Xarus’ headquarters
“Kill him!” Xarus commands extending his arm and pointing at his newly arrived father. Dracula remains where he stands, unflinching. He calmly tells his traitorous son to not be ridiculous; the X-Men have already made short work of his feeble invasion. Dracula asks if Xarus really wants to suffer two humiliating defeats in one day.
Utopia
Cyclops and Wolverine (opponents on the battlefield not long ago) stand about ten feet apart facing in opposite directions. Both men look out over the devastation the vampire invasion brought to their home. Cyclops, holding onto a broken spear, asks Logan if he’s ready to visit his old pals. Wolverine says he can lead them right through the front door. “Then mount up,” Cyclops replies as he walks off to go gather his strike team.
Xarus’ headquarters
Continuing his diatribe Dracula does pay a backhanded compliment to Xarus for pointing out the dissatisfactions among the sects. He then assures the sect leaders who are present that the situation will be addressed, but only after he corrects some misapprehensions about hierarchy.
Tired of the talk, especially since it belittles him so, Xarus tells his father he’s heard enough. He then assures his allies they can take Dracula again like before and asks what they’re waiting for. None of them move, but after a few tense moments the Klaw sect leader tells Xarus they’ve done enough of his fighting.
Meanwhile, at the entrance to Xarus’ underground hideout, an eight-man/woman team of X-Men busts through the front doors. Cyclops starts blasting right away and tells Wolverine he’s on point. Logan slices through a nearby Nosferatu and tells Cyke he better follow fast if he wants a piece of Xarus because after he’s done with him there won’t be much left.
Back at Xarus’ control room a fight breaks out between father and son. Xarus grabs a sword from Jubilee deciding he’s got to do this one himself. He makes a wide slicing arc and misses his dear old dad completely.
Meanwhile, the X-Men are making short work of the various vampires thrown their way. Rockslide and Colossus do what powerhouses normally do while Storm calls upon lightning to deal with the vampire aggressors. They continue to make their way closer and closer to where the pivotal battle of the night is taking place.
And on it goes. Xarus makes a chopping slice toward Dracula telling him his time is over. The wily vampire manages to sidestep the attack and the blade tunks into the ground. He then manages to get a punch in, bopping Xarus across the face. He makes a snide remark about his son’s sloppy attack, sarcastically questioning how his attack on Utopia could have failed.
Meanwhile, the X-Men continue progressing toward their objective. Cyclops notes the light resistance they’re facing and wonders why the vampires aren’t strongly opposing their arrival. Logan, who doesn’t seem to care either way, tells Cyclops his guess is as good as his.
Nearby, Xarus finally draws blood scoring a hit with his sword along Dracula’s left tricep. Dracula lets out a pained groan and drops to the ground, but puts on a smile of pride and remarks there’s some mettle in his son after all.
Xarus raises the sword over his head and brings it down for a killing blow. He tells his father he should fight rather than talk. Dracula turns quickly and deflects the sword with his armored gloves. This leaves Xarus vulnerable and Dracula counters with an uppercut to the chin. He tells Xarus if he can’t fight and talk at the same time then there’s no point in being lord of the vampires.
A concerned Brad asks Alyssa if they should intervene. Alyssa replies they should let it play out.
Ever closer, the X-Men find the portly vampire scientist with the red glasses. Wolverine pins him to the ground and brings a claw up to his eye. “Where?” is all he has to say.
And at the appointed destination it appears as though the battle between father and son is ended. Xarus is kneeling on the ground hunkered over. Dracula walks toward him remarking on the end of the brief reign of Xarus. He calls it an interesting blip in the history of their people. This angers Xarus who gets to his feet and leaps into the air at Dracula. He proclaims the history of his people will be decided right now.
It’s all for naught as Dracula uses the momentum of his son to slam him into the ground. He then kicks Xarus in the face and grabs him around the neck. Dracula tells his son he’s right about their history being decided tonight. “…by me. Goodbye, my son,” Dracula whispers into his son’s ear before ripping Xarus’ head from his body with his bare hands.
Jubilee goes from heartbreak to a sudden rage. She charges Dracula, her nails out for blood. Looking disinterested Dracula backhands her fiercely, knocking her onto the floor and into unconsciousness. He then looks over at Brad and Alyssa with the hopes that his display of prowess has had the intended effect. He tells them to alert the rest of the sects that Dracula has returned.
Dracula then turns his attention toward his new visitors and bids them welcome. He asks if they were lurking out there long enough to enjoy the show. Cyclops, at the front of the group, says they caught the finale and suggests he get a mop.
“Being Lord of the Vampires is a messy business,” Dracula replies coolly. Cyclops admits you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet. The ever-vampire-hating Blade sizes up the situation and interjects that he likes the odds on this one.
“Put a leash on him…,” Dracula says to Cyclops suggesting he’ll be picking up little piece of Blade otherwise. Cyclops agrees reminding Blade they came for Xarus only. Of course Blade doesn’t really care and tells Cyclops he’s crazy if he thinks he’s walking away from this one. It’s not your decision, Cyclops tells him.
Blade tells Cyclops to bark orders at someone else. He then leaps at Dracula who he claims is the real enemy. A thin, well-aimed optic blast to the vertebrae halts Blade’s attack, causing him to drop his swords and crash into a nearby wall. Cyke then stares at Dracula who stares at him back. No words are spoken between them. It’s only when Gambit checks on Blade and suggests he’ll have a nice old lump when he wakes up that Dracula breaks the silence.
In regards to Blade’s ineffectual attack Dracula says his own beheading and subsequent problems might have been worth it just to see that. Cyclops tells him it wasn’t for his amusement, that they had an agreement, an unspoken one and he was holding up his end. Dracula feigns ignorance and then walks over to his son’s head lying in a pool of sticky blood. He kneels down next to it and remarks on his son’s one accomplishment, uniting the vampire tribes into a true vampire nation. He smiles wickedly when he wonders what could be accomplished with competent leadership “…here on the doorstep of Utopia,” he finishes.
Cyclops doesn’t seem impressed. He tells Dracula to consider the facts: his dismembered body was in the X-Men’s care of seventeen hours, which is a long time for people as clever as Nemesis and Rao. He then tells Dracula to ask himself if he really thinks they didn’t have a contingency plan.
Once again the two leaders stare at each other motionless. A hint of a smile creeps onto Dracula’s face and he tells Cyclops he’s bluffing. Scott smiles slightly in return and Dracula, whether he believes it to be true or not, says he forgives Cyclops. He then turns and walks away complaining that the day has been long and tedious enough, and that he has a house to put in order. Not completely unkind the vampire lord tells them they can have Jubilee back. He assures them she will provide them with entertainment in the days to come.
Utopia
Hours late, Cyclops is in his office sitting in his chair and staring at his computer monitor. It’s running a live feed from the room in which they are holding Jubilee. Emma is with him bent over also peering at the screen. She asks Scott if he really was bluffing with Dracula. Scott pretends to not know what she’s talking about and she calls him obtuse.
Scott continues to stare at the video feed telling his girlfriend she’s the mind reader. Emma reconsiders, thinking it would probably be best if she didn’t know. She then asks if he’s going to stare at the monitor all day. Scott reminds her Jubilee is their responsibility no matter what she’s become.
Jubilee holding area
Not far from Jubilee’s cell, Blade and Wolverine are having a difference of opinion on what to do about her. Blade tries telling Wolverine locking her up isn’t a solution. Logan says it’s temporary, but Blade points out vampires aren’t temporary, that she’ll still be a vampire a hundred years from now. He tells Logan there is no cure, no rehabilitation and then shoving a wooden stake in his face Blade says there’s only one permanent solution.
Logan stares back at Blade as if he can’t believe he just said that. He then screams at Blade, daring him to take one step toward Jubilee with that thing in his hand. Blade turns to do it and Logan grabs him by the wrist and pulls him in close.
Deciding it’s not worth it Blade turns to leave tossing the stake to the floor. Before he leaves the room he tells Wolverine if he doesn’t want advice on vampires from the number one vampire hunter in the world then she’s the X-Men’s problem, and he asks Logan not to come crying to him when she goes south.
Scott’s office
Scott and Emma watch as the events unfold between Blade and Logan. Blade seems slightly bent out of shape, Emma comments. That’s what an optic blast to the vertebra does to people, Scott jokes back. Emma wasn’t referring to that, but to the fact Blade might be right about Jubilee. Scott can’t believe she’d actually suggest…, but she cuts him off saying she’ll follow his lead. She does admit she agrees with Blade that she doesn’t know who that thing behind those walls is, but it certainly isn’t Jubilee. Scott says he needs to believe that somewhere inside her is the Jubilee they know. “That there must be some way to bring her out of the darkness. And God help us if I’m wrong.”
Jubilee’s cell
Jubilee sits on the floor of her room, her head resting on her knees which are folded to her chest. She’s situated in front of the wide window at the front of the cell. Slowly, her head rises and her left arm reaches out toward the window. She presses her fingers against the glass, her eyes a shiny red.
