AN: I just want to say thank you to everyone who has supported this story so far. Since I was asked, the first few arcs in this story-the ones I like to refer to as the introductory arcs-will each be about three chapters long, though some chapters may not be part of an arc at all, and most arcs later will be longer than three chapters. It all depends on how long it takes to finish each part of the story. So knowing that, this is the last chapter in the first arc. The next one will involve the story of several more characters.

She hung in the blackness, suspended by an unseen force above a chasm which appeared to continue down for eternity. There was no sound other than her own breathing around her, and it seemed to muffle the entire scene.

After what felt like hours, a figure began to form off in the distance. Squinting, she could just make out its outline. It seemed to walk with a bobbing motion as though floating on the emptiness. Slowly she began to make out more details.

It was a man, clothing in disarray and covered with discolored patches. His straw-colored hair fell freely to his shoulders, flowing slightly behind him from his forward motion.

But as he approached, instead of assurance, a sudden sense of dread began to fill her body. A need to escape, to run away. As the man drew closer, she struggled against whatever held her bound, finally looking up to inspect it.

There, pounded through her wrist was a metal spike pinning her to some unfelt surface.

She started to kick and scream, desperately attempting to pull herself loose. The figure grew larger until it stood right before her.

"Game over," Steelfinger smirked, before stabbing a single spike directly into her heart.

Crystal woke with a gasp, sweat leaking from every pore. Her muscles were tensed, as though she had really been struggling against an unseen force.

"A nightmare," She panted, trying to calm herself down. "Just a nightmare...that's normal. The doctor said it happens after trauma...but it wasn't real..."

So why did she feel as though that spike really had been driven into her heart?

-X-

"You must have been terrified!" One of her classmates whose name she had never bothered to learn chattered. "He had you locked up in an old warehouse? Do you really think he was planning to kill you?"

"Of course not," A voice spoke up from behind them as Gold pushed his way through the crowd. "The known serial killer who has never left a victim alive just wanted to chat with her, maybe share a sip of brandy. Isn't that right?"

"Nobody asked you, Gold," Another girl sighed in exasperation. "I doubt Crystal wants to talk to you right now-she's not supposed to be under stress."

"Then I guess you ought to quit badgering her, huh?" Gold smirked at the girl. "I'm sure that's more stressful than any joke I could crack. Lay off."

And surprisingly, they did. The crowd of students who had gathered slowly dispersed until the two were alone.

"Thanks," Crystal muttered. "Though I'm sure they'll come back."

Gold shook his head. "Don't worry about them; it's your first day back so if they get too over the top you can always escape to the nurse, tell her all the attention is giving you migraines or something. I'll bet she would even let you skip the rest of your classes today."

Crystal looked aghast at the thought. "There's no way I would cut classes after being gone for an entire week. I'm far enough behind as it is."

Gold shrugged. "If you say so, though there are other kids who would jump to be in a position like yours right now. Hey, what do you say we go get some ice cream or something after school? My treat."

Crystal turned in interest. "Do my ears deceive me or does that sound suspiciously like a date?"

Gold waved his hand in a dismissing manner. "Are you crazy? I'm just trying to be a good friend is all. If you don't want to go..."

"No no, I do!" Crystal insisted. "Ice cream...that sounds really nice. Thanks Gold."

The boy nodded and checked his Pokégear. "Well I need to get to my next class. I'll meet you after school by the flag pole. Make sure your mom knows or she'll have a heart attack." With that he waved and walked off.

Crystal waved back, the slightest hint of a blush creeping into her cheeks. She shook her head and frowned. What had she been thinking? Of course Gold wouldn't be asking her out. Why would she even care? He was stubborn, hot-headed and annoying; the last person she would ever fall for.

But still, it was nice to have someone besides Yellow and Red who cared about her, who was actually making an effort to make her feel better.

And admittedly his goggles were kind of cute.

-X-

"One last question," Yellow begged for the sixth time. "Why doesn't the sun hurt you? Isn't it supposed to turn vampires to ash or something?"

"That's mostly a myth," Red replied, "Although there's some truth to it. Vampires can go out in the sun unprotected, but they burn easily. It's like when you get a sunburn, but it happens a lot faster. To counter this, we can form this sort of see-through second skin to block the sunlight. You can't even see it after it forms, so people can't even tell it's there,"

Yellow nodded in amazement. "And what about garlic? Does that hurt you? Make your throat swell up?"

Red shrugged, taking another bite of his hamburger. The two were at the Darkwing Mall's food court where Yellow was squeezing every drop of information about Red's vampiric nature she could get from him.

"Well it's not quite that extreme. Vampires are all allergic to garlic is all, although nobody is sure why. It gets a little annoying because I always used to be partial to that stuff before I was...changed."

Yellow nodded attentively. "So you haven't always been a vampire then?"

Red shook his head. "Vampires don't reproduce the same way as people, as you might remember from when I...fixed your leg last week. Female vampires can't have children, and male vampires...well that's another story."

Yellow was about to inquire further when her phone suddenly rang. She turned away for a moment to answer it. "Hello?"

"Yellow," Her uncle's voice rang from the other end of the line. "You'd better have an excellent explanation for why your room is a disaster."

The blonde raised an eyebrow in confusion. "But I cleaned it before I left, I promise."

Her uncle scoffed. "Then explain to me why it looks like a train wreck. I want to see you back here in twenty minutes or you'll be grounded for a full week."

"Yes uncle," Yellow sighed. "I'll be right there." She closed the phone and turned back to Red apologetically. "Sorry about this. I'll be in deep trouble if I don't go sort this out. It was probably just Chuchu or Ratty knocking things over."

Red stood quickly. "If you like I can come help you. I have nothing else to do today until my mom gets home."

"Oh, I can't ask you to do that," Yellow shook her head furiously. "It's fine, you probably don't want to see my messy room anyway."

"Really, it's no trouble," Red insisted, following her down the street. "Besides, you shouldn't be walking home alone..." He leaned in, "You don't know who might be hiding along the way."

Yellow's eyes widened in realization, "Alright, if you're sure," They continued walking toward their neighborhood. "You know, you don't fit any of the stereotypes I'd always been taught about vampires. People always told me they were ravenous monsters who just want to kill people."

Red looked down. "Well unfortunately, there are some vampires like that out there. If someone becomes a vampire without another person to keep them under control or a way to contain themselves…they usually end up exactly like that."

"So then why are there some who are nice like you?" Yellow inquired further.

"The story goes that there was a count who had been chained up in a dungeon by his people during an attempted revolution. While he was there, a wild vampire burst in and attacked him, attempting to drain his blood. At the last second he drove the monster back and it started going after the other prisoners instead. By the time it realized the count was still human, he had already turned. The chains were too strong for him to break-some versions of the story say they were made of silver which even a vampire's strength can't break-but he was still able to fight the thing off."

"He killed it?" The enraptured girl inquired.

Red shook his head. "Supposedly, he impaled it alive, wrapped a spare bit of his chain around its neck. Then when his captors returned to finish him off, the count set the thing loose on them. After it was done, the vampire fled, but the bodies of the guards still carried the keys to the cell. Somehow he was able to get ahold of the keys and release himself, and by then he had regained enough of his sanity to control himself. He went off into the woods and began creating vampires, training them until they could act just like humans, and that discovery of his is how I stand before you today."

Yellow was speechless after the story. Come to think of it, she remembered something mentioned about that in history once, but had forgotten it until now. "That's amazing."

Red looked up and pointed out their location. "We've reached your house. Is it still alright if I help you? I'm actually pretty fond of cleaning."

Yellow smiled. "Sure, but believe me, you have no idea what you're getting yourself into," She opened the front door to find her uncle standing there waiting.

"I see you brought some help along," Wilton noted, clearly not impressed. "I'm assuming that's why he's here, yes?"

"Yes uncle," Yellow nodded. "You remember Red, right? He and his mom moved in a few weeks before school started."

Wilton nodded. "I heard a bit about you from your mom the other day, and she says you're a good kid. Make sure you don't prove her wrong."

"I wouldn't dream of it sir," Red bowed. The gesture caught Yellow's uncle off-guard, who let the slightest hint of a smile creep into his firm expression.

"Well you seem to know how to respect your elders at least," The older man nodded, stepping aside. "But if I catch you two doing anything else up there, you'll be out of this house faster than you can even blink!"

"Uncle!" Yellow moaned, her face going bright red. "Red's just a friend."

"That's what they all say," Her uncle huffed. "Now get to work, and you'll have to do something about the scratches in the dresser too."

"Yes uncle," Yellow nodded, quickly leading Red upstairs to a hallway with two doors.

"I met a zombie once who didn't want to bite my head off half as much as your uncle seems to," Red noted jokingly.

"He's really not as bad as he seems," Yellow promised. "I'm sure he's just trying to put up a tough act in front of you."

"Well it worked," The black-haired boy grumbled.

Yellow smiled at that, before opening the door on the left and stepping inside. That smile was quickly replaced by a look of disbelief. The room beyond was completely thrashed, with drawers pulled open, covers undone, and paper and clothes lying all over the floor. She noted the long set of scratch marks her uncle had mentioned, practically blending in to the rest of the beat-up old dresser if one wasn't looking for them.

"This doesn't look like a random mess," Red noted, walking around a bit. "It almost looks like someone came in and searched the place. I doubt any of your Pokemon would have done this."

Yellow nodded in agreement as she looked around. Suddenly, she noticed quite self-consciously that Red was standing beside a very particular pile of clothes.

"Hey, do me a favor," Yellow got his attention quickly. "Can you go down and check the backyard for my Pokemon? All six should be back there. Just in case it was one of them who scuffed up the dresser, maybe you could check their nails for paint quickly?"

Red raised an eyebrow at the odd request. "Uh...sure, I can do that." He nodded once more to her before heading out and down the stairway.

Yellow sighed in relief before grabbing the piles of clothes and tossing them into their respective drawers. She could sort them out later when there wasn't a boy standing in the middle of her room.

A moment later, Red returned just as Yellow closed the last dresser drawer. "Wow, you sure work fast."

"Were they all there?" Yellow asked. "Did you check their nails?"

The boy nodded. "None of them seemed like they had scratched anything up, so something else must have done it."

A chill suddenly ran down the length of Yellow's spine. "Or maybe...someone."

Red looked down at the gouges again. Four of them in perfect rows. "You're thinking it was Steelfinger, aren't you?"

The blonde nodded. "You said he might be able to find us...because he knows our names. Well now I think he has," She looked down, feeling a bit sick to her stomach. "My uncle said he found the marks when he came home. If either of us had been here we could have died."

Red put a reassuring hand on her arm. "Don't worry, the cops are looking for this guy and he can't run forever."

"I hope they catch him," Yellow shivered. "After what he did to Crystal, I would be perfectly alright never to see that guy again..."

-X-

Yellow's uncle had been reasonably lenient on the two of them once the room was tidied up. He still seemed suspicious of Red, but nowhere near as grumpy as he had been when they arrived. After a resigned sigh, he finally permitted Yellow to head out again for a little while.

Soon enough it was getting dark, and as the sun set Yellow began to grow nervous.

"What if he comes back?" She asked as she walked through the park with Red and Crystal, who had joined the two after her ice cream trip with Gold. "Suppose he's waiting for me to come back and go to sleep before he pounces?"

Crystal put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, if you're concerned, you can sleep over at my house tonight. I'll just need to clear it with your uncle first."

"What about him though?" Yellow pressed. "He might get attacked too."

"I'll make sure he doesn't," Red promised. "I can keep an eye on your house tonight. I don't sleep all that much anyway."

Yellow looked a bit more confident about her family's security now. "Thanks guys, I really appreciate that."

"Well, I need to go," Crystal nodded, "I promised Gold I'd help him with his math homework; he's probably waiting for me."

"Is he really?" Red smirked, flashing her a knowing look. "First ice cream and now a study session? You two seem to be getting pretty close..."

Crystal's face flashed through four different shades of red as she shook her head furiously. "I-it's not like that! He just wanted to buy me ice cream because I just got back, and I'm only helping him out because he's lazy and needs to improve!"

Yellow took a deep breath in, a grin on her face as she tried with all her might not to burst out laughing. "Ah...young love. How romantic."

"Sh-shut up Yellow!" Crystal stuttered. "If you two are going to be immature about it then I might as well leave." She marched off heavily, still blushing from ear to ear.

"Maybe we shouldn't have teased her," Red sighed. "She's still getting over what happened, after all."

"I dunno, maybe some romance is exactly what she needs right now," Yellow shrugged.

"With Gold though?" Red noted. "Even I think that's a bit far-fetched. Those two are like day and night."

"You might be surprised," Yellow grinned. She checked her watch. "It's getting late, we should probably head back. I don't want to risk my uncle grounding me for missing curfew."

The vampire boy nodded, and the two turned to head back home.

-X-

Steelfinger did not return that night, or the one following. By the second day Yellow had decided she would probably be safe in her own bed so long as Red kept his window open.

"Even a few houses away, I'll be able to hear if anything happens," He explained. This had reassured Yellow and she slept much more peacefully.

Three days after her room had been broken into, Yellow was sitting at lunch with her friends, starting to think that maybe the psycho had given up or assumed he had the wrong house.

"What'd I tell you?" Gold grinned to Crystal. "All the kids who were bugging you have finally buzzed off. Welcome back to your original standing as a fellow social outcast."

Crystal seemed relieved, but it was Green of all people who seemed bothered. "None of us are really in the mood for your jokes Gold."

"No need to be a sourpuss," The goggle-geared boy noted. "I'm just trying to lighten the mood, sorry if I penetrated your lonely sphere of humorlessness."

Green sighed. "Well maybe my sphere and I will head somewhere else then." He turned quickly and strode off.

"What's his deal?" Gold asked. "What happened to the happy go-lucky Green from last week?"

"He's just anxious," Blue explained, picking up a carrot with her fork. "He always gets like that around this time. Don't worry, he'll bounce back soon."

Red was just about to ask what was particular about "this time" when a student passed by handing out copies of the school paper.

"That guy's in the news again," Silver noted quietly, showing them a grainy image of Steelfinger running through an alley. "A reporter got a picture of him in the industrial section, so he's still in the city."

Oddly enough, it wasn't the fact that the criminal was still here that shocked Red. As he thought about it, he could never remember hearing Silver speak for as long as he'd known him. This seemed to be a shock to the others as well as they all seemed taken aback.

"That creep is still hanging around?" Gold gritted his teeth. "He's got some divine punishment in his future for sure."

Yeah, and it's called lifetime imprisonment, if he's lucky," Blue nodded. "But how is it that a reporter had more luck catching up to that guy than the police force? Honestly, adults are useless." She gestured to Silver. "What else does it say?"

Instead of replying, Silver looked down, as though he'd expended his ability to speak for the day, before handing the paper to Crystal who scanned its contents.

"Police are trying to clear and cordon off the district, but a lot of major businesses operate there. Several companies are threatening to sue if they close it down."

"I can't say I disagree with them really," Gold noted. "I mean, sure the guy has done some terrible stuff but there's no way that's cause enough to shut down a quarter of the city. They just need to send in a team to track him down, not make all of this fuss."

"I think that may be the most intelligent sentence I've heard you speak in a long time," Yellow noted. "But as for me, I think this is a good thing. The sooner he's gone, the better."

"That's right, you and Red were the ones who found Crystal," Blue spoke up, as though she had just remembered that fact despite it being one of the most popular conversations at school for nearly a month. "You never did explain exactly how you got her out."

Yellow, Crystal and Red shared a three-way glance. They had agreed not to mention the details of how they had escaped, specifically the fact that Red was a vampire.

"We snuck in while Steelfinger was gone and grabbed her," Red explained, rehearsing their excuse. "Really it was a lucky thing that we didn't get caught."

The explanation seemed to satisfy Gold and Silver, but Blue still seemed a bit suspicious, as though she didn't buy their story.

"Well in any case, it's not our problem anymore, right?" Crystal spoke up. "By the way Gold, how'd you do on your math test?"

The black-haired boy looked up from his food with a grin and gave a thumbs-up. "I managed to get a "C" thanks to all that studying!"

Crystal's stance seemed to deflate slightly upon hearing this. "Oh, a "C" huh? That's great." She looked down. "Well, I'm finished eating, so I'm going to the library to study. I have a lot of catch-up to do still, and I can't waste any time."

"If you're sure," Yellow nodded. "Just be sure to stay safe, okay?"

Her blue-haired friend nodded. "Okay, I will."

-X-

The bell had just rung signifying the end of the lunch period and Crystal was hurrying to class. She had left the textbook for her next hour in her locker and she still needed to grab it. If she hurried, she might have a few extra minutes to study before class officially started.

Rounding the corner, she noticed some sort of crowd gathered around near her locker.

"What's going on?" She asked, trying to see around them. "Why are all these people here?"

In front of her, a younger girl wearing a blue bandana tied high over her head turned and noticed her. "Oh, there you are Crystal. You're going to want to see this."

Somewhat worried now, Crystal slowly made her way through the crowd. Nudging the final person aside, she fixed her gaze on her locker.

Then she screamed at the top of her lungs.

-X-

The words had been scored into the metal door, scraping away the paint in perfect lines to display a message.

"I found you girl," Gold recited. "And this time, you're not getting away so easily."

There was no name, but it seemed obvious who had put it there.

"How did he get into the school?" A boy asked.

"Or find your locker?" A girl piped up beside him. "Only the school administrators have access to student numbers."

The crowd pressed inward, questions assaulting Crystal like machine gun fire. Just as Yellow moved to interfere, Red stepped forward.

"That's enough," The boy spoke up, loud enough for everyone nearby to hear. "All of you, back up and give Crystal some space. You aren't helping her."

Something in his tone was so powerful that even Yellow's first urge was to step back and walk away, even though the comment obviously wasn't directed at her. Even Crystal shrank back for a moment.

"Thank you Red," Flannery spoke up as she arrived in the hall. "Students, please return to your regular classes. The Director and police have been notified, and are making preparation to search the area for this criminal. There is no need for the rest of you to get involved."

From that point, all the tensity which had mellowed out in the last few weeks snapped instantly back into force. It was eventually decided that Crystal would be placed into protective custody until things were sorted out.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll have this guy soon," Officer Jenny explained to Crystal. "We're getting very close to finding this guy. You'll be able to head back home within the week, just watch."

Yellow and Red, on the other hand, were deemed to have mild enough involvement to the point that they could remain in their homes at night. But for reassurance, police cars would be posted at the ends of the street.

So now Crystal was in a private wing of the police department staying in a room which was just a little too small for comfort. She had guards posted outside and wasn't even able to take a bathroom break without being escorted by an officer (Female, of course.) Apparently these people seemed convinced that Steelfinger would find a way to worm through a window the size of a bread loaf and kill her while she was in the loo. But really she couldn't blame them; who knew what else this guy was capable of?

This was how she found herself that night, laying on a bed which was essentially a cot with a thick blanket on top, fearing what might happen.

At the same time though, she was bored out of her mind. She had finished her schoolwork hours ago, and they wouldn't even give her a book to read.

It wasn't until a knock sounded at her door that she was broken out of her bubble of boredom. The door slipped open and a cop stuck his head in.

"There are two kids at the front here to see you," He explained. "Just thought you should know they're coming down." With that he retracted his head and went back to his post.

Crystal sighed happily, glad that something was coming along to break through the mindless drone of her own silence-numbed thoughts. She wondered distantly who her visitors were, though she had a pretty good idea.

-X-

Red and Yellow walked into the police station later than they had intended, as the latter had insisted on picking up a bouquet of flowers and a book for Crystal. They were met at the front door by an officer who was himself just entering the building.

"You two are here late," The man noted. "You aren't in trouble, are you?"

Red shook his head. "We're here to see a friend, that's all."

The cop chuckled. "Is your friend a felon or member of the force. Because if you're here for the former it'll take a lot more than flowers to bail 'em out."

Red laughed politely, though something about this straw-haired officer put him ill at ease, though he couldn't determine why.

"In any case, I'm just here to end my shift, so don't let me stop you," The man waved them in. The two entered and began making their way down the halls.

"Did that guy look familiar to you?" Red asked. "I swear I've seen him somewhere before."

"Maybe he's the parent of someone at school," Yellow nodded. "I think I remember him too."

Red shrugged. "Oh well, we'll figure it out later. Crystal's probably waiting."

They informed another officer that they were there and waited to be cleared to go back. After a few minutes, the guy gave them a thumbs-up and they continued down the hallway.

"Thank goodness!" Crystal exclaimed as they entered. "I've been bored stiff for hours; what took you so long?"

"Nice to see you too," Yellow grinned, holding out the book. "Here, we bought this for you to pass the time. It's nice and big so it should keep you busy for a while."

"Well at least a day," Crystal nodded as she inspected it. She laughed at Yellow's expression of disbelief. "I'm joking, not even I can read that fast."

After Red handed her the flowers the three settled down to talk.

"My mom is probably hysterical," The blue-haired girl noted. "My phone doesn't work in here so I haven't been able to call her. I just know she's probably having a panic attack."

"Relax, we told her we would let her know how you were when we got back," Red assured her, attempting to arrange the flowers in a vase he had brought. "Hey, do you know if there's a faucet nearby? These need water."

Crystal pointed outside. "It's down the hall, just ask the guards if you get lost."

Red nodded in thanks before stepping out, leaving the girls alone.

"I really do hope they catch him soon," Crystal frowned. "I'd rather not be cooped up in here for a month, thank you."

Yellow giggled, sitting down beside her friend. She noted that the cot was just as uncomfortable as it looked. Her friend was in for a rough few nights to be sure. "Just you wait, the police finally sent in teams to go after him. They'll stop him soon."

Crystal was about to voice a response when a muffled impact came from the other side of the door. It sounded as though something large had collapsed to the floor. Something like a body.

"What the-" Yellow was about to question this when a memory came to her. She suddenly knew why she recognized the guard from earlier.

"Run!" She yelled to Crystal who was already leaping to her feet. The doorknob turned with a metallic clink, as though grabbed by something other than a hand. Something made of steel.

The girls charged just as Steelfinger flung the metal portal open. Fueled by a combination of panic and adrenaline, Yellow threw herself down to slide between the serial killer's legs, followed closely by Crystal.

Steelfinger took a second to process what had happened, the buzz from stabbing the two guards who thought he was a comrade dulling his senses for an instant.

"Go, he's after you!" Yellow called to her friend. Holding her hand out straight, she turned to the monster and focused on something behind him-the glass window which looked out into the night air. She gave a mental tug, picturing an invisible force pushing on the surface from the outside as her hand closed into a fist.

With a deafening crack, the glass exploded inward, raining down on Steelfinger, who hissed in pain.

"He's distracted, come on!" Crystal called. The blonde nodded, turning to bolt in the same direction her friend had.

Unfortunately, the glass only seemed to surprise Steelfinger instead of drawing his full attention. With a roar he took off after them.

"I'm going to make you scream!" He howled. "I'm going to listen to the music of your agony as I snuff out your pathetic lives!"

The girls ignored him, pouring on more speed as they continued down the hallway. They were both reasonably athletic, so it didn't take long to outdistance the assassin.

Unfortunately, it was only a moment before they reached an obstacle-namely the dead-end of the corridor.

Sensing victory, Edwards drew closer, his grinning teeth as sharp and metallic as the claws sprouting where his fingers had once been. No longer was he the same man who they had confronted in the warehouse, now he had totally lost it. He didn't even seem human anymore.

"I don't know how you pulled that trick back there," Steelfinger hissed, "But something tells me you won't have time to do it again before I tear you limb from limb. And this time your pet vampire isn't here to protect you. I made sure he was out of the way before going after the two of you."

Yellow stopped against the wall, realizing the psychopath was right. Unless Red came back right now, he would have no idea what was going on, much less where they had gone.

"Now then," Steelfinger moved in slowly, "I'm not going to make the mistake of keeping you alive this time. Instead, I think I'll kill you right now!"

He lunged and time seemed to slow down. Yellow saw the long spikes still flecked with blood moving toward her and Crystal with intent to kill, saw the fire of insanity in the monster's eyes.

There was a swish and something warm splattered onto the girl's chest. Yet just like the last time she had faced this man, the pain didn't come.

"No..." Steelfinger gasped. "My dream...to hear the music of tortured souls...it can't end like this..."

Then his head toppled from his shoulders onto the floor, followed shortly by the rest of his body.

Yellow was numb, her brain struggling to comprehend what had just happened. Steelfinger...was dead.

It was then that she noticed another figure crouched to the side, as though it had just finished a frantic sprint. Its arm was outstretched revealing a split in the skin on the back of its hand. Protruding directly from the wound was what appeared to be a long black blade, now dripping with the killer's blood. Yellow watched in a combination of revulsion and amazement as the blade seemed to soften and retract back into the figure's body. It appeared to somehow be made entirely of solid blood.

Puffing with exertion, the figure looked up, training glowing red eyes on her.

"Are you alright?" Red asked, wiping a trail of Steelfinger's blood from his cheek.

"We're...fine," Crystal gasped. "So fast, how did you...?"

"I found the guards dead on the floor," The vampire boy replied. "It didn't take long to figure out where you had gone."

Yellow tried to force herself to move, to ask what that sword had been protruding from his hand, but her lips refused to part.

"Let's get to the front desk to report this," Red moved on, obviously trying to distract them from what had just happened. "They'll want to know what happened."

Before either girl could protest, he dropped a large shard of glass into the pool of blood beside the beheaded figure. "That'll stop them from asking the wrong kind of questions. Let's go."

It seemed like it took forever to do something as simple as move her feet, but move them Yellow did as she followed him down a blood-streaked hall.

-X-

"Criminal Timothy Edwards, more commonly known as Steelfinger was discovered dead in the Darkwing police department last night," Gold read as he sat at the breakfast table the next morning. "Witnesses reported seeing a suspicious man dressed in police clothing enter the complex at approximately 9:27 PM. The officer to whom the uniform belonged was found dead approximately one hour and thirty minutes post-incident.

"Edwards entered the facility at 9:37, moments after two children visiting a young woman who was being held in protective custody. He incapacitated two guards and attacked the protected along with one of her friends. The other had stepped out for a moment and returned at 9:41 to find the two being pursued. Thinking quickly, he shattered a nearby window and attacked the killer with a large shard of glass, decapitating him. Edwards is approximated to have died at exactly 9:42 PM.

"The three victims have respectfully requested that their names be omitted from this record. Julianne, Darkwing Gazette."

Gold placed the paper down on the table as the information sunk in. "Those three just can't stay out of trouble, can they?" He smiled. "They have no idea what they're getting themselves into."

-X-

"Does it scare you?" Red asked on the way to the bus the next morning. "What I did last night?"

Yellow shrugged, looking down as she continued to walk. "It was definitely strange, but you saved me and that's what's important."

Red sighed in relief. "Glad you don't think I'm too much of a freak. Speaking of which, how did you manage to shatter that window inward last night? I know that wasn't Steelfinger who did it."

Yellow frowned. "I try not to talk about the kind of things I can do, but that's another part to what my family can do. We can heal people, interpret the thoughts of Pokemon, and move things with our minds. There may even be more to it-I don't know."

Red decided not to press her. Some secrets were better left unspoken. Instead, he looked toward the bus stop where Crystal already stood waiting. She looked as though she hadn't slept all night, which seemed incredibly likely, but she wore the largest smile he had ever seen.

And that alone was worth being seen as a hero.

-X-

"I told you that one was a loose cannon," A shadowed figure spoke, standing at the edge of a long oval table. "He had zeal, but he was sloppy. There was no way he could have defeated a trained vampire to begin with."

"Steelfinger was only the beginning," A hollow voice explained from the other end of the table. "We tested the boy's limits to see if he would become a threat. I am highly satisfied with the results."

"You are satisfied that he killed a dangerous man with little effort?" A third voice demanded. "I am inclined to question your judgment."

"Question what you will, but the experiment was a success," The second voice assured the third. "And once we know exactly what the boy can do, we will know how he can be contained. Then we will be one step closer to our true goal."

"A waste of good resources," A new voice complained. The six of us are inclined to question why this roundabout approach is needed. He is not the only vampire we could use for the process."

"No, the leader shook his head. "He is exactly the one we need. He is one of the greatest pawns we require to carry out our plans. Once we succeed, even the gods will kneel before our power." He waved his hand to dismiss the others. "Now leave me; this meeting is adjourned."

Without another word, the six other figures around the table dissolved into smoke. Only their leader remained to gaze out at the gibbous moon and laugh.

FIN

AN: And that's the end of this monster arc. Worry not, from this point on we won't be focusing solely around Red, Yellow and Crystal anymore. "In fact, the next star has already been hinted at if you paid attention.

End-of-Chapter Question: Of any characters in the Adventures series who haven't been seen yet, who would you most like to have appear in the next chapter? They can be trainers, gym leaders, anything. Give your opinion and there's a chance I'll be able to work them in, though there are some I can't feature for spoiler reasons.

Anyway, that's it. I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, as well as the story so far. Be sure not to miss the next chapter of The Darkwing Chronicles!