Placing a quick call home saying he would be late, Darren and Akira quickly took Steph back to Yuriko's. Throwing open the door Yuriko and Ayami gasped as they laid the damaged Soul Drive on the kitchen table.
"What happened," Yuriko asked as she rushed forward.
"We were attacked," Darren said quickly as he now began to examine the damage to Steph. The teen frowned as he noticed several pieces had been destroyed inside of Steph's chassis.
"What was it," Ayami asked, as she glanced at her husband.
Akira snarled, punching a hole in the wall. "A vampire," he snarled.
"That can't be, " Yuriko gasped. "They've been dead for years now."
"I know what I saw," Akira screamed, his face contorted in rage. The kitsune now turned to Yuriko, his gaze burning into Yuriko. The elderly wizard backed away slowly, she had never seen Akira so angry.
Coming to his senses, Akira's face softened. "I..I am sorry Yuriko," he replied meekly. "Forgive me, I...I did not mean to snap at you." Yuriko was obviously confused, still startled by the kitsunes outburst. Akira had never yelled at her like that. The kitsune now hung his head in shame, his shoulders drooping as Ayami now hugged him tightly.
"Its okay Akira," she whispered. "Why don't you and Yuki go check on Sachiko all this noise might have woken her up." Akira simply nodded, the kitsune slowly trudging away as Yuriko followed. Once they were out of earshot, Ayami now tuned to Darren as he inspected Steph. "Think you can fix her?"
"I should be able too," Darren stated as he examined Stephs interior. "I mean, I did technically make her."
"Am I going to be okay Darren," Steph asked nervously. "I...I don't want to die."
It struck Ayami as odd that a machine would fear its own existence ending. Still, the robot did have a soul. Steph was more than just some machine, she was family. A machine with desires, feelings, even hobbies. Steph, in a way, cared more about life than anyone the angel of maternity knew.
"You're going to be fine," Darren reassured. "I can fix this." As Darren inspected the damage he winced, like a car mechanic examining a faulty engine. "Geez she really did some damage. Looks like she tore through quite a few circuit boards. Even ripped out a couple of sub processors."
"Can you fix that," Ayami asked. Darren nodded, the teen now concentrating as his rings began to glow.
Ayami watched dumbstruck as Stephs interior began to rebuild itself. Circuits and wiring reconnected, tying themselves together before the protective covering reformed. As the wiring repaired itself, Ayami watched as parts were rebuilt from scratch, complex machinery forming from nothing before attaching themselves to Stephs interior. As the interior now completely reformed, Ayami watched as jagged metal surrounding the hole began to bend back into place. The seams refitting once more before sealing themselves off. As the spell completed, Ayami gazed at the Soul Drive, it looked like nothing had happened to her.
"How you feeling Steph," Darren asked. Steph now sat up, critically scanning her chassis before smiling. "I feel good as new," she grinned. "How did you do that?"
"I just knew what to do," Darren shrugged. "I even updated your software and hardware. You're now the most advanced Soul Drive in existence." Steph smiled, thanking Darren sincerely as the teen now looked to Ayami. "So what was that and why is Akira so freaked out?"
Ayami sighed, beckoning the teen and the Soul Drive into the living room. "Long story," she said. "And unfortunately I'm really the only one that can tell you. Its a sore subject for Akira and Yuki was too young when it happened."
"What did happen," Steph asked.
Ayami took a deep breath as she gazed at Steph and Darren. She hadn't thought about vampires in years. Now though she would tell about their history with the vampires.
Yuriko was maybe two years old when the vampire lord tried to make a move against the wizards. For the most part, Akira, Ayami, and the rest of the other timeline had stayed out of it. This was a fight between the then Catalyst, Katie, and the vampires. The two sides had traded blows for monthes until the vampires finally made their move.
"The vampires were obsessed with kidnapping the next generation of wizards," Ayami stated. "They eventually were able to kidnap two of them."
"Who," Darren asked.
"Yuriko and Lynne."
Darren and Steph gasped, shocked to hear that Yuriko probably wasn't even aware she had been kidnapped at one time. "When Akira found out he flew into a rage," Ayami said quietly. "He was the guardian of the next generation of wizards. That Yuriko and Lynne were kidnapped was a great dishonor to him."
"But everything turned out okay right," Steph asked. Ayami nodded, shuddering as she remembered the brutality her husband had unleashed.
"Yeah it did," Ayami stated. "The three of us teamed with the other Catalyst and her friends in one final assault. Not to mention Yuriko's godparents Mia and Zack. Akira fought his way through an army of vampires trying to save Yuriko. He even dualed one vampire that was a blind swordsman of incredible skill."
"So where does this girl fit in," Darren asked.
"Ann," Ayami shuddered. "The little beast almost killed me. Would have killed Mia and Zack too if not for Akira. I'd never seen Akira completely lose his temper, its scary how much power an angry kitsune can have. Regardless he blasted that...thing with enough magical energy that she should have died. Looks like we were wrong."
Darren shuddered, this vampire had taken Akira and the others to the limit. If they had only been able to fight her to a stalemate, what chance did he have?