Detective Henry is inside the Station's basement. He gave the blood bag to the Stations mortician and the tired and still pretty lady underneath the stoic and staunch posture of her lack of energy with her striped skirt and jacket underneath a lab coat checked the labels and their database to where it was supposed to go. She then writes down the information and confirms the Detective's suspicion.
“AB Type, this is good blood. Surprised it ended up all the way here.”
“I took it from Woodstock, a metro train was carrying it. Supposedly to be transported via plane to Neo Tokyo after getting processed in an underground bunker.”
“Mhm, well you're onto something now that’s for sure. This is as concrete as it gets. Strange though, if your notes are correct. One goes to Sky Garden, which I presume is for personal use, and what about the black marketed one heading to somewhere else?”
“Hence why later, I’ll be meeting with Fumiya san. He’s a mid level merchant, he should have the skill for this.”
“As expected from you. I’ll confirm your findings and put it in the database. Also, if you're gonna take it home. Put it in your fridge please. Its freezer would be ideal.”
“Yea, but first. I want to know, what’d I miss?”
“Nothing much. Everyone is still living in these cities pretending that the end of this world isn’t nigh and we’ll be with them if we don’t get out.”
“And the natives?”
“Lots of stuff, I traveled a bit while you were gone to Gareth since the UN was asking for Mortician Volunteers.”
“Nice to see you also finally got around.”
“Seeing that you went out there, from twelve months of being a scaredy cat and even to the Vampire Kingdom of all places, I knew I couldn’t lose to you.”
She then picks up her Mug with a text “Got Corpse?”. The tired woman sits down on her office chair and puts her head down after sipping some coffee.
“But… It was tiring. The Pope really did mess it up big time by announcing the allowing of Demons and Beastmen to join the Holy See. I was sent there to investigate the corpses of the various creatures so that we could at least record the vast numbers of sentient races in this world and bring it home. It's an amazing symbiotic relationship between inferior and superior thinking species all in one planet.”
“The more you describe this world… the more I find it to be absolutely crazy. One would imagine things would be more chaotic, but to a degree. Things are pretty quiet here. Apart from the stares I got as a human in the Vampire Kingdom, there seems to be a hierarchy here that everyone knows and respects the boundaries of.”
“Because if they don’t respect that boundary, they’ll die. Though the fact that we're walking amongst Gods, Bahamut herself is present on this very planet and is helping a General from our world is fascinating to say the least.”
“And the upcoming war between Good and Evil of this world…”
“Hm, I’ve talked to a Priest from the Holy See. He told me that one day, very near to the present. The hordes of Hell, whatever that is, will walk upon to the shores of this mortal realm as the Gates of the Underworld are opened to free them. Only the most powerful or luckiest of all the races will survive.”
“This is crazy. Yeah, it is.”
“But have you met Bahamut? You went and…” she stands up, animating herself once again and closes her computer and the glass door to her room in the basement morgue. “Talked to Queen Elizabeth? Is she as insane as the story makes her out to be? Or is her beauty really that great?”
“She is. But not Evil… She has her own thing going on. Bahamut on the other hand… all I really remember from her… was her eating disorder I guess? I never really had a Dragon so I don’t know if that’s normal for them.”
“It is normal. Dragons are known to eat entire herds of cattle though, how does a Goddess… a Divine creature, a Dragon like that become symbiotic with a human general?” the woman grabs her clipboard, clicking her pen and leaning into Henry’s chest. Excitedly wiggling her hips at the thought that somewhere out there, a Dragon God and a Mortal are living side by side.
“It was… pretty normal actually. She seemed like a very caring woman who just loved General Jackson with her every being. I think the two have been together for a while so it's only expected that their relationship would be like this.”
“But so… she shows her love to him like a normal human? I thought for such a divine being, they wouldn’t not need to show their love physically and would be doing it in some other way.”
“Maybe… I don’t know, okay. I only met and talked to her for an hour or two. One thing is for sure, I instantly knew she wasn’t human. Though her humanoid form had all of what makes us people, from the ears to the nose. The beauty, shiny pale skin, and aura she carried… no human would have that. I think to one to be fully human, one would also have some chaos in them. I saw no chaos in her.”
“I-incredible! If only I was friends with the Guild Leader! Tsk! Ohhhh… I wanna meet Bahamut. This is so cool! So you say she doesn’t have chaos in her… but seeing how destructive she is. One could say that she’s motivated by nature and divinity itself. Amazing! I wonder how that mixes with humanity and its inherent flaws.”
“Look at you, now can you finish that report so that I can read it?”
“I already turned off the computer. I’ll send it to you tomorrow!”
Henry slumps down, scratching the back of his head at his situation.
“Then. Wanna drink some coffee? The snow has been really falling.”
“Hmmmm…. Sure! I wanna ask more about Queen Elizabeth this time!”
“You're really gonna get me executed.”
“Ahhh, don’t worry. I’ll be using different names… or I’ll just call her Carmilla! No one would ever know!”
“We’re at war you know? And if anything, the Government is already pissed as much as it is.”
“Oh yes, be afraid of a year old Government that suddenly took over because they just had the systems in place. Henry, don’t you think we’re all living in this illusion of peace? Because I certainly feel like it. You say we’re at war, but the only info I truly get about it is from the news.”
“Don’t go conspiracy theorist on me now. I just have a job and I’m going to do it. I’ll question things when I’m back in my house on Earth.”
After reading for a while, she looked at the time and it was only 11:30 in the evening. Bored out of her mind, the Vampire Queen looks around for anything to entertain her. Looking back at the glass table, she sees the black TV remote with lots of buttons. Curiously holding it, she looks around for any instructions on how to use the small rectangular device but finds nothing. Sitting back on the Sofa, the woman starts randomly pressing buttons till the flatscreen TV opens on a channel.
It was replaying some old Japanese dramas, the sudden awakening of the device made her jump a bit but then started watching closely as the well acted emotions of the actor and actress cried out to her senses. "Oh, it seems to have another language and culture but it's very much like the ones I watched with Paul. These slant eyed humans know how to play with emotions very well." She then remembers the snacks on the kitchen cabinet and heads off to fetch some.
The strange looking packaged food and remembering how her Lord opened them with ease when they were in an outworlder city. Following her memories, she managed to open a can of soda. This then cascaded to bottles of apple juice then cookies and flakers. But even then, she neatly placed her trash and made sure that she didn't make a mess of the place. After eating and sobbing to Japanese dramas with tissue papers crumpled up into a big ball, she looks at the digital clock on the wall and sees it's only 1:00 Sunday, -3F. Bored again, the woman walks around and thinks of going outside.
She goes to her room and starts looking through her dusty clothes. Planning on blending in with humans but sadly, she didn't have anything that could make her at least look like a modern woman. While in the background, the channel switches to playing old 90s Christmas Movies from America. She then opted to wear one of her more elegant dresses meant for meeting with commoners. A gown that has the same color of her emerald eyes, and has intricate designs with bronze and gold with black frills. She then spent the next hour cleaning it with magic but even then, the age of her clothes still showed.
Wearing it, it looked like she was back at her hay days leading one of the only vampire nations in the entire world. Having no money, she looks around and finds a card for her. A Government one meant for official use only. With it is a note in English “Feel free to use this, it's an enchanted credit card. Inside this is a thousand golds worth and it should be depicted on the engraved numbers which changes whenever you use it. Please feel free to enjoy to our city - Municipality of Neo Tokyo”
Turning off the flatscreen TV, she heads off outside to the cold and brooding night. Some of the concrete sidewalk already had bits of snow piling up and those still awake at night staring at the beautiful blonde girl wearing a gown in a cold lonely night. The woman then proceeded to walk aimlessly in the sprawling metropolis. Enjoying the neon lights and the tightly packed city. To her surprise, there was still on restaurant open. Heading inside, she’s met with a strange human that is visibly wearing a janked mask.
”おはようございます！今日、わたしはどのようにあなたに仕えることができるでしょうか。”
“Do you speak English by any chance?”
“Oh of course! Welcome to Ryuko’s Traditional Confectionery, I am Mister Doyle, how may I be of service to you madame?”
“Call me Elizabeth and hmmm… what’re these things on the counter?”
“These are Wagashi. Our theme and motif for the season is Snow, so you could see we have ones shaped like snowballs and winter flowers.”
“Interesting… and what could you be?”
“Oh. I guess this mask isn’t as good as I thought. I’m an Arachnid. It’s the race of my avatar, and I kinda regret it now… heh heh heh.”
Though he sounded like a normal man, there was a foreboding secrecy with how he dressed in traditional Japanese clothing and wore gloves. Not showing one hint of skin and the obvious fake human mask he wore.
“Would you like for another person to come and take your order?”
“No need. Just give that blooming flower with the snow decoration.”
“Of course.”
“As you box them, may I ask what they're made out of?”
“Mostly plants, nothing artificial. We actually started using native plants from Threa, the one you bought ma’am has Gloom plants in them.”
“Oh good! I’ve long since had one, though I usually put them in my tea. Very creative use of it Outworlder.”
“Thank you ma’am. I never knew I’d serve a vampire today.”
“Be sure to remember my gorgeous face when those red eyed ones come here. Remind them and this is the beauty of a true nightwalker.”
“Of course.”
She was then given her Wagashi, neatly packed in a simple box with the logo of the shop. Bowing, the man thanks her for her patronage and the Queen heads back outside to the cold. Walking around more while eating her Wagashi, passing a black tahoe in a shadowy parking lot and to an alleyway where she notices a vending machine meant for older people. Having stickers in multiple languages explaining that you must be 18 and above to buy from it.
Tilting her head, she walks to the lonesome alley and encounters a young teenage man in a tracksuit. His hands deep within its pocket as he looks around, seeing nothing. He was about to put one coin in when a hand wearing a glove with obviously long nails inside it stops him.
“Oya boy. Don’t you know that’s meant for older people?”
Looking to his right, he met the bountiful breast of a woman. Slowly looking up to meet the face, he is astonished and scared by the beautiful woman with sharp pointy ears. Looking down on him as she caught the man on the act.
“I-I’m…”
“Oh good you speak English. This’ll make things easier for us.”
“I just wanted to try…”
“Hmmm…? Well I’m not accustomed to Outworlder customs and traditions so buy away, but let me remind you child. Do not drink too much, it will cause thee pain and the hampering of one's decisions. I’ve seen what it can do to humans who doesn’t respect the limits of ones mortal body.”
“Mm.”
She lets the young teenage man get his beer as she buys one for herself with her credit card. The two then sat down on a nearby bench to have a peaceful drink.
“So… what’s a youngin’ like you doing outside at this type of time? Dost knows the dangers of looming around at such a time.”
“Miss Vampire, what’s it like to be like you?”
“Hmmm? Is thou curious about eternity?”
“Yes. You see, I was a slave before the Outworlders came in the slave town I was in and took me in as refuge. I learned their languages, their culture and life… but I don’t know. I have everything I could ever wish but at the same time… it feels lacking.”
“Hmmm…” Elizabeth stayed quiet for a bit and thought of his sentences one by one and after rubbing her gloves with her chin. She looks at him with a straight eye. “Young one. You should try going out of this… metropolis as they call it. This place is not for you, you need to be outside with the forest and the animals. Hunt and live, before one can sit in a house and live in abundance. The Outworlders built these places to be their utopia of sorts. Where all their needs are met and given… but not wisdom. This place is devoid of life, devoid of the bounty of nature.”
“But then again. I can’t really go anywhere… and I’m afraid to be taken away again.”
“What’s thou’s ageth?”
“15 or 16, the people in the uniform told me so.”
“Then one is already two to three years overdue for one's job! If one were to live in this city, you will never experience the short but fruitful lives of many normal humans. Becoming a vampire won’t help you with that, you must overcome your mortality and carry on.”
“I don’t want to be a human. The things I suffered from, I’d rather be a vampire and be safe from pain.”
“Look at me child.”
The young teenage man turns his face to the Queen and sees her sparkly golden eyes looking down on him.
“Thou really want to live for an eternity? Let me tell you that to become one like us means to absolve one from all of their mortal being. Can thou leave these human morals? The human culture and tradition to become one that walks till the end of time?”
The Queen's tone was heavy and her aura, suppressing everything, even the lightpost behind her. She was looking straight at the boy's very soul with a deafening heartbeat that is akin to a God looking down on a mortal creature.
“Do you know what’s the number one cause of death of vampires? Nay it is not the hunters, nay it is not the priests or knights but us ourselves. Humans who turned into one can never shed their humanity and in the end, found a way to kill themselves. Even I, the eternal Queen of the night, the conqueror of Threa, the conquistador lady that led the vanquishing of the beastmen and the High elves befell to this reason. Tell me now child, can you or can you not shed your humanity to live an eternity? Can thou walk upon this plane as you see the leaves and the soil change, the skies and the ocean shift while you… stay as is? Pain is still there, even as a vampire. The pain won’t be physical, but mental.”
To her surprise, the kid wasn’t even scared. Not once did the young man change his stance or averted his eyes. Neither did he flinch, but at the same time, he couldn’t give her a proper answer as he stuttered with his words, giving up in trying to put his thoughts in words as the Queen looked right into his soul.
“If one can tell me now, I will surely give thou the greatest privilege of becoming my thrall. You shall be behest of the Bartley family, and will forever live under the wing of one of the most influential houses in all of Rose, you may sink thyself to endless debauchery and needless spendings as any human would ask and wish for… but can thou really live like that?”
“Th-then why are you here Miss Queen?”
“Call me Elizabeth, and I am here to recover the pride of my human Knight and Lord. My owner sort of said.”
“Your owner is a human?!”
“Yes child. A feeble and fleshy human that will die of a single strike to the heart. Whose right now is under sleep from his wounds, but one should learn from him. Not once did he ask of my blood, or to become a primordial vampire as I am, but instead took me under his wing, gave me redemption and a second chance. Do not be folly of your mortality child, for your mortality is also the gateway to many things we, creatures of eternal life, could never understand.”
“As if I could ever become like that.”
“You can… that man carried nothing on his back but his humanity and his love for his word. Only a human is stupid enough to forsake paradise for his own means. And he is the perfect interpretation of that. With me, and Bahamut. He could’ve had his own paradise, one that even the Gods would envy. But no, we instead adventures, ate, and slept together under a wrinkly and olden carriage that is pulled by a horse from hell.”
The Queen then relaxes, she straightens her back and continues drinking her can of beer.
“I neither don’t know nor know why he is like that, I merely chalk it up to him being human.”
“It's not that hard to understand us humans, you know? Maybe if I could become a vampire then I could spread the word.”
“Then how could one explain to us what being human is if one was to be a vampire? Again, you humans are something special to a degree. One I will never understand… but that doesn’t stop me from admiring your tenacity, even though you are the weakest of all of the races that walk upon this land, you continue to adapt and flourish.”
“Maybe… but it gets tiring. Knowing how easy it is for us to die. I’m sure your owner also had the same idea, that acceptance before seeing your life flash before your eyes. People can die so easily yet it takes years for us to develop and become proper people… if we even become proper ones.”
“But that is up to you know isn’t it? When one was once mortal, then one's soul is built for a mortal life. Immortality would mean changing one's very soul, to deny your very essence. You might just end up like these red eyed vampires of the Outworlders. They share the blood, but not the soul. To them, it is merely wearing a skin, a mask of eternal youth with immense power and beauty. But not the responsibility that comes with it.”
“Yea… I guess you have your point Miss Elizabeth. But… I still don’t want to die painfully though, I don’t want to become like the others, when I was inside that slave ship.”
“Oh!” The Queen claps her hands remembering something. “Why not become a Knight? My Lord always said that he wears his armor for he is also afraid of dying… though I also remember him saying that he doesn’t like not wearing it for spikey things that might pinch him. Haah… humans.”
“Hm, he does sound like a normal person. Though a Knight huh… I still remember stories of the Knightly heroes of the Kingdom of James and Gareth… hm. Maybe I will try to become one.”
“Good! I apologize for my tangent there. But meeting my kin from another world has greatly disturbed me. To think that people would become vampires for such small and futile reasons. Ignoring the responsibilities and the pain that comes with it.”
“Then… if you wanted to die, does that mean you were also once human?”
“I was. I was… but it was a long long long time ago. Before the Third Reset came, I was merely a Priestess of a long lost religion that traveled with one of the first Knights of the land. I was gifted with many things in my travels. Including one of which showed my true beauty. Though the power of the ancient vampire, the apostle of Angus was powerful, my heart couldn’t take it. Unlike normal vampire blood, the ancient ones fluid also changed my very soul and essence, disposing of my humanly traits and changing it to that of one that lives for all of eternity. But my human heart, I still could feel it. Every Time I am with him, I can feel a bit of its essence.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“I guess your owner has been good to you huh? He gave you time to grow and learn…”
“Hm… yes.” the Queen smiled as she drank her beer. “He indeed has been good, very good. Though I know myself that my human heart no longer has a place in this body of mine, I’d still like to remember it. For-”
“For once a human, always a human.”
“Exactly. Love what you are, not what you could become. Maybe one day, you might become a better person.”
She pats the head of the kid, messing his already messy hair up even more as she stands up. Hands on her hips as she nonchalantly crushed her can of beer and blindly threw it into a garbage can behind her.
“Alright, that’s enough conversation for today. Though I can say, it’s been fun mortal. I hope you live your short life to its best, humans are greatest when they are remembered from their achievements and heroics in life. I shall await the day I’ll hear from you.”
“Hm, is your Lord…?”
“An Outworlder? Yes. So the day might come where I’ll either have to banish myself into the forests of Schon or maybe sleep once again, but this time in a proper Coffin and that is not Meridian tomb.”
“Meridia? You were buried there?”
“Yes, why? Oh, could you be one of those slaves that they regularly fester around the Kingdoms up north?”
“Hm, I was living there for most of my life. Though since my skin isn’t brown or tanned like them, I was used to being under the rule of a Sultan. But then he lost all his riches and I was sold. It was thanks to the Outworlders that I was freed.”
“These Outworlders, they sure are warlike aren’t they child? For people that rose from a far flung future in a world only full of humans, they sure love war. But I guess even rampant violence can save others from time to time.”
“I’ve heard many stories from their planet. Earth is what they call it, from the books and the literature, it seems that even in a world only full of humans, the same things still apply.”
“That is the price to be paid. Differences can make enemies but also lovers. War and Love, as much as the humans and elves despise them, are part of nature and part of life. A world without those is not a world at all, but a senseless dream. Hence why I sometimes think the Orcs, Goblins, and Ogres are living the best lives out of all of us. Teehee.”
After stretching her legs and arms, the Queen walks back to the middle of the alleyway. Waving her hands. “Alright, the night is late, and I must depart. A certain detective might be looking for me. Good bye child.”
She then went back to the mainstreet and to her apartment. The woman immediately plops down on the sofa, face planting to it and hugging the pillows to death. After a few minutes, she took a quick bath and could see it was only 4:00 in the morning with the Sun still not up. Her next steps took her back to the living room and used the phone. As it had a plaque next to it saying "Press and Hold 1 for Staff" which she does.
Detective Henry is riding through the seaside street of Neo Tokyo inside a cramped Isuzu Elf full of random objects.
“Henri-di. You are paying me for this right?”
“Of course, when did I never pay you?”
“That time when I helped you investigate the killings at the sewers?”
“That might be just a one off thing.”
“Or that one when I helped you chase down bank robbers through the streets and to the highway?”
“W-well… I might be short on cash that day.”
“Or-”
“Okay, okay, I get you. If I finish this case. I swear, I’ll be paying you twofold!”
The worn merchant player with his understandable English with a thick Japanese accent just sighs as they enter the city's dump. Quadrupedal robots were loitering about, sorting and destroying car engines and taking apart important electronics to save what can still be used. No humans were in sight and the entire site was littered with mindless skeletons and robots maintaining everything and making sure everything was properly sorted and the site was working at top efficiency.
“So, anything yet?”
“Nope. Nothing.”
“C’mon, I just need one. One proof and this whole thing is over!”
Behind them, a black Chevy Suburban also enters the dump site but drives off to one of the piles as the box truck rolls through the muddy soil. Without even seeing them, the two stop at one of the recycling centers for rubber. With his New Nambu drawed out and his Wakizashi slinged to his belt, the Detective rolls through the front door and is met with a large lobby of nothing but skeletons toiling away at sorting and checking every item that goes through the belt right in front of them.
The leftover junk would then be burned on an enchanted gem that would recycle the material back into Mana for the Core to reuse and spawn other raw materials needed for the creation of new items.
Being a Merchant, Fumiya was able to use magic that could track down items. Though this was mostly used to track down farming items to create more things to sell. He looks around at the place but finds nothing. Fixing his polo shirt the man goes right in front of the belts to see if any of them was identical to the blood bag.
“None? What’re blood bags made out of anyways.”
“Uhhhh Henry-di. It’s plastic.”
“Oh what?!”
Dragging Fumiya out of the recycling center, they once again board the box truck and to the other side of the dump. Passing through Caterpillar Haul trucks and D11 dozers constantly working around the clock as they drive through the busy place. The recycling center for the plastics was ten times busier with skeletons driving dump trucks lined up in a big queue while others just dropped it down on a pile for a dozer to do the rest.
Though a bit overwhelmed, the recycling center was still doing its job and performing its task at top and peak efficiency, the moment they stopped their truck. The soil was already eating it up and sinking below the soft soil from being driven over so many times by overloaded commercial trucks. Fumiya, being a merchant, uses ice magic to freeze the soil and prevent his truck from sinking.
With it sorted out, the Detective rolls into the center and the skeletons there were triple the number and the sorting was far faster than the last one. Fumiya then points his hand at a pile of medical waste, and the Detective could see that it was not only full of syringes and other plastic medical items that it reached the point that the blood bags were deep inside them.
“Stand back.”
With his Wakizashi, he starts cutting down the outer layer and inside it. Was the blood bags. All of them are in Japanese.
“This is going to be fun. FUMIYA!”
“HAAAAAII!”
The man wears one of the gloves used by the workers of the plant and helps the Detective dig out anything. Looking for that one blood bag in full English meanwhile outside. Well dressed and tacky vampires arrive from a Ford Transit as Chevy Suburbans leave the dump site. Being a Ranger, the Detective senses the danger that was looming on them and it soon begins surrounding the building.
“If I say run, get in the Elf and start it up. Drive off without me. Alright?”
“Eh?!”
They then find one and soon two, and three and four. All having multiple different languages and none of them meant to go to Neo Tokyo with the four main cities being far too apart from each other. Some of them had strangely accumulated dust inside and others had signs of acid reaction. The Detective swallows his pride and pockets them all in his expensive black suit and Fumiya just tucks in his polo shirt and puts it inside it.
“RUN!”
Fumiya dashes to the front floor as two vampires jump him. With his Samurai armor on, the Detective slashes the low leveled goons with his high level suit of Japanese armor. Having no problems fighting them, the Merchant drives off as he runs on foot to take the attention of the vampires. The Ford Transits give chance to the Isuzu Elf box truck.
Quickly thinking of a way, the Detective climbs on top of the pile while throwing down random objects to the vampires chasing him, occasionally shooting back or parrying their longswords and halberts. The man then starts hopping through the top of the piles while being chased down by the vampires and those with guns chase him from the remaining vans, drive by shooting the man as the bullets fling off his armor.
He then sees the box truck is going to make a tight left turn to the entrance, timing his jump. The man lands right on top of it and immediately looks back to slash the vampires giving chase. But a handful of them manage to regenerate the wound and latch themselves into the sides of the van with their sharp nails.
Henry looks at the front as the box truck makes a right turn and into the road where on the other side, a black Chevy Suburban opens its door and a man drenched in a black BDU with the patch of Woodstock’s Special Operations Aviation Regiment pulls out an RPG-7V2 and waits the golden moment to fire, this makes Henry lean to the right side and shoots the tire of the Isuzu Elf. Making it lose control as the RPG’s High Explosive rocket propelled grenade hits one of the vans chasing them.
The crash was intense and the players on the road stop to see what’s happening, being armed themselves, they see Henry holding up a police badge as the vampires surround him. Players knowing the situation stand up with their swords, guns, and colossal weapons. “Heh, Checkmate.”
Shortly after, one of the managers arrives. Ringing her door which she immediately opens while wearing nothing but her bathrobe which perfectly showed her chest down to her hips but was tight enough to hide the half of her big breasts.
"Good Morning your majesty. How can I be of service to you?"
"Yes, I'd like to buy some modern clothes. Preferably, ones that're for snow."
The female manager puts her finger on her chin, rubbing it as she dabbles in her brain. Remembering that the Guild told them to make sure to appease the Queen no matter what her request was.
"May I get your body measurements? I might be able to source some clothing for you."
"Eh?"
….
After a second of processing, the Queen rushes inside and puts on some Garter and Stockings with a sexy Lingerie. Walking back to the door, the Vampire Queen was taken aback by her seriousness. She merely nods as the Manager pulls out a tape measure from her Blazer and a notepad with a pen. After taking the measurements, the Manager bows and goes back down. Leaving her on the door, still amazed at how fast and efficient the woman was. "Wasn't it customary for them to speak of their name first?" Nonetheless, the Queen heads back into her room. This time, looking for Sky Garden. Staring into the large city, she notices it. One of the buildings about five to eight blocks away has a garden on its roof. It was just as tall as the one she is on and could see the final three floors was one big suite. After a few hours with the Sun rising up, she gets a doorbell once again. The person on the other side was a voluptuous girl in a long skirt, stockings and a long sleeve with multiple shiny bags from an expensive looking store.
Opening the door, she's greeted by a rather peculiar woman who immediately took interest in her beauty. The girl's jaw dropped when Elizabeth revealed herself.
"OMG! The body measurements given to me did not lie! Oh my! Such immaculate curves! Skinny, yet thick on the thigh and those breasts, they must be G or more!"
"...G?"
She then holds the hand of the Queen, her eyes sparkling at her beauty.
"Oh my! I have to show you my clothes and take pictures! Hm hm hm! The ultimate supermodel! Where did you get your underwear?"
“I actually don’t wear any. My Lord was the one that instructed me to wear these undergarments. Most of all, these things you call Bra.”
“Ah yes! I hope it's comfortable, men aren't really experts in this field.”
“Ahhhh… he allowed me to pick whatever I felt was right so I have no problems with it.”
“Ohhh I could do so much!”
The woman then calls for the attendants to bring in the rest, soon, her apartment room was full of modern clothes for her to choose and a team of photographers. After turning up the thermostat, and the Queen being a model as a payment, with hundreds of photos of her posing in differing outfits. Though at first, Elizabeth was confused at what to do, after getting properly instructed. The woman was going all out in her poses, changing by the second and in every frame, she was exuding sexiness and beauty without even trying. The photographers were having the time of their lives, seeing the true power of a creature meant to please you from eyes, nose, and ears.
After the lackluster but productive photo session, she was given skinny jeans, winter boots, a long beige formal winter coat, black leather winter gloves, and a black turtleneck sweater with a beanie to top it off.
The lady, before leaving, also gives her a dark red scarf and an expensive womens bag. Looking in the mirror, she totally pulled off the look. Apart from the sharp vampiric ears, she looked like a daily citizen of a modern metropolis with a fashionable taste. Her gorgeous blonde appearance was covered by the thick layers of clothing but was still enough to concentrate her beauty, the sweater was also form fitting, showing her curves inside the long formal winter coat.
Looking outside, there was some light snow but nothing too bad, people were out and about on the streets and the roads were full of cars. Looking at the skies, she could see a formation of Blackhawks heading towards the outskirts of the city, the skyline of the metropolis gives her a surreal feeling of alienation, a concrete jungle of rectangles and squares, a marvel of modern architecture and civil engineering. Something that is far from what they have in her world. Taking the elevator, she goes to the receptionist. She didn’t stand out that much in the lobby as people were coming in and out of the restaurant there for their free breakfast meals while attendants were busy assembling a massive Christmas Tree in the Lobby.
“Hello.”
“Yes, good morning. How may I help you?”
“Yes, I’d like to ask if you have a copy of a map of this city.”
“Map of the city?”
“Yes. I traveled out last night, but I couldn’t help but notice how complex the pathways are.”
“I do have some for tourists. Please wait.”
Taking a pamphlet, the Queen unfolds it, showing the major tourist spots in the city, from the Shrines to the Temples built by players, underneath each of them, was named the Guild who built it and for who. While the other side showed the various restaurants she can visit and how much Gold they charge.
“Do you have any other requests, Missus…?”
“Bartley. Miss Bartley.”
“Is this your first time here?”
“Yes, I am quite overwhelmed by your city.”
“No worries ma’am, if you need help. The police are always here, and the people are also friendly.”
“Thank you.”
She heads off to the cold outside, even at the driveway. She is mesmerized by the city. “I wish you were here my Lord…” walking to the street, many of the people were busy about their day. No one was giving her much attention as they were too busy with the buzzling city life, and the snowy road was a mess with buses, box trucks, motorcycles, and cars. Twenty kilometers away, on a Joint Greater Japan Guild-Men of the Woods Airbase, their radars detect a flying object.
“UNKNOWN, ALT THREE-ZERO, SPEED SIX HUNDRED.”
“No joy. Radar is clean, might be an error.”
“Negative, change altitude Thunder, target should be right above you.”
“Affirmative, changing altitude.”
Seeing there’s no threat, the Pilots relax themselves. The F-14 Tomcats with a nose art of Zeus striking a Goblin with a Bolt tilts upward, hitting 30,000 feet within a few seconds.
“There’s still nothing here, Tokoyama. Radar is clean, no bogeys on sight.”
“Keep looking Thunder, the target is increasing its speed.”
“Affirmative.”
Hearing a deep sigh, the green triangles on the gigantic screen could be seen approaching the smaller red triangle. In the middle of the large room were two generals, with their hands up their chin. Intently looking at the target as the jets approach it.
“WOAH!”
“Thunder, what is it?!”
“Target sighted! It’s-it’s a kid! A Vampire with its wings out! Young caucasian male with jagger pants, sneakers, and an oversi-”
The transmission was cut instantly.
“Hello, Thunder?”
On the screen, the three triangles could be seen frantically turning and their altitudes changing as the small red triangle chased them with immense UFO-like maneuverability and speed.
“BULLSEYE!”
“THUNDER TWO REPORTING HIT ALSO!”
Then, the two triangles of the fighter jets disappear. One of the Generals immediately ran to the nearest phone.
“SCRAMBLE JETS FROM WILSON WOOD AIRBASE AND YAKAMATA AIRBASE! RAPTORS IF AVAILABLE! ANY PLAYER CAPABLE OF FLIGHT ARE TO RESPOND IMMEDIATELY! ELVEN, ARACHNID, SLIME, UNDEAD, ANYONE!”
On the two air bases, their alarms go out as scramble is announced. Already, fighter jets were on afterburner taking off from the runways while back at Tokoyama Airbase, the last remaining F-14 Tomcat was fighting for its life. The Pilot was frantically looking at his mirrors, and at his wings. Little did he know, behind his canopy, the strange vampire was standing casually while he made his way back to their base.
“TOKOYAMA, WHERE IS THE BOGEY?!”
“...”
“TOKOYAMA, DO YOU COPY?!”
“It-it’s right on you… same height, speed, and altitude…”
“HUH!?”
The young man punches his canopies window and samoursaults to the front. The vampire removes his helmet which was just a headset with an HMD attached, as the Pilot was an Elven player with long pointy ears that cannot fit in a normal flight helmet.
“Man, your cops are really good. If it weren’t from him, we wouldn’t be having to do this. Now, I’ll be borrowing your plane for a while.”
“Target is a young male, brown hair-”
Before he could finish, the vampire pulls the ejection cord, sending the Elf flying with his seat.
“Viper One, we got lock on target. Fox Three.”
Two AIM-9X flies at the stricken F-14. “Now, if I remember how it was done, I’m gonna press this, and this, aaaanndd…” the vampire makes the F-14 drop its GBU-12s before getting shot down by the F-22 Raptor two kilometers behind it.
“Viper! We got bombs dropped, I saw its silhoutte! Bombs dropped! I think its a pair of GBUs!”
Midair as the two bombs fell, the vampire grabbed it and continued a deep dive. The F-22 Raptor was unable to chase due to the G forces it would take. Already, the bogey is gone and into the forest below, the jets unable to give chase.
“Sir? What now?”
“Call the local units and have them check the areas. Make sure they avoid roads taken by civilians and no operations inside the city. Keep it all far away and I want all jets and helicopters to avoid rattling the cityscape itself. Keep everything in a distance and not keep close to it. Helicopters are also to fly low and quiet.”
Back in the city, Elizabeth is looking at some clothes while high above her, five fighter jets blast through the city followed by a swarm of high flying helicopters. Some of them sling loading ATVs as they run through the snowy clouds without fear. *Click* The sound of someone taking a picture of her takes her eyes away from the skies and to her left was a young blonde caucasian male, visibly of Nordic descent. The human man was wearing as many thick layers as he could, but his blue eyes and pale skin stood out. Even the Queen was enamored by his looks all the while, Christmas decor litter the streets and the shops, the red and white of the celebration overtaking the gray hue of the urban landscape.
“Sorry, did that bother you?”
“No. It didn’t, what is that device?”
“It's a DSLR camera. One of the few that was made in Dark World, I went through a lot to get this here, so that I can capture the essence of virtual life…”
Realizing that she wasn’t from his world, he nonchalantly goes up to her and shows the photo he took of her. It was beautiful and captivating, a blonde woman with her pointy ears standing out, looking high above the skies with her chin just above her red scarf. It was like a moment many men would fall for a woman, and he managed to take a picture of it. The blur was just right to expose her immense beauty hiding beneath her clothes.
“By the Gods…”
Even she was surprised by it, grabbing his hands and putting the camera’s screen closer to her eyes as she stared at her beautiful self.
“What an amazing device…”
“May I follow you? I am part of a Photography Group, though we can be called a Guild. We aren’t really like the Greater Japan or the Fourth Reich… just small people with the same interests that have banded together.”
“I don’t mind, if you can find my beauty even in these clothes. I more than welcome your company. Also, can this be transferred?”
“It can. May I ask why?”
“I am sure My Lord would’ve wanted to see me in this clothing.”
As the temperature drops even more, making their breaths visible. The Queen continues her stroll. Visiting the various shops with gadgets and devices that could basically do everything she needs to live a less stressful and laborious day. She was also interested in the Christmas Garlands being sold, and looked at some sexy Santa’s Little Helper outfits. Her emerald eyes were sparkling even more as she was astonished by the large repertoire of goods with differing styles and functions.
“What is thou’s name?”
She has her hands in her coat pockets, leaning down and looking around to look at the items being shown.
“Ah, it's Joachim.”
“I am Elizabeth. Though one may call me Bartley.”
“Hm. You're a Vampire right? I could see the two fangs on your upper jaw.”
“I am, far older and far wiser than many.”
“Really?”
“Hm? Even you lot aren’t surprised by my Vampirism?”
“You haven't really hurt anyone haven’t you? And you’ve been very casual in our conversation. I don’t have a reason to be afraid and it's not like vampires can’t be out in the open here, it's just that there are usually few.”
“Hmph, I wonder how many of you humans have been killed by this open mindedness?”
The two continue their stroll, reaching a Shrine inside the urban jungle. Quietly tucked between the towering concrete buildings, walking to it. Elizabeth smiles at the beautiful structure, Joachim takes photos of her standing below the Torii and burning an incense at the shrine. He couldn’t believe his eyes at how photogenic she was, every snap completely captivates him as it fully absorbs her immense beauty and amourous powers.
“Joachim!”
Another man appeared who also had a camera with him. The Asian avatar was just as tall as him and had an extremely good fashion sense, looking like he took the clothes right off a show. White sneakers with checkered pants, a black sweater and gray vest and a formal winter coat, unlike Joachim who was wearing a more casual look with a polo and a winter work jacket.
“Oh Lee!”
“Oh wah! Look at her, is she your model?”
“Yea, ain’t she a beauty?”
The Queen stands with her hands tied, bowing. She could hear that Lee’s American English was a bit broken but understandable.
“Uwaaaah, she is a looker, what is your name Miss?”
“Elizabeth Bartley. Pleased to meet you.”
Her politeness caught him off guard which made him do a 90 degree bow and name himself with his hand out.
“Lee Nak-yon from Seoul! Pleased to meet you!”
Joachim then goes to him and whispers something. The two then convene on each other, leaving Elizabeth to wonder what the two were talking about. Miles away, Henry is walking to a snowy forest, a man in a winter Bunderswehr uniform with a patch on his shoulder depicting Charlie Chaplain as the Fuhrer is looking at a crater with a bunch of UN soldiers.
“Adolf, the fuck is all this about? It's Sunday.”
“Herr Henry… we have a problem.”
“I heard, some teenage angst stole some bombs right?”
“Not just some bombs, those were GBU-Twelves from the Men of the Woods. Their Eighth Strike Fighter Wing.”
“And what? From the report, the guy who did this couldn’t be more than sixteen years old.”
“Those Paveways could lay waste to a block if improperly used. More reason as to why we should be scared.”
“And what exactly is Neo-Tokyo PD’s Investigative Bureau’s role in this? I’m still busy getting the second location of where these smuggled blood bags are headed to.”
“Easy, me and my men just came back from our Expedition to Meridia. We are in no shape or form to fight. I am willing to sacrifice my morale to find who did this, but the UN right now has all its hands tied. Not only that, your Guild has gotta be the most arduous when it comes to paperwork. It’ll take very long before we’ll be able to send UN investigators to find the culprit.”
“Just how bad is the war going? I thought we were rolling through them since we are technologically superior?”
“It’s going fine. It's just the powers that’d be are being absolute idiotens.”
“Okay, let me see then.”
The crater wasn’t anything special, Henry looks around and sees that its not that big, too small for a bomb and there is no large shrapnel marks on the trees and none of the barks were even penetrated.
“Seems that he made a hard landing.”
“Hm. But where is that going to go?”
From the weight of the two GBUs, the vampire unknowingly sunk his feet on the soil. Leaving trails to where he headed.
“That only goes to one place. Neo-Tokyo got teleported in the Region of Vanarius, North West of Geraldia, located in the region is the famed old Castle of King Desdetioa, if that is correct, that vampire must be bringing it to one of the various fortifications built there or even the great Castle itself.”
“Sheisse, as if Leopards can climb mountains. I’ll need helicopters and lots of it.”
“Not only that, the Castle has long been a point of political talk between the Kingdoms. The Empire wants it as they did capture it once, but the Kingdom of Gareth and its mighty Knights has been on the fence as it was their old Knight King that built it.”
“So you're telling me, we can’t just waltz in there as we might spark a war between those two?”
“Maybe, maybe not. Those two factions know well what we can do. But it's better to tread lightly.”
“Argh and the report said that you have the Vampire Queen with you, where is she? She could turn this entire thing on its head and finally end this charade.”
“Oh, I told her she can waltz around the city if she desires. It's my break.”
“Mein Gott… c’mon. We’re heading to the city. But before that, let us stop by an orphanage. I have to visit a child.”
“Awwww… there’s a Rudentoft Junior?”
“Henry, I know your angry that you are called to duty in your break, but if you only knew what I saw in Meridia… the slavery there and the depravity. That deserted hellhole knew no bounds, no species, no flags. Everyone was enslaved and used… and that was just one Dynasty… what more if I really asked for more and made a run to the Sultanate?”
Henry stops at his feet, looking at the Colonel’s eyes. Brimming with murder, the flames of war sparkling in his iris.
“Why…”
“We came back here as the UN said so. We have no say, even though I have proof that there’s more players being abused there. But they said it's time to rotate us, which is absolutely quatsch. This absolutist moralist suits up there has no idea what’s happening down below, and it brings me with anger knowing I’m sitting pretty in a city while the duty given to me by them is left alone.”
“Are you the only combat unit there?”
“Ja! These morons are so hampered on Schon that they forgot that there’s worse things happening in the more civilized parts of this damned world! Grrrr… I could’ve done more!”
Pat comes to his right shoulder. “Let’s go.” The two board an ATF Dingo, taking them back to the city as the other officers and soldiers keep looking for clues in the area.
Inside the city, Queen Elizabeth is inside a Photography Studio, cosplaying famous anime characters. There are three photographers and two make-up artists. Already, the computers were full of photos. From Bishamonten, to Eda, Artoria Lancer, Arcueid Brunestud and finally her current cosplay of Yukihime from UQ Holder. She was a natural at modeling, switching poses and facial expressions on a whim as the trio took as many photos as they could.
“Alright guys… what’s next?”
“Oh!”
Lee runs to his computer and puts up a photo of Hikari Takanashi from Demi chan, he swifty turns it around, wrapping the cable to it like a coil on its stand and making a bigger mess of the studio floor which was already full of SD cards.
“Can you do this Queen Elizabeth? Shapeshift yourself into a younger form?”
“I certainly can, but I prefer the ones you’ve picked so far that’re more mature. And I do not like being treated like a child. My chest at that time was… far less bountiful than I was when I aged.”
Right outside on the street, a convoy of 4th Reich ATF Dingoes arrived. Henry and Rudentoft looked around and could see there are many shops of anime memoraphibilia, even pamphlets on how to modify your Avatar to look exactly like a character.
“Ugh, Henry. Is this really where she was last seen?”
“Yea, the CCTV on that intersection showed a beautiful blonde woman with two males entering the Weeb District.”
“Argh, I hate places like this.”
“You aren’t fooling anyone.”
Henry could see the Colonel's eyes staring at a tomboyish orc woman who was posing for a Maid restaurant in a sexy Santa outfit. “Ha, I am not like these reprobates. HUMANITY FIRST AND ALWAYS!” without noticing, he was already walking towards its entrance before the Detective grabs him by the collar and drags him to start asking around for the Queen.
Joachim appears bringing with him a red and black dress with long white gloves and a black bowtie hair ornament. “How about this?” The two photographers stand up and in unison make a thumbs up. She immediately dons the outfit and when she reveals herself, the trio together with the two make up artists stood in total awe. “She’s a little bit taller but other than that, she has it down to the tee…”
Lee was already snapping photos while Joachim put his finger up his chin, rubbing it as his eyes squinted in approval. “Hmmm… could you change your eye color to Gold? You see this photo of Kiss Shot, she has golden eyes.” Elizabeth then changes it to the exact color as seen in the photo and Joachim smiles. Already, she was on the green screen then on the solid white background, changing poses and facial expressions at a fast pace. Lee puts on a Santa hat while his tongue is out. “Holy shit, this is perfect! I can’t believe it!”
Down below, Henry and Rudentoft show a photo of the Queen when she was in the ball with Paul and Alana and Bahamut when the diplomatic mission started. The lady on the frontdesk points at a photography shop on its second floor. The detective nods and the Colonel signals his men to follow him. Meanwhile back inside, Joachim puts a halt to the photo session.
“Wait, can you maybe… uhhhh put your hands on your hips and then laugh.”
“I can.”
“But the laugh has to be Ha-ha ha-ha.”
“Ohhh, I shall!”
Even the Queen was into it, seeing herself in differing outfits and characters made her see herself in a different form but most of all, her beauty was present and powerful in all of it, her blonde hair was golden and radiant as she proudly showed off what she was packing. “Be sure to pack these all, I wish to give this to My Lord for Christmas.” Meanwhile, their receptionist is overrun by UN soldiers, storming to the second floor of the building. They were so busy in the studio that none of them noticed the sounds of heavy boots running up their staircase.
Bang! The door is kicked inwards and Colonel Rudentoft can’t believe his eyes.
“Heilige Scheiße… Kiss Shotten…”
His knees went weak and his soldiers could only look in awe of the vampire, who was in the middle of cosplaying another vampire. After dropping on the floor, Henry with his gun out storms in, seeing Elizabeth in cosplay while the German Colonel was on the floor. “Heh, and you told me you didn’t like Weeb stuff. Tsk tsk.” After a few minutes, the Queen was back in her normal civilian outfit, while the Detective paid for the door and also a few copies of her cosplay photos with the Colonel and some of the soldiers buying freshly printed pictures. Arriving at the street, one of the soldiers opens the MRAPs door for her, revealing a child that’s just a bit taller than her knees. Without notice, she grabs the child and lifts it up.
“Oh my, what is this cute little thing?”
“Uhhhh… She's a catgirl the Colonel found a month ago. She was a captive by the Meridian Slavers and the Colonel took her in out of pity.”
The kid smiles and laughs as the Queen lifts her high, seeing the world in a different perspective. Behind her, the Detective and Colonel couldn’t help but smile at the scene. The little girl’s ears perk up even more seeing Rudentoft.
“Papa! Papa!”
Henry then tugs the Colonel's arm. Teasing him of his plight as a Father.
“I fucken knew it.”
“Fuck off. She’s imprinted on me like a kitty cat.”