Now the almost everyone room was panicking. Many female screams were heard as well as many shouts about getting the White Flowers somewhere safe. People were running about, not looking where they were going. Some had bumped into Len, causing him to lose his grip on Rin and Miku. Someone had slammed into the arm Len was using to hold Miku, causing him to let go. Before Miku could find Len again, the pushes of the crowd made her stumble and fall. By the time she had stood back up she wasn't sure exactly where she was in the massive ball room.

"Len?! Rin?!" she called and then cursed herself for losing the twins so easily. Miku wished that her eyes were as useful in the dark as the wolves were, but wishing wasn't going to help her find either of her best friends. Miku did the only thing she could think of: she went with the group, all who were running towards the exit. Everything was fine until something had grabbed her arm and began dragging her away. Miku had wanted to scream, but her voice was caught in her throat. I'm going to die! she cried in her head. I'm really going to die!

"Miku?"

Miku immediately regonized the voice. Opening her tightly shut eyes, Miku saw Rin staring at her. The both of them were in an empty hallway with the moonlight shining through the many windows and illuminating the hall. The cries from the other side of the door had yet to cease.

"Rin!" Miku gasped in relief. "You scared me!"

"Sorry," Rin said as she began dragging Miku away. "Now come with me, there's no time to lose!"

"Where's Len?!" Miku managed to ask as she tried to keep up with the blonde's speed.

"He went outside to help fight," Rin answered, "and he told me to watch out for you. Now in here," Rin ordered when she came across an empty room filled only with cleaning supplies.

"What are we doing in-" Miku began but was cut off.

"Switch dresses with me," Rin ordered Miku the moment the door closed behind them, trapping them both inside a tiny closet.

"What?!" Miku exclaimed.

"Switch dresses with me," Rin repeated. "My dress smells like me, so if you wear it then your White Flower scent will be clouded by my wolf scent. It's the best approach for protection right now."

Miku said nothing but gave a confirming nod. The girls quickly switched dresses, Miku now wearing Rin's blue dress and Rin Miku's black and white one. When the girls had finished, they emerged from the room and Rin said, "Go towards the end of the hall. I can smell Neru down there along with Luka and Haku. There isn't a vampire that I can smell so you should be able to get there on your own."

"Are you sure?" Miku asked but wasn't going to argue.

"You smell like me now," Rin answered with a smile. "Right now the vampires will be repelled by you so you should be able to get there before they notice that you're missing. Now hurry!"

Miku ran towards the direction Rin had pointed, her heels clanking against the hard floor. When Miku had gone, Rin ran in the opposite direction, heading towards the outside. There weren't, thank God, a lot of vampires, and the shapeshifters seemed to have everything under control. Rin began to smile with satisfaction before she noticed a figure running behind the building. Rin ran after it, keeping her human form. She followed the small figure until it was cornered, trapping itself from escape.

"Nowhere to run now, vampire," Rin growled. The vampire turned its head to look at Rin.

The she-vampire was, of course, incredibly pale and had long, flowing black hair and blood red eyes. "I tricked you," she said in a laugh that sounded playful, as if this were a game and not a battle.

Before Rin had time to be confused, something grabbed her from behind and threw her across the lot. Rin smashed into a tree and rolled a few feet after she landed. Too filled with surprise, Rin lied there in complete shock.I need to get up she thought a few moments later. Slowly and shakingly, Rin carefully stood on her legs and looked towards the direction she was thrown.

The girl vampire was gone, but Rin saw another vampire who had dark hair and matching dark eyes. When he spoke, his voice was deep. "That wasn't all my power," he said, "but I might as well kill you and get it over with."

"Not if I kill you first," Rin said, but her words were useless. Before she could phase, the vampire quickly approached her and grabbed her tightly around the ankle. He yanked at her, causing Rin to fall from loss of balance and land on her back. He squeezed her ankle tightly, making Rin cry in agonizing pain.

"Prepare to die, dog!" he spat before flinging Rin towards the wall.

When she hit the building, Rin felt as if she had been crushed, and she had slammed her head as well. Rin crumpled to the floor, checking to see if she could still wiggle her toes. She was thankful to find that she could still move them, but she had a lot of trouble moving the toes on the foot with ankle the vampire had grabbed her by. "Now to break your neck," the vampire said as he approached Rin.

Rin tilted her head to look at him. She was in too much pain to move any further, and her vision was being obscured by the little black dots that were appearing everywhere. Rin knew that there was nothing she could do now, nothing but wait to die. She was stupid and careless to not phase first thing, and now she was going to pay for her mistake.

The vampire was just in front of Rin before a giant yellow wolf attacked him from the side. The vampire, caught by surprise, fell to the ground. He tried to run away, but the wolf caught up to him quickly, biting the vampire on the neck and ending his life.

Before Rin could thank Len, she slipped into the void known as unconsciousness.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Miku continued to run down the hall, heels clicking and creating a fast rhythm, almost like a pop song. Right when she began to believe that she was heading in the wrong direction, she had found the girls she was looking for.

"Miku!" both Luka and Haku greeted in relief.

Neru wrinkled her nose. "I have to admit Rin can be pretty smart in certain situations. Switching dresses wasn't a bad idea. I thought she was the one coming down here, not you."

Miku said nothing but tried to catch her breath. "Is it safe here?" she managed to ask.

"Should be," Luka answered, "every shapeshifter is outside right now, excluding Neru, so chances are no vampires are in the building."

"And all the other White Flowers?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure they're all okay."

Miku said nothing but nodded her head. All that running had left her breathless so she was still breathing pretty heavily.

"Wait," Neru said. She sniffed the air carefully, closing her eyes to help increase her sense on smell. Her eyes popped open as she exclaimed, "There's a vampire already in here!"

Luka cursed under her breath. "We need to get out of here!" she said aloud.

"Where do we go?" Haku asked.

Luka looked around the room. "There," she pointed to a pillar in the corner. "There's a hidden passageway behind there."

"Are you sure?" Neru asked but approached the pillar anyway. It took some of her strength, but she managed to pull the pillar free from the wall that it had been stuck to for most probably decades. "Everyone inside," she ordered.

Nobody questioned the blonde, and they all ran inside. After Neru closed the pillar door, the room went pitch black. "Again?" Miku inwardly moaned. Just then lights went on.

"This place was built only fifty or sixty years ago," Luka smiled as she removed her finger from the switch, "so there's electricity in this secret passageway. Not to mention that the electricity in here is separate from the main building, that's why the lights here work."

"Genius," Neru silently complimented. "Now where to?"

"Up leads to the roof, down leads to an underground passage that leads to my home," Luka said. "Your choice, Neru."

"Your home would be safest," Neru immediately concluded. "Let's go."

The four girls took the stairs downward, and it didn't take long for them to reach to bottom. Neru was about to lead them through the tunnel when her eyes filled with terror. "There's a vampire here!" she almost cursed.

"What do we do now?" Haku asked, shaking like a leaf.

Neru took a deep breath. "Get the princess outta here. I'll hold off the vampire."

"Neru, are you-" Haku began but was interrupted by Neru.

"Do as I say!" Neru snapped. Haku nodded slowly and began leading the way up the stairs, followed closely by Luka and Miku. "Come and get me, you stupid blood sucker!" Neru taunted before she phased. The vampire came fast, but Neru was a split second faster.

Miku cringed as she heard the fight only some feet below. She quickened her pace so that she would be closer to Haku and Luka, not that being close to them is any safer. Miku remembered that Neru told Haku to "get the princess outta here", but who did Neru refer to as the princess? Was it Luka, or Miku herself? Shaking her head, Miku kept close behind the girls.

"We need to keep going," Haku said, surprising Miku with her bold determination.

"Do you think the roof is a good idea?" Luka asked.

Haku pursed her lips. "It's better than going back down."

They hadn't of been walking much longer when footsteps came from behind. "Maybe it's Neru," Haku said, eyes widening with hope.

"We should keep going," Luka said, feeling uneasy, "Neru will catch up soon enough."

Something did shortly catch up, but it wasn't Neru. "Hello ladies," a deep yet feminine voice said.

The girls turned around and saw the horrid sight: a vampire. She was rather small and petite, but she had to be something if she made it past Neru. She had hair as black as the nightime sky and was cut chin length, and she had haunting black eyes. She wore a yellow dress and fish net stockings, and her short hair was clipped away from her face with baretts. She looked at them and said in a mocking tone, "I see you have another wolf with you. You should have stayed behind, or else your little friend might still be alive."

Miku shook while Haku nearly passed out. Neru . . . was dead? "You . . ." Miku spoke silently, "you killed her?"

"Snapped her neck like a twig," the vampire said proudly. She flashed her sharp white teeth. "Let's see if you can handle me."

"Leave her alone!" Luka said as she stood in front of Miku. "She's no shapeshifter! Her protector only switched clothes with her."

"Oh," the vampire looked disappointed, "then I guess killing all three of you won't be as hard as I had hoped."

Miku's throat tightened. How many more people were going to die because of her? "You want the Hatsune girl, don't you?" Miku boldly asked.

The vampire looked up at Miku. "You seem aware of our plan. How did you know?"

Miku forced the words out. "Because I'm the last Hatsune!" With that she ran away from the group. Listening to the noises behind her, Miku realized that her plan had worked; the vampire was chasing after Miku and thus leaving Luka and Haku alone. Miku ran faster than she had ever had before, and made it to the roof quicker than she thought she would. Panting, Miku quickly looked for a place to go. She had hoped for a fire escape or something of the sort, but the roof was empty of any way down.

"Miku?!"

Miku looked down and saw Len staring up at her. "Len!" she answered.

"What are you doing up there?" he asked, worry thick in his voice.

"There's a vampire-" Miku started but didn't get to finish for the vampire made her arrival on the roof. Without giving it a second thought, Miku jumped off of the roof and braced herself for impact. She saw the ground quickly approaching her, but Miku wasn't at all scared. She saw how much further the roof was getting from her, but she didn't scream. She watched as Len had caught her in his arms, but when she turned to smile at him her face fell for how furious he looked.

"What were you thinking?!" Len demanded.

Miku gulped. "I was thinking that you would catch me. I think it was a better option than staying on the roof with her." Len immediately looked at the roof where Miku's finger was pointing and saw where said vampire was.

"Dammit!" the vampire cursed. She looked as if she was about to jump down but noticed something in the distance. "Oh no!" she gasped. She did jump down, but she was far more interested by what she saw than making sure Miku was killed.

Miku watched as the petite vampire fled the scene, and then she noticed the lack of vampires outside. "Did the wolves win?"

"The vampires retreated," Len corrected. "I think when they realized that you weren't around they decided it wasn't worth losing numbers."

"But that vampire on the inside . . ." Miku trailed off. Len looked as if he tried to think about it but only shrugged it off after a while. "Where's Rin?" Miku asked. "Is she okay?"

Len stiffened at Miku's words. "She's not with you?" he asked.

Miku shook her head. "She left me with Neru so she could help with the fight outside."

"We need to find her," Len said before taking off.

"Shouldn't you put me down first?" Miku asked but Len was in too much distress to hear her. Len didn't run too long before he found a blond figure lying helplessly on the ground. "Rin!" Miku gasped. Rin was lying still, too still. Miku couldn't see if Rin's chest was rising and falling, an indication that she was still breathing. Still living. Len, not very carefully, put Miku on her feet and ran towards Rin. He leaned down to check her, but his face only grew more worrisome. "Is she-" Miku tried but couldn't get the words out. "Is she-"

"She's alive," Len said, relief in his voice. "Unconcious, but alive."

Miku sank to her knees. "Thank goodness!" she said quietly. It was unusual seeing Rin, who was normally confident and determined, lying on the ground so helpless and weak. Instead of the normal peaceful look one has when asleep or unconscious, Rin's face was full of pain and worry. "What happened to her?" Miku wondered.

Len noticed how shaky Miku was so he walked over to her and sat down next to her. "Don't worry," he tried to comfort her, "it's all okay now. The vampires all seem to be gone, Rin is going to be okay, and you're safe."

"I know," Miku whispered. "I know. I'm just . . . I'm just still shaken up is all."

Len reached out and pulled Miku into a comforting hug. "Don't worry, I won't let anything get to you."

Miku returned the hug. "It's not me I'm worried about."

Before Len could say anything more, the duo heard a loud sound behind them, as if somebody was clearing his throat. Miku and Len let go of each other so that they could turn around and see who was behind them. To their surprise, it was Lady Megurine and Mr. Kagamine.

"What do you have to say for yourself, young man?" Lady Megurine asked in a voice that dripped with venom. Miku had never once thought negatively of the Lady, but at this moment Lady Megurine reminded Miku of a poisoness snake.

Len, not exactly knowing what she had meant, said, "Miku's okay, no vampire got to her even though it almost did, and Rin-"

"Not that!" she interrupted. "I meant the law. Did you, or did you not, break it?"

Len pursed his lips as he tried to find an answer, and Miku tried to speak but the words wouldn't form in her mouth.

"I thought so," Lady Megurine said sadly. "I had always thought that Len Kagamine was a better protector for the princess than most, but I was proven wrong."

"You don't understand!" Miku exclaimed. "Len-"

"Has broken one of our most sacred laws," Mr. Kagamine said, the disappointment for his son evident, "and it seems you have also broken it, Princess Hatsune."

Miku stared at them, at a total loss for words. She and Len had tried their hardest to only appear as friends, but it seems that it wasn't enough. "Len is my best friend," Miku said quietly, "he would never do anything to hurt me."

"Then he wouldn't have broken the law," Lady Megurine said sternly. "I assume you know the consequences for breaking the law." Miku nodded slowly. "Then you have no one to blame but each other," she said.

"But you can't do this!" Miku protested.

"Of course I can!" Lady Megurine snapped back. "This is for your own good!"

"How is leaving Miku without a protector for her own good?!" Len exclaimed, now finding his voice.

Mr. Kagamine stared daggers at Len. "She will still be under twenty-four hour protection, you just won't be protecting her."

"And Rin?" Len asked. "You most certainly can't punish her for this."

"All ties must be broken," Lady Megurine said. "You two must never see each other again."

"No," Miku whispered. "No!" she exclaimed as she stood up. "I won't let you take my best friends away from me!"

Lady Megurine shook her head. "I was afraid you would say that." With that, the lady quickly grabbed Miku and put a cloth to her face.

"Miku!" Len called as he stood up and tried to save her. "Let go of me!" Len yelled when his father got a hold of him.

"This is for your own good!" Mr. Kagamine said, keeping his son back with ease.

Len, unable to fight off his father, watched helplessly as Miku went from struggling to falling unconscious. "What did you do to her?!" Len hissed, venom thick in his voice.

Lady Megurine supported Miku's lifeless body. "She is only asleep. She will regain consciousness in a few hours."

Len stared at her, wanting nothing more than to punch the lady in her face. "What about school? You can't keep us separated there."

"True," Mr. Kagamine said, "that is why I'm having you and Rin transfer schools."

Len's heart sank. This was really going to be the last time he saw Miku, wasn't it? "Why are you doing this?"

"To save her life," Lady Megurine said as she put Miku's arm around her shoulder.

"I would never hurt her!" Len snarled.

"You already have," Lady Megurine shook her head. "You knew that loving her would result in your separation, but you loved her anyway. You've hurt her more than anyone could have ever done. You let your selfishness result in her never seeing you and Rin again. How is that, young Kagamine, never hurting her?"

Len bared his teeth. "We're just friends!"

"But your feelings for each other is more than 'just friends,' isn't it?"

It took everything in Len to not let his anger get the best of him. He may of always had a sweet temper, but now he felt anger that not even Hell could contain. "We were willing to put feelings aside," he growled.

"Len," Lady Megurine said, a flash of genuine sympathy crossing through her eyes, "I know better than anyone that one cannot simply 'push feelings aside.'"

Author's Note: I hope this was a quick enough update for everyone. Again, so sorry for not updating in so long.

-Ray