Writing Darkness Rising - A Yu-Gi-Oh fanfic

[phantom phan28]

This is my first Pegasus-centered story and my first thread on this board.

Note: I do not own the characters created by Kazuki Takahashi. Caleb, Charles Pegasus, Cathrine Pegasus, and Jonathan Pegasus are characters of my own creation. if I catch you using them w/o my permission I will sic my xweetok on you. Enjoy!
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[CENTER]Chapter 1[/CENTER]

The day had just been like any other. Business had gone on as usual in the Pegasus household, though the household only consisted of Mr. Pegasus and the servants. Little did they know that change was on the wind. After that night, Pegasus? life would never be the same...

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It started with a strange sound on the balcony outside his window. Pegasus? eyes fluttered open. [I]What on earth??[/I]he thought drowsily. He got out of bed and went to investigate. Standing on the balcony was a man in a black hooded cloak. Pegasus quickly unlocked the door and stepped outside.

The man was lanky, with pale, slim hands. His appearance stirred a faint memory. It took Pegasus a moment to realize that he had been staring. He immediately regained composure, and approached the man. ?I apologize for the intrusion,? the man began, ?but I had to speak with you . I would have come at an earlier time, but that was impossible.?

?Who are you?? Pegasus asked. The man had an aura of strangeness that sent chills down Pegasus? spine. But, more than that, the thing that disturbed him the most was the nostalgia he was feeling. [I]Where have I seen him before?[/I]

?My name is Caleb. Perhaps you do not remember me. I was a friend of your father?s. I have been watching you for a long time. You have met my expectations. Surpassed them, actually.?

[I]Caleb! It couldn?t be![/I] Pegasus did remember him, but he looked younger than he should be; Pegasus? father was in his late 60?s, but this man appeared to not look a day older than 30. [I]This doesn?t make any sense.[/I] ?What do you want with me?? he asked timidly, unable to disguise the confusion in his voice.

?I have come to tell you the truth.? he began. ?Please try not to interrupt. I probably appear strange to you, for your father and I were the same age. When I said I would have come at an earlier time to speak with you, I meant years earlier. It is time you told the truth.? He pulled back his hood, revealing his careworn face. ?The first truth I must tell you is this: I have not aged because I am not human. I am a vampire.?

That statement alone sent a cold dagger of fear into Pegasus? heart. He instinctively clutched at the rosary he wore under his shirt. [I]Please God[/I], he prayed, [I]don?t let him kill me.[/I] The subjects of supernatural creatures such as vampires and werewolves had terrified Pegasus since childhood, and they had always haunted his nightmares. To be in the presence of that which he feared could have made him die of fright, but he stood his ground.

?I know this is a shock to you, and I am sorry to say that the next truth will shock you even more.? He sighed. ?I am not the only one of my kind you have met. You have known another your entire life. Your father was also a vampire, making you half-vampire by birth.?

Pegasus shook his head in disbelief. ?No. You?re making this up. Father [I]couldn?t[/I] have been a?? He couldn?t bring himself to say it. To think that his own father had been one of the monsters he feared! The man had to be insane, but it [I]did[/I] explain his father?s strange behavior.

Caleb drew closer. ?Now that you know what you are, you must embrace your heritage. You must become a full vampire. I am the only one who can help you with that.?

A mixture of fear and loathing filled Pegasus to the core. ?No. I?d die first!?

Caleb shook his head. ?I had hoped you wouldn?t force me to do this, but it appears I no longer have a choice.? Anger flared in Caleb?s eyes. ?If you will not turn willingly, I will turn you whether you want to or not!?

With that, Caleb pounced. He seized Pegasus by his hair and yanked him close. Pegasus cried out in fright and struggled with his captor. With a sudden twist, he met Caleb?s piercing glare. Instantly, Pegasus was falling, falling, falling?

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Pegasus? eyes opened slowly. Sunlight immediately flashed into his eyes. ?Ow!? Two pains shocked him: the light in his eyes, and the strange pain in the side of his neck. He quickly got out of bed and went over to the mirror.

There on his neck were what appeared to be two gray inverted mosquito bites, directly over the jugular vein. The strange thing was, other than the fact of their existence, they didn?t itch and they were in the same position a vampire?s fangs would be. [I]Vampire fangs?[/I]

[I]No. It couldn?t have happen. It must have just been a dream?[/I]
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What will happen next? You'll have to wait and see!:animesmil

[phantom phan28]

[CENTER]Chapter 2[/CENTER]

Pegasus tried to ignore the strange marks in his neck, but to no avail. A few of the servants noticed the markings, which Pegasus quickly explained away as insect bites (though when they asked what kind, he quickly changed the subject). To avoid awkward questions, he kept his collar over the bites, hidden from prying eyes.

Over the next few days, changes began to come over Pegasus. Some of them were subtle: his vision became sharper, his senses heightened. He also stopped eating garlic (which bothered no one; he had never really eaten much anyway). Others were not so subtle. For some reason, he became unusually sleepy around noon, so he ended up eating lunch later on. He also stayed up later than the others did.

Finally, there were two incidents that proved that Pegasus was not the same as he usually was. One day, it was decided that the house needed a new coat of paint. Artist that he was, Pegasus immediately agreed to help. While on one of the higher scaffoldings, he noticed that someone had missed a portion of the siding. Foolishly, he leaned towards it with his brush. The scaffolding suddenly began to wobble and, with a cry of fright, Pegasus tumbled off the scaffolding and toward the sidewalk below.

Halfway to the ground, something strange happened. Pegasus suddenly flipped in midair and landed gracefully on his feet. He stood there for a moment, not understanding what had happened. When one of the servants asked him how he had done that, he truthfully answered that he hadn?t the faintest idea.

The second incident was darker and a bit more disturbing. Pegasus was in the kitchen, helping one of the servants prepare dinner. While he was working, the knife the servant was using slipped, cutting his hand. The moment Pegasus?s eyes fell across the blood, an unnatural craving filled him. He longed to drink the blood coming from the wound. Revulsion at the thought filled him two seconds later.

?Sir? Are you all right??

Pegasus looked up. ?Oh, sorry. I was miles away.? he lied. [I]I won?t do it. I[/I] won?t [I]drink human blood![/I] Nevertheless, Pegasus?s vampire instincts overtook his human nature...

[CENTER]∞∞∞[/CENTER]

The hour was late. Pegasus moved through the house swiftly and yet like a sleepwalker as well. He was on the prowl for human blood. He came across one of the servants sleeping on the couch. The moonlight fell across his face. Pegasus?s eyes went to the servant?s exposed neck. His canine teeth sharpened into fangs. His eyes gained catlike slits for pupils. Pegasus turned the man?s face away and sank his fangs into the man?s flesh, drinking his fill of the man?s blood. He pulled away and retreated to the shadows.

[CENTER]∞∞∞[/CENTER]

Pegasus awoke the next morning feeling strangely refreshed, while the servant felt weaker. Seeing the man?s condition, he knew what had happened and that he could not, by willpower alone, control has vampiric impulses.