Boss had laid Chase back down in his room, stitching the vein back into his arm and hooking him up to a pack of blood that would inject itself into his body regularly. Once he was sure he would recover, he left the room to the mansion's living room where Marie and Phil sat waiting, "Now that he's getting his refill. shall we begin the meeting.""An Asanbosam in the Jubokko Forest? I knew we had some but how did it get there?" Phil asked, seemingly confused, "I checked to dungeon. All our vampires were accounted for""It's hardly surprising," Marie interjected, "We live in an age where the only thing stopping you from going to Atlanta from Africa is the money for a plane ticket. We should expect this in the future""Regardless, he did well. I didn't even expect him to survive, let alone for that beast to a standstill," Boss praised, thinking "I guess those books came in handy but the damage he did to his own body just for survival...I must admit I'm impressed""I read those files on him you provided. His parents died in what seemed to be a car accident. He was them taken in by the Tombs, a friend of the family.""Seemed to be? You believe otherwise, Marie?" Boss asked, raising an eyebrow as he leaned back in his chair"I admit, I have no evidence. I just find it a little fishy," She explained , "If you want, I can continue looking into it""Please do. I need to know any potential danger" He answered. Suddenly his eyes short wide as he looked at the clock, "Oh no! I need to get to work!" he exclaimed, rushing back up, checking on Chase. To his shock, the blood pack was already drained and what little life was in his undead body was restored, "So fast? Never mind, wake up! Time for school," He ordered, shaking him awake. Before he could let out more than a groan, Boss had already rushed at top speed to the car"Hey hey hey, what the hell!" Chase shouted, shooting up as he looked around, "Where are we going?" He asked, poking his head in the passenger seat."Like I said, we're late for school," He answered and before Chase could ask again, he saw the streets of Atlanta as they made their way to Graham Stoker University. A grin crossed the young man's face as he stared at the bustling streets, "I've never been so happy to go to school before"While they were still a little late, they did make it to school, rushing to class. Surprisingly, their paths didn't diverge once. Once they entered the classroom, it became obvious why "Ok, sorry I'm late, class. My name is..." he began to explain, writing his name on the chalkboard, "Mister...Helsing...""Really, old man? You think horror students wouldn't know that name?" He grumbled, resulting in an elbow from his teacher as he went to sit down. Almost instantly he felt all eyes on him. It wasn't just strangers either, also some familiar faces. Besides that, class went by without a hitch. When it came to an end, Chase hurried out, hoping to find someone to get something to eat when he heard someone call out to him."Chase!!" He heard someone call as Jason rushed to him, giving him a hug, "Where the hell were you, dumbass?! Do you have any clue how much you freaked us out? Sarah and I wanted to-""Look dude, it's fine," Chase interrupted, "You wanted to apologize yeah? Well it's fine. Yeah, it stings a little, but I'm happy for you guys and honestly, I'm a bit preoccupied. However..." he started to say before smacking him over the head "That's for taking so long to tell me! C'mon, what sort of friend doesn't tell his friends something like that? I would've thrown you the biggest party in the world!"Jason chuckled, rubbing the back of his head, "Damn you got me there. Still, where were you? I looked to see if you went back to the dorms but you weren't there and our room was a mess.""I'm trying to figure that out myself..." Chase muttered, looking around. He felt like he was being watched, though he couldn't pinpoint from where, "Look, have you seen Vicky anywhere?""Vicky? As in Vicky Blackhart? No, she went missing not long after you did," Jason answered, seeming confused as the pieces of the puzzle began to come together in his head, "Is she involved in all this?""She's my only lead. She took my back to our room and we decided to play a drinking game"Jason started to grimace and silence was all that filled the space between the two. Eventually Jason nodded, "I'll pull some strings with my family. They'll find her""Thanks man. What would I do without you guys?""You're stubborn. I'm sure you'd find a way. Still, it helps to have friends" Jason assured, "I'll go call them now. For now, at least go talk to Sarah. She was worried about you too, ya know?"With nothing more than a parting nod, the two split up with Chase going under a large tree, basking in the shade to recover his strength, "You just gonna hide or do you have something to say?" he asked, seemingly talking to no one until Marie dropped out from the branches"No need to be so hostile," She scoffed, flicking her golden locks out of the way, "What? Are you still mad that you got manhandled by a maid?""I'm mad that apparently the old man doesn't trust me enough to not have you follow me around" Chase countered, his eyes narrowing"When you earn our trust, I'll stop following you. You may have agreed to Boss's terms but you could always try and run to your sire. That's what you were planning to do, weren't you?""What? No! I mean, I was hunting her but I wasn't trying to run away! I just wanna know what exactly happened that night""Mhm," Marie would hum, clearly not believing him, "Well regardless, Boss has specifically said for you not to pursue her. He also said to return to the mansion immediately after classes"Chase simply nodded in response, "Can I go now? I have a friend to meet up with.""Of course, although I would advise caution around them, especially the Tombs boy."Before she could explain any further, Chase had already made use of his enhanced speed to dash away. Having already assumed where she would be, he hurried to the SFX lab on the third floor of the school. Sure enough, there she was, working away on a fog machine of some sorts, her dirty blonde hair tied into a ponytail to avoid interfering with her work. She seemed tired, as if she had been working nonstop. Chase had stood there for a moment, hesitant to approach. He felt his heart sink, remembering what he saw that night, his best friend kissing the girl he liked. This hesitation was gone the moment he saw he slowly fall off her bench. He rushed to catch her, sweeping her up in his arms, "Hey! You alright?"Sarah laid there dazed for a moment before snapping out of it and looking at him with wide eyes. She quickly leapt out of his arms, her shock visible on her face, "Chase?! When did you-?""Come back? This morning" He answered calmly as he stood up and dusted himself off, "You've been working yourself to the bone again haven't you?"She didn't answer though. Instead she rushed him, tackling him to the ground, "You dumbass! Don't freak us out like that," She demanded through her tears as she gripped him in a bear hug. Despite this, he hardly felt it, whereas before her strength would be enough to crush him. It created a somewhat somber feeling, with how fast everything had happened, he hadn't taken the time to even acknowledge what he had lost. Shaking off the uncertainty, he returned with a hug of his own"I know, I'm sorry. Honestly, I didn't plan on it going the way it did," he tried to assure her as he stood up, "Here let's get something to eat," he said, easily breaking free of her grip. While this shocked her, she was just happy he was back and nodded as she followed him to the cafeteria. On the way, she called Jason who happily went that same way. When they arrived, they were immediately waved down by Jason and some other guy, barely a year older. It was a blonde haired young man with an eyepatch over his left eye. After grabbing food from the buffet, they sat down across from the duo, "New friend, Jason?""Hardly. Meet my older brother," Jason explained, motioning to the stranger"Darek Tombs, Jason's older brother" He answered simply, his gruff southern voice sending fear through Chase and Sarah. This was baffling as Chase looked to Jason in shock, "So this is the guy ma and pa took in. Makes sense he wouldn't know about me""Darek stayed with some relatives for most of his life," Jason explained with a nervous chuckle, failing to hide his lie, "Anyway, he's gonna help us find Vicky. We'll figure out what happened to you""Right, well it's nice to meet you," Chase said, holding out his hand to shake, which Darek accepted."That burn on your hand is rather distinct. Did Ms. Blackhart do that to you?""Huh? Oh, no! That actually happened a little later. Hurts like hell, but I had to survive somehow""What?! You never mentioned anything after that!!" Sarah shouted, only getting a nervous chuckle from the blue haired young man. Of course he wanted to go into further detail but had no idea how much he could say without getting killed. With that settled, they ate with Darek only occasionally probing him for information, simple stuff such as what he remembered, the events leading up to his black out but nothing that hinted to knowledge of his new vampiric nature. Of course, he lied to pretty much every question, something he was much better at than Jason ever was. If Darek caught onto any of them, his stern poker face didn't show it. In time, it was time to leave for their remaining classes, "Well that was fun. I'm really glad you're back Chase. If you need anything from us, let us know""Trust me, I will" Chase assured, giving his friends one last warm smile before they parted ways. Jason was about to leave until he felt his brother's hand on his shoulder"You know what he is, don't you? You know what that means," Darek's cold tone made it obvious what he meant. Jason nodded in response, his uneasiness written over his face."Look, I know our job but is this really necessary? Even if he has turned, it's not his fault. If I had just told him sooner...""All the more reason to put him down. He doesn't want this. Don't condemn him to such a cruel afterlife," Darek tried to assure, pulling away his hand and pulling a cross out of his pocket, "You're an Inquisitor. Do your job"Once classes ended, Chase went up to the roof of the dorms. Sure enough, Marie was waiting. She stood on the ledge, looking over the busy campus with a warm smile across her face, "Careful. Even for a ghoul, the fall would hurt like a bitch"Marie practically jumped out of her skin, nearly tripping off the roof before catching herself and getting back up, "Scaring someone is a good way to make them fall," she growled. Wiping the dust off her webbed apron and with a relieved sigh, she began to chant. A crimson circle surrounded them and before Chase knew it, they stood before the mansion"Wait...You can teleport? Why didn't you just warp me and the old man to school?!""You two were already out the door before I could speak," She answered simply, opening the door for Chase who looked around like an awestruck child. Although he had been there before, the sheer size was like something out of a comic book, "Boss is likely in the cellar. Let the Buddha guide you""Great, cryptic talk," Chase grumbled as he made his way through the mansion down the stairs into the cellar. Looking around, it didn't take long to find a golden Buddha statue, holding some sort of keg, "Never mind not cryptic. Just really weirdly phrased," he muttered as he pushed the arms up. Suddenly, one of the shelves opened up like a hidden door. A foreboding aura had him still for a moment before he finally managed to drag his feet down the stairs. The further down he went, the more the massive cavern opened up, revealing an entire underground base, target dummies in the shape of different species of vampires, a rack of different weapons, likely all made of silver, and a large computer to top it off, "You sure you don't want me calling you Bats instead of boss?"As soon as that joke escaped his throat, he quickly had to dodge a wooden stake that was launched in his direction. Before he could even ask what was happening, Boss appearing in his face and practically lifted him off the ground with a punch to the gut, "You were hunting your sire. Why?""Wh-What the hell? I didn't even know I wasn't supposed to until Marie told me," Chase managed to growl out as he stood up, holding his gut, "Why wouldn't I want to know what happened? In case you forgot, I was drunk and I doubt I can ask you. You don't even trust me to go around campus on my own""Idiot. It wasn't about trust. I just wanted to ensure you uphold your end of our deal. She would interfere with that," Boss explained and went back to sitting at the computer, pulling up some sort of profile on the screen, "This is who sired you, Victoria Blackhart, next in line to the Blackhart family""Great, I'm guessing vampire politics," Chas muttered with an eye roll, "Ok I'll bite, is the Blackhart family important?""More than important, they're the closest thing to royalty," He answered as he pulled up more files, "Unlike in some stories written the past few decades, there is little in terms of some secret Vampire society. However, the Blackharts are the leading family in the pursuit of making one, what the call New Wallachia. It's a disgusting belief that blood suckers should rule the world.""So what does that have to do with having your maid watch me?""Of all vampire species, the Blackharts are the most picky with who they turn. Years of subtle manipulation. They could have chosen you the moment you came out of the womb""W-Wait hold on! But I only met her when we first went to college," Jason argued, his eyes widened in pure shock. The idea that not only was he basically royalty now, but that he was potentially being watched for all twenty one years of his life was, frankly, inconceivable."If that were true, why did you tell her about what happened?" Boss countered, sending a glare that froze him in place, "That was a pretty personal thing between you and your friends. Why would you tell that to someone you didn't trust? Even if you don't remember, your brain automatically associates her with years of trust she built up."Silence filled the room. What he said made sense, even if he had no memory of her prior to college. Eventually, Chase broke through the silence with a simple question, "Why me? If she's really known me for years then she would have known what happened to my family. Mom, Dad even Elijah. If she was watching me for all those years, why didn't she save them!""That I can't tell you. Though knowing vampires, it was probably in a failed attempt to isolate you," Boss assumed as he stood up, placing a hand on the shaking young man. Surprisingly, Chase started to chuckle. It wasn't joy though, more like madness"If that's really true then I have a new reason to stick to our deal. I don't care if I died if she saved them. But now..." Chase growled, his teeth growing as he declared, "I'll rip that blood sucker apart!"A smirk crossed bosses face before removing his hand and sitting down, "Very well. Before anything else, there's something you need first""What? Another test?""A ghoul," Boss corrected, "Keep in mind that you're no longer a human. While normal food may taste good, it will not satisfy your hunger. Likewise, any abilities you may possess besides your physical enhancements will speed up the rate that blood digests. At the same time, you're my apprentice. I cannot have you going around feeding on every day pedestrians and risk you getting caught""A ghoul? Marie's already upstairs""Yes but she is my ghoul," he countered, "A ghoul isn't just a human with enhanced physical abilities, but a deal made between a human and a vampire. In exchange for a constant source of sustenance for that vampire alone, the human receives their power as a ghoul. Breaking the deal will have drastic consequences.""What? That sounds like slavery to me!""Not quite. A human can request to break off the deal any time they like. If Marie wanted to quit, I'd allow it. Now, I will hunt on my end for a suitable ghoul. At school, you are to start doing some scouting of your own. Am I clear?"Chase nodded but grumbled in response as he returned to Marie who transported him back to his dorm on campus, "You have time before you start feeling cravings so don't feel the need to rush. Find someone you don't mind making giving such power"That was the last Chase had heard from them that day. She vanished and he was left in his dorm, climbing into the top bunk, pretending to already be asleep. The next day he got to work, listening in on students, observing potential candidates. It didn't go unnoticed and that fact was made apparent when he felt a tap on his shoulder, "You've been real nosy today." Chase leapt back in response, still getting used to his enhancements, leaving Jason visibly shocked, "Wow. You been working out when I wasn't looking?""Yeah, I guess you could say that," Chase answered with a nervous chuckle, "But yeah, I'm looking for someone.""Any idea who?""Not really. Just someone who can help me with something""I see," Jason answered, his eyes narrowing in clear suspicion as he started to walk away "Well, I'll see you at lunch. Try not to poke around too much. Lot of folks have been going missing lately, plucked right off the school grounds" Chase hummed, a flash of inspiration striking him like a thunderbolt. After class, he would wait until night, passing the time however he could before perching up on the roof of the dorm. He would hear a small woosh as Boss appeared beside him, his hands in his pockets and with Marie at his side, "Any leads yet?" Chase would ask, his eyes glued to the courtyard below."Not yet. I was just coming to check on you," Boss answered as he looked around. He turned to his apprentice with a look of curiosity on his face "What are you looking for""According to Jason, people are being snatched up right off the campus," He answered, "Don't know if it's Vampire related but I thought it was worth digging into.""Good work going with your intuition. But are you not concerned about how your friend knew that?" Boss asked, "That information hasn't been told to anyone but the police and faculty. So how would a normal student know that?""Maybe he heard the teachers talking about it. I don't know and I don't care," Chase answered, "So are you going to help me out on this?"Boss shook his head in response, "I'll merely observe for now. If it's not Vampires, it would be a total waste of my time"With that, Chase shrugged and waited. Seconds turned to minutes, minutes to hours until he saw someone. A girl was leaving the library, her bright red hair stood out in the night like a sore thumb. She seemed on edge, her emerald eyes darting about before a pale hand reached out from the shadows, covering her mouth and dragging her away kicking and screaming. With no hesitation, Chase leapt after her, hurrying down the alleyway only to find nobody there. He did however, find a manhole, "Really? Great. Two weeks worth of constant showering for me," Chase mumbled as he ripped the cover off the hole and hopped down. It was shockingly easy to follow as he heard constant screaming for miles. Following the screams, he found a large room, students in cages like animals. blood stained their shredded clothes as claw marks dug into their bodies. However, the red head laid in there, dazed and scared as she looked around, "Hey!" Chase called out as he rushed to her, "Hey, do you know who took you down here? Did he-?" he started to ask before being easily picked up by the throat and tossed into the nearest wall. Chase groaned, rubbing his head as his blurry vision made out a pale deformed creature with pointed ears and claw like nails"Stupid kid. You thought I didn't hear those noisy footsteps?" the monstrous man mocked. Chase tried to attack with a quick punch but the attacker dodged before vanishing into thin air, "You're a fledgling right? I guess you don't know what I am then. I'm-""-A Nosferatu. A vampire from Europe known for it's deformed features and ability to camouflage with the environment," Chase interrupted, earning him a punch to the jaw"Rude little shit, don't ever cut me off when I'm talking!" He demanded and continued to wail on Chase from every angle. Any attempt at a counterstrike was met with a punch or scratch, "Gotta admit though, for someone so young to know even that. You must have someone teaching you. I feel sorry for them," he said with a false pity, grabbing chase by his hair before dunking him in the sewer water. Gurgling screams of pain produced bubbles as the running sewage burned Chase's face. He struggled and squirmed but the older vampire's strength was too great. A twisted grin tossed the Nosferatu's face just before a metal pipe slammed into the side of his skull, dazing him as he stumbled to his feet, holding his bleeding skull. Looking around, he saw the girl he had just taken holding the bloody pipe, he growled "Big mistake, bitch..."Before he could do anything though, Chase pounced on him, his burned face slowly healing. Animalistic growls escaped his throat as he punched the pinned down creature repeatedly. The Nosferatu tried to fight back but was overwhelmed by his sudden burst of strength. After he had his fill of brutality, Chase opened wide and dug his fangs deep into its throat, draining the stolen blood from his undead veins before ripping his head clean off. With his enemy dead, Chase began to calm down, huffing and puffing as he turned to the girl, "Thanks for the help. You're not hurt are you?""I should be asking you that. You're the one missing half a face," The girl answered, clearly disturbed and a little on guard, "What are you?""That's a long story. Let's get out of here first. I know a guy who ca-", as Chase was speaking, he heard a loud noise and felt a stinging, no a burning pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw a large hole right where his heart would be as he fell to his knees. The red head rushed to him to check on him"Don't bother worrying. He's a bloodsucker just like that thing he just killed," A masked man in a body armor spoke, the only distinguishing feature being the armband with a cross on it, "I'm sorry man. Just make this easy on me"Chase could barely hear him as he struggled to stay conscious. Despite what she just heard, the girl stood in the way, "I don't care what he is. He came down here and risked his neck""Do you know why? He wants a blood bag of his own. He doesn't care about you", the masked man tried to argue but she did not budge. Hesitantly, he prepared to fire through her but a firm grip snatched his wrist away before he could. Boss stood there silent before tossing him like a ragdoll"I will only say this once. Leave," Boss demanded and knowing he couldn't win, the masked assailant retreated. Boss then turned to the two, "He's been struck with a holy bullet, slows his healing long enough to kill him""Is there anyway to speed it back up?" The girl asked, tugging her black leather coat aside and exposing her neck, "That guy called him a blood sucker right? Would blood help?""You seem...eager?" Boss said, confused but quickly shook it off, "Yes, more blood should suffice."Without hesitation, the girl leaned down, bringing her neck closer and closer to his lips. While he could barely see or hear, Chase could sense the blood pumping through her veins and on pure instinct, dug his fangs into her. The hole in his chest repaired at a steady rate as the girl sat there, letting him take as much as he needed. When the wound closed, Chase pulled away with a weak "Thanks...I needed that...""What can I say? Even if I don't get any of this, I know when I owe someone" She said with a weak smile as before feinting. Boss picked the two up and took them topside where Marie took them back to the mansionWhen the girl awoke, she looked around to find herself in one of the mansion's fancy beds, Chase sitting there with a warm smile, "Morning sleepyhead." A sharp gasp escaped her as rolled out of bed, "Whoa, relax. I just wanted to thank you and...Well apologize for draining so much blood""Where are we?" She asked, looking around"Confused, huh? Yeah, I was too a few days ago. But you're safe here. Let's head to the living room. I'm sure Phil and the others could explain better than me," He offered, leading her downstairs into the living room where everyone was waiting, "She's awake, Boss.""Good, both of you have a seat," Boss insisted and the two did so, siting on the couch, "Well young lady, I would like to start by thanking you for saving my student""How about thanking me by giving telling me what's going on?" She asked, a smile crossing her face and earning a chuckle from Phil"I like this one. She gets to the point," The mummy said, barely containing his laughter, "Well get comfortable. There's a lot to explain"And so the group explain all they knew about the supernatural world as she sat there in silence. Despite the absurdity of what she was hearing, she didn't seem the slightest bit phased. When they were done, Chase was first to ask "So, any questions?""So you're a vampire hunting vampires? My only question is how can I help?""Wow, that was easy," Marie pointed out, "You were just told vampires, mummies and other supernatural entities exist. Does this not phase you?""It's a bit surprising but I meant what I said back there, I know when I owe someone," She answered, her look stern with a fire in her eyes, "And when I owe someone, I always pay them back. So I'll ask one more time. How can I help?"Chase began to sweat, wanting to ask but clearly hesitant. Boss's gaze made it clear he was thinking the same thing and eventually he spoke up, "Well...I could use a ghoul"The girl looked to him and nodded, "Alright. Tell me what I need to do""I'll get the ritual set up," Boss responded, standing up and leading them down into the cave. Again, the feeling of dread swelled over him. It wasn't the cave this time though. It was coming from this stranger who they had dragged into this. As if reading his mind, she gave him the same smile she did in the sewer and lightly slapped the back of his head"Calm down. This is my choice," She simply said. While still uncertain, that comment and her seemingly carefree attitude about the whole ordeal seemed to calm his restless thoughts"Right, sorry. Oh! I'm sure boss already knows it, but you haven't given me your name yet"The girl blinked, before letting her eyes shoot wide, "You're right! I guess with you being missing and me getting kidnapped, there wasn't much time for you to ask" She admitted, "It's Alexis Eden""Alexis. Nice name" He said with a goofy grin as they made their way into the cave, "So boss, you said something about a ritual""It's nothing fancy. You guys state your name, say 'I do' then she drinks your blood," Boss simply explained, leading them to the computer. He opened up a drawer and pulled out a gold chalice covered in jewels. The two stood across from each other, waiting for Boss to come with the knife, "Do you Alexis Eden, agree to trade your blood and service to Chase Dixon?"Without hesitation, the girl answered, "I do.""And in exchange for this service, do you Chase Dixon, agree to offer your blood granting her with power beyond that of any normal human living or dead?""I do""So be it. As of today Alexis, you are a ghoul," Boss declared, grabbing Chase's hand and dragging the blade across his palm, letting the blood drip into the tower like a waterfall. Alexis stared into the red liquid for barely a second before drinking it down.