The sea of vampires below us was captivating - an unnatural abomination that was at once horrifying and beautiful. All around the city, the flood of pale emaciated Class-D vampires poured in like a raging torrent, engulfing the city. And yet there was order to the madness. This was no mad scramble, no panicked stampede. Rather, this was a highly coordinated and well-planned exercise that was executed with military precision.

I turned to Death, concerned for the people of Chicago.

“Relax, love,” said Gregor Vincent. “The vampires have been expressly instructed not to sate themselves upon the hapless population.” He smiled to me, with all the youthful charm his exterior allowed. “The humans will not be harmed. The Brood is not foolish enough to incur the wrath of Death and his Angel.”

Gregor jumped above where I was hovering to a high building and beckoned for me to follow. I flew to the top of the building, settling comfortably beside Gregor as we surveyed our surroundings. I could see the ‘L’ tracks circling the loop. The trains had stopped running long ago, and apart from the sea of vampires, it was hard to tell if there was any human life in the center of Chicago’s business district.  The normally bustling Wacker Drive was completely dead, as if Death himself had unleashed his Nether Void upon the city. The waves of the Chicago River were the only thing that broke the monotony.

The historic LaSalle Street and Union Station were both completely devoid of passers-by.  Gregor pointed to a section of downtown, towards Adams and Wabash. “See that section where the Class-Ds are headed? Elite members of the Brood are guiding them. I have Class C’s positioned carefully throughout the city. They act as my lieutenants, beacons that guide the Class D’s toward their destination and their mission.”

“You’re sacrificing your own?” I asked. “Why would you do that out of the kindness of your heart?”

“Not out of the kindness of my heart, I’m afraid, Vanessa,” said Gregor. “It’s more like we share a common enemy. Ridding ourselves of the man that sought at one time to purge the vampire nation is only fitting.”

“My father sought to purge the vampire nation?”

“Your father needed a testing ground for his abilities. The Class D’s were a rather convenient target, I should say. Though as the reigning patriarch of the Vampire Nation, I take personal offense to it.”

“So my father angered you enough to act,” I said.

“Lest you forget, dear Vanessa, it was I who guided you toward your mother.”

“And I won’t forget that favor,” I said.

“Ah, you two appear to be getting cozy,” said Death with a wide grin on his face. He had switched back to his human form, looking impeccable as always. “Fortunately, I am not the jealous type,” he said with a smile. “Or am I?”

“What’s the objective here?” I asked, conveniently changing the subject.

“We hope to overwhelm the giant knight with our numbers. We don’t really know if the massive form has any weaknesses, but we hope to try and exploit any openings we find, nonetheless.”

As if in response, I noticed the vampires began to climb the robotic knight, scampering up its legs from the ground beneath it. It was as though a swarm of tiny ants began to lay siege on the robotic knight. The knight paid the attack no heed, swatting hapless vampires away like insects, where they fell to the ground below or were smashed into the concrete, their remains leaving a splattered mess upon the streets of Chicago.

“Not exactly a strategy that befits the Brood,” I retorted, smiling a little at Gregor.

“No it is not, but then again, centuries of war have done nothing to prepare us against such a foe,” said Gregor smiling back, his boyish charms an almost unnatural contrast to his wise words. “Your father was special, Vanessa, as are you. To take down such a foe requires sacrifices. And we are prepared, Death Angel for when the time comes that you set your will against us.”

I saw now the power and the wisdom of the leader of the Vampire Nation. To take down a foe that was not easily understood, all the while racing against the clock, Gregor was prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice, and use his own people as pawns. It was a difficult decision that he had undoubtedly arrived at mere minutes ago. He was my kind of guy after all. Risks were part of the game, and no matter how high the stakes were, it all boiled down to how much downside you were willing to accept. Whether that foe was my father, or me, eventually. But for the moment, we were allies, and it was conveniently easy to accept the rather convenient, if not uncomfortable truce.

It wasn’t a lost cause, I noticed that the vampires were definitely being noticed, the nano-knight was reacting to them the way a boy would react to a swarm of bees from a knocked down hive. There was power in numbers. The nano-knight did its best to swat out the vampires, but wave after wave kept coming on, threatening to overwhelm the nano-knight.

“It looks like its forgotten its objective,” I said to Death.

“Indeed. Whatever it was searching for, the vampires have its full attention now,” he agreed.

“Be that as it may,” I said, “Gregor’s people have bought us time with their sacrifice.” I turned to Gregor. “It shall not be in vain.”

Gregor nodded at me with a serious look on his face. “Do we have a plan, Death Angel?”

“D, go see if you can locate Katsujinken,” I began. “That’s something we know can immediately threaten the nanomachines. Your scythe isn’t much good against these critters, so you’ll need something you can use.”

“So you’re telling me to make myself useful, cherie,” Death said with a wink. “And what about you?” he asked further, a slight smile on his lips. I knew full well he was already anticipating what I wanted to say.

“I’m going into the Hunter Robotics building to find out exactly what that thing was after. If there’s anything valuable in there, I’m going to find it.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Gregor with a smile. “The Brood will buy you both time to find what you need to take this thing down.”

“Gregor, if I may ask one more thing,” I said.

“Yes, Vanessa?”

“If it’s possible at all…” I stopped myself as I realized the implications of what I was about to ask.

Gregor smiled. “I understand Vanessa. If it’s possible at all, could we perhaps lead it to water?”

I sighed. “Water is bad for the Brood isn’t it?”

“Fear not, Vanessa, we understand the need for sacrifices. It shall be done. We shall lead our brethren to the water and make sacrifices where we need to.”

“You have my word that we will leave the Brood alone for a long time,” I said.

“That is what I am hoping to hear, Death Angel,” said Gregor, his eyes gleaming. “Very well, we shall be on our way.”

And with that, Gregor and Death both disappeared from my sight, each of them intent on their own goals. I turned my attention to the Hunter Robotics building.

It was not an accident that the nano-knight stopped in front of the building. In fact, it had stopped so abruptly that the action itself stood out. All the other buildings were either brushed aside, or used as material for the nanomachines’ expansion. Everything but the Hunter Robotics building itself.

And then there was the fact that my father had stripped it bare as the battle began, shattering the windows, and endangering everyone within the building itself. Did Donovan Hunter know something special was contained within the building? Was his seemingly random act of mass murder actually a premeditated attempt to ready the building itself for something else?

The winds had calmed down considerably as I approached the Hunter Robotics building. The unpredictable headwinds had disappeared and visibility was great during the sunny day. The sky was completely blue on this beautiful day, illuminating Lake Michigan in all its splendor. It was a shame I didn’t have the time to appreciate the scenery.

Death’s Nether Void continued to hold the building in place. However, the residents were very much awake and aware of their situation. Not that it mattered at this point – the entire city was now aware of what was going on, and we had far bigger things to worry about at this point. It seemed like a far simpler problem to be worrying about a building full of residents than to have to worry about the safety and security of every person in the city of Chicago. I sighed. I just couldn’t get a break.

I stared at the glassless windows at the occupants within. I turned my attention to the penthouse suite, hoping to find something I could use. Something caught my eye: someone was waving at me through the opening.

It was Daniel.

He had seen me flying around, I knew. He had no doubt, also witnessed Death’s transformation. I wondered what he had thought of the circus act that his former fiancé was now a part of. I didn’t really want to know the answer to that. It was difficult enough to make the choice to leave my former life behind.

Still, there was something about the intensity of how Daniel was waving to me that caught my attention. It was as though he knew something.

Wait.

Daniel’s father and Donovan Hunter had a very close association with each other.

Could it be?

Could the nano-knight be in fact be seeking Daniel out? And if so, for what reason?

I flew close enough to the building now for me to make out faces. They knew what was up alright, they were all staring at me, frightened, unsure of how to react. At this point in time, I knew full well they weren’t seeing Haley Wellington anymore.

Everyone was staring at Vanessa Hunter. The real me.

And the poor residents of the building had seen enough ghosts in one day to last them a lifetime.

I sighed. No sense in worrying about collateral damage when a giant robotic knight was rampaging through the city of Chicago.

I passed through the Nether Void with ease, nullifying and cancelling out the field’s effects. I took great care not to completely nullify it. I just had to weaken it enough to pass through it.

There was a brief moment, as I passed through the Void when things felt hazy. The world around me shimmered and distorted. For a very short amount of time, I wished that everything was back to the way it was. That I had never died and I would wake up and Daniel and I would still be together.

I quickly banished the thought. For one, my heart had someone new in it. And it was going to be impossible to forget the man who had so effortlessly found his way into my heart. That, despite all of my resistance and efforts to run away from him, I found myself completely drawn to.

I actually wondered how he was doing. Finding Katsujinken was going to be like finding a needle in a haystack. Still, if there was one person who could do it, it was him.

Infinite Resources, after all.

Once the haze had gone, I found myself staring at Daniel. It was like he couldn’t believe his eyes.

“You really are Vanessa,” he said, those handsome eyes staring at me in the same way they had always had.

“I’m so sorry everything had to be so messed up like this Daniel,” I said and sighed. “Look, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Daniel shook his head. “Say no more, Van. I knew it the moment I saw you Jackson Square under the rain that night,” he looked down at his feet, unsure of how to proceed. “You aren’t mine to keep anymore Van,” he finally said.

Tears came down my cheeks. “Daniel… I… I’m so very sorry.”

“Van, there’s something else I need to tell you,” said Daniel.

I turned to him quizzically. “Something else?”

“That thing that’s rampaging outside the city of Chicago? I know how to stop it.”

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It's a bit late in the day, but I sincerely hope I made it! Dedicated to @KayleeSullivan who is celebrating her birthday today! Happy Birthday! I hope it was special, and that this is icing on the cake that was your day. Hope you had fun, and saved some cake for everyone! :D

As for everyone else, I hope you guys liked this update! Please don't forget Vote, Add to your library, and comment, comment comment! Every little thing counts, it really does! You guys rock! :D