Hmm... not getting a huge amount of reviews on this... I might discontinue it. If anyone wants it to continue, please, please, PLEASE review it!

And, because I keep forgetting, I do no own Yugioh GX, I'm just borrowing the characters. Also, the vampires in this are a mix of several published author's versions.

As Zane crossed the courtyard in downtown Domino, he couldn't help the feeling of unease that tugged at the corners of his mind. He knew that being outside so close to nightfall was a bad idea, but whenever he tried to think about why or turn back, his thoughts all jumbled and his feet seemed to go on autopilot. At least the place he was in was crowded. However, even as he thought this, a familiar flash of black caught his eye. Oh God no… thought Zane desperately. He tried to turn away, to get as much distance between him and the vampire as possible, but his body wouldn't listen. Chazz was leaning against a nearby wall, and when Zane foolishly made eye contact, he was caught. When Chazz made a come-hither gesture, Zane had no choice but to obey.

"Why, Zane!" said Chazz, feigning innocence. "Fancy meeting you here!"

With a degree of rising panic, Zane tried to break the spell the vampire had cast over him, but it was useless.

"Chazz…" he said, ashamed of how close to begging his voice sounded. "Don't do this…"

"Don't do what, Zane?" asked Chazz.

Zane realised that he didn't know. But Chazz had brought him here for a reason, and he hardly thought that it was to pass the time of day.

"Let me go." he said at last.

Chazz pretended to consider it.

"Nah. Not yet, anyway." he said. "I have a job to do."

"And that is?" asked Zane, crossing his arms. He discovered that as long as an action didn't clash with whatever it was Chazz wanted him to do, or not do, he was free to do it. Running still wasn't an option though.

Chazz smiled at him.

"I know someone who's just dying to meet you. Well," he corrected himself, "You've met them before. They want to see you again." He began to walk away and Zane found himself forced to follow.

"Who?" asked Zane, teeth clenched from the effort of trying not to obey the strange compulsion that was forcing him to move.

"My sire."

Another vampire then… someone I've met before? But the only vampire… oh no. Oh no…

"Chazz, please tell me it's not… not her."

"Her? Half the population could be referred to by that name. Be more specific."

"No one likes a smart ass, Chazz. You know who I mean."

"Say it."

"Not her… not Carmilla."

Chazz gave a slow nod and kept walking.

"She wants to talk to you."

Zane glared at the back of the vampire's head.

"The same way she talked to you when she made you into a monster?"

Chazz stopped and Zane froze, regretting the words the second they left his mouth.

"I'm not a monster." said Chazz quietly, turning to look at the other boy. "I'm just doing what I need to do to survive. I could have done anything to you the last time we met… and I didn't. I've never killed anyone. Just because I'm not human, doesn't automatically make me a monster."

There was a pause before Zane spoke again.

"Ok, fine, I take it back. But look me in the eye and answer me honestly: does she want to make me… like you and her?"

There was another pause before Chazz spoke.

"Yes, she does." he admitted. "However, I'll promise you this: if she offers you the chance to become…" he mimicked Zane's words. "Like me, and you refuse, I won't allow her to turn you against your will."

"That's reassuring." said Zane dryly. "It's a shame that you have no such problems with dragging me to her against my will."

Chazz regarded him for a brief moment.

"If you come willingly I'll lift the control. But if you try to run, I'll drag you the rest of the way." He smiled dangerously. "I think that I've proven that I'm faster than you, don't you?"

Zane nodded his agreement, but he felt like a rat in a trap. He didn't want to go with the vampire, hell, if he had any choice in the matter he'd be running in the opposite direction, but he knew that if he tried to get away, Chazz could just force him to go anyway.

He felt it the second Chazz released him and he was able to move of his own free will again. Chazz watched Zane as the older boy assessed his options. Running was no good, and clearly Chazz couldn't be reasoned with… what did that leave?

"Can I ask you something?" said Zane. Chazz nodded, and started walking. Zane followed, loath to lose control again. "Are you staying with Carmilla? Like a…" he paused, unsure of the right word. "…uh, clan, coven-"

"Family." corrected Chazz.

"Yeah, like that."

"Yes, I am, actually. I didn't intend to stick around to begin with, but now I think I will."

"Why?"

"It's not something you'd understand, Zane."

"Try me."

Chazz sighed.

"It's just… for so long when I was a human I felt like a burden. My parents were dead, and my brothers were stuck with the task of looking after me. And then, I was attacked -"

"By Carmilla?"

"No, not by her, although I think that they were vampires. And don't ask questions and then interrupt the answers."

"Sorry. Please keep talking." Zane said, slightly sarcastically. Chazz gave him an icy look before continuing.

"I nearly died… completely, instead of becoming this." Chazz gestured to himself. "And Carmilla saved me. She didn't have to. Then she looked after me, taught me everything I needed to know. And for the first time in years, it feels like someone's looking out for me, not because they have to, but because they want to." There was a pause. "Like I said, not something you'd understand."

"Says who?" objected Zane. Chazz turned to look at him, before slowing down slightly so that they were walking side by side.

"Says the fact that everyone at Duel Academy loved you, practically worshipped the ground you walked on."

Zane gave a bitter laugh.

"You've really been out of society for a while, haven't you? No one brought you up to speed?" Chazz shook his head, confused. "Let me quickly update you. I got challenged to a duel by the pro-league bastard Aster Phoenix. He won, and then suddenly I'm on a losing streak a mile long and no one will go near me, not managers, other duellists, not even my so-called friends and family. Finally someone cut me a break, if you'll call it that. But it came at a price."

"Hell Kaiser, terror of the Underground Duelling world?" guessed Chazz. Zane nodded. "Man, I am out of the loop." admitted the vampire sheepishly.

"Well, that I'm aware of, although admittedly I'm now about as popular as a leper in our little group, nothing else big has happened." Zane shook his head. "From what I've seen, you've been trying to integrate yourself back into society. Surely Carmilla should have been making you aware of things like this?"

Chazz frowned.

"Perhaps you consider this a tragic failing, but she was a little too busy making sure I didn't kill everyone in sight. It's like being a child again; you have to relearn so much. How to feed without killing and with minimum detection risks. How to be around people. How to deal with sunlight and other stuff like that."

"You can go out in sunlight?" asked Zane in surprise.

Chazz nodded.

"It's a pain on the eyes, but all it does is weaken us quite a bit. Although if we were in a weakened state, for example, only just turned, it hurts, as I found out as a newborn."

"Zane looked at him.

"Newborn?"

"Stages of Vampiric, uh, well, I suppose you'd call it age. Newborn, fledgling, young vampire, adult vampire. There's also elder vampire, but that can be applied to anyone older or with more authority."

"Vampire rules and hierarchy… great… I'm already trying hard not to think about the fact that there seems to be an entire vampiric community."

"If it makes you feel any better, the Domino 'vampiric community' is relatively small - Tokyo's is much bigger."

"That's supposed to be of comfort to me?"

"I did say if it makes you feel any better."

Zane was slightly disturbed to discover that while the place Chazz and, he assumed, Carmilla were staying was across town from his flat, it was only half an hour's walk away. To the superiorly faster vampires, it was the equivalent of walking next door. Zane began to make mental notes that if he ever got out of this, still human, he was moving. Immediately. If sunlight still weakened vampires, even if it didn't kill them… maybe Australia would be a good place to go to. They had a local league, even if it was nothing on the Pro-Leagues or the Underground League.

"Stop it." said Chazz, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Stop what?" demanded Zane.

"You're thinking of running again." replied Chazz, as he opened the highly ornate door of the building that he and Carmilla were using as a nest.

Zane couldn't help it. He was busted, and he winced at the realisation.

"Ok," he admitted. "How did you know that?"

"I feel emotions, and occasionally I hear what people are thinking." said Chazz offhandedly, as if they were just discussing the weather.

"You're telepathic?" asked Zane with a sinking feeling.

"Carmilla said that it's more empathic than telepathic."

"Great," muttered Zane. "That's just perfect."

Chazz gave him a slightly wolfish grin, before starting up the most expensive set of stairs Zane had ever seen.

"Come on." he said. Zane felt a slight pull of the compulsion from earlier, but his movements were still his own as he followed the young vampire.

"How do you do that?" he asked, speeding up to catch up with Chazz.

"It's not me, it's her." Here Chazz pointed upwards in the direction Carmilla was clearly in. "It's just that she's somehow made it so that I can also control it after she's cast… whatever it is. Never saw her do it, she just assured me that it would work."

They reached a door at the top of that set of stairs, although Zane noted that there were another set of stairs leading up to other floors. Chazz knocked on the door. There was a screech over their heads. Both looked up, to see at least twenty pairs of eyes watching them. Carmilla's bats.

"I brought him." Chazz told them quietly. "Like I said I would. The escort was unnecessary. I don't need to be babysat at all times."

With that, he opened the door and gestured for Zane to enter.

As he had expected, the room was as ornately decorated as the hallway. It appeared to be an old-fashioned lounge of some kind. There was the occasional modern touch, which Zane guessed was for Chazz's benefit. Sitting by the roaring fire was the woman who had haunted Zane's nightmares for so long - Carmilla.

"There you are Chazz," she said, sounding for all the world like a concerned mother. The effect was unsettling. "You'd been gone a while. I was beginning to become anxious."

"Well, I'm here now, and I brought Zane like you asked." Chazz replied, but in a more good humoured voice than Zane had expected.

"I can see that, good boy. Have you fed?"

"Yes," replied Chazz, crossing his arms and leaning against a large grand piano in the corner, making it very obvious that he wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.

"What do you want with me?" asked Zane.

Carmilla turned her attention to him. Thanks to his experience with Chazz earlier, Zane now knew not to look her in the eyes for particularly long.

"I would have thought that was obvious, Zane." she said in a dangerously sweet tone of voice. "I want you to join our little family."

"I would have thought that my answer is obvious too." said Zane. "No way in hell."

"Yes, that's what I thought your answer would be- to begin with." said Carmilla with a slight chuckle. From the corner of his eye, Zane saw Chazz stiffen slightly, ready to intervene if he objected to Carmilla's methods of "persuasion". "But all I am asking is that you consider this offer seriously. I know that we did not exactly get off to the best start."

"That's putting it lightly." growled Zane.

Chazz cleared his throat to disguise a chuckle at this. Zane considered shooting a glare at the younger vampire for finding anything in this situation funny, but decided against it. He needed Chazz on his side, and he remembered that when he was human, Chazz had always been quick to anger. The last thing he needed was Chazz to go back on his promise in a moment of spite.

"Yes, well, I'm trying to make amends for that… unfortunate business." said Carmilla. "And this is not an offer to take lightly."

"I've already said no." said Zane stubbornly, crossing his arms.

"Unstoppable Force, meet Immovable Object." murmured Chazz, shaking his head.

"And what then?" asked Carmilla. "What I am offering is a family that will always stand by you, no matter what. That's not exactly something you have at the moment, is it?" Zane flinched as this hit a nerve. Seeing her advantage, Carmilla continued. "I couldn't help hear what you told my child." she gestured to Chazz. "How hypocritical of your friends, your family even, to expect your constant support while you're doing well, but the moment you need help, the moment you lose, they toss you aside without a second glance. What about your brother, hmm?" Another flinch from Zane. "You risked your life and your soul to protect him, and yet when he can't rely on you anymore, he doesn't have a moment for you. All those 'friends' at the Academy - did any of them try to contact you after you lost?"

Trying to escape what she was saying, Zane glanced at Chazz again. The younger vampire was frowning and his eyes were downcast. For a moment Zane was confused, but then it hit him.

That's how he felt. When he lost to Jaden and everyone turned on him, that's exactly how he felt.

Feeling Zane's eyes on him, Chazz looked up. Their eyes met.

He understands.

"You see?" said Carmilla, not missing what had passed between the two boys. "There's someone who knows what you've been through. Become one of us, become part of our family, and we will never leave you. After all, we are not as fickle as humans, and there is so much we can offer you. You can see the difference in Chazz. He is stronger, more powerful, better in almost every way. That could be yours."

Zane knew that she was luring him closer, but he couldn't help it. She seemed to be offering a way out of the hell that he had gotten tangled in.

"What's the catch?" he asked. Carmilla nodded at the question.

"The main one? The need for blood. When kept in check, it isn't a problem, but there is always the risk, especially in young vampires, of Bloodlust - an overwhelming desire for blood that can prevent real caution and control. But of course, we would both be with you during the most risky period of time. There is also the fact that close scrutiny proves us to not be human - appearance, temperature, things like that. Sunlight weakens us, so long amounts of time in the sun would be unwise. I believe that's it."

Zane mulled this over, while Chazz looked at Carmilla. She met his gaze, asking a silent question: Is he willing?

"Almost." Chazz murmured so quietly that Zane couldn't hear, but Carmilla could. "Let him make the choice on his own."

Carmilla nodded subtly.

"Fine." said Zane quietly, but he might have yelled it for the sudden silence in the room.

"You're sure?" asked Chazz, stepping forward to take the other boy's shoulder. "Once this happens, there is no turning back. It's not a choice to make lightly."

"I'm certain." said Zane. He seemed slightly defeated. Chazz didn't like it, but he couldn't deny that Carmilla had kept to the agreement. No-one, especially not Zane, could argue that Zane had not given his consent.

"As you wish." said Chazz. "I'll leave you alone then." Letting go of Zane, he left the room. The bats began to screech once more, until Chazz silenced them with some harsh words.

Zane was left alone with Carmilla, not a position he would have ever expected to be in willingly.

"What do you need to do?" he asked, failing to disguise the slight shake in his voice.

"You need to ingest some of my blood. However, the process will be less painful if you have less blood in your system to begin with." She gestured for him to come closer. Slightly apprehensive, but aware that this was his own choice, Zane obeyed, stepping so that he was in front of the female vampire. "This will be uncomfortable to begin with, but the less you struggle and fight, the less it will hurt. I appreciate that it will be difficult, but I will need you to trust me."

She slowly stood and gestured for him to take her place on the sofa. When he sat, Carmilla leaned over, her mouth very close to Zane's neck. "Hold still," she reminded him. With that, her eyes turned red, her teeth elongated and she bit down hard on the boy's neck. His hands grabbed her shoulders tightly, but he made no effort to push her away. Even if he had, it would have been a pointless gesture, as her strength was far greater than his.

When Carmilla was satisfied with how much blood she had consumed, she pulled away. Zane watched her, blood loss making him woozy, as she tore open her wrist (the opposite one to the wrist she had given Chazz) and put it near his mouth. Instinct taking over, Zane allowed her to put her wrist to his mouth, and he drank from it. Carmilla smiled as she watched him.

If you like it, REVIEW! Seriously, I'm considering discontinuing this!