Wordhack's Chronicles (Part 2)[]
Now for something different. I have decided to chronicle all possible Kongai Fan Fiction that still remains (given that the official Kongai Forum also had fanfic that was now sadly purged) on this website so that none may further succumb to destruction. The reason I decided to name these blogs "the Apocrypha Games" is that firstly, Kongai is a game (duh!), secondly, "apocrypha" refers to the fact that these stories are at best dubious to Sirlin's official "canon" of Kongai (even tough there isn't that much in the first place) and finally, "apocrypha" also means that these stories are not canon to my attempt at fan fiction (Project Kongai). I have neither used any ideas from these stories (hopefully mere coincidences if any similarities ever show up), since my story has 1. The concepts have been planned out meticulously long ago before I found these. 2. Features original characters from my other concepts Mavericks. And 3. Most of these stories would have some direct conflict with any lore I would have proposed.
Note that the fanfic here has been unaltered, bad grammar and all.
Anyway, here's the 44th and final book of the Apocrypha Games, written by Deviantart's Wordhack (Nov 3, 2008) sourced here.
Vampire Feast[]
A dark castle was surrounded by death. Unburied bodies were left to dry in the sun. The sky was so bright that it hurt her eyes, but the castle was filled with deep shadows.
Vanessa held up a hand to shield her eyes from the sun. Even through her shiny dark glasses the light frustrated her, but she could see well enough to study the smooth black stone walls and the thick wooden gate.
"How nice of you to honor us with your presence, Vanessa," said a deep voice in her mind. She glanced around to be sure that there was no one in the sun-drenched gray field.
She frowned and said nothing while she waited for a few moments to see if it would happen again.
"It has been so long since I had the pleasure of your company," said the voice smoothly and calmly, "What good fortune has brought you to me again?"
"How do I know that you're real and not just my imagination?" she said in a European accent to match the voice. She had been a fool to think that the vampires would be sleeping during the day and not just hiding from the light.
"Oh, Vanessa. You wound me. I know I taught you the secrets of the night better than that."
"But this isn't the night. I'm in full sunlight, so you can't be reading my mind."
"Ah, regretfully true."
A blazing white blade hissed as she whipped it from her sheath. "You must be close. You're close enough to listen to my voice with your own ears."
"I remember when we were very close. Your extraordinary beauty and your fiery will enchanted me."
The tails of her long red coat flew out as she sprang forward. Her sword slashed blindly as she shot towards the castle. Dry bones crumbled beneath her boots.
"Where are you?!" she snarled as she sweep her sword in a blazing arc.
"I brought you to my estate and shared my luxurious life with you. I wanted to tame you and make you love me."
She swung her sword at the gate and her blade sunk deep into the wood. It left a smoking, satisfying scar, but Vanessa just grunted in frustration.
"For a while I thought I had succeeded, but when you started to understand the nature of my power, you betrayed me."
"I betrayed you? You turned me into a monster!"
"All I did was show you the way to an eternal life of limitless power and pleasure. It is a life immune from illness and regret, where the petty concerns of mortals can never touch you, but it can only be yours if you choose to leave your mortality behind."
"I don't want that damned life! Show yourself!"
"You're the one who clings to a painful mortal existence by living in the light, not me. If you don't mind, I will wait until the sun goes down."
The tip of her sword stabbed into the dry soil and she leaned on her weapon like a crutch. She frowned as the light beat down on her. The air burned in her lungs with each deep breath she took. She tired so easily in the day.
"All right. You've got a deal. You're strong at night, but so am I, and I've been waiting a long time to kill you."
"It will be my pleasure."
With her sword back in her sheath and buried in her coat, Vanessa walked away from the castle.
"Damn it. He'd better have really been talking to me," she muttered, "I can't lose my mind yet."
When the sun went down, the soothing coolness of night replaced the brutal light of day. She kept her dark glasses on; she did not need light to see. Light could only show her the mortal world, not the world in which she would walk tonight.
The field surrounding the castle had seemed so gray and barren in the light, but now it was alive and throbbing with colors. The dead bodies were not husks; they were deep red with blood. She watched it surge through the lifeless veins as though drawn to her. The dead craved the living.
The dead blood flowed beneath the thin skin of the land. Her boot sank into a chest and there was a pop as foul-tasting blood burst from a crushed heart.
A shiver shot up her back and she closed her eyes. She bit her finger and the thick, salty taste of blood ran across her tongue. She would have to watch her step more carefully.
The towers of the castle were lit. Shadows moved in the windows and muffled screams escaped from somewhere deep inside. People died in this place every night.
The gates groaned when she got close. With a shudder, the wood opened inward and a courtyard lit by torches greeted her. Flames danced across her glasses and matched her fiery short red hair.
A smooth, deep voice filled the air. "It is good of you to visit me, Vanessa. For many long years I thought you'd forgotten me."
"No more hiding, Cornelius. Show yourself."
"Of course, my dear." A tall blonde man in a white silk shirt and a long purple jacket stepped into the light. His face was as pale as snow. "And please, step into the courtyard. Think of yourself as my guest."
In a flash Vanessa's sword was out and pointed at him. She frowned and took a few steps forward, but he only smiled.
"What's with all the lights?"
"It's not real light, merely an illusion."
Vanessa grunted. "I know that. I'm not a fool. Why bother with fake torches when we both know how much you hate light?"
"I'm not the monster that you think I am." He was smiling warmly and walking closer, his eyes locked on her dark glasses. "I still relish civilized luxuries. All of us here keep the good things from our mortal lives while discarding all that is painful and ugly."
"Everything here is ugly. You kill innocent people for their blood."
"Don't concern yourself with them. They are not like you and me; they are small, meaningless lives, stumbling around in the light, completely blinded to the true magnificence of the night."
"You're an arrogant fool. We're no better than them. We're the ones who deserve to die; that's why I've come to kill you."
"Like you've killed all those other vampires?" said Cornelius calmly, "You broke down their doors while they hid from the sun in their own homes. You stabbed them while the light was in their eyes and they could not defend themselves. Is that what you plan to do to me?"
"You got it." Vanessa crossed the courtyard in a blink. In the darkness she moved at the speed of thought. Her sword swept up to his neck.
As she swung her long blade with both hands, she looked up into his eyes. They were bright red like flames.
"Ah, but how? You have no sun to help you, and in the night my power is absolute." His voice echoed in her mind as she stared into his eyes.
Vanessa screamed as pain shot down her left leg. Her knees went weak and she fell. She clutched her leg with both hands and blood squirted from her thigh. Her sword was buried deep in her.
"It is amazing. Weak minds can be made to do almost anything under the power of hypnosis, even injure themselves. I've seen mortals cut open their own throats with just a single suggestion."
"Bastard!" Vanessa yelled as she ripped her sword from her leg.
"But you're far too strong for that, aren't you?"
The sword sliced into his shoulder as Vanessa shot up like a coiled spring. Blood sprayed across his finely tailored jacket. His muscles swelled as he tensed, then hurled his fist down at her.
His fist hit her chest like she were made of paper and she crumpled. Her body slammed down so hard that it cracked the paving stones. The earth shook and the world spun around her.
Through her blurry vision she saw Cornelius touch is open wound and cover his fingers with blood. With a long, gleaming tongue he licked the steaming red off his white glove.
"Yes, your mind is far too strong to be controlled. You've always been independent that way, but living in the light has weakened your body. It's probably been months since you last drank blood."
When she woke, she was cradled in a huge bed. Her sword was gone and so was all of her clothing.
She lurched up and stared down at herself. A long black dress covered her chest and legs; it was the smoothest fabric she had felt in years and it almost merged with the shadows.
Her hands went to her face. Her glasses were gone. A quick glance around the room showed no trace of them, though without her weapons her glasses would be of no use.
She was in a luxurious bedroom with thick black curtains drawn over the windows. Her vision was fuzzy as she looked around the dark room. She had lost so much blood that sitting up made her head spin.
Her skin was pale and her hands felt cold. The dress was too light to keep her warm. Feeling through the fabric she could tell that her bleeding had stopped but the wound on her thigh had not healed. Even if she had her sword she would be too weak to use it.
"Oh, you're awake."
Vanessa suddenly noticed a deathly pale woman sitting in a chair beside the bed. Thin and wearing a black dress, the woman stared at Vanessa with calm eyes.
"Who are you?" said Vanessa.
"Please, come with me. Master Constantine has prepared a meal for you."
Vanessa flopped back into the bed and groaned. "I can't believe I talked to you. I'm so tired, I can't even think straight."
The woman stood and said softly, "Please. Master Constantine very much wants to see you."
"Tell Cornelius that I don't care."
"Please." Everything the woman said was calm, as though she did not really care.
Vanessa let the woman beg repeatedly for a few minutes, then finally sighed. Vanessa slowly rose from the bed. Her hand on her forehead tried to keep her head from spinning.
"Please follow me," said the woman. She led the way into a dark hall.
"You're lucky your blood is rotten," muttered Vanessa.
Cornelius Constantine sat at the end of a 12-foot table covered in steaming food, potatoes, turkey, ham, and dozens of exotic dishes all rich and luxurious. A row of candles lined the center of the table, covering the room in a flickering orange glow. He had a napkin tucked into his silky collar and a crystal glass of blood in his hand.
He stood as he saw Vanessa and the woman enter. "Ah, at last. Please, come and share this beautiful meal with me, ladies."
"I don't want your fake food. Are you the one who dressed me?"
Constantine smirked. "Nonsense. That would be unforgivably crude, my dear Vanessa! You've met my late wife Sylvia; she's the one who helped you into more appropriate attire."
Vanessa blinked and turned to stare at the pale woman. "You're married to this thing?!"
"I consider my marriage vows fulfilled since her death," said Constantine calmly, "But I do still have affection for her. She is lovely; isn't she?"
"She's a corpse. She's dead. I can't believe that even you'd have a zombie for your wife."
"After all this time, you still find the dead repulsive? How delightfully eccentric, Vanessa."
Vanessa shivered. "Ugh. I can't believe that thing touched me. What have you done with my sword?"
"I can't have you harm her. I've gone to quite a lot of effort to feed her the blood she needs to stay fresh and she is such an innocent soul. There is so much of her former personality still in her."
"I don't care about that. You're the one I want to kill."
"It would be rude of me not to offer you a glass of blood first." He gestured to a crystal glass on the table filled with dark red blood. "Please, come have a drink with me."
Her eyes shot to the glass. In her weakened state the elaborate feast disguised the glow of the blood, but now that she saw it she could not look away.
"Be my guest. I shudder to think at how long it has been since you last drank. It would be a tragedy if you fell victim to some mere mortal illness for lack of strength."
Vanessa slowly walked up to the table. Her hand trembled as she reached out. Her fingers were cold and her leg was weak. If she got any weaker she would not be able to stand.
"You've known the power that blood can give you for all this time, and still you hesitate. Why deny yourself?"
"I'm not like you," she whispered as her fingers rubbed the glass, feeling the warmth of the blood, "I'm not a monster."
Constantine sighed. "It shames me that you so enjoy rejecting my generosity. You favor the mortal life. Perhaps the master is right that only those who have known mortal suffering can become true vampires."
Vanessa tipped back the glass and drank deeply. It was hot and salty as it filled her throat. Warm trickles ran from the corners of her mouth.
The warmth rushed out from her belly like a fire. It ignited her limbs and healed her thigh. Color returned to her cheeks. The intensity of the feeling made her gasp.
"I beg your pardon," said Constantine with a little smile, showing his sharp teeth, "I'm afraid I have condemned you to life between mortal and vampire; knowing the exquisite pleasures of the night but torn by guilt that keeps you from leaving your moral life behind."
"Let me have my sword and I'll free you of your responsibility."
"Do try some of the food, at least. It is impossible to get real food delivered to a place like this, but we have some of the finest illusions in the world. It tastes quite marvelous."
She glared at him and waited. He sighed. His eyes started to glow.
His eyes seemed to grow bigger and brighter until they filled her vision. She screamed. It was not his eyes that changed, but her own blood. He was reaching into her mind, distorting her perceptions, hypnotizing her by controlling the blood in her brain through her eyes.
Constantine, Sylvia, and Vanessa sat at the table and delicately ate from white China plates with silver knives and forks.
"Mm, delicious!" said Vanessa as her lips pulled a tiny piece of turkey off her fork.
"Sylvia, would you please pass the gravy," said Constantine.
"My pleasure, Master."
"Oh yes, I'd like some gravy too." The turkey was moist and juicy, far better than any meat Vanessa had ever tasted.
"Ladies first," said Constantine with a broad grin.
Sylvia turned and slowly held out a bowl of thick brown gravy with her pale hand.
The back of Vanessa's hand cracked the bowl and sent it flying. It shattered against the wall and vanished as Vanessa sprang to her feet, trembling in fury.
"Cornelius, you bastard, stay out of my head!"
"Vanessa, please. I only wanted a civilized meal."
"Where I come from, dead bodies don't sit at the table!" In the blink of an eye, Vanessa's hand was on Sylvia's throat.
Sylvia gasped and jerked back. Her flesh was cold and lifeless, no pulse, no twitching. With an effortless squeeze, it crushed into pulp. Vanessa ripped off Sylvia's head. The spinal cord snapped like a worn rope.
With a flick of the wrist, Sylvia's head was upside down and shoved into the ragged wound between her shoulders. The collarbone snapped like a twig and her eyes were buried somewhere deep in her chest. Her mouth opened and closed in silent protest as the bloodless stump of her neck wobbled above her.
"Vanessa, what has gotten into you?" Constantine shot out of his chair. "That is unacceptable!"
"I'm done playing with you! Give me my sword or I'll get it myself!"
"But don't you see that we could have a marvelous eternity together?"
"Fine, I'll just tear this whole damned castle apart looking for it!" Vanessa strode to the door.
"Wait!"
Vanessa hesitated. She slowly turned to glare at Constantine.
"If you go out there you'll die. This castle is filled with dozens of vampires and I'm the only one who doesn't want you dead. Unarmed, you don't stand a chance."
"Then give me my sword."
"Very well." He went to an antique dresser in the corner and opened the doors. "There are your clothes and weapons. Do what you must."
Vanessa pulled her red leather coat over her dress. She slid on her glasses and slipped her sword from its sheath.
"If you really want to kill me, you are welcome to try."
"You think I can't?" said Vanessa calmly as she took hold of a lever on the hilt of her sword, "You've got a surprise coming."
There was a flash and a hiss of a chemical flame. Sparks flew from her sword as she pulled the lever and ignited a metal sphere in the cross-guard. A ray of light shot out as bright as the sun and filled the room with a flickering blue.
Constantine screamed and covered his face with his arms. The light burned through his clothing like fire, stripping away the layers of illusion. The fine fabric became tattered rags and his athletic body shriveled, his perfect skin turning wrinkled and sickly.
"Turn it off!"
He staggered back and slammed blindly into a stone wall. He waved out his hands and blinked frantically in the light. His eyes were huge and red. His head was swollen and completely bald, with pale veins throbbing across his skull.
"It's too bright! I can't see!" He screamed. His palms pressed against his giant eyes and he stumbled around. His hip slammed into the table.
The moment Vanessa's light touched the food it vanished like smoke. Even the plates and silverware were instantly gone, leaving only a rotted old oak table.
With two powerful strokes, Vanessa carved deep wounds across his bony chest. Dark red blood sprayed and covered her as he fell back, his ribs splayed open.
She watched him gasping for breath and stared at the beating of his withered heart for a long moment, then turned and ran. There were screams as she shone her light on every vampire that she met on her way out.
Alone in the dark, Constantine grasped at the air, reaching uselessly for anything that might help him. His blood covered the floor.
"I hope now you see the folly of mortal romance, Cornelius," muttered a dry voice as a pale figure appeared in the room.
Constantine tried to speak but only blood came out of his mouth.
"I could have warned you that this would happen, but I knew that only experience could truly teach you. I let you have your foolishness so that you would learn."
The Marquis Le Morte was a thin man in a huge purple robe. His bald head had two long horns growing out of the back just above his ears. He held out a bony hand and his eyes glowed red.
Constantine's broken body quivered. His ribs lurched up and then closed. His skin squirmed and wriggled across his bones, then sealed itself.
"Now get up. The next time you meet Vanessa Voss, you're going to kill her."