So this is what Stein and BIOPilot had done to him. Stein was now inside his mind, living within him as a collection of data, perhaps as a soul sharing his body. It was undoubtedly a crowning achievement in medicine and science. Mithias could appreciate the greatness of such a feat, although he would rather have not been a subject in it. For a moment, he stood there, wordlessly questioning whether or not this Stein was merely a manifestation of his guilt or a result of his growing loss of sanity. Of course, Mithias concluded he was real. Martin's sweeping in and out of his consciousness was enough to convince him he was not alone. He glared mildly at his little brother for intruding as he stole a piece of chicken.
Standing on the bridge, Mithias turned to look at the smiling Stein. He was about to speak, but then, he stopped with a groan. Stein seemed to blink questioningly, not knowing that Mithias beheld him in tie-dye lab coat, long hair, dark, round glasses, and a headband with several marijuana symbols printed across it. With a soft growl in frustration at all the mayhem going on in his most-sacred and guarded mind, Mithias decided to take charge. "Enough." He said, turning away from Stein and the window and reaching his hands outward as if grasping the very world of his mind. Heavy sounds like giant metal doors sliding and slamming shut surrounded them, although exactly where the doors were could not be seen. When the final doors slammed shut, Mithias turned around to face Stein again. He didn't look happy. "You are coming with me." With that, the room instantly went dark, and in the blackness, the floor gave out from under Stein's feet. He dropped, only about four feet, onto cold, wet, dirty stone. The scent of the air changed to that of earth and rain, and the air temperature dropped some ten degrees. This was not the Terebithia.
It was quiet, yet the air seemed to be circulating slowly, as if there were still some connection to the outside. Not far from Stein, near where his vampire host had been moments before, shone a pair of yellow eyes, glowing ever so softly, as if by firelight. The sounds of footsteps told that Mithias was slowly closing the gap between them, and the eyes got closer. The thought that the vampire might have an extreme amount of power in this place became obvious. Even if in this dream Stein had no body to physically tear apart, the mental suggestion of such torment, could certainly be induced, even repeated, for as long as the vampire lived. That could be a very long time. Linked to his mental parasite, Mithias could sense his growing fear. He stopped. Stein, although proud, had reason to be, and he deserved chivalry. Motioning all around him, Mithias, lit a thousand candles ith a wave of his hand. Thick and tall, they would burn for days, even forever in the confines of his mind, but they lit the cave and provided a view. The cavern was large, but not immense. There was a flattened rock formation about it's center that seemed to serve as a table, or an alter. An impressive stalactite reached to the floor like a thick tree trunk. The vampire's soothing voice broke the silence. "And now we are alone, Stein. What is to be said here will remain between us only. I have consciously closed off all access to my mind. No one can read our thoughts or intervene in any way, not Martin, Magnus, or even Gabriel. This, is where I spent a century developing my defense against father's mind-reading and manipulation, while hanging from that wall..." Mithias nodded in the direction, "...with a lance through my chest." He looked back at Stein. "I'm sure you can guess who put me there." Mithias paced away a few steps, softening the threat of his presence. "In my youth, as a vampire, I was reckless with emotion and a danger with the great power I had been given. Like you, I had to be stopped. The chance to learn and change was a rare mercy, but I think I understand now why it was so difficult to simply kill me. You are the same, and I wish there had been any other way to stop you, Stein. You live for discovery and understanding, and you say you wish only to create... Yet, all you do is destroy. Face the truth, Stein. If you are truly a scientist, then truth is your master. If you believed the ultimate lifeform was a robot, you would cover the planet in a race of machines, wiping out all other forms of life. If you were a vampire, you would drink to your heart's content without remorse, as long as it kept you alive to do your research. And if you ever found a way to live without blood, it wouldn't matter to you what the price would be." Mithias raised his voice in a moment of heated emphasis, suddenly seeming larger and scarier than before. "YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYONE!" Fangs bared and fists clenched, Mithias spun around with a flourish and a growl as he tried to control himself, banging a fist against the large pillar of the giant stalactite. He calmed himself a moment, the memory of his words seeming to linger in the air. "I see you as a child, Stein. Cruel in your innocence, yet filled with the breath of life in complete contrast to your aging and crippled body. If you had just been different, I would have made you my own."
