Dark Alleies and Dead Bodies (Part 1 First Observer then Open)

The night wasn’t going easy on Agent Stanely Lovecraft. It was windy, clouds roaming slowly over the once proud city of heroes. He had arrived in this city a week ago and already trouble appeared with every single step he took. A harsh gale pushed against Stan’s side, forcing him to stop for a moment, trying to regain his walking composure. The street lamps buzzed as they lit the dark path ahead, the streets eerily quiet. It was strange, the quietness made him think of Paris, when he was just fifteen and was the head of the investigation for the Red Light Murder case. It wasn’t a fancy name, in fact Stan thought of it and he was given plenty of disdain from his buddies in the agency for naming the case like that. He wasn’t so gifted when it came to creativity. He was a plain and had become more thoughtful when it came to the supernatural. Back then, however, he was more arrogant and gun-hoe about cases often leading him toward dangers that end up forcing his hand on the trigger. He was merciless when he was a teenager, now he’s an adult, twenty-one, and no longer allowed to go head first into a case with brutish tactics and without investigation. The reason wasn’t the fact of maturity, but what had happened both in Paris and in New York. The two cases that had made him into an expert in the field of paranormal incidents and made his tactics more pacifistic.
He took out a pack of cigarretes and took one out, lighting it up with a lighter that had the words “A Paris, je vous attends” etched on the side. The silver lighter was a gift from an old friend. He breathed out a puff of smoke, the smooth taste relaxing him, putting the lighter back into his coat pocket and patting it as if to assure it was safely there.. It was an edgy kind of business he was in, having forced to kill many out of blind arrogance and few out of pity. He was still the one to draw his gun first and ask questions then but he stopped making it a habit. Good thing too, it gave him an edge on his opponent who was otherwise superior to him physically and often mentally. He kept walking when the breeze died down and the smoke rose to the lamps, curling upwards until it died out with the wind. This night was ominous, no sounds of crime but just enough to make you feel on edge. He was definitely feeling on edge, but the cigarrete made him at ease. It was a bad habit, but this night was too creepy to feel safe. He walked on for a block, his destination: A nearby café. He heard they served the best pies. He passed a homeless man who was pushing a cart along. It didn’t bother him that the man was carrying a sword on his waist, having seen stranger things. He was too focused on the café, wanting to see about their pie.
Then a scream pierced the silent night. Damn, Stan thought, I was so close to the café. He took out his gun from inside his coat and ran toward the sound, the cigarrete dropping out of his mouth. The sound was slowly dying off as he was closer, turning into a slow and painful gasp for air. He found the origin of the scream and now there was silence. He leaned against the wall of the alleyway’s entrance, holding the gun up to his face with both hands on the handle and a finger on the trigger. He breathed in, held his breath, and turned into the alleyway with the gun held out toward the dark alleyway.
“Freeze, AMO.” He called out, but it was too late, the murder had already happened. There was nothing but a dead body left sprawled in the center of alleyway surrounded by trash. He moved in closer to take a look at the body, looking ahead in case the suspect was still here. In the paranormal world, even the shadows could hide the most dangerous creatures. Unfortunately, his amulet didn’t give off any colors. Meaning the perp got away before he could arrest him. He looked down at the body, it was a girl, barely sixteen. What a shame, such life cut off so soon. He kept his gun out as he kneeled down to check if the girl was really dead. He placed his finger on her neck, no pulse. She’s dead. He needed a light to examine the body, but before that happened the alleyway lit up as the amulet detected a supernatural being. It flashed between yellow and green, levels one and two. He spun around and held his pistol out, “Freeze, AMO.” He said, using the agency’s abbreviation. He didn’t know who or what was going to come into the alleyway, but he was ready for it.

I was just another night, like many.

Jump city was a big place. And every second something happened here. Things both good, and bad. Somewhere, someone was buying milk. In another place, a different person was being mugged. People were dying, and being born. In this whirlwind of fates and lives, a singular life was nothing important - it did not brighten the overall picture, or make it darker. Though, right now, the town's overall picture was ... a lot darker than it used to be. There were reasons for that.

This night, Sasha found herself out on the streets again. Fearing not the dark, and whatever dangers it held, the automaton girl was doing one of the things she was created for - keeping honest folks safe. Or, at least, trying to. Because there was only one of her, and the dark alleyways, where criminals of all kinds lurked, were numerous. She wasn't getting much luck, however. It had something to do with her activity as well.

It's been only a few days since Sasha was forced to stop being the terror of the Crash Alley, her slaughter of small-time thugs and punks having been put to an end by a visit from a certain agent. Ever since then, she was forbidden from killing anyone - a rather disappointing rule for the machine girl to endure. She enjoyed fighting, and killing too, whether she admitted it or not. But, being as obedient as she were, Sasha only had to comply. She was still able to fight! And nobody said anything about injuring her quarries. She walked within the shadowy alleys, only the metallic clanking of her feet giving away her presence. She could find no baddies to roughen up. It was mildly annoying too...

Until, of course, there was a scream.

A scream that brought the warmongering automaton much rejoice. Because it could mean only one thing... Someone's in trouble!

Stan's amulet's flare would glow stronger, as metallic clanking steps were heard getting closer, and closer. They would stop, however, when facing a gun aimed at a particularly dark corner of the alleyway, and for a few moments more, there would be dead silence. Until a vibrating, metallic voice would pierce the darkness.

- Hello, mister Agent! I have heard a scream coming from here...

And two ghastly blue eyes lit up the darkness, reflecting against Sasha's polished frames, and from her sharp rapier. She made a few steps forward, not fearing the weapon, or its wielder at all. After all, the two knew each other! This was the agent that forced her to stop doing things her way ... last time. Sasha's facial expression changed, giving Stan an image of smile, before slowly fading as she looked down at the body at his feet. It was a girl ... a young girl.

And an image flashed in front of Sasha's eyes for a second. This was ... such a familiar scene too. At least for her. For her former self. For a few moments, the clips from past half-forgotten have been folded over what she was seeing. Stan becoming the policeman who found the body, and the dead girl becoming ... herself. The automaton felt a bit confused, and shook its head, to make the image go away. Still, the expression on her face showed being distraught, for a second, showing genuine concern... And a bit of fright. She lowered down the rapier, blinking, and kneeling in front of the body. There were no visible injuries, so she could tell...

- What happened here, mister Agent? Why is she broken? She doesn't look hurt, she should be alright!

Stan let out a small grin as he recognized the humming voice of the automaton. He had a feeling he would see her again, especially with such a quiet night. Once quiet, that is. He holstered his gun, seeing no use against a friend. He didn't bother with a "How do you do?" sense right now he was in the middle of his job.

But he decided to ask anyways. "How's things? Is the old man still cranky?" He asked as he examined the body. It was recently dead, he could tell when he placed his hand on the body's neck to check for a pulse. It was still warm, but then it quickly turned cold and paled white. As if the body was decaying rapidly. He moved his hand over the girl's neck and felt a slight bump, then another. He drew his hand between the two bumps and then lifted his finger up to check. "Yeap. She's dead." He said, forgetting something that was blatantly obvious to him. He then turned the body over to its back and examined the front. The woman's shirt was slightly ripped, revealing cleavage and bra, her skirt torn slightly. Rape?

"Seemed the girl was probably seduced and brought over to the alleyway where the murderer raped her. However the rapist wasn't human, he was a vampire." He said as he stood up, taking out a handkerchief and wiping the blood he picked up from checking the neck. "Two bite marks on her neck, sucked clean. There's one good thing about this death. She died feeling the vampire's pleasure. It sounds a bit...unorthodox to say it was a good thing sense she was sucked dry but when it comes to parties vampires are the life of it...or the undead of it." He walked over to Sasha, a sad look in his eyes as he left the crime scene. "Its a bit crude to say what I just said, but in all honesty I feel terrible for letting this happen." He looked over at the dead body then back at Sasha. He let out a smile but in his eyes sadness stayed. He hated teenage death. So much life to live and cut short by either poor choices or poor circumstances. He took out a cigarette and lit it up, letting out a cloud of smoke. He never inhaled, it was strange to most smokers but he wasn't exactly the one to allow smog into his lungs. It restricted his exercises.

"It looks like I'll have to call this into the Organization, unless the authorities get-" His body was sent flying before he could finish as the body of the girl stood in his place, her arms held up as if having throwing something. That something being Stan. He landed in a heap of garbage as the body of the girl began to attack Sasha with incredible strength and with a nightmarish shriek.

Stan was knocked out from the impact of the landing, his advice unavailable. It was up to Sasha to fight this undead being. The thrall grabbed Sasha and began trying to dig into her metal skin with her teeth, only scraping the surface.

- Father is alright... - Sasha had replied after standing up, seeing that her examining the body was pointless - the girl was by no means an expert, so she left the task to the agent. Standing still like a statue, while he was trying to figure out the causes of this one's death. - But he said never to bring people of authority home again. He said it could be dangerous. But I do not understand... all officers are friends, aren't they?

The automaton was, indeed, a naive thing. And she listened to the explanation carefully and curiously, like a child, which was being told something she doesn't know before. So many new words too! The metal girl knew nothing about the paranormal, even if she was a perfect, and a rather spooky example of such! So when Stan took a smoke, she only managed to ask one thing:

- Who are the vampires? What is rape?

But then...

*CRASH!*

Sasha froze in place for a second, when Stan was sent flying to the nearest garbage pile! And she remained face to face with what was presumed to be a poor dead victim of a murderous creature. Well... truth to be told, it still was a victim! But the only difference was that, despite being dead, the zombie girl was moving, and quite strong and aggressive as well! And the very next moment, Sasha found herself trapped within an embrace, teeth trying to punch a hole through her steel plating!

The automaton girl was confused as to what she was supposed to do. She was told not to kill people... But what if her foe was already dead? Did it mean she could fight with no restraint? She ... guessed she could! And the moment that realization came, Sasha's facial expression changed to a wide smile, and a gleeful and eerie chuckle came out!

- You want to play? Lets play!

And with that, Sasha suddenly glowed with blue light, the light coating her entire body, as the creature continued to bite her. The very next moment, with a metallic 'pop!', her joints loosened, and her legs and feet separated from the body, leaving the thrall tugging only to the metallic torso! Out of the joints, sharp blades appeared, and the floating limbs attacked! Each was aimed to cut off a specific body part - two for the arms, one for the head, and one to go right through the heart! And all that while Sasha giggled cheerfully, anticipating blood being spilled.

Violence pleased the machine, she reveled in it... So very much.

The vampire thrall jumped back, her face wrinkled with anger and rage. A thrall without its master was a dangerous thing, it would mean that it would roam endlessly and kill anything. The difference between this creatures killing was that there wouldn't be more thralls when it bit down on a victim, they would just die in a shriveled heap of lifelessness. This was what Stan was afraid of if the thrall got away, a massacre.

He had regained consciousness after just a few seconds. This would be considered strange to some humans, but normal for Stan. He assumed that his strangeness came from a mutation and that was all. Ignorance was bliss. But Stan wasn’t focusing on his powers, but that of Sasha and her nightmarish laugh. He did find her power impressive, having assumed it merely came from her sword and not from hundreds of swords in her body, however how she was using it seemed insane. He took his pistol out and unloaded the clip, putting it inside his coat pocket while taking out a silver looking clip that gleamed in the light of his amulet, which was now sustaining a level 1 color. He pointed his pistol toward the thrall but it was in front of Sasha. He was afraid that if he shot through her, he would hit Sasha. She had a conscious, even though it seemed innocent but then became insane in the presence of violence, but the thrall was merely an undead thing. A shell of its former self.

The thrall began to let out a small shriek, not loud, but sounding like a dried throat as it crackled and died out quickly. Then it began to run toward Sasha, blind fury and endless agony, as it smacked several blades away with incredible force. The ones that aimed for the heart and head she smacked away quickly. The blades were tossed away, one sticking on the wall while the other was tossed in the air, landing between Stan’s legs and nearly missing his important piece. Stan stumbled back and checked himself, sighing gratefully to know that it missed.

The two blades to the arms hit, but the thrall didn’t scream out in pain and no blood was spilled. It never had any to spill anyways. The thrall lunged toward Sasha’s throat, trying to bite unto her plating, but it stopped when the sound of gun fire ringed and a severed arm with a blade stuck in it was sent flying. The thrall stopped for a moment, turned around to find Stan still alive. “Sasha,” Stan yelled out “Aim for the heart.” He began to open fire as the thrall ran towards him now, the bullets whizzing by and some hitting but missing the heart, leaving massive holes in the thrall’s body. He was running out of silver blessed bullets.

The strange creature proved to be a lot more resilient and agile than Sasha had anticipated.

And a sound akin to disappointment escaped her throat, when the swords to the arms did not get even a scream out - not the reaction the automaton had been hoping for. In pieces, she was left behind, as the thrall now found Stan a more appropriate target. No doubt he was - a mere human, out of squishy flesh, and with warm, fresh blood inside too! It was like a snack for an undead vampire. Unlike Sasha, who was as edible as a metal fork.

But she wasn't out of this fight.

The very next moment all of her parts started glowing, and swiftly pulled back, reassembling into one solid body within a second. Sasha stood up, and picked up her rapier. It was then when she returned her attention to the menace that was the dead girl. She was attacking mister Agent! She had to protect him! And quickly too - if the undead being was strong enough to wrestle with Sasha, the man didn't stand a chance.

- Where are you going? You're playing with me!

And with that, Sasha pointed her hand forward, and shot it after the undead girl. Followed by a chain, her hand would cross the distance within a blink of an eye, and grip the neck of the creature strongly, not allowing to lunge forward. And then, Sasha made a strong pull. The curse may have made the corpse a lot stronger than it was supposed to be, but it still had the weight of a 16-year old girl. Less even, since she was drained of all blood. And the force with which Sasha pulled was enough to send the monster flying backwards, towards the mechanical menace. The rapier, like a sharp stinger, was gleaming in her hands, as she would prepare to stab the flying corpse straight through the heart. And if nothing were to happen to interrupt that sequence...

*HRRSSSK!*

The sound of metal piercing through flesh and bone would signify the end of this encounter. Silencing the dead once and for all...

Stan breathed a sigh of relief when the vampire thrall was suddenly pulled back and away from him. The thing was close, too close, having almost reached his neck with those sharp teeth. But even if Sasha had pulled the thrall back, it just kept trying to bite the nearest living thing. That living thing being Stan. He aimed his pistol towards the monster, assuming it would give him enough time to hit the heart with a silver blessed bullet but Sasha had beat him to the mark.

When the Thrall's heart was pierced, the monster let out a loud screech as it wiggled and struggled with the sword. It didn't take long for the monster to evaporate into dust. That was close, too close for Stan's comfort. He wasn't expecting such an encounter to be so violent. He would have taken the thrall out easily, but the damn thing surprised him before he could put it down.

He ran toward Sasha, seeing if she was alright. "You okay?" He asked, examining her neck. He had placed his hand on her neck to see the bit marks. He found that the fang barely scratched the plating. He let out a wide grin and said "Your old man really knew how to build you." He was half impressed with the design but the other half was concerned.

Concerned that she seemed to enjoy killing too much. He needed to bring this up with her sometime later, but for now his professional agent mode was activated. The ashes on the ground was slowly blowing way from a gust of wind. So much for examining the body further. He wouldn't be able to I.D. her and tell the parents of their dead daughter, which made it difficult for him to investigate why exactly she was in the alleyway. He could further investigate the high school that she attended, the cloths having been left behind. He was thankful for that, it meant that she could have a form of I.D. on her clothing. He knelt down and picked up her shirt, dusting it off as he examined it. "Jump City High," He said absent mindedly "Might have to investigate there and find out who she is. There's no purse in sight otherwise the job would be easier...You said you don't know about vampires. Is your dad giving you books to read. Like classical books such as Dracula." He asked, feeling concerned that she didn't know what a vampire was.

Or rape.

The fight was over!

With Sasha delivering the final blow, the dreadful undead monster, in shape of an innocent girl, had finally been dispatched, and sent to another world. Sasha's grin only grew in wideness and sincerity, as she made a pirouette, spinning on her foot like a spinning top, with her sword cutting the air around her, before finally stopping, and pointing the blade upwards, ending this little victory dance:

- Victory! Hooray!

She giggled, when the agent had approached her, checking her neck for bitemarks, and complimenting the skill, with which her body was constructed. Sasha did enjoy praise, and especially praise towards her dad's ingenuity, and nodded a few times, before hiding the sword within the scabbards:

- I am alright, it takes more than a little bite to injure me. Daddy wanted me to be invincible, so I am!

However, she soon became bored, when the detective continued on with his forensic work, analyzing what little was left of the thrall. Sasha stood right next to him, looking at him with her blue, unblinking eyes, until another question was addressed her way. This time, it was about books.

- Of course he does! Sasha reads a lot! I just ... didn't get to that book yet. Daddy says I need to read a lot to restore bits of memory I lost after he brought me back. - she said, looking and sounding rather defensively, crossing her hands on her chest, and standing like that for a few moments. However, she smiled again soon enough, tapping the agent on the shoulder with a finger, and asking:

- So, mister agent! Where could we find more of these strange dead folks that walk and bite? They're strong, and fighting them is fun! Defeating them would be a hero thing to do too, wouldn't it? Because... school-girls shouldn't die so young, right? - Sasha had asked, tilting her head slightly. The last part part was said with a remorseful undertone in her voice.

Perhaps she could relate?

Stan made a note to give his "Dracula" book to her, along with "Myths and Legends Beyond". The knowledge of the supernatural for a supernatural being is the utmost importance for survival, his father would remark. Of course he never really paid any attention to his old man's sayings. He scratched his head then combed his hair slightly to the side. He had the knowledge of the victims school but not the identity and now there's a vampire out there who probably doesn't have a master. This scenerio is much worse than the thrall one. For the thrall, it would have just gone about the city and kill the nearest living thing, ending up with a trail of bread crumbs that could easily lead toward the target.

On the other hand, a vampire's bread crumbs are small and barely traceable. This would mean that the trail would be cold for some time. He let out a long sigh as it was pointless now to find the bread crumbs, now that these crumbs were unfortunately destroyed. He stood up, finishing his investigation, and looked at Sasha, his eyes now blue rather than the usual green.

"This is true, Sasha, young people don't deserve to die at such an age. But when you say fighting is fun...I really need to educate you on the means of Justice. Its not about having fun through killing, its about apprehending the suspect and giving them a fair trail. This here is a bad example of justice but in cases where the suspect has no will of their own or whose will is forced then it is somewhat okay to kill them. Its when they have a will, or a conscious, that it turns out it's bad to kill them because in doing so you would be killing a being that has full knowledge of what he does, full knowledge of emotions, memories, and feelings. Not all villains are fearless in death, some would rather a trail, but I'm not the one to talk about their opinions.

"This poor girl was a victim of a crime that was committed by a vampire without a master. Those crimes are unacceptable but to say it would be okay to kill other vampires just because of this one crime is equally bad. Some vampires I've met live normal lives, drinking blood that has been processed by our agency, even starting families. You see, Sasha, you need to know your opponent. If he's fighting for a cause, arrest him. For family, arrest him. For some sick and twisted version of justice, arrest him. Killing should be a last resort. Remember, no conscious and no humanity would make an opponent easy to kill but if he has humanity, feelings, emotions, and any purpose in his crime that harms others to achieve it, then arrest him. But do not just kill him when you first see him. Understand?" He said in a serious tone, placing his hands in his pockets while he was talking. When he finished he smiled and placed his hand on her head and said, "You did good. Remember to protect those who are innocent." He almost seemed to have changed from his serious tone into a normal, almost joking, tone. He rubbed her metallic hair and then retracted his hand into his pocket.

"We need to head towards an informant that might help us with vampires. She's a bit far away but she knows vampires a lot more than I do." He turned and began to walk toward the end of the alley way, the amulet continuing to glow.

(I was thinking while they were out, Isenstein could have already murdered her father and finds out about this. Not sure whether to do this during the plot or sometime after (when she finds out that is))

(Lets not rush the whole murder thing, alright? ^_^ It will happen when I would feel Sasha's character has developed enough for that to have a proper reaction. Now is not the time.)

______________

Sasha felt confused once more.

She thought she did well, by defeating the vile creature that was threatening both her and the Agent, but in the end, all she got was a bucket-load of scolding and lecturing, which was much greater in volume than the tiny threads of praise waved in between. The automaton looked down, sheepishly, hiding hands behind her back, like a school-girl who was caught copying during a test. She ... didn't understand.

The automaton did not know what was wrong in taking pleasure in fighting. If it was a job, wasn't she allowed to enjoy it, at the very least? The fact that she had to show mercy towards pretty much whoever she had to fight was not very clear as well. The foes rarely showed concern towards her health when fighting, more often than not going in for the kill.

- Dad said that if a criminal is using lethal force against me, I am allowed to do so in turn. In self-defense. - she huffed, crossing arms on her chest again, and turning away a bit. It was her only faint attempt at defending things that she like, but after a little bit more of lecturing, it was overruled. Sasha had to obey those with authority. All other considerations were considered secondary. Eventually, she let her arms fall down, turning to face the man again, her stance similar to that of a soldier standing at attention.

- Sasha will obey. She will not enjoy fighting criminals. She would ask every foe she fights for the motives of standing against her, and would act accordingly.

She sounded sincere, and obedient. But it left an aftertaste of a lie in her mouth. She said what he wanted her to say, and she would do what he wanted her to do. Soon enough, the hint of emotion would vanish as well, the machine adopting her usual, excited and cheery attitude. After all, they were about to go somewhere interesting!

- Do not worry, mister Agent! Sasha never gets tired. All I need is a ... windup. - she said, and reached behind her back, unnaturally flexible, and wound the giant key in her back. Crick, crack, crick, crack, the sound was heard, as her mechanical heart resumed ticking with renewed strength. - All done! Where should we go? Who is this friend of yours? - she asked, curiously, and eager to meet another person.

Stan was a bit concerned that his lecture had passed on robotically calibrated ear through another as an order instead of a request. He barely gave orders and rather enjoyed receiving them, makes things less complicated and less effort on his part. The truth was that he never really had gotten used to giving orders to anyone, not sense his first mission. "The way you were fighting made you seem...psychotic." Stan said, bit brutally honest with a lack of emotion. He slowed down to her pace as he was about to give one of his many lectures. Except this one was a bit eased as he placed his hand over her shoulder and held his hand out toward the hobo he had passed earlier.

"This...fine citizen is in 'trouble'. Hypothetically that is. And when he's saved by a hero that laughs and cheers when she or he kills, what do you think he'll see. Another villain. Appearances are everything when it comes to saving lives. If you appear to be a psychotic vigilantly then the citizen will think you are a psychotic vigilantly. You have to appear to be serious when it comes to crime. It doesn't mean you have to dislike it or not feel any happiness when you fight. You just need to make it appear that you are good...And I don't think a lot of villains could separate their body parts and use a ton of blades so I don't think you have anything to fear when it comes to harm." He said, feeling a bit inexperienced when it came to justice. He only fought for the good of supernatural beings and the safety of human beings, what more could he advice. Then again, he could just give her a bunch of philosophical books he kept to himself, that could explain how to be a bitter hero.

As they passed the hobo, he shook his head and turned into another alleyway. For what reason, Stan didn't care or know. The amulet was only detecting Sasha at the moment and it didn't detect anything wrong with the hobo. Other than the smell, which he himself detected a mile away. He was wondering why she had that toy key thing. It did make her look more toy like. He turned a few corners, walked down several streets until they were far away from the crime scene. They were now close to their destination, which was a three blocks away from her father's workshop. They stood in front of a tea shop called "La Fie". It seemed like the shop was closed as the windows were covered with a black curtain and the neon sign that said "Open" was black and silent. There was a faint light but that could barely penetrate through the curtain, just around the cracks and crevasses the curtains made. The shop on the exterior seemed plain, painted white bricks with tiny flowers painted in different colors that didn't help make the place look cheery with the shops eeriness. The two other stores that surrounded it was a bakery and a Starbucks but both of them were boarded up with signs saying "Out of business". It was surprising to see the Starbucks gone out of business but Stan knew that it wasn't because of economic purposes, it was because of her.

Stan knocked on the door twice, both hard and nearly slamming his fist on the door. Without a second wasted, the door flew open and revealed short blonde woman who seemed a bit frustrated. She grabbed Stan and threw him in along with Sasha as if both were light weights. She then closed the door, the bell ringing as the door was set closed as it rang when it opened. The store was not at all cheery as it was outside, the walls covered with black paint and the tables that spotted around the room had small candles waving by. The room was large enough to have a stage and a microphone on one corner, and a counter with jars upon jars of tea on the other corner. The curtains didn't reveal anything that was happening on the outside, the blackness making it seem like nighttime was nothing compared to the drapes. A few tables were knocked over and a chair was broken when the Agent was tossed.

"You better have a damn good reason for #%!$ing up my puzzle. 492 years and I was so close to solving it." The woman said in thick French accent. She was pale, rather slim and very full chested. She walked toward Stan and picked him up once again, setting him on his feet. "You also owe me a new chair." She remarked as she walked past the tables. She stopped for a moment to look at Sasha, examining her up and down. She grimaced and shook her head as she walked by, flicking her hair over her shoulder. She seemed to have just woken up from some sort of nap, her hair was a mess. She headed over toward the counter and sat down in a large comfy chair, picking up a mechanical orb that was half open, revealing a glowing green stone that had several mechanical pincers locked onto it.

"You know, it took my 200 years, 4 months, and 22 days to find out about this part of the puzzle and I'm not even close to finishing it. Damn you, Da Vinci, you and your clever mind." She said, grunting as she tried to take the pincers off with her hands, gritting her teeth. Her teeth had two long fangs that reached to her lower gums like that of a vampire. In fact, she was a vampire. The amulet was glowing, level 4 creature was nearby, and that creature was this woman who complained about a 400 year old puzzle.

"Lorencia," Agent Stan said in a cheerful tone, trying to sweeten her mood to a brigher one. "Its great to see you again. How are those subjects of yours? Still sucking up blood from little girls in alleyways?"

"What?" Lorencia asked, looking up from her puzzle. "Ridiculous, my subjects only kill when it comes to slayers. Or ignorant fucks that come over from the Vatican to kill people who just want to live a good eternity."

"Is that right? My partner and I found a body of a dead girl in an alleyway. Two holes in her neck. Dried up like a daisy in Fall. Turned into a thrall and nearly killing me. If it wasn't for Sasha, I'd be dead."

"But we know that nothing can kill you. Atleast, I know more than you do why death never dies. Though you want to know if it was my subject?" She said, continuing on with her puzzle, not bothering to look at either one of them. It was suppose to reveal a secret that no living being should know. "If you want to know, none of my subjects feed on no one older than twenty. We might be creatures of the night but we're innocent enough. Whose this Sasha? Is that it?"

Sasha did not say a word more, as their little venture continued.

She was always an obedient sort, ever since her rebirth. It was easier to accept and obey, rather than understand. But then, what was there to understand? Sasha's behavior, perhaps, had its own, unique purpose. To instill a sense of fear into the criminal she is fighting. There was no thought given into how the saved citizen would perceive her as. Why was it important? Sasha could not understand. To her, the result was above the means of achieving it.

Eventually, they reached a rather peculiar location. It was strange for someone who claimed to be an expert on vampires and other paranormal activities to live in such a place. But then again, why not? Whatever were they doing, it was rather close to things illegal, and kept in secret. Illegal secrets, as well as people knowledgeable in them, could rarely be found in palaces and rich homes, unless, of course, said secrets are of highest caliber. But really, a mere tea-shop?

Sasha was soon to find out, however, that there was nothing mere about the shop, or its keeper. Before she could say anything, or even blink, she found herself dragged in, and tossed effortlessly, like a mere puppet. A puppet that was made entirely of metal and weighted almost 400 pounds. Her landing on the chair ended the wooden construct crushed, the girl sitting in the shambles awkwardly, looking at the short lady, then at the agent, and at the lady again, listening to their discourse.

Mister agent and miss Lorencia seem to know each other... It's nice to know each other... Ooooh! - Sasha's short train of thought was interrupted, as her blue orbs locked on to the mechanical device in the vampire's hands. She didn't listen all too well to the chit-chat between the two, instead just looking at the box with the jewel inside. Being a creature of mechanisms and magic, such things were fascinating to her. And the fact someone was unable to unlock it for 200 years meant it was really, really good! Finally, some attention was diverted to her person, and the automaton girl stood up, dusting her outfit from dust and remains of the furniture. She looked at the short vampire lady, her artificial smile as wide as ever, as she answered the quarry:

- Hello, miss Lorencia. My name is Sasha! You have sharp teeth. - she let out an eerie giggle after making that rather obvious observation, her eyes quickly moving from the vampire lady's face towards the mechanical egg once again. Her eyes gleamed with excitement, as she bowed a bit, to look at it more.

- Sasha wishes to help mister Agent solve the mystery crime, and dispatch all the foes that stand in his way. Umm... excuse me, miss Lorencia, would you allow Sasha to look at the whimsical riddle device? Perhaps she could lend a hand? Are you trying to get the jewel out?

Lorencia looked a bit confused when the robotic woman showed emotion. She had never seen such an interesting creature. She didn't show any interest in her as she stood up and walked to the mechanical woman, a disinterested glare as she held the mechanical orb next to her chest. "Fine, just don't break the damn thing." She said, tossing the orb over to her. Stan never really appreciated Lorencia's attitude, often leaving a foul after taste every time he left her presence. It was borderline stubborn and selfish with a hint of immaturity. To think two thousand years of life would ever change a person like that.

"I see you've lived a rather lonely life, having an automaton woman by your side and all." Lorencia teased as she picked up a tea pot, weaving past the tables and opening a door, leaving the door open to reveal an office area with canvases that have already been painted with scenery, mostly scenery from France. There was a large portrait that was a six feet tall and two feet wide. It was an unfinished Eiffel Tower, the bottom part unpainted. Running water could be heard and the clicking of a dial sounded louder as the water was poured into a container.

"Not exactly. She's a hero in training and I'm just an Agent. I'm too busy to concern myself toward the notions of companionship." Stan said honestly. It would just interupt his work anyways.

"That's what you said when we were in Paris. Do you still have that lighter I gave you?" Lorencia asked as she poked her head out of the doorway.

"Yes, its proven useful." Stan said, completely missing the point. Lorencia gave a slight frown as she retreated into her office. He still didn't notice.

"My subjects don't drink the blood of young girls but there are others who have decided to leave my covenent and start different groups. It was a difficult move from Paris to here, but I take the opportunity. A city where the heroes have vanished is a city for my people. Less misunderstandings and far away from the Organizations jurisdiction. At least before you came." Lorencia said as a loud whistle blew and then quietened. She came back out with a tea pot full of hot water and went back behind the counter. She settled the tea pot on the counter and knelt down, taking out three cups and then grabbing the stool to get a jar of tea. She wore an extra-extra-large T shirt that reached down to her knees that had Beavis and Butthead printed on the front. She grabbed a jar and a strainer, jumping down from the stool and humming a strange song. She took the top of the jar off and grabbed a pinch of tea, placing it on the strainer and then placing the strainer full of the tea in the tea pot, letting it seep.

"Sense moving to America, I've been losing subjects to new ideas. What's worse is, these idea destroy the structures that I've placed in my covenant for centuries. So there's more vampire renegades then usual. Which means it much more difficult to...did you solve my puzzle or are you just fiddling with the damn thing?" Lorencia said in an angered tone.

- Yay! Thank you, miss Lorencia! Sasha would do her best to solve the puzzle for you!

Sasha exclaimed eagerly, taking the interesting thingamajig from the disinterested vampire, leaving her and the agent to continue their little chat undisturbed. Sitting down on the floor, legs crossed in a yoga fashion, the automaton girl began examining the device.

It was indeed a marvel to behold. As Sasha's metal hands touched the surface of the orb, she could feel an impulse coming from it, going from the tips of her fingers down to her very core. This was not an average riddle box. Oh no, its complexity was far beyond things that were sold on the streets, and even more complex than her father's creations! For a few moments, Sasha simply observed the intricate mechanism, in awe.

However, she did not get to be solving riddles too much - since most of the 'riddle' was solved already! The vampire lady had spent a lot of time, and the result of her effort was obvious - the puzzle was completed. And yet, the pincers refused to let go of the precious gemstone. Humming curiously, the girl poked the jewel with a finger, ever so slightly. She was a magical being, and thus, sensitive to all sorts of arcane arts. She was not able to specify much, but ... she could sense that some were implemented in creating this orb. She could sense something ... similar to what her father did. Something similar to elements implemented in her construction.

- Huuuh... the jewel remains trapped inside... And yet there seems nothing left to solve. Perhaps I should... but ... wouldn't that be cheating?

The automaton talked to herself, as her fingers began glowing with eerie blue light. The same kind of light which flickered at the bottom of her eyes. The energy began wrapping itself around the orb, and even entering it, making it glow from the inside. It was going to reveal Sasha the secret of the riddle that stood strong for 400 years... Suddenly, everything became clear. And then...

*Clack!*

The pincers let go of the jewel, retracting into hidden compartments, and the 'egg' has opened in full. Sasha stood up, carefully, unphased by the vampire's angry demand, staring at the jewel for a little while, with wide, curious eyes. Just like a child watching a pretty bug, or something similar.

- Sasha thinks she has been successful in solving the riddle! - she finally affirmed, tip-toeing towards the two, and carefully placing the artifact into Lorencia's hands. All while grinning happily, obviously overjoyed with having solved something that had been a mystery for over 200 years.

- Vampire lady is very smart, she managed to solve all the riddles! But in order to unlock the final restraint that kept the mechanism locked up, one had to have a touch of special magic. Like I do! The jewel felt strange when I touched it though... - the mechanical girl said, expressing a bit of confusion about what exactly she felt. To her, the emerald felt ... alive. But it couldn't be so, it was just a stone, wasn't it? Perhaps the adults knew better. Her gaze drifted away from the toy, towards the teapot and the cups, to find out that there were ... three? Blinking curiously, Sasha breathed out:

- Is this one for me? - she asked and chuckled; - Sasha can't drink tea anymore. But thank you, miss Lorencia! I remember black tea with milk tasted nice.

Larencia's jaw dropped when the jewel was loosened by the grip of the pincers. She couldn't believe that the puzzle was open so easily. She gripped the tea cup tightly, but it only seemed like it was a tight grip. She was really squeezing it loosely as she was afraid to break her cups on top of the chairs that were broken. She stood up silently, not a good sign for Stan or Sasha, as she walked over toward Sasha. She looked furious, placing her hands on Sasha's shoulders and gripping them tightly. Her hair was covering her face, hiding what some would imagine an angry and crooked face full of redness and bared teeth.

She rose her head and instead of an angered gritting of teeth, a smile shown between the opening in her hair. She picked up Sasha, spun her around, and laughed. "You have no idea how long it took me to solve that puzzle. Endless and torturous nights not knowing what's that diamonds purpose and not knowing whether or not I could open that damn thing and you do it in a matter of minutes. Je pourrais vous embrasser, je suis tellement heureux." She set Sasha down and kissed her cheek, smiling wide as she took the jewel from her hands.

"It's a Soul gem. A small diamond containing a soul and if it is who I think it is, it's Da Vinci himself. That rotten old bastard never liked the notion of death." She said cheerfully as she walked to her counter and placed the jewel on the counter. She finished making the tea, poured the three cups, and gave them out. "These are on the house." She said.

Stan didn't bother to drink, he just looked at the tea in his hand and placed it back on the counter. He wasn't too fond of tea, liked coffee a lot more. Lorencia didn't pay any attention to it but took a sip. She was certainly curious about how the metalic woman could act so...human like. The only problem that she noticed was that the robot had too much emotion, but she kept that to herself. She wasn't like Stan, who would give long winded speeches about ones looks and such, but would keep her opinions to herself unless she needed to blurt them out.

"There are now seven groups of vampires, mine included, living in this city," She blurted out as she finished the tea, picking up Stan's and finishing that one in one gulp. "Three of them are ambassador groups from the royal families, the rest are wanderers, masterless. Or whose masters are simply terrible. That is, terrible at leading. So either your guy was a masterless, a wanderer, or part of those groups. I don't know their locations, but I do know a few people who might know, the ambassador groups. One group is in the high school, another is in an Opera House, very active by the way, and the last one is located inside the Police force. They'll be hiding in plain sight, so its best to find them discreetly as they are studying human beings as well as activities relating to vampires in the city. Don't approach them head on." She sat down behind the counter and picked up the jewel, spinning it on the tip of her finger.

Stan didn't say anything, he just nodded and left the shop quickly, as if he didn't want to be here in the first place. Lorencia gave a slight frown and a light sigh as she held the jewel in her hands. "Sasha," She called out, looking up at her. "Don't fall in love in a nights time. Always in the day." Her advice was a puzzle as well as the orb. It was up to her to decide how to solve it. She didn't bother to tell Stan where they would be located, but he could find them without her help. Benefits of a Monster Hunter...or an AMO agent.

Stan was far away from the shop, heading away from Sasha's home and making his way toward the Opera house.