I'm so sorry for my absence you people! And unfortunately, I didn't really like this chapter all that much. I've been traveling, so I haven't had the time to update. It's finally up, but I sort of feel like it's unsatisfactory. Take it is a filler chapter you guys, and thanks for being so patient.
xXChangeXx
The first thing she noticed was that the room was completely red and black.
In front of her was a window, the moon glowing crimson. The air was sweet and pungent.
She blinked, lifting her hands to rub her eyes only to feel her fingers slick and wet. The girl looked down, the outline of her hands were red, dark liquid spilling from her palms and down her wrists.
The scent began to turn acrid as the moon grew brighter. Her black eyes finally noticed something on the floor. Artemis lay in front of her, his eyes closed as if in sleep. His long black eyelashes prominently contrasted against his deathly white skin.
What her fingers were dyed in was his blood, surrounding him in a strangely beautiful way.
She recoiled, hitting her head against something smooth and cold. She turned around to see a… mirror?
Her eyes widened. On the other side was both of them, but she was on the ground, drowning in her blood like the Artemis that was with her. He was standing instead, looking down at his hands.
In the reflection, he turned to look at her, his face cold, blue eyes a shocking red. She put a hand up to him, and suddenly the blood on her palms began to dig into the glass, quickly cracking the surface. He brought up his hand to meet hers.
"What the-"
"-hell?!"
Ame sat up in the bed, bringing up her hands to her face. She sighed with relief before flopping back down, curling up in the covers to sleep some more.
"No matter how alike you are to a cat, it would be best for you to wake now."
She shot up again. Artemis was in front of a mirror, adjusting his tie. She scratched her head, blearily looking around. "What the heck happened?"
"You passed out on me after the meeting. It seems to me that humans can't take our blood."
She mustered an agreeing noise as she slid out of the bed, feeling more than grungy in yesterday's clothes.
After a few moments she finally noticed that something about their area wasn't right. "Wait, where are we?"
By now he had somehow gotten hold of a cup of tea. Artemis set it down in a dignified manner. "It's good to see that you have finally noticed."
He walked over to her, and she instinctively shrunk backward. Without reacting to her negative movement, he strode over to the window over the bed, pulling the curtains wide open. Ame blinked as she felt her eyes adjust to the sunlight. For a moment she didn't even notice that the room was actually very dimly lit before.
She peered out of the window, smelling the air that was heavy with a mossy, watery scent. At first glance, outside seemed like a very packed city with many many almost soggy looking buildings. She did a double take, noticing the canals in between sections with intricate bridges to connect the two island-like sections.
Her eyes grew wider, "No way-"
"-Welcome to Venice."
She waved her hands frantically, "How did this happen?"
The genius simply folded his arms, "With bindings that were similar to the ones that were able to send us to the meeting. After you had so politely swooned I transported us here."
She grimaced, "I don't swoon. I fainted, got knocked out, something like that. Swooning sounds like a damn damsel in distress."
"Whatever suits your vocabulary." He simply replied, picking his tea cup back up.
Ame then felt it was the right time to look around. The room was on all accounts not large, but slightly bigger than medium. In front of her bed was a closet, and then a small mirror where Artemis had been adjusting his tie. The bed was pushed to the side of one wall, the other had a desk and a few hanging plants.
After a few minutes he put the cup back down, and a small binding appeared. It simply disintegrated in a matter of seconds. "Oh yes," He started, "My government has sent a scout of sorts to monitor our whereabouts during the search."
"Search?"
He stared peevishly at her. Under the pressure her eyes grew wide, "Ah! I remember! To find the killer!"
The bedroom door suddenly swung open, Quembly stood at the door frame. She put her hands on her hips, looking impatient. "We should get a move on, the government sent me to help and scout."
"I couldn't say that you would be help, though." Artemis stated dryly.
The blonde girl pursed her lips before walking away, making loud staccato noises on the hardwood floor with her heels.
"Please do make sure you don't walk around in heels anymore, it's awful on hardwood floors," He called out as an added measure of insult.
He then turned to Ame, looking a bit pale in the face from passing out.
"Ame."
She looked up at him as he pulled out a red ribbon. The girl stared at him curiously as he knotted it around her wrist.
The ribbon was silky and soft to the touch, nothing out of the ordinary, "What's this?" she asked, "It's a pretty ribbon and all, but what's it for?"
"Using this, you won't faint with my blood circulating in yours, a mere safety precaution. It's infused with powerful bindings."
"Thank-" her stomach growled. She didn't realize that she probably missed dinner and breakfast until then.
Artemis raised an eyebrow, looking amused. She glared at him.
The young man pulled out a sharpie. "What would you like to eat?"
Ame's eyes instantly glowed, "Anything I want?"
"Yes," He answered tiredly, "Anything you wish to eat."
"A grilled cheese sandwich, man I haven't had one of those for awhile, a corndog, and chocolate cake!" she smiled gleefully.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, "Out of anything in the world, you wish to eat something that could easily be made in the kitchen."
"What's wrong with that?" She replied indignantly.
"Never mind," He began writing on the bed in a flourish, his hands almost a blur.
Before long a circle had formed on the white comforter. She looked worried, wondering if the permanent marker would come out.
"Put your hand in the center."
Cautiously she did, and the binding flashed a deep red this time instead of blue. When she pulled away the circle was gone, instead, the foods of her choice. Ame dove in, cramming it all into her mouth.
After the rush seemed to settle, she asked, "Why'd it turn red this time?"
He seemed to look at her for a moment, "I told you before that after exchanging names, you could also use magic. I suppose that this could be intensified by the blood in your body."
"That's awesome!"
"But without proper training, it's virtually useless."
"You can teach me then!"
"I will not."
She dejectedly took the last bite of her cake. "You know, I want candy now."
Artemis began walking to the door, "Pay for that with your own money."
"Fine." she made a face, "Oh wait! I need to learn Italian first, right? How do you tell how much money they're asking for?"
"It's alright. We don't need to use the traditional way. I'll simply give you the ability to understand."
Suddenly he pressed his hand against her mouth, his pale face an expression of concentration.
She stood silently, knowing that asking if he was finished would only earn her an irritated look. Bit by bit he seemed to lean forward, and the atmosphere in the room grew uneasy.
Finally he was so close, she could feel his breath on her face, a faint scent of Earl Grey. He seemed to grin, but in reality he was only showing his teeth, white as his skin. Her hands grew sticky, but for some reason she couldn't move, she could only look at him with wide black eyes.
He leaned into her neck, his fangs gently scraping her skin. It drew blood that he quickly lapped up.
After for what seemed like an eternity in mere seconds, he pulled away, licking his lips.
"A bit of payment for the language is quite alright, no?"
Ame didn't answer, feeling the wound seal quickly from the vampire blood in her veins. His actions had suddenly reminded her of her dream. She shuddered involuntarily.
"I'm going to get that candy now," she walked out of the room as in a daze, not even bothering to retort to his last comment.
He nodded, but his blue eyes flashed. Artemis looked at her, startling the girl.
"Wait, Quembly and I will be accompanying you."
xXChangeXx
"That will be 7 Euros please." The cashier smiled hesitantly.
The Japanese girl happily gave him the money and began to stuff assorted bars and bags into her pockets, the rest she just held.
Artemis stepped into the tiny corner store. He looked almost ready to sniff with disapproval. "I believe that I will never quite understand your fixation on sweets."
She opened her mouth to reply angrily, but lost to the cashier.
"You!" he gapped, not even daring to move.
"Oh, whatever is the matter now?" He asked irritably, "Is there something about the Italian culture that deems me a target?"
The stout man swallowed, "You're a vampire!"
The genius smirked, making him flinch. "Why yes I am, with the crisis at hand, I don't think this occurrence is out of the ordinary."
The three stood in the shop, one steel-eyed vampire outside impatiently, in silence.
"You're not running?"
The black-haired pair looked at him peculiarly.
"Why?" The boy asked.
Ame looked puzzled too, "We could beat the shit out of you if we wanted, but since I bought candy from you, we won't."
The cashier looked uncertain as he reached under his desk and pulled out a thin book. "It… it says that you should run. The girl here, she looks human, but you… you should run."
Faster than a blink of an eye, he snatched the book out of the man's hands. He held it with his index finger and thumb, as if it was dirty. After examining it for a few seconds, his mouth curved into a knowing smile.
"I see," He put the book into the palm of his hand, "Very informative little book here… it seems to state that if you recognize a person as a vampire, they should be entitled to run."
"Eh?" The girl looked more than baffled, the idea was incredulous.
"This book has been distributed all over the world, I suppose. A what-to-do-in-case-of sort of thing. It seems though, that this is a special Venice copy." The book suddenly stood up in his hand, the poor man to afraid to ask for it back or even speak.
Ame decided to set down her candy to prevent it from melting. "What's so special about Venice?"
He simply answered in two words, "Vampire-hunting Country."
"Vampires… are supposed to run away from humans in Venice?" She took a peek outside, Quembly seemed to be huffing angrily.
"From what I have gathered," He replied coolly, "But… what would happen in the situation that a Vampire is very well respected, powerful, and foreign to the city?"
He seemed to be asking the cashier. Then man stayed silent as ever, unable to answer.
A binding glowed on the genius' palm, and the book burst into flames.
"It becomes irrelevant."
He shrieked in fear, a high squealish scream.
"Have no fear," Artemis smiled sadistically, "This is a very valuable piece of information, you have no need to fear for your well-being. Please don't inform anyone of this visit, and we'll be on out way out."
The man nodded quickly.
Ame pulled a box of gum out of an isle. "Oh! Hey! Can I buy this too?"
The man nodded quickly once again.
She approached his desk, and he shook his head quickly, trying to usher her out behind the frightening boy.
"For free?"
The man nodded quickly once again, sweat rolling down his face.
"Thanks!"
The door shut quietly, and he slumped into his seat, promising to never point out a vampire again.
xXChallengeXx
Ame's boot made a sickening squelch as she walked another step forward. "Any help here? Why the crap are we wandering in between the backed up, water-logged alleys anyways?"
Quembly was walking on what seemed to be a binding. It moved while she walked, forming a solid floor under her feet.
The genius had teleported himself to the other sidelong before, making the Japanese girl growl angrily. "Why couldn't you just teleport me too? It's like walking in freaking quicksand!"
The blonde girl finally stepped out of the muddied alley, the binding dissipated as strode over to Artemis.
"It should be just about now," He noted.
"What-!"
Two tanned hands shot out and grabbed Ame by the throat, clenching tightly.
"Give your money." A hoarse voice demanded in broken Italian. "I have knife, will not hurt if you give money."
She seemed to pay no attention wrenching herself free from his grip. "Damn it! Why would you set up something like this, Artemis!"
The tan boy lunged at her again, only to be snatched up by his left hand.
"Pickpockets," Artemis simply stated, watching the boy struggle in his grip.
"I don't know who to kick the crap out of first, the bastard or the guy that tried to rob me at knife-point!" she yelled.
She began another rant when she suddenly felt every pore in her body was filled with fear. The girl looked at the black-haired boy, his face completely blank of emotion.
"Don't look."
His voice was low and dangerous. Without bothering to ask why, she shut her eyes obediently.
A horrendous cry was heard, she snapped them back open. The boy was standing a few feet away from Artemis, holding his arm that seemed to be… bleeding?
The blonde girl covered her mouth, keeping herself in check.
"I've severed your hand… if you don't understand, I cut your hand off." His voice was still cold and sharp, face as expressionless as a statue.
Ame dashed towards him, "You couldn't have!"
He ignored her, "You will die without help soon. I will give it back to you if you help me."
The boy's brown eyes were livid.
"What the hell are you doing this for?" She punched him, yet he didn't even move a millimetre.
"I require his services. This city is not afraid of us, I decided this was for the best."
"My God, you're such a JERK." She turned to the boy, his face the picture of denial, "Just say yes… you'll die if you don't."
The pickpocket nodded, and Artemis quickly took his arm, placing the hand at the joints. In a few seconds, it was as if the whole situation never even occurred.
He sighed, "It was a wise decision, a few more seconds and the blood loss would have been a bit of trouble."
"What do you want with him?" Ame's voice angry, her eyes sad.
"You know how to break into houses, yes?" the vampire inquired.
"…Yes."
"Very good."
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If anyone of you are thinking to themselves, "Why does Artemis need a pickpocket to break into a house? He could just teleport himself there, right?"
Welp, yes, that is true.
But of course Artemis needs him for more than just breaking into a house.
We'll see… XD
This chapter, like the previous one, is chock full of foreshadowing and hints! Remember them well and you might figure out the ending before anyone else!
Thank you all for reading this crappy chapter, I'll see you next time with a better one.
Please review! Reviews are my writer's food!
Edit:
Three hours after posting this chapter, I realized that I made a grave grave mistake...
THE TIME PARADOX COMES OUT TODAY! (Treat this as a celebration chapter, okay you guys? XD)
I suppose on the seventh of August I also have to post up a new chapter... anyone up for some random side plot oneshots?
A few of you may be thinking, "Why was it so important to pull this chapter off chapter and edit a note about it?"
FOR SHAME, YOU GUYS! This is where Artemis came from! So! Without further ado,
HELLO, TIME PARADOX! WELCOME TO AMERICA!
(End of Freakish rant to accompany freakish excitement. Don't forget to review!)