[IC] MONSTORY

[Dead Cruiser]

The food brought what little comfort the familiar flavors could. Izzy counted herself lucky that the food didn't turn to ash on her tongue, as she had read in one of the comics Trevor had brought her. The thought brought a realization to her. If anyone was rational and knowledgeable enough to know what to do, it would be Trevor. She could only hope that she had not disheartened him from her last few messages the previous evening. Her hunger, while irritating, she suspected was still at a safe level to have him around. Even so, she wondered at what point she would stop seeing Trevor as a friend, and only see him as food.

[Riven Wight]

Izzy took a deep breath, then reached slowly into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She turned it on, using the short time it took to shove the sandwich fixings back in the bag. If nothing else, at the very least, she needed someone as levelheaded as Trevor. Though, she would certainly have a fair bit of explaining to do.
Ignoring any messages or missed calls she may have gotten, she held the phone up. Lacking service in the remains of the basement, she cautiously checked the intensity of the sun beyond the door above her. Finding what looked like the old kitchen relatively shady, she jumped up onto the main floor, careful to avoid any rays of sunlight filtering in between the boards.
Once her phone showed she had service, she skipped texting and dialed Trevor's number, unsure what kind of response she would get from him, or, even, if he would pick up.

[Dead Cruiser]

Two rings. That was all it took for Trevor to pick up. Izzy was wondering if he was waiting for her to contact him, or if he just had his phone in his hand. "Yeah, Izzy, hello?" Reception wasn't the best way in the outskirts of town, but she could hear him well enough. "What's up? Are you okay?"

[Riven Wight]

When Trevor answered, Izzy gave a relieved sigh. Though it had not been long since she had heard his voice, it was good to know he was, at least for now, still safe.
She gave a humorless chuckle at his second question, and shook her head. “No,” she breathed. “It... it’s kinda a long story.” She paused, debating on if she dared ask him to meet her. But with the poor connection, the call could drop at any moment. “And service out here sucks. Could...” She took another unsteady breath. “Would you be willing to meet me? But not at the school,” she added hastily. “I know it’s unfair of me to ask you, after everything, but...” She gave a heavy exhale. “I need you, Trevor. You and that brilliant brain of yours.”

[Dead Cruiser]

Trevor gave a half-hearted sort of laught, perhaps to help ease Izzy's nerves. "You make it sound like I know everything. I promise I only know what I know. But, uh, sure. Tell me where you are, and I'll try and get there as soon as I can."

Trevor arrived about an hour later, the barns being a considerable walk from his house. Finding his way to the particular shack that Izzy had indicated, he knocked on the massive door. Dust stirred from the disturbance, and small animals scurried away from the noise.

"Hello? Izzy?" He called out, not wanting to open the door and expose his friend to sunlight when she was unprepared.

[Riven Wight]

As soon as she hung up with Trevor, Izzy went through the house to the front door. The gaps in the boards of the windows let beams of sunlight in, the golden streams making millions of dust motes glitter and turning portions of the house into a minefield for her. The front door was barred from the inside. To make his entrance a bit easier than crawling through a window, she set to work removing the few boards keeping the door closed.
With the boards made short work of, she could only wait. Finding a shadowy space, she sat and leaned her back against the wall. A physical and emotional weariness hung over her, and she found herself dozing slightly, only to be startled awake by the gruesome images that plagued her mind.
When a knock came on the door, making the whole house creak, she startled to alertness and jumped to her feet. She breathed a sigh of relief at Trevor’s voice.
“I’m here,” she called back to him, carefully moving to the side of the room to avoid bursting into flames when he opened the door. “Come in.”

[Dead Cruiser]

Trevor carefully crept in, the door creaking open just wide enough for him to slip through, and then unsteadily shutting. He squinted, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the barn. After a moment, his head swiveled around as he tried to spy Izzy somewhere in the building's dark depths. He spotted her after a moment, and while his face didn't exactly light up, his eyebrows did perk at the sight of her.

"Some fancy new digs you've got here." He said, casually approaching her. "At this rate you might get picked up for squatting. So what's up?"

[Riven Wight]

Izzy watched Trevor squint, reminding her that he could not see as well in the dimness of the farmhouse as she could. When his eyes finally seemed to adjust to the new lighting and his gaze settled on her, she offered him a small smile in greeting.
“That’s the least of my worries,” she muttered at his comment about squatting. She took a deep breath at his question, then told him everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.
Finishing her tale, she placed her head in her hands from where she had since sat once again against the wall, her legs crossed beneath her.
“If the hunter hadn’t come, it would’ve just been someone else. Will be someone else the next time.” Izzy shook her head and ran a hand through the lose portion of her hair. “And that’s what I saved. What...” she swallowed hard, her voice soft as she continued, “what I could become.” She raised her head, not looking at anything in particular. “I don’t know what to do, Trevor. It’d be nice to just wake up and have this all be a nightmare, but that isn’t going to happen.”

[Dead Cruiser]

Trevor seated himself on a decrepit pile of crates not far from Izzy, listening to her story with rapt attention. He rested his chin on his hands as he listened, the sunbeams poking through the barn casting strange reflections in his glasses. He said nothing until Izzy finished speaking, but seemed to have an answer readily available for her.

"Well, I have an idea. You should take responsibility for this. Running away won't help anyone." He sighed, taking a second to wipe the dust of the barn from his glasses onto his shirt. "Think about it. The vampire hunters are all gone. Mister Riley is gone, too. You battled them as a vampire, but they were the side of human justice at the time. Your perspective has flipped, now. You're his successor. You're the only one that could possibly stop him."

[Riven Wight]

“I know,” Izzy groaned when Trevor paused to wipe his glasses. She took a shaky breath when he finished. The truth of his last statement sunk heavily in her chest. She was the only one who stood a chance at stopping him. A shudder ran through her at the thought of facing Cerasus.
“You don’t know what it’s like to just be near him,” she said with a shake of her head. “I can feel his power just by being at the school. Then, even if I did stop him, this, all of this, would be my life until either a hunter killed me, or I did it myself!” She sighed exasperatedly. “But if I don't even try...” Her soft voice trailed off as she leaned her head against the wall behind her with a groan.

[Dead Cruiser]

"Actually, I think I know something that might help." Trevor said as Izzy moped. "I was doing some research on the internet- you wouldn't believe what some of these sites are like. Anyway, I was looking up ways to cure vampirism, and the same thing kept coming up. Vampires work like master and servant, right? So if the servant turns on the master, the whole relationship is upset, and the curse can be reversed. Meaning, if you uh, slay Cerasus," Trevor clapped his hands together for effect. "Two birds with one stone."

[Riven Wight]

Izzy turned her head to look to Trevor, listening intently as he spoke, and nodding to his question.
She continued to stare at him for a moment when quiet fell. Could she really, truly slay someone, even someone like Cerasus? Someone with whom she had laughed the night away with just hours earlier? He had spared her when they first met, and even shown a shred of humanity when talking about his thrall before her. But how many innocent people had he killed? How many more would he kill before his own immortal life was snuffed out?
“Y-you’re sure?” she finally asked in a quavering voice. “Because if... if I do this, I could be eliminating my only chance.”

[Dead Cruiser]

Trevor sighed deeply. He wouldn't be himself if he hadn't considered that possibility already. "Yeah, I know. And it's your choice in the end, but what's your alternative? Let him run amok? Best case scenario, you hit two birds with one stone." He didn't voice the "worst case scenario" but they both already knew it. Cerasus would run free, and either Izzy would stay a vampire, or he would kill her.

[Riven Wight]

Izzy took a slow breath, trying to steady herself. She leaned forward, and laced her fingers through her hair. Trevor did not need to state the worst case scenario.
“I... I could try to find out how he’d planned on changing me back, before...” She did not want to say it. She took another deep breath. “He’s got me beat in power and strength,” she muttered, more thinking aloud than directly addressing Trevor. “But if he isn’t expecting me to... to turn on him, I’ve at least got that.” She gave a humorless chuckle. Plotting someone’s murder was not something she had ever thought she would be doing.

[Dead Cruiser]

"Yeah..." Trevor half said, half sighed. "It's not ideal, I imagine." He stopped, and a strange look crossed his face. "Do you smell that? It's about to start raining. That's so weird; it was clear when I was walking here."

True enough, the light streaming in from the cracks in the barn had faded, showing only a dull, overcast sky. The change had been so sudden that Izzy hadn't noticed until Trevor had pointed it out. And indeed, she could sense the pressure changes in the air that indicated that it was about to start raining. Her vampiric senses gave her a rather acute sense of coming weather she found, not unlike a cat or dog.

But it wasn't just the rain she sensed. The pressure outside, imperceptible to Trevor, was immense. Like a hurricane was about to roll over their town. However, Izzy knew better than to think a mere storm was approaching. She knew what this pressure was already. Rather, she knew who it was.

[Riven Wight]

Izzy gave a snort at Trevor’s comment, her expression showing her agreement. She glanced to him when he stopped talking, the question of, “What’s up?” crossing her face before she could voice it. Her brows furrowed, and she looked to one of the boarded windows at his answer. Indeed, the streams of sunlight that had filtered in only moments before had faded, casting the area in the gloomy gray of an impending storm. Now that he brought it up, it was impossible to not smell the impending rain, to feel the oncoming storm. When had that happened?
She inhaled, and a look of panic settled over her at the pressure that went beyond the simple storm.
“Cerasus,” she breathed, then all but jumped to her feet. He must be taking advantage of the clouds. Unless, with how quickly they rolled in, could he have created them? Manipulated the weather? She shook her head at the thought--that was impossible--then looked back to Trevor. “You need to go. Now.” She hastily offered Trevor a hand up, trying to guess from which direction Cerasus was coming, and hoping Trevor could get out safely before the other vampire arrived.

[Dead Cruiser]

Trevor rose to his feet as well, brow furrowing in concern. "He's coming here? How did he-" He was cut off by a tremendous crash outside, which made the barn shudder and rain dust from above. "Was that... thunder?"

Unfortunately, it wasn't. Izzy knew by the smell and the feeling in her gut. He was already here. How had he tracked her all the way here? Her smell? Had he ever lost her to begin with? Realizing that she had no idea of the scope of his powers, Izzy figured that the sudden cloud cover could indeed be his doing. Daring to peer outside, she saw him standing solemnly some feet away from the barn, facing the door but not looking up at it. He was buried up to his ankles in earth, and the ground around him was cracked and imploded like an impact crater. Had he jumped the miles between the school and the barn? Izzy thought her sixty-foot jump when fighting Episode was impressive, but this was in an entirely different league.

[Riven Wight]

Izzy jumped around at the thunderous sound, flinching and glancing up as dust rained down. She swallowed hard and shook her head at Trevor’s question.
“If only,” she breathed as she went to look outside. Though she had expected to find Cerasus, the earth surrounding his ankles was a surprise. But, with the word “impossible” swiftly losing its meaning when considering Cerasus, that he had jumped the distance between them was a possibility she would not toss aside. Yet another show of his power. Of the power she would have to face, if she so chose that road.
She took a shaky breath and turned to Trevor. She motioned for him to stay inside with her hand, her gaze stern despite the fear in her eyes. Though she doubted the barn would provide any true protection for him, it was at least something. She had to get Cerasus away from here, away from Trevor. She turned back to the door, held her breath, then opened it just enough for her to slip out.
“Cerasus,” she greeted stiffly. “How’d you find me?”

[Dead Cruiser]

Cerasus said nothing at first, but removed himself from the ground. He lifted his legs up out from the shattered earth, first right, then left. Finished this, he looked up at Izzy with eyes colder than usual. Demon's eyes. They were more than piercing, they were... tempting. Alluring, even. Izzy felt things looking into them, beyond the intimidation Cerasus' presence carries. Longing, even a sense of welcoming. Izzy knew well enough that these feelings were false; either effects of Cerasus' unholy power or vampiric instincts threatening to overwhelm her.

"I am your master; do you think you have a single thought or deed that I am unaware of?" Cerasus answered her in a tone that was not cold, but was boasted strength and authority. "Once, my servant." He held a single finger out. "While the sun has been out, I have considered your feelings. While I wished to sleep, I instead thought over what had transpired. I believe I acted thoughtlessly, not paying due consideration to you as a former human. And for that reason, I will apologize but once.

"Return to my side." His tone had changed. His had somehow become almost as beautiful as he was. It was the same feeling Izzy got from his gaze. Frightening and alluring and once. "Live with me. You saved my life, and though you are a strange creature, it is for that reason I trust we could live together. Rather than return to being human, will you not stay with me for eternity?"

[Riven Wight]

Izzy shifted her weight slightly, watching him free himself from the ground. She inhaled sharply when his gaze finally met hers. She could not look away, the illusion of emotions, of belonging, nigh intoxicating.
Her body tensed when he answered her question, and she tried with little success to hide her fear at the thought.
That can’t be true! she pleaded silently. If it was, it meant that even the element of surprise would not belong to her. It meant he knew what she had been plotting with Trevor. In the short moment before Cerasus continued, she wondered if that was what had drove him to come here, during the day.
As unsure as ever as to what to expect from him, she flinched slightly when he raised a finger. She blinked at him in surprise when he gave his apology. She struggled to keep the emotions Cerasus brought with him separate from her own as he continued in his pleasing tone. If nothing else, she needed a clear head.
Izzy held her breath when he finished. Some part of her--the vampire part, she assumed--wanted to accept, to live out the rest of eternity side-by-side with him, the King of Aberrations, to succumb to the feelings radiating from him. But every part of her that clung to humanity screamed out against it. It was true, she had not wanted to watch him die. Even now, she did not want to fight him, to kill him, but her options were slim: go against him and potentially save the countless lives of his meals, or let him continue his reign, unchallenged. Or, now, she supposed she had a third, with his offer to join him, to remain a blood-thirsty beast for an eternity. One of the images that had haunted her scant sleep while waiting for Trevor crossed her mind, an image of her in place of Cerasus over the mangled, bloody body of her only friend.
She managed to close her eyes and tear her gaze away from his. She gave a shake of her head and swallowed hard.
“Thank you for your apology,” she intoned quietly. She opened her eyes, her gaze on the ground and only Cerasus’ feet in her line of sight. “But I will not become a monster.” Though her voice was soft, her tone was resolute.