Disclaimer: I don't own Blood+, Harry Potter or Stargate.

The Wars of Legends

Book 2: Bats Rising

Chapter One: Massacre at the Zoo

Beta:

Trigger warnings: Mentions of rape, Public nudity, Incestous behavior

It is the year 1883 and in the rural countryside of France on a expansive country estate called the Zoo there lived Joel Goldschmidt, his spoiled adopted daughter Saya Goldschmidt, and their large staff.

Today was Joel's birthday and his daughter had the perfect present in mind for her beloved father. She was going to get her mysterious friend with the beautiful voice, Diva, to sing for him. Her friend's voice was nothing short of magical and Saya just knew that her father would love to hear it.

I'm so excited! He's going to love it. Saya thought to herself as she ran towards the tower with the blue roses where her friend lived in a locked room. The young lady didn't know why she was locked up like that but it made arranging for Diva to perform for Joel's birthday so very difficult.

She'd had to sneak into his office and ste- uh- borrow the key to the room. With that task accomplished and the ornate golden key in her possession she was racing across the grounds towards the tower, waving merrily to the many cheerful servants she passed as they put the finishing touches to the preparations for tonight's grand celebration.

And so am I! Soon Joel will get a chance to be as mesmerized by Diva's voice as I am.

Though, if Saya was being honest that was just an excuse on her part. The real reason why she wanted to free Diva had to do with the strange pull they felt towards each other. Since her earliest memories, she had felt drawn to Diva's tower though she hadn't known it back then. Even as a little girl she'd always felt a deep longing and desire in the direction where it lay, but it was not until she was a teenager that she'd mustered the courage to follow the strange pull and found its source. And if she was to be believed, Diva was attracted to her in the same way. Saya didn't understand what that meant, but she was hoping that freeing Diva and working with her would allow them to figure it out.

"Saya, there you are!" The familiar voice of her personal manservant, Hagi, said as Saya finally reached the tower. "When you disappeared, I just knew you would be here."

"Well, this is my favorite spot to re-" Saya began only to cut herself off as a heartrendingly perfect voice began singing a wordless melody in welcome.

Lost in Diva's magical song, Saya turned from Hagi and began walking into the tower in a trance. Haji was calling out to her in alarm, but she ignored him and began climbing the stairs within at a run. As she reached the landing at the top of the stairs, he moved to grab her but she absently pushed him aside as she began to hum along to her friend's melody.

Utterly enthralled by Diva's music, she barely noticed as she unlocked the heavy wooden door that kept Diva imprisoned and stepped into the room beyond.

It was only as Diva's voice trailed off that Saya regained a proper awareness of her surroundings. She was in a room straight out of her darkest nightmares of a medieval dungeon. It was utterly spartan with no furniture whatsoever. It's only contents was a chamber pot and a small pile of hay that must have served as a bed. And on that pathetic excuse for bedding was a sight that had Saya taking a step back in horror.

For there was her friend Diva. Saya didn't know how she recognized her despite never seeing her in person, but she did. That was not what caused her to recoil though, neither was the fact that all her features were a perfect replica of her own save for the fact that her irises were blue instead of her own red eyes. No, what so deeply upset her was the fact that her friend was bloody, emaciated and naked!

How could anyone be treated like this!?

"Saya, you finally came." Diva said with a smile as she struggled to her feet and took a step towards the still stunned woman, only to falter and collapse back into a exhausted heap.

"Diva!" Saya cried in concern as the sight overcame her shock and she rushed to her friend's side.

As she knelt down next to Diva, the other girl grabbed hold of her in a sudden burst of strength. Startled, Saya could not react in time as she was pulled into a bloody kiss.

The moment Diva's blood touched her lips Saya began feeling strange. In an instant, she felt a large portion of her strength flow out of her body and she lost the ability to resist, not that her addled mind could piece itself together enough to even think of doing so. As the sanguineous liquid passed down her throat as she instinctively swallowed, Saya's mind was struck another blow as she was suddenly overwhelmed by a surge of strange images.

They flowed around her for what seemed an eternity as her mind struggled to make sense of them, until at long last instincts that had been suppressed all her life provided her the answer.

T-These are genetic memories. My genetic memories!

This startling realization acted like a key and in a metaphorical blink of an eye the maelstrom of images suddenly began to rearrange themselves into a pattern that made sense. As they did, Saya found herself sinking into them.

She remembered as if she was there in that long gone moment and shared in the depths of despair felt by the entire Swarm as the last Swarm Queens were killed by agents of a rival interstellar race. She recalled with the perfect clarity of someone who was actually there how the Queens' blood soaked the ground of what should have been a peaceful diplomatic event.

She saw in her mind's eye and felt with her own being as that despair became an uncontrollable, instinctive drive to win as the bonds through the Ascended plane that held their whole race together shattered. As sisters turned against sisters. As once friendly hives of the Swarm turned on each other and became bitter enemies as they vied to be the last ones standing and for their Queens to ascend and become the new Swarm Queens in a brutal Swarm War.

She was repulsed as the memories made her witness to the Swarm War degenerating into the Extinction War as the rival hives caused the extinction of countless races. Some simply caught in the crossfire, others destroyed so that their genes, technology and resources could be assimilated by their killers to fuel their war effort.

Saya felt the terror that swept through the Swarm as the Four Great Races rallied together and drove her kind to near extinction themselves. She shared her mothers' desperation as they secreted Diva and her on Earth while the rest of their hive fought a desperate delaying action that saved their lives.

The young woman was overcome with grief as she mourned for the lost of so many of her kind, misguided though they were. This feeling however was quickly dispelled though as another set of memories entered her mind.

She watched through Diva, her twin sister's eyes, as Joel and his cousin Amshel brutally experimented on what they call the Chiropteran. As they poked and prodded her like an animal. As they cut her open. As Amshel raped her!

This can't be right! Joel would never do something like this! Saya screamed to herself in denial.

But the rational part of her told her the awful truth. He would. Above all else, Joel was a scientist. An obsessively driven scholar of the natural world. He would not hesitate to do unspeakable things if it furthered his understanding of the world.

Oh Joel, what have you done!? Saya cried as heartbreak filled her world.

"Saya, are you awake?" Haji's concerned voice pierced through the confused mess of emotion and memory as Saya regained consciousness.

She mumbled out an unintelligible reply as she opened her eyes to find herself being carried in his arms like a princess in a fairy tale. Once being treated as such, by him of all people, would have set her face ablaze in embarrassment and a whole host of other feelings.

But now…

Now, she had more important concerns. Like the brilliant glow that was emanating from behind his back and that lit up the night sky. A glow that reminded her disturbingly of fire.

Worried at what that might mean, she craned over Haji's shoulders only to be greeted with evidence of her worst fears. In the distance, she saw her home burning.

And more alarmingly, she sensed the presence of her twin amidst the conflagration.

"W-What happened?" Saya stuttered out in shock, even as she felt she might have a pretty good idea.

"I do not know," Haji replied. "I found you passed out in the cell at the tower. I-"

"I was alone?" Saya demanded.

Haji nodded, and Saya felt her guts begin to churn with nerves. She knew only one thing that would motivate Diva to abandon her like that.

"What happened after that?"

"Well, I panicked of course and tried to rouse you but you refused to wake." Haji told her, his face a mask of worry. "So I decided to carry you back to the manor and call a doctor for you, but I was not even halfway there when it suddenly went up in flames. At that point, I felt it would be best not to return until the situation was contained, so I've been carrying you to the stables where it should be safe."

This 'situation' is not just going to be contained! Saya cursed. Diva's rage won't be so easily quelled. I've got to do something!

"Haji, put me down." Saya ordered, determination coursing through her veins.

Her loyal servant immediately obliged, gently lowering her to the ground and stepping away.

Saya took a moment to shoot him an apologetic look before using her newly awakened instincts and abilities to speed away. She was moving so fast that to the stunned man's eyes she looked like little more than a red blur as she flew towards the flaming wreck of her home.

"Saya!" Haji cried out in a shocked gasp, but she ignored him. She had to focus on salvaging this situation.

Though as she came to a stop in the ruined courtyard of the manor, she honestly had no clue how she would manage that. She had passed by here hours ago and it had been set up for festivities, with a large tent set up over it and food and drinks set out on tables scattered throughout.

Now, though it looked like a war zone.

Where it had been filled with servants setting out dishes of delicious looking food and filling punch bowls with drinks of every sort, the only things that were currently prowling the tattered remains of the festive decorations were hulking bat-like humanoids. Creatures that she instinctively recognized as Warriors created by Diva using her mutagenic blood and the conversion of a number of the estate's servants.

They were monstrous looking things with their bat-like heads and the membranous wings that some of them were using to fly. But Saya felt no fear of them, as they parted out of her way respectfully as she made her way to the center of the courtyard.

Considering their appearance, I guess Joel calling us Chiropterans is fitting. Saya thought to herself idly as she approached her goal.

There in the center of the courtyard where the birthday celebration was to have been held was a still naked but now healthy looking Diva standing over Joel and Amshel as they were held down a pair of Warriors.

The sight of Amshel Goldschmidt boiled her blood as Saya recalled the horrible violations he'd forced upon her sister. He seemed to be saying something to a raptly listening Diva and that just made her even more angry.

You're not using your silver tongue to get you out of this, you cur. Saya thought as she blurred to Diva's side even as the thrice damned rapist's decapitated head fell to the ground with a macabre splat.

Joel gasped as the now headless body collapsed but quickly collected himself and turned pleading eyes towards his adoptive daughter.

"Saya!" He cried out, his voice full of desperation. "You have to save me! She's going to kill me!"

Saya took a moment to shoot him a conflicted look before turning away from him to focus on the real reason why she'd come here.

"Sister, why did you kill Amshel?" Diva asked in a whine. "He was telling me something interesting."

"I don't care!" Saya hissed in reply, her anger piqued at the mere mention of the man. "I'm not about to let someone who hurt my sister like that live."

Diva blushed at that, looking absolutely beautiful. A sight that stirred something in Saya that the red-eyed twin wasn't ready to accept. Instead, she pulled her sister into a hug.

At the same time, relying on her awakened instincts to guide her she sent a telepathic command for one of the Warriors to get one of her dresses for Diva from her room which she idly noted was the only undamaged portion of the otherwise ruined manor.

Sensing that the Warrior was returning with what she requested, Saya pulled away from the hug. She opened her mouth to discuss with her sister what they should do with Joel when Diva pulled her into a kiss.

Her lips tastes like blood. Saya observed as she instinctively returned the kiss. It tastes wonderful.

A portion of her mind rebelled at the fact she's kissing her twin sister, however the vast majority of her being was consumed by the sheer love she felt through the bond she shared with Diva as they deepened their kiss, their tongues joining the fray as they tentatively began exploring each others' mouths.

In the face of that how could this be wrong? Besides, why should we live by the morality of humans when we aren't human. Saya found herself thinking as she ignored Joel's shocked sputtering at the scene unfolding in front of him. Neither did she pay attention to the increasingly soft part of her mind that screamed at her that she's being controlled by the instincts awakened alongside her genetic memory.

The kiss might have lasted a few seconds or a few eternities, Saya couldn't tell. It had been so perfect that she had lost track of time. However, all good things must end and as both twins finally ran out of breath they reluctantly pulled apart.

Saya was giddy with delight and would probably have kissed her sister again, something that Diva's own silly, satisfied grin indicated she wouldn't mind at all, but the sight of the Warrior standing behind her blue-eyed sister reminded her that she had something to do first.

Stepping pass her twin, who pouted at the fact that weren't going to kiss again, she retrieved the dress from the Warrior.

"Diva, could you put this on?" Saya asked as she held up the dress for her sister's inspection.

"But I want to kiss!" The blue-eyed girl whined, stamping her feet adorably in frustration.

"And I promise we can kiss more later," Saya offered. "But you need to get dressed first."

Joel was sputtering some nonsense about things being improper but both Chiropteran women ignored him.

Instead Diva pouted and nodded, before allowing Saya to help her into the clothing. The Warrior, perhaps acting on Saya's unconscious thoughts, had picked out a pretty blue dress with pleated cuffs that the red-eyed sister felt her made twin look quite fetching. Though the look was somewhat ruined by how the dress' fabric was rapidly being stained by the copious amounts of blood that had been covering Diva's body.

I should really have got her to wash before she put in on. Saya mused, as she secured the ties of the dress. Then again, the look that the blood creates is attractive in its own right.

The moment she was properly clothed, Diva pressed herself intimately into Saya's side. The red Queen was startled for a moment, but recovered quickly and slid an arm possessively over her sister's waist. Said sister was looking at her longingly, making it clear even without their telepathic connection, that she very much wanted to get back to kissing.

Just a little longer, you minx. Saya sent to her seemingly insatiable sister. We need to deal with Joel first.

Diva pouted, her disappointment flooding their link, but nevertheless nodded.

"Tell me Joel," Saya said addressing her adoptive father at last. "After all the things you've done to Diva, why shouldn't I just kill you like I did Amshel?"

"Saya, please mercy! I raised you well didn't I? Surely that must count for something."

"You only did that as part of your sick little experiment." Diva cut in accusingly. "It was all because you were using sister as a control. In fact, didn't you try to breed her like some horse?"

The blue Queen punctuated this last statement by gesturing at a newly arrived and thoroughly shocked Hagi.

He wasn't the only one surprised by Diva's observation. She had figured out the fact she was the control for Joel's experimentation on Diva when she'd seen her sister's memories, but the fact that she was being paired up with Haji in the hopes that they would have a child was news to her. Though in hindsight it was so obvious. It explained why a man who purported to be her father would hire a manservant to be her body servant and even go out of his way to actively encourage their friendship, despite the obvious risk of impropriety.

The mere thought of being manipulated in such a way made her nauseous, made worse by the fact that it had been done as part of a science experiment.

Glaring at her adopted father, Saya came to a painful realization. You've never seen me as more than a lab animal, did you?

"Saya?" Haji's confused voice calling out pleadingly dragged her away from the hurt of her epiphany.

Turning to him, even as Diva hugged her comfortingly, she offered him a weak smile.

"It's alright, Haji." She reassured him as best as her heavy heart allowed. "Everything is under control."

Haji looked around at their surroundings skeptically, but nevertheless reluctantly nodded.

You've such an obedient Chevalier. Diva sent her, her words dripping with jealousy. I want one too.

Saya was tempted to search her genetic memory for what Diva meant. The term Chevalier was meaningless to her, likely being something Diva had assigned as a new name for whatever caste of the hive that Haji was.

Though then again, why is he a member of our Hive?

Seriously? You forgot? Diva's mind radiated incredulity. You fed him some of your blood that one time he fell off the cliff, remember?

Oh yeah… Saya muttered in embarrassment as she recalled the incident. She had spotted a particularly pretty flower growing on a ledge jutting out of a cliff under which she and Haji had been picnicking one day and he had volunteered to pick it for her. He'd fallen in the process and badly injured himself. Driven by panic and instinct, she'd fed him some of her blood to recover.

The whole slightly embarrassing conversation passed in a blink of an eye, such was the speed of telepathic communication, and without the human being aware of her distraction Saya returned her attention to Joel.

"Diva?"

"Yes, sister." The blue Queen replied from where she was snuggled into Saya's side.

"What do you think we should do with the old man?"

"We should kill him." Diva said, a vicious smile on her face.

Saya pondered this for a long moment.

On one hand, he had raised her. Whether it had been part of a grand experiment or not, the fact that he had lavished every expense to raise her to be a educated, able young woman was beyond doubt. Yet… What his experiment had cost Diva… His crimes against herself she could forgive, but those against her sister was unpardonable.

With a heavy heart, she turned her back on the man she called father.

"Saya! Please have mercy! Mer-" Joel screamed, only to be cut off as Diva blurred forward and lifted the taller man impossibly off the ground by his scalp. His screams losing all coherence as his feet lost contact with the earth.

Watching through the eyes of their Warriors, Saya frowned as his cries were silenced by a swift clench of Diva's fist.

Tossing the mangled remains to the side and distractedly wiping at the blood, bone and brain matter that had landed on her dress, Diva skipped back to Saya's side.

Embracing her sister intimately once more, she offered Saya a cheerful smile.

"So what now, sister?"

Saya just looked at the burning mansion and considered their options.

"First things first, we need to leave before the authorities come to investigate what happened here," she declared with a frown. "We can consider what to do next once we're safe."

She turned to leave and in the process caught sight of Diva's still blood drenched appearance as her sister shifted to follow her lead.

"Correction," Saya said with a wince. "Before that, we both need a bath."

On the Ascended Plane, Oma Desala breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems my investment in the Genestealers is finally looking like it will pay off. The Alteran thought to herself as she smiled in satisfaction of a plan coming together at long last. I do hope that they will live up to their reputation. If they do, then the Ori won't know what hit them.

"I'm sure they will." Ganos Lal said as she appeared beside her fellow Ascended.

Oma was unsurprised by the other woman's presence. It was no secret that Ganos had a vested interest in seeing the final defeat of the Ori, more so than perhaps any other Ascended. Her happiness depended on it. It was therefore expected that she would take an interest in Oma's little project.

"Though I can't help but find it ironic that the decision by our ancestors to not destroy the Last Queens and to preserve them might just save the galaxy." Ganos commented as they both watched the projection of the material plane as it showed how the two young Swarm Queens handled their true awakening. "An act of mercy on their part, becoming the key to our salvation."

"I agree," Oma replied with a teasing smile. "Though I feel I must point out that while the Genestealers might be one part of the solution, your Nimue is certainly going to play a part too."

Ganos blushed at the reference to her lover and Oma could only laugh goodnaturedly at her friend.

And here it is folks! The first chapter of Book 2 in my Wars of Legends series. I hope you guys liked it.

Okay, onto specific things about this chapter I think need some explanation.

First, yes this is a Blood+ cross. Surprised by my choice? Well, I was always quite intrigued by the Chiropterans as portrayed in that particular iteration of the Blood franchise. Unlike the norm for that franchise, the Chiropterans in that particular series were an actual prehistoric species and not supernatural creatures like they are in other versions of the story. Their origin in Blood+ flowed nicely with the ideas about ancient races I was toying with in regards to the Stargateverese so after some brainstorming over the years that Wars of Legends percolated as merely a collection of ideas in my head, they became folded into it thus creating what you see above.

Secondly, there is the rather random scattershot way Saya's thoughts are shaping up throughout the chapter. This is actually rather deliberate. It is an attempt to show a) that she is not assimilating all the new knowledge and instincts she's activated entirely without hiccups and b) it is designed to showcase her ability to pursue all these disparate thoughts at the same time while still maintaining her focus.

Thirdly, if anyone is expecting the twins to be your standard heroic figures… well sorry to burst your bubble but it won't be happening. They'll help save the galaxy eventually but not without doing a lot of heinous stuff along the way. So if that's not your cup of tea you're forewarned here that this fic might not be to your tastes.

Lastly… Actually, I think that's it.

Well, till next time, peace out!