The Immortal World - Ikaris

JANUARY 26th 2005 - WEDNESDAY

MASON COUNTY – DR. EMIL'S OFFICE

Xavier felt the world sink away into the abyss, but it was as if the world was moving in reverse – the more he sunk, the more clarity he gained.

When everything had faded to black, there was only one golden light left pulsing with innumerable, crisscrossing patterns – it was Eternal Technology…

NO!

To be more precise, it was Celestial Technology that had been adopted by Eternals long ago.

As a once-outsider to the intricacies of Supernatural existences, Xavier could see more than he was meant to see.

The core of patterns in the shape of a brain brought one combined entity to Xavier's mind – The Uni-Mind.

Still, he could not ponder such memories when the void seemed intent on pushing him away.

Xavier leaped awake!

---------------

The Eternal found himself in a semi-familiar room, floating above the very same bed where Sue had an abortion.

Instantly, with Eternal senses of time, Xavier could tell he had been unconscious for a full two days.

The incident at school that had started as an act actually ended with an unconscious Eternal who woke up not knowing where he is.

Of course, Xavier panicked.

"What the fuck?" The Eternal winced.

There was no massive headache to speak of, but just the memory of the headache was able to cause tangible displeasure to buzz through Xavier's body.

"You're awake… good," Dr. Emil rose from his seat.

He was seated in the darkness, half-cloaked by the white coat that somehow didn't make him more noticeable in the shadows.

"We need to leave before complications start showing up." He said, tossing a duffle bag onto the bed beneath Xavier.

No explanation…

No more words than necessary…

And a natural edge that spoke of his danger…

Xavier knew the motions since he was much the same given the right circumstances – and by right circumstances, it meant circumstances where everything went wrong.

Dr. Emil acted as if it was business as usual but Xavier couldn't have been more confused. Briefly, after awakening, The Eternal had automatically focused his senses to detect presences nearby – and there was none.

Actually…

Now that Xavier was actively searching for Dr. Emil, he realized that there was another heartbeat in the room but it was powerful, slow, and all kinds of irregular.

It was definitely not the heartbeat of a human – not one that would live much longer anyway.

Still, it was Dr. Emil's heartbeat, and it seemed stable in its own sort of way.

"What are you?" Xavier floated to the ground, eyes radiating a golden hue as gravitons stirred in the room. "Who are you?"

Usually, The Eternal would have attacked first and asked questions later, but he did request Emmet to bring him to Dr. Emil, and it seemed the blockheaded vampire had done the bare minimum.

"You shouldn't do that…" Dr. Emil didn't even bother to turn and pay attention to Xavier. "You may feel dizzy from—"

Dr. Emil hardly finished the statement when Xavier swayed on his feet, falling to his knees as he clutched his chest.

Terror gripped The Eternal's heart.

It forced him to remember the last time – quite recently – when he felt this sort of helpless – watching Bella about to die and not being able to do anything.

It was as if his power turned against him – retreated into the depths of every cell.

However, now that he had a better understanding of it and what was actually happening, Xavier knew some outside force was overwhelming his subconscious so thoroughly that his powers faltered.

"We should not exert ourselves," Dr. Emil placed a hand on Xavier's shoulder, offering The Eternal a pill. "It is a psychedelic – in a human, it would alter their state of consciousness, but in an Eternal…"

"It will help manage my thoughts," Xavier concluded, aware of the ins and outs of his physique so he swallowed the pill with no hesitation. "How do you know this?" The Eternal was even more confused.

"I am your doctor, aren't I?" Dr. Emily joked, shrugging his shoulders. "Think about your questions for now – we don't have a lot of time to cross."

Xavier stood still, examining Dr. Emil as the man worked to pack everything away.

There were a few things the doctor slipped into the duffle bag that The Eternal could not identify, but mostly, it was weapons and books.

'Research, maybe?' The Eternal mused.

The more Xavier watched, the clearer it became to him what Dr. Emil was…

'But that's impossible…This is the Twilight Universe, right?'

The shock was becoming greater by the second.

"One powerful heartbeat per minute, your stature is impeccable, your beard is exactly the same as my previous visit, and your clothing is new but it feels old because you're the one wearing it," Xavier's brows furrowed as he drew the only logical conclusion. "You're a vampire… but what type of vampire?"

Dr. Emil paused and gazed into Xavier's eyes – the two men judged each other for what felt like an eternity, but in actuality, it was only two seconds.

The world around them slowed as their perceptions altered and synched.

A twitch of muscle here…

A glow of radiant gold there…

Both men could tell the other was experienced but felt no threat – it was a necessary test between two men qualified to lead when there could only be one leader.

WHOOOSH

Xavier's body pulsed with a golden ripple, and the next second, he appeared next to Dr. Emil, fist cutting through the air to smash through the Doctor's face.

It was a blur of movement and force.

The wind in the room stirred only a second after Xavier had left his spot, and the ground cracked a trail to Dr. Emil's side.

BANG

A blur of movement matched by a blur of movement.

Dr. Emil positioned himself to disperse the force, caught Xavier's fist, drifted back for a couple of feet, and barely managed to stop before colliding with the wall behind.

Xavier had won the lead by sheer strength but had they gone by technique, The Eternal knew he could not compare.

UGH

"I guess it's true what they say about Eternals," Dr. Emil's arm was broken in three distinct places. "You are stronger than the Vampire Species," He complimented.

As injured as Dr. Emil was, all it took was a simple flex of his arm to straighten the bones, and the arm healed itself in a couple of seconds.

As much as Dr. Emil was impressed, Xavier was actually surprised – his entire arm felt number… that had never happened before, even when punching through sheets of steel.

"I am stronger than most of my kind," The Eternal commented with an incredulous frown. "I should be the one impressed that you can manage a blow like that."

"And you think I am the weaker of my kind?" Dr. Emily replied with a raised brow. "Vampires have a very strict hierarchy – I would not stand before you without the strength to guarantee my safety."

"You said Eternals earlier…" Xavier frowned and considered the implications of each of Dr. Emil's words. "Then, you not only know what I am but if there is more of my kind out there?"

Dr. Emil shook his head. "What do you see in that bag?" He pointed to the duffle bags.

"Grenades, clothes, blood bags, and most books," Xavier replied.

"I am a researcher of sorts – I love history so the fact that I know about your people is not a good thing," Dr. Emil removed the torn white coat that had been damaged from Xavier's punch. "Eternals are extinct – any more questions will have to be asked as we move."

This time, Xavier hefted the duffle bag onto his shoulder, heading for the exit behind Dr. Emil. By the time they exited the door, Dr. Emil had already lit a fire on one of the curtains.

Nature would take care of the rest.

---------------

The morning light was bright as they exited the pharmacy, but Dr. Emil continued to walk and as soon as he entered the sunlight and nothing happened, Xavier's suspicions were confirmed.

This was not a Twilight Vampire.

Honestly, Xavier wasn't sure if Dr. Emil could be considered a vampire to begin with – maybe a mutant breed of sorts?

"Is Dr. Emil even your real name?" The Eternal inquired, refusing to move a single step until answers were given. "I mean – you know everything about me… I don't know anything about you. The imbalance worries me."

"You can call me Alcides Leontothymus…" Dr. Emil – rather, Alcides – replied as a key slid into his hands from his pocket, and open the car in front. "And I know how to drive – see? Now, you know two things about me."

Xavier had the nagging feeling that the name was familiar – as was the doctor's face, but he couldn't remember from where.

More than likely, it was a history book he had read at some point in time.

VROOOM

"You're coming?" Alcides gestured to the passenger's seat as he started the car. "Trust me, we don't want to be here when the next wave approaches."

Xavier glanced around, noting the empty Mason County streets due to the particularly bright morning, and he simply floated over the car and into the passenger's seat.

If anyone see him, they would just questions what they saw, or better yet, nobody would believe them.

"You fly well…" Alcides complimented, shifting the car into gear. "Are all Eternals capable of flight?"

"That was levitating," Xavier corrected. "And as far as I know, most Eternals were…"

There was a difference between flight and levitation – something Xavier had only recently learned to distinguish due to the slightest configuration changes in the Gravitons.

VROOOOOOOOOM

The car tore through the empty streets, and even when Alcides entered the main road, he didn't slow down one bit.

Cars were swerved around…

Trucks avoided the wild driver…

It was a controlled chaos that told of Alcide's skill and age…

Xavier was sure, in Alcides eyes – much like in his eyes – driving was just a very slow game.

Still, the fact that Alcides avoided maneuvers that would compromise the vehicles ahead of him told Xavier that the vampire somewhat valued human life.

"You said we have to leave before the next wave approaches," Xavier tossed the duffle bag into the backseat. "What were you talking about?"

TZZZZZZZZZT

A low buzz rammed into Xavier's mind, sending the Eternal into a brief state of unconsciousness.

It burned… swelled… echoed… and finally, dissipated…

It was only three seconds, but it felt like a decade…

Alcides awakened as quickly as Xavier did, and the vampire quickly swerved to the left, dodging a rather nasty collision with a gas truck.

BRRRRRMMMM

"You're affected too…"

Xavier noted the way Alcides rubbed his temples – it was not as bad as The Eternal's headache, but Xavier could tell it was still very inconvenient for the vampire.

"What are the chances of a vampire and an Eternal getting a buzzing headache at the same fucking time," Xavier gritted his teeth. "What's happening?"

"You're right, I am affected," Alcides put the car into a cruise, maintaining one hand on the steering wheel as he reached into the duffle bag, retrieved a book, and threw it onto Xavier's lap. "Read first, and then ask the questions you don't understand."

Xavier didn't quite like the tone of the doctor – if Alcides was even such a professional to begin with – but he complied nonetheless since some answers were better than none.

Two minutes…

It took two minutes for Xavier to realize he would never be able to understand whatever language the book was written in – at most, he could make out three symbols.

"Other than the symbols for Noble, Blood, and Veil – I can't see anything else," Xavier reported. "This book is old as fuck – I mean, really old."

"You can't read it?" Alcides frowned and said something that left Xavier completely aghast. "I can't read it either…"

"Then, why would you expect I can?" Xavier questioned, already cementing Alcides's image as mentally unstable in his mind.

"Because you are older than I."

Xavier scanned Alcides's semi-wrinkled, semi-young face – the man was in his early fifties with a fit body and a beard that ranged between fading black and early white.

"I am definitely not older than you…" Xavier sunk into thoughts for a couple of seconds, thinking about what he knew of Eternals. "Am I older than you?"

"You're fifteen years old," Alcides confirmed Xavier's doubts once and for all. "But the memories rolling around in your head is much older than that."

"What am I then?" Xavier ran his fingers through his head, trying not to think about the memories swirling in his mind. "Am I a clone whose memories are uploaded, or a reincarnated Ikaris?"

"From what I have read…" Alcides paused. "A little bit of both?" He shrugged.

Xavier pursed his lips, disliking and finding it funny how Alcides ended the most important topics in the form of certainty questions.

"Let's try something else…" Xavier decided. "What type of vampire are you?"

"Amongst my kind, we were known as Fangless," Alcides explained, removing the cruise function and pressing the gas to travel faster. "The vampires you know are referred to as krystallino bambir…"

"Cry… Cryon… crystal…" The words spun in Xavier's mind until he found the adequate translation after a couple of seconds. "Crystal Vampires?"

"Yes…" Alcides confirmed. "I admit, I don't know much since my memories are clouded and I have only begun to remember these things recently. I was just as surprised as you when I learned there were more than one species of vampires in this world."

Xavier rubbed his forehead with greater intensity. "Where are we going?" He inquired, deciding to leave the complicated stuff after the danger had passed.

"Towards the buzzing."

"What buzzing?"

"You're young – your kind regains their abilities as they get older," Alcides explained. "You will be able to hear the buzzing as you age – I, myself, have only heard it once."

"And you know to head there because?"

"Because you can either go towards the problem or run away from it," Alcides raised a brow and stared into Xavier's eyes. "Which type of person are you?"

Xavier smirked, eyes glowing a faint golden hue.