"We're going to die." "Shut up." "But...we are! Come on, Hino, it's insane! They'll kill us!" Rei rolled her eyes and swallowed down a couple of painkillers. "They won't kill us." "They will too." "Will not." "Will too." "Will not." "Will too." "Will...listen, I'm not doing this. It's stupid." "Fighting a bunch of super-powered, undead legions is stupid too, but you're doing that," Mitsuki muttered irritably. "You can go home if you want to." "No way! First of all, Kazuki is going to find me and kill me if I don't come..." Rei shook her head. "I've never seen anyone so afraid of their boss..." "...and secondly," Mitsuki continued, ignoring her, "if I don't come and help, you're probably going to die, and I don't want that on my conscience." "Right." "I'm serious. Look at you. You're tired, and you've been eating those painkillers like they're candy. If one of those...whatever they are gets a hold of you, you're out for the count. No pun intended." "Ugh...it was still a pretty bad pun though...and I'll be fine." "Why are you going, anyway?" "Because, it's my job." "But...they're out of your area. And besides, wouldn't it be easier to have a lot of people sent down here?" "Who's going to believe me when I say that I've seen vampires?" Mitsuki slumped, leaned her head against the cool glass of the car window. "I guess you're right...but it seems unnecessarily dangerous. You might die." "I might." "Don't you care? I mean, they're not all that bad...if Kazuki wanted to, she would have you know, killed me a while ago..." "Listen, they have killed people." "But..." Mitsuki shrugged, closed her eyes. "Whatever." Neither of them spoke for the rest of the ride. ------------------- "I know you know something," Demando began carefully. "I've tried to be fair..." "By kidnapping us?" Setsuna asked evenly. Demando raked his fingers through his hair. Always difficult. Why was her clan so difficult? Women, he thought to himself. Out loud, he said, "Serenity has been...distant." "I'd be distant too, if I was torn away from my home." "I'm sure your mate can attest to that," Demando snapped. He was feeling especially annoyed. "You took her away from her home, and you hadn't even--" "She has nothing to do with this," Setsuna said, her voice rising. She gained her composure and smoothed out wrinkles in her coat. "Eventually, she warmed to me." "When she realized she had nothing left, yes. How...selfish of you." "For several millennia," Setsuna began, and now she sounded tired, and old, "I have searched for one suitable to me. I am an ancient, I have fought the hunters, I deserve this." "Does she?" Setsuna slumped her shoulders, pulled her knees to her chest. "No. She grew into it...better than Serenity did, though. She has her humanity, but it is...too far locked away, too long gone. Serenity will never lose her humanity, her empathy. This isn't the...way, her path." "It's nobody's path, Setsuna," Demando said calmly. He gazed out the window. "It was not my path, nor yours. But, she has to make the best of it." "You..." she sighed wearily. "You have to let her choose..." "Choose what?" "Where she wants to go. You owe her...that much." "And you, Setsuna?" "I will...if she wishes it, I will release Kazuki. I'll ask. But you..." "I'll do what I wish." "She'll never love you." "Is that so? Why?" Setsuna paused, looked down at her hands. Demando frowned. "You know something, don't you?" He went closer, moved his fingers beneath her chin and lifted her head. "Tell me." "I am not at liberty to divulge--" Before she finished, Demando made a disgusted noise. "You know, I have you hostage." Setsuna gritted her teeth. "I'm well aware." "Not only you....but the others." His expression turned thoughtful. "I don't need all of them, you know. Just Serenity." He paused. "And you, of course. You seem to have the gift of future sight. However you've acquired it, I do not know. Through years of study, perhaps?" Setsuna opened her mouth to speak, but Demando continued. "Whatever the case, I don't need them all. Especially not Kazuki. She's a rogue, to difficult to control." "You wouldn't!" "You can find another, choose a new mate." "You..." Setsuna paused for a moment, thought. What...is more important? My Queen's safety, and her happiness...or mine? "I know what will come to pass, Demando. Whatever actions you take will not change the final result, merely the actions leading to it. For my queen, I will...do anything. You were right; I was selfish. But not today. I will not allow you to hurt any others. Do...as you wish. What will be will be. You cannot stop it, no matter how hard you try." Demando's face twisted into such an expression of rage, that Setsuna recoiled slightly. "I'll force it out of you!" "Try. Your mind control isn't strong enough to break my defenses. You'll only succeed in exhausting yourself." "Then I'll kill everyone." "They are more resilient than you think. They are waiting, waiting for a moment when your hold becomes too weak over them. You forget, you are dealing with very powerful women." Setsuna allowed herself a smirk. Demando frowned, waved a hand. "Very well Setsuna. Very well. But, you will regret this." Setsuna nodded sadly. "I know." --------------- The slow hum of the engine was beginning to lull Celeste into sleep, but she fought to stay awake. "Why couldn't we do it the old-fashioned way, with horses?" Mia gave her a rather unladylike snort. "You're kidding me. What would we look like, riding in on horses?" "I'm just saying, being in this nice, cushy car is making me sleepy. I won't be on the top of my game." "You'll be fine. Don't worry about it." The car skidded to a halt. "We're here?" Celeste asked, glancing up. "We're here." Celeste glanced at the large, foreboding building in the distance. "Looks like a haunted apartment building." "It very well could be." "How exactly, are we going to find our way in there?" "We'll manage." "They have security, I bet. And, I'm sure they know we're coming." "They might." "Stop being cryptic!" "Can't help it." she grinned. "In my blood." "Grandpa always said you Repiamseus were too mysterious for your own good." "And grandmother said the Videames were always too reckless." Celeste leaned against the car, frowned. "Hmph. Are you worried?" "A little. We've never had to deal with a whole group of the things. One, here and there, yes. But never more than that." "We just have to wait. Lure them out around sunrise, then, boom. No more vampires. At least this group." "Stay alive until sunrise...sounds like fun." she smiled, and blinked when she heard the familiar ring of her cell phone. "Who could be calling..." Celeste leaned over Mia's shoulder. "What is it?" "Someone is coming...to this area. I thought it was closed off..." she blinked in confusion. Celeste sighed. "Always something..." --------------- "Are there people here already?" Mitsuki asked. Rei rifled in her pockets for the weapon from Kazuki's shop. "They can't be here already. I thought they would still be inside..." "Hey, Hino." "Hmm?" "How'd you know how to find this place?" Rei paused, blinked. How had she known how to get there? "I..." She felt a tug, barely there, on the fringes of her mind. Could that have been... "I'm not sure..." "You're not sure? How can't you be--" "Don't worry about it. Worry about those people up ahead." Mitsuki clamped her mouth shut, and Rei opted instead to get her badge instead of the weapon. For some reason, she knew these people weren't vampires. "Police!" She cried out. The two glanced up. "Police...?" One asked smoothly. "What are police officers doing here?" the second muttered. "This is a restricted area, and a private residence!" Rei continued. "Please get in your vehicle, and leave!" Both of the women, to Rei's surprise, started to laugh. "How do we know you're a police officer?" Rei held her badge up again, and one woman, the taller one, shook her head. "We can't see it from here, dear. We don't have night vision, you know." Rei coughed, and Mitsuki snickered. "I want you to move slowly toward me. No sudden movements." "Are you kidding me?" she heard one of the women whisper. "Paranoid, isn't she?" "What are you doing here alone?" the other woman said. "Your friend," she motioned to Mitsuki, "doesn't appear to be an officer of the law. You seem to be the suspicious one." She flicked a business card over to Rei. "I'm an executive of SpYder Incorporated, Mia Repiamseu. My friend here is, as well. We're defense dealers, you see." "So you make weapons." "For government corporations, yes. We don't believe in illegal behavior, Detective. You are a Detective, am I right?" "Yes." This woman was too smooth, Rei realized. Her friend was quiet, let her speak. "But what are you doing here, Ms. Repiamseu, and..." "Videame. Celeste Videame," the second said. "Right. What are you two doing here?" "We could ask the same of you," Celeste said sharply. "I'm sure you're off duty by now." "If this area is restricted, what are you doing around here at these hours, I wonder..." Mia mused quietly to herself. "I haven't heard of anything happening in these parts. Unless you know something we don't?" Rei frowned. She didn't like these women, didn't trust them. "Listen, just run along. I have to do a quick look-out of this place, because we've heard of trouble--" "Don't regular patrol cops do that?" Celeste asked. "I mean, seems like a pretty small thing for a detective to be doing." "That is, if you're a detective..." Mia murmured softly. She glanced at the building. "If you must know, we have friends around these parts." "I don't believe you," Rei said sharply. The tugging at her mind grew stronger, she had to figure out what these two girls were up to... "We don't believe you," Mia countered coolly. She shifted her weight; Rei caught the glimpse of something metallic, gleaming in the night. "Drop your weapon!" "Weapon?" Mia moved her hand to her right hip, grazed her fingers across the gun. She removed it, and slowly dropped it on the ground. She glanced up, and her eyes narrowed. "Celeste," she hissed, her fingers tightening around the gun again. "Look at her eyes..." Celeste did indeed look, and quickly as she could, moved back, pulled out her own gun. "Fuck!" She glanced at Mitsuki as well, frowned. "Hey kid, move out of the way!" Mitsuki frowned in confusion. "What...?" The sharp pop of bullets ricocheted through the air, one catching Rei in the shoulder, the other, her hip. Rei gasped in pain, stared in fascinated horror as the wounds closed over, the bullets popping out with a hollow click. Just like Serenity... "Just as I thought," Mia remarked, lowering the still smoking gun in her hand. "You're one of them." ------------------ Everyone is probably confused now. Read the previous chapters, and you'll see hints to Rei's vampirism. Serenity is a more powerful vampire, no, so the effects would take longer than they would have with a less...powerful vampire. Also, Rei's eyes were glowing, much like Michiru's did in the chapter where she and Haruka got Makoto.
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