Luca raised his head, choked back the shame that threatened to cement his tongue in place, and finally managed to say, "Mom, Dad, I'm sorry."

He had, just twenty days ago, promised them both that this night wouldn't happen. That he had found an alternative, that the trillions of dollars he had spent to give Mars an atmosphere would finally bear fruit.

And here he was. Putting a burden on shoulders that had borne it for entirely too long already. The shame churned in Luca's stomach so violently he wanted to throw up so it would hurt less.

His father stood up. Luca only saw the motion, he didn't hear it. But even in the faint light, he could see the old man was smiling. "I'm proud of your shame, kid."

Luca was taken aback, but only slightly. "Dad, I-"

"It means you care about us. Having to come back here to spend another full moon has left your guts twisted in a knot. I can see that by the constipated expression you're wearing. Your shame comes from compassion, and there's nothing trite in it," his father said. He stepped down from the porch, and set his hand on Luca's shoulder.

"Goddamnit, Dad," Luca cringed as he dabbed at his eye. "We have guests, don't get all sappy."

"Then mind your fucking language, you miserable ingrate. Your blessed and saintly mother's here," his father said, and by his tone all Luca could hear was indignation and hard authority.

Though the grin on his face ruined the effect.

"Aw, fuck, it's always good to see you two," Luca said, and he held his arms out. "And seriously, thank you. I don't deserve this."

"Hey, we decide how deserving you are. And we decided a long time ago," Luca father said as he pulled his son into a close embrace. Luca could feel something fall away as his father held him, a stress and pain that he had started to forget he carried. It felt like suddenly losing a hangover headache, or cracking a stiff joint.

"When you were born," his mother said. She rested a hand on his shoulder and kissed his cheek. "Just in case he wasn't clear."

"I think I caught his point," Luca said. He let go of his father and took a step back. "Anyway, guys, I should introduce you to a couple of friends. They're here to help tonight."

At that announcement, Luca's father frowned. "Are they aware of how much danger they will be in?"

Luca nodded. "Isabella's just here to fly the drop ship. Alcuard can help on the ground. I can vouch for him, he's-"

"A vampire," Luca's mother said with an amused scoff. "Like what most of those billionaires are calling themselves these days."

"In his defence, he was a vampire long before it stopped being cool," Luca replied. "I found him in a ruin on Mars just yesterday."

"So he's a Martian vampire?" Luca's father asked.

"Atlantean," Alcuard said as he drew closer. He held out his hand as he stopped a few feet away from Luca's father. "Originally of Earth, though I have lain in sleep for six thousand years beneath the Martian sands. Alcuard Cominetti von Dracul."

"Lito Cardego," Luca's father said, shaking the vampire's hand. Lito gestured with his other hand towards Luca's mother. "And this is Anna."

"Wait," Isabella said, waving her hands. "Luca, are these your parents?"

"Yes, I used to wipe his butt, mop up his vomit, and tell him his middling toddler achievements were the greatest triumphs since we first landed on the moon," Lito said.

"Then I invented a stable wormhole device and became the wealthiest man in the history of the world," Luca retorted. "You keep on leaving that part out, Dad."

"Luca Cardego has parents?" BIRD asked, the astonishment threatening to break the little robot's speakers. "Like legitimate parents? Who are married and look like they're functioning, competent adults? This can't be a Wattpad book."

"What's wrong with robo-parrot?" Anna asked, and she gave Isabella a quick once-over and frowned disapprovingly. "And why is she dressed in a 'slutty space adventurer' Halloween costume?"

Luca snickered and gave Isabella's skin-tight orange jumpsuit another look. "I didn't notice before, but now that you say it, it's pretty obvious."

"That's because nearly every girl you meet is busy dressing up like that. I'm not sure you've seen a woman wear normal clothes since elementary school," Anna said.

"He didn't go to high school?" Isabella asked.

"Oh he did. But no one dresses normally there," Anna replied. "And dear, is your zipper broken?"

"Wait, this isn't a legit space suit?" Isabella asked, looking down at what she was wearing. "But they told me this was totally as protective as anything else they had in stock."

"Your salesman wasn't a slightly creepy, overweight, middle aged man with a neck beard, was it?" Anna asked

"No, he was a slightly bored guy who looked like he was annoyed that I was interrupting him while he was writing," Isabella admitted. "And he was very insistent that it fit that well because it was a custom piece meant for a client with exactly my dimensions, and that a form-fitting space suit would be astonishingly expensive normally...

Isabella bowed her head and covered her face with her hands. "Oh my god," she said, in a voice Luca was used to hearing from women talking about their exes. "He sold me the world's most expensive slutty Halloween costume."

"It's okay, dear," Anna said, and she wrapped her arm around Isabella's shoulders. "Come inside, we'll find you something more appropriate to wear for running around the woods at night. I think we're close to the same size."

Luca watched with a growing sense of trepidation as his mother lead Isabella away. As soon as they were out of earshot, his father stepped up beside him, and pointed in their direction. "I hope for all of our sakes she's the reincarnation of Billy Bishop. Have you seen her fly yet?"

"I have. It's the reason I asked Vivi to leave us a drop ship this time around," Luca said. "And I have a bad feeling about this one."

"Any reason in particular?" Lito asked.

"No, just a bad feeling. Worse than the usual jitters," Luca admitted. "Might just be how I lost my original plan so quickly."

"Well, I say this every other month, but," Lito said, his words measured and calm. "For being possessed every month by a rampaging monster that tries to kill anything it can find before sunrise, you're handling it well. Your mother and I are here for you, and we've done this a few times before."

"Yeah, every full moon since I turned ten," Luca recalled.

"So we do this the same way we've done it before," Lito said. "And we'll see you again in the morning."

"Right." Luca nodded. "Should I head over to the spot now?"

"No. We still have a few hours. I made you a cup of coffee when I saw you heading up the hill. Have a seat, and put your feet up for a bit. I imagine your undead friend doesn't drink much except human blood?"

"I do not," Alcuard admitted. "I no longer have a working digestive system. Anything I imbibe will give me terrible gas."

"You could always blame it on Luca's portal device," Lito said. "But on a more serious note, your dietary restrictions won't be a problem tonight, will it?"

"No. I am well fed," Alcuard said. "It will be a long time before the thirst begins to pull at my consciousness."

"Okay, so while we're waiting for the others, there's something I wanted to talk to you both about," Lito said, and he sat down in one of the chairs, Luca noticed there was a small stack of paper on the table and turned the stack around to read the top.

"That is the suit being submitted to challenge your claim to Mars," Lito explained, tapping his finger on the top page. "On behalf of Alcuard Cominetti von Dracul, which I now have a face to go along with what I thought was a joke name. But the interesting part is there is still no plaintiff signature on the document. Which means the plaintiff hasn't yet authorized the lawsuit. Apparently it's 'pending'."

"I have no intention of authorizing that, and have told them as much," Alcuard insisted as he sat down.

"Thank you," Lito said to the vampire. "Though that does leave you in legal limbo about your rights as a citizen. The UN mandates that citizenship is a right, but your own particular circumstances have no precedent. It's possible someone might use this to maintain the injunction against Luca returning to Mars."

"By rights you are all squatters on my world," Alcuard replied.

"But this legal challenge is moderately sophisticated," Lito said. "It has a layered offensive, which means someone has been planning this. Alcuard, have you had any direct contact with anyone from earth before you were found?"

"Only Mister Nikola Tesla," Alcuard admitted.

"But this court case has been planned for at least weeks. Yet, they had your name down on the suit, which should be impossible," Lito said, and he looked from Luca to Alcuard. "It means that somehow, the people filing the suit have learned his name just in time to have filed this suit. And keep in mind, the suit had to be filed before five pm Paris time."

"So someone we know is working with the people behind this lawsuit," Luca said.

"Worse. Someone who heard Alcuard use his full name today," Lito replied. "And I don't think that's a long list."