Vampire Hunter D Fan Fiction ❯ Dark Encore ❯ Past the Point of No Return ( Chapter 7 )

Dark Encore

Chapter Seven: Past the Point of No Return

"You think that I can't see right through your eyes?

Scared to death to face reality…

No one seems to hear your hidden cries

You're left to face yourself alone

But where will you go with no one left to save you from yourself?

You can't escape the truth

I realize you're afraid, but you can't abandon everyone

You can't escape, you don't want to escape…"

- Evanescence, "Where Will You Go"

Author's Note: I hope this chapter is as much fun for you all to read as it was for me to write, is all I'm saying. ^_~

~*~

The second night of traveling found Erika and Rose on their way to a small town - the last one they would see before hitting the bridge that, about two hours from the moment they would go onto said bridge, would take them straight to a castle that could be seen looming in the distance, casting its dark shadow over the town. It was ominous, this castle, and yet Erika couldn't help but take it as a good sign. For this castle was, without a doubt, the home of Meier Link.

The happy fact that their quest seemed to nearly be over was dampened slightly by a little problem… "Rose, why haven't you prepared yourself for what's up ahead? Your hair's not out of the way, your armor's not back on, and you're not carrying your weapons!" growled Erika from where she sat at the driver's seat. The van had slowed to a crawl in order for its inhabitants to savor the last few moments before hitting the town that would lead to the bridge.

Erika's accusation was correct; her companion had indeed forgotten to prepare. Rose's hair cascaded over her shoulders, kept free of most tangles thankfully, but not in the braid it was accustomed to. Her chainmail vest lay at the foot of her mattress, forgotten and allowing Rose to breathe more freely than she had in a few years. To complete this, her bow and quiver rested on the floor next to her mattress, never to be used again if Rose could help it. The fact that Rose no longer wanted to use her weapons or even defend herself - now, of all times, when they were so close to the bounty of a lifetime - was driving Erika up the wall with irritation and confusion. "Why are you doing this?!"

Rose looked straight at Erika as she considered what to say next. Then, "Because I'm tired of fighting. I've never really liked arrows, the vest is far too heavy, and besides, I get the feeling I'm not going to be a part of this fight. I'm not a part of it, not anymore."

Erika could only stand there and gawk. Slowly it dawned on her that this trip, for some reason, had affected Rose's mind somehow. Perhaps she had been driven insane, perhaps it was something else…all she knew was that her friend was now different from the shy, smiling girl who had nearly been bitten by a vampire. "Rose, you are a part of this fight. I need your help. I can't do this alone, do you hear me? I know I won't be able to fight anyone alone. The only reason I was able to deal with this was because my 'sister' was here with me, always smiling and helping me out despite the fact that I was a little mean at times. Why do you want to leave now, of all times, when I need your help the most?"

The red-haired girl didn't answer for a second, choosing instead to go over to a window and look out it. The light of the near-full moon made her skin look almost silver and her hair seemed to shimmer with an equally off-silver aura about it. She looked the very image of harmlessness in her pale tunic, although the dark pants and boots spoiled the effect. For some reason, Erika felt that the plain dresses she wore back at the village were more appropriate… Then Rose turned enough that Erika could see part of her face. The blonde nearly gasped - Rose was crying?! "Rose, please don't cry! What's the matter? What's going on?"

Very slowly, Rose shook her head. "You're not the only one who doesn't get it…but it's already too late for you to try to save me. It's not that I want to be saved by anyone, either… My destiny, my path was set when I made a choice long ago. Please forgive me for my deceit, Erika…"

That morning, D could be found inside the village leading to the bridge (appropriately known as Bridgetown.) His reason for not having already gone into the castle was not because of the heat syndrome that Left Hand complained about so often, nor was it for reasons of restocking supplies. No, it was because his horse needed repairs and Left Hand had nearly yapped itself off when D considered going on without the horse's aid in the blazing heat of the day. Left Hand could be truly annoying if it felt so inclined, and D had not felt in the mood for a migraine brought on by the thing talking nonstop. Therefore, D was still in the village, waiting for horse maintenance to be completed.

Since none of the villagers felt like being around someone who rather insanely wore black on a hot day, Left Hand took the opportunity to try and start up a conversation. "Hm hm, so we're about to go face off against that albino again, eh? Heheh…if you ask me, I get the feeling something's not right here. Don't take my word for it of course," it added hastily, "but if you remember what happened the last time you didn't listen to me… You listening? D? D? Dammit…"

Under his breath, his lips barely moving so that none of the villagers would think him mad, D replied, "I'm listening. What choice do I have?"

"Heh heh, well that's good to hear. For a moment I was afraid you'd slice me off! But you wouldn't do that, now would you D? No, no…that's not how you work." Left Hand's voice took on a more serious tone then as it continued, "What I'm trying to say is, it's bad enough that Meier's back. He should have stayed in the stars mourning, but he decided to come back. Why? I don't know, maybe there's something he wants from us. Maybe he wants revenge on the world that wouldn't let him and Charlotte be happy. Point is, as if him being back weren't bad enough, Leila's own granddaughter decided to get involved in the fray! Then there's that rumor about one of those really weird vampires getting involved in all this…You've heard of the one they say has gotten involved in all this. He's able to see everything that ever happened - can't change it though, but he can get a lot of information from it and use it to his advantage. He's the world's memory incarnate, or so they say. He hasn't been seen for years, but whenever he is seen or heard of, something really big happens."

D nodded silently, giving Left Hand all the go-ahead it needed to continue with its yapping. "Yeah - point is, if the rumors are true, we're dealing with something just as big as the last time we went up against Meier, maybe even worse if this other vampire's as bad as I think he is…what the hell is that?!" Left Hand's confused question was directed at a nigh-ruined van that was speedily clunking and clattering its way into the town - thankfully it wasn't from the direction of the bridge. A good deal of the van's left side seemed to have been ripped out, one of the headlights was a goner, and the windows all around the van - as well as the windshield - had seemingly been blasted to pieces. Confused, Left Hand said, "I think that's that girl's van…but what happened to it?"

The hand proceeded to shut up as the ruined van screeched to a halt and one of the doors slammed itself open. As if in answer to Left Hand's question, Erika staggered out of the van, looking very much like she had seen hell. Her red coat looked as if it had nearly been sliced to pieces, and there were a few wounds on her face. Upon noticing D, she managed to stand up straight and ran over to him. "D! Thank God I found you!"

D looked impassively down at the girl (she wasn't a girl really, more of a young lady in her early 20s; to D however she was still a young girl,) silently judging what had possibly happened. Finally, he said in his emotionless way, "You got ambushed by a vampire." He wasn't asking a question, he was making a statement that in all likelihood was the truth.

Erika nodded, the worried and perhaps even stunned look never once leaving her face. "Yeah! While I was driving last night, a vampire decided to mess with my van! I…it was awful." Taking a deep breath, she managed to calm herself. "I didn't even think the van was going to last into this village…damn, but I'm gonna have to get a new means of transportation…" Her voice trailed off as she saw D looking at the car. "What? What do you see?"

"Where's that friend of yours?" D's question was quiet, emotionless as he surveyed the van. He distinctly remembered there being another girl with Leila's granddaughter…a very odd one, very out of place for the duty of vampire hunting, but she had managed to spear a few zombies while in a moving vehicle, and that alone made her worthy of consideration. The dhampire looked at the blonde hunter, recognizing immediately the way her face fell in sorrow and the light in her eyes disappeared. "The vampire…"

"Yeah. Yeah, that's exactly what happened." Erika was well able to understand what D implied by just mentioning the vampire; she had dealt with Grandma Leila long enough to be able to read people to an extent. She wasn't very good at it, but it helped whenever people chose not to complete their sentences for some reason or another. "Four years ago, a vampire tried to kill Rose. I chased him off - should have killed him when I had the chance, though. He's the same one that ambushed us and made my van get so badly messed up just last night, and…" She hesitated before saying the next sentence.

"He's the same one that messed with my van and abducted Rose right before my eyes."