There were no windows. No way to know how much time had passed. Had she been there simply hours or had it been days, weeks even? She hadn't an inkling. She didn't even know for sure what was happening. The room was clinically white, from the walls to the ceiling to the furniture and the coats worn by the silent figures who moved around her. White surgical masks left only their eyes exposed, eyes which revealed nothing though her own begged for answers.

There were no windows, but there was pain. In the crook of her elbows where she had been subjected to numerous IVs and blood draws. On her raw wrists and ankles where she had repeatedly fought the bonds that kept her bound tight to the gurney after her captors learned that she could and would fight back at every opportunity. And in the muscles that had been strained to their limits in her attempts to get free. Her throat was sore from being forced to swallow pills. She felt other things. A tightness in her throat, pressure in her skull.

But it wasn't the result they wanted. She could see that as she tried to stay attentive for any hint of where she was or any opening for a chance of escape. As that uncountable time passed, their blank stares became tinged with confusion and frustration. Their brows were more often furrowed as they scribbled on their clipboards.

And as she resigned herself to this timeless purgatory she was suddenly free. When they weren't looking, the cuffs vanished and she struggled to pull her stiff and sore body from the bed. There were yells. They all bore down on her, grabbing for any part they could reach, some brandishing menacing looking syringes full of clear liquid. Her body moved through the air like it was mud. She pushed on towards the door, feeling them close in behind her, and reached out to grasp the handle.

And her hand met flat solid wall.

A dozen hands grabbed her all at once and a needle plunged into the side of her neck.

Kay shot up in bed, one hand flying up to her neck where the ghostly feeling of a needle was fading. She gasped for air and threw off her blankets, drenched in sweat. It took a few moments for her to calm down and get her thoughts straight. She wasn't trapped; she was safe. As the panic started to fade and her mind cleared, Kay swung her legs over the side of the bed and stumbled into the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face. Though she was awake, the pressure headache remained, as if her brain was too big for her skull. There was a kind of burning in her throat. Her breathing was still strained. She stared down her reflection in the mirror, trying to push the feelings down. A feeling of almost rabid anger rose up like a tidal wave over her mind. Kay slammed her fist down on the counter and fought that back too. She reached blindly for a bottle of pills she knew was nearby and swallowed two dry.

It took twenty minutes for Kaelin to feel like herself again. She wandered over to her

desk and opened the bottom drawer, shifting its contents aside to lift the false bottom and retrieve the leather bound notebook hidden there. Opening it to its next blank page, Kay wrote down everything she could remember about the dream and the physical effects she had experienced afterwards. She tapped her pen absentmindedly against the paper once she'd finished, staring at her words without seeing them.

Coming to a decision, Kay got up from her desk and pulled on a sweatshirt and some sneakers. She grabbed a flashlight and her walkie, shoving the latter in her pocket with the volume turned as low as it went without turning it off. Then she left her room and made her way towards the medical bay.

The halls were dark and abandoned as she expected, with only dim security lights placed every ten feet to light the way. She could only hope they would continue to be as empty as she got closer and that the ever diligent Dr. Julia Silverstein wasn't working late on her research. Her luck held; Kay eased the door open slowly, mentally preparing excuses to her presence, but found the room empty. It seemed Julia had actually gone to get some rest. Kay switched on the flashlight and started looking around. She wasn't positive what she was looking for, but knew that when she found it she would know. And she did. After a few minutes, Kay tracked down a file folder containing everything they had gleaned from observing Riku's transformation from human to chiropteran. She skimmed through the wealth of information and took advantage of the room's copier to make copies of a few select pages. When she finished, she carefully replaced the folder where she had found it and stuffed the copies in her sweatshirt.

The plan after that had been to sneak back to her room with no one the wiser, but that wasn't what the universe had in store today. Kay turned a corner to one of the outer paths on the ship and almost ran straight into Hagi and Riku. They were standing at the railing, looking out over the water. Both parties froze, trying to measure the other's reaction. Kay let the tension fall from her shoulders after a moment and attempted a casual smile.

"You guys couldn't sleep either, huh?" she said, shoving her hands in her pockets. "Sorry, was that insensitive?"

Neither Hagi nor Riku spoke.

"Right. I should get back and go to bed. You two have a good night."

She scurried away, walking quickly back to her room. The papers she had brought back were carefully tucked into her journal before the whole thing was returned to its hiding place. There would be time to read them later. For now, it was time to get some sleep. Kay kicked off her shoes, turned off the light, and slipped under her covers once more, praying the nightmares would not return.

And they didn't. Kaelin found her sleep interrupted instead with a waking nightmare. She was jarred into wakefulness by a cacophony of firing guns, men shouting, and alarms. Red emergency lights were flashing when she opened her eyes and groaned. Kay jumped up and started to pull on her left shoe, hopping on one foot as she jerked open the drawer in her nightstand to grub around for her earpiece. She got that hooked onto her ear, cord dangling freely while working on the second shoe. That accomplished, she plugged the headset into the walkie she clipped to her waistband, grabbed her pistol from the wardrobe, and rushed out the door.

Kay dashed her way through the halls, flinging herself up stairwells when she reached them. The voices in her ear eased one of her fears as Joel was evacuated from the ship via helicopter. It sounded like the fighting was moving up; Saya was drawing the enemy to her there. Bodies started dotting the floor the closer she got, slowing her pace as the copper tang of blood washed over her. She stumbled and came to a stop, staring at a man who had been all but cleaved in two. The smell felt like it was penetrating her every pore, setting her throat on fire and causing her breath to come in gasps. The wall steadied her while she tried to regain her composure, hand clasped tight over her mouth and nose. Kay gulped, took a deep shuddering breath and ran up the last set of stairs into open air.

The chaos multiplied tenfold as she stepped onto the deck. Gunfire and yells pressed in on her from all sides. Black cloaked figures leaped in impossible arcs around the ship, swinging blades at a speed that was difficult to follow. She thrust her pistol into her waistband, crouching to scoop up an assault rifle that had fallen from the hands of a soldier who had lost his head. Kay shot in small bursts whenever one of the enemy stopped moving long enough for her to sight on them. Her progress was slower now, quick but steady. She was raising the gun again when a scream tore the air. It was a desperate, terrified scream. And as it trailed off, she recognized the voice. It was Kai.

Kaelin sprinted around the last corner just in time to see Riku clutching his shoulder while Kai and Saya rushed to his side. Kay watched the drama unfold from a distance; she wasn't a part of this, though it broke her heart to watch Kai going through it. He had been in denial since Riku woke, they all knew it. But how could he deny the evidence of his own eyes? Riku's wound healed in a matter of moments before them all. Perhaps that was the moment they all knew for certain that he had changed.

The stunned silence on deck broke when one of the black-clad attackers dashed forward. Saya met him in mid-air and sliced him cleanly in two. His corpse vanished over the side and with the realization that Saya now possessed two chevaliers, the invaders disappeared into the night. Kay hadn't taken her eyes off of Riku because she had a sickening feeling about what was coming next. Riku slowly opened his eyes as Kai shook him and called his name. Tears stung in her own eyes at the sight of the brothers and a pang of sadness at the loss of her own punched her in the gut.

And then it happened. With a cry, Riku fell over hands grasping at his throat. He had been injured and now he needed blood. Just as David called for Lewis to fetch Julia, Kai ripped open his shirt and pulled his brother to him. Kay felt her breath catch in her throat, eyes wide and unblinking as Riku raised his head and bared his fangs. She wanted to look away, but found that she couldn't. The newly awakened chevalier, in the body of a little boy, sunk his fangs into the flesh of his brother's neck.

It was like she had been struck by lightning. One hand came up to cup her own neck, where she was sure she could feel the ghostly pain of two punctures. Her heart was racing in her chest, so hard she thought her sternum might break. At the same moment the rain started to fall, Kaelin felt herself break out in a cold sweat and she started salivate. She was going to be sick. She ran for it.

Kay barely made it to the other side of the ship before she threw up. She gripped the railing with shaking hands, riding the waves of nausea as they crashed over her. The image seemed to be burned into her mind. After awhile the vomiting subsided to dry heaving and that too faded away. Kaelin turned to lean back on the railing, breathing hard. The taste of the bile was still sharp in her mouth. She wiped her mouth on her sleeve and waited for her heartbeat to slow. The rain beat on her upturned face, eyes shut as she collected herself. Kay drew her phone from her pocket, scrolling through the contacts until Solomon's entry was highlighted.

She stared at the screen for a long moment, a slight frown creasing her features. It was too soon. Things were progressing faster than before. Her thumb hovered over the call button.

The phone rang, nearly causing her to drop it. Joel's name and photo had appeared in the place of the contacts screen, breaking the spell that had frozen her momentarily. Kay answered.

"Joel?"

"Thank goodness you're alright." His voice was immediately filled with relief. "I would have liked to evacuate you as well, but it was all happening too quickly and they insisted."

"No, I'm glad you got out of the way. Things are a mess here. It would have taken me too long to get to the helipad anyway. Are you on your way back?"

"Yes. Meet me in my office."

The next two days passed in a blur after that. Joel refused to let her help with the clean-up, an order that Kay was glad to follow. That didn't mean she had no work to do. Joel set her to making preparations for a group to stay in Paris for an undetermined length of time. She put together supplies and spent time on the phone arranging details. It was only when she had been at it for a few days that it clicked just who she was making this arrangements for. She reached for her phone and turned it over and over in trembling hands. Minutes later Kay burst into the meeting room, startling Joel and David.

"I would like to accompany Saya's group to Paris." The words tumbled out of her mouth before either man could comment on her barging into their discussion. The silence that followed was deafening. Joel and David stared at her, stunned, while Kay stood her ground awaiting a reply.

"I think that combination of words is the least likely phrase I thought I'd ever hear you say," Joel finally said, rising from his chair. "You don't trust Saya and you hate Paris. What is this about, Kaelin?"

He was right. Under normal circumstances this exact assignment would be the worst possible she could be given, one she would even consider downright refusing. But these weren't normal circumstances. She needed to get back to Paris and to do that she would have to convince them that she wanted to go.

Kay took a deep breath and beat down the panic rising in her chest. The tension fell from her shoulders as she adopted a tone of casual disinterest.

"You wanted me to try, didn't you Joel? This is me trying. I can be helpful in Paris; I was assigned there most recently. I've already established contacts in the area. I can continue my investigation of Cinq Flesche and help safeguard Saya from outside the group."

"I don't think that this is a good idea," David piped in. "You've been confrontational with Saya once already completely unprovoked and I know for a fact that you haven't apologized yet despite receiving orders to do so weeks ago."

Kay dropped her gaze to the floor. She had known that David would be the hard one to convince, but it didn't matter as long as she talked Joel around.

"I will apologize, Joel, I will," she insisted, directing her words to her foster father. "There's been so much going on. Kai said she was avoiding Riku and he was trying to help them make up and I didn't want to make thing anymore complicated. And I'm worried about Kai, he was in such denial over what happened and then after the attack…"

She let her voice trail off, like she had said more than she meant to. In reality, Kay had said exactly as much as she thought she needed to get the needed result. All of her reasoning was sound and it was true that she had some concerns over how Kai was processing the whole situation, but none of it was the truth. The truth was a secret thing she had never said aloud.

The hard set of Joel's face faltered. He knew that she hadn't gotten close to anyone in a long time and it had been even longer since she had been able to be around someone her own age. That small slip of vulnerability was what she had needed to crack him. A seed of guilt planted itself deep in her gut, but she ignored it. There was no time to feel guilty. It was accelerating too quickly.

Joel took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead like his head ached.

"Apologize to Saya first. If she has no objections, then neither do I."

"But Joel," David started before Joel raised a hand to silence him.

"Saya has the final say."

Kay nodded and trotted out of the room. She had a general idea of where the others might be found. It took some time, but she finally caught up to Saya, Hagi, Kai, and Riku in the dining hall. Her heart caught at the sight of the bandage on Kai's neck. There was already an awkward tension in the air as Saya and Kai settled down to eat next to the others who had empty table in front of them. The tension only deepened as they noticed her presence. Even Kai was carefully avoiding meeting her eyes.

"My apologies for interrupting," Kay said at her most polite. "I was wondering if I might have a word…" She trailed off. No one moved. "With Saya."

Saya pushed back her chair and stood, a small frown on her delicate features. Hagi rose too to stand silently at her back. Kay's heart started pounding hard as she tried to work up the nerve to speak again, to say what needed to be said. She had hoped that this would be just as simple, that this would come with the same ease as as her manipulation of Joel. It didn't. She swallowed hard.

"I owe you an apology. I have for awhile. My...behavior when you first arrived was unacceptable. I know that, I knew that when it happened, but I panicked. I knew all about you from the diary, but being confronted with the real thing was more of a shock than I thought it would be. Like there was still a part of me that didn't believe that this was real. I know that you're on our side, that we are on your side helping fight your war, but seeing the physical manifestation of that war scared me. I'm sorry."

Lies, lies, lies. A means to an end.

But it seemed that they perceived the tremble in her voice as a sort of hesitant sincerity. Saya gave her a tiny smile as Kai relaxed in his seat behind her.

"It was very good," Saya said. Kay made a questioning sound. "Your pasta. I enjoyed it very much."

"I"m glad," Kay replied, voice still small. "I don't get to cook very often, so I'm always happy to feed people when I do."

Sixty full seconds of silence.

"Anyway," Kay continued, nerves at an all-time high because she had no idea if this was going to work. Joel was easy, Joel she knew, Joel was human and therefore predictable. "I also wanted to ask your permission to accompany your group to Paris."

More silence.

"Why?" Saya was clearly baffled.

"I want to be of help to you. I am a member of Red Shield after all. I was there just recently; I know my way around and I speak the language. I won't be in the way. I'll stay in a separate flat and have my own tasks, but I will be nearby if you need anything."

Don't look too desperate.

To everyone's surprise, it was Riku who spoke next. He got up out of his chair and ran around the table to stand at Saya's side, a bright smile on his face. Kay couldn't help but smile back; she was starting to think that smile was permanently inscribed on the boy's lips.

"I think it would be all right, don't you Saya? Kay and Kai are friends now and maybe if we got to know each other we could be friends with her too."

And that smile of his was so sincere that Kay saw the moment that Saya melted under its influence.

"Yeah, okay."

After a couple minutes of exchanging thanks and Saya reassuring her that she would speak with David and let him know that Kay would be coming with them, Kay managed to escape back to her room. She felt like her lies chased her back there, bearing down from all sides in the tiny hallways of the ship. It was a relief to close the door at her back, so much so that she simply leaned there for a moment. She had just lied to and manipulated probably ever person in the world that cared about her, a short list, and a couple who didn't care but seemed to want to make an effort to. But there was no time to feel bad about it. Kay took her phone from her pocket and composed a quick text message.

I'm going to be back in Paris. Will you be around?

The reply came three minutes later as she was piling clothing into her suitcase. The guilt was still burning hot in her belly, but when she read the message she was able to bite it back to a smolder.

Yes.