<<<>>>

“I’m coming, I’m coming!”, Cardinal Murphy said he hurried down the stairs and tightened his rob around him. Who would be calling him at this hour? The person started banging loudly again. He wouldn’t be surprised if his neighbors weren’t awaken by the noise. “Hold your horses!”, he shouted as he reached the door. He composed himself and opened the door and looked at the person on the other side. “I am sorry for my outburst my son, but I am unaccustomed to being awaken at this hour.”

The man before him had his head lowered and wore a black trench coat and had his hair slicked back. Slowly he looked up and locked his black eyes with his. Murphy took a step back and started praying. “Forgive me Cardinal but you’re needed.” Murphy started to run. *Stop moving* Murphy stopped in place as Ludwig stepped in. “You might want to grab you coat, there’s a bit of a chill out tonight. Besides it would be unseemly for someone of your stature to be seen in public in his jammies.”

<<<>>>
Matt lost track of the vampires. He had to run away from his motorcycle when he saw a group of five guarding it. Seeing how he had no idea how many were tailing him as it was adding this was out of the question. He used his free moment to try to sort things out, they set a trap for him. And somebody human helped them do it. God, if he survived this he was going to find that person and stick his foot so far up that guys ass he be tasting shit and boot leather for a week. Then he was going to get nasty. There was a scuffling sound on the rooftop above him, free moment over. He turned around and saw vampires lining both sides. Matt wasn’t even thinking when he pulled a couple stakes out of his duster.

“Look at him boys,” the blond one said loudly. “The great slayer of this area gonna make one last stand. Brings a tear to your eyes doesn’t it.” He started to mock cry as the other started laughing. “Remember the bossman’s orders, but let’s have some fun while we’re at it since he’s still in the mood.” He and a few of he other dropped down. He should be thankful the “bossman” wanted him alive. Otherwise they would have torn him apart if they came at him all at once. Not that the odds were exactly in his favor at the moment. But why would this bossman want him alive.

One was dumb enough to jump straight at him. A quick upward thrust with the stakes took care of him. But another one jumped down to take his place. “Son of a bitch,” he barely got out as somebody hit him from the back. The blond grabbed both his wrist and squeezed. Matt refused to yell out but he was force to drop the stakes.

“Think they made you pretty tough, don’t ya?”, he asked. “Think you were pretty big huh? Got lucky in a few fight and suddenly you’re the man. You slayers make me sick.”

“And I thought the new turns talked too much,” Matt said right before his head shot foreword and broke the vampires nose again. The blond one started cussing up a storm as he let go. As the others, being lead by the bald one, started laughing his features twisted in anger.

“Fuck all of you!” He was so intent at the other he did see Matt pick up the one of the staked and lunge at him. On of the class ones caught him and threw him back. “You dirty son of a bitch!”, the blond one exclaimed. “Try to off a guy when his back’s turned.” The class one had him by the duster as another started laying some punches into him. “Out of the way, I want a turn at this guy.” The blond one cracked his knuckles in anticipation. Matt ran to the sides freeing his arm from the duster and rolled out of it. He got up punching a vampire in the throat. He threw a right cross as another one got to close. A third kicked him into a trash can. Matt grabbed the lid and got it up in time as a punch came at him. The metal bent from the impact, Matt twisted it and heard the snap right before the vampire howled in pain.

He saw stars and went down as a right came out of no where. A vampire tried to pin him down and keep his head in place. He felt it’s cold breath coming down on his neck. For the first time in a long time Matt started to panic, he reached for the closest thing he could find. His hands found a broken metal pipe and he jammed it behind him. It pierced the vampires’ right eye. “Now that’s just sick,” Peter said in disgust. He ducked another class one punch and landed a knee in it’s gut. Matt used him to jump up and kick the pipe stuck in the vampires head. The end forced itself out of the back of his head. Matt threw him into the rest of him and ran for the alley opening. Peter chased after him. Matt felt him get close, turned and fell back sticking his foot into his gut. The blond vampire flew over him and landed in the street. As he got up Matt was already to his feet and running at him. He jumped up and kicked him the chest. Peter stumbled into the street.

“Is that all you got you son of a bitch!”, he yelled. A loud honk and some bright light caught his attention. “Oh sh…..” was all he got out before a truck ran into him. Matt ran into the street and dodged traffic trying to get some room as the others looked on. Somebody up there must like him.

Brett picked up the duster and quickly found the crystal Ludwig told him about. He threw the duster over his shoulder. “Why are you bringing that thing?”, one of them asked him.

“Master Ludwig says we’re gonna need this for the plan.”

“But what about Peter?”

“He’ll catch up when peels himself off that truck. Now get after the human. If we lose him I’ll rip your heart out myself.”

Matt circled around and headed back for his apartment. He might have a plan cooking in the back of his head now, but he was going to have to reach his bike in order for it to work. Now he had to reach it before they could catch up to him. He looked up and saw them jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Damn it. One jumped down in front of him, Matt just bowled him over. Matt stumbled to his feet and kept going. A bum pushing a cart, more importantly the broom in it, caught his attention. He grabbed the broom on the run and the bum cussed him out. He was soon cut off as the vampires caught up with him. Damn it. Matt swung the broom at a lamppost breaking it. Gripping it as tightly as he could he spun and shot it out. A vampire was stabbed in the heart and turned to ash. He swung it over his head and brought it down onto the head of another one. He started running again.

He was able to travel the remaining blocks without any interruptions. But he didn’t have any doubt one of them figured out where he was going and sent word. Like he expected the group of five grew by a couple. Sticking to the shadows he watched them. Sunrise was in a few hours, maybe he could hide out until then. Maybe not, but he had to get to the bike either way. A sound above him made him stab upward. The broken end on the broom found its way into the mouth of the vampire above him. And that grabbed the attention of the others. Like hiding was an option anyway. Matt walked toward the others swinging the broom handle in front of him. Ignoring his screaming muscles Matt fell back on his training drilled into him and didn’t even think as he attacked the vampires. Letting instinct take over he knocked them away from him and dusted a couple as the ones chasing him showed themselves. He jumped on the Harley and hit the hidden emergency start and drove off in the direction he was facing.

But he didn’t drive as fast as he could, Matt wanted them to keep up. He turned in to an alley that he knew was a dead end and skidded to a stop. He reached back into the left side bag before getting off. He stood there with a grenade in both hands and waited. It was time for a “Hail Mary”. The vampires rushed in and clogged up the entrance to make sure he couldn’t get out. They were sure they had him. He popped the pin on the grenade in his left hand and threw it up. A moment after it exploded in a burst of light he popped the one in his right and threw into he crowd. It quickly engulfed them in a sea of flames as it exploded. Matt held up a hand as instinct made him try to block the heat. The fire quickly burnt itself out and all that was left was the vampires’ were charred remains. He stood there, waiting for more to show up. No came and his body decided to give out in him as he fell to his knees. Then his duster dropped from above in front of him, “Fuck.”

A body quickly followed gliding to the ground. “I knew you had one more trick up your sleeve,” The bald one said. “You slayers always were the tricky type.”

“So why you stay up there and let your guys become BBQ?”, he ask trying to stall things so he could get his breath back.

“Much like my master, I believe from leading from afar. One has to see the battlefield in order to move the masses were they should be.”

“Are you sure you and the other one are related? He said he was going to use me for a toilet.” He was kicking himself for bringing up the dead brother.

Brett started laughing, “Yeah that was him all right, his favorite threat.” He turned a bit and looked at the sky above the rooftops. “I tried to teach him to be better than what he was, but he was set in his ways. Nothing but a good hard right could get through that head of his.”

“And when did you switch personalities?”, Matt shakily got to his feet.

“No switch, I just see that now you won’t put up much of a fight. There no point in trying to kill you now. Although Master Ludwig said I had to bring you in, he said nothing about you being conscious.” He fist swung put quickly. Matt turned around and fell against his bike. Brett grabbed him and threw him the ground. “Still awake I see, good. I was afraid this would be over before I was finished enjoying this.” He hauled the human to his feet and punched him in the gut. Matt fell to his knees and started coughing up blood. He kicked the slayer away and slowly stalked him. Matt got back to his feet. Brett grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. “Hopefully this won’t kill you.” Brett ran at the opposing wall and shoved Matt foreword.

Matt put up a foot as he got close to the wall and jumped up. Using the vampire strength as a brace he ran up the wall a short way and jumped off. Before he made the jump his hand went to his watch and pulled out a thin line of silver wire. As he flipped over he wrapped the wire around the vampires’ neck. The moment he landed on his feet he pulled it tight. Brett was about to laugh when he started feeling the burning of the silver. He started thrashing around and rammed Mat into the wall, but he wouldn’t let go. Matt placed a knee in the center of his back and kept pulling the wire with all the strength he had left. The vampire slowly felt the wire burn deeper into his flesh. Eventually the wire cut all the way through. His head briefly started to fall away before he turned to ash. Matt fell back exhausted and almost passed out. He couldn’t, he crawled his way over to the duster and picked it up then made his way to the Harley. He needed the belt before he did anything else.

<<<>>>
Mulligan looked at the phone for a moment before picking it up. Lord please let it be somebody else. Trying to sound normal he said, “Hello?” His prayers weren’t answered.

“Father!,” Matt said sounding like he was scared to death. It chilled him right down to his bones. “Father…. I got a problem… the vampires… after me….”

“My boy calm down.” He waited before Matt took several breaths before saying, “Now what were you saying about the vampires?”

“They were waiting for me at my apartment. They set a trap for me. They were in my apartment father. Somebody went in my home and took away everything that would keep them away.” Ashamed the Father looked down at the box by the phone with the various crosses and hunting equipment Matt had in his home. “Now they’re after me. I took care of a group of them with the Hail Mary. There could be more but I haven’t seen them yet.”

“Come to the church now Matthew,” Mulligan instructed him. “We’ll provide you a safe haven for the immediate future. After you rest up well figure out what to do then.”

“Alright Father, I’m on my way. I know I don’t ask this much, but pray I get there in one piece.”

“I pray for you every time you go out Matthew. And God speed.” He hung up the phone after he heard the click. Feeling a heavy weight pressing down upon him he slumped in his chair. Why did he do this?

Behind him Ludwig put a hand on his shoulder. “An excellent performance Father. You did your job to perfection. You’re debt is now paid in full.”

<<<>>>
Matt stumbled toward the door of the church. He kept his duster tight around him so nobody would see the belt and he kept a hand tight around the crystal. He couldn’t risk traveling on his bike so he walked all the way here and kept an eye on his surroundings. Sunrise was going to be soon so he’d be safe for a little while. He was never so happy to see this place in his life. Hell if Murphy was in there he’d kiss him. Actually no he wouldn’t. He opened the doors and his heart dropped. The place was ransacked. Crosses were torn off the wall, statues were broken, the stain glass was gratified, and the smell of smoke was evident. He looked over at the confessional, it was ripped away from the wall. His knees went weak and he leaned against a pew. “No,” he whispered

A slow clapping made him look at the podium. Standing in front of it was a man dressed in black. The blackness of his eyes marked him as master class vampire. His blood went cold quickly. “I must say Matthew Johnson, you performed marvelously. I didn’t think it would be possible for you to make it here by yourself. But you obviously proved me wrong. I can see what the good Father saw in you”

Letting the outrage he was feeling fuel him he pulled a stake out of his duster, “What did you do with Father Mulligan!”

“Shhh,” the blond vampire walked out of the hidden hallway looking like hell. His clothes were ripped and a lot of his wounds weren’t fully healed yet. “Keep your voice down mate you are in a church after all.” He cracked his neck as he went over to Ludwig. “Thanks for the snack by the way. That truck driver really hit the spot, a little on the greasy side though.”

“Quite,” Ludwig said, “from what I understand Peter here was a bit of a mess when the driver actually stopped.” He snapped his fingers and another crop of vampires dropped from the ceiling. “Much like in here. They had so much fun redecorating” He looked over to Peter, “That was a little over the top, wasn’t it?” Peter put his hand up with his finger and thumb under a inch apart. The other vampires started to surround him.

Matt dropped the weapon in his hand and took the crystal out of his pocket and held it up close to his face as he revealed the belt. “Henshin!”, he cried. A hand gripped his wrist, stopping him from sliding it in the slot. He looked over and saw Mulligan standing next to him, stopping him from activating the system. His mind wasn’t comprehending what was going on, “Father?”

He looked away as Matt looked at him. Barely whispering he said, “Forgive me my son.” and let go. Peter came in fast and knocked the crystal from his hand. He started swinging his hand to wave away the pain but Matt saw none of it. All his attention was on Mulligan. He didn’t even resist as a couple of vampires forced him to his knees and handcuffed his hands behind his back. Mulligan eventually backed away so he wouldn’t have to see the hurt and confusion in his eyes.

“You know, I was expecting a little more outrage on your part slayer.” Ludwig said as he came closer. “At least a lunge in his direction. How disappointing. Bring in the others, I want them to see this.” Peter nodded and went back into the secret hallway. After a minute he led another group of class ones that dragged the Cardinal and the other into the main room. As they lined them up Ludwig took out a handkerchief from his pocket and picked up the crystal. “Hmm, I can still feel a sting from this even through the cloth. A marvelous creation if I do say so myself. And I can since I had a hand in creating it,” he sneered at Mulligan as he dropped it in front of Matt.

“What are you babbling about monster?”, the Cardinal demanded.

“Would you care to enlighten them Father?”, he asked Mulligan. All eyes went toward him. He could say or do nothing except looked ashamed. “I guess I will then. You see, I know the Father promised you a weapon that would put of your slayers on par with us. But the good Father here needed help in creating this little weapon of yours. I can imagine the dismay he must have felt when he discovered human science and technology couldn’t help him deliver what he promised.”

“What are you saying?”, the Cardinal asked, a bit more subdued.

“You see,” he explained, “I always had a bit of a fascination with the sun. More importantly how to use it, or something like it, as a power source. After many, let call them volunteers, for my research and much trail and error, I was able to come up with the liquid sunlight in this very container. Of course even the undead love to gossip and word, one way or the other, reached the Father’s ears. He contacted me to inquire about my discovery. He did try to cover himself by doing so under an assumed name, but with my resources I was able to discover who he really was. Seeing what he had planned I should have had him killed, but this weapon intrigued me. So, secretly, I helped in its development.”

“Why?”, Matt finally spoke.

“It amused me, there’s also a second reason but I’ll get to that one in a moment.” He knelt down and got in his ear. “But far more importantly, it put someone in your organization in my debt. It made Father Mulligan indebted to me, and I called it in.” Matt refused to look at the Father, Ludwig smiled. “His choices were simple, either he could do what I say or die to repay the debt.” Ludwig got up and walked around him as Matt lowered his head to the floor feeling totally numb. “He told us how to use the emergency exit across the street to enter this building. Not only did he direct you here he entered your home. Like he did here he took away all of the things you had in place to protect you. He made you open to us. His options were either to sacrifice you or himself. And he choose you,” he taunted slowly.

Matt lifted his head off the ground and looked at Mulligan. The hurt and confusion in his tear filled eyes were replaced with rage. “ARGH!”, he shouted as he moved toward Mulligan before the vampires forced him back down. Mulligan didn’t even flinch.

“Ha-ha! Now there is the outrage from the betrayal of trust I was looking for,” Ludwig cackled. Matt sat there simmering. “Don’t be too hard on him. The good Father is only human after all, and if it’s one thing humans are good for it’s looking out for their own skin. Now, I do believe I said there was a second reason.” He made a gesture with his hand at Peter. He nodded and walked behind Matt. “You see I discovered an interesting little side effect with that system we helped you developed. The technology in the belt enhances you in every way. But apparently if the wearing is bitten then activates the belts, there is a good possibility he would be transformed into the ultimate killing machine, or it will kill him. Now in good conscious I must tell you Mulligan was against this part of the plan from the start once he found out. But he didn’t really have a choice in the matter.”

Matt turned his hate filled gaze toward Ludwig, “You better pray to God it kills me.” He glanced over to the Father, “Both of you.” Mulligan closed his eyes and turned away.

“Your God and myself stopped talking a long time ago,” Ludwig snorted. “Around the time I became this I believe. But you can try to kill me if you wish. I want to face my creation in battle anyway to see how strong he is.” *And it’s not like I will let you kill me* Matt felt his blood boil. “It’s a main reason why these people are still alive. When most people are turned to a vampire they are quite hungry. I want you at your full strength when I test you out. And the ultimate killing machine deserves the ultimate feast. ”

“Why didn’t you test this on yourself then?”, Matt demanded

“And miss the opportunity to see someone wither in pain if I’m wrong?”, he acted stunned. “Besides why endanger myself or somebody who has proven themselves over a silly theory. Besides it’s far more practical to use someone I have no attachment too” Ludwig turned away, “This is starting to bore me. Turn him.”

“No!!!!,” Mulligan shouted but he was held back. Peter dragged Matt to his feet and grabbed him by the arms to hold him in place. His eyes went red as his fangs grew. Matt struggled to get free but the vampires grip was too strong. The vampire ripped the chain off his neck, grabbed him by the hair and bent his neck to the side. After what seemed like forever his sunk his fangs into his neck. Matt refused to cry out as he gritted his teeth. He could feel something enter him, attacking him from the inside. Peter let go and let him drop to his knees. Ludwig came in and removed the handcuff from his wrist. “Fight it Matthew!”, Mulligan pleaded.

“He can’t fight it Priest,” Ludwig told him. “Once it begins it can not be stopped.”

Matt groaned in pain as the others waited for him to turn all the way. Maybe he couldn’t stop it but he could end it. He pulled out another stake and pointed it at his own heart. One quick jab and it would be over.

*Drop the stake* He heard in his head. The point wavered but the weapon didn’t leave his hands. *I said drop it*

Ludwig tilted his head slightly, “He resisting me. How could he, unless….” He walked to the human and physically removed the weapon from his hands the grabbed him by the head to look him in the eyes. He suspicion was confirmed when he say those blue eyes start to turn black. He had to smile as he looked at Peter, “Congratulation my friend, you just sired a master.”

Peter looked proud, “Didn’t know I had it in me.”

“You didn’t,” he corrected him as he let go. “It was in him.” His eyes glanced over to Mulligan, “And that’s how he survived all those years ago. In rare cases those who have it in them to be masters can use their mindspeak ability in situations of extreme stress. When our friend here was attacked all those years ago he commanded them away. But unfortunately not in time to save mommy and daddy,” he sneered.

Matt looked at him, his face twisting in rage as fangs started to grow *I am going to tear you apart*

Ludwig clapped his hands, “And your using mindspeak this quickly. I am highly impressed. If you can do that this quickly than surely you’ll be able to survive the transformation. Now, activate the belt.”

“Go fuck yourself,” Matt spat. Ludwig picked up the stake. “What are you gonna do, threaten to kill me?”

“Not exactly.” He walked over to Mulligan. After a brief struggle he bit him and in moments the Father started to change. Commanding the other to hold him Ludwig placed the stake to his heart. “No, I’m going to offer you the same choice. You or him. Either activate the system or the Father here becomes dust in the wind.”

Matt looked at the scene. The man he trusted more than anybody on the planet betrayed him. Now he was being forced to choose? He thought about all the things Father Mulligan did for him over the years. But the betraying him to the vampires. Matt didn’t have a choice. He grabbed the crystal, it started burning his hand almost immediately. Ignoring the pain he said, “Henshin,” and slid it into the belt. The jewel started shinning as power flowed through the belt. The light faded away and he was in the suit, them the suit began to change. First all the silver fell away and the colors started to darken. His finger tips started to form sharp points. The back armor started to crack and fall away a set of leather looking wings grew out. As he stood the mouth plate fell away. A black set of sharp teeth and fangs replaced it. He hissed as he stared at Ludwig.

“Excellent,” he proclaimed. “You are more magnificent than I thought you’d be.” He turned to the Cardinal and the other, Matt did the same. “Now I’d imagine you would are rather famished after such a transformation. Feed as much as you like.”

As much as it disgusted him, Matt couldn’t ignore the hunger he was feeling. He took a step toward the Cardinal who tried to fall back in fear. The jewel started glowing again, brightly. “Uhg,” he bent over as pain ran throw him. He fell to his knees. Ludwig and Peter slowly backed away as they noticed the wings started to crack. He fell to his knees crying in pain. Some of the other class ones surrounded him, memorized by what was happening. As the wings continued to crack little rays of light were visible. The skin finally broke away revealing wings made of light. “ARRRRRGH!!!!”, he screamed as he reared back. The wings spread themselves out cutting through any of vampires close by, vaporizing them on the spot. The jewel started shining again. It’s light engulfing him a grew from there covering several of the vampires in the process. In moments the light faded except around him. Any of the vampire that still close by were now gone.

“Dear God in heaven,” the Cardinal spoke as he and the other crossed themselves and prayed silently.

Ludwig stood there with his exposed skin smoking. That light was almost too much, even for him. Mulligan was far enough away that he wasn’t affected. Peter peaked over the tipped over pew he ducked behind. “What the hell just happened?”

Slayer rose to his feet. The light faded away revealing the armor lost its demonic look. But it was now gold with silver armor. His wings shrunk and faded into a wing design now etched into his back. His head remained down as he spoke, “I could say something about darkness using light or heaven as a weapon being futile or some other metaphysical junk like that, but that was never my style. Instead, I’ll just say,” he picked up his head and cracked his neck, “you just fucked up.” A vampire tried to jump him from behind. He angled his arms so the spikes crossed at it’s heart, it was gone in moments. He used his foot to kick up the stake he drop earlier. It went about chest high before he batted it to the left with his hand. It pierced another vampire in the chest.

“Peter, take him,” Ludwig ordered.

“Wha…?”, he looked at him in disbelief. Mustering his courage he jumped over the pew and attacked Slayer. He dodged the initial punches and kick. Then he started blocking the blows. There was a quick sizzling sound as his undead flesh came into contact with the armor. “God damn it!”, he cried out as he was forced to back away. Peter stared at the charred skin now covering his arms.

“You know,” Slayer said causually, “I always said I wanted the vampire that bit to die of a heart attack.” His voice then darkened slightly as he went on, “I guess I’m going to have to settle for this.” Slayer shot his fist out punching Peter in the chest right at the heart. His hand went through and was now sticking out of the vampires back. Peter eyes went wide as he realized what happen right before he turned to ash. Slayer then turned his attention to Ludwig. The master vampire looked around, any other vampire he could have used was fleeing. One was dumb enough to go out the door, she burst into flames the moment she hit the sunlight. And Mulligan was no fighter. Almost as he was reading his mind Slayer warned him, “Don’t even think it.” Then he attacked.

Ludwig blocked his kick and punched him in the chest. Slayer took a step back but went back in immediately. Ludwig held his own. Back flipping to get out of the way of a spin kick aimed at his head he took up more aggressive defensive stance. “I hope you didn’t think I was going to down that easy.”

“Thought never crossed my mind,” Slayer responded. He interlaced his fingers and cracked his knuckles, “I was looking foreword to a decent fight.” They both went in and attacked. Ludwig landed a right cross to the head. Slayer countered with a knee to the gut. Neither man was giving the other much of an opening to take advantage. Slayer grabbed him by the wrist and twist his arms, Ludwig grunted as his bones bent near breaking and the searing of his flesh. He reeled as Slayer head butted him. He was grabbed by the coat and ripped free to escape the vampire hunter’s reach.

“This isn’t over slayer,” he said as he extended his wings and flapped them to get off the ground. He was able to crash through the roof of the church and tried to fly away in the still rising morning sun. Slayer light wings emerged from the etchings and he flew after him, a trail of light following him. Ludwig was there as he came through the hole and kicked him in the head. Slayer flipped in the air a few times before righting himself. The master vampire flapped his wings to hover there, “You may be good on the ground but in the air you are still a novice. Perhaps you need some time to get used to it.” And he started flying off.

“Hey,” he yelled as he chased after him, “some of us are on the clock here!” He caught up in seconds and flew above the vampire aiming a punch at the back of his head. Ludwig felt it coming and flipped foreword in mid air to dodge it. Continuing the flip he landed a heel kick in the small of Slayer’s back. He didn’t have time to steady himself as the vampire swooped in punched him in the neck. Slayer tried to turn quickly and catch him with one of his light wings. Ludwig easily avoided it and stomped down with both feet into his chest. They both fell to the street below, Slayer knocked him off and turned quickly and quickly pulled up a few yards above the morning traffic. He saved himself but Ludwig disappeared. He flew up high to try to find him. After several desperate moments he located a human shape object trying to stick to the shadows as much as possible. “You’re not getting away you son of a bitch.”

Ludwig looked around and didn’t see that armored hunter anywhere. He almost relaxed when a fist came out of nowhere in front of him. The vampire spun around and swung his leg around with a round house. Slayer flew back to avoid and came back in with a kick if his own. Ludwig caught it and swung him around, only letting go when the pain got too much. Slayer tumbled in the air, but he was able to kick off a building and shoot right at him. Ludwig couldn’t avoid the fist hitting his jaw knocking him senseless momentarily. The stars cleared long enough for him to see Slayer spin in place and hit him in the head with a kick. The vampire fought off the dizziness and started fight hand to hand him in mid air. They swinging and blocking each other for a long time before Ludwig hit Slayer so hard his wings disappeared. He watched as he fell to the ground. Then the wings reappeared and he quickly flew away from sight. Before he knew it Slayer was behind him and wrapped his arm around Ludwig’s wings. Not even wasting a second he flew straight up into the sky. They flew up past the clouds and out of the atmosphere and kept going. *I don’t need air to breath!*

*Yeah, but I’m pretty sure you need it to fly* Ludwig was surprised to hear that in is head. They flew past the moon moments later and Slayer finally let him go. He flapped his wings trying to gain some measure of control but all he did was increase his own spin. Slayer flew in fast and punched him. Then he did it again and again and again. Then Slayer went behind him with his right spike extended and sliced through his wing. Ludwig screamed, but he could hear no sound then Slayer did the same to the other one. Stale blood bubbled out of the stubs as he spun around. Two things entered his head. One was an image of a spinning jewel. The other was two words: *Rider kick!*. Slayer back came into his view, a new trail of light following him. From his right foot. He came in fast. Ludwig eyes widen as he brought his legs around and aimed his foot right at him. Slayer made contact and a huge fiery cross appeared covering them both. It vanished as quickly as it appeared.

<<<>>>
“Corner him!”, the Cardinal ordered. They trapped Mulligan, who was a full class one at this point, as best they could. He was hissing and swinging his hands at them. A couple of the priest and tech grabbed whatever pointed object they could get their hands on. The sun was out at this point so everybody knew he couldn’t escape outside. “What are you waiting for overpower him. We must eliminate him now!”

“Try doing the job for yourself for once.” Two of the priests behind him were shoved aside as Matt walked foreword. He looked like none of the events of the past night never happened. The Cardinal had to move out of his way. He then grabbed Troy and a priest by the shirt and forcibly moved them out of his way. Matt and Mulligan just stared at each other as the others gave them plenty of room.

“What are you waiting for?!,” Murphy demanded. “Do your job!”

“Shut the fuck up!,” he snapped at him. Murphy was stunned, nobody had ever talked to him in that tone of voice. A little more quietly he said, “I know what I have to do.” Mulligan hissed again and swung at Matt. He caught it easily then forced him to the wall behind him. Using his left arm to pin him there he looked the Father in the eye, his eyes betraying no emotion. Then he put his right hand on the bite wound and closed his eyes. His hand started to glow slightly as Mulligan screamed out. His fangs started to disappear then his cry of pain soon became gasps. Removing his hands he saw the bite marks were now gone. Matt grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him past the other and into the sunlight coming through the hole in the church’s roof. Mulligan recoiled then he and everybody realized he wasn’t bursting into flames. He looked at Matt whose emotionless face soon broke out into that familiar grin, “Had you going there for a sec didn’t I?”

“You…,” Murphy tried to make sense of what he and the others just seen, “you… cured him? How?”

“There was still a window to reverse his turn,” Matt explained never taking his eyes off Mulligan. “A very, very small window. Any later I doubt I could have reversed it.”

“But how, was it the new armor you…”

Matt finally looked at him and cut him off, “Weren’t you listening, I don’t do the metaphysical mumbo jumbo. Ah, I swear to God some people.” He turned his head toward Mulligan again before continuing, “It going to be awhile before any master class vampire nearby realizes this area is open. So you got some time to get things fixed around here and take care of the ones remaining. There might be a class two or a class one that might try to set themselves up as a mini warlord or something, so keep on the look out.”

“Matthew,” Mulligan finally spoke, “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to do this, put you in that position. I didn’t have a choice. Please forgive me.”

“Father it’s ok, I forgive you.” When Mulligan and the Cardinal asked him why Matt gave them a lopsided grin, “It’s kinda my thing now.” Matt hugged him suddenly then whispered something in his ear. Mulligan paled a little as Matt pulled back and put his hands in his shoulder. He nodded sadly and patted his shoulder. “Thanks for listening to me all these years. I know I was royal a pain in the ass at times. I’ll put a good word in for you when I get there.” Reaching into one of the duster’s pockets he pulled out a set of keys, “The bikes about a block away from my apartment. Now I put a lot of work into it so take good care of her. Oh, before I forget,” he leaned in a little closer, “I might have a kid or two… or three… around. So if you happen to notice a boy or a girl that looks kinda like me, say a prayer for me would you?” He hugged him one more time then walked away. When he walked past the Cardinal he pointed a finger at him and said, “You’re on your own.”

“Where are you going Johnson?”, The Cardinal demanded as he started following him. Mulligan started to as well but Troy had to help him. “Don’t walk away while I’m talking to you.”

Matt turned around and replied, “Then don’t talk to me while I’m walking away.” His grin got bigger as he saw the frustration on the Murphy face. Turning back around he said, “I’m done.”

“You’re done?!,” he yelled. “You swore to be a slayer until you couldn’t do it anymore or until the day you died. You are not done! Are you listening to me? Where are you going?!”

Matt had a content look on his face as he answered, “Home.” There was a bright light as he opened the door. Two people, a man and a woman, were there looking like they were waiting for him. For the first time in what seemed like forever he was feeling at peace.

The Cardinal and the others were a moment behind him out the door. As they went outside he saw nobody in sight. Mulligan and Troy reached the door and watched Murphy look around the area. “He was just here,” he said. “We were right behind him. He couldn’t have just disappeared. Where did he go?”

Mulligan thought about what Matt had whispered to him.

“Any mortal who obtains the power of the heavens can no longer be mortal.”

He looked up at the sky. The sun was bright and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. Tears filling his eyes he said, “He was called home.” And he let the tears fall as the other looked at him.