With the weekend coming to a close and finals on the way, the duo's training had come off to a strong start to make up for lost time. Chase struggled to stay off the ground as his wings desperately flapped in the air to dodge the suction cup arrows fired at him by boss, returning fire with some of his own, "Mind reminding me why we're using crossbows?! Can't we just use guns or something?""With your aim, do you truly think you need something heavier?" Boss countered, dodging around, using the boxes and debris that made up the makeshift training course before launching himself forward and going for a point blank shot. Chase groaned as he dropped to the ground, "Still you're improving with your wings. I didn't expect those to come in so soon""Yeah, busting them out makes me famished though," Chase groaned, his wings retracking back into his shoulder blades, "How many more powers like this do I have?""Since you're a Blackhart, it depends. They believe as leaders of Vampire kind, they should have the abilities of all Vampires. God only knows how close they are to that goal. For now, focus on what you have though. By the way, how's that script?" Chase blinked as he sat in silence before muttering, "Fuck, I forgot""Might wanna get to that. You may be my apprentice but if you start slipping up, people will notice," Boss warned as he put away the crossbows and sat at the computer, "Pass that along to Alexis""Yeah yeah, I'll do that. Just try to get to school on time," Chase answered, making his way outside to see the two ghouls sparing. Despite being fairly new, Alexis was keeping up quite well even if Marie wasn't punching full force, "Hey you two, ready?"The two froze and came to a stop. Alexis groaned, rubbing her bruises from the spar, "Is it time already?""Yup! Old many said to not let our grades slip. Even though honestly, I'm ready to train. I spent three days of tests and preparation and all he's taught me to do is fly and shoot""You need to master the basics before getting to the complicated parts. You didn't start off running did you?" Phil noted, coming out with two paper bags, "I figured I would make you two lunch""What are we? Middle schoolers? Thanks but..." before Chase could finish, Alexis slammed her elbow into his ribs before taking them"Thanks Phil, we appreciate it" She said as she took the bags and Marie transported them to the the dorm roof. Already feeling fatigued, Chase made his way inside, stumbling down the stairs, "By the way, you should know that my room assignment got changed""Oh really? Where to?" He asked and tried to open the door only to find it locked, "Damn it. I forgot my key last night""Allow me," Alexis insisted, pulling a key out of her jacket pocket and inserting it into the keyhole. Shockingly, when she turned it, the door actually opened, "Boss thought it would be good if your blood bag was close to you as much as possible""That sneaky son of a-!""Oh hey Chase!" Jason called out before he could even finish his cursing. He greeted them at the door only to be shocked by their guest, "Whoa, didn't know you were bringing company. Should I give you two some privacy?"Gritting his teeth in clear anger, Chase simply answered "No, she's our new roommate""Seriously,? But I thought-""Yeah I know the girls have their own dorms!""Alexis Eden, nice to meet you," She said, holding out her hand to shake as she ignored Chase's angry grumbling"Jason Tombs, the pleasure's all mine," Jason answered, giving her hand a firm shake before turning to look in the tiny enclosure that barely classified as a room, "I'm guessing you already know the basic layout. It's basically just the girl's dorm but with way more annoying residents.""Got ya. I'm gonna run get my stuff. See ya around," She informed them before running off. An awkward silence filled the room. Chase continued working on the script he had to write. Jason meanwhile seemed uncharacteristically quiet. He could've sworn he shot Chase right through the heart. On top of that, the girl from before moved in with them? Did he take her blood? His research did say that the lingering effects of a holy weapon could be negated by feeding. So many questions ran through his head"Hey, you ok dude?" Chase suddenly asked, snapping him from his maze of questions. To say Jason was shocked was putting it mildly. Still, Chase greeted him with his signature goofy grin, "I may be a bit dense but I know you better than you know yourself."That's right, how could he forget that? Not even bothering to lie, Jason mustered an answer, "Yeah just something that's bugging me about that girl. How did you meet her? And you were gone all weekend""Who? Alexis?" Chase asked, surprised by the question, "Well, I guess you can say we're coworkers. I got a part time job after the whole Vicky thing. Wanted to take my mind off it I guess and the extra cash doesn't hurt""Ok but that doesn't explain why she's here. Maybe it was just a mistake. With that short red hair and biker getup, she doesn't look like a chick""Don't bother asking questions you don't want the answer to," Chase warned before trying his best to write the script while filtering out all the thoughts of vampires and power that were distracting him. In the meantime, Jason decided to leave. He needed to think and plan again.Classes were fairly uneventful. It was mostly just review which the better students frankly didn't need. It seemed Boss, likely through mind control, had rearranged Alexis's entire schedule to match his own, leaving the young vampire fairly mixed. Not only did it feel like another attempt at having someone spy on him, he had no desire to completely overtake his ghoul's life. Still, he bared it. Boss wouldn't do it without reason right?With classes done, the duo walked out, "So, got any class work to finish up?" Chase asked in an attempt to strike up conversation"Not really. I finish my work the day I get it," She answered, "That script you've been struggling with? I finished mine a week ago.""Wow! That's actually impressive""No, I just focus," She argued as they stopped. That wasn't just a witty remark. She was serious, "I know I haven't known you long, but you always seem so distracted.""I mean, yeah. Less than a week ago, I was a normal kid. Now I'm learning that vampire's are real. I think most people would be" He explained, his tone of voice changing to be as serious as hers, "I mean, don't get me wrong. I want to focus on this and act normal but...""But you're not normal?" She finished, letting out an almost annoyed sigh, "You're researching like you're still human but you're not anymore. You need to accept that. You have an eternity to learn about Vampires but your school work has deadlines. People will notice if you don't maintain a low profile""You say that like it's so easy. I don't get you. How are you able to so easily accept something like this? You're even newer than me yet you act like everything's fine with you!"Alexis hummed as she tried to think of how to phrase her response, "I guess I just didn't have anything worth denying it over," she answered. The answer was surprising to say the least. Didn't have anything worth denying it over? What could that have meant? Before he could question her further, he heard a familiar muffled sound and quickly rushed to get himself and Alexis out of the way. Right in front of them were two makes men in body armor wearing white and gold coats on top of them, like the one last night in the sewers"You punks again. What do you want?""The church has called for the death of all blood suckers and their abominations. As Inquisitors, it is our duty to see it done," the taller of the two answered, a voice changer clearly distorting his voice beyond recognition as he put his gun away"Just give up. It'll be easier on all of us," The younger one insisted. While his voice was distorted this time, his build made it clear he was the same one from that night. It would seem he learned from his mistake last time, keeping a sword trained on them. The scene was absurd with people's eyes constantly on them. No guns had been fired yet past the initial shot most wouldn't have even heard. To an average person, they probably just looked like actors for one of the student projects. Taking advantage of the crowd's ignorance while he could, he balled his fists and approached the two, "Let's take this somewhere else. If you're just after us, then it shouldn't be a problem right?""What? Pretending to actually care about these folks? Thought all Vampires saw was a bunch of blood bags," The older hunter mocked his mask barely able to hide his smirk"Well if you were paying attention, I'm new to this whole Vampire thing"With no further question, the hunter turned around, "There's a warehouse in the southeast end of the city. Meet us there right away. If you're not there in an hour, I'll be back," he warned and with that, the two walked away. Despite the brave face he put on, Alexis could she Chase's shaking fists"We need to hurry back to the mansion," She insisted but Chase shook his head in response"No, I want to talk to them" He struggled to say, "They're vampire hunters like us right? Then we shouldn't be fighting each other. Besides, they just said they're gonna come back if I don't show""Did you forget the talk we just had? You're a vampire too!" She argued, "There is no reasoning. If you're going, they're going to want to fight and if you fight during the day, you could die!"Chase didn't respond to that and rushed off into the woods. With not many other options she chased after him as his wings ripped through the back of his clothes. With no hesitation, he lifted Alexis up and flew to the warehouse. After a tough, fifteen minutes of flying, they arrived, landing down in front of the Inquisitors, "You actually showed up" The younger one said, relief being audible through his distorted voice."A shame. I was hoping we could finally expose your kind so we could start hunting you down like the animals you are" The older one spat as he walked forward, drawing his sword and pistol, "So are you ready to fight?""No, I'm ready to talk" Chase insisted as he came close, "You guys hunt Vampires right? Well so do we. Let's work something out"The older Inquisitor snickered, which eventually turned into full on laughter, "Work with you? How could I even trust you not to stab me in the back?""Ever heard of a Kin Slayer?" Chase asked casually. That seemed to silence him. The Inquisitor's gaze turned serious as he silently awaited him to continue, "Yes. I am a Vampire. But he's training me to kill them and honestly? I don't mind. I never asked for this and in light of recent information, I actually want to. So I don't see why we should be fighting""Brother, maybe we should consider it," the younger Inquisitor suggested, the grip on his sword shaking. Slowly, he began to lower his guard before snapping into place the second his brother reached for his pistol."Even if we wanted to do that, it's not up to us"Alexis sighed as she assumed her fighting stance, "Told ya this wouldn't end any other way""Sorry, girly" The older Inquisitor muttered. His younger quickly charged in, going for Alexis only for Chase to block it with his arm, wincing in pain"Think you can handle the big guy?""You're not the only one who's had to practice," Alexis reminded with a smirk as she ran past the two to fight the older brother. Dodging his bullets with her enhanced speed, She managed to punch right under his ribcage, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying back. Not letting up, she chase him down, grabbing him by the throat"Is she going to be ok?" The younger brother asked"She's fine. You should worry more about yourself!" Chase reminded, slamming him into the ground. The sword cut through his arm a bit but he didn't seem to mind. He kicked him back with no issue. The younger Inquisitor groaned in pain as he stood up, switching to his rifle and unloading a full clip of holy bullets. Frightened and fatigued from the sunlight, Chase took to the skies. He dodged and ducked around them but some still went through his wings, sending him to the ground. Chase had to recover quick as he dodged the sword that would have taken off his head, "Please stop. Just give up! Like you said you didn't want this!""You're right. But I didn't last this long just to lay down and die!" Chase argued as he got up and rammed his shoulder into him, shattering a few ribs. Coughing up blood, he checked his wrist watch"C' mon guys..."Meanwhile, with Alexis, she was pinned down by a barrage of gunfire, "God I wish I could rip that gun straight from his hand", she grumbled, before hopping onto the roof of one of the warehouses. Despite the older brother still shooting, she rushed him, getting grazed by some holy bullets as she jumped down on top of him, her landing causing a shockwave that sent him back"You're pretty strong for a ghoul. Must've given you a lot of blood," The brother said, feigning a compliment as he reloaded his pistol. Not giving him the chance, Alexis rushed him, going straight for his head. When she was about to make contact though, she froze. Her eyes slowly widened as she looked down and saw the bullet hole in her stomach, "You're fast girly, but I've picked up a few tricks to make up for that," he assured, grabbing her by the hair, "I still have to kill you. But at least I can let you see the monster that turned you before you die"Gritting her teeth as she fought through the pain, Alexis grabbed his arm with an iron grip. The sound of muscle and flesh tearing echoed out followed by a loud scream that could be heard for miles. Hearing the sound, the younger brother quickly turned to it and rushed to his brother's side. Chase tried to grab him, inadvertently ripping of the mask to reveal the familiar face of his childhood friend, "Jason...""C'mon c'mon.." Jason exclaimed, ignoring his targets entirely, and rushed to his brother's side. He wasted no time trying to stop the bleeding to no avail "Damn it, Darek. Stay with me!"Alexis was about to go in for the kill but Chase grabbed her, "What are you doing?!""I'm not letting you kill them. If he can't fight anymore then we've won!""They're going to keep attacking us if we don't do it you moron!" Alexis tried to argue but while they were distracted, the Tombs brothers fled as rumbling could be heard. Massive blasts of fire began to engulf the space between the buildings. Unable to get in the sky in time, Chase instead used his wings to tackle Alexis and use them as shields. The pain was nearly unbearable as the skin of his wings was reduced to ash. For a moment, it felt as if he wouldn't last. He shut his eyes, expecting the explosions around him to finally take them any second...When he opened his eyes once again, the burned ruins of the warehouse as well as the ones surrounding it. The agonizing burning on his back as his body tried to regenerate was enough to almost make him pass out again. Fortunately, when he looked down to check on Alexis, she was untouched, he clothes undamaged and her pale skin free of the burns that covered him. He let out a sigh of relief as he tried to stand on his one functioning leg. Picking Alexis up and using what little unburned wreckage remained to prop himself up, he tried to flee as he heard sirens. he would twist and turn through the ruins, only to be met with a brick wall, "Huh...? Well, guess I'm fucked..." he muttered as he let himself collapse. The sound of sirens was growing ever closer. He could see the flashing blue and red lights behind him before suddenly being enveloped in a familiar crimson glow. Upon looking around, he found himself in the cave beneath Boss's mansion, "Thanks for the save, old man.""Don't thank me. I would have let you both get arrested for your stupidity," Boss grumbled, his displeasure written across his face, "What were you thinking?""Didn't have much choice...""You could have hidden here""And what? Never go to school again?""Yes damn it!" Boss snapped, letting out a snarl before calming himself with a sip of blood, "You are not human. You're a Vampire. All the things you once thought mattered are now irrelevant. You could start up school again whenever you want and you'll look like you've barely aged a day". This whole time, Chase stayed silent, seemingly disinterested in what he was saying. Boss quickly turned back to the computer, "Get Phil to help you recover. I'm busy finding a suitable first mission for you. Don't ever do something like that again"Not wishing to anger him further, Chase complied and stumbled up the cave stairs. Aimlessly, he wandered around the building before finding Phil, carrying a still living but paralyzed sheep. Immediately he dropped it and rushed to Chase's side, "Chase! What on earth happened to you?!""I got blown up by my best friend" He answered, his tone quiet as he finally had time to process it. He was too concerned about Alexis and the explosion to let that sink in but his best friend and, who he could only assume was his older brother, had just tried to murder him. He wouldn't speak again, letting the thoughts sink deeper and deeper in as Phil tended to his wounds with the bandages"I see. You were betrayed," Phil muttered under his cold lifeless breath and continued his work. With the skill of a trained field medic, he wrapped the burns in bandages, using alcohol and other such first aid tools as if he were still capable of infections."Why not just get me some blood? Alexis is back in the cave and I'm sure Boss has some preserved somewhere" He asked, sounding dejected"Why waste blood on something a normal human can recover from with time? You're not in a fight right now are you?" he asked, a soft smile clearly forming beneath the bandages, "You seem upset and that is fair. But let me give you a piece of advice most do not want to here. Yes, you are a Vampire. But before you ever drank a pint of blood, you were human. So cling to that with all your heart if you so desire". This shocked Chase to his core as he tried to stand. However, Phil sat him back down and Spot secured him by sitting in his lap as he drained the blood from the paralyzed sheep, "You need rest. Just lay there and relax. You young humans have phones to entertain you correct?"With an annoyed sigh, Chase reluctantly obeyed, laying down and eventually falling asleep as Spot laid on him. Despite everyone save Phil insisting otherwise, he returned to school. Marie teleported him to the roof and left without a word. The air around him felt heavy as he shakily made his way to class. The whole time he felt a soft glare on him. When he got to class, 'Mr. Helsing' as he called himself was already there, "Ah, Mr. Dixon. I wasn't expecting you today, given your accident""And miss out on a college I busted my ass to get into? Not a chance" Chase said with a grin, trying to keep up appearances with his upbeat attitude. He sat down, feeling his old best friend's glare on him as class continued"Very well, today we will be going over something I noticed you all struggling with. Consistency. Any time I see a monster story with complicated rules, I dread it because I know it will be an inconsistent mess. We are fixing that today" Helsing explained, resulting in a groan from the class. The class dragged on with Helsing explaining that if your monster has set attributes, they must always have the same effect. If a monster is weak to a certain item it should not be able to simply shrug it off for example. Chase chuckled at that specific example as he looked down at his scarred hand. As he sat there listening, he felt a nudge as Sarah leaned closer"Hey, did something happen? What's this about an accident?" She asked in a hushed tone, a worried look plastered across her face, "Neither you or Jason came back last night and don't think I haven't notice the weird looks he's been giving you. He hasn't been cheating on me with you has he?"Chase couldn't help but chuckle at her attempt at a joke, "I can't tell you what happened but I can tell you it's not that". She let out an almost exaggerated sigh, her eyes narrowing"So once again, I'm out of the loop" She mumbled, "Look whatever's going on, both of you just stay safe, ok?"Chase's response was delayed. After all, he couldn't make such a promise, especially given the events of the day prior. Eventually though, he nodded and responded with "I'll do my best". The lecture continued from there, the only remaining sounds being that of pencils moving as the students took notes on what Helsing said. From there they made their way to their next classes before it ended for the day. Instead of returning to the mansion, Chase went to the dorms. Upon opening the door, he immediately had to dodge the swing of a sword, "Is it sad I was expecting that""Why?" Jason asked, firmly gripping his sword as he stared down his friend, filled with emotion"Why? I should be-""No, why do you keep coming back?" He asked, going for another swing which Chase dodged with ease as instability was affecting his proficiency, "I shot you through the heart and you came back. I blew you up and you came back. Why do you keep coming back!?" He exclaimed with a final swing. This time though, Chase didn't move an inch, letting the sword chop into his neck if only a little. That seemed to be enough to make Jason finally stop"You calmed down yet? I already told you" He answered, "I didn't come this far to just die. I could have easily died in that accident but I didn't. There has to be a reason and I think I've finally found it""What? So that my cowardice could turn you into a monster that I have to kill?" Jason asked, tears going down his face as he dropped his sword and fell to his knees, "If I had just told you about me and Sarah, Vicky would have never...""Don't start," Chase said, taking an unusually stern tone with him. Jason looked up at his old friend before the Vampire kneeled down to his level and hugged him, "What happened that night wasn't your fault. If it wasn't then, she would have gotten me later. You Inquisitors are Vampire Hunters yeah? Then you know they'll stalk their prey for years if they have to""Why are you comforting me? I tried to kill you...""Isn't it obvious? You're my friend" Chase answered. Though his face was pale, that bright smile was made him look livelier than any human, "Someone told me, before I ever drank a pint of blood, I was a human. I want to stay that way. Even if I'm physically not, my memories and friendships that make me glad to have survived, those are what make me human. So long as I have that, I think I can be both"Wiping his tears, Jason started to chuckle, "Wow is sappy speeches one of your vampire powers?" he asked resulting in a punch to his arm, "Ow!""Can you stop laughing, I'm trying to be serious with you""I know and thank you" He said, his laughter calming down as he turned serious, "Still, the Inquisitors won't see it that way. To them, you're either a vampire or you're not. Luckily, they think you're dead and due to my brother's injury, I'm the only one who can tell them otherwise""Will you tell them otherwise?"Jason hummed as he thought about it, "I won't on two conditions. First, I want to meet this Kin Slayer you mentioned. Like you said, we're both Vampire Hunters. We should be working together. Second, under no condition does any of this crazy vampire talk reach Sarah. She's the only normal thing left in my life now apparently""Funny, I wanted to talk about that second bit anyway. As for the Kin Slayer..." Chase trailed off, trying to think of how to phrase it, "You've kinda already met him. Remember Mr. Helsing?""No way! It can't be. Nobody would be that stupid!" Jason exclaimed with wide eyes before bursting into laughter, "Wait when I say it like that, it's actually genius! So how do we meet him?""Well, he's sorta been watching us this whole time. You can come on in, Boss" Chase called out. Truth be told, he had felt his partner's gaze the entire time. He had hoped his senses were just playing tricks due to fear but it would seem he weas right as Boss opened the door and approached, "Are you sure this is a good idea? Like I told you, you a-""-Are a vampire. I'm aware" Chase interrupted "But can't you trust me on this?"Boss sighed, "I am not doubting you. But if this goes wrong, you will take the responsibility, not I. Are you willing to risk that?"At first Chase seemed nervous. Boss's questioning and the past two assassination attempts had him second guessing at first. Still, he grit his teeth, looked Boss dead in his eyes and nodded, "Yeah, I think I am"Boss smiled and nodded, "Very well. Jason Tombs. Welcome to the team. I will see you tomorrow"