Back in the Saddle Again

[Gin Yatreg]

Gin Yatreg: Episodic Adventures Chapter I

 
            Gin tumbled out of the Darkshire gate, his body readjusting to being solid once more. Using the gate arch as support, he slowly pushed himself back onto his feet. "From what I remember, I left Tonic here before entering Karl Jak's verse," Gin thought, "Though to be honest, I only remember half of what happened. It's all a blur after I got slapped by Remilia," he continued, remembering the plane crash, the creepy forest, and exploring the abandoned carnival with his vampire companion.
"Oh crap, I just realized, I have no idea what happened to her! I hope she's okay!" he thought, worried about his friend. Soon after however, the memory of just how strong a simple slap from her was alleviated his fears, "Actually you know what, that shorty is probably fine," he said while rubbing the spot she made contact with. "Welp, I better go get Tonic, he should still be around here somewhere." he said before walking off. 

***

            Remilia, The Scarlet Devil, continued her walk through the Nexus. The bug woman had left shortly after their conversation came to an end, which left Remilia in a rather boring situation. Suddenly a large sneeze escaped her lips, which let her know that someone had been talking ill of her. “It seems like someone is asking for a beating in the future,” Remilia said aloud in an annoyed tone, mentally going through the list of people in this universe that knew her.

***

            "Let me get this straight, Tonic," Gin said in an annoyed tone of voice, "You ate the tent, and everything in it."

            "Wark {I did}," Tonic said, the translator around his neck still functioning even after all this time alone. "Wark War {And I regret nothing}," Tonic finished.
 
            Just then, Gin felt a chill run down his spine, as if a great deal of pain awaited him in the future. “Did… Did you feel that?” Gin said, worried.

            “Wark? {Feel what?}” Tonic asked, confused by his owner’s question.

            Gin shook off the feeling and started walking towards the gate, “Ah, never mind. Let’s just get out of here,” He said.

***

            Night began to fall as the two made their way through town, and by the times they had reached the gate, the streets were completely devoid of life. “This town really has been through a lot,” Gin thought. “Maybe when I’m stronger, I can help bring this place back to the way it used to be.”

            A scream suddenly pierced through the quiet night, the call for help cutting its way into Gin’s ear drums. “The hell was that?! Come on Tonic, we gotta go help!” Gin shouted as he hopped onto Tonic’s saddle.

            The two sped off in the direction of the scream, and eventually arrived in time to see three figures cornering a terrified woman. The figure in front stepped forward and lowered his hood, revealing a pale complexion and dark hair. The man bared a pair of fangs and lowered his jaw to the woman’s neck, prepared to bite.

            Gin jumped off a still running Tonic and summoned an energy shield beneath his feet, and slid across the ground as if on a skateboard. Using the momentum he still had from riding Tonic, Gin rode straight into the group and cold cocked the man in front with a shield fist. Gin then stood in between the attackers and their target, squinting to get a better look at the other two in the growing darkness. Just like the first one, the other two had a pale complexion. One was a male, and the other seemed to be female, however he was unable to tell with their hoods still obscuring their faces.  “Let’s see, pale skin, fangs, about to bite someone in the neck, I’m going to guess vampires.” He said to them.

            The one Gin punched stumbled to his feet, spitting out a tooth in the process. The man’s face contorted in anger, “You’ll pay for that, bloody human!” he shouted.

            “Sorry, but I don’t think my insurance covers the undead,” Gin responded before grabbing the woman behind him by the arm, “RUN!” he shouted. The two fled past the vampires, who immediately began chase after their prey.

            Tonic fell in line beside the two, and beckoned them to get on his back. Gin helped the woman on first, and then jumped on in front. Once his passengers were on, Tonic sped up as fast as his avian legs would let him.

            Gin looked back; their pursuers appeared to be gone. It seemed like a good time to stop, but he didn’t trust being out in the open. Instead, he opted for Tonic to stop in an old barn, which was thankfully unlocked. Once inside, Gin quickly barred the door and exhaled a sign of relief. “Alright we should be fine in here for now,” He said before turning to the girl behind him, “Are you alright?” he asked.

            “Yes,” She replied, “They didn’t get to bite me.”
            
            That was good to hear, Gin thought. Now that they had a chance to rest, Gin was able to get a better look at the girl he saved. She had dark blonde hair, her skin was pale; though not as pale as the vampires outside, and emerald eyes. Gin walked over to the nearest bale of hay and sat down, leaning against the wall behind him. The girl did the same sitting across from Gin. The two then began to talk.
            
            “I’m Gin,” He said.
            
            “Austra,” She replied.
            
            “Austra, how come you were outside alone?” Gin asked, getting straight to the point.
            
            “I had no choice.”
            
            “No choice?”
            
            “Those three… they were keeping me captive in their mansion at the edge of town. I was next in line to be their meal, but I managed to escape my binds and get outside.”
            
            “Were there others there with you?”
            
            “Yes, I tried to help them, but they had already figured out I escaped. You saw what happened after.”
            
            “Yeah, lucky I got there when I did,”
            
            “Extremely, if you hadn’t shown up I might not have been able to see my family aga-,” she stopped and quickly stood up, “My family! They don’t know I’m alright yet, we have to get to my home!” she exclaimed.
            
            “Wha- But it’s still dark out, those guys will be looking all over for you right now.” Gin said, flabbergasted.
            
            “Please! We have to leave right away!” She grabbed Gin’s hands, and stared at him with pleading eyes.
            
            “W-Well, I guess we could try.” Gin stammered, standing up.
            
            “Thank you!” Austra yelled, hugging Gin.
            
            After Austra let go, Gin moved to the barn door and un-barred it. “Alright, we have to be quick about this. As soon as I open the door we have to get on Tonic as fast as possible. Ready?” Gin asked.
            
            “Ready.”
           
            “Alright, let’s go!” Gin yelled before swinging the door open, only to be face to face with the three vampires from earlier. Gin quickly slammed the door on them and re-barred it. “We may be trapped,” He said flatly. A hand quickly burst through the wooden door, trying to find the bar keeping the door form opening. Gin quickly backed away from the door and looked for another way out, “Don’t worry we can still make i-,” he managed to say before feeling a heavy blow to his head, and everything going black.

***

            Gin’s eyes slowly opened up, his vision was blurry, and he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head. He tried to move, but to no avail. He heard a voice in his ear, it sounded familiar, yet new at the same time. He blinked, his vision starting to clear.
            
            “-arting to wa-,” a voice said.
            
            He could make out four figures in his vision now, albeit still blurry.
            
            “Shall we begin then?” another higher-pitched voice asked.
            
            “Yes, his blood should be flowing fast enough now,” the familiar voice said.
            
            Finally his vision came into focus, and he saw the faces of his captors. The man from before, still wearing his coat; a tall brunet with red eyes, and a suit; a medium sized woman with dyed red hair and red eyes, wearing what looked like punk clothes; and a familiar looking woman with snow white hair, the common red eyes, and a dress like the one Austra was wearing. Hey, wait a second. “Austra?” Gin asked, surprised by this revelation.
            
            “Yup, had you fooled didn’t I?” She said.
            
            “So that entire thing was a set up? How the hell did you even plan that far ahead?” Gin asked, extremely confused.
            
            Austra stopped the others, figuring there was no harm in explaining, “As you know, Darkshire is a very paranoid town. Everyone’s already inside by the time we come out to hunt. So we had to change how we hunted. We tried plenty of methods, but the one that worked the best was luring those who answered my calls for help, and picking them off one by one. Such as guardsmen, or the ones stupid enough to wander the town at night,” she said.
            
            “Hey!” Gin yelled, offended by the stupid remark.
             
            “Though I have to admit, you’re the first to actually get a hit in,” She continued.
            
            “Are you thinking of turning him into a fledgling, sister?” the brunet asks.
            
            “I was considering it, Oliver. Lord Dracula did say to start expanding our ranks in this town.” Austra answered.
            
            “Enough stalling, we can talk about this AFTER we drink his blood,” the redhead interrupted.
            
            Gin raised his hand, “Uh, do I get a say in this?” he asked, his voice somewhat more hoarse than before.
            
            “No.” the oldest one answered.
            
            Gin put his hand down in disappointment, “Aw man.”
            
            “Wait, why is his hand free from the binds we wrapped him in?!” the redhead exclaimed.
            
            “Oh, that thing? Turns out having spikes on your arms and claws on your fingers after transforming is really useful while you’re tied up,” Gin said with an evil grin, wiggling his newly grown claws in front of him.
            
            “Subdue him! Quickly!” Oliver yelled at his siblings. The vampires dove at Gin, who simply raised a bubble shield for them to bounce off of.
            
            As the shield dissipated, Gin began to speak; “Now then,” he cracks his knuckles, ”Who wants to go first?” Gin said sadistically.

***

            “And stay out!” Gin yelled, tossing the now tied up and badly bruised foursome out of the Darkshire gate. He rubs his hands together, and walks back into the town. “Now for the next item on the list, finding my damn bird again.” He said, annoyed.