"You mean Hydra?" Lord Julius asked.

"Yes," Daniel said, "I was curious as to when we would start it. Is"

"Now is not the time," said Lord Tiberius. "We must wait till this mission is successful. Have the Rebels ready. If all goes well, we will start with Phase Three of the Silver-moon Project. Once Phase Three starts, we will simultaneously work on Hydra."

Daniel looked unsatisfied with Tiberius's answer, but he knew better than to mention it.

"Does something displease you about what I said?" asked Lord Tiberius who had read Daniel's mind.

Daniel changed his thoughts and said, "No, my lord. I was just intrigued, that is all. I am a little anxious about the war."

"Why so? Plan everything, make sure everything is foolproof and start. These were Lord Anaxagoras's orders. Do not forget that." said Lord Caligula.

"Of course, my lord." He bowed and left the darkened room facing the Twelve. The heavy iron double-doors slammed shut.

Daniel walked out of the hallway and into the courtyard where he looked up at the sun. We conquered you a long time ago, and now we have even conquered silver, We conquered you a long time ago, and now we have even conquered silver, he meditated. he meditated. Who can stop us now? Who can stop us now? He smiled and ran his fingers through his long black hair. He smiled and ran his fingers through his long black hair.

His secretary, Mikhail IV, approached him, interrupting his thoughts, and said, "They are ready, sir."

Alex and his family entered the Inner Chamber. "Let's see," his uncle said thoughtfully as he looked for a particular book. "It was here somewhere."

"Uncle John?" Alex said, looking at him.

"Yes?" John said, as he continued to browse through the collection of books.

"Was last night all set up?" Alex asked.

"I thought you would have figured that out by now," John said. "But to clear your doubts: yes, it was set up after we inhabited this s.p.a.ce station. I had this chamber built secretly so that you might learn about your vampiric heritage. Ah, here it is!" John pulled a book off the shelf. Compared to John's history book, it was a slim volume.

"What is it?" Alex asked.

John blew the dust off the cover, "It's the Annals of the Kings of the Nyrax Dynasty. The original is of course in Migra, but before the king left he had four copies made. One was given to a secret group called the Twelve, another to a vampire named Daniel yus-Nikolas Gareng and this is the third." He smiled holding the book and showed it to Alex.

"Gareng! Isn't he... I mean... wasn't he part of the Rebellion?" Alex asked.

"Daniel is Nikolas's son. But he deserted the cause thousands of years ago. After the failed Rebellion in 151000 N.D., he joined forces with Anaxagoras. That's when the Great Conversion took place and the Vampiric Race was born."

"So General Gareng helped you to write the book?" said Alex, looking at the book's t.i.tle. The Annals of the Kings of the Nyrax Dynasty The Annals of the Kings of the Nyrax Dynasty was engraved on a small rectangle sheet of silver. was engraved on a small rectangle sheet of silver.

"Well there was help from both Gareng and your father. Gareng, Nikolas Gareng, is your father's cousin."

"So he's my...." Alex said, trying to link it all together.

"Well, technically, he's your second cousin first removed." John chuckled, "But Nikolas always joked about the vast age difference between Aidan and himself. He would say that if Aidan were to have a son, he would be more like a guiding uncle to him. Now the last copy is in the secret chambers of Antarctica. It's said that that's where the Red Serpent lies, in the Mausoleum of the Anu-Sa-Rihm, located in the Great Cave."

"What?" Alex looked at John, his brow furrowed.

"Anu-Sa-Rihm. It means the Blood G.o.ds. You really need to learn the Mitgritic dialect of the ancient vampiric language. And you need be trained in combat," John said, walking over to the fireplace. "You will learn how to use a sword, how to fight hand-to-hand, and how to develop your vampiric powers."

"You're going to teach me how to what?" Alex said.

"Not me," said John, leaning against the wall next to the fireplace, "your father."

"How can I learn how to fight from a letter?"

"The discs." John smiled.

Soon after the Treaty of New York and the Great Exile, there were many tasks that lay ahead for the Anisaei on the Earth. First, in accordance with Anaxagoras's orders, the Rebels were to be held captive until Phase One of the Silver-moon project was foolproof. It took about four years to perfect. During this time some of the captives were experimented on. Then the second phase began, in which the silver immunity serum was injected into the remaining Rebels including General Gareng. It took two years for this immunity to peak. Training procedures took place for another sixteen years.

At the same time, the infrastructure for the entire Earth was planned and remodeled. Most of the devastation caused by the war was cleaned up and the debris was launched towards the sun.

The cities of the Earth were populated and developed with new buildings, roadways and airports. The water in the oceans was recycled and used for hydroelectric power in the cities and in the Central Command Centers. These CCCs were large mega stations that bridged the oceans and connected all the continents. There was one connecting Europe and Africa to North and South America and another from Asia to Australia and the Pacific side of North and South America. Two smaller CCCs also interconnected with the islands (or what was left of them) such as Greenland, Iceland, and j.a.pan. From the sky, these command centers looked like giant metal octopi that attached themselves to the coasts of the Earth. Only Antarctica remained isolated. For the vampires, Antarctica was their Holy Land and the place where the Great Cave stood. It was strictly prohibited to go there until the Return of the Dark Lord.

Daniel traveled to CCC 1 via helicopter from London. "What's happening so far?" he asked Mikhail in the copter.

"Well, the situation is under control," said Mikhail, clearing his throat as he looked through a file.

"What do you mean?" Daniel asked, his fierce gaze trying to penetrate Mikhail. "I thought you said they were ready."

"Your father was some problem for us; he tried escaping the lab and with his newly acquired power, he killed four scientists and some guards."

"Well, how did you get it under control?" Daniel asked. "Does the Council know about this?"

"Not yet, sir," Mikhail said, trying to meet his gaze with confidence.

"In that case," Daniel sighed, "there's no need to tell them anything. How did you stop him?"

"We put a restrainer on his neck, which he was unaware of. After the attack, one of the scientists turned it on, giving him a mild electric shock. The silver on his body acted as a conductor and paralyzed him."

"And how is he now?" Daniel asked.

"Fine," Mikhail smiled slightly, "but resting."

"Resting?" Daniel said, raising his voice, "I want him ready for this mission."

"He will be, sir, by the time we get there."

"I surely hope so. When this mission is completed, we'll have everything we need ready."

From the chopper, they saw the ma.s.sive tentacle-like structures. The bridges that led to the huge saucer-shaped base stretched from coast to coast, hiding most of the Atlantic Ocean. A row of helipads that branched out from the main base awaited the Presidential chopper. It landed on helipad eight and Daniel could see Erik, the vizier, waiting for them near the elevator doors that led inside the Command Center. Beside him stood two Imperial guards. The President and secretary stepped out and waved to the vizier.

"Oh no," Daniel said under his breath, "Not him now!"

"Well, good to see you too Daniel!" said Erik as he walked up to them with his arms outstretched. "You had better learn to control your tongue and mind, especially around those you don't like." He gave a baleful smile.

"Why are you here?" Daniel wasted no time.

"Just came for some work the Council wanted me to do."

"And what's that?"

"To keep an eye on you. So shall we?" Erik gestured towards the elevator.

The elevator took them down to level 32. They exited into the hallway where many scientists in white coats and with clipboards scurried about. Instantly, Mikhail could smell a hint of silver nitrate.

"Isn't this a little dangerous for us?" he asked, sniffing the air.

"No, of course not." said Erik, "These gases have been tested upon and are absolutely harmless, as long as you don't overdose."

"But why is it here, sir?" asked Mikhail.

"Well, the scientists here are testing it on the soldiers, our Rebels, to see if they are immune to it. Inside," he pointed towards the door, which had a radiation warning sign on it, "the dosage is lethal for us; that's why we'll have to wear these." He pointed to three reflective hazmat suits that were by the entrance.

Once suited they strolled inside where they saw a small group of soldiers, glazed in bright silver and restrained to operation tables. Some of the scientists recorded data, while others put braces around the soldiers' wrists. They took blood samples to check the level of silver in their systems. So far, there was no sign of danger for the Rebels. Daniel searched the room for his father and spotted another room. He entered it to find Nikolas encased inside a bulletproof gla.s.s container. There were many of these side rooms where wounded soldiers recuperated. There were tubes that had been injected into Nikolas's body: two in the chest, two at the shoulders, four in the legs, and three in each arm. Through these tubes, Migra was being injected.

Migra, the name of the planet of the vampires, was also their name for iron. The vampires needed blood for iron. Because of a low hemoglobin count, vampires needed the iron for regeneration. They used vast amounts of energy in order to fight and use psychic powers. This energy trans.m.u.ted from the iron in the hemoglobin. Therefore, it was necessary for them to have blood. But then they realized they could make artificial blood by extracting iron from the Earth and mixing it with other minerals and vitamins found in rocks. This is how they created the concoction known as Migra.

The tubes popped out of Nikolas's body and retracted into a black metallic hive. The Rebel opened his filmy eyes slowly. Then a crimson color crept slowly back into the pupils. Daniel looked at him defiantly, and said, "Well, top o' th' mornin' to you...father. Did you have a nice slumber?"

Nikolas got up and moved swiftly towards the gla.s.s. Suddenly his whole body turned to bright silver. With a supernatural strength he ripped apart the gla.s.s wall. All gasped and backed away except Daniel. "Everyone, stay calm!" The President shouted before anyone could call for backup. Nikolas hovered in the air like a silver angel as he approached Daniel.

"So, my son," he said, "This is what you have done to me." He pointed and Daniel backed away. "Oh, don't worry. Though you may have thoughts of patricide, I nonetheless love you, as I always have and I always will." He hovered back down to the ground. The silver layering of his body dissolved, revealing his pale muscular body and face. Nikolas smiled.

"Oh, my dear father," Daniel said, "how much you try in vain to persuade me to join you. But look now who is the victor and who is the fallen. I have finally squashed your Rebellion, and now you will work for me!"

"Or rather for your king? Is it not so?" Nikolas looked at Erik with disgust. "I should have killed you when I had the chance. Perhaps things would have been different."

"Do you really think the humans would have let you all stay inside the Regnum?" Erik scoffed.

"Never mind that!" Nikolas's voice reverberated through the room, "I know for sure what General Howe would have wanted and what he still wants."

"General Howe is nothing but a rogue human who couldn't even control his own battalion!" Erik laughed in Nikolas's face, his sour breath hitting Nikolas's nose like a punch.

"You cannot judge him," said Nikolas, "because of that one battle."

"Why must you always talk of the past, both of you?" Daniel said. "Mikhail," he turned to his secretary and snapped his fingers. "Are the ships ready?"

"Another four minutes and twenty seconds, sir." He said, checking his watch.

"Alright, get these soldiers ready," Daniel said loudly to the scientists. He addressed his secretary once more, "And I want you to get the others ready and send a report to the council."

"Right away, sir." Mikhail bowed and hurried to do his superior's bidding.

"You know this will mean war," said Nikolas.

"Precisely father," said Daniel, "Your mission will be to get the Falsifier. After that, there will be war, but with the Falsifier on our side, we will have destroyed everything even before Anaxagoras comes."

"Lord Anaxagoras," Erik corrected him.

"Yes, Lord Anaxagoras." Daniel said, glaring at the vizier coldly in the eyes.

Nikolas laughed, "You have no idea who the Falsifier is, do you? You think it's some mutation in the genetic code of the vampiric DNA. Well, it isn't. The Falsifier is vampiric and he's something else as well."

"What? Human?" Daniel laughed back, "It's impossible to have a Vampiric Human."

"All things were possible with Aidan," Nikolas said, his eyes glazing in the light.

"What do you mean by that?" Erik said, almost baring his teeth.

"Oh, you shall see. You want this mission completed, so be it. But you'll soon discover that all this time you were wrong. Imagine, a vampire in the Regnum," Nikolas spat.

"Well, it's possible. Everyone knows the Falsifier will come from the humans but behave like a vampire. Besides, we have found a vampire in the Regnum."

Nikolas's eyes widened. "What?"

"Yes." Erik said. "Our ships were near the spatial border a few hours ago. They were taking thermal imagery of the Regnum, when they spotted a life-form. The being they saw didn't have normal human heat. Its temperature fluctuated due to an innate part of its structure. It's the Falsifier."

"You may be right. You may not." Nikolas said. "But you still don't know the whole truth."

"Just imagine." Daniel said. "When we find the Falsifier, we will be able to be like him. We can splice his DNA with ours and become truly immortal."

Mikhail hurried in and reported, "Sir, all the soldiers have been transported into the ship. We are ready to launch at your command."

"Good. Go outside and wait for me," Daniel said, turning to the vizier, "And Erik."

Erik turned to face Daniel.

"Please leave with Mikhail." Daniel gestured. "I have something to tell my father."

Erik responded, "Whatever you tell him can be said in front of me."

"Erik," Daniel said looking into his eyes, "I'm requesting you. That's not something I usually do."

"Are you flattering me? Do you think I need that? I'm the vizier of the King! You can't talk to me like that."

Nikolas interrupted, "This can wait. I have a mission to go on. I am sure there will be time for this when I get back."

Nikolas walked to the elevator with Daniel, Erik and the twelve Rebels that had survived the tests, their neck restraints turned on just in case anyone tried to escape. The elevator descended a hundred and fifty feet below helipad eight to helipad six. They took an air-transport to the hangar, where the ship awaited them. The hangar, located nearest to the volatile ocean, stretched half the width of the command center. Inside there were thousands of fighters and transport tankers. Some of them were being replaced or repaired by mechanics and aviation technicians. As Nikolas walked to his ship, Daniel stopped him and whispered in his ears, "Remember. If you try to contact John Howe or do anything to compromise the mission, our three hundred soldiers are on guard." Nikolas flashed a quick smile and left him.

John observed the fireplace, as if inspecting it- "What is the Red Serpent?" Alex asked.

John turned around and looked at his mother, who sat on a nearby recliner observing the two of them. "Now Mom, this will be a first for you as well, I suppose."

"Yes, it will be," Helen paused, "well, you do know who it is, right?"

"You mean no one has any idea what or who this Serpent is?" Alex was intrigued.