Double update, where it gets good! R&R, PM, and Enjoy!

Chapter 10: Power Corrupts

(Nathan Kisuki Cross)

I woke with a start, and panic hit me. I shot up out of the bed I was in and looked around for the pure blood. A woman appeared out of nowhere next to me, and she kept trying to calm me down. "It's alright, you're safe." I was able to calm down a little, and noticed I was in a different room, the Moon Dorm nurse's office I thought. "You're still recovering from that fight you had in Mr. Yagari's room." It started to slowly come back to me; the fight, the pure blood, and then the bite. I moved my hand to my neck and felt the bandages (roll-up kind) around my neck. I heard the nurse say, "Rest for a few hours. I'll let you know when you can leave." The nurse left and I went back to sleep.

The next time I woke up, I heard voices. "Do you think he'll be alright?"

"He took quite a beating..."

"He's strong, he'll pull through."

Then I heard someone say, "Shh, I saw him move." I opened my eyes and saw the faces of Yuki, Kaien, and Kaname above me.

"Oh, thank goodness you're awake," Kaien said. "We thought you had dropped out on us."

I tried to sit up, and Kaname said, "You took quite a beating back there. Not many can go up against a pure blood and survive." I stretched my sore arms and looked at everyone. I saw that Souen, Aido, and Kain were in the room as well over by the door.

"How do you feel?" Yuki asked. I moved my arms and legs, bending and turning them.

"I feel...good. Better than I've ever really been, actually." I turned to the side of the bed, my legs dropping to the floor, and stood up. I felt like my body was energized, if not supercharged.

Yuki gave me a hug, and said, "I'm really glad you're alright." I hugged her back, and she screamed a little.

I let her go, and said, "What? What's wrong?"

Yuki sat back down, wincing several times, and said, "Your grip, it's very tight."

Confusion hit me, and I said, "I barely hugged you, how could it be tight?" Everyone looked at me in confusion.

Kaname stood and said, "Nathan, punch my arm as hard as you can." He held up his right arm vertically in front of him, and I nodded. I pulled back my arm and thrust it as hard as I could. The moment it impacted, a loud, almost sickening crunch reverberated throughout the office and Kaname was sent flying into the wall. Everyone went over to him, and they had to pull him out of the wall. Once removed, a Kaname Kuran shaped hole about five inches deep was left in the wall.

I looked at my hands and thought to myself, 'I did that? How could I? I'm not even that strong. Vampire powers or not he shouldn't have even been sent back an inch.'

Kaname groaned, and I heard him say, "Its just as I thought. The bite has accelerated the process." I looked up and everyone was staring at me. I could have sworn Yuki's face, once filled with joy, had been replaced with true terror.

"What process?" I asked, almost too afraid to hear the answer.

Kaname stood, and said, "Nathan, in vampire society, there are four basic levels: A through D. Level A is the very top, containing all pure blood vampires, such as myself. Level B is the upper-middle class, aristocrats like Aido, Kain, and Souen. Level C is lower-middle class, and contains all common vampires. As for level D, it's made up of former humans, the class you were in."

"Wait, were? What do you mean, were? That's the bottom of the barrel, right?"

Kaname shook his head, and said, "There is one other class, outside the social pyramid of vampires. Level E, literally "Level End". If a human turned vampire craves too much blood, and gets out of control, they will turn into monsters, like the vampires Mr. Yagari were fighting." I remembered them all too well; their bodies shaking with insanity, their blood-red eyes, it was horrible. And worse, I was going to turn into one. "I suggest you get some rest," Kaname said. "Also don't use your powers unless absolutely necessary. Using your newly heightened abilities could cause your transformation to accelerate."

I nodded and left the nurse's office, Yuki and Kaien following me. I walked to the Moon Dorm and stopped just outside the double doors. "How long?" I asked.

Kaien stuttered for a moment, but said, "In your current state, a few weeks, months even." I sighed and went over to the wall, beginning to climb it. I sat down once I reached the roof, and could hear Kaien and Yuki leaving. I stared into the night sky, looking at the moon, and then closed my eyes.

I began dreaming, terrible nightmares. I was in the woods, and everything seemed to be colored red. I was running very fast, trees passing by me as if I were riding a car. Suddenly, I came out of the woods and found myself in a small town. I lept onto one of the buildings and began to roof hop. I stopped suddenly and looked down into an alley. There is a woman surrounded by five men, all with knives. She screams for help, and I jump down behind them. The five men turn to me, and are instantly afraid. I jump onto one of the men, and begin to tear him apart. I feel the warm liquid on my skin, almost like it's real, and then feel a sharp pain in my back. One of the men has stabbed me and I am able to take the blade out, then return it into his neck. The other three begin to run, but I jump in front of them and kill two of them by thrusting my hands into their chests, and kill the third by tearing his head off. I begin to devour them, one by one, and notice that the woman is gone. I begin to sniff, smelling something familiar. I run through the streets until I find the woman, who falls onto the ground out of fear. She begins to beg for mercy, but I do not show any. Then, my vision goes black.

I woke up in my room, and I feel like I got no sleep. I sit up, and suddenly feel a single hand encircle my throat. I looked at who my attacker was, the pure blood, and he said, "Had a little snack did we? You can feel the power, the insanity rising in you. I can help you control it, help you save the ones you love from this monster. All I ask in return, is your undying allegiance."

I can barely speak, but I am able to say, "You can kill me for all I care," and then spat on his face.

He takes his free hand and wipes his face, and said, "I wish you hadn't done that." He threw me across the room, and I crashed through the wall, ending up in the hallway. My vision became blurry, and the last thing I saw was the pure blood walking through the hole.

(Kaname Kuran)

The sound of crashing alerted the entire Moon dorm, all of us in the main lobby. Aido asked, "What was that?" I sensed Nathan, but he's weak somehow. Then, I sense a much stronger presence, the presence of a pure blood.

"Trouble," is all I say before we all dash into the direction of the crash. We arrive to see a horrible scene; not only has the pure blood returned, but he's drinking Nathan's blood again. Aido and Kain rush forward, followed by Souen, then me, and we force him off Nathan. Nathan slumps to the floor, barely conscious, and I tell the three to look after him.

"Once again, you have interrupted my meal," the pure blood said, wiping fresh blood from his mouth.

"You have fed off him for long enough," I call back, venom dripping off my words. "We end this now."

He laughed, and shouted, "You fool, you cannot kill a pure blood. Not without attracting attention from the Council."

"Who said anything about killing you?" I dashed forward, and grabbed his arm. I heaved and threw him into the wall and then, still holding on to him, threw him into the opposite wall. He got up and charged me, but I easily side-stepped and threw him into another section of the wall.

"You think you can stop me? You can only delay the inevitable." Nathan groaned, indicating he was still conscious, and the pure blood said, "There will be no saving him. He will die, one way or another." We began fighting at an incredible pace, faster than any mortal eye could follow. I swept my legs across the floor, knocking him down. He quickly got back up, and said, "You're a formidable opponent, Kuran. But I'm afraid it's time to take my leave."

Before he could move, a low growl came from behind us. We looked, and saw Nathan standing there. His clothes were bloody, and Kain, Aido, and Souen were further down the hall, apparently thrown. Nathan raised his head, and the sight was horrible. His eyes were pure red, irises like a cat's. His teeth were all pointed, and he was breathing heavily. He looked between me and the pure blood, then reared his head back and roared. He lowered his head back down to eye level, and took a step forward. I stepped aside, and he didn't seem to notice me. He bared his teeth, and lunged for the pure blood.

I grabbed onto him before he could take a chunk out of him, and pulled him off. "Nathan! You have to stop! You're going into level E!"

"He's already at level E, fool!" Nathan lunged for the pure blood again. This time, the pure blood caught him midair, and thrust a hand into his heart. Nathan let out a blood-curdling howl, and the pure blood ripped his heart out. Nathan fell to the ground, blood spilling everywhere. Souen and the others saw, and I could have sworn they turned paler than normal.

We watched as the pure blood crushed Nathan's heart, and a smug grin grew across his face. But his grin turned to horror, because Nathan was getting back up. The hole in his chest was morphing, and I saw a new heart, regenerating, before it closed up. Nathan looked down at his wound, then back up at the pure blood, and he half grinned, half snarled. The pure blood tried running away, only to be stopped by Nathan, who lunged for him again.

Souen and the others joined me, and we could only helplessly watch as Nathan tore the pure blood to pieces, and devour him. Once finished, he turned to us, probably still hungry, and prepared to lunge.

"Nathan, stop!" Everyone-Souen, Aido, Kain, Nathan-looked over to see Yuki and the headmaster standing behind us in night clothes. Yuki stepped forward, and Nathan began to retreat. "No, no, it's okay. It's me, Yuki. Remember?" She reached Nathan and placed a hand on his forehead before he could pull away. His features stayed the same, but he was calmer.

"Yu...ki?" He said, gruffly. He placed a disfigured hand over hers, and suddenly pulled away. Before Yuki could say anything else, he ran through the hole in the wall and jumped out of the open window. We all rushed in, and only caught a glimpse of Nathan, running into the woods.

Okay, that has to be one of my best endings. Now next chapter will be the epilogue, and (SPOILER ALERT!) they will try to find Nathan. R&R, PM, and hope you'll stick around for the end.