Animal X: Natural Mystery Unit Season 3 part 2

Episode 9: Bloodbath at Bladenboro

Featured Cryptid: Vampire beast of Bladenboro

Our episode opens up with Natalie and Cindy entering Bill's office where Bill informs Natalie that he just got a call from Doctor Michelle Duffy about a gruesome discovery at the sanctuary, one of the cryptids being held at the facility has been found dead, followed by a Bill showing Natalie a photo of a dead Jackelope Bill explaining that the victim had been completely drained of blood. Natalie assures Bill that she'll get to the bottom of this, however Bill informs her that she'll have a partner to accompany her and Cindy on this mission, followed by Dominic entering the office much to the chagrin of Cindy followed by Natalie telling her to be nice to the new guy. we then cut to the X-Van arriving at the Sanctuary, Sharon telling Cindy to have fun followed by the X-Van flying off. Natalie shakes hands with Michelle Duffy and introduces her to her new partner Dominic followed by Dr. Duffy showing them the Jackalope carcass, Natalie covering little Cindy's eyes. Dominic crosses his arms and asks Michelle Duffy if it could have been a Chupacabra. Michelle Duffy says doubtful, as the Chupacabras in the sanctuary were still in their paddock during the night. Natalie asks just what the heck it could be, and Dr. Duffy shows our heroes a holographic picture of a cat-like cryptid explaining that in her hometown of Bladenboro, North Carolina where she grew up in there were sightings of an alleged "vampire beast", a large cat-like creature said to suck the blood of its victims, and she's had her fair experience with vampires to know that they can take many forms be it a bat, a wolf, a cloud of smoke, or even a bloodsucking big cat. Cindy says "woah woah woah lady, you're saying vampires are real?" followed by Michelle telling her "yeah but they are not to be messed with. these aren't the handsome sparkly kind from teen romance novels, the Hominis Nocturna are vicious killers, and they will stop at nothing to satisfy their thirst for blood" followed by Dr. Duffy grabbing a shotgun from her cabinet and cocking it. Dominic tells the rest of our heroes that he read the Cryptozoologicon, and according to that old book Vampires were one of the seven descendants of the firstborn along with Lycans, Merfolk, Hudulfolk, Reptilians, Winged humanoids, and Mankind itself, Dominic's knowledge impressing Natalie. Michelle Duffy tells Natalie and Dominic to pack their things, as they're headed to Bladenboro to put a stop to this killer once and for all. after that, our heroes board one of the choppers in the hangar where Natalie asks Dr. Duffy how she knows so much about vampires. Dr. Duffy explains to our heroes that it's because her dad (who lives in Bladenboro) is one, she is what's known as a dhampir, a human-vampire half breed as the two species are genetically compatible along with all the other descendants of the firstborn, with Natalie saying "Like Sophie! she's a friend of ours who's a Lycan" which fascinates Dominic. Dr. Duffy goes on to explain that Dhampirs such as herself are immune to the weaknesses to normal vampires such as sunlight, which gave her kind the nickname Daywalkers. Cindy asks her "does that mean you drink Blood?" Michelle tells her no, as she supplements herself with a fake blood substitute to quench her thirst. we then see the X-Van transform into flight mode and blast off. after that, we cut back to Animal X HQ where Michelle Duffy contacts Bill who is sitting in his office, Dr. Duffy informing Bill that that she has reason to believe the Sanctuary's recent cryptid mutilations were the result of a vampire attack. Bill tells her this is worse than we thought, and Duffy tells him there's more, as she has a feeling that this was a personal attack, saying that she believes that her vampire father Adrian Duffy was the culprit as a way to get to her. Bill tells her that it does sound like Adrian, as he encountered her father during his younger years as a cryptozoologist when investigating cattle mutilations. after that, we cut to the chopper landing in the forests of Bladenboro, North Carolina all the while a mysterious giant big cat with piercing yellow eyes bears its fangs as it watches our heroes exit the vehicle from beneath the shadow of a tree in the nearby forest, the creature looking up at the sunset before saying "once the night falls, my time to feed begins" before disappearing in a cloud of black smoke. we then see our heroes explore the dark forest with their flashlights, Cindy closing her eyes using her ESPer powers to sense a strange presence in the area. Dominic asks what she's doing, and Natalie explains to him that she's an ESPer. we then see a cloud of black smoke suddenly surround our heroes, Michelle Duffy cocking her shotgun as she sees a pair of glowing yellow eyes shine bright. she then shoots at the cat-like silhouette in the mist only for her to miss, followed by the Vampire beast lunging out of the mist to pinch on Cindy, the beast shouting in a growly voice "after a decade of sustaining myself on animal blood I finally get the chance to feed myself on human for a change. and you little girl, are a FEAST!" causing Cindy to be petrified in fear as the beast opens its jaws around her neck however before the creature can feast Natalie electrocutes it with her electric bo-staff causing the beast to roar in pain, Natalie shouting "leave her alone!" followed by Dr. Michelle Duffy saying "It was you who killed the Jackalope at the sanctuary wasn't it? I know it's you father, you can drop the disguise". the Vampire beast then grows before saying "pity, this is my favorite form" before transforming into its true form: Adrian Duffy, Michelle's father, a pale-skinned man with long brown hair, a black cloak, and pale skin (along with pointy ears) much to the shock of Natalie and the Johnson family. Duffy points her shotgun at her father's chest, asking him why he went to the trouble of killing one of her cryptids just to bring her all the way out here. Adrian grabs the shotgun and pulls it out of his daughter's hand before tossing it onto the ground, telling her that he wanted to talk, to make up for lost time by doing some father-daughter bonding. Dominic looks at Natalie and tells her "gee talk about family drama". Michelle Duffy tells her father that she wanted nothing to do with him, he's a heartless killer and she couldn't be part of that life, which is why she decided to dedicate her life to helping cryptids. Adrian strokes his daughter's chin with his sharp fingernail, telling her "you're denying your own true nature, daughter. whether you like it or not you're part vampire, my own flesh and blood. I want you to take your place by my side, a princess of the hominis nocturna". Michelle Duffy retaliates by telling her father she's nothing like him, she's part of the Animal X Natural Mystery Unit. Adrian Duffy grabs Cindy by the neck and lifts her into the air, Natalie demanding him to let her go. however Adrian Duffy summons a cloud of black smoke to blind our heroes only for him to disappear with Cindy. Natalie says that they should go rescue her while Dominic broods in the corner, followed by Michelle Duffy telling our heroes that she has a good idea where he went. we then cut to Cindy waking up to find herself in an old abandoned house tied up, Cindy turning her head to see Adrian Duffy standing before her. Cindy asks what this place is, and Mr. Duffy tells her that this is the old Duffy family household, the childhood home of his daughter Michelle. Cindy asks him whatever happened to "Mrs. Duffy" and he explains that they were once a happy family... until he couldn't hold back his thirst for human blood any longer and gave into his temptation, he bled his wife dry to satiate his hunger which horrifies little Cindy who asks Adrian what he wants with her, followed by Adrian telling her that he can smell a special power within her, a power he finds very fascinating, looking down at her Atlantean crystal pendant that Cindy clutches closer to her chest saying "you can't have my crystal!" however Adrian bears his fangs, telling Cindy "I care not for your fancy jewelry, it's the power that's in your blood I desire, the power of the ESPer gene. and I intend to obtain it for myself by drinking your blood and becoming an ESPer myself, and after that I'll become one of the most powerful vampires ever known!" followed by Adrian Duffy transforming back into his vampire beast form and growling at the captive Cindy. however Natalie, Michelle Duffy, and Dominic arrive on the scene to stand in front of the beast, Michelle Duffy cocking her shotgun telling him "we won't let you take her power, dad" followed by Dominic whipping out an extendable sword to cut Cindy free, Cindy looking up at Dominic and telling him "guess you're not so bad after all". the vampire beasts turns his head to Michelle, telling him "you're making a mistake not accepting your destiny, daughter" before turning his feline head to get a whiff of Dominic's blood, telling him "your blood is special, my boy. I can smell the blood of many beasts flowing through your veins..." followed by Dominic charging at the vampire beast sword in hand with Natalie shouting "Dominic stop, harming cryptids is against Animal X regulations!" however Dominic doesn't listen and goes for the throat only for the vampire beast to catch the blade in its mouth and bite it in half before swatting Dominic away with his front paw before turning his attention to Cindy who hided behind Natalie and Michelle Duffy for protection, Duffy firing her shotgun at her bestial father wounding him in the shoulder, Duffy telling him "that was for mom". the wounded Adrian reverts to his humanoid vampire form and tells his daughter "much like you, I tried to deny my nature as a vampire for as long as I can when I first met your mother. I abstained from consuming human blood when we were together, when we had you... but soon I realized I couldn't resist the natural urge to feed for much longer, which led to her untimely death. It was my foolish thought I could live amongst her kind as a human that cost your mother her life, and the same thing will happen to your friends if you don't accept yourself as a creature of the night, it's not what I want for you" followed by the wounded Adrian turning into a cloud of smoke to confuse our heroes before sneaking behind to grab Cindy lifting her up in the air, with Adrian saying "but no matter, once I have the powers of an ESPer, I will have no need for an heir" however Natalie electrocutes Adrian with her electric batons causing him to drop Cindy who is caught by Natalie. Dominic then gets himself back up and says "take a look outside, hominis nocturna" followed by Adrian turning his head to see the morning sun come up causing his skin to burn forcing him to revert to his beast form to resist the pain, Cindy asking Michelle Duffy if her dad is gonna be okay, and Michelle tells her "sunlight doesn't kill us vampires, It just causes severe burning to the skin upon contact. but believe me, it is so excruciatingly painful it makes them wish they were dead. it's a good thing I'm half-human so I don't have to worry about that". the Vampire beast starts roaring in pain only for Animal X personnel to arrive on the scene to contain Adrian in his bestial form, Adrian saying "goodbye daughter" as smoke trails from the naked patches of skin the sun burned off before he is muzzled and carried off into a transport truck with the Animal X logo on it, Duffy saying "goodbye father". after that, we cut to our heroes returning to the sanctuary where we see Cindy playing with some of the baby cryptids while Natalie shakes hands with Dominic, telling him that with more proper training he will make an excellent Animal X agent, Dominic blushing saying it's an honor. Michelle Duffy thanks both of them for helping take down her father, the sanctuary is forever in their debt. we then see the X-Van arrive on the scene where Cindy is happily re-united with her parents who are happy to see her again. Natalie and Dominic both wave Michelle Duffy goodbye as they both board the X-Van which transforms into flight mode and blasts off ending our episode on a good note.