The forgotten vampire had come into being from a fit of rage, without memory or understanding of how he'd arrived at the place. He had escaped a jailed confinement, but now stood beyond the Anderson campus plain, emerging at the pulpit of yet another, unexpected scene — utter chaos. Birds and dragons were flying everywhere through the air, in every direction, swooping and attacking canines on the meadowland. At the same time, the canines were fighting human troops on the ground; rushing about, firing lasers, launching explosives. All of the animals and humans were getting pummeled and plowed. Pillars of smoke were rising all over the pulverized landscape.

For the moment, Alessandro the vampire blinked his eyes and shook his head. Every breath he made ached with the weight of an unknown burden. He trembled, as if ill with a fever. His mind was muddled with the desire to feed on warm, living blood, and yet at the same time he found himself strangely aware of all the slaughter and anguish occurring around him. It was unexpected. He frowned and gave a short grunt, but was caught off-guard when a large dragon came zooming by, screeching and blowing fire. It made Alessandro stagger and whirl around for another view. He took a step back on the earthquake ground and let loose a shriek of unbridled emotion.

Eieeeeeeerrraaahhhhkkkkk!

A random mongrel appeared, running in the opposite direction from which Alessandro faced.

An innate feeling took over.

The vampire leaped and wrestled the hurried dog to the ground. He pinned his opponent and gave him an extended roar, face-to-face, as if to subdue him solely by scream. He plastered his hand on the animal's face and leaned with all of his strength, pushing the mongrel's head aside and exposing its neck. At that moment, he caught the dog's staring eyes looking up at him from beneath his vampiric grip; from between his fingers, as if peering from behind a set of prison bars. Dark, beady eyes. Full of fear. Alessandro paused, for a second, only to become furious with his hesitation. He gave a serpentine hiss before tearing into the mongrel's flesh.

A short snarf later, Alessandro had tossed the unconscious dog aside.

Then, something overhead caught the vampire's eye.

What was that?

Alessandro gasped and threw an arm and wing over his face. His wide eyes became pale blue as they peered from behind the dark drape.

An angel? What is it doing here?

Alessandro crouched and breathed with a heavy strain. His weight shifted backward as he glanced about his unfamiliar surroundings.

Where am I? What am I doing?

Nearby, a golden falcon landed on a mongrel's head, crushing it, splattering its bloody innards everywhere.

Elsewhere, a black and brown mongrel sank its claws into a grounded tarragon and tore the screaming reptile in half.

Krr-booommmm!! Zzsss-Zzzz-Zzzzss!

Close by, a lighting grid in a tree exploded and burst into showers of spark and flame; a firework in an evergreen. The lighting on the field dimmed, and the mongrels in the background howled in unison.

Alessandro closed his eyes to block out the visual bludgeoning. He placed a hand at his forehead and fought for a moment of sanity, a moment of clarity.

Elliot?

His breathing began to slow.

The aching in his chest seemed to dissolve.

His brow relaxed.

Alessandro looked up again and took on a full view of his friend flying overhead.

Elliot the angel!

Alessandro's thinking cleared somewhat. The scene before him became surreal. He watched as his friend commandeered a turnaround in the battle against the mongrels.

Alessandro smiled, only for Elliot to soar over once again. This time, however, Elliot seemed to be followed by a trail of black soot and dark clouds, blown scattered against a blood red sky.

Alessandro lost his smile and dropped his jaw.

Elliot was transformed.

Alessandro remembered now.

Elliot was a vampire!

What have I done? Alessandro thought. What evil have I wrought upon the world? He looked at his hands and attached wings. How do I stop this madness? How do I stop the fighting?

He looked across the battlefield and found a solution to his quandary -- a mammoth grey wolf.

Gevaudan.

The sight and memory of the Wolf King permeated through Alessandro's deluded brain.

Alessandro recalled something else. A mission. A promise he had once made to God. War was not what God wanted.

Alessandro stared at Gevaudan with decided intent. The only way to stop the senseless fighting was to remove the Mongrel King himself. Alessandro set out to stalk the grey beast.

Before Alessandro could draw near, Elliot himself flew in to confront The Wolf King.

No!! thought Alessandro.

"You cannot win, Lycan," Elliot challenged aloud.

Liken? Gevaudan thought. What did he call me? He could not think or hear straight, his head aching, pounding, bleeding from an earlier insult. "Where did you come from, monster?" the Grey Wolf demanded. "Your kind must be breeding like rabbits!"

Elliot circled the wounded King.

"Wait a minute," Gevaudan realized as he breathed the heavy air. "I know you. From the infirmary... "

"You would not remember me," Elliot stated, "not before my transfiguration."

Transfiguration? Gevaudan thought. Are all the humans capable of this transformation?

Whhuummmpppp!!

Before the Wolf King could realize what had happened, another vampire had flown in and slammed him from behind. Alessandro had grabbed the Mongrel King and quickly elevated the two of them into the air.

"No, Aless!" Elliot called out. "Wait! Wait!"

But it was too late.

Without hesitation, Alessandro had grabbed the Mongrel King and headed for a separate place. He flew with great speed and strength.

However, Gevaudan had not become the leader of his species without knowing how to put up a fight. Being half-blind, he couldn't quite see Alessandro at first. He thought it was one of the birds or dragons gripping him. But then he recognized that smell; that God-awful, nasty stench.

Gevaudan's captor spoke, as if an angel: "Indeed! My Lord is with me. God will guide me!"

"No, monster," Gevaudan growled in response. "God is with me!"

Using the same silver and wooden dagger that Mimi had used to blind him, the Wolf King plunged the knife deep into Alessandro's chest.

The stab shocked the vampire, and he struggled to take a deep breath. Still, he held the Grey Wolf steadfast, and pressed onward over land, beyond the fields, to finish his directive. Faster and faster, he flew.

"Die, you friggin' freak of nature!" Gevaudan yelled, amazed at their continued ascent. "Your kind does not deserve to rule the ends of the Earth!"

The Mongrel King yanked downward on the dagger's handle, using his tremendous weight and gravity to inflict a deeper, deadlier wound. The action had its desired effect.

Alessandro blinked at the villainous wolf in stunned response.

"God's peace to you," he said with a final breath.

Aless lost consciousness, and the pair began to lose altitude.

The two combatants crashed headfirst into a row of treetops, before the cliffs, before the dark waters.

Meanwhile back on Anderson campus, the remaining canine forces found themselves in complete disarray, without a leader. Their objective to kill-off the humans had been thwarted, and they quickly lost their appetite to fight.

The remaining members of the Human Protection Unit took advantage and chased the last of the warring dogs off.

"The mongrels are leaving!"

"The battle is over!"

"Three cheers for Elliot!"

The surviving humans celebrated. The aerial animals, led by a swooping and hoop-hollering Elliot, soared and flew in circles high above. On the ground, Mimi and her fellow HP officers hugged one another joyously. Victory horns blared in the background. The human race had defeated a ferocious enemy and remained the dominant species on the planet. They had saved the Science Center and lived another day to tell the tale. At the same time, they had forged a new societal peace with the birds and the dragons. They had dismissed a common enemy and now looked forward to a new future. It was truly a historic night for everyone on Earth to feel blessed.

-------------

Off in the distance, at the brink of a black tar sea, a large but weary beast propped himself against the trunk of a steady tree. In one hand, he held a distinct wood and silver dagger. Weak and still bleeding from his various injuries, Gevaudan could only stand and stare as he watched the celebration from afar. He grunted and snarled with a deep and vengeful ambition.