They came at me out of the darkness, jet black, teeth, an ivory white, glistening in the moonlight. If they were not here to kill, I would have perhaps admired their beauty. But they had come to me to stain their pearl-white teeth red with blood. My blood. I had betrayed these majestic creatures, and now they were out for revenge. I turned and ran, trying to think of something I could do to stop them, Nightstalkers are incredibly fast and powerful, there was no way I could escape. I would not be able to fight them off, and escape was not possible, I had to find something to trade for my life. I heard a noise behind me, like a female laugh, and, for a moment, wondered what it was. Nightstalkers are, or at least they look, sound, and act like, humans. The darkness draws out their true form. I heard the laugh again, they were toying with me. An odd noise, like sharp metal scratching against wet concrete, ahead of me. The claws, retractable like a cat’s, had just been revealed. They had surrounded me; there was nothing left for me to do. They finally got me, killed by my own creations. Then I saw it. Dirty and splattered with mud. Still, it shone, a faint but distinct, luminous glow. The magical Black Crystal, with which I powered the machine that gave life to them, and changed them from their frail human form. The Black Crystal held dark powers, and they drew their strength from it. But I could not trade it; they would take it from me after killing me, anyway. I snatched it up from the ground, and plunged it deep into my chest, this way they would not have the thrill of the kill. They cried out, in rage. But buried in their anger was something else. Fear. The dark gem that empowered them was also feared by them. And it had claimed my life; they could not have me now. Strange, though, it did not hurt, it felt as if I was flying, or floating at least. The Crystal’s enchantment ran through my blood, and gave me new power. I could feel my body changing as the power grew, adapting the new enhancements this curious gemstone had given me. I was becoming one of them, and yet, at the same time, different. More powerful, more advanced. I had absorbed the power of the Black Crystal, and changed it. I was larger than any of them now, and greater. Faster, stronger, more agile than before. My senses were alive for the first time in my life. I had been reborn. “How is this possible? The crystal was not meant to affect anyone else. The only one that can now be changed is meant to be chosen by the Crystal itself. This impudent fool, who was using it to control us, was using the Gemstone to kill himself, how can it be that he is the one to rule over us, as our only superior? Our creators were to die, that is what it told us, was it not? And yet the one who gave us new life, our second creator, was chosen by the Stone to rule us?” I wondered where this voice was coming from, than realized the truth about what I had become. The Gemstone had transformed me into a Nightstalker. Or rather, according to this beast leading the attack, I was being formed from the dormant Nightstalker DNA I had implanted into myself becoming active and the Gem they worship and fear. I had bonded with the Stone, and changed it. It changed me, and the Nightstalker DNA inside of me. At last the powers of the Nightstalker were mine. But more advanced. I was a creature of the night once again. As these thoughts went through my head, I became aware of the beasts, talking to each other, murmuring Confused as to what they should do. “Silence!” The command came naturally; the Gem was working through me now. “Enough! I am sure you are all wondering what has happened. I know for a fact that you” I directed my finger – claw – towards the one I heard first, “are, I have absorbed your Stone, and it has chosen me to rule over you. But first…” “Wait just one minute. What makes you think you have the power, or wisdom, to rule us?” The first spoke out again, interrupting me. I sliced his chest open with one swift movement. He fell to the ground, writhing in pain. “Is there anyone else who wishes to question me?” I looked around and saw fear in their eyes. They would not stand against me again. “Very good. Then I shall continue. If we are to rule over the human race, we are going to need more of us. Higher numbers. So, because of this, every new Nightstalker who joins us will grant you all new power. And those who do not assist in increasing our numbers will pay with their life.” With a wave of my hand, the one who stood against me was healed. He rose up, unsure but ready to fight. “Tell me, what is your name, young warrior?” “My name?” he sounded surprised at my question, “My name is Raziel. I am the leader of these beings.” “Raziel. Interesting name. And you lead these people? In that case, how would you like to be in command of my army? I will put you in charge of training them, and commanding them in the war against the human race. But first, we must take out the Lycan race, for that will give us more command over the night. I want you to lead them. You are a great and deadly warrior, do you accept?” “My Lord, it would be an honor to fight alongside you, and command your armies. I hope to serve you well.” He feared me now. I liked the power. Fear is the best insurance money – or in this case power – can buy. “Then command them now, make sure they know you are above them. Raziel, if you lead them to victory against the Lycans, I will make you my second. Ruling all in my absence, with power over all but me. Now go!” An explosion in the distance, blinding light. A small grenade – flash-bang – somewhere nearby. The distant sound was a distraction. They ran, the bright light forcing them back into their human forms. I was angry at how weak they were as humans. That would have to change. I realized where the grenade came from, a group of humans running towards me. I knew where my army had gone, back to the lab to get the weapons I made for them. I forced the human mercenaries away with a single blast, it seemed the Gemstone had given me the power my army got from the guns; I could control shadows and fire them from my body. I charged at the humans and sliced through their bodies with deadly accuracy. They dropped instantly, and I tore into their skulls. As my would-be assassins lay dying around me, I felt an odd rush, a joyous feeling. I knew then why the Nightstalkers enjoyed killing so much. The rush of adrenaline, and the powerful feeling that came with it, was incredible. I heard a soft whimper ahead of me, and growled deeply. The person ran from their hiding place, scared, and tried to get away. I caught her almost instantly, and forced her to the ground. My speed was greater, even, than the Nightstalkers I had created to be perfect. "Who are you?" No answer, just a whimper again. "Who are you?" again, the same question, more demanding now. I pinned her down and forced my razor-sharp claws into her stomach. Finally she answered. "I'm surprised you don't recognize me. My name is Alice, I'm your daughter." I hesitated, then forced my claws deeper into her soft belly. "Liar!" I had no family, the Nightstalkers killed my parents, under my orders, and I was an only child. The only person I ever loved was dead, died years ago. It was in the rage of her death that i created the machine powered by the Crystal -- I was going to chip a piece off and put it in the ring I had for her -- the machine was made out of pure anger, the creatures, although perfect, were revenge on the world for taking her from me. My child, my unborn child, died with her, in her womb. This girl before me could not be that child, that child is dead. "Who are you? Tell me the truth!" I was angry now. "You cannot be my child. I have no daughter!" "You don't remember do you? The first night you were with my mother. You fell in love with her instantly, and spent the night with her. She was gone when you awoke, and the next time you saw her was a year later. I was given to another family, and they were to tell me the truth when they thought I was ready to know it. I found out one month ago, and I've been after you since they told me. Didn't you wonder where she was? Or why she was so different when she came back? Or why she would suddenly break down when the conversation she was having turned to children? You never cared about her; all you ever care about were your silly little experiments. You're pathetic!" She hated me. As if it was all my fault. I sliced deeply into her face, and threw her down the alley. "How dare you? The only 'experiment' I showed more interest in than her was the Black Crystal. And that was for a reason. I loved her greatly. Just because your family told you the truth, doesn't mean you know anything about me! Now join me or die!" "Join you? I'd rather have my stomach ripped out and fed to me!" She was weakening; the cuts and scratches did a lot of damage. I healed her, instantly. "I would rather die then join you, but I won't be the one to die tonight. I don't like either of those options, I choose to fight." She drew two large metal instruments from holsters at her waist, one gold the other silver, and swung them above her head. "Like 'em? Made 'em myself. They'll be the last thing you see before you die." She put them away, and drew her handguns. "Them, and these, of course." She fired off a few rounds, in an arc, knowing I would not be able to avoid them. They struck, one in each shoulder, and another in my chest. I collapsed to the ground. "The bullets dissolve upon contact with the blood, and get to the blood much quicker and more painfully thanks to the acid coating. They are filled with the poison on the Brazilian Wandering Spider, fatal to all. Soon a most exquisite pain will engulf your entire body. Your limbs will be paralyzed, your lungs cease to draw breath, eventually your heart will stop beating. Very painful, but it will provide amusement for a while." She laughed. "But that would be too easy." Once again she drew the hand-crafted metal tools, "These will be what kill you." She raised the tools above her head, perfectly positioned to behead me, and brought them thundering down onto my neck. I woke a few hours later, in a hospital. I had reverted back to my human form, and she had not killed me. A doctor walked in, and seemed surprised to see me awake. "You've been tossing and turning, completely restless, since we found you. Your laboratory exploded, and we found you lying outside it. A curious poison in your body, but we cured it before it advanced too far. The holes in your chest have healed up very quickly, I'm amazed you're still alive, considering the depth. Not entirely sure what made them, looks like you'd been shot, but no bullet was found. Curious though, you'd stopped moving since that girl came to visit you. She came in, put that card down, and left. Very odd behavior. What did she say her name was, again? Oh, yes, Alice..." I was no longer listening; the card that had been placed on my bedside table had just caught my eye. I tore open the envelope, and pulled out the card inside. It read 'you are not my father by birth, mother was seeing someone else. I couldn't kill you. Meet with me tonight, and I will explain everything. I'll see you at your lab.' The doctor was still talking; he would not let me leave tonight. "...Because of this, you will have to stay here for a few nights. You have very unusual DNA, a sample needs to be tested, and I don't think we have encountered it before. And we will need to run some blood tests, the poison had been in your bloodstream for at least four hours, long enough to kill any human, even if they had been provided with twice the recommended dosage of the antidote. Your blood may be the key to a stronger, quicker antidote, so we will need to..." He stopped talking so suddenly that I started to panic. Everyone knew about the black creatures, which the humans called 'Death-Beasts', having immaculate healing power, and increased strength and speed. It took a moment, but then I noticed a strange, sticky liquid dripping from his chest. Then, I saw the shining metal blade, jutting out of his body, wet with blood.