude with me, Damien," Rosalina snapped back, "We're about a quarter mile away from her last location. A ghost town, if you will."

"Wow...just like Nevada," Damien chuckled, "And she's there?" Rosalina nodded and c***ed her head to a rusted metal sign with smudged letters. Damien began to try to read the sign, but Rosalina grabbed Damien by the collar, pulling him with her into the town. They both stopped a few feet in front of the entrance, looking at the deserted town.

"Yup," Damien sighed, "Ghost town. Definitely a ghost town." Rosalina rolled her eyes and kept walking, leaving Damien behind her.

"She was last spotted hours ago here," Rosalina said, "We'll run a quick sweep of the city and see if she left any..."

"What'd your mother do to make you hate her?" Damien asked, looking through a window of a small, dusty house. Rosalina looked at Damien, annoyed and angry.

"Oh my God, Damien," Rosalina snapped, "Stop it! We have a job to do."

"Well excuse me for being on edge and really scared and need to deflect it with something else," Damien shouted back, "Because I'm not like you."

"That doesn't mean anything," Rosalina said, stomping towards Damien, "You're gonna have to adapt, Damien." Damien advanced towards Rosalina as well, his hands clenching into fists.

"Don't tell me what to do," Damien growled softly.

"Or what?" Rosalina said, drilling her eyes into Damien's.

"Rosalina, I swear to God, I will ram my fist so far up your ass that it'll..." Damien began, but was cut short by a small knife flying between their faces, impaling into the wall. Both of them turned to where the knife was thrown. Damien's stomach dropped instantly as he saw 8 bulky figures standing on the rooftops of a short bank, with another in front. The figure jumped down and landed in front of Damien and Rosalina, her silky black hair draped over one eye.

"No please," Myyara laughed, "Keep arguing. I was actually having fun with this."

Damien stared dumbfounded at the huge number of mercenaries surrounding them, Myyara at the front. Rosalina hissed silently at Myyara, who smiled at Damien.

"This is my welcome party?" Myyara grinned, her silver hair gleaming, "I honestly expected more."

"This is Myyara Vacas?" Damien whispered to Rosalina, who nodded in agreement.

"You know it's rude to whisper about someone when they're right in front of you," Myyara sarcastically frowned. A few of the mercs advanced towards Damien and Rosalina, reaching into patches on their body and pulling out silver blades.

"So what were you saying?" Myyara asked, tilting her head, "Mr. Damien Masters?"

"You know who I am?" Damien asked, taking a step backwards.

"Honey, everyone knows who you are," Myyara retorted, pulling out two knives of her own. Rosalina grimaced slightly, taking a low fighting stance.

"She's too strong for you," Rosalina said, "Take on the mercenaries. I'll deal with her myself."

"Oh, my dear," Myyara smirked evilly, "I'm afraid you don't get to decide." The mercenaries lunged towards Rosalina, who disappeared into a chrome skyscraper. Damien looked, mouth agape and turned towards where Myyara was. To Damien's surprise, she too disappeared. Before Damien could react, Myyara sped behind Damien.

"You should keep your eyes open," Myyara said. She backhanded Damien, hitting him squarely in the jaw. Damien was sent flying headfirst into a bank. Damien slammed into a metal safe in the very back of the bank. He groaned in pain and began to stand up in the wreckage of the bank. Myyara ran towards Damien, grinning with excitement.

"Hello," she said, before grabbing Damien by the arms and throwing him up through the roof and kicking him in the stomach. Damien fell to the dirt road, rolling over and over on the road.

"To be honest, I'm actually glad you came to me. It gets really boring hunting petty thieves," Myyara said, walking slowly towards Damien. Damien started to get up, staying on his hands and knees.

"Bored?" Damien huffed, "So I'm guessing f***ing Marcus was really boring, huh?" Myyara looked down at Damien and took a deep breath before punting him across the town.

Struck a nerve, Damien thought, ...and I think an artery. Oww... Myyara advanced towards Damien, enraged. She grabbed Damien by the neck and slammed him into the ground.

"It's a shame we have to kill you and your little girlfriend," Myyara hissed, "You seem like you would've been a fun treat." Damien mumbled something under Myyara's grasp.

"What's that, kid?" Myyara said, picking Damien's head off the ground toward her face.

"I said..." Damien smirked, "'Cooch shot'." He quickly lifted his leg, kicking Myyara in the crotch area. She howled in pain, letting go of Damien's face and holding her crotch. With the opening, Damien spun around and roundhouse kicked Myyara in the chin, sending her careening into a metal fence. Myyara shook her head, and looked up at Damien in anger and surprise.

"I'm quite surprised, Masters," Myyara said, standing up, "I actually felt that." Damien stood up, wiping his bloodied lip with his thumb.

"Believe me," Damien smiled, wiping his thumb on his jacket, "I got a lot more in store." He beckoned Myyara to attack him. She smirked, lunging at Damien. Damien ran towards her as well, leaping in the air and planted his foot in Myyara's face. She stumbled backwards, grabbing Damien's kicking foot and tried to throw him. Damien smirked and flipped up, his foot collided with her chin She flew upwards into the air and landed in a building, where Rosalina was fending off the last mercenary. Rosalina flipped over the mercenary and pulled his head clean off. The mercenary disintegrated with a howling screech. Rosalina turned to see Myyara and Damien duking it out a few feet away from her. She smiled and ran towards the fight.

"Looks like you held your own fairly well," Rosalina quipped, drop kicking Myyara in her chest.

"Took a while," Damien retorted, wiping his brow, "She caught me by surprise. Son of a b****..." Myyara stood up, her red eyes flaring in anger. She grabbed Damien and threw him behind her and tackled Rosalina, punching her in the face. Damien landed on a large piece of debris, moaning in pain. Rosalina tried to stand, but Myyara took Rosalina's arm and furiously stomped on it. Rosalina screamed, trying to pull her broken arm out from under Myyara's boot.

"I'm going to enjoy killing you both," Myyara laughed, "But first, let me tell you a secret: Marcus and Alexandra have amassed an army and will storm the surface in 3 days. Your little revolution? It won't be enough to stop us." She raised a knife in the air and was going to bring it down on Rosalina when Myyara felt a sharp pain in her chest. Rosalina raised an eyebrow in confusion, as Myyara dropped the knife and clenched her chest. Then, a bloodied hand bursted out of Myyara's chest. Myyara looked down at the hand protruding out of her chest. Then another hand slid into Myara's chest. Myyara screeched in pain, lifting her foot long enough for Rosalina to slide her arm out from under it. Myyara tried to turn around, but the hands turned inside her chest and began pulling at her chest.

"No..." Myyara gurgled, blood spurting out her mouth, "I'm not going out like..." The hands pulled harder. Myyara screamed, her flesh tearing with every pull. Myyara uttered one more scream before Damien ripped through her, blood splashing onto his jacket, shirt and face. He tossed both sides of her body aside and hurried over to Rosalina, who looked at him with wide eyes.

"Are you ok?" Damien asked, kneeling down to Rosalina. She looked down at her arm and shook her head.

"My arm's broken," Rosalina said, looking back and forth at the two sides of Myyara, "But I fared better than others..."

Damien nodded and lifted her up, "We're heading back."

"We need to prepare for the inevitable war," Rosalina sighed, wincing in pain. Damien nodded and zoomed back to the underground base. Rosalina looked up at Damien and smiled. His caramel skin gleamed with sweat and was stained with blood and cuts. She buried her face into his chest as the two became a blur, heading towards the base. Damien ran through the entrance and put Rosalina on her feet. When she was sure she had secure footing, he turned to the base and the color drained from his face as Rosalina screamed in terror.

Damien propped Rosalina on one arm and looked around the base. It looked like a tornado swept through, followed by a hurricane. Cots and weapons laid scattered all over the place, bodies and piles of ashes that used to be bodies littered the floor as well. Rosalina kneeled down to one of the bodies and examined the injuries. The man's body was riddled with slashes and bites.

"This can't be anyone else's work but Alex and Marcus," Rosalina choked, tears coming down her face. Damien turned around, avoiding the gruesome image. He sat down on a cot, exhausted and throbbing in pain. Rosalina stood up and began to walk towards Damien, her face pale and soaked with tears. Damien looked up and stood up as well. He walked towards Rosalina and put a hand on her shoulder. Rosalina looked at her shoulder and quickly hugged Damien. Damien wrapped an arm around Rosalina and rested his chin on the top of her head. Rosalina shook in Damien's arm, trying to hold in her cries. She looked up at Damien, her red eyes welled up with tears. She leaned closer to Damien when a faint moan echoed in the base. Rosalina turned to the moan and grabbed Damien's hand, pulling him with her. The two followed the sound and found Maximus lying on the ground, puncture wounds lined his chest. Rosalina ran to her father's side and rested a hand on his chest.

"Dad..." Rosalina whispered, "What happened...?"

Maximus coughed, "Rosalina...where's Da-...?" Rosalina moved out of his view. Damien walked to Maximus's other side and helped him up.

"It's...much worse than I ever imagined..." Maximus groaned as Damien walked him into a medic tent that was still standing. Damien laid Maximus onto a cot and started to run to get medical supplies, but Maximus grabbed Damien's arm.

"Listen to me..." Maximus wheezed, "I don't...have much time..." Rosalina and Damien both leaned in to listen.

"Marcus...and Alexandra..." Maximus began to speak, "They're heading to the surface..."

"We know," Rosalina whispered, "In three days-"

"No..." Maximus groaned, "The army is advancing...tomorrow." Damien face grew pale.

Dad... Damien thought. He leaned closer to Maximus, looking at Rosalina with worry.

"She...took us out..." Maximus said, "Didn't know...you two were gone." Maximus grabbed Rosalina's hand and held it tightly, "Rosalina, Damien...you are our only hope..." Maximus smiled and look up at the tarp. The hand that held Rosalina's fell limp, his body fading into a grey color. Rosalina looked at her father, tears streaming down like rivers.

"DAD!!!!" Rosalina screamed, burying her face into her father's chest. She knelt there, her cries echoing through the base. Damien looked down at the ground and heavily sighed. Damien placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Marcus and Alex..." Damien whispered in her ear, "They will pay for the lives they took. All of them." Rosalina nodded, propping herself up with her one good arm. She turned to Damien with grief stricken over her face.

"Yes..." Rosalina said with angst and rage, "They will." She c***ed her head towards to a spare tarp on the ground. Damien grabbed the tarp and unfolded it, laying it on top of Maximus's dead body.  Rosalina breathed shakily, watching Damien cover her father.

"We need to tend to your arm," Damien said, "You can't fight Marcus and Alex with a broken arm. Ask Gohan."

Damien sat patiently, next to Rosalina. Her arm was in a sling, but she assured Damien that her arm will heal in a few hours. Damien sighed, periodically looking over at Rosalina. Roslaina kept her gaze on the ground, lightly shaking. Damien went to put his arm around her, but stopped. Rosalina looked up at Damien's arm and scooted into Damien's arm. She laid her head on Damien's arm, using her free hand to hold his.

"Rossie, I'm sorry," Damien whispered, "Your father was a good man." Rosalina looked up at Damien and raised an eyebrow.

"'Rossie'?" Rosalina asked.

"Well, I thought that, you know..."

Rosalina giggled, "It's okay. I think it's kind of cute." She sighed and slid closer to Damien.

"Damien, earlier you asked about my mom. Why I resent her," Rosalina said. Damien looked down at her and nodded.

"You don't have to, Rossie," Damien whispered, but Rosalina shook her head.

"It's fine," Rosalina said, "The truth is: when I was born...my mom tried to kill me. Tried to suffocate me when we got home. For the next few years, I lived with harassment and violence. She resented me, hated me. Called me a 'disappointment' to her. So then Dad came back one night after being turned, and then my mom lost it. She grabbed a knife and tried to stab me to death, but my dad intervened. And when she dropped the knife, I picked it up and..." Her voice trailed off, looking down once again. Damien scrunched his eyebrows for a moment, then his eyes widened.

"Holy s***," Damien said, turning his head to Rosalina. Rosalina nodded in embarrassment.

"All that rage and pain she caused," Rosalina said, fiddling with her fingers, "It all was unleashed then. I didn't know how to stop. Then, my dad pulled me aside and asked me to help him. He turned me that night. And now...here I am." Rosalina gave a half smile to Damien, before looking down. Damien looked down as well, contemplating on what to do.

"Now my dad is dead," Rosalina said, "Everyone...and it's all my fault..." Damien turned Rosalina's face to his and planted a kiss right onto her lips. Rosalina gasped in surprise, but quickly melted into the kiss. She wrapped her free arm around his neck and Damien put his hands on her hips. The two stayed in their embrace for a long minute. Rosalina pulled herself away slowly, blushing very hard.

"Don't beat yourself up," Damien smiled, "We have to fight now. We're all that's left." Rosalina began to look back down, but Damien grabbed her chin and turned her face to his.

"It doesn't matter what you did, or what you were," Damien said, "Right now, people's lives are in danger. For the world above: tomorrow changes everything. If we can't stop them, we can at least get the people out." Damien stood up and walked towards the exit.

"Get rest," Damien said, "We have work to do tomorrow."

"Where are we going?" Rosalina asked, climbing into the bed and under a think blue sheet. Damien looked at Rosalina, then turned around.

"Home," he responded, and walked out the door.
 

Damien fell asleep later that night and once again awoke inside a dream. This time, Damien found himself enwrapped in darkness. He began to walk around, trying to find his way through the void.

This is odd... Damien thought, Where am I? As Damien kept walking until the darkness melted into a small living room. A long, brown couch lined the farthest wall, where a little girl sat curled in a ball. Damien walked over to the little girl slowly, trying to get a better glimpse at the girl's face. A door opened to Damien's right, and the girl's head popped up. Damien looked at the girl's face: she had brighter red hair and big blue eyes that were welled with tears. Damien looked at the face intently and gasped in astonishment.

"Rosalina..." Damien whispered. She looked up as he saw a young man walk through the door. Damien looked at the younger man, whose black hair was slick back with a small cowlick resting on his face. He took off his dark shades and revealed his gleaming red eyes.

"Maximus?" Damien whispered again, "But then, where's...?" Then, a woman around her mid to late 20s ran out of the kitchen and hugged Maximus. Her blonde hair stuffed itself in Maximus's mouth as she clung to him tightly.

"Oh, Maxxie," the woman said, "Where were you? I missed you soo much."

"Uh...hi, Sarah," Maximus said, spitting the hair out of his mouth, "Where's Rosalina?" Sarah's smiled dropped and pointing to the couch where Rosalina sat. Maximus pushed Sarah out the way and walked over to Rosalina, whose hopped off the couch and ran to hug her father. The two shared a long embrace and Maximus sat down with Rosalina. Damien shuddered slightly.

This won't end well... Damien thought. Then, a scream echoed from the kitchen and the woman Sarah lunged towards Rosalina with a long knife in her hands. Rosalina screamed and rolled away while Maximus tackled Sarah to the ground, knocking the knife out her hand. Rosalina looked at the knife, which slid a few feet away from her feet. Maximus struggled to hold Sarah down, but she was thrashing around the floor.

"Sarah, calm down!" Maximus said, but Sarah kept thrashing around. She eventually threw Maximus off of her and crawled to where her knife was, but Rosalina leaped onto her mother and stabbed her in the shoulder. Sarah hollered in pain, grabbing her shoulder.

"Rosalina!" Maximus screamed, but Rosalina couldn't hear him. She took the knife out her mother's shoulder and stabbed her mother in the chest. Roslaina repeatedly stabbed her mother, her mother's blood splashed on her face. Rosalina raised the knife over her head, looking down at her dead mother's bloodied body. Roslaina shook in fear, dropping the knife and climbing off her mother. Maximus ran to Rosalina, who curled into a ball next to her mother's bloody body, crying and shuddering. He embraced his daughter and pulled her away from the body.

"Shhh..." Maximus said, "It's ok...shh..." He patted his daughter on the back as her cries rang out in the room. Damien turned away from the gruesome scene as his vision began to fade back out. Before his vision went black, he heard Maximus whisper something.

"I'm sorry, baby," he whispered and then Damien was shrouded back in darkness.

Damien woke up from his sleep and sat up in his bed just as Rosalina knocked on his door.

"It's open," Damien sighed. Rosalina opened the door to Damien's room. She smiled warmly, but when she saw Damien's face her smile dropped. She walked over and sat next to Damien and put her hands on his shoulder.

"Hey..." Rosalina said, rubbing Damien's shoulder, "You ok?"

Damien looked at Rosalina and smiled, "Yeah...we don't have much time." He got up and took off his bloodied jacket and shirt and put on a new white shirt and a sleek black leather jacket with red lines flowing down his arms and back. He walked towards the door, sliding his boots on his feet. Damien reached and grabbed Rosalina's hand leading her out the room and downstairs back to the med tent.

"Damien..." Rosalina whispered as they walked up the entrance to the base and towards the city's exit, "You sure you're ok?"

"Yeah, I just..." Damien started, then took a deep sigh, "I had a rough night."

Rosalina looked up at Damien, "Want to talk about it?" Damien shook his head, walking faster towards the cave exit. Rosalina frowned, squeezing Damien's hand tightly. The two made their way to the exit, where a bright light shined deep from the exit.

"You ready to see the surface again?" Damien asked. Rosalina laughed slightly and kissed his cheek.

"I have been to the surface before, Damien," Rosalina smiled, "It has been a while, though." Rosalina walked Damien towards the shining white light. They both paused, feeling a small breeze blowing past their faces.

"Whatever happens today," Damien said, "Just know...it's been a blast getting to know you."

Rosalina punched Damien in the shoulder, "It's not over yet." Damien nodded and kissed Rosalina on her cheek.

"Let's go save the world," Damien smiled and led Rosalina into the light. They reappeared right behind a small barn with a tractor, a pickup truck and a black sports car sitting in the front of the barn. Rosalina smirked devilishly at Damien and raced towards the sports car.

"She's totally going to hotwire that car," Damien whispered, "I love her." She silently broke the glass of the driver's window and unlocked both doors. She slid under the wheel and began to hotwire the car. Damien slid into the passenger seat as the car's engine roared to life.

"Bingo," Rosalina said, strapping herself in, "Now where to first, o fearless leader?"

"I told you," Damien said, putting his seatbelt on and sitting back, "We're going home. There's someone I need you to see." Rosalina nodded and put the car in drive and sped off. Damien took in a deep breath and smiled.

"Finally," Damien said, "Back on the surface...actual air..." Rosalina poked his side and Damien winced, sliding back down in his seat.

"I get that you're happy," Rosalina said, "But where exactly where I'm going?"

"Keeping driving straight, then make a left," Damien said, "Home will be on the right." Damien reached inside the glove compartment and pulled out a pair of black sunglasses. Rosalina did as he said, driving down the road and turning left into a street lined with large houses.

"All the way at the end," Damien said, pointing to a chrome colored house at the end of the street. She parked in front of the closed garage door and turned the car off.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Rosalina asked, unbuckling her seatbelt.

"I guess I have to be," Damien said, climbing out the car and walking towards the front door. Damien paused for a second before knocking on the front door three times. Damien and Rosalina both stood in front of the door before the door swung open and Damien's father stood in the doorway.

"Hey, Dad," Damien smiled, "Miss me?" 

Damien's father stood dumbfounded at the sight of his son standing in front of him. Damien smiled, a small tear welling up in his eye.

"Dad, I'm sorry," Damien said, his voice cracking, "I didn't know what was going to hap-" Damien's father leaped forward and hugged his son tightly. Damien buried his head in his father's shoulder and sobbed uncontrollably. Rosalina smiled, still holding Damien's hand tightly.

"I was so worried about you, Damien," his father shuddered, "I thought you were dead..."

"I know, Dad," Damien whispered, "I know. But I'm alive and I'm...ok." Damien pulled away and smiled, "This is my...girlfriend, Rosalina." Rosalina waved to Damien's father.

"Girlfriend?" Damien's father asked, raising an eyebrow. Damien laughed and put an arm around his father's shoulder.

"Dad..." Damien laughed, "I'd sit down if I were you. There's a lot we have to catch up on. Like a lot." Damien led his father and Rosalina into the house and used his foot to close the door behind them. Damien sat his father down on the couch in the living room while Damien and Rosalina sat on the opposite side.

"Ok Dad," Damien said, pouring a glass of water, "What I'm about to tell you will sound far-fetched. It will sound out of this world. But you have to trust me when I tell you. Ok?" Damien's father nodded slowly. Damien sighed and looked over to Rosalina. When she nodded, Damien began to explain to his father everything that happened-from when he fell down the mine to meeting Rosalina to his transformation. Damien's father sat in silence, nodding. When Damien finished, his father sat farther back into the couch.

"So Dad," Damien said, "I need you to go. Get as many people as you can to evacuate the city as fast as you can."

"And you?" his father spoke, "Where are you going to be?" Damien and Rosalina looked at each other and sighed.

"Dad..." Damien said, "I have to stay and fight them off. Long enough to get you guys safe and out the city." Damien's father slammed his glass of water on a coffee table between them, shattering the glass.

"I made that mistake with your mother," his father choked, "I'm not making that mistake again. Not with you..."

"Mr. Masters," Rosalina interjected, "Damien is much stronger than you think. I know your son is capable of defeating..."

""I'm not," Damien's father interrupted, "Losing. My son."

"Dad," Damien said, "Believe it or not: I have to. It's the only way I can ensure your safety. This is how it ends. All or nothing. Everything goes." Damien's father sighed and stood up. Damien shot up with him and walked to his father.

"Dad, I have to," Damien began, but then his father turned around hugged him tight.

"You have to promise me that you'll come back," his father mumbled in Damien's shoulder, "You'll come back when this is all over..."

"You have my word, Dad," Damien said, embracing his father tightly. His father pulled away and smiled, a single tear falling from his face.

"You know," his father said, "Your mother would be proud of you. Speaking of your mother..." Damien's father ran into a back room and pulled out a black sheath with a dark black hilt sticking out of the top.

"I found this when I found your mother," he said, "It's a silver sword that was forged with the pieces of the True Cross." He handed the sword to Damien, who slung the sheath over his shoulder. Rosalina smiled and walked next to Damien and slid her hand into his. Damien's father saw her and beamed.

"You know," his father said, "You two are cute together." Damien smiled as Rosalina blushed a deep red.

"Get people out of the city," Damien said, "I'll see you at the end of this." Damien let go of Rosalina's hand and gave his father another embrace.

"I love you, Dad," Damien said.

"Love you too, Damien," his father responded, "And I'll see you soon. When this is over." Damien pulled away and slid his hand back into Rosalina's. He led her to the door of the house.

"Your father," Rosalina said, "He's a good man."

"Strict as hell," Damien joked, "But yes. He is a man of virtue." He opened the door, looking at the sky and groaned. The sky began to swirl into a deep shade of red.

"F***ing hell," Rosalina said, "They're here. Come on!" Rosalina ran towards the inner city and Damien sprinted after her.

Am I ready for this? Damien though, his new sword bouncing on his back. He sped up, running next to Rosalina.

"Rossie," Damien said, "Are you ready for this? If we let even one bloodsucker alive, we lost..."

"Are you?" Rosalina responded. Damien looked down, but nodded slowly. Rosalina smiled and and ran to the center of the city. Civilians started running the other way, trying to escape. In the distance, Damien could feel Marcus and Alex's presence. Sure enough, in the distance, Marcus and Alex floated ahead of a vast army of vampire soldiers. They looked exactly as Damien pictured them in his dream: both donned blood red armor. In Marcus's hand was a huge dual-headed axe and resting on Alexandra's back was a long katana blade. They floated farther until they were right in front of Damien and Rosalina.

"Well then, sister," Marcus smiled, "Look at what we have here. The human and his halfbreed girlfriend."

"I'm surprised," Alexandra said, "I did not expect you two to be here as our opposition. But a thousand hands are better than four." Just then, the entire vampire army rushed forward, standing in rows in front of their leader. Damien gulped and clutched the sword hilt tightly. Rosalina's eyes flared again, looking at Marcus with murderous intent. Marcus and Alex laughed, a chilling chuckle that echoed through the streets of citizens running for their lives.

"You efforts will be futile, Damien Masters," Alex cooed, "Tonight, you and your friend will die. And a new age shall begin atop your bones. Welcome to the end of your world, and the beginning of ours." 

Damien shuddered lightly at Alex's chilling words. An army of 500 strong vampires stood between him and Alexandra. He looked over to Rosalina, whose red hair billowed in the wind like roaring flames.

"You killed my father..." she hissed, her aura shifted into one of rage, "My family...dead because of you..." Damien smirked, reaching back and unsheathing the blade from his back. The shining silver blade rang throughout the streets. In front of them ,the vampires hissed in fear. Even Marcus and Alex cringed at the sight of the blade.

"That...that is no ordinary sword," Marcus said.

"Correct, f***-face," Damien said, "Not only is it made of pure silver, it also was forged with pieces of the True Cross to ward off bloodsuckers like you and your whore-of-a-sister." Damien swung the blade sideways, and the vampire army backed away. Marcus looked down then turned to Alexandra, whose furious eyes fixated themselves onto Damien.

"You little human," Alexandra slyly spoke, "You may have pieces of the True Cross embedded in your sword, but it won't save you."

"Ya know what?" Damien laughed, "You're right. It won't. Which is why..." he dropped his head and slid his glasses off of his face, his one red eye gazing at Alexandra and Marcus, "...I had some help." Alexandra's eyes widened in shock and Marcus growled.

"Yup. Genetically engineered hybrid," Damien said, pointing to the eye, "Which means I'm kind of like you bloodsucking reprobates. All the strength and speed of you people." Damien smile gleefully at the surprise look on the soldiers' faces. Marcus growled in rage and Alexandra scoffed.

"All the speed and strength in the world won't keep you alive for long," Alexandra said, then screamed at the ground troops, "KILL THEM!!!" The army charged towards the two. Damien smiled and looked over to Rosalina.

"Hey, Rossie," he said, readying his sword near his face, "Let's satisfy that bloodlust." Together, the two charged towards the incoming vampire horde.

In all of Damien's life, he has never felt this much euphoria in his life. He felt himself dancing around the streets, slicing through vampires like cream cheese. He even uttered a hefty laugh as he flipped over two soldiers and brought his blade down, cutting the two soldiers in two pieces. Rosalina jumped right behind Damien, kicking another on the ground and ripped its throat out. She looked up and zoomed through 10 other vampires, each one exploding into ash. Damien smirked as he spun around and slicing the army down. Inside, he felt like a whirlwind of death and destruction.

"I am become Death," Damien laughed as he spun his blade up a vampire, splitting her in half, "The Destroyer of Worlds." Together, Damien and Rosalina swept through the entire vampire army. Marcus and Alexandra both screamed in rage.

"I'm going to kill them both..." Alex growled, looking at Marcus with a bloodthirsty expression. Damien looked up and saw the two floating down to the ground. He smirked evilly and ran throughout the ranks of the soldiers, becoming a blur of red and black. Damien stood up and as he sheathed the blade, the rest of the army exploded into ash and fire. Rosalina walked next to Damien and gave him a small wink.

"Nice," Rosalina smiled.

"We're not finished yet," Damien said, pointing towards Marcus and Alexandra, who landed a few 100 feet away from them. Damien and Rosalina both walked forward as Marcus and Alexandra followed suit.

"This is it," Rosalina whispered, "The end of the road."

"Rossie," Damien said, "I hope you have a plan of attack."

"No," Rosalina responded, looking at Damien, "Do you?"

"I do have a plan," Damien smiled, "'Attack'." Both pairs met in the middle of the street. Alexandra sneered at Damien and Marcus readied his axe.

"I'm surprised," Alexandra scoffed, "I didn't think that you would be able to survive that onslaught."

"Suck it, b****," Damien snickered.

"But now," Marcus said, dragging his axe on the street, "This is where you end."

"What is your deal, anyways?" Damien asked, "Why are so hell-bent on taking the surface world?"

"Didn't your little girl tell you?" Alexandra giggled menacingly, "We're conquerors. One little underground civilization? That's nothing. We've had our sights on the surface world for some time. Now..." Alex lunged and hit both Rosalina and Damien in the chest , sending them backwards crashing into the concrete.

"Now..." Alexandra said, wiping her knuckles on her armor, "We are going to cleanse the surface world and recreate it in our own image. And nobody  will stop us."

"Do I not exist?" Damien groaned, standing up. Marcus and Alexandra looked at each other and laughed loudly.

"You?" Marcus laughed, "Stop us?"

"Damien, no amount of genetic enhancements will ever make you superior to us. In the end...you're still a human. A weak, stupid little hu-..." Damien sighed and sped right in front of Marcus, delivering a flying knee to his jaw then spun around and kicked Alexandra in the face. Marcus flew in the air and landed hard in the street and Alexandra was sent spiraling through a glass building into a construction zone.

"Please," Damien sighed, "Shut the f*** up."

Rosalina stared at Damien dumbfounded, "Damien...well, s***. I've never seen you that fast."

"You're welcome," Damien smiled, but it quickly faded as Marcus crawled out the crater in the street and Alexandra floated back to her brother. Marcus shook his head and propped himself on his axe, groaning.

"I'm surprised," Marcus said, "I actually felt that."

"Said it first," Rosalina spoke out.

"Ok..." Alexandra nodded, "I guess you will be a challenge. No matter though. You are going to die here, Damien Masters."

"Well then," Damien said, cracking his neck, "I guess there's only one way to find out, huh?" Rosalina nodded and ran towards the staggering Marcus. Damien smiled and zoomed after Alexandra, bringing the blade down on her. Alexandra quickly unsheathed her sword and raised it, the blades colliding in the frigid air sending a shock through the city. Alex backhanded Damien, careening him backwards.

"I cannot wait to spill your blood on these streets," Alexandra smirked.

Damien laid down on the street, dazed from Alex's hit. Alex waved her sword right across her face, shaking her head in shame. She leaped into the air, slicing down at Damien. He rolled away from Alex's blade, which crashed right where his face used to be. Damien flipped back onto his feet and swiped at Alexandra, who laughed and dashed backwards to avoid the attack.

"Poor Damien," Alexandra smiled, "You can't touch me now, can you?" Damien grumbled, lunging again at Alexandra. She sighed and slammed her foot into Damien's stomach. Damien coughed, falling to the ground and dropping his sword. Alex raised her sword onto her shoulder and stood right in front of Damien.

"Weak," Alexandra smiled, tapping her sword on her shoulder, "Just as I thought. You shouldn't have let yourself come after..." Damien spun around and kicked Alex in the knee. Damien felt her knee shatter on his foot. Alex's eyes widened and she screeched, grabbing her knee. Damien jumped up and kicked Alex in the chin. She spun around, landing face first on the pavement.

"And that's what you get," Damien said, wiping his foot, "For talking way too much." He smiled down, then whipped around to Rosalina's screaming. Damien snatched his sword and sped towards the sound, weaving through cars and buildings and stopped a few feet away. Damien saw Rosalina weaving around Marcus and his huge dual-headed axe. He snarled and swung his axe at her head, but she ducked and tried to punch his face, but Marcus smashed his fist into her face. Marcus stepped right onto Rosalina's back and raised his axe to bring it down on her neck, but Damien tackled him, letting Rosalina slip away before the axe fell right near her face. Marcus groaned as his face crashed into a giant brick pillar.

"You're welcome again," Damien quipped, standing next to Rosalina. Rosalina opened her mouth to speak, but Marcus lashed around and threw his axe at the two. Damien tackled Rosalina to the ground, the axe sailing clean past Damien's ear and impaling itself into the wall. Rosalina looked up at Damien, darting her eyes to Marcus. Damien nodded, and spun Rosalina around, throwing her into Marcus. Marcus's eyes widened as Rosalina's shoulder slammed into his stomach. He staggered backwards, shaking off the hit when Damien hopped off of Rosalina's back and drop kicked Marcus square in the nose. Marcus slammed into the ground and Damien leaped on top of him.

I'm going to pound you now, Damien thought, raising his fist and slamming it into Marcus's face, I don't know when I'll stop. Damien repeatedly punched Marcus in the face, every hit from Damien shook the ground. Before Damien could land the final blow, Marcus grabbed Damien's hand and threw him into the wall opposite him. Damien crashed through the wall and hung inside the hole, fairly dazed. Marcus crawled up and squinted at Damien.

"Dead," Marcus growled as he lept towards Damien. Damien closed his eyes, bracing for the hit until he heard a slight gurgling sound coming from in front of him. Reluctantly, Damien opened his eyes and gasped. Rosalina stood right in front of Damien, her hand deep inside Marcus's chest. Marcus coughed, a small speck of red plopped onto her face. She kicked Marcus back into a large metal case, denting the steel. Damien leaped up and kicked Marcus in the face through the metal sheet, then grabbed his armor and pulled him out, tossing him aside in the wall. Rosalina blurred towards Marcus and thrusted her hand back into Marcus's hole in his chest and slammed him down onto the ground.

"You killed my dad..." Rosalina whispered, "And you're gonna pay for it." She began to put her other hand in his chest, until Marcus flipped Rosalina over onto her back, slamming his knee onto her chest.

"Yes I did kill your father," Marcus smirked, "And you can join him in death." He raised his hands to smash Rosalina face into the floor. Rosalina shut her eyes and felt drops of blood fall on her face. She opened her eyes to see a silver blade sticking out of Marcus's throat. Marcus's jaw dropped, looking down at the sword protruding out of his neck.

"What's wrong?" Damien whispered into Marcus's ear, "Having trouble swallowing defeat?" Marcus's head slowly turned to look at Damien.

"How...did..."Marcus gurgled, "I...won't..." Damien pulled the blade out of Marcus's throat and swept the blade through Marcus's neck, separating his head and neck with a gush of blood. Damien caught the head in his free hand as the body crumpled into dust. Rosalina looked up at Damien and stood, looking at the head.

"Oh man," Rosalina said, then smiled up at Damien, "And this is why you're awesome."

"You can marvel me later," Damien said as he pointed outside, "We got one more left." Rosalina nodded and walked with Damien outside to find Alexandra. Damien's eyes widened in confusion and shock.

"Where is she?" Rosalina asked. Then, a large explosion sounded behind them. They both turned to the giant column of fire a few feet away. Alexandra walked out of the fire, her hair flaring up like it's own flame. Blood trickled down her lips, which curled into a sadistic smile.

"Looking for me?" Alexandra asked.

"Yeah," Damien responded, "'Cause I got a present for you, lass." Damien threw Marcus's head to Alexandra, who caught it with one finger. She examined the dismembered head, then threw it into the fire behind her.

"Father always thought he was the weaker one," Alexandra said.

"Really? I don't see it," Damien quipped. Rosalina giggled, but was cut short by Alexandra's fist in her face. Alexandra spun around and slammed her foot into Damien's jaw. Both were sent backwards, rolling onto the pavement.

"See it now?" Alexandra smiled, "I'm going to enjoy this. This world needed a savior, and settled for another human slave." Damien stood up with Rosalina, breathing harder.

"Ready for the final boss, Rossie?" Damien said, cracking his neck eagerly.

"Let's do this," Rosalina responded as she and Damien lunged forward as a white and black blur towards Alexandra.

Shockwaves. Fire. Explosions. Those were the only things that Damien could hear as he and Rosalina slithered around, kicking and punching at Alexandra. The vampire queen laughed as she dodged each attack, floating farther away from the two heroes. She back kicked Rosalina and grabbed Damien's face and slammed it into the ground.

"I could've spared you," Alexandra started, but Rosalina leaped forward and headbutted Alexandra in the nose. She stepped backwards, giving Damien an opening to grab Alexandra's leg and slammed into the ground.

"Oops," Damien said, "Strike one." Damien slammed Alexandra onto the ground once again, the street shaking from the impact.

"Strike two," Damien smiled, then punched Alexandra in the stomach, denting the armor into her stomach. Alexandra coughed, curling into a ball on Damien's fist in her stomach.

"Strike three," Damien smiled as he tossed her into a huge glass skyscraper, "You're out." Alexandra spun around in the air then stopped like she hit a wall in the middle of the air. She shook her head and roared as she tackled Damien and slammed him into the street, dragging him in the street.

"Die, die, DIE!" Alexandra screamed, slamming Damien's face down into the street. Damien kicked Alexandra so that she flew a bit farther, losing her grip on his face.

"F***," Damien said, "That s*** hurt, lady." Alexandra stood up from the street and rolled her shoulders, but Rosalina kicked Alexandra in her shoulder, sending her into a car, which exploded into a huge ball of fire and metal. Rosalina smiled at Damien, then the smile quickly faded as Alexandra slowly out of the explosion, her armor hanging off of her shoulder and her undershirt ripping  off her arm.

"Not gonna lie," Damien perked, "That was pretty awesome." Alexandra stood in front of Damien and Rosalina, her skin glowing red.

"I'm gonna kill you now," Alexandra seethed, "Then I'm going to destroy the world. Recreate it in my own image."

"Told you," Damien said, "God complex." Alexandra screeched, her eyes shaded into black and lunged at Damien and started to claw at Damien's chest. Damien gasped, kicking her off and rolling back on his back.

"Well, this is new," Damien said, looking at Rosalina. Rosalina opened her mouth to speak, but Alexandra flew to them both, grabbing their necks and slamming them into each other. Rosalina groaned as Damien rubbed his forehead.

"Ow..." Damien said, "Dick." Alexandra lifted a SUV over her head and tossed it at Damien. Damien ran towards Alexandra, sliding under the SUV and kneeing Alexandra in the chin. Alexandra staggered backwards as Rosalina slammed Alexandra's face into the ground. Rosalina landed softly on the ground, but Alexandra grabbed her legs and tossed her into Damien. The two collided and collapsed like boulders.

"We can't beat her going our own way," Rosalina said.

"No, really?" Damien responded, "We have to coordinate an attack."

"Like practice?" Rosalina smiled. Damien smirked and nodded, rushing towards Alexandra. Alexandra bared her fangs at Damien as she swiped at him. Damien spun to the ground and swept Alexandra's leg. She flew into the air for a few seconds before Rosalina punted her in the back, snapping parts of her spine. Alexandra screamed in pain, but turned around to face Rosalina. She rolled her back, snapping her spine back in place.

"Ew..." Rosalina said, but Damien zoomed past her and punched Alexandra in the face. Damien's red eye became completely red, with pulsating black veins. Damien's fists became a flurry, rocking Alexandra's body with punches and kicks.

"Murderer," Damien whispered, "Tyrant. And now you threaten my world. No b****..." Damien uppercutted Alexandra in the air and leaped high in the air and elbowed her back down to the ground, "My world. My rules." Alexandra mumbled, but Damien landed right onto her back and grabbed her by roof of her mouth. But before Alexandra could bite down on his hand, Damien grabbed her jaw and outstretched her mouth.

"Open wide," Damien growled, as he tugged at Alexandra's mouth. Damien bit down on his teeth, pulling hard at the struggling Alexandra, until a tearing sound filled the air. Then another. Then another. With every pull, the flesh surrounding Alexandra's jaw tore, blood spilling down and squirting in the air. Damien roared as he snapped his hand back, and ripped Alexandra's skull from her jaw, the blood splashing onto his face again. Damien dropped Alexandra's head on the ground and smashed it with his foot. The skull crumbled under his boot, blood and brain matter spewed from under his foot. Damien lifted up his leg, brain matter sticking to the bottom of his shoe. He wiped it clean off as Rosalina walked over to Alexandra's fallen body.

"Where...?" Rosalina asked.

"I have played way too much 'Mortal Kombat'," Damien breathed, wrapping an arm around Rosalina. He looked up at the sky as the red began to fade into a dark and starry night.

"Romantic," Damien said. Rosalina smiled as she wiped the blood away from Damien's lips and pulled him into a kiss.

"Yes," Rosalina smiled as she pulled away, "Besides all the dead bodies lying around." Damien looked around. Sure enough, the entire street was littered with ash and broken bodies.

"Don't worry," Rosalina laughed, "The sun'll clean these up." Damien laughed as he walked down the street with Rosalina in his arms.

The rest of that summer was a blur. Damien's father finally came back home and got a promotion at his job because Mr. Yakamora supposedly "disappeared." Rosalina decided to stay with Damien and his father in Santa Monica, her first time living on the surface in years. Damien and Rosalina walked the beach one night, the waves lightly crashing on the cool sand.

"How does it feel to be a hero?" Rosalina asked, holding Damien's hand tenderly.

"I don't know," Damien retorted, "How does it feel to be dating a hero?" Rosalina laughed and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Pretty damn good, Damien Masters," Rosalina said, "Pretty damn good." Damien smiled and gave Rosalina a wink with his red eye. Rosalina giggled and the two sat on the sand, the ocean waves gleaming under the sliver of moonlight.
 

Well...I'm back. Again. This isn't really a chapter per say, but rather a page or so to just express to people about this. It's been a long road for writing this, but it's finally done. I'd think it would be nice to share the origins of this story and to say my thank you to some special people.

This story started out 4 years ago as sort of a combination of "The City of Ember" and all the awesome vampires movies like "Blade" and such. I had a few chapters written, with completely different characters and a more comedic tone, more than what you see in this. But then I just stopped, not knowing where to go with the story. So I went through the reboot process,trying to restart it and find the spark it needed. To put it bluntly, it was stuck in development limbo for a long time. Until this year, I thought it would never see the light of day. Then, I finally found the spark I needed and this story is that product. This story may not have been written in 20 months, but it is a story that was 4 years in the making. 4 years of constant ret-conning and revitalization in order to find the perfect balance of action and comedy. I'm proud of my work, and I know some others are as well.

Man, do I love segways. Speaking of other people, I do have a lot of shouts to make out there. First is my mother, who after I told her what I was doing, was incredibly supportive and pushed me to finish, even going so far as to reminding me if I forgot. I honestly don't know what to do without her. Next one goes to my biggest fans: BreAn, Emily, Cora, and Lily. Good gracious, I love these people. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be where I am today. This story may not have been here if it weren't for them. I appreciate everything that they did and all their help and criticism, in both good and bad times. It helps to have a good core behind you while you're writing. Last and certainly not least, I have to thank God for giving me the creative mind to write something like this. It's not easy, but He made me in a way that the burden wasn't so threatening. I truly can do all things through Him.

Writing this book was truly a ride, and it isn't my last ride. Thanks to everyone who supported me in this huge moment in my life and here's to many more.