So, I read through all of the chapters and made the necessary changes~ I'll continue to go over them all as more chapters get added, since I'm not perfect and may have skipped a few things here and there :)

I decided that this entire update will be with Autumn and the humans. I was going to add something with Krul, but I'm saving that for next chapter. The next update will bounce around quite a bit as it goes from company to company, so I'll just save anything else I was going to incorporate to this update till then. :D

Now I did edit this, but I'll go back and reread in a few days to make sure I didn't miss anything.

Also, to my three reviewers and my lovelies watching this series, thank you so much! Even though I don't hear from you all as much as I do my other reviewers from my other series, I love you all so very much! :')


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An Interesting Twist

CH VIII;;

- x -


Night had settled around the group of travelers after they'd continued to march through the smaller towns and wooded areas to avoid major cities where progenitors might have been. It was later decided after a vote, that they would find somewhere to bunker down for the night. They'd decided on an area where there was a small building that was still solid but was only missing one wall, so they would have protection on three sides. Yoichi and Shinya agreed to take turns with positions on the roof, while Mika and Autumn would be the primary guard on the ground to hold off any and all enemies. Upon arrival, they'd scattered into small groups to eliminate the Four Horsemen of John in the immediate area before returning to the camp.

"Alright, so before I left, I managed to grab quite a few supplies," Shinya smiled as he set his brown travel bag down in front of him before opening it and riffling through it, "I have an assortment of dehydrated goods that the military had just began to create for situations where the soldiers managed to find fresh water. I also have canned goods, and not just rations from the Moon Demon Army, either."

All eyes went wide as he began pulling items out of his bag, "Wow, Shinya! This is incredible!"

"I knew you'd pull through," Narumi grinned.

"Don't mention it," Shinya grinned back, "So, pick what you'd all like to have an then we'll put the rest away for tomorrow. Oh, and I also have bread. I only managed to grab three loaves, so lets make it last."

Immediately, all of the ex-soldiers began preparing the area for a small fire to boil water in preparation for the food to be cooked. Meanwhile, Autumn and Mika stood outside on the roof as they quietly bickered back and forth about his needing to feed.

"If you don't accept this damn blood bag, I'll force-feed you," Autumn narrowed her eyes, "You're going to put these kids in danger if you don't make the transition. Do you want to endanger your precious Yuu?"

Mika glared, "No! I'd never put him in danger!"

"Then drink," She said seriously, her own ruby eyes narrowing at the young vampire, "I know it's not exactly the best way to live, but you'll turn into a demon that I'll have to kill. I will share my blood bags with you without a problem, so just drink it."

Mika shook his head stubbornly, "I still have some of Krul's blood."

"Yeah, four vials out of a pack that should have lasted you at least a few days," Autumn pointed out, earning a shocked but glared look from the blond, "You didn't think I'd notice you sneaking those every time you looked as though you were going to grab one of those humans? Come now, Mika. I'm old, but I'm not stupid."

He flinched and let his eyes land on the bag in her hand that she still held out to him, "Is this how you treated Aries when she was at the end of her rope?"

"No. Aries was never this bad," Autumn grinned, "But she was close to getting to where you are. I let her feed from me for about a week and after that, she was on her own. She came to me and begged me to feed her, but I simply brought her to her room and sat her on her bed while I emptied a bag of blood into a glass for her. She said it made it easier seeing it that way. It reminded her of wine instead of human blood."

Mika frowned and nodded slowly, "I suppose that wouldn't be so bad."

"Which is why I came prepared," Autumn smirked triumphantly, pulling a cup from out of nowhere and used her teeth to pull out the seal of the bag before she emptied half of it into the cup, "I've seen it in your eyes, Mika. You need to feed, or else the thirst will start to take over and you won't be able to stop."

His eyes went wide and his pupils dilated as he watched the thick, red liquid pool in the cup she held in her hands and sloshed about. He could feel his throat constrict and his stomach knot with the scent that drifted his way. Suddenly, he became extremely aware of the woman in front of him and practically salivated at the thought of tasting her, despite her being an immortal like him.

"Here," She held out the cup to him and gave him a warning look, "I'll break every bone in your damn body if you attack me. Now drink."

With all of his willpower, Mika took heavy steps towards her. He demanded himself that he keep his eyes on the prize, not letting his slit pupils look away from the red liquid in the glass. As he neared her, he reached out to accept her gift and lifted it to his mouth. The scent alone caused a shiver to run down his spine, followed by the full-body shudder that took hold of him once the liquid finally touched his tongue.

Autumn watched with a grin as he downed the glass relatively quickly. She closed the distance between the two and emptied the rest of the bag in her hands into the cup, watching as he greedily drank that as well.

"There," She smiled, reaching up to ruffle his hair gently, "Now you'll feel a lot better."

Mika took a moment to regain himself before he looked at her, "I..."

"Deep breaths," Autumn said in a more gentle tone than what she'd started with, "Take a moment and breath deeply."

He nodded slowly and did as he was told, inhaling slowly before releasing. All the while, she watched as his memorable crystal blues turned to the prominent ruby red that all vampires were known for.

"Your friends are in for a shock when they see you," Autumn giggled, "Those eyes are quite something."

Mika's face fell as he brought his fingers to touch just below his eyes, "My eyes? They're red now?"

"Yep. No going back now," She smirked, "Like I said before, I can go a couple of weeks without worrying about getting thirsty, but I'll probably indulge at the same time as you when I get you to feed. Half a bag each everyday will keep us both satisfied and put the cravings to bed."

"Alright," Mika nodded, "Won't we run out quickly if we do that?"

Autumn scoffed, "Your Queen packed over three months supply, and that's with regular feeding. She must have figured having you with all of these humans would cause you to get a burn in the back of your throat, so we'll take advantage of her generosity. Besides, with a healthy appetite and regular snacking, you won't get the urge to rip into someone. If that happens," She suddenly gave him an innocent smile, "I'll shove a whole blood bag down your throat."

"I see," He looked away from her for a moment, "Should we go back inside?"

"You can if you'd like and join them while they eat," Autumn smiled, "I'll be alright to take watch by myself for a while."

Mika frowned, "But–"

"No but's," Autumn gave him a shove forward, "Shoo!"

Reluctantly, Mika walked over to the edge and hopped down to join Yuu and his comrades. When he walked in, all of the humans gasped at the sight of his ruby eyes.

Autumn couldn't help but grin as she listened to everyone comment on Mika's eyes. Some of them were dreadful, while others (mainly Yuu) were congratulatory. She knew that the seraph host didn't want to see his closest friend die because of his displeasure to feed from a human, so she knew he would have been the happiest to notice the change.

As she listened to them, her mind wondered to her family back in Canada and the ones she left behind in Nagoya. She wondered how Aden was handling himself and how he was going to ready the troupes in time for their deadline. That thought led to Aries, who was with the one vampire she would have liked to have taken a strip out of before leaving. She didn't trust Ferid or even enjoy the look of him, but Aries was sticking behind him. Deep down, Autumn wanted to believe along with Aries, that Ferid had a sliver of honesty in him. She knew Aries wanted to believe that he was a good person so that she could show her companions how great a mate he could be.

She also wanted to believe in her mate, knowing that he was still under Ferid's faction. Autumn had no doubt in her mind that Crowley would still be associated with the Seventh Progenitor once he'd become bonded in blood to her, but the fact that he would outrank the untrustworthy male put her mind at ease. In the eyes on the vampires, Ferid would no longer have control over Crowley. Perhaps it was more for his protection than his rank, that she felt this ease in regards to the tall male. There was also the matter of his aides, who he had a very large attachment to. Autumn herself, would be lying if she denied having her own attachment to Chess and Horn. She'd grown very fond of the two, and hoped they would get along with a few of her Canadian vampires to help the transition when she brought up the idea of moving abroad with her.

The thought alone made her grin, knowing that as long as Crowley said he wanted to, she figured those two would be more than happy to travel along with him.

. . .

Yuu watched Mika as his blond companion sat beside him, "The red eyes suit you, Mika."

"Thanks, I guess," Mika muttered, trying to avoid looking at the others when he felt their eyes on him.

Shinoa smiled, "Did Autumn convince you to finally drink some human blood?"

"Yes," Mika met her eyes, "She and I have enough to last us quite a while, so she had me drink a full bag to help keep my thirst under control until we feed tomorrow."

"Doesn't she need a full bag?" Kimizuki asked as his brow rose.

Mika shook his head, "No, because she's an older noble. She can go for weeks without feeding if she needed to."

"That's right," Mitsuba nodded, "She's over two-thousand years old, so she would have good self-control."

Narumi scoffed slightly, "That still doesn't excuse the fact that once they run out of blood bags, we're in danger."

"Then they can feed from me," Yuu glared, "We're not going to kick them out of the group because of that."

Shinya looked at Yuu, "Well, that wouldn't be advised, either. If they continue to drink from you and you have no other way to rest, you'll end up dying from blood loss."

Yuu glared, "Well, they have to get blood from somewhere!"

"She offered to go hunt elsewhere, so I'll just go with her when she does," Mika said in a tone that he hoped would calm Yuu down, "Like me, she doesn't enjoy drinking from humans like the other vampires."

Shinya looked at the blond, "So, what does she do when she's back in Canada?"

"Apparently all of her humans are allowed to live similarly to those who used to live in the country back before the apocalypse happened. They're given jobs and other tasks. She said they're allowed to remain in their small communities and have a handful of vampires guarding the area from any dangers," Mika explained with a small smile, "She said that they're taught to respect vampires, rather than fear them."

His revelation shocked all of the humans, watching their eyes go wide.

"Wow," Yoichi grinned, "Sounds like a place that we should have lived in before all of this."

Mika nodded, "Aries told me the same thing when I'd spoken to her. She was once a human that lived under Autumn's protection, but was turned later in life and had become the Fifth Progenitor. All of the vampires drink strictly from a blood bag."

"Oh?" Shinya grinned, "So she teaches all of the vampires that drinking from a human, inside her compound and outside, is forbidden? Sounds too good to be true."

Mika looked at him, "Like I said, she teaches the humans in Canada to respect the vampires, but there's also the even trade of them having a healthy respect for the humans, too."

"Having a nice little chat about me, are ya?" Autumn grinned, leaning against the frame of the wall leading to the outside.

All eyes turned to her at the sound of her voice, earning a wider grin from the black haired progenitor.

"We were just talking about how you're unusually fair to humans in your country," Shinya smiled.

Autumn shrugged, "If we show them that we're not terrifying, it makes it easier when they have to donate blood. We call it donating, because they give it willingly. If we teach them from a young age that as long as they are respectful they have nothing to worry about, then we remove the fear that comes with their monthly visits to our collection facility. We also make sure the humans are as comfortable as possible when hooked up to the intervenes. They're given a good meal afterwards, too."

Narumi's eyes narrowed, "Why go to such lengths?"

Autumn looked at him and took a long moment to decide how she was going to answer him. She had several responses in her mind as she continued to match eyes with him, but the best one she'd come up with just spilled from her lips before she could stop it.

"I don't expect you to believe me when I say this, but I'm hoping that one day, vampires and humans can live on mutual grounds and have the decency to live in the same territory as allies instead of enemies," Autumn said honestly, "It's a tough world out there without the threat of the vampires, so why not envision a world where we can live together in peace?"

"That's wishful thinking," Kimizuki muttered, earning a glare from Shinya and Shinoa.

"I think it's a beautiful vision, although it's a stretch," Shinya turned to Autumn, "It's too bad that many of the others don't think like you."

"That is, if she's not bullshitting us," Narumi was still watching Autumn with narrowed eyes, "Ever think that she's just feeding us this crap to gain our trust?"

Autumn smiled at him, "I enjoy the fact that you and Kimizuki play the devil's advocate, but it's not necessary. I don't have any reason to lie to you. After all, I chose to come here with Mika of my own free will and left behind the one person I care about more than my own life in the hands of an untrustworthy, scheming little slime-dog of a progenitor. To accuse me to lying to you here and now is just incredibly inconsiderate of you, considering you have no idea what I've given up to see to it that you're all alive when we go back."

Narumi frowned at that while everyone else processed her words.

Shinya was the first to speak, "In regards to that, I assume you mean Aries?"

"Yep," Autumn shifted against the wall she was leaning on, "Aries was one of the handful I've ever changed with my own blood. A lot of the others are remnants of other vampires, while the majority of the army I have are my descendants after being changed by Aries blood."

Shinya nodded while Shinoa and Kimizuki exchanged glances, "Can I ask you something, Autumn?"

"You already are, so keep going," Autumn grinned at her, knowing by the look in the girl's eyes that it would have something to do with Crowley.

Sure enough, the minute Shinoa began to speak, Mika eyed the Second Progenitor awaiting on how she would answer the young girl, "About that man."

"Ah yes, the Thirteenth Progenitor, Crowley Eusford," Autumn sighed slightly before looking up at the ceiling, "Where do I begin with that one. Well first off, he's my mate."

Yoichi, Shinya and Yuu openly gaped at her while Mitsuba, Shiona, Kimizuki and Narumi watched her cautiously.

"Crowley Eusford is my mate, but at the moment, he's not entirely mine," Autumn explained, choosing to explain rather than deal with their scrutinizing glares, "In order for progenitors or lower level nobles to become one with their mates, they need to feed from one another and to actually do the dirty. I told Crowley that when I returned that he could bond with me, but I avoided it so that when Mika and I took you all and ran, he wouldn't be able to track me down so easily. If he'd fed from me, we never would have made it out of there even if the bond wasn't complete."

"Why is that?" Yoichi asked, earning a grin from Autumn.

"When a mate feeds from their intended, I suppose you could say they receive a massive upsurge of power," Autumn explained, "Since you all knew who he was I'm assuming you've fought with him before, so you know that Crowley is already dangerously powerful on his own. Why give him an advantage when I need to protect you?"

Shinya shifted so he was turned around to face her, "What about Aries? You said that she was with a progenitor you didn't trust."

Mika felt the air tense as Autumn stared at Shinya, "She's with Ferid Bathory, the Seventh Progenitor. Need I say more?"

Yuu grimaced at the name, "You let her be with that bloodsucker?!"

"Watch it," Mika frowned, "Don't forget that her and I are vampires, too."

Yuu would have apologized, but he was fixated on Autumn at the moment, "Why would you let her be with him? Do you know what he did to mine and Mika's family?! He ripped everyone apart!"

"Oh trust me, I know exactly what he is," Autumn sighed and reached up to play with the end of her long tresses, "Unfortunately, mates are absolute. There's nothing I could have done other than to keep her away from him, but we came to Japan in order to negotiate with Krul Tepes. I won't lie and say that I wasn't curious to see if this whole mate ordeal was true or false, but when it turned out to be a reality, I knew I made a mistake bringing her here. What happens is on me."

Shinya looked at her, "You say that, but on the same breath you seem as though you would have regretted not coming here."

"You're right," She smiled, "I wouldn't have met Crowley, Chess and Horn. I also wouldn't have met Mika, who led me to all of you. Despite the fact you don't trust me, I see you all as companions and I won't let any of them hurt any of you."

Narumi and Kimizuki looked a little skeptical, but the others nodded and smiled back at her.

Up to this point, she'd really given them all no reason to feel she was lying to them. She'd been honest, and protected them in a very situation where she could have led them into a trap. Once she revealed the truth about Crowley Eusford, they realized just how dangerous their objective to flee from Nagoya really was. They also had to consider the fact that despite him being her mate, she still led them to safety rather than joining up with him.

"Thank you," Shinoa looked at Autumn, "Really. Thank you for agreeing to do this."

Autumn smiled, "It's no trouble at all. Well, at least for you guys. When I get back, it's going to be pandemonium."

Mika frowned, "You could always leave with us?"

"You know I can't do that. If I leave with you guys, then I'm going to get Aries first and you know what that means," She looked at him, "If Aries follows, Ferid will also follow. Whether it be out of some twisted form of love he has for her, or the fact that vampires are greedy creatures that don't like their things taken from them, he'll follow. Crowley will also want to join us with his two aides because of me, and I know for a fact that Chess will have a harder time controlling herself around all these guys."

Shinya looked at her as he stood up, "So then, what's the plan on your end?"

"I'm to escort you all to a safe zone and protect you until after the war," Autumn watched him, "When the war is over, I will bring you all back to Sanguinem and you will stay under the Queen's protection should the vampires prove victorious against the humans. I think she wants to make you all an offer, although I don't think you'd all be willing to march into the vampire Capitol willingly."

"What?!"

"You guys could also come back home with me," She grinned, silencing all of their complaints, "I can offer you all jobs you're suited to, and it would give some of the humans more confidence to possibly pursue a path in helping protect Canada."

Mitsuba blinked at her generous offer, "Really? You'd let us go back with you?"

"Why not? It's not like you're all employed at the moment," Autumn looked at her, "I could use people like you to help put some backbone into my armies. Aden, my Lieutenant General and third-in-command, would find it interesting if you all came back with me. He'd probably even offer to train you all. Annabelle, too."

"We'll definitely consider it," Shinoa said before anyone else could speak.

She caught Yuu and Mika both smiling at the offer Autumn put out there, but from the corner of her eye she could see Kimizuki and Narumi with the same suspicious look in their eyes. Yoichi and Mitsuba, however, looked rather excited about the idea.

"I'm going to take first watch," Shinya looked at Yoichi, "So get some rest and I'll wake you up when it's your turn."

Yoichi nodded and smiled, "Alright."

Shinya smiled back and made his way over to Autumn, "Mind if I have a word?"

"Of course," She pushed off the wall and followed him outside and up to the roof, "You're not going to tell me that I'm a good con-woman, are you?"

He chuckled, "No, not at all. In fact, I think you would be a good influence on these kids," He could feel her eyes on him as he laid down on his belly and got into position, "Once you get to know their personalities and gain their trust, I'm sure they'll agree to go back with you. They have nothing left to leave behind because they have their families with them right now, so it's just a matter of getting them out of the country."

"Will you be joining us?" Autumn grinned, "I have to admit, I've taken quite the liking to you already. It would be a shame if you stayed behind."

Shinya smiled, "I'm flattered. I'll definitely have to think about that, but first thing's first. We need to survive this war and find a way to get Guren back. I'm sure once he's no longer being possessed, he and his squad will want to join us, too."

"Ah yes, the human you all spoke to me about," Autumn looked ahead and scanned the land in front of them, "I think I have a good idea on how to get him back, but your companions may not like how it's done."

"As long as you don't have to kill him, I'm sure they'll understand if they knew it would help," Shinya glanced back at her, "If you had to turn him into a vampire, I'm sure that would cause an uproar."

Autumn grinned, "No, nothing like that."


Andddd done! Muhahahaha!

I'm really bad for ending at random moments, so don't mind me. ;D

So, we got to learn quite a bit about Autumn! Was it anything else that we expected? Probably not, because I just elaborated on what we already knew. I suppose I'm saving the new stuff for when we see her in action (aka, when we learn about her swords~). ;)

Next update will be a mix of everyone else. I'm probably not going to put Autumn and the group in it, but focus on what's going on in preparation for the war. We're going to see Aries and Ferid again to see how she's doing, and also Crowley and our two favorite aides will make an appearance! As promise, Krul is also going to be in the next one, and maybe I'll add a little of our Canadian friends!

~ Kayori, out!