A/N: I know that it has been a really really long time since I have posted, and I am really really sorry. I have been so busy since the school year is almost over and for some reason all my teachers want to give me a whole bunch of work in the last month of school. So yeah, but once summer comes i'm gonna be rolling these things out. I really do appreciate the patience you all have shown and the reviews are amazing that make me really happy, haha. So please continue reviewing and for all your curious readers that want to know all the secrets that Celeste is hiding, all will be revealed in due time.

Chapter 12: VAIN

2 Days Later

Celeste sat in her bedroom, if it could be called that. In the Vampire Annihilation and Intelligence Notice or VAIN, everyone had special abilities; some could read minds, walk through walls, become invisible, move objects with their minds, and so much more; however, she was seeing one of the abilities very clearly. Her bedroom, with its cream walls, light bronze curtains, and large bed that made the entire room look like something out of a palace, wasn't really a room. It was actually a mirage. A few of the members of VAIN had the ability to make people see things. In that case Celeste was seeing a beautiful bedroom, which hid the disgusting chamber of leaking ceilings and dirty floors. She had experienced the mirage a few times in the past, being caught in it's trap while one of her old partners tried to distract an opponent. The most difficult part was getting out of it, because she always had to convince herself it wasn't real, but sometimes what she saw was the most real thing she had ever seen. At that moment she didn't care about the mirage, she actually preferred it to her real surroundings.

Celeste leaned back on the fake bed and thought about what she was about to do. She was going to Washington D.C. : the capitol of the United States. And was going to murder the vampire sheriff there, all because of presidents orders. She felt sorry for the vampires in the nest she was going to intrude on, because whenever it came to bosses, she never just killed them. It was always more than 20, on average, but her team was more than capable of killing them . . . actually they barely had to try. Celeste thought about what happened in the past four years and how everything had changed. It had been nearly eighteen months since she's killed a vampire, eighteen months since her brother died, eighteen months since she betrayed her own kind for a life she thought would be better and safer.

She pressed her cold hand against her forehead, feeling lightheaded and sick suddenly. All of her past memories of being a part of VAIN became more prominent in her mind and almost overwhelming. Celeste hurt so many people, destroyed countless lives, and for what? To end up in a chamber as a prisoner of her own organization? She could no longer tell where the line between good and evil lay, but she knew she crossed it a long time ago. She sat up when her fake mahogany door opened and looked to see Malcolm.

"You are awake." He grinned. He carried a tray of various fruits and vegetables with an assortment of meats. He set the tray down on the bed and sat across from her. "I remembered how much you loved these kinds of things." He picked up a pineapple chunk and popped it in his mouth. "You had an insane passion for fruit." He chuckled and swallowed the pineapple. He bit the bottom of his lip and pushed the tray closer to Celeste. She looked at it, then at him, then back at the tray. "Aren't you going to have some?" He picked up a grape and brought it up to her lips, an inch or so away from them. She looked from the grape, then to him in disgust and slapped his hand away, the grape slipping from his grip and bouncing across the hard wood floor finally rolling under a dresser. Malcolm let out a deep breath and squeezed the bridge of his nose while shutting his eyes. "I hate that things are like this." He looked at Celeste from the corner of his eye.

"You made it this way." Celeste looked around the fake room. "You pushed me away from my home." Malcolm rest his hands on his knees.

"Perhaps I did." He agreed. "But I gave you a choice."

"Just like you gave me a choice this time?" Celeste glared at him. "You gave me the choice to kill my own brother or to have it done by another's hand."

"It had to be done."

"No it did not!" Celeste shot up from the bed. "My brother may have been a vampire but he did not deserve that fate. I protected him as much as I could and when I told you that he could do no harm, that he didn't want to, my words fell on deaf ears. I told you we could have kept him here under my care where he would be unable to hurt others but you refused to see that as an alternative!"

"He was a vampire Celeste!" Malcolm stood up. "He did not deserve to live. Vampires only bring pain to the human race and do not deserve the retched life-if that's what it is-that they have! Nicolas would have hurt others eventually. I just decided to take care of it before the problem ever arouse."

"And we do not bring pain to ourselves?" Celeste yelled. "Humanity was on the brink of destruction long before the vampires came and yet you say they are the only ones that bring pain? Humans cause just as much pain as vampires Malcolm! And when it came to Nicolas' life it was not your decision to make! I gave you another option but you refused to listen to my words." Silence filled the room. Celeste wanted to hurt Malcolm like he hurt her. She wanted to kill him for everything he had done, but knew that his powers far exceeded hers and that she would have no chance of defending herself since Margo was so close by. "We used to do this because the government wanted us to." Celeste said in a whisper. "We used to kill vampires that posed a huge threat to society. But now . . . what are we doing? Killing them for sport just because we can? Just because as a group we are far more powerful than any vampire? Just because there are so many that can be killed? What is the real reason for us to be doing this anymore?" Malcolm took a deep breath, calming himself.

"All of them pose a threat. And their numbers increase with every new day. We are the ones that keep them in check. We are the ones that enforce the will of the government and if they want a complete extermination of them then we have no choice."

Celeste scuffed. "There is always a choice. Whether or not you choose to take is for you to decide."

"And I have decided." Malcolm's eyes gave Celeste a slow once over. "You have not changed since the last time I saw you." He ran his fingers through her hair, causing her to immediately jerk back. "I did miss you." He said. "And I miss you still. I want us to become what we used to be."

"That is never going to happen."

"Why? Because you are defending vampires now? Or is it because you are in love with one?" He challenged.

"What are you talking about?" Celeste looked at him with disgust.

"I know about the vampires that you came here with. I actually met them, sort of. I bumped into them." Malcolm paced around the room and looked at the fake ceiling. "They are very protective of you, that is easy to see. The woman they were with, not so much. But that Mr. Northman character, he is just causing trouble."

"Eric? How do you know him?"

"Dr. Jennings gave me his name. We did a little background on him only to find out he is a sheriff. Apparently he found out that we-our organization- has been providing the hospital and the rest of Las Vegas with V. The only problem is he doesn't know that much about us or our location." Malcolm turned to Celeste. "I cannot be held accountable if something happens to him while he is snooping around." He grinned.

"If you hurt them I will kill you."

"Big words from a little girl." His grin widened. Malcolm's head tilted to the side as his gaze soaked in her body, reminding him of the countless times he had taken her before, before she decided to go rouge. As he thought about it, it became more appealing and seductive in a way. Celeste had indeed gone rogue, and because Margo was so close by she could not defend herself. Malcolm couldn't remember a time of her being so helpless. He walked a slow circle around her, his arousal growing and his heart rate increasing by a fraction. "How long has it been Celeste?" He inhaled her scent as he walked behind her, she smelt amazing, like always. "How long has it been since another mans touched you?" He gently pulled a piece of her hair. Malcolm could feel her fear rising. He knew she was aware of his intentions, and she knew there was nothing she could do. He stood behind her and hid his face in her neck, his hands slowly trekking down her familiar sides and hips. Malcolm took another deep breath from her and closed his eyes. "How long has it been since another man has been inside you?" His voice was husky and seductive as his hands slid over her thighs and slightly parted them, tracing the inside with his fingertips.

Celeste tried to move, but she couldn't. Not only was she afraid, but Malcolm was controlling her body. He kept her frozen against him, his ability giving him complete control over her. Telekinesis was his power, and he used it very frequently. Even when she had her field he could control her, of course not as much because of it, but he could do it nonetheless. Celeste swallowed past the large lump in her throat. Her lips quivered and her eyes looked to the ceiling for some kind of escape, water pooling at the rims of her eyes threatening to spill over at any second. She thought about Eric and Sookie and Bill. All she could see was their faces vividly in her mind, the smiles and few laughs she had shared with them in her short time of knowing them. She wondered if Sookie could hear her thoughts now that her field that protected her mind and body was gone. Celeste felt Malcolm's lips press softly against her skin and his hands slowly unbuttoning her pants. "I have miss you so much." He groaned. The pools spilled over silently as Malcolm gently pulled her pants down, falling into a heap around her ankles. He turned her around and went to his knees, touching her soft skin with his large hands, feeling her warmth that he missed so much. The tears came relentlessly and Celeste squeezed her eyes shut. Somebody Help Me.

***

Sookie's head shot up from the table. Her eyes darted around the café in alarm at the voice. Did she really just hear what she thought? Or was she going crazy? This can't be possible. I couldn't have heard her voice. I . . . I just couldn't have. But it had to be her. It sounds just like her.

"Sookie." She was immediately turned from her thoughts when Bill spoke her name. "Is everything alright?" He asked. She looked at him puzzled.

"Bill, I think, I-I don't know, but," Bill took Sookie's hand underneath the table.

"It is alright. Now what is it you have to say?"

Her gaze fell to Eric, who was outside of the café talking on his phone. She started to wonder why he liked Celeste so much. What made Celeste so much better than her? She watched him as he spoke intently on the phone. She pondered if he would ever do the same for her. If Eric would ever go the such lengths to find her if she ever went missing. Sometimes, in the privacy of her mind, she would think about what might have happened if she picked Eric instead of Bill. Would they still be in the same situation? Would Celeste be another stranger to Eric? Or would Celeste still weave her way between them? She didn't know, and she didn't care for it much, but seeing Eric-so focused and motivated to find the missing woman- hurt Sookie on the inside, somewhere. She realized that Eric was slowly loosing interest in her, and that he would find another to take her place. A small gasp escaped her lips as she thought of Eric being with another woman. Correction. Anger consumed Sookie as she thought about Eric being with Celeste. Her jaw clenched and her small hands tightened into fists on her lap. She was not going to let Celeste take Eric away from her. It was Celeste's voice she had heard. She knew it was. She watched Eric as he entered the Café again, putting his phone in his pocket and shaking his head in disapproval. Sookie glanced from him to Bill. She squeezed his hand and smiled. "It's nothing Bill. Never mind."

***

24 Hours Later

Celeste felt disgusted with herself. Tears spilled over her eyes as she curled herself into a ball, pulling her knees close to her chest and wrapper her arms around them. Never before had a man ever forced himself on her, never had she been so helpless. She felt dirty and filthy and wanted to burn her skin to remove the feel of Malcolm's touch. The entire time he had his way with her he forced her to participate. Laying there and letting him do whatever he wanted was agony, but having to please me and do what he wanted was a torture that Celeste had never experienced before. He would use his abilities to control her if he wasn't satisfied, or he would hurt her until she complied. Through the entire ordeal she cried, and Malcolm found pleasure from her pain, licking her tears away and laughing as he drove harder and faster into her. Years ago she may have enjoyed it, but at that moment it only caused her pain and endless suffering.

A few hours later someone entered her bedroom with a change of clothes and escorted her to a bathroom so she could get washed up. She was very thankful and relieved and more than willing to get the disgusting feeling of Malcolm's hands-and other body parts- off her. Immediately after she got out, combing her fingers through her wet hair, new fresh clothes on her, a familiar group stood before her. She would say she was happy to see them, but it was difficult. Celeste had missed her old team, the one she went on countless missions on, but she hated them for ending the lives of her mother, father, and brother. Then again, that's how she felt about the entire association. She missed the job and sometimes the people, but then she would remember what they did . . . what she did.

"We are going to get you prepared for the trip." One of her old friends grinned. Olivia, a short, smart, cunning, Florida-bred blonde with the body of a model and a faint tan over her body. But, she was a bitch, to say the least. Olivia crossed her arms over her chest. "Malcolm thinks you have been to long without training and should test the waters to see if you lost your touch. I think you have." She smirked.

"Well, well, well. It's nice to see that you have finally come up in ranks Olivia." Celeste replied sarcastically, putting her hands in her Denim pockets. "You used to pick up shit now you just carry it out. That is such an improvement." Celeste clapped her hands together. "Bravo. You really have out done yourself."

Olivia was at her throat, hand clenched around the sensitive skin as she pinned her against the wall. Her voice was rugged, a common characteristic when she got angry-which was very frequently. Olivia's ability was speed. She might as well have been invisible because she moved so fast-faster than vampires sometimes-that no one could see her. Olivia's gripped tightened on Celeste's neck, who hardly struggled. "You're the one that left remember." Olivia hissed. "What did you expect to come back to Celeste? You used to be the leader of this team and you betrayed us. I don't know what Malcolm ever saw in you." She gave her a quick once over. "You're just pathetic." Olivia released Celeste and stepped back. Celeste touched her throat and rubbed the soreness away.

"You are still so naïve Olivia." She grinned. "Just because your fucking Malcolm doesn't mean anything. You're still nothing but a toy to him, just like you were a year ago. Except now you don't have to worry about me getting between your obsession over him. Just face it Olivia, he is never going to care about you . . . and when he throws you to the curb just like the rest of them, I'm gonna be there to say 'I told you so.'"

"Even if that happens, you won't be here long enough to hear the words pass your lips." Olivia scuffed and turned on her heal. "Come. We have work to do." As the exited the facility Malcolm approached them. He looked refreshed with a smug grin and a twinkle in his eye that made Celeste want to rip is disgusting face off and throw him over a cliff. The team stopped, Olivia in the front with Celeste a few feet away. Malcolm assessed the group of professionals and he smiled. It had been a long time since he had seen such a magnificent team that looked so complete and at ease. He clapped his hands together.

"It's nice to see everyone together again." He glanced around the team. "You have been informed of where you are going, except for you Celeste- and you will not know until you get there." He looked at someone behind Celeste. "Andrew. Make your checks at the burlesque clubs and if them V if they need it. Also make sure you don't come across the vampires that are looking for her. I do not want any unnecessary deaths." And by unnecessary deaths he meant vampire deaths. Andrew grinned and nodded his head. "Very well then. You may leave." With that the group of professionals left the facility and briskly went to the destination where Celeste would be tested hopefully for the last time.

***

Eric was encased with a rage that poured out of him. He went to the Fangtasia he owned in Las Vegas and found some important information. Apparently an organization called VAIN was rooted into the city, killing off vampires and collecting intelligence. He found out that a few of his employees had encounters with a new organization and learned that they posed much a bigger threat than the Fellowship of the Sun. But the thing that got under his skin most was that VAIN was the organization that took Celeste. However, beyond that he knew nothing else. No one knew where the facility was or who ran it or who was even a part of it and he quickly learned that a majority of the vampires that ran into VAIN did not survive. At the news of the new information he had Sookie on high alert-making her take in every thought on the street they scouted out, Bill forever at her side. Eric wandered off, going from place to place asking humans if they knew of a girl named Celeste Monroe. He went to a burlesque club and got unfortunately lucky:

"Do you know a girl named Celeste Monroe? She has long wavy hair, dark eyes, fair skin, about five foot three I think." He asked the bar tender.

"Celeste?" The bar tender said shocked. "Yeah I know her. Did something happen?" He had an Italian accent and a five o' clock shadow that made him look dirty.

"She has gone missing."

"Oh. Well that is unfortunate. However, I may be able to shed some light on your terrible situation." The Italian leaned over the counter. "I saw her here, not to long ago, maybe a day or two. She came by to drop some stuff off with her common crew."

"Crew?" Eric asked perplexed.

"Yeah. There like a gang or something, I don't know. But whatever they do it certainly pays a lot. Every now and then they will come by, selling V. They do it all around the city, they're like the unofficial suppliers. We don't buy here that much, but some of the girls they like it so we buy a small portion just for them."

"And you said you saw her with this group?" Eric struggled to suppress his anger.

"Yeah, she used to come here a lot, when she lived here."

"She lived here?" Eric interjected.

"Yeah, for about four years, but after she moved about a year ago no has heard from her. I was really surprised to see her again since she did her business here as well."

"What kind of business?"

"I don't know exactly. One time she came in here and sat down with this bald guy. He was really fat and ugly. Like one of those disgusting online pedophiles."

"Do you know his name?"

"How could I not. He is a really big mob boss I guess you could say. He is always being tried in court but somehow manages to always get off. I think his name is Bennie Borski. He is a Russian immigrant I believe, been living in Las Vegas for about four years, maybe less. He was talking to her, he wanted her to take something out for him. After that he left, she stayed for about twenty minutes and left too."

"How long ago was this?"

"About a year and half ago I think. Actually not to long before she left." The Italian said with realization. "Now that I think about it, she left some time after her family was murdered. It was really horrible, all over the news."

"Her family?" Eric was not following.

"Yeah. Her mother, father, and twin brother were brutally murdered. Well not so much her brother, his body was never found, but there was blood all over the place like a body blew up. After that she was never the same. She dropped by before she left, told me she was going to miss me and that she was never coming back. When I asked her where she was going she didn't say, only that wasn't going to stay in one place for too long. I had no idea what she meant, but sympathized with her nonetheless."

"Do you know where I can find this Bennie Borski?"

The Italian thought. "Not really. He has a lot of places all over the city and frequently moves from one to the other. But he does come here at around ten o'clock almost every night to watch girls and handle business, whatever that maybe. Other than that there is nothing else I can tell you my friend."

"You said Celeste lived here. Do you know her address?"

"No. You could ask any of her clients and no one would know where she lived. Even though Celeste was a very great girl she was very secretive. She is a dangerous mystery that most do not figure out. But, if you do find Bennie, and I do stress caution, he may know where she resides, or used. And if not he will definitely know someone that does know. That is all I can tell you."

"Thank you. You have been of much use."

"I hope you find her my friend." The Italian replied. Eric quickly exited with unanswered questions in his mind. Celeste was hiding a lot from him. She lived in Las Vegas for four years, sold V, worked with a crew, held secret meetings with mob bosses, and no one knew anything about her. Eric started to figure out that Celeste wasn't turning out to be what he thought.

***

Celeste entered the burlesque club, a short stop on their original destination. The group spread out, asking the customers and employees if they had seen someone they were looking for. However, she decided she needed a drink if she was ever going to make it through the night. She went to the bartender and smiled at the Italian man that she had left behind when she fled the city.

"Celeste! What are you doing here?"

"Fabritzio, it is nice to see you again." She smiled.

"I heard you were missing! A man came in not to long ago asking about you!"

"A man?" Her brows furrowed and eyes squinted.

"Yeah. He was really tall, pale skin, blue eyes, blonde hair. He came here asking about you, told me that you were missing!" Celeste's heart dropped. Eric was very close by, which was very very bad. She could only imagine what would happen if he found her and approached her in front of the very skilled team. He wouldn't stand a chance, even with his one thousand years of fighting experience, none of that would matter with her team.

"How long ago did he leave?" Celeste asked with urgency,

"About twenty minutes ago. I am pretty sure he is still in the area. You know how Las Vegas gets a night. People go crazy!"

"Yeah they do." Celeste rushed out of the club, looking in all directions, her eyes darting at every face. Then suddenly a gust of wind went through her, her hair flying around her face, and when she pushed it aside, her eyes-steady on the ground-slowly moved up the lengthy body she recognized and met Eric's strong, undeterred gaze..