Wolfe: I have the new chapter!! I think people are going to love this story, but I will leave that for you to decide. On with the story!! Forgive me!! *cowers* I didn't mean for it to take this long!! Sorry!!!

Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own.

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Lex Shalom watched as hid faithful R.G. commander came into view, his bat-like body easily fluttering through the sky. Using the pair of binoculars around his neck he looked, hoping to see that he had brought back what he had been sent out to get. He was not disappointed, for hanging from his clawed feet was the limp body of somebody clothed in a hospital gown. Vlad pulled his wings back and landed with a grunt on the mat Lex had laid out, dropping Vergil from his grasp. He was greeted with a smile and a pat on the back.

"Excellent work, Vladimyr. You took much less time then I thought you would." Vlad showed his pleasure at the praise by rumbling deep in his chest and smiling. "Thank you sir. If you would excuse me for a moment, I'll change back and we can proceed. Then, I think I'll head down and make sure Forty-three didn't keel over from yesterday's incident." Lex nodded and stepped inside off the balcony for a moment. From his place leaning against the desk in the room he saw a bright flash of light and a groaning roar was heard. The light dissipated and Lex gave Vlad five minutes to recollect himself.

Vlad's demonic form had only two drawbacks. He was extremely vulnerable to sunlight and reverting to his human self hurt. Vlad entered the room at that time, Vergil slung over his should like a sack of potatoes. "Which cell do I put him in Sir?" Lex shook his head and grinned. "No cell. Put him in the guest bedroom." Vlad looked puzzled. "Sir?" He asked and shifted his weight from one leg to the other and back.. "We're going to enlist a little psychological warfare. You up for a little game of ring-around the castle?" Vlad smiled widely.

"Do I even need to answer that question Sir?" Ring-around the castle was a "game" the they didn't really like to enlist very often because it required a lot of time and manpower. But it always produced some of the best results. Place a prisoner in one area, mess with them in some way or the other, knock them out and move them. It was tiresome at times but always worked. And was so incredibly fun for the jailers that it wasn't funny. Lex simply smiled and allowed Vlad to lead the way to the nearest guest bedroom.

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Vergil shifted with a groan. Oh how he hurt. He slowly forced his eyes open with a low ragged moan. Wait just a minute! This wasn't the hospital! Vergil shot up in the bed he was laying in, instantly regretting it as he pulled the stitches on his chest. He heard a shuffle in the shadows of the room and he glared hard, hoping to draw who or whatever it was from the recess of his hiding place. He saw a pair of glowing blue eyes and finally a large lizard the size of a small horse padded forward, scales glinting in the dim light of lamp it held in it's jaws, large wings beating behind him, bull-like horns looking sharp and deadly.

It's eyes were distrustful as it padded forward and set the lamp on the bedside table, giving Vergil a better view of the room. It was painted in a dark royal blue and the silk bedclothes matched the color. Vergil let a blush cross his face when he noticed he wasn't wearing any cloths, just a pair of black boxers, also silk, and bandages all over the place. The lizard stood up with his front paws on the edge of the bed and gently nosed Vergil back down.

"The Master says you should rest. Dinner will be in soon. You've been asleep for quite awhile, Mr. Vergil. I hope you're not in too much pain." Vergil blinked. It talked. It's voice was a distorted sounding growl and it was kind, though it seemed meant to be mean. The lizard pressed his nose to Vergil's forehead and hummed softly. "Your fever had gone down. That's a good thing. Can I get you anything, Mr. Vergil?"

Getting over his shock, Vergil nodded. "Some water, if at all possible." The lizard nodded and padded over to the side of the room, using his tail to open the door of a small fridge. He watched as the creature gently grabbed a bottle in his jaws and padded back, gently laying the bottle next to his knees. Vergil patted the lizard on the head, noticing that he almost flinched away but managed to stop the action for fear of offending Vergil. "Do you have a name?"

The lizard flinched. "No, Sir. At least, I don't think I do." Vergil felt a pull at his heartstrings. Now that he was adjusted to the light he could see that the lizard was bone-thin and haunted looking. "Well then, for now, I'll call you...Aviador." It meant Flyer in Spanish, for his wings looked like he could fly anywhere he wanted. Aviador smiled but froze violently when there was a sharp whistle from beyond the door and down the hall.

"Shit!" Vergil jumped at the curse that left Aviador. "Forgive me, but I must depart, lest I be tied to the gallows again. My Guardian will be most displeased if I don't come to his call." Vergil gave another shocked nod as Aviador left the lamp on the beside table and scurried out.

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Vlad tapped his foot impatiently as his ward scrabbled on the stone floors of the castle hallways, darting forward. His claws scraped violently and he skid, horns getting stuck comically in the caulking of the stone wall. "Um, Master." It begged slightly, bracing his paws and trying to pull the horns out. Vlad let him scrabble away for a few minutes before he reached over, grabbed the horns and yanked. His ward went flying back and landed against the wall, looking dazed for a moment before he stood, head bowed in front of Vlad.

"You called, Master?" He mumbled. "Yes. How is Mr. Vergil? I assume he is in good condition considering you were talking to him for fifteen minutes." The lizard nodded. "Good. Very good Forty-three. You'll have to take care of him for a few more days before we can move him again. Do you think you can balance that and your training." Forty-three nodded and leaned into Vlad's hand slightly when it landed between his ears and began petting slightly. "That's my good boy. I'll have someone else bring dinner to him. For now, return to your den and rest. Dorri said that the flexor muscle in your wing would not heal if you moved too much."

Forty-three nodded and padded away, Vlad watching his back the entire way. He'd been watching over Forty-three since he was brought in as a mere dragon fledgling, a human no more than four years old, his parents unable to deal with the fact that their child was a demon. He'd been dropped off at the orphanage until Lex found him, noticing that he carried special features. He'd brought him home that day, stripped the child of his name and gave him a number. Vlad and Kayta were the only ones, besides Lex and Forty-three, who knew his name.

Vlad glanced at the door down the hall that housed their newest experiment. All conditions permitting, he would be stripped off his name and given a number. All permanent experiments were given a number to be known by and tattooed with. Forty-three's tattoo was on his neck and Vlad couldn't, after years of caring for him, stand seeing it the black serial number there. So long ago he'd bought Forty-three a collar to cover it. Black leather studded with sapphires and emeralds and gray tribal drifts ingrained into the leather. Forty-three never took it off. For it was his tag of ownership and the other people of the lab knew to leave him alone, less they suffer Vlad's wrath.

Vlad sighed and walked down the hall, hand resting on the pommel of Samael, his Rapier as he waltzed to his own room, the late evening breeze cooling the air all around him.

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Vergil sighed as he pushed the food around on his plate, unsure whether or not it was safe to eat. It didn't smell bad, but many poisons were completely undetectable so he was admittedly nervous. Swallowing his pride, he swallowed a forkful of the roast beef, tasting it with caution. It was good!! He ate, finally realizing it was good and he was really hungry. In less than ten minutes, the food was gone and he was feeling a little sleepy. Okay, really sleepy. As Vergil succumbed to the odd sleep, he knew he'd been had.