Okay people, it's finally at an end.. sorry it's taken so long to complete but at least it's done. And I'm working on a second part to this so look out for that. And I'm finishing up Broken Souls so you can look out for that as well. Until then… JA NE!!!!!!!!!!!

Tainted Chapter: 10

Alone/ Epilogue

"Father!" a five year old Heero ran and jumped into his father's lap. The King of Vampires stared down at his son, and gave him a small smile. Heero snuggled deeper into his father's warm embrace. He had loved being with his father. Unlike the other vampires, to Heero, the king seemed more like a human than a blood sucking demon. He heard his father cough above him, which snapped him out of his mere daydream. Heero grabbed for his father, but below him was nothing but ash.

"Father??" He breathed as he fell to his knees and grabbed a handful of what used to be his father. The room around him disappeared, leaving him in complete darkness. He turned at the sound of footsteps only to see Trieze above him with a wooden stake in his hands. Tears filled the eyes of the vampire prince as he stood and charged for the taller man. Trieze only laughed as he, too, disappeared in thin air like the room. Confused, Heero fell to his knees and begin crying uncontrollably. The darkness seemed to engulf him; there was no escape for him.

"Heero…." A soft voice caught his attention. He looked up and wiped his eyes to see the slayer smiling down at him. She removed her blonde hair from her face revealing her piercing blue eyes.

"Heero… you're stronger than this." She pulled Heero to his feet. He was no longer a child. He was now the grown man that Serena knew. She pulled the taller man into a hug, burying her hands into his brown hair. "Fight the darkness Heero. Fight it." Adult Heero looked down at the vampire slayer. Her eyes held passion. The slayer then pulled the vampire prince close to him, and locked his lips with hers. In his mind all he could here was Serena's soft voice.

"Fight the darkness Heero. Fight it."

Heero looked around. He was no longer in the darkness that consumed him. He looked beneath him to find the slayer choking under his grip. He quickly released her and backed away from the fallen woman. He could feel it. So much power was flowing through him at that moment. He didn't know what to do. He stared at the slayer, who slowly stood to her feet, gazing at the vampire prince.

"Heero….." Serena whispered, tears threatening to spill from her face. 'Please…' she thought as she took a step forward. Heero steeped back, afraid of her getting near.

"No…. Stay away…." He mumbled, grabbing his head with his hands and falling to his knees.

"Come any closer… I'll kill you slayer…stay back." His red eyes began to flash back to their Prussian blue, but then they would revert back to the blood red they once were within seconds. He began to breathe heavily as the vampiric power pulsated through him. He let out a loud moan and began to shake violently.

"Heero…." The vampire prince looked up to see the slayer standing above him. Fear was no longer in her eyes. Instead, the large blue orbs were filled with… what was it….. love? Serena fell to her knees I front of the prince, and wrapped her hands around his neck, drawing her face close to his.

"I'm not letting you go through this alone." She whispered in his ear. She felt his body tense at her closeness, which only made her grip him tighter. "Heero…."

A tear slid down her cheek onto Heero's pale skin. The warmth of it shocked him. The woman in his arms seemed so sad. He let out a breath, allowing the slayers head to fall and rest on his chest.

"Come back to me Heero… please ….." he felt the woman whimper and shake beneath him. He wrapped his arms tighter around the slayer. The blood red in his eyes began to fade, and they returned to their normal color.

"Serena……" The slayer looked up at the young man, who stared down at her. A small smile spread across her lips as she looked into his eyes.

"I'm sorry…." He whispered before Serena saw his eyes flashed red one last time. She felt her eyes grow heavy, the firm grip on the vampire prince loosening, and plunged into darkness.

I am a vampire. So much power runs through my veins, I'm barely able to control it. I can't stay in this world with her. I was born to kill and spill the blood of mankind. I was born to rule and bring the world to darkness. She taught me human compassion, emotion….love. Possibly more than what my father himself knew. Though I am not one of them, with her I was… I am. I tried to avoid the destiny I was born into. I didn't want this ultimate power, but I have it. I didn't want to be thought of as a king… yet to them…. Those blood thirsty animals… I am. I was born with a task, a mission. I've accomplished that mission I guess. But now…… I feel as if I must go and find another. It seems as if my life has placed me on another path that I must follow. I want to stay with her. I want to love her. But… I can't. This is my life…. This is my curse.

Serena opened her eyes to the blinding brightness of the sun shining though her window. The slayer snapped up and shot upright, finally realizing where she was. Her room seemed odd for some strange reason. She remove the cover off of her body, and noticed she wasn't in the black dress Trieze placed her in. Instead she was in a large button down, white, dress shirt.

Heero's….

Serenity stood and wlked over to her window, which was wide open. A soft breeze met her skin, and the jingle of a bell met her ears. She turned and saw her small cat Luna jump on her bed. She scooped the cat into her arms and hugged it softly.

"Luna…." She whispered into the cat's black fur. She glanced back at the window, the curtains swaying slightly.

"You're leaving….." Serena said, barely above a whisper. She turned and stared at the vampire prince who stood in the doorway. A small grin spread across his lips. He stepped forward, and stood directly in front of the slayer.

"I must." He stated simply.

Serena bowed her head a little. Luna jumped from her arms, allowing Serena to let her arms drop to her side, her hands tightening into fists.

She didn't notice Heero step closer to her. He placed his hands on her fist and held them tightly. He then pulled the slayer closer to his body, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

"You know I can't stay slayer.." he whispered into her blonde hair, which was like a blanket over her back.

"Why..." she whispered. She was so vulnerable right now… and she didn't like it. But she felt as though she wanted him to stay… no… she needed him to stay. She gripped Heero's shirt tighter, forcing her tears to stay within her. She felt the vampire prince open her hand and place a small object in the palm of her hand. She looked down in her palm, to see a small ring gold ring there.

" Heero…." Serena breathed. "I can't…." Heero closed her hand around the gold ring that was passed to him from his father, the last object he had to remember him by. He placed a kiss on her forehead and finally let her go.

Serena felt cold suddenly, the warmth of the vampire prince leaving her as she watched him head to the window, only gripping the trinket tighter in her hands. Heero stepped onto the ledge. Serena reached her hand out to him as if to stop him, but drew it back o her body.

"I'll be back for it slayer... so keep it safe." Heero said, staring at the vampire slayer intently. Yes, he wanted to stay. But they both knew he couldn't. heir eyes locked. So much to say with so little words. Yet they both didn't have to speak to understand each other.

Serena stared into her hand at the gold ring. She felt another breeze from the window and looked up. He was gone. Serena let out a sigh and walked to the window. She stared into the clear sky. She did nothing. She thought nothing. All she did, was hold the ring close to her heart.

I am a slayer. I was born to kill those who fed off humans. Yet I didn't know some of them had humanity. I didn't know I could feel such a way for one…. For him. I'm not supposed to… But I do. He's taught me, he's saved me…. He's loved me. And I him. As much as I want him to stay I know he can't. Yet will my selfishness allow me to accept it. This ring is all I have left of him. I am its guardian, therefore a guard and protect the piece of him that I can hold onto forever. I put a stop to world domination, but it was only with his help. Now I must return to my purpose…my destiny… And that's to defeat those who torment this earth. Though he is not with me now… he'll always be here. He'll watch over me. I know it. But regardless, I must walk down the path set before me. This is my life. This is my curse.

We live our lives in sweet solitude. We learn to live, love, and except those as they come to us. We are placed upon paths in which we cannot stray. We have our destinies that we must live…. As slayer… and as vampire. Maybe we will find each other again. Until then, we walk along out separate paths. This is our life. This is our Curse.

FIN

OMG!! I'm so proud. Finally finished!!! Thank you for those who've supported this story. Now.. I'm considered doing a sequel. If I have any takers let me know. If I get enough people who want a sequel, there will definitely be one. Until then… thanks. Hope you've enjoyed the fic. There's always more to come. Look for them!!!

Always your faithful author,

Vegeta'sgurl89