"Heero," Treize replied derisively, mocking the other vampire's monosyllabic statement. "Are you sure you don't have some time for me?" he added with unnerving politeness, smiling at the other male as though they were the best of friends. Bullshit to that.
"I'm sure." Heero replied in clipped tone, conveying in that short reply both dislike and fear for the seemingly mild-mannered man. All traces of the playfulness and amusement that had been present just minutes before had vanished from his voice, leaving an audible strain.
Treize's cold blue eyes hardened and his lips pursed in a display of growing anger. "Come with me now," he commanded in a low, threatening voice, attention focused on the azure depths of Heero's eyes.
The vampire's face twisted into disgust but he moved forwards and, after just the briefest of glances my way, left the room with the man. One they had disappeared from view, Relena let her breath out then whirled on the blonde still lingering at the door. The normally calm, composed girl looked angry and upset, and it seemed to be directed at the Master's companion.
"Shouldn't you be going Dorothy?" Relena asked, a look of anger passing over her face before she continued with venom-laced words. "Treize won't be happy without his faithful dog by his side."
The girl, now identified to be 'Dorothy', narrowed her eyes and shot the girl a cold look. Then, faster than I could track, her hand flung out suddenly and sent Relena flying into the wall. The impact was noisy and she crumpled to the floor in a broken heap, already bleeding slightly from the head. My mouth hung open like I was trying to catch flies as Dorothy smirked at me then walked out of the room, leaving Wufei and I alone with the junkie.
"What do we do?!" I asked after a few seconds of silence, turning expectantly to Wufei as if he held all the answers.
Wufei grimaced. "Our source of information is gone. I suggest we go before more supernatural nasties show up."
"I meant about Relena!" I hissed, amazed at his lack of comprehension.
The Chinese male spared a glance at the fallen girl then fixed me with a dark glare. "Since when is a vampire junkie our problem?"
"Since when did you stop caring about other people?" I questioned sullenly, staring hard at him as I crossed my arms over my chest. It had been an eventful few days, sure… but did that warrant such behaviour from him? God the world is screwy today.
"We don't have time for this."
I wrinkled my nose up and was about to launch into a tirade when suddenly I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. My hand went instinctively to my gun but then I realised that I didn't have one with me; no, Wufei had persuaded me to leave it at home after going on for a while about how the club wouldn't allow it. Oh, the one time I listen to him! I squinted at the newcomer then realised with a lurch in my stomach that it was the blonde stripper, still wearing those leather shorts.
"What happened to her?" The guy—Zechs, was it?—asked, kneeling down to Relena and brushing her hair out of her face. "Well?" He added, looking up at me with cold blue eyes. They were almost completely blank of emotion and so was his pale face; the only indication that he did indeed have any feelings was the way he pursed his lips with displeasure and let just the tiniest strain show in his clipped voice.
"A girl hit her. Dorothy." Wufei said slowly, watching the man carefully.
"Dorothy?" An angry scowl darkened the blonde's face for a fleeting second but it was gone so quickly it was almost like I'd imagined it. He rose slowly with Relena in his arms, blood dripping from her face onto the nice leather of her shorts, then left the room without another word.
Wufei looked at me. "Now can we go?"
I ground my teeth, readying a reply, when once more someone deemed it appropriate to interrupt. Goddamnit, how hard is it to let a man speak once in a while?!
"You're in such a hurry to leave… Not feeling comfortable amongst us freaks?" The person chimed in, making us jump as he stuck his head in. It was Quatre, his expression open and relaxed. "You should try to relax, Wufei. You'll not come to any harm here. Everyone's safe within these walls."
Wufei snorted disdainfully. "You tell that to Dorothy."
At the name, Quatre's face twisted into disgust just for the briefest of moments, then he was back to his sunny self. "I see. Well, you're going to have to stop being scared of us sooner or later or your emotions will control you. And you should learn to trust a little more. It wouldn't kill you."
I glanced between the two males, wondering what the hell was happening. Wufei was now looking taken aback, as though the blond had read his thoughts somehow. The shock faded to anger and I suddenly became aware that something bad was brewing.
"I can't read your thoughts, Duo." Quatre said softly, glancing at me.
WHAT THE FUCK?!
He smiled. "I can read your emotions. From that, I can figure it out. You're like an open book." There was a pause, then he cocked his head cutely. "Anyway, what are you both doing here?"
"We had to talk to Heero," I replied wearily, folding my arms across my chest and hugging myself slightly.
"Heero's here? Oh, I've gotta go then. See you Duo, Wufei!" And with that he disappeared, running off to presumably find the vampire.
Wufei turned to stare at me, frowning. "Are we leaving now or would you rather prefer to stay even longer and attract yet more attention?"
"Fine, fine. But I want a drink first. I don't think I can survive this without one." I answered, glad when my partner nodded resignedly then headed out of the room and towards the bar. I noticed vaguely that the show was over as I sat down on a stool, observing those who lingered with the clear intent of getting drunk or just glimpsing something supernatural so that they could brag to their friends about it later. Typical fucking tourists.
As Wufei did a careful sweep of the area to scout for vampires, I thought for a moment and then sighed. When the barman came over, I ordered a glass of water. That earned me a surprised look from the Chinese man sitting next to me, who seemed to find it unbelievable that I would forego alcohol.
"Water?"
"It's better for the brain," I shrugged, tracing my finger around the rim of the glass that had been set down in front of me. It might not have been as satisfying as a beer but at least I wouldn't have to deal with the effects. God only knows how fucked up I've been acting sober, let alone with alcohol introduced to the mix.
"Sure it is," Wufei smirked at me.
"Duo!"
A loud voice made me jump and turn quickly in the chair, slopping my glass of water as I saw Trowa striding purposefully towards me with anger painted across his pale features. For a moment I was scared that he was going to attack me because the depth of emotion in those green eyes and the anger radiating from his body was so great but then he halted next to me, vampiric energy prickling uncomfortably along my skin. An angry vampire is never a good thing.
"They took Quatre!"
I blinked confusedly. "What? Who took him? Where did they go?"
"Treize and that—that—" he trailed off, biting back anger. "Dorothy. His pet. Heero was there too when they took Quatre. Do you know what's going on?"
"I—" My mouth had barely emitted the first syllable when he cut in.
"We have to go get Quatre!" Trowa exclaimed, grabbing my shoulders with more force than was necessary.
I stared wordlessly at the vampire, trying to think what I could possibly say as I was suddenly pulled out of the chair and he began to tug me in the general direction of the door. Wufei hurried to catch up, lips quirked into a small smirk as though he was amused but wary too. I grabbed the hand on my arm, trying fruitlessly to shift his iron grip and digging my heels in.
"Trowa, Trowa, wait!" I declared, finally getting him to pause. "This has nothing to do with me! Besides, I can't help. I'm just a human, remember?"
Trowa frowned at me. "You're the Executioner, of course you can help," he answered, expression starting to show the fear he felt. "Please, Duo. You don't know the things Treize does for fun. You don't know what he does to make sure people do what he says."
I felt ashamed suddenly for not wanting to help, though I knew I shouldn't have, and I patted the brunette's shoulder awkwardly. "I'll dow hat I can."
"Thank you," Trowa said with relief, bowing his head to me as we continued outside.
Cold wind battered us as we stood outside Guilty Pleasures and my hair whirled around madly, the tight braid flailing like a whip. This was definitely not my kind of weather. I pulled my leather coat tighter around me, trying to fend off the wind as I rubbed my hands together. While I was attempting to regain a little warmth, it seemed the other two had entered a staring competition.
"Don't think this is your chance to get rid of the Master, I just want Quatre back." Trowa directed at Wufei, eyes narrowed. "You have no idea of the kind of firepower he boasts. If you want Heero back to pump him for more info, you'll play by our rules."
"I'll do what I want, vampire!" Wufei responded with a glare, clenching his fists.
In an attempt to distract the two from their impending fisticuffs, I intervened. "Where exactly will they have taken Quatre?" I
"To his lair."
"Elaborate." I said with a twitch, feeling a vein begin to pulse in my forehead. If I'd thought it was going to be a long night a few hours ago, it seemed endless now. Here I am stuck with a moody vampire and a sulking human, about to go say hi to the Master of the City. Great, maybe he'll make some tea?
"Treize resides at the Circus of the Damned. His rooms are underground… You know the Circus, right?"
"Yeah," I said with a light sigh, shaking my head. Why did it have to be there?! I hate circuses and I hate clowns, in fact I hate all the associated circus bullshit. Don't get me wrong—I'm not afraid of them or anything, I just don't like them. Who does? They're fucking weird. People who make balloon animals for a living and have big red noses are just disturbed. And why can't they find pants or shoes that actually fit? Everyone else manages.
"I will take you there down to his chambers but I will not go any further. I do not want to go anywhere near Treize if I can help it," Trowa said quietly, looking sad and little like a lost child.
"That's fine… I guess. But we're not going there like this, that would be crazy. I don't even have a gun on me, you think I'm going to forefully take someone from a Master vampire unarmed?"
The vampire nodded, looking thoughtful. "My driver will take us wherever you need to go but we must hurry."
I nodded, feeling myself fill with some sort of sadistic pleasure as a dark smile lit up my face. I had decided on the perfect location to get suited and booted. Wufei spared me a glance and his eyes widened slightly; he had just worked out who I wanted to go see. His eyes told me to forget it but I knew that he had no alternative. Where else would we get the appropriate firepower?
"Where are we going, Duo?" Trowa asked, eyes scanning the darkness around us as he awaited my reply.
I smiled grimly. "To see Death."