Bah...... i know this is late..... deal with it i'm dealing with shitty springtime allergys...... i am allergic to EVERY-FUCKING-THING!!!!!! seriously as a kid when i had the scracher test everything came up positive, some things over crowded the other results.............. *sigh* so heres the chapter. i'll probably do another one tomorrow some time, but i'm mostly just waiting on some decent fan art to come in and my current editor (Shout-out to you Holtz keep up the good work!!!) to finish up the volume 1 chapters so i can get published in the unrealistic timeline i set for myself..... oh and i'm updating the officail site tomorrow, so check there for the chapters after tomorrow, thats where they will mostly be... i'll update RR mondays or wednsdays.... havent decided which yet though.....

Anyway ENJOY!!!!!!!

“My angel are you still able to continue? Would you like to stop here?” (Fera)

“Of course little Alty can still continue, he’s still conscious right? Remember you can’t go easy on him, otherwise it will cripple his growth. That would hurt little Alty a LOT more in the future.” (mom)

I looked at Fera standing over me and heard mom telling her to start this all over again as I tried not to cry like a bitch from all this pain. I think my legs and waist are facing the wrong direction, but I can’t look far enough down to check without intense pain shooting through my neck.

I thought back to how this little daily hell of mine became part of my new routine.

I looked at what USED to be Aunt Lizote’s guest quarters. Now it looked like some mad chemist moved in and was filled with beakers, burners, syringes, pots, tubes, and other equipment I have never seen before. Some of glowed with magic power.

Wow…… Lizote is going to find some way to blow up the palace and kill us all…….. Where’d she even PUT the bed anyway?................. WAIT! Where’s Tessa?!?!?!? She isn’t buried under all this stuff right?!?!?!?

“No my little Tessa is off at preschool since she can actually attend for more than a week before becoming a broken down, crying, mess rocking in the corner. Though I do wish she would ACTUALLY talk to the people there….” (Lizote)

“HEY!!! Those kids were fucking TERRIFING!!! I even hit one with a fucking lose SUPPORT BEAM from the playset in the yard, and it just got back up moaning for blood…. And there were SO many…… even the teacher couldn’t keep them back…… then when she went under from the tide of child-zombie-monsters………” (Alt)

I shivered a little from the memory…

“Wow… yeah, that does look pretty bad now that I see it…….. Good job surviving that Alty!” (Lizote)

Lizote shot back her signature fake/real smile that even Empathic Acts couldn’t sense anything from.

“How do you do that anyway? Shouldn’t I be immune from ALL sorts of mental effects and stuff because of my blood?” (Alt)

Lizote just chuckled and shook her head.

“Ah, poor sweet ignorant Alty. You just fell into the trap that lead to countless Phantus deaths in the past. Your blood protects you from DIRECT manipulation sure, I wouldn’t be able to say… make you my mind-slave and have you dance for my amusement or something, but as long as I don’t attempt to rewrite or change your mentality in any way, I have full access. Your memories, thoughts, dreams I can see them all, I just can’t CHANGE anything about them. How was it that screen the goddess gave you put it…. Oh yes! ‘Mental manipulation’, well I’m not actually MANIPULATING you, just viewing.” (Lizote)

Oh ok…. That kind makes sense, need to keep that in mind for the future too…….. WAIT DID SHE JUST-….

“DID YOU JUST SAY ‘SCREEN’ AND ‘GODDESS’!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!” (Alt)

Lizote turned and looked at me, once again she showed the rare “Serious-Lizote-Mode” and grabbed me gently by my shoulder. She looked me dead in the eyes.

“Altorus when I said I know ALL of your secrets, I meant I know ALL your secrets. The Void, the fragments of memories from your old world, the goddess Hellatia, the goddess you named Sally, that you’re part divine, what you plan to do in this world, what you think of those around you, ALL of it. Now there are parts I don’t understand, especially the parts about the Void and your old world, but the longer I’m around you the more my understanding grows based off your own. For example: I may never understand more about the Void other than I NEVER wish to experience it myself, because you yourself don’t understand very much about it more than that.” (Lizote)

My eyes widened in shock, I mean I knew she knew a lot about me, but this woman knew EVERYTHING! Lizote probably knew things about me that not even I consciously knew about myself. It was fucking terrifying thinking, no KNOWING, that she had access to everything that made me, ME. All the good and bad. All the little regrets and evils I tried to forget or hide away. I think I tried to take a step back, to escape her, but Lizote’s hand stopped me from moving away.

NO………

NO, NO, NO!!!! NO!!!!!!!!!!

You CANT know everything, I DON’T EVEN KNOW EVERYTHING!!!!!! FUCK STAY OUT OF MY HEAD!!!!!!! JUST STOP THIS ISNT FUNNY LIZOTE!!!!!!!! JUST FUCKING STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lizote just made a pained face and started hugging me. I tried to struggle out of it, but she was obviously much stronger then I was. Even if the hug wasn’t tight, I had no way to break away from it.

“That is what makes me and my family so deadly Alty, others may be able to HURT you, but a powerful Tepestia can DESTROY you from the inside out. We don’t even NEED to manipulate minds, not really. All we need to do is show someone the things about themselves they hide away, the things that they can’t handle about themselves. The things the mind hides for them so they can go on living. Really if you think about it, my family’s tendency towards mental manipulation is more a kindness compared to what some of us could do. But I swear to you Altorus, I SWEAR on all I am that I won’t do that to you. I told you that all your secrets were safe with me, even the ones you keep from yourself. You are safe with me, and I accept ALL of you.” (Lizote)

I wasn’t sure what was happening, my emotions were all over the place. I was scared, angry, violated, happy, grateful, confused, but most of all I just wanted her to stop. I wasn’t even sure what I wanted her to stop doing at this point, hugging me? Reading my mind? Trying to understand me? I didn’t know, and that just scared me more. I’M the one who should master my mind, not the other way around, but right now I DIDN’T feel in control.

Even when I was insane, if I’m even SANE now, I was the one in complete control…… I HATE this feeling. FUCK!!!! WHY AM I SO RELIEVED!!!!!!!!!! SALLY DAMNIT I SHOULDN’T CARE IF ANYONE ACCEPTS ME!!!!!!! I don’t NEED anyone’s acceptance!!!

“But you have it. You don’t have to fear me, and you don’t have to try and fight all these feelings. No one can completely master their mind, not even someone like me. Altorus, your mind is one of the strongest I have ever experienced, but don’t try force it into submission in an attempt to find what it hides from you. No one should know that, even I am trying to block it out.” (Lizote)

I let Lizote hug me. There were some serious emotions floating around, and I think she even teared up a bit, but I REFUSED to cry. It was bad enough that I was internally going through the mood-swings of a pregnant-teenage-agnsty-sappy novel-heroine, but I WOULD NOT stoup so low as the emotional hug crying cliché. NEVER. It would compromise my manhood……

I just wanted to give this woman some of my fucking blood……………… how did it end up like this? Fuck….. Well I guess we should clear out all this…….. stuff…… between us while we are here. Get it over with quick Alt. just like ripping of a Band-Aid, or relocating a joint. It’ll be painful but just get it over fast and move on.

So we talked. I learned some stuff about Lizote she felt she should share, you know, since she now knew EVERYTHING about me. I learned things like how much she REALLY loved mom, how her childhood was like hell times ten with extra torture, how she felt so much weaker than those that were around her in the old days, how she had to adapt to her lack of power with knowledge and tricks, how she made friends with mom for their mutual survival. And most of all I learned that Lizote really, really, REALLY hated her Mother. After hearing about what the Ancestor of the Tepestia family did to her as a kid, I understood THAT completely….

Basically Lizote and I had a nice touching family bonding moment. I think it was the moment that I REALLY accepted Lizote as a member of my fucked up vampire family. It was beautiful, touching, and truly Disney-ish……

Then she had to go and drain me of more blood than I ever thought was possible to lose at once. I mean I was literally on the edge of blacking out a few times. She just took SO MUCH, for HOURS.

That was when I learned something about my Aunt Lizote she didn’t tell me herself. While she tends to not lie DIRECTLY to those she cares about unless she is playing some sort of prank, she has no problem HIDING the COMPLETE truth…

Here I thought she only need a little for ONE potion, and truthfully she did. She just didn’t mention all the OTHER things she WANTED to save my blood for…… apparently Phantus blood is a very rare and powerful reagent for all sorts of shit.

At least while I was being her personal little blood factory, she was teaching me about alchemy. Well when I was coherent enough to understand her.

“Ah! It’s done! Ok I have to go give this to your mother now Alty, just take those four books with you, I’ll teach you more after you’ve read them. I, no WE, have been waiting a long time for THIS!!!” (Lizote)

Lizote was really excited, and hugging the potion she just made from my blood, and a shitton of other things I couldn’t even dream of keeping track of, like it was the greatest thing to ever be made since iced-coffee. It would’ve been cute, if I didn’t know she was most likely talking about something that she would be using to SOMEHOW impregnate my mom with the two’s dream baby. Somehow I just could NOT see that as cute. Go figure.

“So that’s the potion mom has to drink to get pregnant? I guess I should say congratulations….” (Alt)

Lizote just started giggling.

“Than you Alty! But no Natasha won’t be drinking this….. This potion has to go somewhere else to work. Anyway enjoy your alchemy reading! I got to go help Natasha apply this niiiiiiiiicccccce and DEEP to make SURE it takes!” (Lizote)

Lizote just kinda vanished from the room, and the door swayed open widely. I took the books with me as I left and headed back to my room.

…………………………………….WAIT!!!!!! Did she mean that the potion has to go…………….. and then to help mom that would mean…………………………. Oh…. No wonder she was so excited… damn I wish I was old enough to enjoy watching that… I wonder if I can get a servant to record it on a crystal? Hmmmm…..

After two days and reading all four of the books, I gained a new ability. And I also got some really interesting news.

{ Alchemic Arts: your knowledge on the principles of alchemy have given you the ability to automatically recall known recipes, and memorize any new recipes you may learn. This ability will also give you insight to reagents and what their effects are if prepared a certain way. }

Perfect….. With this I can start on my pet project…. And I have unlimited access to one of the best reagents in this world. It’s almost not fair, like I’m cheating somehow……… MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAhahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!

“Alty!!!!!” (mom)

I don’t know where she came from, but suddenly mom was hugging me. I was preparing for the inevitable blackout via tit-suffocation, when mom spun me around and tossed me in the air. Now I’m not fond of heights, and when a VERY strong VERY excited Vampeerus tosses you in the air, you tend to go pretty high pretty fast. Luckily for my fear my room had a ceiling. Unluckily for my back there was a strong, reinforced rooms ceiling in the path of my continued flight.

“MUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!” (Alt)

My landing wasn’t very soft either, but at least the floor was carpeted. And wouldn’t launch me into the air suddenly. Or suffocate me…… now that I think about it, mom might accidentally KILL me before we even get married…….

“Oh, Alty-Walty are you Ok?!?!? Mommy’s sorry, but she is just so HAPPY!!! I’m PREGNANT ALTY!!! You’re going to have TWIN SISTERS!!!!! Aren’t you just so excited!?!?!?!” (mom)

I listened to my spin crack and pop back into alignment as I watched mom rush up to where I was lying, only to lose herself in her own little world. I was happy for the woman, really I was, but I wish she would learn how to NOT almost kill me when something like this happens.

“I was nerves when Lizzy said that the growth would be accelerated so that the birth would happen in five months instead of the typical twelve, but after we had the maternity mage to look me over, and she said that I had healthy twin girls I knew everything was fine. Lizzy has never messed up her alchemy before, and there is no way she would EVER mess THIS up. I must have just had all those hormones that Lizzy talked about when she was carrying Tessa. Oh, we need to go think of names! I’ll be right back Alty!” (mom)

Mom did her teleportation trick, and I just looked up at the new me-sized crater in my ceiling.

Sally I hope those hormones of hers don’t really get me killed. Mom seems a bit… unaware of things now. More than usual. But hey, I’m getting little sisters. And they’re twins. And not actually related to me, and they probably have BOTH mom and Lizote’s genes. And I’m in the perfect position to corru-…. Guide them onto the right path as a good, kind, loving, and gentle older brother. This could be awesome…….

After my next lesson with Aunt Lizote on alchemy I figured I should start brushing up on my actual combat ability. I mean at this point, I was entirely dependent on sneak attacks, and if that failed and I was on my own I was totally screwed. So with that in mind, I made one of the dumbest choices in my life so far. I went to ask mom to teach me to fight.

“Of course Alty! I’m so proud of you, wanting to learn the ways of combat so early!” (mom)

Mom gave me the happy my-little-Alty-is-perfect smile. I figured if anyone was qualified to teach me about fighting it was the “Black Death’s Smile”. Plus since she was mom, she would take it easy on me. I also figured if I wanted to be able to be able to show off-…….. be a reliable older brother to my future little sisters, I should start learning now so I could practice on my own when mom was too late into the pregnancy to teach me anymore. I was a dumbass who should have noticed Lizote’s grimace when I mentioned my plan to her during our lesson.

“Now Alty I won’t be teaching you any traditional forms or techniques. I have found over my life that while those are USEFUL, once you run into anyone with any real skill, they pick up on the rhythm and flow of your style. They start predicting your moves, and you theirs, and the whole thing devolves from combat into who will make the first mistake. Usually luck plays the biggest part in things at that point, and one should never trust their life to the fickleness of luck. I have found that a far more effective, and far more dangerous form of combat is instinctual combat. Movements without any predetermined style or forms; a type combat that adapts easily to any situation, and usually is vastly superior to any other forms or styles if mastered. Another upside is EVERYONE has their own unique potential in what I call ‘Instinctual Combat’, but that is also a downside as no one is able to TEACH how another becomes an instinctual fighter. That process just comes naturally after time and frequent combat.” (mom)

I grimaced a bit, this “Instinctual combat” thing sounded perfect. No one would be able to easily predict any style or technique I use if I just didn’t USE any. And if mom says it’s better than the other types of fighting, given all the fighting and killing she’s done over her long life, I think her opinion is probably spot on. But if it can’t be taught….

“How do I become an instinctual fighter then, mom?” (Alt)

Mom gave me a really predatory smile, not the I’m-gonna-EAT-you! or the oh-gosh-he’s-soooo-CUTE-I-WANT-him! looks I’m used to, no this was a different smile. One that made my hair feel like it would start to stand up slightly, and the only hair I even HAD was on my head…….

“Oh that part is easy Alty. You fight. You fight and experience hard combat that pushes you to your limits and beyond on a regular basis. You will eventually surpass those limits, and learn how to win. Then we begin the process all over again until you get to the point you are able to adapt and react to any and all things that may involve combat. Mommy won’t lie Alty, you won’t like this, and it is going to hurt. It is going to hurt a lot. Now I would be your partner, but I don’t think I can go easy enough on you to not kill you by accident in a fight…… but your Blood-whor-……. Maid… your maid would be the perfect partner for you.” (Alt)

HA!!! Fera would never do anything to hurt me! This isn’t gonna be nearly as painful as you seem to think it will, mom!

Turns out she WILL and CAN hurt me if she is made to understand that it helps build up the skills that will keep me alive in the future…. Who knew?

I looked up at Fera and tried to show her with my eyes that no matter what mom said I was REALLY TRULY unable to continue today's beat down session. It didn’t work.

“Do you require my assistance to stand my angel?” (Fera)

Well at least she looks sad to have to do this all the time….. that’s a victory, a hollow one, but still a victory. Now if I could juuuuuuuussssssst get feeling in my legs I can get this next round over with and hopefully lose consciousness this time…..

“Oh, Alty I should tell you, we will have to stop your combat practice for the next month as I will be busy preparing to meet with foreign dignitaries that will be here in a month’s time. Don’t worry, after they leave and your sisters are born, we can pick the practice back up.” (mom)

………… Sally thank you……………. Thank you so damn much…………….. Oh, I can feel my lower half again. Today is the last day, so might as well go down fighting….. Maybe this time I can actually connect with Fera on one of my strikes……… No, I WILL connect. Better yet I'll WIN……

I got up and readied myself for combat. No weapons, no pads, and no rules other than win. I could totally do this, it’s not like I have lost horribly, consecutively for two months now since Fera has gotten serious…… this would be the day I win against her at her best, I know it………………………….

Will Alty win his next match? will there be Twincest? Will Alty ever grow hair in other places? Find out next time in Black Blood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.s: Editor challenge goes up on RR tomorrow.

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Author out!