Finally "home"

[Dane]

Dane's eyes lit up as Lucia underwent her transformation mid-fling. She was a beautiful abomination, impressive by all standards... but also impure. This was entirely unexpected; she seemed very intent on making a strong impression. He wasn't complaining this is exactly what he wanted... the beast, not the girl. He intended on pushing the beast to its limits; questions he needed answers. How powerful was she truly? Strong enough to be considered a threat? "Impressive, maybe now I'll be challenged." The vampire king said with a toothy grin. He caught Lucia's elbow with both hands, but she charged at him with such strength that it still knocked him clear off his feet and tumbling backwards. Tumbling backwards, Dane jumped onto his two feet and came to a sliding halt.

The strength of a lycan, the speed of vampire, on wings. If one thing was sure Lucia was powerful and had potential... maybe too much of it. Her future in relation to the vampire king pended on how easily he could control her. She was still very far away from ever being a threat to him by herself, but Dane thought long term with ever decision. For now he would test her, see how much his paranoid mind would have to worry.

Dane wasted no time into getting the fight back started, he charged at Lucia leading with a jump kick to her chest. Landing as soft as feather falling onto ground he continued his attack. Right handed uppercut, right jab, left jab, left jab, left jab, knee kick, right elbow to the face. It was all in a couple of seconds, to most he looked like a blur. He kept up his flurry of assaults; in all honesty he was waiting for Lucia's retaliation. “I will fight with you Lucia, but know that your mother stepping foot on my land is a war crime. She will die, if not the night she attacks then soon." Dane was prepared to duck underneath her next attack and lead his next with a powerful jump off the ground into the hybrid.

"Good, you're finally awake." Dane acknowledged Ahmad's presence in the room, though he never looked at him. "Don't bet your money; I wouldn't want you to waste it. The lycan is still alive." He explained mid-spar. "You would know all the details by now if you hadn't slept the entire day, but I digress, Ahmad I have a job for you. How do you feel towards leading an invasion force into Oslo?"

[Ahmad]

Ahmad watched in amazement as Dane wrestled this girl who seemed to possess great abilities. He was surprised to see such strength come out of something that looked so scrawny and at the same time that anything that has ever had lycan in it can actually put up a fight.

When Dane finally spoke up Ahmad found it amusing that he could talk to him without even really seeming to focus all that much on the fight that he was taking part in. "Oslo, finally a chance to stretch a little, been to long since I had a puppies head under my shoe. Let me get a team together and some equipment and I can leave as soon as possible." To be truthful Ahmad was dying to get some killing in, for him it had felt like an eternity ago since he killed his last lycan and was only to ready to charge back into the battle ready to rip some lycans apart.

As he watched Dane continue his fight with the hybrid, Ahmad was about to walk away but then turned back to catch one final swing from Dane before laughing and walking off to get things ready for the attack.

Ahmad made his way down to the armory to gather some supplies, as he scoured the walls with his eyes looking for just the right weapons to take with him. He found a couple of silver daggers, a few five-sevens with silver ammunition, a couple AR-15s all with silver ammunition and finally a grenade or two just for some added fun he thought.

To Ahmad it felt like a long time he had been down in that room getting supplies but it was only a short moment because he returned to Dane to see them still wrestling. Ahmad just continued to watch with the cache of weapons at his side awaiting Dane to finish the wrestling match he was in.

[Lucia Drusa Severa]

The entrance of the Vampire Lucia had seen when she first returned to the mansion startled her just enough to falter her attack. She moved too late and Dane's kick nailed her right in the chest, pushing her back. The Vampire didn't miss a beat; his uppercut missed the girl's chin by the skin of her teeth, and Lucia stepped back again following her momentum, light on her feet as the Vampire king's onslaught was laid out. She moved back just enough to evade his jabs.

She heard his warning about her mother's impending death, but tried to push it aside. This wasn't the time or place for any protest, and honestly, she didn't think her mother would ever die. She was too damn stubborn. It bothered her a little, though she didn't show it. Clearly Dane was fighting a war, and her mother happened to be on the other side, but something didn't sit quite right with this all. Sure, she'd lived here when her father was the one planning her mother's death, but it didn't seem right for Dane to be plotting it. It took away the romance from it all.

Gathering her strength, Lucia lunged forward with a powerful left hook, only to be left hanging as the Vampire ducked beneath her blow. She could feel the other Vampire's eyes on her, and it distracted her briefly. Dane's lunge caught her and the girl fell back. To get out of his hold, Lucia kicked and brought her arms up, grabbing Dane's collar. Left hand curled tight, the Hybrid punched the Vampire's face as hard as she could. Punching again, she pushed hard on his collar, flexing her wings to expand her mass and shimmy out of Dane's grasp. Moving to attack while he was still down, Lucia kicked up to catch him in the ribs with the top of her bare foot.

[Dane]

Dane rolled his eyes as Ahmad proclaimed 'he was going to put a team together'. "I don’t think you understand-" The vampire glanced in Ahmad's direction. His second in command was a little impatient; Ahmad wasted no time and was out of the room before he could receive follow up orders. Perhaps it was a result of spending nearly two millennia in a coffin. Maybe eager was a more appropriate word to describe him. He wasn't like most ancient vampires, which was good; most ancients don't make for very good lackeys.

He eyed Lucia with great interest as he revealed he intended to kill her mother. It seemed to have no effect on her, but he more than anybody else know appearances could be deceiving. Dane knew she had more than a few thoughts about it; it was her mother after all. To his disappointment she dropped the subject. He needed to know how she felt; could he kill Alena and still regain Lucia’s trust? It’s what the vampire hoped for, if not things could get a little messy. There was no doubt in his mind the hybrid was inessential too in achieving his objective.

A powerful kick straight to the chest and still Lucia was showing no give, she then evaded his furry of quick jabs. Insightful, at least in combat, she read his attack and reacted accordingly. Grappling with Lucia, his eyes perked as Ahmad re-entered the room. "Ahmad, you're not just leading a squad. The entire invasion force is yours to command, I expect- POW." Hybrid fist to the face; that was NOT appreciated. Snarling he quickly moved his head to the side and avoided the second punch. He tightened his grip as she tried to break free from his grasp, that wasn’t going to happen, not without getting a few hits in first. He nipped at her hand as she pushed off his collar, with great power he brought his right now up into her gut. As she expanded her wings to the point they forced his arms off her; he pushed off her with a powerful kick. Sparing no time he lowered his shoulder and charged the hybrid at his top. However, Dane came to an instant halt, just feet away from his sparring partner. Almost instantaneously and faster than anything the others had witnessed he jumped, not straight up, but at an angle, hitting the ceiling above Lucia he pushed off with great force, landing behind the hybrid he jumped a third time shoulder force into her back.
 

[Lucia Drusa Severa]

She couldn't help it: a small giggle broke through her stern concentration as Dane nipped at her hand, and she retracted it quickly. There was just something about that action that felt playful and... ooof! His jab to her stomach was not playful and Lucia quickly regained her composure. This wasn't a game, damn it.

Managing to pull away, the girl rubbed briefly at her stomach. Dane was fast. Lucia readied to move as the Vampire charge brought him closer, but as he stopped briefly, she did too for only the slightest moment. He disappeared, leaving the Hybrid off her guard. The next thing she knew a hard force slammed into her back, pushing her down. The ground came up quick and the girl caught herself just a little too late, hitting her chin on the concrete floor and scraping her hands. She winced slightly as her teeth clamped shut from the fall, but didn't waste any time. Placing one hand and foot firmly on the ground, Lucia pushed up, launching a firm side kick out at Dane and standing limberly back up. Throwing multiple jabs, the girl stepped back a little before jumping forward aiming a hook kick at the Vampire's temple.

She kept quiet and a stoic resolve over her face but wondered what this invasion of Oslo entailed. Her mother would be so angry; the thought kind of made Lucia's heart smile.

[Dane]

She was laughing during their fight? That served as a reminder to Dane that Lucia was still just a girl. The fact that she still stood and wasn't taking their skirmish as seriously as she should was unacceptable. He was the vampire king and she... just a little girl. He watched as Lucia jumped back onto her two feet. "Ahmad I expect you to take the city overnight." He jumped to the side away from her first kick. "This operation has been under work for many years." The vampire ducked underneath a jab, as he spoke he continued to move his body almost seamlessly around Lucia's punches. "In fact, Since I've first become King. I have a list of nearly every lycan's name in Sweden, certainly the more powerful ones." Dane back-flipped away from Lucia's last punch.

All though he did not show it in his face or tone of voice Lucia's refusal to go down frustrated him. As of now she lasted longer in the fight than the lycan boy a feared and respected vampire enemy, though to be fair Dane was armed during that fight. Nonetheless he expected the hybrid to be frustrated with his antics. "Home addresses too, go after the veterans first, for obvious reasons. The last full moon was a week ago, pups need not make us worry." Dane lifted a closed fist right by the side of his head, blocking Lucia's kick to his temple at the last second. Smirking he clenched his other fist and swung it across his body aiming to hit Lucia anywhere in the head area, this was the haymaker, he swung with all his might and if any single hit from him could take down a hybrid this would be it. "All of the squads should attack at once." He said while turning to face Ahmad, Dane expected the fight to be finished, but was still prepared for Lucia to leap back at him. "Sixty different squads including yours, all consisting of at least four vampires, choose your members and then head out. The rest are waiting in Sweden. Talk to Mark he has a hard drive containing all the information you will need."

[Lucia Drusa Severa]

For all Dane's careful distance when talking with Lucia, he sure didn't hesitate to close the gap when fighting. It was a little intimidating. Usually, Lucia had no problem getting up close and personal with her prey; she'd had countless intimate encounters with nothing so much as a kiss occurring, except for the Hybrid's kiss. Neither did dueling with the Werewolves who would entertain her in Sweden seem to cause her much trouble fighting up close. There was just something about getting close to Dane that made the girl a little nervous. Part of it was infatuation. There was no real logical reason to it: most of it were remnants from a childhood crush that were inflamed when Dane came to take her home. Part of it was how he talked to her, like she was an adult, he seemed to ask questions specifically to hear her answers, not just for fluff. That, and he certainly wasn't hard on the eyes. Yet something deeper was also there causing her discomfort for getting too close, but it was hidden to the girl; it was nothing she'd ever experienced before and she wasn't sure how to handle it.

Watching in concealed amazement as Dane dodged and flipped out of Lucia's attacks, the girl kept on her attack, pressing forward with each punch. Great strength went into each assault and as each was avoided, the Hybrid began to grow frustrated. Surely, the Vampire's acrobatics were impressive, that the girl could appreciate, but even her quickest jabs were hitting air and didn't phase Dane in the slightest. How was she going to bring Victor to his knees before killing him if she couldn't hardly hit the new Vampire King? The thought slightly distressed her, but Lucia remained calm on the outside. She would move faster, be stronger, hit Dane. Right after her kick, with all her energy and might, the girl curled up her fist, pulled back and swung at Dane's sternum, only to be met with a fist to the face.

The impact was startling. Lucia fell back, hitting the ground hard. For just a moment, the world went black in a painful daze of darkened stars. The black out last for only a few seconds, but was enough to disorient the girl. Lucia woke slightly confused, blinking to regain her memory.

[Ahmad]

Ahmad shook his head at Dane as he made his remarks about Ahmad not understanding properly. "Dane, I knew what you meant, I just had the idea of infiltrating with an initial strike team to silently take out as many as possible before signaling the rest to enter and attack. To reduce as many casualties on our side as possible." Ahmad looked up in thought as he began to ponder who he would take with him for his team. Feeling a little annoyed at his being treated like he wasn't in understanding. He shook it off, "thank you for this honor" he couldn't help the small hint of sarcasm come off his voice as he muttered the words. "I'll go see mark." He went on to find mark to receive the hard drive and went back to his room to view the files on the drive. As he spent time looking over the files, all the lists of names and photos, the top priority targets, the weak points in the base, and all the other vital information on the drive as well as the strategy plans. Ahmad thought back at the amazement of all this technology that was presented before him when it seemed like yesterday when orders were passed down on pieces of parchment from the Caesar. "Oh how the times have changed."

Not many people could relate to Ahmad on this level for he was one of the oldest in the family if not the oldest by far. Not many vampires that he was aware of could even survive for that length of time. And spending the better part of two thousand years in a coffin. "Talk about a culture shock." He muttered to himself as he thought these things to himself looking over the files. He finished them up and went out to find his scout in the building.

Ahmad found his scout in the main hall looking over the supplies Ahmad had wanted him to retrieve. He looked over some additional files he had prepared for his team then looked back up at his scout. "Lets get to work."

[Dane]

"That's too risky." Dane approached Ahmad, "You may not know our enemy as well as me. Lycans have telepathic capabilities, to what extent I do not know, but if a dying lycan is able to send out a warning to his comrades it can ruin the whole operation.." He turned away from his second in command and approached Lucia. "I trust your judgment and that you will react accordingly." His eyes trailed Ahmad as he left the room. The vampire king did not think Ahmad lacked intelligence, Dane was simply a perfectionist and had to make sure everything was done right.

He stood by Lucia's crumpled body awaiting her awakening. Like always plotting; he had many vampires in his mansion, most of them baby bats that would be slaughtered by the lycan queen. Keeping them here almost seemed like a waste, how many baby bats would it take to kill Alena? None of them even rivaled Lucia in strength, Dane was not working with much; it was him, a teenage girl, a mass of cannon fodder versus the most ancient lycan and her some thousand years old sex toy. Killing Alena wasn't impossible, but he'd lose so many soldiers in the fight it may not even be worth it. There were others ways to kill, he need not lose too many vampires.

Perhaps he would send Ahmad more vampires, at least a couple hundred to camp outside Oslo and then move in to reinforce after the initial attack. Letting Alena take Pablo was looking like the more viable option, keep a couple hundred vampires here for show; she didn't know the true extent of his army; London was crawling with even more blood suckers he could call upon. He looked down at Lucia and smirked as she awoke. First he needed some alone time with the lycan. "Good morning, you were out for quite some time." Dane teased and offered his hand. Lucia put up a better fight than he expected, he would never tell her, but he pushed his vampire strength to the limits when avoiding her attacks before the final blow, it was fair to say he was moving as fast as he ever had. "I was wondering if sometime tonight you would let me borrow your prisoner." He began leading Lucia out of the dojo and back to the mansion's main floor.

[Lucia Drusa Severa]

"I was not," Lucia protested with a smile; though if asked, she wouldn't have honestly been able to say just how long she'd been out for. Her head hurt and it ached even more to grin, so her face fell flat quickly, wincing ever so slightly. Taking Dane's hand, the girl lifted herself easily to her feet, her other hand pressed against her temple. She'd never been hit that hard before, the Hybrid wondered how badly she would look and feel in an hour.

Lucia frowned slightly. It was kind of depressing that Dane had taken her out with one hit. He hadn't even had to wear her down, she'd had so much energy left; just one good hit and BAM! Down for the count. Lucia was kind of embarrassed but did her best to hide it. Her thoughts wandered to Victor. Where was that elusive Leech and how many traitorous Vampires was she going to have to kill to get to him? She wasn't worried about plowing through the Vampires that surrounded Victor, but if she was knocked out so easily by Dane, fighting Victor and winning would be tough if not impossible. I've got to get stronger.

Following Dane out of the training room, the girl heard his question and smiled softly, "Of course you may. You can see him now if you wish." She stopped her stride briefly to pull her bedroom key from a fold in her leggings and handed it gingerly to the Vampire king. "If what you say about my mother's arrival is true, I should go hunting tonight and rest up from this concussion before tomorrow." Her curiosity was killing her on the inside, though she covered it quite well. She wanted to be there to witness whatever Dane was going to do, whatever questions he might ask, but she'd told Dane she trusted him; and she did. So she was determined not to pry. Too much. "I would be interested to hear some of what Pablo says. He's quiet around me; I don't think he likes his arrangements, he didn't even seem happy with the food I brought for him. Of course, if you wouldn't mind." The girl dusted herself off from her battle and waited around to hear what Dane had to say. After that, it would be a night of hunting and recovering from her splitting headache.