Mechanics, Idiocy, and Common Sense.

"It's… um… could you repeat that?"

John's façade of domineering and confidence faded away at the extremely unexpected question. He glanced over to the vampiress who had her eyes locked on his new Talent Tree menu, and realized that with the way her eyes were locked onto the air directly in front of him, there could be no doubt that she saw exactly what she said she did.

"Y'know… that thing, the little… words and boxes and stuff? Oh god, I'm not goin' crazy too am I? That'd actually explain a lot…"

"Calm down, Seras," John sighed, turning away from the menu and toward her. He glanced around, clicking out of the Talent menu and looking on the main screen for something to explain this. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but eventually he found it anyway - there was a new button labeled "Party" that was flashing. John rarely looked at his main menu because of all the pop-ups, so no telling how long it had been there. When it opened he saw that his party was currently listed as 4/5, and had Maera, Mithra, and Seras joining himself. That was probably why she could see it, he hoped. That would make keeping Moira unaware a little easier.

"You're not going crazy. This is my power. It's part of how I called you here."

"What? With that lil' computer screen?" Seras said, pointing. "You just push one'a those lil' buttons and summon whatever you want?"

"Yes. No. Not that one," John stumbled, rubbing at his eyes. At the very least this was good practice for Moira. "I don't know about your world, but in this world, vampires aren't the only thing supernatural. Many people have many different abilities, and there are monsters too. My abilities manifest through… technology, sort of. More like a video game. Ever played one of those?"

"Oh, um… not really, I didn't… we didn't have much when I was a child," Seras said nervously. John decided not to bring up exactly how much he knew about her.

"Well, you're a vampire, so you get stronger by killing people and then eating them," John explained, gesturing toward the menu. "I get stronger by just killing them. There's more to it than that, but that's the easiest way to explain it. I'll bring a few games by here next time I visit. Should give you something to do while I'm gone, besides play with Maera and Mithra."

"W-wait, you're just gonna leave me 'ere?!"

Seras seemed to have forgotten all about the strange screen as soon as he mentioned leaving. She moved closer, hands instinctively moving to cover her intimate places again as she looked into his eyes with those awful puppy dog eyes.

"I- well, yeah," John said, glancing around. "Surely you've noticed how empty this place is? I wasn't clear earlier, but this place is just a pocket world of my own creation. I'll be returning to my original world soon. I live with family, though, and they aren't aware of my powers. You can't come back with me - you'll have to stay here. The blood I gave you should easily hold you over until I return." Figuring that was all that needed to be said, John turned his vision back to the talent menus, trying to figure out what to pick.

"Yes, but… I… I don't…"

John heard a tone in that voice that he didn't like at all, a tone of fear, not just surprise. John glanced back from the menu, doing his best to look calm and neutral as he did so. Seras was looking up at him, eyes in the same open and **** as before, but now it seemed even more intense, more genuine.

"I… I lost everyone I knew at Cheddar. Those two aren't human, they can barely talk… I don't wanna be alone again."

"Fuck."

John almost wished for a moment that he had it in him to be as heartless as Alucard, but looking into Seras' eyes he knew there was no way he could leave her there. He had no idea on how he was going to keep his mother from finding out, though…

"Fine, you want to come back with me? I'll allow it - but," John emphasized, seeing the glowing hope coming to her eyes already, "you are to do what I say, when I say, exactly how I say it, do you understand?"

Seras nodded eagerly, her smile returning and her watery eyes glistening with joy. It seemed that as long as she wasn't stuck here "alone", Seras would agree to almost anything.

"Good. For starters, these powers of mine are not well-known, so don't mention them to anyone unless I bring them up first. Next, you are to keep yourself hidden in the presence of others at home and when possible abroad, unless I specifically tell you to come out. I don't live alone, so you'll be hiding frequently, and you'll have to sneak out when we leave, if we leave. Just like in your world, vampires and the supernatural aren't common knowledge… so you'll be staying home a lot, even if I leave. If you can't handle any of those things, you're of course free to stay here."

"N-no!" Seras got out, a little too quickly. "I… I can handle that, Master."

"Good…" John switched over to the Skill window and checked momentarily - still a few hours until school was out and he'd be able to head home. Since he told his mother he wouldn't be home until the next day though, he'd probably just wait until the next morning anyway to avoid suspicion at the sudden change in plans.

"We won't leave until tomorrow, so make yourself at home until then."

Seras nodded and made her way over behind the pile of sticks again, using them to keep something between herself and John, probably so she could use her hands for something other than modesty. John focused again on the Talent trees, hoping he could finally make a decision.

"These both have their advantages… but I don't think I can get away with minimizing my damage all the time, and I don't want to make Maera and Mithra risk themselves for my sake like I did for that stupid quest," John thought, glancing between the two options. There was also the limited scope of the first ability - although he hoped he would never have to worry about fighting humans with the Brightons on his side, he had agreed to help them, and he didn't know if fighting mages was a common theme for them. Moira had certainly seemed quick to assume it had been an enemy mage who had summoned those skeletons, which had to mean it wasn't that uncommon…

"Guess I've got to go with utility," John thought, reaching out and selecting the "Master of Darkness" Talent Tree unlock from his quest, as ominous as it sounded. As soon as he pressed it, the Talent point he had vanished, and the Feast talent unlocked in a new menu. In that menu was a branching tree of skills, with a pitch black background and a large selection of mostly grayed-out boxes with seven total tiers. As John watched the first talent light up with a crimson border, a creeping, sinewy line of red snaked out to where the next three boxes were, and each of them lit up. John checked them one by one, hovering over them and glancing at their newly visible descriptions.

All-Natural Monster Enhancement
John's natural weapons are enhanced, granting his fangs, claws, and unarmed strikes additional damage. Original Damage: [2-4 Damage + .5x STR], Upgraded Damage: [3-5 Damage + 1.0x STR] Rank 1/3

Handloading 101
John's projectile attacks can be enchanted with elemental damage equal to 50% of the projectile's original damage (including all modifiers). John must be able to control the element specified, and pay a mana cost equal to the damage that will be dealt. For variable damage, the average damage will be used. This damage cannot critically hit. Mana Cost: Variable.

Shadowform
John's Gamer Body is enhanced, allowing him to temporarily convert part of his body to intangible shadows, causing all attacks to pass through him. This must be consciously activated, and is not effective against attacks which include Fire or Light damage, attacks of a Divine nature, or attacks by an ethereal being or which can hit ethereal beings. While this ability is active John cannot use any other channeled abilities, and the part of his body which is converted to shadows. Mana Cost: 25/second

"Wow. A lot to consider there," John mumbled. He didn't have to make his choice now, of course - he didn't have any Talent points at the moment, and who knew what would change between now and then?

Just thinking of how much had changed since even a few days ago, John felt a chill run down his spine.