They had been summoned to the auditorium for Lucian’s class, and while Vincent was thinking about what this next challenge would be, he was also worried about his recurring dreams and when he would begin working on the transformation at will, and if he could master it before the werewolf found him in his dream.

  Luckily, he hadn’t had another dream since the last one was a bit tense because the beast had seemingly gotten closer. He had felt it, the way it looked at his home this time. He had awoken before anything else could happen, hence the worry about the transformation at will and all that.

  Alacard walked along the edge of the auditorium, whistling at its size. “It’s a lot bigger when you’re up on stage.”

  Vincent liked seeing Alacard enjoying something other than tormenting others.

  “Hello!” Alacard yelled, his voice echoing around the darkness of the seats that loomed like shadows in the darkness. It was kind of eerie being on stage and having no one in seats. At the same time, Vincent suspected it would be a lot more nerve-racking if the lights were shining on him with all seats filled.

  “It is quite the sight,” Lucian said, standing from one of the seats in the back that Vincent happened to be looked toward, even making him jump. Lucian moved down the aisle, made his way to the front of the stage, his footfalls filling the silence as they watched him take each step up to the stage. “Today will be your first real challenge.”

  Alacard smirked. “We’ve had plenty of those already.”

  “Oh, nothing like this,” Lucian said, lifting a finger. “I assure you.” He paused for a long moment, taking in the silence, watching their reactions, then continued. “You will be split into two teams of three. Two people from each team will work their way through three challenges, while the remaining two will stay behind to provide support.” He swept his hand in an arching motion, and a large movie screen came down from above. He snapped his fingers, and two podiums rose from either side of the stage, both facing the large screen.

  “Splitting us up already, pop?” Alexander said with a sarcastic grin.

  A smirk flickered across Lucian’s face, then he pointed to Mizuki and Max. “You two will be each team’s support.”

  “What?! No way,” Mizuki said with a swing of her arm. “I don’t want to be support. I want to be in on the action.” Her eyes blazed as if she was ready to shoot flame at the headmaster.

  “Which is why you will be a great support,” Lucian said with a knowing smile.

  “But I,” Mizuki began –

  “The decision has been made, Miss Mizuki,” Lucian said with a raise of his hand.

  Alexander gave a look as if he had dealt with this kind of situation time and time again, a little chuckle escaping his lips.

  Mizuki let out a little growl, then turned away and folded her arms in a frustrated huff.

  “I’m cool with my role,” Max said with a shrug, seemingly fine being outside the real action. “The real curiosity is who’s on my team?” He stepped to one of the podiums, adjusting one of the mics to his mouth. “Hello,” he said, as if the mic would pick up his voice.

  “A pertinent question, Max,” Lucian said as he turned toward the screen, sweeping his hand in another arching motion. Two red doors appeared on opposite sides of the stage, each of them hovering inches above the ground and emitting a magical glow. “You will discover your teammate once you walk through the door and enter The Arena which is a magical place that will look and feel real. Taking a hit will hurt, and if you bleed, it will be painful. Dying will not kill you, even though it will feel like it. Instead, you will simply return to the stage.”

  “You always were a master of theatrics, dad,” Alexander joked.

  “So, we don’t choose our teammates,” Isabella said, eyeing the red door with mild curiosity as she walked around it. “Rather they are chosen for us, randomly?”

  Lucian nodded.

  “What If I don’t want to be part of no team?” Alacard said. “What If I want to go solo?”

  “Teamwork is an essential part of being a supernatural being,” Lucian said as if this sufficed, even though it didn’t look like it did for Alacard.

  “As long as I’m not teamed up with the chump,” Alacard said, jabbing a thumb toward Vincent. “Or the bloodsucker, I’m good.”

  “You’re the only sucker here,” Isabella said sticking her tongue out at him.

  “Whatever,” Alacard said with a wave of his hand. “I wasn’t talking to you.”

  Vincent stepped toward the door, admiring it and noticing a slight hum coming from it, and.. was that a glow emitting around the edges? “We just move through either door, then?” Vincent said, unsure of this whole situation.

  Lucian nodded again.

  “Enough of this blabbing,” Alacard said, shoving Vincent out of the way and stepping to the door. “I’m going in.” He opened the door, and a brilliant and blinding light burst through in a bathing blast. He squinted his eyes and stepped through, the door shutting abruptly behind him, casting the area back into darkness save for the few stage lights.

  Alexander and Isabella both approached a door on opposite ends, exchanging a glance. He gave her a little wink, then looked back at Mizuki, nodding with his signature sly smile.

  Mizuki frowned, still upset with the outcome of things, wanting to be the one on the inside, hating that she had to stay behind.

  Vincent stared at the red door, looking a bit worried as he thought about the possibilities, hesitating to go through, lifting a shaky hand to the door handle, a thought of it perhaps shocking him when hand met handle.

  “It’s okay, Vincent,” Lucian said, his piercing eyes giving him a glimmer of hope that helped him move. “It’s time to take action.”

  As he gave into Lucian’s penetrating eyes, a warmth wrapped him up making him feel at ease, calm, cool, and collected, like walking through the door was nothing. It was much different than the feeling of being frozen or compelled when he looked into Isabella’s, Alicia’s, or Shayla Grave’s eyes. He turned back to the door and gulped for a moment before nodding. He reached out, opened it, and walked through the blinding light and into the unknown.

  .   .   .

  Vincent blinked the brightness away, turning to see the door slam shut and disappear into nothingness, which made his sense of unease build. Vision clearing, he looked around and saw that Alexander was standing not too far from him, a sense of relief washed over him as it wasn’t Alacard because he didn’t want to deal with that right now. Then again, he felt bad for Isabella knowing she was to be teamed with Alacard. She would probably find a way to blame him for that, he thought.

  Alexander gave a slight wave of his hand, his other one in pocket. “Yo, Vince.”

  “Vince?” Vincent asked with a tilt of his head.

  He shrugged. “It’s got a nice ring to it, right?”

  Vincent frowned, not sure what to think of his new nickname. It wasn’t the time for thinking on that, though, as the challenge in front of them was what mattered now.

  They both stepped forward into the huge, dark space of empty nothingness that seemed to span forever. At least, at first.

  “What do you think pops has in store for us?” Alexander said, his voice soft in the expansive space.

  Vincent looked around warily. “I’m not sure.” He made slow, cautious steps forward.

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  “Only one way to find out,” Alexander said, striding forward normally without a care in the world.

  While Vincent took cautious steps, Alexander strode forward normally. “Don’t worry, Vince,” he said. “We’ll get through this little challenge in one piece. And then, dinner is on me.” He gave Vincent a little wink in his usual charming fashion.

  Vincent looked left to right, right to left, waiting for something to jump out at them, something to take shape, something to change. He was trying his best not to think about what Lucian had said – that the pain would be real, how things would hurt – and that made him gulp.

  As they moved forward, the room began to take shape like a video game using its memory and processor to load up the expansive space into thickets of pines and mountainous surroundings. It even smelled like nature with a scent of pine and fresh dirt, a hint of moisture in the air as if it had recently rained.

  Alexander, a few paces ahead of Vincent, raised his hand up and into a fist, motioning for him to stop. “Hey, you see that?” He said in a hushed voice.

  Vincent stopped and blinked, not sure if what he was seeing was an illusion. “Uh, I think so.” He blinked again, rubbing his eyes to double check his vision as what he saw made his hairs stand on end.

  A huge brown bear lumbered into view from one of the many pine trees, shaking itself free of dirt. Its beady eyes squinted at them as it let out a low, snarling growl, clawing against the ground aggressively.

  Both Vincent and Alexander stood at the ready, the seriousness becoming palpable as they looked onward at the massive beast that stood up on its hind legs, towering over the two of them, and letting out a might roar.

  Then, it charged.

  .   .   .

  When Alacard saw that Isabella was his partner, he scowled. “Just my luck to be teamed up with you, bloodsucker.”

  “Stop calling me that,” she said with a glower.

  “Why? It’s the truth.”

  She flushed with anger, turning to face him as if ready to fight, knowing she could just finish him off here and be satisfied with taking him out without actually, you know, killing him as they were in an enchanted place. Best to hash out their differences now, right?

  He frowned at her posture. “What?”

  “Nothing,” she said, clenching her fists and turning away, realizing it would be dumb to fight him during a challenge, not to mention totally messing it up for their team, even if he was on it. Granted, the thought of tearing out his throat did bring a little smile to her face.

  She was glad she had down a blood bottle before coming as she wouldn’t have to worry much about the thirst in here, right? At least that was her hope, because the thirst, her raging emotions – everything, really – often had different plans for her. Plus, she always had emergency blood on her, so she was properly prepared. For that, at least.

  “Let’s just do what we have to do to finish this,” she said, a mixture of annoyance and acceptance in her voice. “If we are going to be teammates, we may as well help each other out.”

  He folded his arms. “Nah, I don’t need your help. Just sit your flat ass down and let me handle this…”

  “Excuse me!” she said with a twitching eye at his comment about her… butt being… flat. It wasn’t true. Still, she glanced at her behind, blinking and thinking about it. Was it flat? No, she musn’t let him get in her head, even if he was a… a mutt. She hated thinking about him that way, but if anyone deserved it, it was Alacard.

  Alacard sauntered forward, a stupid grin on his face at her reaction to his comment, chuckling at the sight of her glancing at her butt. She was quite gullible.

  Footsteps echoed in the distance, and a pair of red-ringed irises hovered in the darkness, eyes like Isabella’s. The silhouette of a shadowy body moved into view, revealing itself as Alicia Dawn.

  Isabella blinked. “A-Alicia? What are you doing here?”

  Was it Alicia, she wondered? It couldn’t be. It looked like her, but it didn’t feel like her.

  The figure came to stop, its red-ringed eyes cast a menacing hue as it smiled sadistically. A smile Alicia would never make.

  “T-that’s not her,” Isabella stammered. “It’s not Alicia.”

  The area had taken the shape of a gymnasium much like Crescent Academy’s with glossy wooden floors and mirrored walls all around.

  “How do you know that thing’s name?” Alacard snarl with a wave of his hand.

  “Because it’s my sister,” Isabella said with confusion, and blinked, correcting herself. “I mean it’s her, but not… her.” She wasn’t quite sure, actually. It certainly looked like her, but it didn’t smell or move or smile like her, which was rare for Alicia. It certainly didn’t have the smell of strawberries and coconut. Rather, it smelled like death and decay. She didn’t like it at all. And that smile it was holding was all… wrong. “It’s not her,” she said, sure of herself. “It’s just an imitation. Still, be careful. If it’s anything like Alicia, then we’re in trouble.” She felt herself tense at the thought of fighting her sister, of times she had been punished by Alicia, tricked by her, beaten down, broken, and bloodied by her, manipulated by her, and on and on, so she readied herself for an intense fight.

  “What are you jabbering on about over there?” Alacard snarled. “Is that your sister, or ain’t it?”

  “It is,” Isabella said.

  “Well, just another bloodsucker to wipe out,” he said with a delicious smile, giving her a once over as he slowly circled it. “It’ll be my personal pleasure.”

  “You realize it’s not actually her,” Isabella said with a bit of disdain at the thought of Alacard having a thing for her sister too. “And if you think you can do something nasty like that with her, you have another thing coming. Just be careful.”

  “Oh, I’ll be careful,” he said, pushing his tongue against his cheek, then licking his lips. “While you have an odd smell,” he continued, scrunching up his nose as he got closer, confused at how it could smell that way but not backing off. “I don’t mind getting a little freaky.”

  “Will you listen to me and keep your guard up?” Isabella pleaded.

  “Shut up, will you?” Alacard said with a scoff. He turned and cracked his knuckles as he approached the apparition of Alicia. “I’m just gonna say hi is all. Besides, it looks like it likes me.” He stepped to her, playful in his voice, the thing simply watching him. “Well, well, Alicia. Show me what you got.” He looked her and down in a most inappropriate manner. “I’ve been wanting to let out some aggression for some time now, so this should be… fun.”

  The double of Alicia simply stared at him in an unblinking manner, it’s eyes expressionless and bright, the sadistic smile remaining, an odd tilt of its head in response.

  He charged the thing, totally ignoring Isabella’s pleas to be careful, and threw a punch.

  It smoothly stepped to the side, parrying his strike, slapping his shoulder, and knocking him off balance. He stumbled, stopping himself from falling on his face like an idiot. He spun around, wicked smile on his face as if enjoying this little dance.

  “So you like to play, eh?” He burst forward with a growl. “I’ll show you how to play.”

  The double stepped back, slightly shifting its weight as if reading Alacard’s movements. Like a graceful dancer, the double moved with Alacard’s forward strikes, dodging one, parrying another, and blocking the final one with an open fist.

  The thing clenched down on Alacard’s fist, and twisted with efficient strength, effectively making him go to a knee and cry out in agony as his hand was crushed under its immense strength, the quick, twisting motion breaking his wrist with an audible crack.

  As he flinched and cried out in pain, the thing struck him in the side of the head with two heavy blows that thudded. It let get of his hand, and he jerked up, stumbling backward in a quick and fearful motion, holding his mangled and twisted hand.

  He let his damaged hand fall to the side, wincing as he did, menace in his eyes as he glared at her with hatred. “Just a little scratch. It ain’t nothing.” He clenched his good hand and snarled, cracking his neck. He then leaned forward, and smirked. “I’m gonna mess you up, girl.”

  “Don’t,” Isabella said, holding a hand up in protest. “We need to work togeth” –

  “Shut up, will you?” He snapped, turning to her with a maddening look, his toothy smile frightening in this state. That look in his eye, and the aura he was emitting. It was his Beast Mind, and it was taking over.

  “No,” Isabella said under her breath as she stepped back.

  “I don’t need no stinking help from you, bloodsucker,” he said, spinning and attacking Alicia’s double with a fanged smirk.

  Isabella let out a huff of frustration, not sure what to do. If she joined in on the fight, he would either get upset or become distracted, or she could mess things up more than he was already doing. She tensed, not sure what to do as he was too stubborn to listen to her. Such an idiot deserved what was coming to him, so she just let him get his butt handed to him. Besides, that would teach him for calling her a flat ass, how dare he! She didn’t have a flat ass, did she? She glanced at her backside again in a moment of weakness. Curse you, Alacard.

  As Alacard pummeled the double with a succession of three punches, all of them blocked and parried by her. Alicia’s double struck him on the chin with her palm, and as he staggered backwards, she positioning herself for a shoulder throw, tossing him into the ground with a hard crunch.

  His eyes went wide as he let out a groan, and Alicia’s double moved to punch him in the midsection. He rolled out of the way in the last second, the ground cracking and smashing under her strike, kicking up glossy pieces of wood. Alacard jerked up and jumped backward, landing near where he had started, looking a bit winded.

  “Alright,” he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Time to get serious.”

  “We need to fight together,” Isabella said, throwing up her hands in protest and stomping her foot.

  “Would you shut up?” He said with a growl, his eyes wide with madness as he moved on Alicia. While he gave more vigor this time, even looking much more vicious, the double was able to block his advances, dancing and dodging his movements as if anticipating them. Then the double struck him several times, making fall and slide backward on his butt.

  He shook himself to his hands, glowering. “I’m gonna murder this chick.”

  “Why are you being so stubborn?” Isabella said. “If we work together, we have a chance. But if you insist on doing it alone, we’re going to lose before we even start. This is supposed to be a team challenge.”

  “Then stop yer yapping and do something!” His eyes were glowing with murderous intent as he said this to her, and she could feel the Beast Mind radiating from him like an animalistic energy.

  He turned back to Alicia’s double, cracking his neck, and looking like he wanted to jump in again, but held back as if it was the hardest thing in the world for him to do. “So, what do you propose we do then, girlie?” His voice was a contained growl, as if he was forcing harmony with her.

  Isabella could work with this, so she readied herself, leaning forward with a sly smile. “We both attack at the same time.” She curled her fingers slightly, her razor-sharp nails extending out from her fingertips as if by magic.

  “So you got no plan at all, then?” Alacard snarled with impatience, a smirk crossing his face at the pure joy of being able to fight freely. It was time to kick things into overdrive. “Figures.”

  “Just shut up and fight, will you?” she said, keeping her eyes on the double, feeling a bit of fiery nature of her own build from her raging emotions.

  They both kicked off the ground and attacked.

  .   .   .