Disclaimer 1: I do NOT own Zoids.
Disclaimer 2: The characters Ibeyla, Obscura, Spectral, Rollo, Rabe, Salca, Playzia, Driacoul and Rika do NOT belong to me. They belong to ShadowRebirth37.
Disclaimer 3: The characters Atherin, Azel, Eiji, Tyme and Ryoko belong to ME. The towns Redai and Jurei also belong to me. I do not mind if Redai is used without my permission, however, if you use Jurei please make note of it in your disclaimer.
Author's Note: Here we are! Chapter 21! Last time Atherin and Raven found Rabe's weakness!! But…it comes as a double edged sword as it's also Atherin and Tyme's weakness too! D: What'll happen now that they know about it? You'll just have to read and find out!!
This is a collaborated fic between ShadowRebirth37 and me. Thanks to those of you that Reviewed!!
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Ͽ Captured Ͼ
Atherin left the main room and wandered around looking for Tyme. He checked his room first as that was where he last sensed him napping. He wasn't there...so he decided to check the garden next; just to see if he was there looking over the battle scene or just enjoying the breeze. However...before he could get to the garden someone ran into him.
Donnie looked up, and saw he had ran into Atherin. "Oh... hi, Atherin..." Atherin was sure that Donnie was still upset with him for what had happened earlier...after all his twin brother had sided with him. "....Hello Donnie...." He replied, not sure on how he would react. "What're you up to?" Donnie asked, looking at him. He was still nervous around him, but if Raven trusted him, he'd give him a chance...
"...I'm trying to find Tyme...as I need to tell him something important... We've found the Vareix weakness...but...he's not gonna be thrilled about it... I'm not thrilled about it..."
"A weakness? What is it?" Donnie asked, wanting to know.
"....It's...silver.... And.....the thing that would...aid us greatly is the 'Demonsbane'..."
Donnie looked at him oddly. "Silver? What good would that do? I thought it only worked against werewolves in stories...?"
"....Silver....congeals their blood.... And...if able to pierce their 'core' then they'll die...." Atherin tried to explain, remembering that what silver did to vampires was also done to Vareix... Donnie blinked. "Strange... I never would have thought silver would have such an effect on them..."
"...Neither did I....but....its better than them not having any weakness at all...." Atherin said quietly. He was still extremely nervous of the 'Demonsbane' as it has slain many a vampire and he didn't want to add two more to that list. Donnie nodded in agreement. "I'm glad they just have a weakness..."
"...Same here....though.....never mind.... I've gotta go find that brother of mine...." Atherin said as he started off on his way again. Atherin continued looking for Tyme, he reached the garden and started to walk around. After searching for ten minutes he finally located him. "...Tyme....we need to talk 'bout something important..." Tyme turned to look at Atherin; he could tell just by the tone of his voice that there was something bothering him. "What is it? Has something bad happened?" "...Well...yes and no...
We've found the Vareix weakness....but....it's the same as ours.... And....Ibeyla just left to go get 'It'...as it's the best thing to combat against them...." Tyme paled considerably when he heard that he'd be coming into contact with the 'Demonsbane'. "....Thanks for letting me know.... But....we'll be the ones wielding it...won't we...?" "Most likely...." Atherin answered quietly... Neither of them was too thrilled about this development.
Raven got up from where he was sitting. He was bored. He walked out into the garden, and saw Tyme and Atherin. He walked over to them. "Hey guys..." he stopped when he saw how tense they looked. "What's wrong?"
"....We're....just nervous....about the 'Demonsbane'.... We're not exactly to...thrilled...about it being anywhere near us...let alone most likely having to wield it..." Atherin answered. Neither of them could help but be tense about the sword. Raven blinked. "Sorry, but you two are the only ones that stand a chance getting close to Rabe..."
"...We know...but it still doesn't mean that we're thrilled about it..." Tyme replied. He had seen the 'battle field' where Rabe had attacked them, and he could tell that only he and Atherin were capable of getting close enough to use 'It'. Raven nodded. "Sorry you guys have to do it..."
"...It's not your fault.... And...it's something that has to be done..." Atherin replied, subconsciously putting his hand where one of Rabe's spines had nearly pierced his heart. Raven sighed. "I'm sorry you got hurt, it was my own damned fault..."
"...Lets not go down this path. We'll end up repeating saying 'sorry' for a few minutes." Atherin chuckled. It was true, they were always going back and forward with saying they were sorry. Raven smirked. "Yeah, that'll get old real quick..."
"...Well...now what're we suppose to do? It's not like we can leave Horai 'til Ibeyla gets back.... And I neither of us are allowed to do anything much thanks to Rabe..." Atherin pondered. He hated just sitting around doing nothing. He tended to get bored...and a bored vampire isn't a good thing to have...
Raven looked at Atherin. He could tell he was getting bored from having nothing to do. He had a distinct feeling that a bored vampire was something he didn't want to deal with. Atherin noticed that Raven was watching him, as if he would just suddenly go raving mad....which he was pretty close to doing... He was getting bored being cooped up on Horai with nothing to entertain him. Perhaps he'd play around with this... Atherin narrowed his eyes at Raven and flashed a fanged smirk; he'd keep himself entertained...even if he had to use his best friend to do so...
Raven blinked. "Atherin? Are you... alright?" he asked, more than a little concerned with his safety at the moment... Tyme took notice and chuckled. "Sorry Raven, but a bored vampire isn't a good thing to have. You've somehow or other just made yourself his entertainment... I'd...try to talk him into doing something else...."
Raven looked over at Tyme. "Talk him into doing something? Like what?" "...I don't know. He's your problem now." Tyme replied. He would suggest some sparring practice but he didn't want either boy to get hurt, as he knew that Atherin would tone down his abilities to be even with Raven. Raven looked over at Tyme. "You aren't helping, Tyme..."
"Sorry, but...I really don't know what to tell you. Just consider yourself lucky that he hasn't....gotten to my stage of 'fun'." Raven blinked. "I'm not even gonna ask..."
"Good choice. I don't think you could stomach it." Tyme replied, holding in his laughter at Raven's face. Through out their conversation, Atherin had snuck off, unbeknownst to Raven. "I probably wouldn't..." Raven said, failing to notice Atherin's absence...
Tyme was keeping Raven occupied while Atherin was getting ready to scare Raven. He was sneaking up behind him, waiting for Tyme to tell him when to strike. Raven turned to look where Atherin had been standing. He wasn't there. "Hey... where'd Atherin go?"
"I don't know. I wasn't watching him..." Tyme answered. He didn't need to give any signals to Atherin, considering they could talk mind to mind. Before Raven could turn around to find him, Atherin poked him in the sides, making Raven jump about three feet into the air.
Raven spun around. "Atherin! Damnit! Don't do that!"
Atherin moved out of Raven's swing zone, laughing at Raven's reaction. Tyme was laughing as well, having been apart of it. Raven looked between the two of them, gritting his teeth. "Damn the both of you..." Atherin and Tyme were still chuckling at Raven. They had managed to keep themselves entertained while also forgetting about the 'Demonsbane' that they'd soon be in contact with. Raven glared at the two of them. "Shut up you two..."
"S-Sorry Raven, you just happened to gain two bored vampires' attention..." Tyme replied, as he calmed down. Atherin had calmed down as well, but for fear of being punched stayed away from Raven. Raven rolled his eyes. "Lucky me..."
Tyme chuckled again. Atherin braved going near Raven again. "It's not like I hurt you." Atherin said. Raven glared at him. "Doesn't matter..." "Oh lighten up. It was a harmless joke." Atherin replied, ignoring Raven's glare. Raven punched him in the arm, "I said shut it, Dracula..." he growled. Atherin rubbed his arm where Raven had punched him. "That hurt." Atherin mock pouted. Raven rolled his eyes. "You're such a baby..."
"At least I'm not a scaredy Liger like you are." Atherin smirked, knowing that he was, once again, getting under Raven's skin. Raven rolled his eyes. "No, you're a scaredy Liger..." "How am I a scaredy Liger? And if you say its cause I'm afraid of the 'Demonsbane' then that's not fair..." "Damn..." Raven muttered.
"Well, you'd be afraid of it too if you knew what it could do to you...." Atherin said quietly. By this time, Tyme had left them to get out of the sun again. He wasn't as use to it as Atherin was. Raven sighed. "Well I'm not a vampire, last time I check.. Unless you pulled a sick joke last time you bit me and turned me into one..." he shot back.
Atherin just gave him a confused and slightly hurt look. "...Turn you...into one...?" Raven stared at him. "You aren't serious..." he said, "You don't know about humans' superstitions of vampires?"
"....No.... I...can't...really read human texts.... So....what I learned was from listening in....and....watching.... And....the only 'superstition' that I over heard were about...'monsters under the bed and in closets'...." Atherin answered honestly. After all...he's only been living in the human world for five years....
"Oh...." Raven muttered, "Well...in human stories about vampires, vampires could turn a human into a vampire by biting and 'turning' them. That's why I threw such a fit when you made me drink your blood, which was a way vampires 'turned' people into vampires..."
".......You humans....come up with the strangest ideas and conceptions...." Atherin replied in a tone that said he was amused but at the same time still not understanding what Raven was telling him. The notion of 'turning' was absurd to him and down right nonsense. Raven rolled his eyes again. "Hey, don't blame me; I didn't come up with it..."
"I know that, but...you still believed it... You humans are always trying to find ways to explain something that you don't understand..." Raven groaned. "How was I supposed to know it wasn't true!? Up until a couple weeks ago, I didn't even know vampires were real..."
"....Well...that's understandable as we try to make sure humans don't discover us... But thanks to Rabe....it's becoming a common topic to talk about...." Raven nodded. "Damn that Organoid to hell..."
"......Hopefully....after we get rid of him things'll settle back down...." Raven sighed. "I have a nagging feeling things won't be that simple..." he said quietly. "....When are things ever simple for us...?" Raven laughed. "True... but it doesn't hurt to hope we'll catch a break...."
"...I know...but I don't like to get my hopes up when I know that there's a better chance that hell will freeze over...." Raven sighed. "Yeah... but a 'little' optimism wouldn't kill you…" "....Are you sure about that?" Atherin joked.
"Bi-" Raven stopped himself before he finished his sentence, "Shut it, Dracula..." "What was that? I couldn't hear you." Atherin replied, smirking. Raven punched him in the arm again. "I was going to say 'bite me', but I don't feel like having those fangs of yours in me again, so I stopped myself." Atherin chuckled. "I still got you to say it. But...as you don't want me to, I won't."
"Good.... I don't feel like explaining why you had your fangs in my neck to my brother if he sees..." ".....Yeah....I don't want to explain that either..." Atherin said nervously. As saw it he was still on extremely thin ice with Donnie. He had managed to pull himself back up onto the ice after the first time he had fallen in.
"At least he hasn't kicked you off yet. He trusts you at least a little bit..." Atherin sighed; "....But I was hoping to be better friends with him.... I guess that'll never happen now....considering I've 'eaten' you....twice...." Raven smirked. "That does make it a little difficult for him to fully trust you..." "....I know.... I would think that my saving you countless times would null and void those two accidents..."
"Yeah... but the fact that you tried to 'eat' me scared him a lot more than if you had merely tried to kill me..." ".....Haven't we already had this conversation? I feel like I'm repeating myself..."
"I know..." Raven said, rolling his eyes slightly, "Just don't try and 'eat' me again... I don't think Donnie, or I for that matter, could take it..." ".....It's not like I ever wanted to in the first place...." Atherin replied quietly. The look on his face told Raven that he was considering something....but he couldn't tell what.
Raven saw Atherin's expression. "Atherin... you better not be scheming to scare me witless again...." he warned, narrowing his eyes. "....I'm not...." Atherin answered, in an almost automatic tone.
"Than what, exactly, are you thinking about?" Raven asked, raising an eyebrow. He was curious, and a little worried, about what the vampire could be pondering. ".....Finding you a.....silver dagger..... Just incase something were to happen again...."
"Oh... well that makes sense, since everything seems to happen to me..." Raven said back. "....I.....wasn't referring to Rabe attacking you again..... I....meant....for protection against me....if I were to 'attack' you again....." Atherin answered quietly, eyes downcast. Raven blinked and stared at him in shock. "W-what?! You want me to use silver on you?!"
".....If I lose control of myself again, then yes.... I don't think I could take hurting you again either...." Raven stared at him in shock. "Atherin... I won't use silver on you..."
"....But...I don't want you to be without something....should I enter a blood lust again....as....I do seem to target you....for some reason or other...." "I still won't use it on you, Atherin..."
".....Even if it's a matter of life and death for you? Would still refuse to use it?" "Atherin, I refuse to use silver on you..."
"...I don't know if I should be glad to hear that or even more fearful of the fact that I could kill you if you don't have it..."
"Think what you want, I'm still not going to use silver on you..."
"........" Atherin was silent. He had never known for a human to refuse protection against a creature like him. Not in any of the books or stories he had heard. "What's wrong Atherin?" Raven asked, seeing his expression.
".....I'm....torn when you say that.... I'm glad that you're refusing to use it but....I'm also worried that....the next time I go into a blood lust....will be the last time for one of us...." Raven blinked and looked at him oddly. "Again, I'm not using silver on you! And I won't let you kill me..."
Atherin looked a little skeptical but decided to drop the subject. He'd begin to repeat himself and why he wanted Raven to carry a silver dagger on him. Raven thought for a moment. "Although... having a silver weapon would be good incase Rabe appears again..."
Atherin nodded. That would be good....if he were to use it against him while Rabe was in his 'vampire' form. It'd be useless against him as an organoid... "But... where do we get a silver weapon?" Raven said, "I know Ibeyla already has a silver dagger, but it was a gift from her father..."
"....You...could probably find one in a bazaar somewhere...." Atherin answered. Raven nodded. "That makes sense..."
"....Just....don't throw it away after we defeat him.... We could run into more Vareix that we don't know about... For a species that's supposed to be extinct we sure do seem to run into a lot of them...." Raven scoffed. "I won't throw it away..."
Atherin nodded, just the fact that Raven would have a silver dagger made a little bit at ease. It was protection, against Vareix and him...if need be. "We can look around the market of the closest town tomorrow..." Raven said.
"Yeah, at least then we'll be able to do something...instead of just being stuck here doing nothing but driving each other up the walls." Raven smirked. "Yeah... and I'm the one that always get the worst of it..."
"...Well...who else is there for me to tease? Tyme will just turn it back on me, I respect Karl too much to do anything to him, I don't want to play tricks on Ibeyla, and Donnie is a little terrified of me." Raven sighed. "Why me?" he muttered to himself.
"Because you're basically the only willing party that doesn't get too angry at me when I scare you." Raven glared. "Maybe I should start getting angry..." he muttered to himself. Atherin smirked. "You can't stay mad at me for more than a few minutes. And you know it too."
Raven glared. "Bite m- shut up Dracula..." Atherin's smirk widened a little, knowing that Raven would always have to catch himself from saying the dreaded phrase... Raven glared at him. "You might think that's funny, but I'm the one getting bitten every damn day..."
"I told you. You're a magnet. But if you want me to be serious about it then fine. I won't bite you any more. I'll just find someone else."
"No..." Raven said immediately, "I just wish I knew why you and your kind are so inclined to bite me..."
"....I thought I told you already...." Atherin mused to himself. Perhaps Raven thought he had been joking about it.... Raven looked at him. "I... don't remember you telling me..." he said, honestly not remembering.
"...Well....I wasn't kidding when I told you that your blood is really sweet.... ....It's actually....nearly down right intoxicating...." Raven blinked. "Lucky me..." he groaned, rolling his eyes.
"Well...I'm just sayin'...." Atherin answered quietly. He had no idea why Raven's blood was so sweet, but if it was any other vampire; he'd be drained in a heart beat. "Just don't get any ideas, Dracula..." Raven shot back.
"...If I had any ideas about it, you wouldn't be standing." Atherin shot back. He was a little angry that Raven would accuse him of such a thing. Raven shrugged. "True..."
Atherin just shot Raven a glare. He's been extremely careful to make sure he didn't take too much from him, as well as making sure he didn't hurt him. He couldn't count how many times he had been tempted to just keep drinking, or bite whenever Raven got hurt or was too weak to defend himself. It was in a vampire's nature to do that, and he was fighting that instinct every time. Raven saw his expression. "What's eating you, Dracula?"
"....... Just.....don't worry about it..... I'm.....only thinking about something....." Raven narrowed his eyes slightly. "Must be something important, judging by the look on your face..."
He couldn't say it doesn't concern you because, quite frankly, it did. "...Just...drop it..." Atherin nearly growled out. His tone was low enough to make Raven shudder a little. Raven blinked and shifted nervously. "Atherin... are you alright?"
"....I'm fine.... Just....fine...." Raven could see now that Atherin was trying to calm down. But what in the world had made him so testy in the first place? Was it something he said? "Seriously Atherin... what's wrong?" Raven asked. He knew something was up.
"If I told you, you'd end up distancing yourself from me... I know I would if I was in your....'socks'?" He wasn't too sure about that being the right phrase, but he knew that he was close enough to get his point across.
Raven stared at him. "You mean in my... shoes, right?" he corrected, "And I won't, the only reason I did the first time was because I wasn't thinking straight..."
"....Socks, shoes....its close enough...." Atherin replied. "Then....you want to know what I'm thinking about....? It...concerns you...." "Go ahead... if it concerns me, I'd like to know..." Raven said, crossing his arms and leaning back against the tree behind him.
"...Well.....it's not in a vampire's....nature to really just stop drinking....even with the mineral it's still a little hard....and...too not bite when we sense that....someone's bleeding or to weak to defend themselves.... And...coupled with your blood...it's a hundred times worse...." Atherin replied, hoping that Raven would get his underlying message so then he wouldn't have to voice the fact that if they weren't on good terms he'd be tempted drain Raven dry.
Raven blinked and stared at Atherin. He hadn't realized how much danger he had been in. He lowered his gaze, thinking... Atherin grew uneasy when Raven lowered his gaze from him. It meant that he was seriously considering something. He was afraid that Raven was reconsidering his previous remark about not distancing himself. Raven didn't lift his gaze. He was deep in thought. He hadn't realized how 'dangerous' Atherin was to him. It scared him a little...
Atherin was now starting to get even more worried by the fact that Raven still hadn't said anything to him. He had half a mind to just start backing away, fearing that he had just ruined their friendship, but he wanted to at least hear Raven say something to him...even if it would be hurtful... Raven sighed, still not lifting his gaze. "I... had no idea..."
"....Sorry....." He knew that he had scared Raven with this revelation, but keeping it hidden any more could have been even worse... "It's not like it's your fault..." Raven said, still not looking up.
"....But... It's still apart of me.... It's something that I can't change...." Atherin replied quietly, now getting un-nerved that Raven wouldn't look at him. He was hopping that he wouldn't pull a Van on him and start calling him a monster and such.
Raven sighed again and looked up at the sky. It was getting cloudy. "Again... it's not your fault..." Atherin was silent. He still wasn't sure where Raven stood with him now. He just hoped that their friendship wouldn't be compromised because of this. Raven continued to look at the sky, watching the clouds. He was still trying to accept what he had been told.
Atherin had taken a silent, tentative step back, away from Raven. He was starting to feel extremely self conscious of himself as a vampire, compared to what he had been doing to be as 'human' as possible. Raven looked at Atherin. "What's wrong?"
".....You're....afraid of me now.... I can tell....or...at least afraid that one day....I might not stop drinking....." Atherin answered quietly again. "I'm not afraid of you..." Raven said. "....But you're afraid of what I could do to you....or could have done to you...."
"Yeah I'm a little concerned, but I'm not afraid..." Atherin looked a little doubtful about that. He could sense some underlying fear coming from Raven, but he wasn't going to say anything about it. "Don't give me that look..." Raven said, "I told you, you don't scare me..."
"I'd like to hear you say that when I'm about to hurt you or something." Atherin replied. Raven could deny it all he wanted; he could still pick up the slight spike in Raven's heartbeat. Raven looked at him and blinked. That statement frightened him a little...
"I meant if I were to go into another blood lust! I wouldn't dream of hurting you consciously!" Atherin clarified. "Oh... well you didn't say that..." Raven said back.
"Well, sorry that I sometimes mix up my human speech. I didn't mean to scare you....which proves that you are afraid of me to a certain degree...." "Well after being nearly eaten twice, it's pretty normal to be a little afraid..." Raven said, "... but I still trust you..."
"....Thanks.... I don't know of any other person who would trust me after those two attacks...." "Hey... I'm not dead, so why shouldn't I trust you?" Raven teased slightly.
".....Oh, there are numerous reasons why, but I don't mind you having wool over your eyes." Atherin smiled. Raven could try all he wants, but he'd never get the upper hand when it came to taunting.
Raven rolled his eyes. "Seems you're feeling better..." he said, "Numerous reasons, huh? Maybe I shouldn't trust you so easily..." he said, smirking. "I never asked you to in the first place. You did that on your own." Atherin shot back. He was glad that little bump in the road was cleared and both he and Raven were feeling like their old selves again.
Raven rolled his eyes. "Maybe I need to start thinking more about who I trust..." he said, his smirk widening slightly. "...You should have thought about that sooner, 'cause now, you're stuck with me."
Raven rolled his eyes. "Just my luck..." "I know. The one person on Zi, who's just about as sadistic as you can get, is your friend." Raven sighed. "Why me?" he muttered to himself.
"Would you rather some other unfor-! Some other soul was to have befriended me?" Atherin asked, smiling at the look Raven gave him. Raven glared. "Very funny Dracula...." he shot back.
Atherin just smiled. He had won again. In fact...he didn't recall Raven ever winning against him in their 'taunting' matches. Raven scowled. "Wipe that smile off you're face, Dracula..." Atherin obliged and instead a smirk formed. How he loved getting under Raven's skin. Raven was half tempted to punch him but decided against it. He knew Atherin would just laugh.
Atherin laughed anyways, basically being able to tell what Raven was thinking by the emotions that flew across his eyes. He was thinking about hitting him or punching him, but not doing it because Raven knew that it would amuse him more than anything. "Shut up Dracula... or I just might punch you..." he growled.
"You wouldn't even be able to make a scratch on me." Atherin replied. Raven rolled his eyes. He punched him on the arm. "Now, I said shut it..." Atherin chuckled slightly. Raven could hit him with all the strength that he could muster and all he'd feel would be the equivalent of someone poking him.
"I hate it when you get like this..." Raven sighed. Atherin just smiled again. He knew he was driving Raven up the wall, and enjoying every minute of it. Raven rolled his eyes. "Why'd I have to get stuck with you?"
"It's what Eve wanted. There must be something that she wants to do." Atherin replied. "Maybe this is her idea of a sick joke..."
"...So....it's a 'sick joke' that I finally have friends?" Raven blinked. "It was a joke, Atherin..." Atherin smirked. "I know. But I got you to feel guilty." Raven glared. "You suck Atherin..." he growled, punching him again. Atherin chuckled again, having beaten Raven at his own game....even if he did use guilt. "You aren't funny, Dracula..." Raven snapped.
"Says you, you're entitled to your own opinion." Atherin answered calmly. "You still suck..." Raven shot back. "You'll get over it. Perhaps one day you might be able to beat me at my own game."
"Yeah... the same day Rabe apologizes and Hell freezes over..." Raven scoffed. Atherin couldn't help but snicker at that comment. It was more than likely true. Raven smirked. "Don't get cocky..."
Atherin raised an eyebrow. "...You do realize that whatever scheme you come up with, I'll just turn it back on you...right?" "Yes.... unfortunately..." Raven sighed.
Atherin smirked, knowing that he had Raven caught. He caught himself from chuckling again, he'd get punched again for sure if he did that...not that he wasn't out of the woods yet with that notion from Raven. Raven sighed and looked at the sky again. A sudden white flash caught his eye. He narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what it was. But he couldn't find it again.
"...Something wrong?" Atherin asked when he saw Raven looking for something in the sky. "I just... thought I saw something..." Raven said, still looking upwards.
"....Something like....?" Atherin asked as he too tried to find whatever it was that Raven had seen, considering he had better vision. "It looked like... an Organoid..." That made Atherin a little nervous. "Did you manage to distinguish a color?" "It looked... white... I think..."
Atherin narrowed his eyes and heightened his senses. The only organoid that was remotely white was Zeke....as he was a silver color. "But... I can't see it now..."
"....Doesn't mean that you should let your guard down...." Atherin said as he tried to locate anything out of place or something that wasn't right. Raven looked around. "Atherin... something... isn't right..." he said quietly, "I feel like... we're being watched..."
"...I know...." Atherin replied quietly. He was looking and listening as well. He was watching behind them, while Raven was watching in front of them. Raven looked to his left and saw a shadowy figure. Before he could even blink it vanished. "Atherin... I just saw another figure..."
Atherin listened a little closer and could faintly hear a figure breathing...but...he couldn't hear a heart beat. "....It's him again...." Atherin said quietly to Raven. "But I can't get a fix on where he is...."
"He? You mean... that was Rabe?!" Raven whispered loudly, getting extremely nervous... "....Panicking won't help....but...as you said you saw something white....I think he has a friend we're not aware of yet...." Atherin whispered back. "There're two of them now?! Just our freaking luck..."
"I know.... I don't mean to sound....pessimistic but.... I think our luck's just about run out... I can barely fend off Rabe....I don't think I'll stand much of a chance with two...."
Raven stared at Atherin. "Great... just great... I can't even last two minutes against Rabe... and now we have to fight against two..."
"...Well... It might be a little easier if I was fully developed....but...as I still have five years 'til then....you're lucky I'm able to barely able to fend of Rabe..."
"Well... that won't help us now, now will it?" Raven said, looking around nervously... "...Not in this situation...." Atherin replied. "Damnit..." Atherin muttered silently. Raven saw a white figure behind Atherin, but it vanished. "Damnit... they're playing with us..."
"I can see that...but I also can't get a hold of Tyme... What in the name of Eve is he doing!? I've sent him at least twenty mental messages and all I get back is white noise..." Atherin huffed in annoyance. If Tyme would come, they'd have a better chance of getting out of this alive.
Raven looked up and saw the white Organoid in the tree above him. It was staring down at him through ice-blue eyes. "What's the matter? Did we scare you...?" she hissed, before vanishing again.
Atherin didn't make a comment as he could see Rabe slinking in the shadows ahead of him. He hadn't yet seen the female yet....and the thought of them having hatchlings made him shudder... Rabe appeared behind Atherin. "Miss me?" he hissed, before sinking back into the shadows.
Atherin wasn't amused with their toying. As he saw it, it was more time for him to try and get someone's attention from inside Horai. He'd left one more mental note to Tyme before he tried to get Azel's attention. It wasn't working....Azel was ignoring him for some reason or other that he couldn't place.
The white Organoid suddenly appeared to Atherin's right. "Hello sweetie..." she said, before she vanished in a puff of smoke. Atherin ignored the white organoid's taunting. He kept his guard up and waited for them to strike at them.
She reappeared behind Raven and nosed him sharply, making him fall. She laughed eerily innocently and vanished again. Raven scrambled onto his back. "Atherin, what the Furher do we do?!"
".....Well....obviously standing around isn't going to get us anywhere, but if we try to move or even think of making an attempt at getting to safety, they'll nail us. I hate to say this but...at the moment....we're at their mercy....until they make a more...threatening go at us..."
"Great! We just sit here and wait for them to eat us!" Raven said sarcastically. "...Well if you have a better idea I'm more than willing to listen." Raven thought for a moment. "Everything I've come up with will just make our situation worse..."
"...Same here.... Rabe's got the entrance to Horai covered...even with my speed taking us there, we wouldn't get past him... And this new organoid....we don't know what she's capable of."
Raven opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly the white female appeared and bit his shoulder. Raven yelped in pain, but the female had already vanished. Atherin held Raven up and inspected his bite mark. He could just barely make out a clear fluid around the entrance points. She had paralyzed him but...it didn't seem to be enough to keep him down...or so he thought....
Raven looked at Atherin. "I feel... weird, Atherin..." he said, feeling an odd warmth spreading from the wound. It was getting hard to move, but not impossible; it appeared she hadn't injected enough venom to drop him.
Atherin made sure to keep Raven from falling as he swayed slightly, being ever mindful of the white organoid prowling around them. "...When she bit you she injected her venom....but it was nearly a dry bite... Her venom must be more potent that Rabe's...probably potent enough to keep me grounded...."
"G-great..." Raven stuttered, getting more uneasy on his feet. He was starting to lose feeling, his body going numb. He knew that if the two Vareix decided to eat them, he wouldn't be able to defend himself.
Atherin helped Raven onto the ground so he was sitting down. He wouldn't be able to defend them if he had to support Raven's weight on him. He knew it was only a matter of time before the white female bit him too...and then....their real 'fun' began... The white Organoid appeared behind Atherin. "Aww... did I hurt your friend?" she teased, laughing evilly.
Atherin's eyes flashed red as he made an attempt to hit her soft throat, but with Raven right at his feet, he couldn't turn fast enough. The white Organoid caught his hand in her mouth. "Ah ah ah! No need to get testy!" she said, laughing.
Atherin growled. He wasn't sure if he should try to pull his hand back or not, but considering she didn't break the skin, he wouldn't. He didn't want her to either suddenly clamp down or nearly cleave his hand off. Rika released his hand and vanished in a puff of smoke, enjoying her 'game'...
Atherin inspected his hand as he let it fall to his side again. As far as he could tell it was just a little red. She didn't break his skin and she didn't inject him with her venom yet. The white Organoid reappeared over Raven. "Hmm... I wonder if I should just eat him now..." she mused allowed, smirking and licking her lips.
Atherin positioned himself between Raven and the white Organoid. He couldn't tell if she was just playing with them still or seriously considering eating him. She swatted Atherin away with her tail, leaning down to Raven's level. She pushed him onto his back with her foot. Raven only groaned, unable to move well enough to defend himself. She smirked. "You'd make a perfect meal for my hatchlings..."
That caught Atherin's attention. His eyes narrowed and he somehow managed to shove the white organoid off Raven with out injuring him. The white Organoid hissed, vanishing again. She reappeared behind Atherin. "It's impolite to shove a lady, young vampire..." she hissed in his ear, before vanishing again...
Atherin merely ignored her. He was growing a tad bit tired of her just popping in and saying something, trying to get him riled. That wouldn't work on him…as he was oddly patient for a vampire. He idly wondered if this was what it was like when he teased Raven constantly...
Raven tried to sit up, but the white Organoid's venom had weakened him significantly. She reappeared behind Raven and leaned down to him. "Still conscious I see...." she hissed with a dark smirk, "... well I can fix that..." she said, opening her jaws with a hiss and lunging...
Atherin roughly pushed her head away from Raven. She missed him, but only just. He had now made himself a target....again.... The white Organoid smirked and smacked him with his tail again, knocking him into Rabe's legs. Rabe leaned down and smirked. "Glad to see me?" he hissed. "....You want me to answer that truthfully or just lie straight to your face?"
"I'm one for truthfulness..." Rabe hissed, smirking, showing his fangs, "But I suggest you watch your words carefully, unless you want my mate, Rika, to eat your human friend..." he said smoothly, motioning to the white Organoid standing over Raven, jaws mere inches from his throat...
Atherin wanted to say that they'd end up eating them anyways, but held his sharp tongue...for the moment.... "....What is it exactly that you want with us...? If I know you as well as I think I do, you'd have Raven just about ripped opened and I would be now getting in your way of finishing him off. What is it that you're after....?" Atherin smoothly asked.
Rabe laughed. "Who says that won't happen?" he sneered, "But my sire wants you two alive... for the time being at least..." he added, smirking. "But as soon as we're finished with you, you'll feed us and our hatchlings..." Rika hissed, smirking as well, licking Raven's blood from her fangs and muzzle.
Atherin narrowed his eyes, his mind processing what he had just heard. /...Rabe's...sire...? So....there was someone else pulling the strings....behind his motives...at least a little bit.... And if that's the case...then...his sire has to be at least forty or fifty times stronger than Rabe.../
Rabe sank into the shadows, circling around Atherin. Rika pinned Raven down, preparing to sink her fangs into him again... Atherin made a charge at Rika again to get her away from Raven. He knew that they were still playing with them, but he wouldn't chance anything. He was beginning to wonder why no one else seemed to notice the fact that they were still missing and that their Organoid's couldn't tell that they were in danger.
Rika smirked and vanished again, reappearing in front of Atherin. She bit his shoulder; inject a small amount of venom, before she vanished again... Atherin grabbed at his shoulder. He was positive that her venom was more potent than Rabe's. His shoulder was becoming numb, and he could feel his reflexes slowing. He staid standing as he neared Raven again. He had no idea how long he'd be able to keep standing, but he would for as long as he could.
Raven forced himself into a sitting position. "A-Atherin... what do we do?" he whispered loudly, looking around nervously. "....I don't know.... Rabe was enough on our plate....but now that there's....three of them...and possibly more..... We're at a severe disadvantage. The only thing we can do at the moment is to stay alive long enough for someone to notice us.... I've tried calling Tyme and Azel, but I'm not getting any response from them...."
"Great... the one time we need them, they don't show up..." Raven muttered, looking around for Rika and Rabe. Atherin felt his body get a little heavier, he'd need to kneel down soon, or risk toppling over ungracefully... Raven could see Atherin getting weaker. "Atherin... the moment we both go down, that's it, game over..." he said quietly, seeing Rika reappear to his right.
"I know...but I can't stay standing for much longer....I think....for some reason...her venom has a greater effect on me than it does you...that or...it's just my paranoia getting the better of me..." Atherin said quietly as he felt himself slide a little to the ground. He was still standing, but he wouldn't be for much longer.
Rika edged closer, seeing Atherin weaken. "My venom is gaining control, I see..." she growled to them, "... not much longer before you drop, and then you're mine..." Atherin tried to remain standing, but...as he couldn't feel his legs...or the rest of him body for that matter, he soon fell to his knees beside Raven. "....Sorry....I couldn't last any longer...."
"It's not your fault..." Raven said, getting between Atherin and Rika. He could still move, and he wasn't about to let Rika get to Atherin. Atherin could barely move at all. The most he could do was to flex his hands and move his head slightly to look for Rabe or Rika. He knew that they'd be in a world of hurt soon...and he wasn't looking forward to it.
Rika walked closer. "Well... it seems you two are completely helpless..." she sneered, smirking, showing her fangs. "Based on what my mate told me, I thought you would have at least put up a fight..."
"Then your mate must be weak to find us challenging." Atherin snapped back. He couldn't restrain himself any more. Rika snorted and glared at Atherin. She ducked down and grabbed his shirt, ripping him from the ground. She brought her face within an inch of his and hissed. "Just be thankful Rabe's sire wants you and your human alive, vampire, or I'd tear you open and eat you alive right now..." she growled dangerously, her eyes filled with malice.
Atherin glared back at her. He was unfazed by her threats. She didn't scare him in the slightest, but he did fear what they wanted with them. He couldn't quite piece together why both he and Raven were wanted or what sick things they do to them.
Rika dropped him to the ground. Rabe immediately rushed forward and clamped his jaws on Atherin's shoulder, injecting his venom. Rika walked over and bent down to Raven. She made a shot at his neck, but Raven moved, and her jaws closed on his shoulder, an inch from his neck. Raven cried out in pain, feeling her inject more venom. Atherin was aware that Rabe was biting his shoulder, but...he couldn't exactly feel it... He knew now that any chance of recovering from both venoms would take a very, very long time.... Raven had fallen unconscious from the venom, limp in Rika's jaws. She repositioned him and picked him up effortlessly in her mouth, turning to her mate. "I have the human..."
Atherin was going to be as stubborn as hell and fight off the venom for as long as he could. He was praying to Eve that someone, anyone would find them before they where taken Eve only knows where. He was going to fight this to the last...or.... No... He had a better idea... Atherin started to fake going unconscious, but stayed true to his character of pulling himself out of it. If no one would come to help them now, then the least he could do was stay awake long enough to see where they were going.
Rabe released Atherin's shoulder, picking him up in his jaws. "I have half a mind to swallow him right now..." he growled lowly, "But we can't disappoint him..." he sighed, turning to his mate. "Don't worry, as soon as he is done with them, we and our hatchlings can devour them..." Rika said, before she vanished in a puff of smoke, taking Raven with her.
Seeing that the white Organoid had taken Raven, Atherin felt that it was time to just 'play dead' and go unconscious as well. He allowed his eyes to nearly close, but Rabe would never be able to see the sliver that he had opened.
Rabe sank into the shadows, following his mate. Traveling through the darkness, he reached their 'home base' within minutes. He resurfaced in an abandoned military base, Atherin still in his jaws. "So... you and Rika managed to capture them?" a dark voice asked, coming from a red-haired man. Rabe growled in response. "Good... put them in a cell. Well being the 'interrogation' when they wake."
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Author's Note: Oh no!! OX Atherin and Raven were captured!! And what's this!? Rabe has a mate!? And who is this red-haired person!? What does he want with them!? You'll just have to wait to find out!! Please Review!!