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Incubus: Virgin Virus

-By FurryYunSeong/AitosSaibankan-

-Chapter Twenty-two-

• Last Chapter: -

They had finally reached the emplacement where Oscar was taken. As the infiltrated the structure, they found the unexpected. Lestat working with humans? And before they could get any further, a lady in lilac steps in and bars their path.

Author's Note: The chapter was originally gonna be longer, but I decided that it ended fine. Decisions, decisions... Also, it's a day earlier than I expected. Teehee.

---

A black knife falls beside him, missing his hand by a centimeter. The sound is distinct the instant it whooshes and embeds itself on the metal tabletop where his hand lay. His head turns on reaction and his brows arrange a message of wonder. There is no worry of the fact that it might have injured his hand.

Only is there a note attached to the obsidian edge. His hand can't wrap around to pull. It is stuck an inch and a half into steel; it will not come out easily. And it has no handle, he will cut himself if he even tries.

Artfully written in the note, a warning:

["You are on your own, naive one." - Arty -]

• "Naive? Only she could call me such." - He thought as he faced his guest.

• "They're looking for you." - He told him.

• "What? What will you do?" - He asked, genuinely worried.

• "Do not worry about me, old friend. It looks like you truly have guardian demons. I'd say you

earned them." - He chuckled, but his guest just remained thoughtful.

It was expected for him to be happy, but his face was unreadable.

***

A pregnant pause full of pondering casted upon the crew. We had a powerful guide in Xeno, but things just kept pointing out that Xeno is something we can't really imagine. Whether it's good or bad that he keeps it hidden is another mystery unto itself. It makes you think that maybe it is so because we shouldn't know. Because maybe we don't really want to know. I sigh, leaning myself on Rafael, holding his arm tightly.

It was great to have him there, my physical embodiment of comfort and love. I glanced at him, he barely budged, clearly reflecting on something. There was something else.

Arthenodora was not human. What was she then? So arrogant and powerful...

Nina was helping us mend our wounds with her healing expertise in aura. It is never asked of to help us recover, but she always does anyway. She's always there.

Nina got us standing and in a generally better condition after a few minutes, I stretched and wrapped myself around my lover.

• "Oscar. We have to find Oscar." - Rafael told us all.

• "But where is he?" - Yuri stood with her hand held to Aoi when she asked.

• "He's several yards past that door." - Xeno declared.

• "Hmm. Really?" - Ari asked.

• "I can sense him. Let me show you." - Xeno assured and turned toward the opposite end of room.

His attempt to destroy Lestat and Arthenodora had destroyed the cellgate that blocked the other door. I immediately wanted to ask how he knew, but held my tongue; something I've been doing a lot lately.

• "I don't know what's going on, but we must get to the bottom of this." -

Xeno growled as he thrusted an arm through the door, wedging it open without struggle and using both hands to further separate it.

Its mechanisms grinded loudly at the brute force approach, but it opened; and one by one we step through. Inside the other room, right beside the forced entrance were two sets of steps that led to some monitoring rooms (further reinforcing the thought that the room we were in previously was a testing chamber), but inside the lab there where several tables with an array of vials and containers and heaters and consoles; lots of glass and liquid of many colors. It was also absolutely sterile, so much so that it created a vacuum to the sense of smell, which was slightly bothersome.

The feeling that your powerful sense of smell did not work was unsettling, and visually the place shined, not because of the actual lighting but for the whole whiteness of it. Looking around the paths that the arrangement of tables made we saw nothing else, until...

• "Good to see you all." - There he was, but I was unsure of how to react. I just gasped.

We all paused; he approached from the east of the room, slowly walking while sliding his rugged hand across the table to his left.

• "Fabien..." -

This man did not look evil, just cold and calculating.

• "That's my name, friend." - It made me twitch, that voice of his.

Deep and resonant with a very mild accent that gave it spice. Or maybe poison, in his case.

• "Why..." - I asked, vaguely raising my voice.

No one else had yet said anything. Why?

• "Hmm?" - The man wondered what I might have asked and if he could've answered, purely intrigued.

He probably looked forward to this. But the unasked question, he could never answer. I analyzed this homosapiens from head to toe, with an intent unknown even to me. He was taller than most of us, his face was chiseled and framed by a thick beard. His hair was thick and discretely styled, colored in a natural black, and his eyes where green like the jungle leaves. A white coat was opened wide and covered the black shirt on his torso. The exposed skin on his chest was heavily covered in hair, just like his arms and hands, much resembling fur. I wished to have had a mirror, to have seen my face.

Something deep inside me burned like a firestorm.

And then it flickered.

• Why did you kill them?! Why did they have to die?!" -

The flame I felt was very real.

I was the fire, and I was going to burn this man alive.

...

He was on the floor a moment after, me on top him with fury powering my hands to clamp around his throat, all in an attempt to give him death. He could barely react to my assault.

• "Dose! What are you doing?!" - Everyone was surprised and concerned at my reaction.

Rafael quickly embraced me with worry and tried to pry me off him, but I couldn't be budged. My other self was propelling this madness.

• "Dose, release him son." -

I felt his hand on mine, and my gripped relax.

In all these years we've only come to contact very few times. But I was so relieved when I saw him. Oscar Nuenberg was completely fine, like he would be if he were just visiting any friend of his. That's all this seemed to be.

Then I managed to pick myself up and refocus, but shame washed over me. I had accused this man of something he couldn't possibly have done, and I instantly felt like I hated him and he had to die.

• "What's wrong, hun?" - Rafael tried to calm me down by rubbing circles on my tense back.

I looked at him, then glanced left and right. They all were so worried, and Fabien, after standing up with Oscar's help, he had a confused look. This seemed to point out that he did not like being confused.

• "I... need to be alone." - I told everyone and stormed off in the same direction we came in, embracing myself.

• "Dose wait!" - Rafael went after me. He knew I needed him even if I said nothing.

***

They had finally found him, after some hours of adversity. Dr. Oscar was completely fine, and this Fabien was finally in the picture. Now, much needed to be explained. Fabien definitely seemed startled at Dose's reaction. Every one of the demons stared at him, thinking of Dose's sudden claim. It really didn't seem as rash as it sounded, once some thought was given to the statement. Could he really have caused the epidemic? Could he have created the Virgin Virus?

It awoke deep, dark thoughts.

Xeno glanced at the group of demons under his escort duty, and he quickly picked up on the the universal grief they felt, the way their eyes revealed a single, enormous woe for their species. Back again his eyes focused on the enigmatic man, who seemed so calm. And Oscar, completely fine physically, but he saw the sadness that the demons had, and he too felt it very closely, like he always had. Oscar was wonderfully attuned to the demons, as opposed to Fabien who repelled them merely by breathing.

• "Oscar, did you come willingly?" - Xeno began the interrogation.

• "I did not give struggle, but I did not want to come." - Oscar looked at Fabien with mild resent.

• "Then why are you here?" -

• "Fabien wanted me to share any information I knew about demons with him, and to help him in his investigation." -

• "Fabien, didn't you think that the demons he has helped for such a long time wouldn't rush to Oscar's aid when he was suddenly gone?" - Xeno growled.

• "Honestly, I was kind of expecting that. I believe I wasn't disappointed, I mean; why do you think the security was so light?" - Fabien cracked a smirk, and some of the demons growled.

• "What is your business with the demon species?" - Xeno faced the deviant man, the wolf standing

closely looking down on him.

• "Discovery. Epiphany. Evolution. I want to learn from them and what lies beyond mere humanity." - Fabien was smiling widely and malevolently as he finished explaining himself.

• "It sounds to me that it is all pure greed and ambition that you hold inside. Give me a reason to let you go unharmed." - Xeno lifted Fabien by the collar of the shirt, but the man was not afraid.

• "I believe I have no leverage here, heheh. I'm doomed, you might say." -

• "You didn't think that far ahead, did you?" -

• "It's hard to predict what non-humans will do. Its almost a waste of time." -

• "Hmm. I'll ask again... Why should I let you go?" -

• "Heheh, I'm sorry, but I don't know the answer to that question... What now? Are you going to kill me?" - The demons and Xeno alike grew more confused as Fabien spoke.

But Raiko was just exasperated and irritated.

• "Look, you freak! What's with you and Lestat?" - Raiko snapped with the face of rage, pointing his electrified index claw inches away from Fabien's face.

• "Hmm, electricity. you're brothers? I had summoned Lestat, thinking that his help would be useful." -

• "Summoned? How did you come across the information necessary to perform that ancient ritual?" - Ari then asked.

• "Some old books I had in the library back at my mansion." - Fabien shrugged.

• "What are your scientists experimenting on?" - Anshel questioned.

• "Were working on isolating the different components of demonic hormones to study their individual effects on the human body." -

• "He has several demons captive here." - Oscar sighed with deep shame.

• "WHAT?!" -

The reaction of the demons was one of outrage. That's when everyone decided to have a piece of Fabien.

• "You're involving yourself in hell's business. It will get killed fast, human." - Xeno further lifted Fabien.

• "Death comes to us all. She is strict." - Fabien whispered, and at that moment he was suddenly enveloped in lavender energy and pulled from the wolf's grasp, brought to the side of a long haired girl at the back of the lab.

• "Huh? Another one?" - Aoi was quick to point out.

• "Lestat seems to be involved with other supernaturals. This can be potentially disastrous in so many ways." - Xeno growled with worry, then he charged at the man and the girl with a powerful howl. The girl wore arabic silks and an unreadable expression on her face. Her eyes glowed like a pure garnet stone.

• "Diadime..." - Fabien spoke softly.

• "This is a favor that you have to repay to lady Arthenodora." - The girl stated softly.

• "I wonder how that'll be." - Fabien chuckled.

In a second Xeno was before Oscar and Diadime...

• "Say, wolf. I almost forgot to tell my friend Oscar that his son is at my house. Tell him for me. "- Fabien relayed to Xeno.

As the wolfman tried to grab them both, his hand hit something solid... a wall of energy. An instant later they both dissipate into particles and are gone.

• "Twice it happens... DAMN IT!"-

...

• "This is wrong. We have a borderline insane scientist experimenting on the few incubi that remain in your world. And he's working with other beings that should have never been involved." - Xeno analyzes the situation.

• "Fuck." - Raiko exclaimed.

• "Boys and girls, we have to release the demons that are held here, and we need to get my son. We can later decide what to do, but now we need stability." - Oscar then informed sternly, and he looked at Xeno.

• "You're not a demon, but you are certainly an ally. Thanks for helping them." - Oscar offered his hand to stretch it with the huge wolfs paw, and Xeno obliged with a smile in his muzzle.

• "We're still missing the other half of the team, though." - Raiko mentioned.

• "Remember that Hayden and Gai went to look for help." - he added.

• "It's kinda late for that, since the whole situation kind of vanished." - Yun said.

• "Not really. We still have to clean up this place and we can use their help." - Anshel assured.

• "We have to deal with the remaining humans, find a safe place for the freed demons and a proper burial for any dead ones. And I don't know if Oscar will want to take any information back to his base." - Xeno declared, and everyone agreed.

***

These feelings sometime get the best of me. These... omens. But Rafael sat beside me and kept his arm around me, rubbing my shoulder. He hummed a lullaby...

I wonder if my reaction had truth or if it just made me look like a crazy one.

• "Looks like they're coming out." - Rafael said, and we both looked as the rest of the crew come out of the lab.

• "There was some commotion in there. what was it all about?" - Rafael stood and asked, and I stood with him.

• "Fabien escaped." - Yun said simply, with a slight growl.

• "What? But Lestat wasn't there to do another of his warp miracles, was he?" -

• "No, it was someone else, some girl." - Anshel answered this time.

• "Wow... Well, what now?" - I sighed. What did this all mean?

• "There are demons captive in this place, and we have to free them." - Xeno spoke.

• "No..." - Rafie muttered with disbelief.

• "I knew it..." - I whispered.

My hunch was right, and I did not like it one bit.

• "Hey, look." -

Yuri pointed at the east end of the ravaged room, where darkness was forming into a spiral.

• "Hayden's back." - Aoi said.

After the portal fully formed, Hayden and Gai stepped out first, then Hoyt, Apollo, Rose and Vega, followed by Jason, Boto and Sebastian, and lastly Monk and the big Bruno. Then five new figures stepped in, probably the ones that were recruited by Hoyt, among them the shapeshifting demons that were mentioned earlier.

One was hairy with golden brown fur and brown patches, another with a pencil thin beard and very short hair, the other one tall with long hair, another one with great muscles, unkempt hair and muddy brown fur, and the last one with a ruddy tone to his fur a black denim vest and denim shorts. Five new great looking demons was certainly more than I expected.

In the same room a group of at least 25 demons had rendezvoused... Even with Alex and Tobey left at the base guarding it, we still had a big group. It seemed that it was only gonna get bigger over time.

• "Ah, I'm late..." - Hayden spoke softly in defeat, tilting his head down.

• "No. It's fine. We needed you all sooner or later. The plan has changed though." - Xeno explained.

• "What exactly happened while we looked for the rest of the crew?" - Gai asked.

• "The lilac lady eventually grew bored of us or something, because she stopped sending her puppets at us. Then Xeno came in from one of Lestat's warps, which apparently was a failed attempt by the freak to personally strike out the wolf. That's when the fear filled Lestat warped himself and the lilac lady out of here before we could do anything." - Raiko began explaining.

• "Then we entered the room past that door, and Oscar was there completely fine with Fabien. We started asking the dude several things to figure out what to do with him, and the more he spoke the crazier he sounded. But before we could do anything, a weird girl magically took him and vanished, too." - He tactfully left out the part where I snap at the man with rage. I sighed.

• "The bottom line is that he's been experimenting with your kind, for who knows how long, and we have to scour this place, retrieve the live ones and get them safety, properly take care of the dead and get rid of this place." - Xeno ultimately stated.

When he mentioned that they were experimenting with our kind, that got some bad reactions. They growled, hissed or exclaimed a - "What?!" - .

• "Are you serious?" - The black vested demon asked with outrage, flinching even.

• "It's always been known that humans are capable of great good, great evil and anything in between. This is the kind of thing that you want to deny..." - The tall, long haired one added.

...

• "Before we do anything, let's get acquainted with the new additions to the group." - Hoyt declared.

And that was certainly a good idea...

• "I'm Jeace, I kickbox." - The denim vested one who stood last at the right was Jeace. He gently punched his own palm when he said his name.

• "I'm Anwar, I control combustion." - He lifted a yellow glowing fist as he spoke.

• "I am Loren, I shapeshift." - The tall, long haired Loren had his arms crossed over his chest.

• "My name is Hennessy, and I am a warrior." - The bulky Hennessy seemed like the silent type.

• "I am Paul, the leader of the central region of the military domain. I can transform at will." - Paul vaguely resembled a cross between Hoyt and a manticore.

Something that I quickly noticed was that they all had no wings, which is very rare in those of blue blood. As fair as I knew, Hoyt's wings were ripped clean off his back, not that he's told us about

it, but its just the way it seems from the two scars on his muscular back.

• "We don't need to fear retaliation. However, we need to hold great care with the injured, the weak and the feeble. That includes any humans you might come across. Do not harm them." - Paul stated, and no one was opposed.

***

We split the crew in three groups of eight. I ended up with Rafael (of course), Monk and Bruno, Hayden and Gai, and Ari and Rude. We headed back the same direction we entered the place, to the lab next to the hall.

The twin doors opened inwards, and once we pushed through it, the scientists that worked there quickly turned in our direction and proceeded to flee like scared animals, almost recklessly. From that reaction, it could be said that the fools had some common sense when running from us, specially after finding out that they were messing with our kind. Maybe they were truly ashamed... The room was quickly cleared of human intrusion, and we proceeded to search it for any demons that may have been experimented on. At a glance, it was empty of such...

• "Hmmph." - Rude grunted.

• "There seems to be nothing here." - Ari commented. and indeed, that's what it seemed, just test tubes, mechanisms and a myriad of apparatus.

we also lifted things and moved stuff aside, no need to break anything while we searched. Then, reaching the opposite end of the lab, we came across something.

• "Ah, guys." - Hayden gasped, and we turned to see what it was.

We found one on the last testing table, an incubus that seemed to be near adulthood. He was either asleep or unconscious. The demon was short in stature and had a certain roundness to his muscles, and he was covered with a thim white sheet, his fur was dark brown and his hair black.

Between Ari and me we got rid of the sheet and the few cables that were connected on him. As soon as the sheets were off, it was noticeable that the young demon's member was getting erect by the subconscious. Maybe he was having a good dream.

• "What shall we do? Should we wake him?" - Gai asked.

• "Let's try." - Ari said, placing a hand on the sleeping lad's rising chest.

• "Hey, are you there, friend?" - Ari nudged him a bit, then he did so a few more times, but the young demon didn't budge.

• "I'll just carry him over my shoulder." - Gai mentioned.

• "Yeah, you do that. We'll figure out something on the way, but we can't just leave I'm here." - I assured.

With that, we moved on to the next room with the sleeping incubus over Gai's shoulder.

***

The second group was composed of Hoyt, Paul, Hennessy, Loren, Anwar, Jeace, Rose and Vega; they moved through the western locked door from the testing chamber. Hoyt froze it and bashed it into many little pieces. It gave access to a very spacious lab area, easily three times bigger than any of Oscar's labs. There were no humans there, and no demons on any tables.

Instead, there were four pillar sized test tubes, and only two of them were empty.

• "Holy shit..." - Rose exclaimed.

The group positioned themselves to better view the two very different demon bodies that remained motionless inside the huge tuber of tempered glass and what appeared to be water. The captive on the right was an average looking incubus, but he appeared to have some tentacles attached to him, real tentacles, not tubes from any machine. Opposite to him was an incubus that barely fit the tube he was in. He was huge and muscular, probably the same size as Bruno.

• "I can only wonder how they managed to capture and subdue such a big guy." - Loren wondered.

• "Let's get them out. They are most likely alive." - Paul said.

While Vega and Rose retreated some steps back, predicting that water and glass would splash all around the tube. Hennessy prepared to break the huge tubes, and Jeace prepared to help the captive out. With an energy infused slap to the tube pillar, it cracked fractally into large segments and the water quickly began to leak through. Soon following, the weakest cracked segments were pushed off by the water, which resulted in an explosion of splashing water and shattering glass that made the surrounding demons scatter. No one really desired glass on their feetpaws

Jeace carefully stepped in and wrapped an arm behind the unconscious demons torso for balance, then he proceeded to unhook him from the various cables and attachments. Once loose, the demon's drenched body fell limply into Jeace's arms.

• "Erm, hey... can you hear me?" - Jeace tried talking to him.

Then the demon started coughing loudly and groaning.

• "Whoah! Let's get you off this thing." - He quickly helped the coughing demon off the tube onto a

safer spot on the lab floor.

There, the freed demon kneeled, as the coughs were apparently hard on his body. Indeed, it would seem like he was kept in the tube a long time. Jeace kneeled next to the demon, worried about him.

• "Take it easy... you're free now." -

With that said, he lifted his face, to look at Jeace.

• "...free?" -

After a pause of recovery, the demon was breathing a little better, and Jeace helped him to straighten and face the crew.

• "Yes, you're with your own kind now.... What should we call you?" - Jeace said, a little unsure of how it sounded, but he was clearly trying to calm the newly liberated demon. Still, all he got was a blank stare that would make anyone uncomfortable.

A moment later he pushes Jeace away with the forehand.

• "Hey!" - The ruddy demon exclaimed.

The liberated one turns to the rest of the group, and his face was still unreadable.

• "What do you want?!" - The other demon snapped and flung an arm towards them, which in turn became a club covered with spikes and thorns, almost instantly.

• "Whoah!" - They step back from the unexpected reaction. Clearly the demon was scared.

• "Calm down! Tell us your name, please." - Hoyt stated, still fully composed.

• "Gideon..." - The demon took a deep breath, and he lowered his arm. It returned back to normal.

• "Gideon, just breathe... " - Hoyt suggested with a calming gesture.

• "Don't ask me anything! ...not yet. I can't handle that right now. Just get Belham out of there, please." - Gideon looked at the big demon in the other tube with massive worry.

• "Alright. Hennessy, get him out of there." - Hoyt commanded.

The bulky demon moved in and did the same procedure on the other tube, an energized slap that cracked the tube open and spilled even more liquid and glass on the lab floor. Jeace then stepped in and they both tried to unhook the big unconscious demon. Then slowly Gideon stepped before it.

• "Careful, don't try to carry him out; he's too heavy. Let him come awake." - Gideon mentioned

softly.

• "Yeah... good idea." - Jeace said, and both him and Hennessy stepped out.

• "Bel... Belham..." - Gideon beckoned softly, snapping the fingers in his right hand.

• "Belham, wake up." - He chanted.

The big demon then groaned deep and gutturally, and he started to budge a little.

• "Belham, let's go home." - Gideon muttered.

And just like Gideon, once the body started to reactivate, Belham started coughing, his chest visibly

heaving.

• "Home..." - In between the reactions, he spoke.

Then big demon's eyes flicked open, revealing their bright blue pupils. He turned to look at all the

other demons, he scanned the room pausedly.

• "Home is with you." - Belham whispered, then he carefully stepped out of the tube and next to Gideon. He caressed the smaller demon's head with tenderness, and they looked at each other deeply. They probably hadn't done that in a long time...