The Rest of the Night

Rapid stomps disturbed the usual hushed area near the lake. For being barefoot, Candy's tromps were pretty loud. The darkness over her face pulled her out of her normal character, but her determination showed more than ever. She made her way past the still lake and to one of the many cottages in that area. Inside it was quiet, but a light was on. She knocked on the door and waited. There was no answer. "Open the door!" she hissed.

The handle of the door jiggled a bit before the person behind it opened it. "What do you want?" Spike asked in a grumpy tone. Her expression was stony, "Who added the newest one?" Her voice was icy as she crossed her arms in a serious manner. "Why are you asking me?" he returned, about to close his door. She held her hand out, stopping it, "You always know what goes on. You're practically family with the elder."

Spike snorted with disgust, "Don't relate me with that outdated piece of crap." Candy growled and stood her place, "Don't talk about him like that! You should be grateful to him. You wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for him!" Spike's eyes wandered off to the lake, muttering more to himself. "He should've left me…"

"You're losin' it." replied Candy, leaning on his doorside. "He took you in and kept you out of trouble."

"He led me into hell."

"Are you seriously saying that you'd have rather been shot than stand here right now?"

"I'm saying I'd have rather been shot and killed than stand here right now."

Candy shook her head sadly, "You really need help." "So what was your point in bothering me, I'm busy." he snubbed, ruffling his already messy hair.

"Who bit Yoyo?"

The teen rolled his eyes and sighed. "I already told you I don't know." Closing his door, he left Candy out to think things over. Candy never fully trusted him, he was odd to start with, but he always seemed to be hiding something and this time it was no different. Perhaps the elder would know? He knew everything and he ran the pack, nodded Candy, of course he would know.

She stretched her back out and claws, twitched her ears and went out on her walk to the elder's living quarters.

&&&

"It's been two whole days for Yoyo and a day already for Tab…"

"We know…"

Most of the gang sat around the garage, not sure of what to do. Professor K hadn't found out anything new and time was dragging on. "Maybe one of the others are trying to get some dirt on us?" suggested Garam, looking out from his bug eye sunglasses. "Good thought, but Professor K would've said something. I mean, he finds out anything in two minutes, and we've had the radio on for two days straight already." relied Jazz from the top of one of the speakers.

"Yeah, who's brilliant idea, huh? These things might bust!" complained Roboy, banging his arm against one of the speakers. "But we need to have them on!" sighed Cube, glancing at him. "What's the difference if you just use your watches?" he said stubbornly. "Because we might miss something if a certain robot keeps on with his stupidities!" she growled back. "I'm tellin' you one thing you little gothic punk, if those speakers blow, the hell with it until Tab and Corn fix them for you, 'cause I ain't doin' shit!"

Beat and Clutch stood up immediately, noticing things were getting a little heated. "Will you two cut it out! Roboy's right, the speakers do gotta rest, so we'll listen on our watches, but if anything about Tab or Yoyo comes up from PK, the speakers are going on so we don't miss anything, got it?" ordered Corn, resting on the couch after his speech.

Cube glared at the robot as he cursed quietly, inaudible for her to hear. Quietly in a corner, Rhyth sat watching the entire gang. Right now she was stable, but she was nervous beyond belief. Two of her friends were missing with no clues left to unravel. If only she could help instead of sitting like an idiot was her wish at the moment. Her friends were even becoming jumpy. Cube never let Roboy get to her and she blew at him instantly. It was a small outburst, but still an outburst, none the less.

Beat was sitting off in the distance, hunched over in a chair, tapping his skate on the ground. Impatient to await news, no surprise. Combo was searching in desk drawers, cabinets, anywhere, to find some new batteries for his radio that had busted after the first long day of being on. His reckless searching forced Boogie to twitch with every crash or bang. Soda and Corn were the only ones who seemed calm for the situation. Nothing ever bothered Soda anyway, but one could tell something was upsetting Corn, he was too serious.

Jazz inspected her nails every second while Clutch chewed his off with boredom. "Maybe it was someone's idea of a bad prank?" he suggested, shrugging at the idea. "Yeah, you should know about bad pranks, right Clutch?" teased Jazz, remembering his attempt to steal the gang's graffiti souls. Clutch smiled and winked at her as she rolled her eyes.

"Guys, not now." scolded Combo, popping in the new batteries to his radio.

"There was some strange event in Shibuya the other day, people screamin' about monsters and whatnot. Are we bein' attacked by them mole people?" laughed Professor K on the air. "Monsters?" smiled Beat, happy that there was at least one announcement to put him off until the one he wanted. "Ugh…We don't care about some stupid made up monsters in Shibuya…" sighed Gum, shaking her head. She paced back and forth, waiting for some good news.

Not meaning to change the main subject of the matter, but doing so anyway, Rhyth looked up from her quiet zone, "But it's true. I saw them." Everyone stared at her oddly, not knowing how to respond to this statement. "Uhh…so what they look like?" smiled Beat.

"Well…I couldn't see very well, but there was this one person sitting in the street. They looked a little distressed." she said in a pitying way. "Well, it's a person?" asked Gum, finding herself being pulled into the conversation. "It looked like one…I mean, their hair was an odd color…" Rhyth explained, trying to remember exact details. "It was covering its face."

"Oh that's great." yawned Garam, rubbing his cheek. "But two more came over and then the first one suddenly passed out. The other two had tails though." she continued. "They had tails?" most of the gang responded in unison. Rhyth nodded, her head bobbing like a bobble head.

"And they ran really fast! On fours…I think one was a girl."

"How do you think that?" asked Soda. "Well, I don't know any guys that have pigtails." Rhyth answered honestly. Corn suddenly sat up, "Wait…pigtails?" Rhyth nodded, "Uhuh, but that's about all I could see. It was dark." She shrugged, "Sorry for going off topic anyway…"

Corn's expression stretched into thinking mode. "No, Rhyth…I think you led us right on target…"

&&&

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"My child, I did ask for a new pup in a moment of desperation, but I have not retrieved notice for who is responsible for the act. Adding a new member that was human first was not my plan. I had meant a new addition as a newborn pup. Not changing someone's species."

Candy banged her fist against the elder's desk, "How can that be! You're supposed to know everything! Every member, every move, every meeting! Who wouldn't let you know their work?"

"Well, if you are to find out who, please inform me." the elder dismissed, leading Candy to the door. She opened it and turned a bit, "Thank you anyway." The old man nodded and closed his door.

Candy's search had gotten her nowhere so far and she was getting tired. There was always time. She couldn't change Yoyo's future now, but maybe he'd like to know who did this to him. Like a victim's family to the murderer. "Where's Jam?" she whispered, wondering around slowly. She hadn't seen him in a while. He was known for being by himself, though. Nothing about him remained the same after his encounter with a werewolf that suffered both he and his sister's lives.

As Candy's thoughts traveled more on this, she bumped into someone. "Oh sorry, I wasn't…Tab?" she asked, blinking a few times. An innocent smile brightened the darkness, and his voice slipped through it. "Yeah…before, when we were all in the room…it was kind of a bad thing going on with Yoyo getting angry and me having to keep my part on it and all…" he sighed, "But, I know Yoyo, and even though this is not gonna be easy for him to get over, he will, so if he says pissy things or anything like that, I just wanna let you know he doesn't really mean it."

Candy smiled, "Thanks Tab, that means a lot to me…" "For some reason, I had a feeling it would." he responded satisfied. "How was he before you left the room?" she asked thoughtfully. Tab scrunched his face and shrugged, "Hard to tell. He just dropped after you left and started sleeping."

Candy smiled happily, "Good. It's been a long day for him." Tab glanced at her and grinned slyly, "Yeah, but the night's not over yet." She looked at him, meeting his glance and tore away, blushing lightly. She wasn't supposed to feel this way. It would break her focus from her job, but she couldn't help it. Tab was also blushing as he stared at the ground, the lake, anywhere except for Candy.

They walked silently together, the air around them full of secrets. "So…me being a werewolf doesn't…bother? You?" Candy finally asked. Tab looked at her with a smile, "Nah. I'm gonna hafta get used to it eventually right? Might as well like you now." The boy suddenly paused, realizing what he had said, and blushed darkly. Candy giggled and watched the lake for a moment.

"Hey, Candy?"

She turned a bit, but stayed watching the lake. It was a beautiful sight she wouldn't let go just yet.

"Uh…do you think…"

"HUMANS!"

The two broke off from the moment to respond to Blaze's yell. "Candy! There are humans snooping around here! They're all wearing roller blades! We gotta warn…" Blaze's announcement trailed off as she looked at Tab. "Who's this?"

Candy stared blankly, forgetting everything. "Uhhh…." Tab watched as the other girl walked around him, "He's all human!" Blaze glanced at Candy, "Why is he here…?" Tab raised his hand, "I know about Yoyo. He's my friend and those are probably our other friends coming to look for us. Yoyo's been gone two days and I've been gone all of today."

"Does the elder know about this?"

Tab looked at Candy who smiled innocently and shrugged, "I'm gettin' to it! Later! Right now we need to get everyone out of here!" Blaze nodded and was about to dash off when she looked at Tab again. "Do they call you Tab?" He nodded, "Yeah?" Blaze smirked, "The blond haired boy said you were dead when he finds you."

Tab rolled his eyes and sighed, "Thanks…" The girl lowered on fours and sprinted off in a flash. Tab was pulled in a jerk to the left. "We need to find Yoyo and Jam!" Candy said, "But watch out for your gang. Neither of us can be seen."

Tab nodded and followed her, "How are we gonna find Jam? You know where he is?" Candy shook her head with some disappointment. "I'll get Yoyo. You find Jam. Less time wasting and better evasion." he figured, going his own way. "Right. Go to the center circle, Yoyo knows where it is." informed Candy, climbing the wall with help from her claws.

&&&

"Are you sure it was to Hikage Street?"

"Yes, but I still don't know where this leads us."

Corn looked around the area. It was empty with dim lighting and no civilians. This was on the outskirts of Hikage Street, the GGs had searched everywhere else. Relying on Rhyth's witness, Corn felt this was the last place they might be able to find either one of their two missing friends. Or who was responsible for the disappearance.

Rhyth looked around for any sign of life beside the life coming from her friends. "I don't like this place…" she muttered, walking closer to the group. "Me neither. Who knows what could be done in a place like this." whispered Beat, watching his back. Rhyth threw him a worried look, "What do you mean?" Gum elbowed Beat in the ribs after giving him a dirty glare, "Don't worry, Rhyth. Beat's just exaggerating."

Beat nodded in agreement and stayed quiet, but Rhyth could see the answer in his expression. Her heart tightened as she held her breath, hoping for the best. She looked off in an alleyway when the gang finally stopped moving, searching from where they were. It was just blank darkness where she was looking. She didn't feel like searching at the moment. She just wanted them back safe and sound with just a wish or a prayer. Of course such things never happened in real life, but she wished and prayed anyway. Something in the distance caught her off guard, pulling her away from her state of mind.

Two human shaped silhouettes had passed near the back of the alleyway she was watching, but they weren't any shadows from the gang. These shadows were moving with their own life. "Hey!" she called out, squinting in the darkness. Boogie looked at her, wondering who she was talking to and glanced into the alley, "There's someone there!"

The two shadows began to get smaller in a rapid pace, confirming whoever they were had now broke into a run. Rhyth and Boogie went in, followed by the rest of the gang. Rhyth was ahead, following the sounds of the other skates and bounding of feet against the ground. She raced around corners and bends, catching up to the victims, pushing herself farther with every step. Turning a corner, she abruptly halted in a skid. It was a dead end. "But how?" she muttered, searching for another alley besides the one she had come from.

Boogie came and stopped quickly before crashing into Rhyth. Soon enough, the rest of the gang caught up to them. "What was the chase for?" asked Clutch, catching his breath. "Someone was running around here." answered Rhyth. "And away from us." added Boogie, crossing her arms. "Why would someone run away from us?" asked Jazz. "Well, we were kinda hunting them down, who ever they were." Clutch chuckled lightly. "Someone doesn't want to be caught…" muttered Corn, turning his head to the crash near his left.

&&&

"That was way too close."

"No kidding, yo."

The two boys walked slowly, catching their lost breath from the chase. They had almost been found, something that would not have been a good idea. "So…any idea what the excuse is gonna be when we go back?" asked Tab. Yoyo shook his head. "No, but the twins said they were comin' with us, so they better have somethin' good. Where are we going anyway?"

Tab stopped and looked at Yoyo, "We need to go the center circle, what ever that is." Yoyo nodded, "That's right by the lake." He walked quietly, looking around, making sure the coast was clear. Tab followed in not such a worried manner. He was sure they had lost the gang.

Yoyo stood in the moonlight, where they were supposed to meet the others. "Okay, now what?"

Tab looked around, "Candy said to meet her here. She went looking for Jam." Yoyo's expression dropped into a grim mug, "Oh…" Tab threw a curious look at Yoyo. "What?"

"What what?"

"You got problems with Jam?"

"Oh…we don't exactly see eye to eye, ya know?"

Tab nodded understandingly. Not everyone got along. It was a way of life. "So, we just wait?" asked Yoyo, looking at the water. Not a sound of life was heard from anyone who lived in the area. Tab kicked around a small rocked in the wait, while Yoyo's ears twitched. "We gotta get outta here."

"But Candy said…"

"They're coming."

Tab turned to where Yoyo was staring at, "Who's coming?" "All of them…" Yoyo said in a whisper. "C'mon!" he ordered, yanking Tab to a dark alley.

Scraping against the concrete echoed in the wide spaced area. "Ohh! Look at the water view!" awed Jazz, eyes shining. "Can we go now? We haven't found anything and we've searched this place inside out already." admitted Cube, placing a hand on Corn's shoulder, "We won't find anything in the dark."

Garam nodded, "She's right. We'll do better when we're all rested. Roboy can listen for anything while we're sleeping." Corn sighed and agreed, "Yeah, let's go home." Rhyth's heart sank at the words. She was so sure they might actually find the boys tonight. What if something horrible happened to them? On top of that, she felt awful about the time the gang had wasted looking for them here. All work and they came up empty-handed.

She looked to the side as everyone huddled back together, ready to head back when she saw two glowing eyes in the darkness. Startled, she froze as they blinked watching her as she watched them. "Rhyth! Let's go!" called Corn, starting off the bunch. "Coming…" she replied, starting off slowly, then catching up to the gang.

"You think she saw us?" whispered Tab as soon as the gang was a good distance away. "I dunno. She was starin', yo." answered Yoyo, rubbing his neck. "Yeah…but she would've said something if she knew it was us." figured Tab, crossing his arms. "Unless she's thinkin up some plan against us, tryin to keep everything undercover, yo." grinned Yoyo.

Tab shook his head with a smile, "Nah, Rhyth's worried about us, you can see it in her eyes." Yoyo's grin grew wider, "You lookin' in her eyes, dude?" Tab began to walk, "Not like that. She's not my type anyway." Yoyo started to walk too, "Yeah…she's not like Candy, now is she?" Tab froze and glared at Yoyo who began to laugh. "You know that was a good one, yo!"

"Shut up!" he growled, his face flushing with embarrassment. "Ah c'mon! You know you like her!" teased Yoyo, giving Tab a slight punch in his arm. Glaring at him, Tab moved farther away from Yoyo, hoping to shut him up. Sadly for him, his idea didn't work. "Does she know?" peeped Yoyo, keeping the same pace as Tab. Tab shrugged impassively, staring ahead.

"Where does everyone go when they're in hiding?" he asked before Yoyo could ask anything else. Yoyo paused as he thought about this. No one explained anything to him about such an event. He shook his head negatively, looking around.

"Yoyo! Tab!"

Out of one of the alleys came the twins, making sure no one was around except them. "Where've you guys been?" asked Jam, watching them with impatience in his eyes. "Where've we been! Where've you been! We've been waiting right here!" defended Yoyo, lifting his arm out. Although Tab was with Yoyo on the defense, he had to give some true excuse, "We got off the main road a bit. Yoyo led us right into the gang."

Yoyo looked at Tab darkly. "Oh yeah Tab, blame everything on me." he growled. Tab tilted his head, "Well, you were leadin' us, so it is your fault." Candy broke into the argument, "Wait, they saw you!" Yoyo half shook his head. He wasn't sure about Rhyth and neither was Tab. "Uhhh, well, not the first time…but they were about to leave and we were hiding and Rhyth kinda stared our way, but we don't know." he said hopelessly.

"That's great." mocked Jam, rolling his eyes. Yoyo glared at Jam, "Don't you have some graves to dig?" Jam's eyes locked on Yoyo, "Yeah, what size should I make yours, 'cause you'll be needing one real soon." Yoyo clenched his teeth as Tab stood between the two, making sure they wouldn't have any physical contact. "Can't you two try to stand each other for at least five minutes?" sighed Candy, rubbing her forehead.

The boys glared at each other, putting no effort into Candy's words. Candy glanced at Tab and then the others, "C'mon. We gotta let the elder know about Tab." She started to walk, followed by the rest, to the elder's cottage, knocking on his door gently. The soft thud echoed, for there was nothing to break off the sound.

The door opened slowly, revealing no one. "Hello?" Candy called, opening it wider, "Anyone here?" Jam sighed and walked in like nothing, "Old man! Where are you?" No one answered this, but wind broke through the single window of the large room. Jam shrugged and shook his head.

"What are you doing in here?"

The four turned around to the door way, where the elder stood. "It is not safe for you to loiter." he told them. "They're gone." Yoyo waved off. Jam poked Candy lightly, an indication for her to speak up. "We need to tell you something…" she said quietly. The elder watched her and knew something was wrong, "What is it?"

"Remember before, we told you Yoyo had friends?"

"Yes."

"One of them went searching for him and…found him."

The elder looked up at Yoyo who looked at Tab. Tab waved tensely and grinned. The old man sighed, "A human…this has never happened before." Tab shook his head, "I won't tell anyone. I'm pretty good with keeping things quiet." Knowing this was a serious subject, he had to keep this quiet. But what would happen if someone else found out? This type of secret wasn't the type that they could keep under cover for long. Yoyo still didn't know how to control himself entirely.

"No need for any rash decisions, right?" smiled Yoyo, his pointy teeth shining in the light. "No, but our trust is in you." the elder hinted at Tab, "Remember, live your life as nothing happened. If we feel that you are putting us in danger, we might have to use unnecessary forces."

Tab glanced at Jam who was drawing a line across his throat with his finger. "Don't worry. I won't tell a soul." he said, returning his attention to the old man. The elder sat in his chair, sighing, not sure if this decision was the right one. But it was the only one they could go with for now. Maybe this boy could prove his loyalty somehow. "You will be staying here then?" asked the old man. "I go when Yoyo goes." Tab answered. The elder nodded and waved his hand, signaling for them to go.

"Went better than expected." muttered Jam, looking at Candy. Candy nodded with a smile. Tab yawned and looked at his watch. It was getting late. "Okay, where am I sleepin' at?" he mumbled. Jam led him off to his room, leaving Yoyo and Candy.

"Is he always with that 'death is coming' expression?" Yoyo asked Candy as soon as he was gone. Candy shrugged uncomfortably, "He's…been different since we were dragged into this…" Yoyo looked at her in shock. "You mean he wasn't like that before?"

Candy shook her head, "No! He used to be happy and joking all the time, but now he's just the opposite. Changes happen to you when you realize nothing's going to be the same anymore." Gloom filled her voice and made Yoyo feel cold and alone. "This curse is a major sacrifice in our lives." she continued as if she was lecturing herself, "We're always moving, we can hardly trust anyone, and we're all broken families…"

Yoyo watched her as her face went blank and empty. "Wait. We're always moving!" he interrupted. She looked at him and nodded, "We're always on the move. We've been here only a month. That's the longest we've stayed anywhere." Yoyo stared at her, "Whoa, I can't be movin' all over, yo! I got friends here! My home is here! I got a dog to feed!"

Candy shook her head sadly, "That's why Jam is the way he is. He thought of the same things." Yoyo glared at her, "I'm not leaving Tokyo." Candy sighed, "You don't get it, do you?" Yoyo stopped and listened. "It's not just Tokyo! We're leaving Japan! We go all over! As in all over the world!"

Yoyo's jaw dropped and his eyes widened, "WHAT!" The girl sat and leaned her head against her knees, watching out at the lake. This conversation was bringing back too many past memories that she'd rather forget. Yoyo's mind swirled as he thought about what the future would bring. "Why me…" he sighed quietly, also sitting down. "That's what I said." Candy mumbled in return. "There was another pack somewhere, a bigger pack, stronger and more experienced…"

"Then why don't we give 'em a call, yo? Have them help out!" he whined, waving an arm around. "We lost contact a long time ago. We think something might've happened to them." Candy explained. "They were out at war…and then, that's it. We haven't heard from them since…"

"War?"

"Vampires."

"Oh…"

"We fear they lost…"

Yoyo sighed, feeling that he was needed in this new community, but not wanting to leave his old one. Now that he knew a little more about this past, he didn't blame Jam for his attitude. "How'd you get like this?" he asked innocently.

"Jam was out with his friends, getting into trouble like always…but he never cared. Our parents would go nuts when the cops brought him home. "Teenage troubles." our dad used to say. Jam and those guys were throwing things at this old building that the kids used to say was haunted. My brother, being who he used to be, threw something in through the window and hit someone inside. We didn't know there was someone living there, or something, so they started running as this thing went chasing after them. I went to get my brother, because it was already getting late and my mom was throwing a fit. I found him in an alleyway, all bloody and passed out. I thought he was dead. I screamed and went to him and that's when that thing bit me."

Candy's expression became stony, "He tried to tell me to run before I got jumped, but I wouldn't listen. He tells me it's his fault this happened to me, but it's really mine."

Yoyo felt crushed inside as tears raced down Candy's cheeks, "Our parents think we're dead." She wiped her face and sniffed, "Sorry, I know I'm not making you feel any better about this." Yoyo placed a hand on her shoulder, "But it's helping me understand other things." She smiled slightly and stood up, "You better get rest. Tomorrow's not gonna welcome you nicely."

Yoyo nodded, "Yeah, I'll head over in a minute." Candy left, sniffling faintly from her light cry. Yoyo scrunched his face into a thought phase and groaned, "This crap is no joke…"