Kairi: Hey! Back! Okay, reviewer response time!

FiringShootingStar- Thanks, and you're welcome! ^-^ Well, this chapter definitely answers one of those questions, and there was a hint last chapter about one of the characters… Well, here's the chapter! Enjoy!

Marlene101writes- Marlene! You returned! And with an account! (I was wondering where you got off to… But don't ask me, because my brain is so totally scrambled I can't even think properly.) Yays! Thank you! Ooh… thanks for guessing, but no, Dragan will not be a vampire… As for Halldor… I dropped a couple of hints last chapter, but oh well. He'll pop up eventually…

Lillith: Kairi doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's, but all OC's, made-up cards, and other such things are hers.

Kairi: Now go read!


"Weres, shifters, sprites, and Fae…" Kiara muttered. "You should be safe… Wise move on her part," the dark-haired woman said. "See you all around, I hope." After they had walked off, she glanced up at the sky, which was stained red from the smoke caused by the fire. "Because if little sis is right… then we're in for more trouble than we bargained for."


Lolliette frowned. She had definitely picked up the trail of a newborn, but it looked like this was one of the starved ones. She had to wonder to herself why any vampire would starve themselves. After all, she knew that the Shadow Guild didn't do that to anyone within their laws, and if the starved vampires on the loose were a part of the Guild, then that meant that this particular newborn was one that refused to accept what he or she was.

She sighed and continued tracking the scent. It became mingled with the humans' scents for a moment, but Lolliette could tell that the humans had gone through here after he/she did, so she continued on her way.

Off to her right, somewhere to the north, a wolf howled. Her sensitive ears recognized it as Armand's howl, and she smiled. 'One down, seven to go,' she thought to herself. Her footsteps fell lightly as she followed the scent trail. This newborn seemed to be rather adept at covering their… no, his tracks. Lolliette was gaining on him, she could tell. And now that she was, she could scent the subtle differences that marked males and females apart.

Another howl rang through the air, but this one was mimicked. Lolliette had to think for a moment before she remembered the name of the man in question. 'Devlin… Two down, six to go,' she thought, carefully keeping track of the number of wild vampires.

A much more feminine howl rang out next, and Lolliette, had she been a species of canine, would have had her ears straight up in the air. "Lara's a sprite. She'd send up sparks rather than bother howling… and that voice sounds so familiar…" the vampire muttered. "Could it really be…? No, that's impossible."

Then the scent of her 'prey' flared in her nostrils, and she turned in time to watch a silvery blur run through the forest… straight for the humans.

"Ahhhrrrrrr-ahhhrrrooooooo!" she howled, chasing after him. Unlike the unbroken and breathy howls Devlin, Armand, and the mysterious woman had sent up, this one was dual-segmented. It was the warning for the people guarding the humans.

The silver-haired man was definitely starved. Lolliette couldn't see his natural hair color past the silver, and he hissed every time he passed through a sunlit area. Because of the over-reaching branches above and the slowly-setting sun, there were few of these spots.

Lolliette growled as she launched herself forward, trying to stop him. She panicked at the last moment while she was in the air. She could smell the humans, and she wasn't going to catch him in time!

The usually-black-haired vampire hissed in frustration as she landed in a summersault and was running again almost instantly. She was too late, however, as the newborn had grabbed one of the humans and taken off in the forest. She recognized the young woman as one of the group Talia had intended to feed off of and started grumbling profanities under her breath.

Finally, the newborn had to stop to sink his fangs into the woman, and Lolliette took this chance to restrain him. He was stronger than he looked though, and in the brief but dangerous struggle, the woman's neck broke with a resounding crack, and blood gushed out of the bite wound.

Lolliette was about to knock the man out when he froze, staring into the woman's face.

"Akiza… Oh gods no…" he whispered, bringing a couple of fingers to his lips. Lolliette released him, and he fell to his knees. She nodded to herself and ran over to the woman, now identified as Akiza.

Lolliette assessed the damage quickly. Akiza was barely conscious at this point, but the vampire wanted her to make the choice she had thought of.

"It's no use…" Akiza whispered. Lolliette shook her head.

"No… there is an option," she told the magenta-haired woman. Akiza looked confused, but then realization spread across her face, followed by determination.

"Do it," she decided. Lolliette raised an arm to her mouth and bit down before holding her bleeding wrist over Akiza's mouth. After a moment, once Akiza had fallen into the comatose-like state that vampires fell into turning the transformation and her wrist had healed, she bit into her palm and let the blood run down her fingers before rubbing it into Akiza's neck.

The vampire blood healed her bite wound quickly, and Lolliette heard the loud pop as the woman's spine reset and healed itself. Then she turned to the silver-haired man, who was staring down at the blood on his fingers, though whether in shock or revulsion, Lolliette couldn't tell.

Then a couple of unexpected arrivals appeared. First was a young woman with a crazed look in her eye; Lolliette could tell she was the other starved newborn. Yusei came after, subduing the woman with a simple and swift strike to the back of the neck that knocked her unconscious. Then he noticed the figure Lolliette was still hovering over.

"Akiza!" he cried, running forward to embrace the limp woman. Lolliette stepped back a ways to give him a little bit of privacy. After a moment, Yusei looked up at Lolliette.

"Why did you turn her?" he asked, no, demanded of her. She looked over at the still-shocked newborn. Yusei turned around, and the already angry expression on his face became one of cold rage, a look that most would shy away from in a second. The man simply looked at him, a depressed, shocked, and apologetic look in his eye.

"Besides, I gave her the choice," Lolliette added, trying to take a bit of the enraged vampire's mind off of the bloodthirsty newborn nearby. Yusei sighed, the anger dissipating in a flash.

"This is why I told you that trying to deny what you are will only cause harm," the blue-eyed vampire told the other man. Lolliette looked at the unconscious newborn, the turning woman, and the still-thirsty man before sighing and raising her face to the sky to let out one long, clear howl.

Yusei growled under his breath for a moment before doing the same, and moments later, another howl rang out, followed by a flash of red sparks flying in the air.

"Seven down, one left," Lolliette muttered before approaching Yusei. He was already standing, Akiza in his arms, so she sighed and picked up the unconscious newborn. "Alright, we're leaving. That means you too," she said to the silver-haired newborn. He looked up and nodded, following them quietly back to the burnt castle, where most of the supernatural inhabitants of the valley were still waiting.

"Well, Rose won't be too happy," Yusei grumbled. Lolliette flinched.

"I don't imagine," she replied. "But we'll deal with that later. What's your name?" she asked the other newborn. He looked over at her in surprise; it was obvious he had been shaken out of his thoughts. Then he put a hand to his head, like he was trying to ward off a headache, and then he answered.

"Halldor."


Kairi: Ha ha ha! Finally! I feel like I've been playing 'Where's Waldo?' for the last few chapters… except that it's been 'Where's Halldor?' So there! Halldor is a vampire, Akiza is turning, Yusei is pissed, Lolliette is… um… Well, Lolly is Lolly… (You'll understand in a few chapters what I mean by that…) Oh, and I made a cover! If you can't read the text, that's fine. They're a couple of quotes from later on in the story. (Much later on, because we haven't even gotten these guys back to Neo Domino yet…)

Lillith: Okay, that's enough. We'll see everyone… next Wednesday…?

Kairi: Um… -checks a rather colorful calendar- Yup. Next Wednesday, two days after school starts… Gods, I STILL can't get over the fact that they're NOT starting on a Wednesday this year!

Lillith: Whatever. Please leave a review on the way out. –drags Kairi off-