AN: Just found this song recently and was immediately hooked.
"Whew, finally we're done with all the cleaning." Ace sighs as he collapses on the lounge sofa.
"It wasn't that bad. This place does need some cleaning though." Deuce says.
"More like a complete overhaul." The red haired boy says.
"Can't entirely disagree there. Still, it's solid enough over our heads." Isaac says as he comes into the room, carrying a bed mattress. The ghost trio of the dorm not far behind with more mattresses.
"By the way, since you guys are sleeping over, I thought maybe we could have a sleepover." He says as he and the ghosts lay the mattresses on the lounge floor, along with some pillows and blankets. "We could sleep here together." He says.
"That actually sounds like a good idea." Deuce agrees.
"Yeah, as long the ghosts don't bother us." Ace says next.
"Don't worry, we won't. Like I said, we'd rather not invoke the wrath of a vampire. Even we know better." Ezra says.
"Nighty night! Hehehehe!" Phineas says with a goofy laugh.
"Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite!" Gus said last and they all disappear.
"Yeah, you learn to get used to them." Isaac says and they all begin organizing their bedding for the night.
"Hey, Isaac, last time I was here you mentioned a library. Can I see it? I didn't get a chance before?" Ace requests.
"Wait, a library, in this place? That would be cool to see." Deuce adds.
"Sure, follow me, it should over here somewhere... Found it!" The black haired boy says and opens the door. They all walk in.
"Wow, it really is a library." Deuce exclaims in awe.
"These books have some odd titles, but they seem interesting." Ace says while looking around.
"I know right. Oh, there you are Grim. I was wondering where you were hiding." Isaac says to the feline who was hiding under the chaise.
"Are those shifty specters gone?" The said feline asks.
"What, you scared of them?" Ace taunts.
"N-No I'm not!" Grim denies, fully coming out from his hiding place.
"Anyways... If you guys want, you can grab a book to read... Hmm? What's this?" Isaac permits then notices something on one of the shelves. He goes over to the area and reaches in, then pulls something out.
"Oh hey, a pack of cards." Deuce says when he sees what Isaac found.
"Cool. Let's head back to the lounge and play a game." Ace suggests.
They all head back into the lounge, changing into night clothes first, then start playing. Since Grim didn't know how to play many games, they decided to play old maid, since it was simple and easy to play.
"Dammit! Not again!" Grim growls as he ends up with the joker, again.
"Pfft! Ahaha! You seriously suck! Your expression gives you away every time!" Ace laughs.
"I gotta admit, this is a lot of fun." Isaac says. "You know, truth is, I've never had a sleepover like this before. Or friends for that matter." He then admits.
"Wait, really? What about school? Did you not get along with your peers or something?" Deuce asks surprised.
"Not really, I didn't actually go to school before this. Due to being, well a vampire, I took online classes. It was actually my dad's idea, I guess he was worried I might end up revealing myself. Guess he was right..." The boy suddenly looks depressed.
"Isaac? Is something wrong?" Deuce asks, getting the squabbling duo's attention.
"Yeah, if something's up, you can talk about it with us." Ace offers. Isaac looks at all of them, with a contemplating look on his face.
"It's just... Deuce, you remember how you shared your past with me and Grim earlier?" the black haired boy asked.
"Huh? What past?" Ace asks confused. Right, he wasn't there.
"Long story, maybe later." Deuce quickly says. "And yeah." He says to Isaac.
"Well, I guess I wanted to share mine, but you guys won't like it." Isaac says.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Ace asked.
"I've hurt people... killed people... Actually, I'm not sure if you could call them people, since they were all, vampires." The blue blood admits.
"Isaac, it's okay." Deuce comforts.
"Yeah, tell us what happened!" Grim demanded. The boy takes a deep breath.
"Remember when I said that my dad, or at least the man who found and raised me like a dad, died? The truth is, he didn't die of natural causes. He was actually killed." Isaac admits.
"What?! Killed?!" Deuce exclaims shocked.
"That's awful!" Grim exclaims.
"Holy crap! Who would do such a thing?!" Ace asks shocked.
"Other vampires, who were after me." Isaac answers and they go silent. "I made a mistake, and it cost me greatly. I did something, something that alerted them that I was nearby. Dad warned me, but I didn't listen. They came after me and dad was trying to keep them from finding me, but in the end he was killed, because he got in their way." He recounts what happened.
"That's horrible. But, why did they come after you in the first place?" Deuce asks.
"They wanted my blood, and heart." Isaac replies.
"What? Why would they want that?" Ace asks confused.
"You don't know?" Grim asks surprised, then sighs. "Becoming a vampire is not as simple as some may think. When a person is turned they aren't actually granted eternal life like they're led to believe. In fact, a turned vampire's lifespan is mostly about a single century." The feline explains.
"What, only a hundred years? I thought vampires were the eternal creatures of the night or something like that." Ace says shocked.
"In a way yes, but mostly the higher class vampires." Isaac replies. "The higher a vampire is on the food chain, the greater their power, and the more power they have, the longer their life-spans. One way to raise their power, is by drinking the blood of a blue-blood." He explains.
"So that's why they wanted you. They wanted more power and to live longer." Deuce concludes.
"Exactly. Among vampires, it's said that drinking the blood of a pureblood will increase your life-span by a thousand years, and eating the heart of one will grant you powers like a god." Isaac explains. "But, they should've know better. A blue-blood can easily kill red-bloods. It's practically suicide, though there was also a black-blood among them." He says next.
"Blue-blood... Red-blood... Black-blood... How many kinds of vampires are there?" Ace asks confused.
"If you mean in general, all different kinds, but if you're talking classes specifically, there are four categories of vampire. Those at the top, Purebloods or Blue-Bloods, such as me. Next is Daemons or Black-Bloods, which are slightly below purebloods. Then there are Red-Bloods, basically common class vampires.
"Finally, there are Devs, also known as Ash-Bloods. Vampires who let their thirst and hunger consume them to the point that they literally devolve into monsters. Both mentally and physically, losing all sense of self in the process. Another way to refer to them would be ghouls or zombies." The black haired boy explains.
"Devs...? You mean those vampires that instead of appearing human, look like grotesque monsters?" Deuce asks and Isaac nods.
"Blah! I've never seen one, but I've defiantly heard of them. My grandma calls them "blights" on the world. She would say that vampires are all vicious blood-thirsty monsters who prey on people, but there are those who eat them whole." Ace recounts.
"Devs in a nut shell, most of the time a Dev is a result of vampire who was turned being unable to handle the transformation and their new lust for blood. Though are those who were born a vampire where that can happen too. But one way to avoid such a fate is by consuming a Blue-Blood's blood." He says.
"Seriously? So they probably also wanted to avoid that." Deuce deduces.
"Purebloods are extremely rare these days. Vampires have mingled with humans so much that it produced mix-bloods more than anything. Since to be a pureblood you need to literally have pure vampire blood." Grim adds in.
"How do you know so much about vampires anyways, Grim?" Ace asks. Isaac was actually curious about that too.
"Honestly, I don't know myself. One of the things I know more than anything, is vampires and how they operate, but I don't know how I know that." Grim admits. Isaac feels sympathy and gently scratches behind the feline's ears.
"Anyway, what happened with the vampires who killed your father?" Deuce asks.
"I later found out they ran a club and went to them, and proceeded to kill every vampire in that place. The club turned out to be a scam anyway, run by a Daemon, a black-blood. If blue-bloods are the royalty of vampires, then black-bloods would be nobility. Many of them having unique skills they developed. Similar to that of unique magic with mages." Isaac answers.
"So, while vampires don't use magic they develop skills from rising in the ranks?" Ace asks and Isaac nods. "Yikes! Remind me to never cross a black-blood." He says.
"What's this about the club being a scam though?" Deuce asks.
"It was marketed as a safe haven for human from vampires, but was actually the opposite. It was used as a cover and to make humans feel safe before they would be drained or worse, turned. In order for a vampire to turn a human, they need to drain said human almost completely, then inject their venom into them and then give them their own blood.
"Without the venom, if a human is exposed to a vampire's blood, it won't end pretty. Worse case scenario, they become an undead ghoul. Best case, they die. While without blood, the venom will slowly consume and kill the human. It's a very painful process." Isaac proceeds to explain.
"A safe haven, so vampires in your world are that dangerous?" Ace asks, shocked.
"Here, while vampires aren't commonly seen, they do pose a threat. A special curfew was even placed years ago to keep people in at night. Even I wasn't dumb enough to disobey it. I didn't want to be fed on." Deuce says while shivering.
"Similar to my world, even a special police task was created, just to hunt and keep them in line, but it doesn't matter. Hundreds of crimes have been committed by who knows how many vampires, including that club.
"I saw it myself, it was a nightmare. Humans drenched in their own blood and those being turned. I couldn't hold back my anger at such a thing, so I killed every single vampire in that place. They were mostly red-bloods so they didn't really pose any ligament threat to me. Then their daemon leader appeared.
"He was a smug asshole, thinking he was above everyone else. Humans, other vampires, even me. That was his mistake. And like the saying goes: "The bigger they are, the harder they fall". He thought he had the home turf-advantage with his club, but it didn't matter.
"By the end he was a begging, crying mess, but I refused to spare him. After what he'd done to my father and others, he didn't deserve any mercy. So I killed him, draining him of all his blood. I'd never tasted anything so rotten in my life." He says with a hiss.
"Wait, you drank his blood? I didn't think vampires drank from each other." Ace says surprised.
"I've actually heard of that. Higher class vampires will drink lower class vampires' blood. It's defiantly horrifying to think about, but "better each other than us", is what I always thought." Deuce says.
"Yeah, afterwards, the special task force I mentioned earlier then arrived at the club, or what was left of it. Since the fight that ensued destroyed the building's foundation. I managed to escape before they could even see me and I went back to my home.
"It was almost immediately after that, that I was brought to this world. It didn't matter anyways. After what those monsters did, it was impossible for me to ever live a normal life there, like I wanted." Finally, Isaac had finished his story.
The others were silent, Isaac worried they would leave him after this, but the next thing he knew they all enveloped him in a group hug. Even Grim was in on the action. For a moment he froze, not expecting such a thing.
"I can't imagine how much you went through, Isaac. And all alone." Deuce says.
"I'm sorry for insulting you when we first met. It must have been hard keeping all this inside." Ace apologizes.
"The Great Grim will forever be by your side! Forever and always!" Grim declares.
"You guys, you aren't scared of me? Even after knowing what I did?" He asks.
"Of course not. You're our friend, Isaac. We'll always be by your side." Deuce says.
"Yeah, and about what you did, who knows how many people that you saved by getting rid of that place and those guys." Ace says next.
"Yeah, you're the strongest person I've ever met!" Grim cheers. Isaac never felt so relieved or overwhelmed in his life. Before he knew it, tears were flowing down his cheeks and he let loud heart wrenching sobs, letting all his emotions out after who knows how long.
The group stays like that for a while, Isaac crying out his sorrows to them, before eventually calming down. After wards, they were tired, physically and mentally, and decided to turn in for the night. However, Isaac stayed awake. Watching the others are they sleep.
"It felt good to talk... but how do I explain?" He thought then looks down to the book on his lap. Alice in Wonderland. "How do I explain who and what the Great Seven really are? How did I even end up here?" He thought.
"And who was that voice, now that I think about it. And that hand... Both seem, familiar... Is it, something from my past, from before dad found me? The earliest memory that I have, before those times, is... holding someone's hand, but I don't know whose. All I know is, they're important to me." He thinks, trying to put the pieces together, but they don't seem to fit.
After some time, he decided to let it go and go to sleep. His mind was still restless though, so he read some more of the book. Thankfully having found a book maker to mark where he was. He sighs and begins reading, soon reaching the infamous rose painting scene in the garden maze.
AN: Sorry for the sort of exposition dump on you all there. This chapter here is basically filler, but it served a purpose to explain how vampires work here. Since there are a lot of different versions to them. Plus, I wanted to expand on Isaac a little there. I hope you guys at least tolerated it. See you next time!