Getting the (vampire) Band back Together

The port town of Claremont, along the Kenya/Somalia Border

Claremont, named after Sophia Von Claremont, was a fairly secluded fishing town far and away from prying eyes, not located on any maps, its natural cove making a perfect hideout for pirates to operate on the eastern side of the continent. Or at least was intended to be, by Sophia and her vampire peers.
As the surrounding regions fell into poverty, civil war and general chaos, refugees fleeing their homes would eventually stumble onto it, and following right behind would be the army of the self-proclaimed Lord Governor General Cardinal Lorenzo Amin, one of many, many local warlords who spread across the continent like hungry locust, complete with brainwashed boy soldiers and battle hardened officer corps. 30 years of careful planning, growth and cultivation, of bringing training, skills and security, were undone in under 3 hours.

Claremont Estate
Lorenzo did stop to wonder what a central European manor, surrounded by a planned town and operating a decent port was doing in Somalia, but it didn’t last long as the estate proved to be a wonderful base of operations and trophy to massage his massive ego. Its European descended stewards, living embodiments of colonial resentment were all hanged in the grand foyer steps outside the entrance, their bodies hanging from the classical iron lamps. Not even the children were spared.
He and his officers helped then themselves to the manor’s wine and liquor reserves, a stash that had both Sophia’s and Lincoln’s favorite vintages. The old servants, perceived to be “victims” of the European colonialists, were kept around, now serving Lorenzo’s officers, as they drank the liquor, smoked the tobacco and dined on the meats. Most had local girls in their laps, silent and terrified, as their boy brigade stood by. Outside in the manor grounds, the antiques were sorted according to their value; gold, silver and other precious metals were to be sold, while books and artworks, some dating back to Sophia’s homeland, were being burned by Lorenzo’s ‘Cultural Purification Corps’. Armed fighters were howling and dancing at the flames, firing off their rifles into the air as Sophia’s coat of arms went up in smoke, as the surrounding town was being sacked and looted for all its worth.

Elsewhere in the manor, another hallway of paintings was being plundered as well. Their golden frames broken up into transportable pieces, while the paintings of the ‘white aristocrat devils’ were being ripped apart. They had just finished defiling a flattering classical painting of Lincoln from the 50’s – the 1850’s - , when they removed Sophia’s European painting from the wall. This was when they discovered the not-so-secret hardwood door, leading to a spiral stairway down into an underground chamber.
The four teenaged boys, drunk and high from the substances they abused, looked at each other. “More treasure maybe?”

“Yeah. Let’s go!” They began to descend the spiral staircase with reckless abandon, unaware of the danger that awaited them below.

There was an inkling of dark amusement to see a mark he left upon the world to be treated as if he were any other European fatcat. In a way he can’t fault them too much, his indulgence tends to leave more evidence rather than the opposite. And when he indulges he goes hard on it. In contrast to everything he does for Africa being largely remembered through word of mouth that fades over time. It’s no surprise that the only thing that continues to bear the weight of centuries is his vanity. Which as a result tends to create a certain image of himself. Now, it wasn’t wholly wrong but it still bothered him to become associated with the very people he was against.

Now, even though he’s a vampire and should be good at being stealthy, he’s still the palest ass in East Africa. Standing out is a bit of an understatement. So he had to dress up more than he wanted to sneak his way into Claremont. Much to his minor annoyance but not as much as what was happening around him. He had came to the town as soon as he got word from one of his many, many contacts. (Sleeping around a lot gives more benefits than just feeling really good). Anger and melancholy stir in his chest at the sight of the buildings being ravaged by the flames.

What makes it worse is he’s self-conscious of just how much of a shadow of his prime he is due to his injuries. Years ago he would have been a walking tropical storm. But now, he has to resort to keep to the shadows. Slink his way towards his destination without getting caught because he can’t take on a sizable armed force anymore.

The sight of the young boys with the terrified girls on their laps made him internally roll his eyes at the amateurish display. ”At that point just use a doll.” He doesn’t understand the ‘thrill in dominating’ through that method. True power to him is making a dame be in simple terms, an affectionate feline. Make them enjoy sitting on a lap in more ways than one. Not frigid and cold. That’s just plain unappealing in his eyes.

His critique in their technique was brought to a pause when he spotted the hanging bodies from a distance away. Gritting his teeth in deepening frustration. He always hated death by hanging and will continue to do so. Especially when children are involved.

His main objective was to wake up Sophia. Fourtantly he still remembers a hidden entrance around back. One that he manage to safely enter. Inside he could see the damage already done to the manor. Sniffing the air, his nose wrinkled. Some bastard got into their good vintage! Withholding a exasperated sigh he brushed that aside to focus on his number one priority. And THEN they can go kick some butt.

Recalling his old memories of the manor he searched for that hidden passageway. It was relatively easy considering there was no longer a painting covering that large entryway. Furthermore he could smell and hear a small group of young boys going down the spiral staircase. It was a shame they were there but they would provide his old companion a much needed meal after a long nap.

He closed the hardwood door behind him before quietly making his way down while keeping his distance from the young lads. At the halfway point he just stopped. Using his senses to listen to them continue their descent. Normally he would have mercifully snapped their necks and personally wake Sophia up. But alas he lacked both the strength and speed to pull that maneuver off. There was one trick he could do that she knows.

They have heightened senses as a result of being vampires. Thus they can hear levels of sound that normal humans can not. So they came up with a communication system solely based on whistling a tune at a frequency only vampires can hear. Such as the one Lincoln is performing right now, signaling Sophia that they have intruders.

The teenaged soldiers shouldered their assault rifles and searched with flashlights, finding only three pieces of hardwood sofas, a grandfather clock and a moldy rug, a sort of parlor area. They inspected the drawers and found only an old journal and some women's clothes in wax sealed glass jars, callously emptying them on the floor before moving towards the inner chamber.

What they found was disappointing. "It's ... a well." They concluded, seeing naught but a hole in the ground. They sighed and sat at the sofa, putting their dirty boots up on the hardwood coffee table.

"Shit. No treasure. Nothing but paper and old clothes. Well. as long as we don't tell anyone about this place, we can hide here."

One of the soldiers looked at the fine dresses scattered about the floor. Lacking stimulation to ward off boredom, curiosity sparked in his drug addled mind.  "Say. Why do you guys think... there are there womens' clothes down here?"

The boys looked at each other, as if the answer might be on their faces. "Maybe... someone is buried down here?" The thought made them tense up a bit, sharing a worried silence, before they laughed and lit up cigarettes, oblivious to the presence of Lincoln. It was dark, they had had a long day of shooting civilians, and they were more concerned with entertaining themselves now that they'd put some distance from their duties. They broke out some cards and started playing some poker.

= = = =

It was easy to forget Sophia, while an associate of vampires, was fairly unique. Rather than a coffin, she resided at the bottom of a deep, dark well with no barrier, making it a hole in the ground.

ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzz.... wha? wha?

Sophia churned about in her hibernation space, awakened not by the bell of a thrall, but by a vampire secret signal. They did not survive this long without becoming supremely paranoid and have many secret means of communication. A series of hidden strings like that of a piano carried it down into the well, and a groggy pseudopod materialized, and pulled a hidden lever. At that moment the ground around the well very rapidly dropped into a steep funnel shape, and some stored grease was released to make the tiles treacherously slick.

The sudden change caught the boys unawares. They actually managed to stop their fall by quickly holding onto the tilted furniture, demonstrating that they actually were spared some degree of training. But alas, one of their number fell down the well, and splashed down into an inky black substance.

"...Luke! Luke! Are you alright?!" They called to their comrade.

The boy named Luke actually made his way to a wall , but found it far too slippery to climb. "I fell into some kind of... petrol? Call for help and get out of here!" He called out. Slowly though, he began to realize something was off about the inky substance, as the more he moved the more it clung to him, like crawling all over his body.

"Help... help me!" He cried out again, but found his voice now become weak, as all over his body he felt dozens, hundreds of pinpricks. Luke faded out of consciousness, alone in the dark...

= = =

Once these actually fairly competent teenagers tied a rope to the clearly fixed furniture they assisted their friend from escaping the well. Much to their relief, their fellow soldier climbed out of the well, or at least they thought it was, before realizing that the thing standing before them was as dark as onyx and had no eyes.

"Luke?" They asked tentatively, though their hands were on their guns. The black figure though, made no response, as three sharp tentacles immediately shot out and impaled them fatally, right through their sternum. Sophia quickly sucked the air out of their lungs, turning their dying screams into desperate gasps.

"Lincoln?" The black figure asked aloud, de-materializing and reforming on the single-person seat, bringing their three dying guests to sit with them. Sophia maintained the tentacle on two of them, leaving one for her old 'friend'.

"...What... what year is it? What happened to my town while I was asleep?" Sophia asked, as her two victims slowly began to wrinkle up like raisins inside their uniform.

Lincoln stood on the last step in time to watch the boys meet their end. Hearing every noise their squishy bodies made in crisp clarity. The frantic thoughts that drip with dread. And then it stopped. They were no more. Humans are so fragile. No wonder their brains subconsciously protects itself from existential dread. That aside, he doesn’t feel bad about them. As it was noted, vampires are very paranoid for a reason. Even he is paranoid, especially in the last few years.

A smile grew on his face as he watched Sophia move around. “It’s been a long time, Sophia.” He said, it was good to see her again. In ways he felt guilty in not stopping by since then. Oh well, no point to fixate on the past. He moved off the stair step to go sit over in the sitting area when she did. Seeing that she left a meal for him he spoke warmly, “Ah, thank you. I was feeling rather parched. Been traveling non-stop for the past couple of days to get here.”

He heard the questions spoken to him. The first he gave an answer while he took a hold of a young corpse's forearm. Picking it up he used his sight to find a juicy vein before bringing the arm closer to his mouth so he could bite down on it. His fangs punctured the cold skin. Spilling the blood beneath into his hungry mouth. A pleasant noise rumbled in his chest as the sweet ichor of life ran down his throat. Taking a few gulps he found that the blood was alright. Not his preference but it’ll serve its purpose.

“From what I’ve been told, some African warlord was carving a warpath. He and his army were on a collision course with the town. By the time I arrived they were already here wrecking the place! Burning books, hanging the thralls, mishandling the women, and drinking the vintage!” He gave a short sigh. “As I’m sure you can tell, I’m not in the best of shape. Got my ass kicked a few years back by some military group.”

He then gave a reassuring grin. “That’s not to say I’m out of the game. I just need to play more tactically for once.” Adapting to his limited options was something he had gotten used to since then. While he won’t say it to Sophia, one of the hardest aspects for him to adjust to was not being massive Casanova. Manipulation of the mind was something he had done for millennia. So much so that there were times where it was natural as breathing. Now that was no longer possible to him, it just feels so strange.

Placing the corpse’s arm back on its lap he continue to speak. Now that the gang was starting to come back together, he was feeling more determined. “You up to take back this town and show them why they came to the wrong neighborhood?” He flashes a toothy grin, showing his fangs as he does so.

“Too long. Much too long, Herr Lincoln.” After giving her old friend a cold, slimy embrace, Sophia decided to check the time on the grandfather clock she had set up. Lacking advanced knowledge, she relied on the old ways to determine the passage of time. Accordingly, she had overslept by a decade, give or take a few weeks, and she felt appropriately weak. “I just woke up from oversleeping… and you look like shit…. And… my town is burning at the hands of savages? Ich glaub mein schwein pfieft. ”

“Very well. You finish your meal. I will reconnoiter.”

The Claremont manor was designed with many old fashioned cooling pipes, a precursor to air conditioning that uses circulated water to cool the manor. While this was irrelevant to her, it was an incentive to her thralls, and doubled as a way for her to go around her own home without being detected.
She traversed the small pipes, reducing herself into goop and spied every room of the manor, taking extra time to observe their unruly guests. She also spots an old servant from bygone times, and called his attention discreetly.

10 minutes later…

Once Sophia completed her assessment of their enemy, she poured out of the pipework like sludge, and reformed into her humanoid form.

“… You are correct herr Lincoln, zey are destroying all our property and drinking all our booze! Ze manor is patrolled by groups of four, all armed with vat I assume to be modern iteration of sturmgewehr und panzerfaust; while heavily armored soldaten are burning all my items with flammenwerfer. But… we do have surprise. And one other thing.”

Footsteps from the staircase heralded the arrival of an old gentleman butler, who offered a courteous bow to the vampires. “My lady Sophia. My lord Lincoln. I am glad you have returned.”

“Reynault. Last of the servants before I went under. For forty damn years.” Sophia said with disdain at what her thralls had done.

“The next generation of stewards frowned heavily on the blooding and ordered a stop to it. Not to mention sealing off this chamber. It was an effort to sneak in any kind of blood to sustain milady during her sleep.” Reynault offered apologetically.

“Well. We cannot change the past, but we prepared for such eventualities. Reynault, we need a plan to decapitate this army. Neither I nor Lincoln are anywhere near full power yet. Any advantage in the manor we can get would be useful.”

“Might I recommend Mein Frau, you cut off the tongue? Your observatory atop the manor has been converted into their communications center. Four men, only two stand guard, two operating. I can have Herr Lincoln snuck in by another servant. Perhaps he can convince this army of slaves to turn.”

“I see. And you?”

“I will cut the power. You will have cover of darkness, and surprise. I must warn you though, they have… two extraordinary soldiers.” Reynault looked at the bodies of the soldiers, and made himself useful by taking all the magazines and handing them and a rifle to Lincoln. Perhaps the deficiency of vampiric power could be compensated with human firepower.

“An excellent idea. It will be our signal to begin. But… I wish to know more of these extraordinary soldiers.” Sophia turned “Herr Lincoln. I trust you at least have your silver tongue and perhaps… distract… or… convince the soldiery that new management is in order ?”

Lincoln returned the cordial embrace. Glad to see her again. While he doesn’t bum himself out over the so called ‘immortality blues’. It was still pleasant to see a face that he knew will still be around no matter how much time has passed. He then proceeded to finish his meal to get as much strength as he could while she left to go get a lay of the land. ”This is going to be a fun night. Been a while since I’ve done something like this. They’re going to get daddy’s belt before the night is over.” He thought to himself. Enough time was spent licking his wounds for the past couple years.

After finishing the meal he passed the time by putting away the rudely spilled clothing. ”What a bunch of dirty animals. No matter the age there will be people who have no decency for the things around them.” He stood there for a hot second before resuming his thoughts. ”At least I don’t put dirty shoes on the table.” His musings came to a pause when he heard the familiar, wet sound of Sophia returning. Nodding in agreement when she then spoke about what she saw out there. Hearing that she got a surprise made him perk up in interest.

Hearing someone coming down the stairs he turned around. Finding himself rather pleased to find that an old servant was still around. ”Forty years. Still surprises me that it's been that long. I’m letting the days blend together too much. Normally I’m better at keeping track of the time.” He thought to himself. Oh well, he’ll think more on this later. For now he gave the man a smile. “Butler! It’s good to see that you still walk the earth!” He says in greeting.

Listening to the plan he gave a grin to the part in which he ‘cuts off the tongue’ or rather ‘keeping the tongue busy’ since he’s the one doing it. ”Not my usual style but I can pull it off.” He thought to himself. While he very much craves the female form above all else. He can pull the heartstrings of men with homoerotic charm. Especially people in any military group. The amount of sexual tension and people in the closet was higher than he expected to say the least.

He gave thanks when he was given the rifle. It would help him take out long range targets if necessary as a result of not being as fast as he used to be. Putting the sling over his shoulder to carry the rifle, he flashes a grin towards Sophia. “Your trust will always be well invested in me, old friend. I admit it’ll be more tricky, given I’m far from my prime, but I’m confident that they will fall. Those humans always do after all.” It’s one of the cons that he found after having his psionics dampened. It reminded him of how much he can corrupt people without even having to bend their will in any way. There was a special ecstasy in making someone willingly let themselves be succumbed to their own sin and depravity. Of course that’s not what he’s doing now, but it was similar.

Lincoln raised a brow when he heard that there were some powered individuals in these savages. ”’I knew I smelled something different when I snuck in.” He thought to himself. Like his friend, he was interested as well. They tend to be quite unpredictable so he was a bit worried for Sophia’s sake. Not too much because he does trust her that she’ll do alright.

Reynault led them up the spiral stairs and checked if the coast was clear. He hurriedly had a servant, this time a young woman who’d work as a maid and server, come to the portrait gallery.

“Reynault! The pigs are getting drunk and handsy with the maids- oh mein gott!” she exclaimed, taking three steps back, color draining from her face as she saw an inky black figure walking behind the butler. Sophia was not amused, but neither was she surprised. This creature seemed barely an adult, likely not used to the existence of vampires.

“Junia, show respect! these are the old masters. They will rid us of these intruders! You must bring Herr Lincoln to the observatory.” Reynault scolded her, and shushed her from making any more noise. The laughter of a nearby patrol meant danger was never far away.

“But… but… these men are savages! The other maids can’t bear to be around them for another second!” Junia was young and new, and it was clear she’d not lived through such hard times. A consequence of establishing a stable and secure community for the livestock, Sophia thought to herself.

“Shush! You must endure, girl! Go to the observatory. Smile at them, flirt with them. Do not give them reason to suspect you. Herr Lincoln will handle them.” Reynault assured the maid, and she wiped the indignant tears from her face, containing her fear. Sophia looked on in approval at Reynault. It didn’t even seem like the thrall enchantment needed to work.

The young girl looked hesitantly at the inhuman monsters they were trading their human monsters for. Given the harassment she’d suffered in the past 3 hours though, Junia steeled herself for the task. She lifted up the large food cart’s skirt for Lincoln to hide under, a very old but reliable ploy, as old as them- the trojan horse. “…Let us go, Herr.”

“I will go now. Those men should be good and drunk now. Once the lights go out… Frau Sophia, Herr Lincoln… Good luck.”

“And good luck to you, Reynault. You have served us well.” Sophia finally spoke up, commending the butler his initiative.

Hearing that the savages were getting handsy with the maids brought a pang of displeasure to him. “There’s only one person here who’s allowed to get lewd with them. And neither of them are.” He thought to himself. It doesn’t help that they were all amateurs. There was no doubt about it. “I should set up an activity sometime later when this is all settled to punish them.” He brushes aside the thought for now. Right now he needs to focus on the task at hand.

He gave a warm smile with a hooded gaze towards the maid. “Aaah, my lady. I won’t ever treat you roughly. That’s a promise. Such a shame to hear about these bullheaded savages. Truly, you have my sympathy. I can only imagine how selfish they were as well.” His voice was melodic and pleasant. The ethereal beauty that his form has was starting to emanate to a small degree in response to his emotions.

Not to spend too much on sweet talking the cute maid he turned his gaze to his two other companions. “I’ll see you two later, be safe you hear? We’re going to celebrate after this is all over.” Confidence radiated off of him. It doesn’t matter what the odds are, he’ll always keep the morale up in any situation. Giving them a salute he saunter over to the food cart before crouching underneath the sheet. A ploy he quite liked. It reminded him of old times.

Reynault
The old butler reached the power station that supplied the manor with electricity. With the throw of a switch the manor was dipped into pitch darkness. With a set of garden shears, he made sure to cut the cable, making it impossible to fix quickly.
Sadly, this sabotage would not go unnoticed, as the squad assigned to the power station spotted the old man’s sabotage. They raised their guns toward him. “Old man! Put your shears down now!”
Reynault made no civil response. He closed his eyes, inhaled, then with all his might, cried,“Let cry the dogs of war!” lunging towards the four in fanatical fervour.

Sophia

Sophia traversed the pipe system once more to avoid the patrols in the manor. She guessed the man sitting in her chair now was the commander, and plotted her attack. Surprise and terror were on her side, but Reynault knowing little of the superpowered soldiers was a risk. Still… she put her now cleared mind to old myths. What did the locals fear? Was it the black Panther? No, these were foreign soldiers from deep within the continent… Ah, she had the perfect one.

Behind one of the heavy statues that served
Her waiting was answered, and all the lights suddenly went out. Her manor now pitch black, Sophia had only a few seconds of panic before the soldiers produced flash lights and phone lights, as all attention fell on the large chair that had been thrown aside. Silent horror gripped onlookers as a massive black spider had materialized behind the throne, grabbed the occupant by the waist and was promptly bisected, showering half the table in blood. Except, it was not Amin, but some younger officer, too young to be the tyrant.

“Damnit!” Sophia cursed. In the time she reconnoitered the room and the blackout, Lord Governor General Cardinal Lorenzo Amin had left to relieve himself, and the officers were goofing off, a junior officer sitting at the throne.

Screams broke out. Orders were barked. Some officers, overwhelmed with superstitious fear of the demon spider, cut and run, shoving their impressively titled leader aside. The glorious new Emperor of Africa promptly soiled himself and ran out with the fleeing officers. Those who stayed and fought were cleaved by gigantic spider legs

Junia

As discussed, Junia brought her cart up to the top floor via an old style lift, complete with an ornate brass gate instead of cheap iron. The telltale static sound of radio equipment announced their arrival at the communication room.

Junia started banter with the radio crew, offering them drinks and snacks, but the boys are clearly interested in something else. They boldly approached her, and it took all her might not to recoil. And since she was not resisting, it only emboldened them further to Junia, cutting off her exit.

And then the lights went out, though this hardly discouraged the teenaged soldiers. If anything, it emboldened them, and now he was using both hands to remove the offending maid’s clothes, which meant their hands were now not on their weapons. Junia was very audibly shaking and grumbling, but restrained herself from screaming out, putting her faith in Lincoln to save her.

As darkness descends within the communication room and the boys letting their desire fan the black fire in their hearts. A crisp, exhale of air was heard behind the boys. The shadows around them seem to have become warm and milky. There was a shift in the atmosphere in the room. Then a long purr came, oozing with dark honey. “Gentlemen, gentlemen.” A pair of arms slung around the shoulders of two boys. The owner of them was strangely visible to them. It felt like he came out of a pleasant dream. He was topless, revealing how his body seemed to shimmer with a soft, beguiling glow. And his eyes, they seem to reflect the radiance of the cerulean sky.

The boys would become enraptured by the sight of this stranger. Staring at him from the darkness. A fitting contrast, for it felt like he was a divine existence walking upon such an impure world. “Why waste your time on this maid?” His eyes swept across them. “Women are inferior to you boys. With their curves and soft bodies, just gross. Masculinity is beauty, no? Only we can satisfy each other with our perfect bodies.” He continued to speak. His words were a sweet poison. Twisting their thoughts and beliefs through the sheer seductive charisma in his voice and body language as well his unnatural charms.

It took all but fifteen more seconds of Lincoln playing to their ego, toxic masculinity, and raging teen hormones before he got them to focus on eachother. Of course he’ll admit that booze, drugs, and whatever other substance they were on helped make them fall to his corruption faster. The sight made him give a low, seemingly angelic laugh. He gracefully weaves around them to approach Junia. Giving her a playful smile. “They really are simple-minded creatures, aren’t they?” He spoke to her in a whisper to not let the others hear. “But I suppose that’s why they’re swine in the first place. So easily controlled by their own desires.” His grin was quite devilish.

Lincoln extended a hand to her to take. “It’s dark in here, let's get you seated at the main table. You’re going to get a front row seat in watching me sway the rest of these men like how the Serpent tempted Adam with Sin. Oh, and watch where you step, dear.” He chimes. Then he would lead her through the dark room. Helping her avoid everyone else who are quite preoccupied at the moment.  Lincoln pulled a chair out for her to sit on. There were enough lights on the machines to give enough ambient illumination to see what was on the table.

He sat down in another chair. This was going to be the tricky part. Corrupting others through radio was a challenge. Especially when he doesn’t have his usual mind powers to assist him. In the last few years he studied more about how sound works from ASMR to Pink Noise. Combined with making his strange charm emanate through his voice he was confident he would be able to sway at least a decent chunk of them. Taking the microphone into his hand he fiddled with the station for his message to reach everyone.

Without further ado he went to work. Throughout the night his voice was heard. Coming from whatever communication device that the soldiers were carrying. The sound was unnatural and seductive. It would likely send pleasant shivers down their spine. Not to mention the charisma behind the voice was palpable. Like moths to a light, he tried to sway them with his speech. Luring them to join their side rather than follow a fool that can give them nothing. Concluding his speech he turned off the mic. Turning his head to face the maid. “Hopefully that convinced a good portion of them to switch sides. Disciplining them will come later in the morning. Of which I might even invite you and the other maids to assist me, Eh-hehehe.”  Now he needs to wait for the others to fulfill their parts of the plan.

The soldiers who were busy in town were taken aback by the communications they were receiving. Did their cruel master meet an untimely end?

A gunshot rang out. One of the few older officers out in the field reminded their young soldiers, at gunpoint. "Remember your oaths! You swore loyalty to the General!"

Some squads quickly fell in line and obeyed, following ther superior to the manor to investigate. But others, nursing grudges in their hearts against the political officers, took the opportunity to frag them and flee from the town... or go into hiding. Other squads, far from a political officer, looked at each other. There wasn't always enough to control them all, so they decided to take the opportunity to drop their guns and uniforms and blend into the terrorized populace.

= = =


As Sophia’s task was the quick elimination of the opposition, she held nothing back. Her eight spider legs were massive scything talons, inflicting horrendous wounds that utterly cleaved torsos or severed limbs. The floor ran slick with blood, guts and limbs. Handguns and machetes proved little hindrance to demon spider Sophia, but she was on guard for any heavier ordinance or unusual abilities, though all the radio room would hear was the slaughter unfolding, officers calling for help, and General Amin attempting to summon reinforcements. So focused was Sophia she didn’t have time to drink from her victims, running down one final fleeing officer by sinking her fangs into his leg, pulling him down and finishing him with a proboscis to the face, making an unintentional reference.

She picked up a radio, and fiddling with it a bit she called the radio room. “Sophia here. I’ve thinned out their officers, but their leader is amok. Can you ask the operators to find him for me?”

All things considered, Lincoln took the result as a win. It was a sigh he wasn’t too rusty in relying on wireless suaveness to stir the pot a bit. He does definitely have a lot of rehabilitation to do down the line for the long climb up to his old prime. For now his priority on in the present. Having done all he could he stood up to collect the discarded weapons around the room. Bringing it all over to a table where he placed them on. Glancing over to the maid he picked up a semi-automatic by the barrel. “Here, have a gun for protection.”He said casually. Handing her the gun which the safety was on of course. His body gave enough ambient lighting for him to give her a crash course on gun safety.

Lincoln was in the middle of talking to her how to change clips when Sophia radioed in. He grabbed the radio and held it to him. “Lincoln here. I’ll see what I can do. Over.” He chimed before standing up, looking over he could see that four of the operators were quite finished. “Hey you four, a friend of mine is in the hunt for your former leader and needs help tracking him down. Man. isn’t he? To just run with the tail between his legs. Care to find him for me?”

OBSERVATORY

The captive crew looked at Lincoln with fear and worry as their arms were taken, and now they were to actively work against their own former commander. The operator reluctantly sat down, and turned to their leader’s frequency.

“General Amin. Radio room checking in. What is your status?” He asked, keeping calm and raising no suspicion.

“What? Radio room! What has happened?! Where are our soldiers! I need reinforcements now!” The indignant voice responded.

“…Rebels tried to take over sir. But we are in control now sir.” They said, convincingly.

“Rally all survivors to the motor pool! And get Diamond Head on radio!”

FOYER

“Thank you. I’ll make sure no one leaves.” Sophia responded through the radio, when she came across an obstacle standing in her way. A brave soul, or foolish.

“You are not going anywhere.” He said, his voice coarse and gravely.

“You must be ze extraordinary soldier.” Sophia said, looking up this shirtless specimen over. He seemed like a man made entirely of rough diamond, his upper body covered in growths. Sophia rushed him, seeking to impale his body with a claw. She only found an immovable object, her attack being highly ineffective, stopped by his Diamond skin.

“Oh.” Sophia was surprised, the diamond skin was not for show. It was hard and unyielding, and once she’d had her turn, the diamond man pulled Sophia and punched her so hard as to splatter her head into black ichor that painted the walls, essentially decapitating her. He kicked the spider body a few times, seeing if it was still alive.

“Pathetic spider.” Diamond Head said, seeing that this was all his enemy was capable of. He walked away to join his commanding officer.

Once he was gone, Sophia rematerialized, into her large humanoid form. She actually felt that blow, though it was good that it was merely a physical attack. “Interesting. Very interesting.”

OBSERVATORY

The second Junia was given a rifle, her eyes seemed to light up, and an energy filled her body. She aimed her firearm at the soldiers, and they reflexively shielded themselves.

“Please! No! I am sorry!” The predator had now become prey, and it was clear the harassed maid was going to push through with it if no one intervened. She pulled back the bolt, chambering a round, and took aim at her tormentors. “AAAAH!” The girl screamed as she was about to shoot.

Junia would find that Lincoln had come over to stand beside her. Inserting a finger behind the trigger to prevent her from firing. “Ssssh, there, there my little spitfire. Take a deep breath.” His voice purrs soothingly. “As much I would relish the show of a maid gunning down a group of swine. I must implore you to rethink this. For you’re being too merciful by giving them a quick death. Consider it for a moment, is that enough retribution? Is giving them a second of fear equivalent to what you went through, where it felt like every passing second felt like it was stretched to eternity? Not knowing how long they would keep violating you.”

He puts his hand off the gun. Still looking at her face. “Look at them cower before you. Trembling, not knowing when you will pull the trigger. Every second will start to feel like minutes. Sound familiar? Keep your gun trained on them. Draw out their fear for as long as you wish. Let them feel who’s in control here. Make them break down, make them plead, make them feel everything you had felt. And then…” He leaned his head to whisper into her ear. “When you have your fill, feel free to fire. For they didn’t listen to you when you said no. I assure you that you would feel all the more cathartic after this.”

MOTOR POOL
General Lorenzo shouted orders left and right, while decrying the chaotic and confused troops, some of whom had thought he was dead. The first man stupid enough to suggest so was shot in the face, which cowed the others into line, especially when their champion had arrived. Headlights and spotlights illuminated the area, as Lorenzo boarded his technical, the rest of the army forming up.
Diamond Head approached, saluting his commander.
“General. I killed the demon spider.”

The panicking General looked at him then turned to look at the outline of a creature emerging from the bushes. “Then tell me what that is! Everyone shoot that demon now!” And at that command, large amounts of ordinance were turned against the spider.

However, Sophia only shaped a small part of herself to create the silhouette of a spider, to take all of the attention off herself. With the spotlights taking up all their attention the men were blind to the black presence beneath their feet, spikes sprouting from her back to rip up the tires. When they realized what was happening it was too late, and Sophia managed to become a large woman with vicious claws. This time she made sure who her victim was, and ended it by digging claws into the right torso. General Lorenzo couldn’t dodge 5 blades, and lay bleeding to death in the back of his jeep.

At that point, with the army now properly decapitated, the soldiers who could took this chance to cut and run. The officers too, fled, seeing as their paycheck was no longer forthcoming. Only one stayed, shocked at his commander’s death.

“General! You’re no spider! You’re a shapeshifter!” Diamond head put together the grave mistake he committed.

“Was it so hard to figure out? You shouldn’t be serving these lesser men. Join me.” Sophia offered him. She was refused immediately.

“Die monster!” Diamond Head rushed the large woman. He felt his bladed arms cut into Sophia, only to see the experience was like trying to cut into toffee. She stuck to him all over, covering him.

“I am not inexperienced in battling
hardened targets. Let me teach you.” After which she began to envelop him.

OBSERVATORY
Junia hesitated after Lincoln taught her how to get her revenge. The offer made her think, and Junia asked herself the first time if she wanted vengeance… or satisfaction. She aimed lower and shot him in the gut.
“AAAHHH!” The soldier, likely the main perpetrator, clutched his gut. It was a fatal wound, but it would be a slow, drawn out death.
The moment was interrupted when a bolt of light pierced Junia through the chest, leaving a burning hole through her torso. She looked at Lincoln in pain and surprise, and fell to the ground, choking on her blood. Atop the large telescope, shirtless young man with white wings floated, surveying the situation. This was Michael Amin, the General’s metahuman son, and the source of his delusions of grandeur. Who wouldn’t think so, when “God himself sent me an angel” ?
After wasting the maid, the … angel… turned his open palm towards Lincoln. Any vampire would recognize the vile power of the sun itself, and this one shot it in beams.