• Bloody Rain
    The wind whistled violently as it tore heatedly through the wooded area. The night sky was pitched black, being overshadowed by a storm of clouds. The only sound was that of the angry wind as it howled, rustling through the thickets and bushes; upsetting the tree branches and whipping the willow branches furiously about.
    Lightening flashed and thunder crashed; lighting up the forest beneath the ferocious sky. A lone figure stood on a hill that over looked the forest and field beyond. Its long cape flapped harshly in the strong wind but the hood stayed in place.
    As lighting flashed again, the silhouette of an old castle long forgotten appeared behind the figure; appearing menacing to anyone who dared look in its direction. A fearful scream shattered the stormy air. The hunter turned prey has been spotted. Slowly the hooded figure moved towards the lone male, stupid enough to get caught in the prey turned hunter’s lair.
    The male stumbled back, as if he was pushed back, into a tree and held there. Hand prints formed on his clothing but no visible hand nor arms where there. He started to quake in fear, watching as the figure continued to walk closer to him, the cape whipping violently around its form as it paused not even a foot away from him.
    His eyes widened in fear as a scream of pure pain ripped its self from his throat, followed by the sound of flesh being ripped. The figure smirked darkly, letting the severed arm drop to the ground. Thunder crashed again, drowning out the dying screams of the pitiful creature.

    ~The following day~
    “Come on Quinton, we mustn’t be late for our meeting with the mayor of the town.” Stephan Hawkings. A full time lawyer, part time investigator and scientist.
    “Coming Mr. Hawkings.” Quinton Scott. Stephan’s assistant in cases similar to this kind: where the victim was found ripped to pieces. He sighed as he hulled their luggage along: wearing a baseball cap to hide his biggest secret; his horns.
    He glanced around, in awe of the small town known as Dark Valley while hoisting their luggage into the trunk of the awaiting limo before moving to join Stephan in the back. Once the door was closed he pulled off the cap and watched out the window as the limo started to move.
    “Let me know if you sense the other one Quinton.” Stephan said, his tone leaving no room for argument. Quinton nodded with a soft sigh, continuing to watch the town go by silently as they drove to the town hall. He sighed softly again, tearing his gaze away from the window after a bit and sunk down the seat, rubbing his eyes in a tired fashion. Stephan noticed from the corner of his eye and sighed inwardly to himself. “If you are tired get some rest.” He muttered in an exasperated way.
    Quinton blushed slightly in embarrassment and nodded slowly, moving to the longer bench and sprawled out on it, instantly falling fast asleep, worn out from the days traveling. Stephan couldn’t help but chuckle softly to himself before turning his gaze to the historic town they were currently in: noting how everything was perfectly preserved. His gaze soon drifted to the haunting silhouette of the abandoned castle. His eyebrows shot up as he examined it to the best of his abilities: noting how parts of it had crumbled inward. The stone was a pale grey as best as he could tell and there was no living vegetation in the area surrounding it.
    He was pulled from his musings when the limo slowed to a stop. He turned away from the window to drape a blanket over the young Diclonius, hiding his horns from view. He turned back to the door as it was opened and stepped out, casting another glance towards the castle.
    The driver followed his gaze. “That place is haunted Sir. Those who venture there never return.” Stephan frowned deeply at that as he followed the driver to the building, carrying his brief case. He paused just outside the door, turning to get one last look at the castle. Is that where you’re hiding? I’ll get you. I swear on the graves of my unborn child and wife that I will get you!! He thought. His grasp on the handle to his brief case tightening till his knuckles went white before turning and disappearing into the building, his features hardening.
    ~Elsewhere~
    The hooded hunter smirked darkly to its self as it walked calmly down one of the many halls of the castle it inhabited. Its smirk darkened as it sensed the sleeping Quinton, walking calmly down the spiral staircase.
    A delicately clawed hand reached up to push back the hood, revealing a pair of horns that looked a lot like a pair of cat ears. Calmly, it pulled its ankle long hair out of the hood, letting it drag down the stairs as it descended them. The body of the hair was a pale blue while the tips were stained crimson from the blood of its many victims.
    “Oh little cousin… Come out; come out, where ever you are.”
    ~The Meeting Hall~
    Stephan paused just inside the council room doors, his sky blue orbs scanning over the council men present, noting that they were all greedy old men who wouldn’t like change; that much was obvious. He resisted the urge to groan as he started setting up his projector and laptop, keeping the cap on the lens for the projector for now. They are defiantly not going to take this well… If they do then I’ll be sure that hell has defiantly frozen over. He thought while watching them bicker over something or other, having not really been paying attention while setting up and waited silently for them to stop.
    “This is an outrage!” a voice yell, instantly gaining Stephan’s attention. “So much for your ‘Police Force’, where were they while the young men are getting butchered like cattle?!”
    “Your one to talk! All you do is lie in your warm little bed, perfectly safe, while I have my men out there, risking their lives to catch this… this... monster to keep people like you safe!”
    Trust issues much? Stephan thought, reclining in his chair. This is going to be one long meeting. He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose slowly.
    “How dare you!”
    “Gentlemen.”
    “I dare because it’s the truth you lazy old man!”
    The one council man bristled angrily at the accusation. “What did you call me?” he seethed angrily.
    The chief of police smirked darkly. “I called you a Lazy. Old. Man.”
    “Will you two desist!” yelled the annoyed and irritated voice of the town mayor; instantly silencing the two of them. “I did not call you two here so you could bicker over trivial things. Now, I know your parents had taught you to not bicker in front of guests.”
    “Now see here Mayor Tompson-“
    “No. You see here Councilman Jones. If you weren’t quarreling with Chief Sheppard, you would have noticed that Mr. Hawkings has been waiting for you two to stop bickering like women for the past little while.” Mayor Tompson snapped. “My patience runs thin with the lot of you.”
    Well, it’s good to know I wasn’t overlooked entirely. Stephan thought while watching their reactions. Mr. Jones here is going to give me the most trouble. He’s the type that enjoys picking arguments.
    A scowl contorted the councilman’s face while he turned his beady eyed gaze on Stephan’s form, doing a quick look over. “Mr. ... Hawkings was it?” Stephan nodded once. “I was expecting someone much… older, due to your reputation for being the best.”
    “Do not allow my looks and age to mislead you Councilman. I’m as good as you have heard I am.” Stephan replied, leaning forward in his chair while resting his elbows on the table in front of him, his fingers interlocking together and resting his chin on them, his emotionless mask slipping on.
    “I do not mean to seem ignorant, but how can a 21 year-old have as good a reputation as yours? Surely you just finished school.”
    “35, actually.” Stephan replied, correcting Councilman Jones.
    “35. My mistake.” Jones replied, mockingly placing a hand over his heart, feigning apologetic.
    “Councilman Jones! That is enough!”
    “It’s alright Mayor Tompson. You want to know how? I graduated from high school when I was 14 and got accepted into Harvard the same year. Like I told you before: Do not allow my looks and age to mislead you.” Stephan replied, his voice cold as the element his eyes represented, causing the entire room to grow silent. He waited a few moments, making sure he had their undivided attention. “Now then, judging from what I read in the reports you sent me, the creature we are dealing with is not human.”
    That caused the room to break out in a mixture of screams and panic.
    “What do you mean ‘It isn’t human’?!”
    “How can you be sure?!”
    “He has gone mad!!”
    “Order!”
    “We are being invaded!!”
    Stephan sighed slightly in irritation, rubbing his temples to force back the oncoming headache. Damn. I knew they would freak but I didn’t think it would be this bad. he thought while removing the cap from the projector lens, allowing the picture he had queued up to show on the white board, nodding at the driver to turn off the one section of lights to make it more visible. It was a mug shot of a girl, no older than 11. The quieted down as they gazed at the picture fearfully. She had long pale blue hair with long bangs that overshadowed her bloody thirsty crimson orbs. The bridge of her nose had a double piercing and she also had a bull ring. Her eyes were almond shaped with long full eyelashes. Her face was elflike, while her full lips, which had a double snake bite piercing, were pulled into a blood thirsty smirk, the tips of her fangs visible. On top of her head was a pair of horns, which resembled a pair of cat’s ears. The date and time stamp on the bottom left corner of the picture read ‘07/06/98 21:38’.
    Stephan took his time, his hardened ice blue gaze carefully scanning the faces of those present, watching their reactions carefully.
    “What is this devilry?” Asked Councilman Jones’ fearful voice.
    “We call them Diclonius, humans genetically mutated into another species entirely. The most noticeable feature about them is the pair of horns.” Stephan answered, pressing a button on the laptop keyboard to change the picture to an x-ray; which showed that the horns were in fact attached to the skull. “Their horns house an invisible and dangerous weapon which we call vectors: invisible arms and hands that can lift anything, go though most things, cut through human flesh and bone as if it were butter, and reproduce. However, they can only reach a certain distance and it’s different with each one. The one we are after has a large number of vectors.”
    “…how many?” came the hesitant voice of the Chief of police, almost not wanting to know the answer.
    “48, with a reach of 24 meters in any given direction.”
    The council room broke into a mass panic for the second time during the meeting. Stephan sighed to himself, exasperated beyond belief, sitting back down and watched with a black expression. A commotion outside the door caught his attention.
    “I’m sorry son, but you can’t go in there.”
    “You don’t understand!! I need to see Mr. Hawkings!! It’s an emergency!!” yelled the frightened voice of Quinton. Stephan frowned to himself, standing up and started walking towards the door.
    “He’s in the middle of a meeting right now. You’ll have to wait.”
    “But it can’t wait!! It’s a matter of life and death here!!”
    Stephan’s frown grew and quickened his pace, also noticing that the room had grown quiet to hear what was going on. Once he got to the door he opened it without delay. His eyebrows shot up in slight amusement at the sight that greeted him. Four guards were struggling to hold a hysterical Quinton at bay; who had his cap on again. He cleared his throat to gain their attention, causing the five of them to stop moving. “What’s wrong Quinton?” he asked him, his concern well hidden.
    “Mr. Hawkings!” Quinton exclaimed, managing to break free of the stunned guards grasp and rush over to Stephan, his arms wrapping tightly around Stephan’s waist while his ochre orbs squeezed shut, his body quaking in fear. “She found me.” He whimpered, burying his face against Stephan’s chest. Sometime during his struggling and dash to Stephan, Quinton’s cap had fallen off, thus revealing his horns for the council to see.
    A shocked gasp was heard from within the meeting room at the sight of Quinton’s horns. Those gathered broke into a bunch of angry shouts:
    “What is Mr. Hawkings thinking?!”
    “Why is that thing here?!”
    “Monster!!”
    “Murderer!!”
    “Kill the monster!!”
    Quinton whimpered softly at the shouts coming from the councilmen, pressing closer to Stephan in an attempt to hide from their hateful eyes. Stephan’s ice blue eyes hardened even further, shooting the darkest glare known to man back at the council men while shielding Quinton from their view with his body, his arms wrapping around Quinton in a fatherly, protective manor. “You will not harm Quinton. He is the only one who can track down the one responsible for the murders.”
    “How can you be sure he won’t backstab us?!”
    “I-I’ve never, harmed a human in my life.” Quinton replied, pulling his face away from Stephan’s chest. “If I was anything like the others, I would have killed the guards to get to Mr. Hawkings but I didn’t.”
    The council went silent, letting Quinton’s words sink in. Quinton once again, buried his face against Stephan’s chest, another soft whimper escaping him. Stephan’s gaze softened as it drifted down to Quinton’s form, his hand gently rubbing Quinton’s back in a soothing manor. “I believe this meeting is over. Colin, can you pack up my things for me?” He asked, his gaze drifting over to that of his driver.
    “Of course Mr. Hawkings.” Colin replied, hurrying to do as he was told.
    Stephan watched him for a few moments before turning his attention to the council. “Good day gentlemen. I hope you carefully read over the files Colin will give you and don’t do anything stupid, Millicent is a cold blooded killer and won’t hesitate on destroying the whole town if she feels threatened.” With that, he turned and gently ushered Quinton outside.
    ~Outside the castle, later that night ~
    Quinton paused a little ways from the main gate to the castle, his arms wrapped tightly around his waist. Mr. Hawkings… I’m sorry. he thought weakly to himself, staring up at the pale stone with wide, frightened orbs. The sky above the castle was covered in thick clouds. Suddenly lightening flashed, lighting up the castle which caused Quinton to jump in surprise.
    A dark chuckle echoed throughout the area. “Really now little cousin, am I truly that frightening?” a dark, seductive voice purred in his ear, strong viselike arms wrapping around his waist and pulled him close to her chest,.
    Quinton’s chocolate orbs widened drastically, his body tensing while he started to struggle against her grasp, which only made her tighten her arms around his waist, coming close to cutting off his air supply. He stilled with a soft fearful whimper. “W-Why are you hunting the humans?”
    “Why? Because they ******** deserve it. They’re cruel to those who aren’t like them, like you and me little cousin.”
    “You’re wrong! Not all of them are like that! Mr. Hawkings in nice and kind to me!”
    A dark, evil laugh resounded in his ear. “Stephan? Nice? Oh please. He’s only ‘nice’ to you because he fears you, fears what you could become if you reach your true potential.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “Oh, he didn’t tell you?” She sounded evilly gleeful. “He’s been holding you back, little Quinton, keeping you from discovering your true power. Can you feel it Quinton? That power hovering just under the surface? That’s your true power, but what happens whenever you try to draw on that power hmm? Who stops you from gaining it?”
    Quinton’s body had started to tremble slightly from the mixture of emotions he was getting from what Millicent was telling him. “N-No… you’re lying… Mr. Hawkings isn’t like that… he’s kind and gentle…”
    “Yeah, so he can use you more easily. You really don’t see it do you? All the lies he told you.” Millicent giggled in his ear, her crimson orbs sparkling darkly as her grasp tightened further at his trembling.
    “Sh-shut up…”
    “Open your eyes little cousin. Open your eyes to the lies he’s fed you to keep you so loyal.”
    “Shut up.”
    Millicent’s smirk darkened further. “He’s a liar and a user. I showed him, what seems like so long ago, what happens to people like him.” She purred, nibbling gently on the outer shell of his ear. “I ripped his wife and unborn child apart right in front of him, made him watch as her blood sprayed from her torn up body, made him listen to her dying screams. It’s a pity though, I never did get the chance to see what her blood tasted like; her pathetic screams alerted the guards.” She murmured the last part almost disdainfully, resting her chin on his shoulder as a small pout formed on her full lips.
    Chocolate eyes widened majorly before something snapped in them, his head lowering so his long bangs overshadowed his eyes. “…so you’re the one…” he murmured, his voice as cold as ice.
    “Hmm?” Millicent murmured, instantly noticing the change in his body language and licked her lips hungrily while watching him piece together his thoughts. She started to absentmindedly run her hand up and down his chest, marveling silently at his well toned abs.
    “STOP TOUCHING ME YOU b***h!!” Quinton screamed suddenly into the night air, causing her to jump back and away from him with the use of her vectors in what could only be alarm, watching him from what she deemed a safe distance. Slowly he turned to face her, his chocolate brown eyes hardened and cold with a deep hatred. A harsh wind started to pick up around him, his hair and clothing whipping angrily about him as he unleashed his full power. Crimson orbs widened as fifty vectors shot out of his back, raising him from the ground from the sheer amount of them. “What’s wrong cousin? Isn’t this what you want?”
    “Che, to be honest, I wasn’t expecting you to have so many.” She replied. Damn he has more than me, but this is his first time using so many, I can use that to my advantage. She thought, calmly standing and straightened out her trench coat. Her crimson orbs hardened as she summoned all forty-eight of her vectors. An even harsher wind picked up as they hovered in the air, watching each other before Millicent attacked first, sending twenty spiraling at him while blurring to behind him to strike him while he was preoccupied with the previous twenty.
    Quinton scowled, dodging to the side while grabbing her vectors with twenty of his own, causing her eyes to widen in shock as he used the leverage he had against her, pulling her harshly towards him. She inwardly cursed as her body was tugged towards his back first, the rest of her vectors being grabbed by his as she flew closer and closer to him.
    Crimson orbs squeezed tight as time seemed to slow. A booted foot met bare stomach with a sickening thud followed by a scream of pain. Millicent’s body crumpled to the ground as her vectors dissipated from the pain the kick caused, a deep bruise already forming as she curled up in the fetal position, her body trembling from both pain and anger.
    Quinton lowered himself to the ground and started to stalk towards her, his chocolate brown eyes glaring down into narrowed crimson ones, pausing just out of her reach, and let all but two vectors vanish. He lowered the two to grasp her by her neck, squeezing it tightly while raising her into the air. Her hands clawed desperately at the vectors grasping her neck, glaring bloody murder at the supposed novice. How is this possible?! How could this mere child take me out so easily?! She thought as he forced her down onto the ground hard with his vectors, creating a small creator in which her body lay. He retracted his vectors as he started walking towards the creator, watching as she slowly pushed herself up out of it, rivulets trickling down the exposed parts of her body. “How does it feel cousin? To know that your life is in my hands?” He asked tilting his head to the side while watching her.
    They both froze as a gunshot rang through the air, both turning their head in the direction to see Stephan with a group of guards with 50 caliber guns trained on Millicent, but seeing as how they were pretty much in the same direction Millicent smirked, trying to play out her mind games till the very end. “You see that Quinton?! You see how much they fear you?! They have their weapons pointed at you because you oh so easily took down the murderer that had been running unchecked for years!! You work so hard to please them and this is how they repay you?!”
    Quinton’s chocolate orbs widened drastically at that, hesitantly taking a step back with a soft whimper, his gaze pleading with Stephan’s to say it wasn’t true, that he wasn’t the one being targeted. Stephan’s ice blue gaze glared darkly at Millicent before shifting to Quinton and held his hand out to him, his other hand keeping his gun pointed at Millicent. “Come here Quinton, please, I don’t you shot on accident.”
    Millicent busted out in a full blown cackle at that, her head thrown back, while her crimson gaze was wild with insanity and hatred. “Cut the act Stephan!! We both know you hate Diclonius’ because of what I did to you!! Stop being so ******** hypocritical you ******** using b*****d!!!”
    Quinton was watching the exchange with wide eyes, having slowly started inching towards Stephan, wanting nothing more than to be in his protective embrace again. Stephan growled at Millicent his gaze shifting from her to Quinton who was ever so slowly inching towards him. “I don’t hate the Diclonius race Millicent, only you.” He growled out, cocking his gun at her, the others doing the same.
    Realizing that she was losing, Millicent screamed out in pure rage, shocking all of them as she turned and lunged at Quinton who was obvious unable to summon all of his vectors with his mind in the chaos that it was. “See you in hell little cousin!!” She screamed as the guns fired, stopping her mid lunge. Quinton had dove to the ground as time had seemed to slow when Millicent had lunged at him, just barely hearing her dying words over the sound of gunfire. He harshly pressed his hands to his ears as time sped up again, his body hitting the ground hard with a sharp cry of pain.
    As one, Stephan and the guards rushed forward; Stephan to Quinton’s side and the guards to the fallen Diclonius. Once at his side, Stephan dropped to his knees, quickly pulling Quinton into a hug. Quinton instantly clung tightly to him, his arms wrapping around Stephan’s neck while he buried his face against Stephan’s shoulder and started to sob, letting all of his pent up emotions out. Stephan started rocking him as one would to soothe an infant. “Shhh, it’s ok, it’s over now.” He murmured soothingly, running his hand through Quinton’s long, silky brown locks in a calming fashion, feeling the youths tears soak through his shirt. He continued to whisper calming things, his hand rubbing slow circles on Quinton’s back. Slowly Quinton calmed down, his sobs quieting down to whimpers before he fell silent completely. Stephan smiled gently, kissing the top of Quinton’s head gently. “I’m so proud of you Quinton.” He murmured.
    Chocolate orbs widened in shock at that, pulling away to look up at Stephan in surprise, his eyes red and puffy from crying. “W-What? Wh-Why?” he asked, his breathing hitching slightly in his throat.
    Stephan smiled gently down at him, raising a hand to brush a stray tear. “I’m proud of you because you accomplished something no one else has been able to do so far. Although, I don’t like the fact that you snuck off to face her alone but I’ll over look it.” he said with a soft chuckle, kissing Quinton’s head gently.
    “I-Is it true… what she said about you holding me back…?” Quinton asked softly, hesitant of what the answer would be. Stephan sighed softly at the question, but knew he had to answer.
    “Yes Quinton, I was holding you back, but for different reasons than what she most likely told you.”
    “Then why?”
    Stephan sighed softly again, running a hand through his short hair brown hair. “I did it because I wanted to make sure you were ready mentally for that type of power.”
    “‘Absolute power corrupts absolutely’.” Quinton murmured, having remembered Stephan quoting it constantly throughout his raising. “Is that what happened to her?” He asked softly, turning his sad gaze over to Millicent’s corpse.
    “Yes, unfortunately she discovered her powers at a very young age from what I could tell when we had her at the lab… she had also started killing at a young age… and that’s what happens when one gets too much power too quickly.” Stephan murmured, slowly standing, shifting his grasp on Quinton so he was holding him bridal style.
    Quinton’s eyes fluttered closed as a small yawn escaped him, snuggling close to Stephan. “Then, I’m glad you were holding me back till now… will you help learn to cope and control my newfound power?” he asked, looking up at him sleepily.
    Stephan smiled happily down at him, walking away from the meadow as the cops showed up, holding his precious cargo close to his heart. “I’d love to.” He murmured as they vanished from the scene.
    ~The End!!~