Hi! Sorry to bother you all, but here's an idea that has been
bouncing around in my head for a while and I feel that it's developed
enough to try and get some additional help with.

	It's a crossover between Night Walker and Devil May Cry (an
EXCELLENT game).=20

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	Dante was used to this sort of thing, stalking demons and
nightbreeds that walked and slunk among human beings. He moved through
them like a ghost, an ephemeral thing both seen and unseen. No one
looked in his direction, those that did looking away as if compelled
by an invisible force. That suited him fine. It wouldn't do to have
anyone notice the large sword on his back or the twin .50 caliber
Desert Eagles holstered beneath his blood-red coat.
	The close proximity of the crowds on the sidewalk only helped
worsen the muggy and sultry night lit by neon signs and streetlamps.
Dante looked up briefly, unable to see any stars at all. He was used
to large cities, but Tokyo seemed worse. There were just so damned
many people here. Too many targets for a hungry nightbreed.
	This place must seem like a sushi buffet, Dante thought,
grimmacing at his own joke. All you can eat.
	The nightbreed was close now. Dante could sense it in the
shadows of an alley ahead. He slowed his pace. There was no point in
spooking the damn thing off. If he could sense it, then the reverse
was probably true as well. Besides, he knew what it wanted.
	His ice-blue eyes locked on her, not even thirty feet away.
She couldn't have been a day over sixteen, wearing one of those
ridiculous sailor outfits most schools seemed to prefer for female
uniforms. Dante disregarded any opinions of Japanese fashion tastes.
That wasn't the issue. He slowed to match her pace, muscles tense and
senses alert. Any second now and...
	"Damn!"=20
	She vanished in a dark blur so quick that none of the humans
noticed it. Dante did. He leapt over them, landing on a passing car
and springing up to a lamp. From there another jump carried him to the
roof of a slow-moving truck and to the surface of a nearby building
where he sprung upward again.
	This thing's moving too quick! Dante thought as his feet
touched the sheer surface again. From there he broke into a sprint up
to the roof, desperately clinging to the trail left by the fleeing
nightbreed and its new victim.
	If Dante had any say in the matter, she would not be just
another statistic...

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	He looked down at her in the harsh light of the bare bulb. She
lay against the concrete wall, arms cruelly bound behind her. Water
fell from overhanging pipes to the cold floor in a slow and steady
rhythm, adding to the chill and stench of mildew in the stale air. He
traced her with his eyes, the hem of the dress hiked up just so over
her creamy legs, and felt his other surge.
	It was almost time. The other was hungry. And so was he. But
first, certain things had to be done. All things had to be done in a
proper order, lest the experience be ruined.
	"Let me go!"
	He looked into her eyes, exhilarated at what he saw in their
depths. The fear, that was what he lived for. He was the master. He
was the hunter, and this poor little thing was the prey. It was
godlike, in a way, determining when and how these fresh ones would
die. He was above it all, untouchable. Or at least he had been since
he had met the other.
	"This isn't your fault," he said in a calm and rational tone.=20
	"Please... let me go home..."
	"I can't do that." It was all the explanation she needed. This
was his time, now. The other, it had called itself a nightbreed, had
given him the power to hunt them, to gorge himself on what he needed.
It had to be given its due as well.
	"Don't fight me," he whispered as his fingers brushed the
gooseflesh of her exposed leg. "It'll be much easier this way."=20
	"I'll..." She couldn't keep her voice steady. "I'll do...
w-w-what you want... Just don't..."
	"I do as I please," he growled at her. The volcanic heat
spread throughout his body as his own lusts mingled with that of the
other, and their thoughts became one. Oh, they would hurt this one as
much as they say fit. They had all night, and a limitless
imagination...

	Dante had seen enough. The twin pistols were in his hands,
aimed, and firing before he was even fully aware of the action. The
reports roared like cannons in the confined spaces of the sewer
tunnel, drowning out the girl's screams of terror and the ricochets of
the rounds off the stone walls. Not a single shot hit home, which was
somewhat of a surprise.

	"If you had any balls," a male voice growled from the dark,
"I'd cut 'em off and stuff 'em down your throat."
	They looked over to him, a white-haired man who strode into
the glaring light with an almost arrogant stride. A crimson longcoat
hung down to his black knee-high boots, tight pants of the same color
showing off powerful muscle. In each hand was a large handgun, one
pearl white and the other coal black, their barrels smoking.
	"You're not welcome here," they snarled. Something was off
about him, they could sense it, as if he was far more than he appeared
to be.

	"Yeah? Well, that's never stopped me before." Dante holstered
Ebony and Ivory, his two Desert Eagles, and unslung the battlesword
from his back. His eyes never left the nightbreed - man, this guy had
to have been a sick motherfucker even before being possessed - while
he twirled the blade. It spun in whistling arcs, the air visibly
distorted by its passing. The edge was a little longer than his leg,
the two handed hilt carved with arcane symbols. Dante almost laughed
at the rapist nightbreed. He wouldn't even need the Force Edge's full
power and true form for this one.=20
	"We are the hunters," the breed hissed. Already its form was
begining to twist and grow.
	"Not tonight!" Dante lunged in with lightning speed, the
sword's point aimed at the creature's chest. It dodged backward,
responding with a swipe of an inhumanly long arm tipped with razor
sharp claws. Dante narrowly avoided what would have rent his jugular
and brought the Force Edge up in a savage arc that severed demonic
bone and flesh with a sickening sound joined by an outraged scream.
Dante didn't bother with another taunt, merely pressing the advantage
and sending the sword of his father through the monster's chest. Its
scream echoed off the cold stone of the sewer walls as the Force Edge
sunk in all the way to the hilt.
	"Too bad," Dante mocked as  he ripped the sword from the
nightbreed's chest. "I thought you'd be tougher than this." It rose
again, but Dante was more than ready for it.
	He felt the rush of exhilaration as time slowed and the
sword's edge split the air on its way to the demon's neck. He knew it
was too late even before the body began to shift to its normal state.
The Nightbreed was leaving its host to spare its own life. Dante
didn't slow or avert his strike. Even without the help of one of these
hellborn creatures, he would continue to stalk innocent victims. As
the blade bit meat, gristle, and bone, he knew he was really doing the
world a favor by getting rid of at least this pathetic excuse for a
human.
	It was over so quickly, the head bouncing across the floor and
the shower of blood that splattered the low ceiling. Dante lowered the
sword, not allowing himself to revel in this kill. The nightbreed was
still out there, all that had been killed was one rapist. Not that
anyone would likely miss him.
	Dante turned to what would have been another victim and
replaced the sword. There was one more matter to attend to before he
could call it a night.

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	"Another victim?" Detective Shido asked as he climbed out of
the cherry red sports car driven by his human partner, Yayoi. Two
police cruisers sat at the mouth of the alley, their red and blue
lights swirling off the faces of buildings and gathered gawkers.
	"Yes and no," Yayoi relplied with a toss of her crimson mane.=20
	"Huh?" Shido asked, allowing his eyes to pass over the woman's
seductive frame, restrained in a tight yellow mini. She appeared not
to notice the salacious look. Even though he and Riho were more a less
a couple of sorts - he still had some trouble actually believing that
- he still liked to look from time to time.
	"It was the rapist," she replied. "This girl would have made
victim number twelve."
	"She got away?"
	"Not exactly," Yayoi replied as they drew nearer to the two
cruisers. Several police officers stood about, but didn't even look
their way.
	Humans, Shido thought. Why do they try so hard to deny the
darkness? It existed, and it had to be dealt with. That was a lesson
he had learned centuries ago, back in Europe.
	"Someone intervened."
	"Well, that's certainly interesting." This serial rapist - who
had been giving police fits for over a month - was almost certainly a
nightbreed. An unbelievably fast one at that. He followed Yayoi over
to the curbside and immediately identified the would-be victim in
question. A blanket was draped over her shoulder, a female officer
kneeling next to her speaking in low tones.
	"God, she's only a little younger than Riho," Shido whispered.
	"This son of a bitch liked his victims on the young side,"
Yayoi said with unveiled disgust. "He won't be taking any more."
	"Excuse me," the female officer said at their approach. "This
is a crime scene..."
	"We have to speak with this girl," Shido interrupted, seizing
the human's mind and suggesting that something else required her
attention at that moment. She left soon after.
	"Miss Yamamoto," Yayoi said softly as she took the officer's
place. The younger girl looked at her and Shido uncertainly.
	"Who're you? Are you police?"
	"I'm Yayoi," she replied, "And this is my partner, Detective
Shido."
	"I've already answered your questions," she said in a shaky
voice.
	"I just need to ask you a few more," Shido said. Taking her
silence as assent, he went on. "What do you remember about the man who
attacked you?"
	"Not much. I blacked out, and when I woke, I was tied up in
that sewer. I was on the streets, how could he have..."
	"Miss Yamamoto," Shido said. Her attacker had been a
nightbreed, something she likely wouldn't understand. "What about the
man who saved you?"
	"I... It's really weird."
	"It's okay," Yayoi said. She was amazed at how composed this
young girl seemed to be. Too composed, even. Something didn't quite
add up. A glance toward Shido confirmed that he thought the same.
	"I don't remember him. Not at all."

	Shido and Yayoi walked away, both more with more questions
than answers.
	"Her memories were altered," Shido said as they neared the
car.
	"To conceal her rescuer's identity. But why? Why doesn't he
want to be known?"
	"Nightbreed," Shido stated simply. "He didn't just erase his
image, but he dulled what had happened to her." Now why would this
nightbreed do that?
	"And why kill another nightbreed?"
	"If he managed it." Shido stepped around to the passenger side
of Yayoi's car, waiting for her to let him in. "He may have only
killed the host. It's possible the Nightbreed could have escaped."
	"If that's true, we'll find out sooner or later. This
particular breed had a penchant for such things, as did its host."
	"Who was he?" The door unlatched and Shido practically had to
fall in.
	"Tetsuo Nakamura. The police had an investigation running on
him for a few rapes late last year."
	"Looks like that investigation's over," Shido quipped.
	"Ours may just be getting started. This mystery man is
obviously another breed. Vampire, maybe? Another like you?"
	"I don't know." Shido stared out at the dark city. Whomever
this man was, he was certain that this wouldn't be the last they heard
of him.

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	Well, what do ya think? I had to tweak Dante's powers a
little, and I hope I got the Night Walker characters right. Any input
is appreciated.

Knight Writer

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