"Be careful with that!" Mags snatches a silver orb from Jeremy's hand. "This ain't a toy, dumbass--it's a grenade! Yer gonna blow someone's damn head off." She places it back into a case lying on the floor and lifts up a laser instead. "Here, try this beanshooter on for size." I don't think that giving Jeremy any kind of weapon is particularly safe, but he needs to defend himself somehow. "Just don't point it at anyone."

"Sweet." He eagerly accepts it and immediately aims it at the surveillance system. Oblivious to the danger, Mort walks right through his line of fire. Not a second later, Jeremy hits the trigger by accident and blasts a hole through one of the screens. "Shit, my bad." He quickly lowers the gun.

Ignoring the smoking hardware behind him, Mort proceeds to gather tools from a work station. Drawings and old maps hang on the wall above--possibly items once used for hunting. The wax candles and ancient apothecary jars scattered around look out of place among the futuristic tech. Mort pulls the fancy velvet chair away from the desk and beckons to Solara. Bowing slightly, he gestures to the seat. "M'lady."

Echoing his properness, she glides across the floor and offers her hand delicately. Mort's sparkling fangs peek out beneath a smile, but his face grows serious as he turns his attention on her wound. Nervously, she says, "I think I'm going to disable my pain sensors for this."

"Good idea," Mort replies. "You'd be better off without such trouble. Out of all life's sensations, pain is the least pleasurable."

"Depends on your definition of pleasure, I guess," Solara says half-jokingly, perhaps to get her mind off of all the hardware gore. Despite not having lungs, she takes a deep breath and lies back in the chair.

Meanwhile, a hint of blush appears on Mort's face. It also takes me a moment to recover from embarrassment after sensing Solara's innuendo. Their playful banter is starting to feel more and more loaded, and it isn't hard to pick up on.

Mort clears his throat. "Well," he says, arranging his tools like medical instruments, "I suppose some people may enjoy certain forms of physical discomfort."

Solara giggles. "I know. Yoko says don't let the 'Senpai, Senpai' thing fool you. That dom costume wasn't tailored for Randy."

Mort's cheeks are glowing now, but he continues to play along for the sake of keeping Solara relaxed. "Ah, I thought I saw something leathery in his closet."

"Too bad we don't have that nurse outfit. It'd be handy for a time like this."

"True, though I need not roleplay to give you the most tender care possible." With that said, he stretches her artificial skin apart and fishes through her wiring with rubber-tipped tweezers until he dislodges the bullet.

If she were made of flesh and bone, I'd probably be sickened--or maybe not, considering my new taste for blood. Still, my human instincts remain relatively in control, and they remind me how squeamish I am.

"Hey, Drake," Abe grabs my shoulder and draws me away from the surgery in progress. "Let's see if you're a crack shot like your old man." He shoves a pistol right into my hand.

I look at the sight--as if I actually have a prayer at hitting anything. "Is this plastic?" It's light and feels flimsy, like it was made for an arcade game. "How am I going to shoot anything with a toy?"

"Figured you could try this out for starters." Abe snaps a bracelet onto my wrist. It vibrates slightly, and the odd symbols engraved on the metal begin glowing. Before I have a chance to ask what it's for, he thumps his fist against the control panel behind him. A holographic wall manifests before me, and a cluster of flying objects begin darting from one corner of the screen to the other.

"Combat simulation initiated." The computer announces. "Difficulty level one."

The retro UFOs hover in front of me, and one of them emits an intense whirring sound.

"Am I supposed to shoot--"

Zap!

An electric shock jumps out of the bracelet.

"Ow!"

"Yes," Abe replies. "You're supposed to shoot them." He scratches his forehead--probably now questioning his faith in me.

I look at the sight again, but I pull the trigger far too early out of panic.

Zip!

The UFO dodges my digital laser with ease, and the bracelet punishes me with another shock. "Come on," I scold myself. After shaking the electricity out of my hand, I try aiming again. Same result.

"Lemme try!" Jeremy tosses the laser back to Mags and runs over. "So cool!" Abe obliges him, and the hologram divides itself into two sections. As soon as Jeremy gets his finger on the trigger, he blasts the flying objects out of the imaginary sky. The number on the upper right of his screen rises rapidly while mine stays at a big fat zero.

Enemies infest my side, so I give up and claw at the bracelet. It's locked on tight. I fail to escape the increasing shock frequency. "A little help please." My eyes beg Abe to remove it. But when I see Mort watching me with his arms folded, I freeze. "Wait." I pull my wrist back. "I've got this."

Jeremy glances over, which causes him to miss a shot for the first time. "Frickin' hell!" He winces in pain, and while he is thrown off his game, I raise my gun once more.

"Loosen your grip," Mort instructs. "Take it slow."

Pew!

A UFO explodes.

"Nice," Jeremy tells me. He keeps his eyes on the targets until there are no more left. "Let's start over," he suggests. "And maybe raise the stakes."

"I like your spirit." Abe hits a button on the control panel and the screen freezes. My measly one "point" returns to zero.

"Difficulty level three."

The simulation resets itself, but this time, the spinning UFOs move much more quickly and sporadically. The electric shocks have also become more painful.

"Ah! What's the point of this?" I grumble. "How am I supposed to learn to shoot if I keep getting zapped?"

"You think that the people you shoot at won't shoot back at you?" Mags snorts. "Learn to take a hit and don't miss, that's the point."

"Fine." I grit my teeth and ignore the painful twinges in my arm. "Ready for a rematch?" I ask, raising my gun to the chaotic onslaught.

"Let's gooo!" Jeremy's superior gaming skills pose an even greater challenge than those damn little spaceships. I'm able to keep up as my accuracy improves, but he's still further ahead. Although it feels like a silly game, I know that this simulation is the only practice I'll get before the real battle begins. Mags' comment made that reality sink in.

When Kryllios takes a swing at me, it's going to hurt far worse than this shock bracelet. I've got to fight through the pain. Focusing my senses once more, I try to use the vampiric speed that was passed down to me. Learning to control these gifts is the real task at hand.

Honing in on the targets, I force a shot of adrenaline through my body. It doesn't feel like anything has changed until I look over at Jeremy. He moves in slow motion while I retain my speed. No, I'm moving faster--fast enough to hit the UFOs. By the time he catches up to me, I've eliminated every enemy.

A few stragglers taunt Jeremy before flying away. He yelps and leans over to catch his breath after the screen goes blank. "Good game," he pants.

300 - 267.

"Yeah, it was pretty close."

Mags wags her head. "Wanna show these boys how it's done, Mort?"

"What was so wrong with that?" I ask defensively.

"That? Child's play." Mags waves her hand in the air.

Now finished with mending Solara's wound, Mort helps her out of the chair and joins us by the hologram. He waits for the screen to pull up a scoreboard and lets out an "ahem."

"10,077?" Jeremy asks in disbelief. "How'd you get that score?"

"May I?" He receives the gun from Jeremy then turns to me. "I prefer double firepower, if you don't mind."

"No, here. Take it."

"Abe, would you do the honors?"

He nods and presses a few more buttons.

"Maximum difficulty."

A chorus of whirring UFOs begins.

Panicking, I try to slip the shock bracelet off. "Is this safe?!" I question.

"Trust me," Mort says calmly. "Watch, and you might learn a thing or two."

I try to, but he moves so fast that all I see is a blur. Even my supernatural eyes can't catch up with him. The angry UFOs create a cacophony of beeps and explosions as he obliterates them. My bracelet vibrates, but it doesn't send out any shocks. So far, so good.

When the round ends, he finishes with a flourish by twirling the guns.

"New high score."

"Nice." Solara puts her hand on his shoulder. "Next time, you'll go up against me, Cowboy." She winks and makes her way over to the samurai swords. He stares for a little too long as she walks away.

"Do all Lunatori soldiers train for combat this way?" My questions snaps him out of it.

"Of course not," he says, unlocking the bracelet. "This is just for fun."

"Ain't no fun and games now," Mags interjects. "This is the only way you boys could have a taste for the real thing."

"But that's the problem," I sigh. "I can't do what you do. When it truly counts, I'll be useless."

"On the contrary." Mort shakes his head. "When the time comes, an unquenchable fire will light within you."

"But I just got my powers," I say despairingly. "I barely know how to use them."

"Shortly after I became a vampire, I killed the second most powerful immortal in the entire universe," he says matter-of-factly. "My victory had nothing to do with wisdom or skill. It was something far deeper, something that unlocked at the right moment." He laces his fingers together and breaks them apart. "I've already seen that force inside of you. It's there, ready to reveal itself."

"I hope you're right."

"I know I am." He is fully serious, which is unusual. "We are not so different, Drake. But with me around, you won't be forced to discover your true strength the same way I did. No tears will be shed this night."

What does he mean by that?

"It ain't nighttime anymore," Mags says, looking at her watch. "It's almost three in the morning. Better get a move on. Don't wanna be late for the party."

Abe walks past us. "I'll get the truck so we can start loading up."

Mort gives me a pat on the back, and before I can ask any more questions, he follows Abe towards the exit.

"Can y'all give me a hand?"

Jeremy and I follow Mags' orders. We carefully stack up the artillery while Abe backs the truck into the tunnel. Curiosity gnaws at me, but I'm too afraid to dig further into Mort's brain. There's a reason he's beating around the bush. I need to know why.

"Hey, Solara?" I walk up to her quietly while the others are distracted. Mags and Abe check over their weapons, and Mort gives Jeremy a crash course in proper laser usage.

At first, Solara doesn't respond. Another holographic screen is in front of her, and the images flash by quickly. She blinks her eyes a few times before turning to face me. "Oh, hi, Drakey!" She smiles warmly, but the swords in her hands make me keep my distance. "I was just downloading some tips on Kenjutsu."

"Already planning your payback on Kryllios, huh?"

"You are very perceptive," she says, looking at her reflection in the steel. "Duel wielding is not a traditional fighting style for samurai, but these blades are special."

"One for you, one for Yoko, right?"

"She likes that idea," Solara replies. "I'm sorry. I got a little sidetracked. Did you need something, Drakey? Are you looking for a sparring partner?" She gives the swords a twirl.

"Actually, I was wondering if you could give me some information."

"Sure, I have access to the collective knowledge of the universe," she laughs. "What do you want to know?"

"Well, it's about Mort," I whisper.

Her smile fades. She looks over my shoulder to make sure that he isn't listening. "Okay," she says nervously.

"There's something he isn't telling me."

"It's something he doesn't like to talk about."

"I thought so. That's why I was hoping you could tell me. So, my question is--what's the deal about... that," I ask, glancing at the suit of armor.

"You might already know the story you're looking for," she answers, "or at least part of it. Everyone knows Dracula, after all."

"What I know only comes from books and movies, and I don't think those are the most reliable sources."

"True," she says. "Although, Bram Stoker got one thing right:

"There is a reason why all things are as they are."