Andy grabbed her morning coffee, sitting in her chair and glancing at the book next to her. She'd been staying up every night reading it, learning what she could from it about her parents and what it meant to be a witch. She hadn't tried anything from the book yet, though, a mix of being unsure and being a bit afraid of screwing something up. She sighed, before picking up the morning paper and scanning through it.

'Vampire Murders Stump Police'

The headline screamed, the story obviously using the word vampire as a joke. But reading between the lines caused the warning bells to ring in her head.

Her cell phone rang.

She picked it up and answered, "Hello?"

"It's me. Is the clinic open today? Can we come by without anyone noticing?" Tet's voice was strained.

Andy sighed, "I'll head over there. No one's working today, so it won't be a problem."

"Thanks." The phone clicked off.

Andy got up from her chair and went to change. Grabbing her lab coat on the way out, she got in her car and headed down to the clinic.

The van was parked beside the building. There was no sign of anyone.

Andy entered slowly, looking around as she headed back to the patient rooms.

Tet met her in the hall. "Sorry about this. We were ambushed." He opened the door to reveal Kiba trying to staunch a neck wound on a young man she hadn't seen before.

Andy got the supplies ready and got to work on cleaning the wound and closing it up.

Kiba relaxed slightly, his hand going to his shoulder absently. It took a moment for her to realize he was trying to hide an injury.

When she got done on the young man, she glanced at Kiba, "Let me see your shoulder."

He scowled but at Tet's look removed his jumpsuit. Clearly a bite mark, the wound was jagged and almost looked gnawed. Blood sluggishly bubbled, the color bright.

Andy cleaned and bandaged it up quickly. "Any other wounds you're hiding?"

"Not me. Him, on the other hand." He gave Tet a cheeky smile as the team leader glared at him.

"I'm fine." Tet didn't meet her eyes, attempting not to wince as he struggled to stay conscious.

"Tet, you might as well just let me help you while you're here."

He sighed, unbuckling his holster and handing it to Kiba. Then he quickly stripped to his t-shirt and boxers, revealing several bite marks. One was on his left thigh, two more on his right arm. Then she saw the gaping wound in his side where something had torn into him. He tried to joke.

"You asked for it Doc."

Andy sighed, grabbing more supplies. "I'm surprised you're still standing."

He gave her a fleeting smile, then swayed. "One of the good things about being a shifter. We can take a lot of abuse before we go down."

"Let's get you on a bed, okay?" She wrapped an arm around him and helped lead him. Once he was laying down she started carefully cleaning the wounds up, stitching the larger ones.

His eyes closed as he passed out. Kiba hovered worriedly over both men, his hand never far from his gun.

Andy finished up before sitting down at her desk. "So what's his name?" She looked at the man she hadn't met before.

"That's Ryusei. He's a 'porter. He's also our tech genius and has a chip on his shoulder against normals." Kiba watched him carefully.

Andy nodded as she glanced back at the sleeping Tet.

"Seen the headline for today's paper?" Kiba finally sat down with a sigh.

"Yeah, I did."

"Leave it to the normals to tell the truth as a joke." He rubbed his eyes. "Well, partially truthful anyway."

"So what happened exactly?"

"A gang of suckers decided college girls were fair game this month. We stopped an attack and you see what happened."

She nodded, "How many attacks have there been?"

"This was number twelve. Our Council is losing their collective mind at the fact. What makes it worse? These aren't young suckers. These are elders. One told us they were tired of hiding and wanted to make everyone afraid of them like the old days."

"That's terrible."

"Yeah. If it continues, our boss is worried the Council will disband not only us, but the Council itself. It will turn into the old days, where everyone kills everyone with no checks or balances. It'll be chaos once again." He scowled at the floor as he gently touched his bandaged shoulder and winced.

Andy sighed, thinking out that possibility before shaking her head.

There was a knock at the back door.

Andy frowned, but went and opened it to see who was there.

Yamae stood there supporting a semi conscious Zal. The vampire was bleeding from several slashes across his chest. "Hey, got a minute?"

Andy nodded, leading them back to another bed. She checked Zal over before stitching and bandaging him up.

Yamae sighed as Kiba entered. "Shifter attacked him."

Kiba growled. "What the fuck is going on? Did everyone lose their minds?"

The teleporter shrugged, then winced. "No clue. Boss is stressing out."

Andy finished bandaging Zal before stepping away, "Should I be expecting more patients?"

"Hope not." Tet's voice was pained as he leaned on the door. "Yamae, sit down and let her look at you."

The porter pulled his glasses down to look at the leader. "Why?"

Tet snorted. "The fact that your pupils are blown plus I can smell blood on you and it isn't vampire."

Andy rolled her eyes, "Come on, I'll bandage you up, okay?"

Yamae sighed, removing his beanie to reveal a nasty looking gash on his temple. "It's not serious."

"Well, it should be cleaned and bandaged at least, to prevent infections."

He submitted to her ministrations, blinking owlishly at her.

She quickly cleaned it, then placed a bandage over it. "There, now you'll be fine."

He nodded slowly, then stood. He blinked again, swaying. "The wall color is worse doubled."

"Just sit down and rest," she pushed him back into the chair.

He chuckled, his eyes closing.

"He still alive?" Tet's voice was amused as he poked his head in.

Andy chuckled, "Yeah. How are you feeling?"

"I've been worse. But I'll be fine after some more sleep. We'll get out of your hair now." He began to lift Yamae to his feet.

"Are any of you good enough to drive? You guys can stay and rest longer if you need to."

He paused, looking at her. "What about your regular patients? We would raise eyebrows."

"No one's going to be here for a while," Andy assured.

He carefully sat the porter back down just as his phone rang. He answered it, then paled. His knuckles went white as he clutched the phone. "Sir? Can't you stop them?"

The answer made him lean against the door. Then he straightened. "Understood. I'll contact you when we find safety." He hung up, closing his eyes briefly.

"What's wrong?"

"It's war. The Council has disbanded and everyone is at each other's throats. And I have a kill squad coming for my team." He dialed his phone, eyes widening when it kept ringing without answer. His eyes met hers in alarm. "I have to warn them."

He headed for the back door as fast as his injuries allowed, reaching for the knob as she spoke.

"Do you want me to come help? Also, you guys can come to my place if it's any safer?"

"Can you drive?"

Andy nodded, "Sure. My car or the van?"

"Van. We have to get them out of the base."

Andy nodded, heading out the door toward the van. She got the keys and started it up, then headed toward their base.

Tet sat back, lips moving silently.

When they arrived at the base, Andy looked at Tet, "Do you want me to stay here or come in?"

He looked at her. "Stay with me. They may need help. If not, I will. I'm almost at my limit." He climbed out slowly and headed toward the door.

Andy followed behind him, helping steady him when he looked like he was starting to sway.

"Ryon? Jack? Anyone…" Tet's call trailed off as he saw the bodies lying scattered. "No…" He fell to his knees, tears starting to trickle down his cheeks.

Andy put a comforting hand on his shoulder as she looked at them. "I'll get them to the van. Once we get them out of here, I'll take care of them. Don't worry."

"I should have been here.." Tet was barely conscious, his words slurred.

Andy sighed, "It's okay," she helped get him up into a chair, "Just rest for a few minutes."

She struggled to lift the men, but one by one got them to the van. She then went back to Tet, holding a hand out to help him stand, "I want to make a stop for something at my house, and then we'll head to the clinic."

"How many did I lose?" His eyes were haunted as he slowly rose to his feet.

"None yet," Andy assured. "Come on, before they get any worse."

He shakily followed her to the van, closing his eyes as soon as he sat down. "Thank you for this. You didn't have to help."

"It's fine. You're my friend. That's what friends do, right?" She gave a small smile as she started up the van and headed to her house. She parked quickly, running in to grab the black book she'd been reading then headed back to the van.

Tet slowly opened his eyes. "You really consider me a friend? You barely know me.."

"Well, I know enough about you to at least consider you a good person, and if you're a good person, I don't see why I wouldn't consider you a friend."

He chuckled quietly. "You're an interesting person.." His eyes slid closed as he finally lost consciousness.

Andy got them to the clinic, starting to carry them in and place them on beds. She then flipped through the book, looking for the spells she had read about. She worked on memorizing the words, then stood above the first of the injured men. She muttered the words under her breath, a light flowing into the man as the holes started to close up. She repeated the process, checking them all over afterward to make sure it worked. She cleaned them up, getting the blood off of them before looking over at Tet who was in another bed. She tried the spell on him, hoping to fully heal the wounds she'd already cleaned earlier. She smiled when she removed the bandages on his arm, noticing the wounds were gone.

The door opened slowly behind her.

She looked back to see who was there.

Kiba gave her a puzzled look. "What's going on?"

"Some of your friends were hurt, but they're going to be okay now."

He nodded slowly. "Sorry for taking up so much space. As soon as Tet's up, we'll disappear."

Andy shrugged, "The clinic is for the injured. You all were injured so it's fine. How are you feeling?"

"Sore. But I'll live, so no need to go all Florence Nightingale on me. Save it for fearless leader." He grinned cockily at her.

Andy chuckled, "How's your other friend doing?"

"Still out but he's okay. Yamae will be back soon." The soldier glanced at Tet with a frown. "You do know he's attracted to you right?"

Andy shrugged, "Okay, so?"

"He's an idiot. Shifters and witches aren't supposed to mingle. Especially now with all out war happening.." Kiba scowled, then sighed. "But who am I to tell anyone who to like?"

"Maybe it's because I'm still new to all of this kind of thing, but I don't see the problem of anyone mingling," she chuckled, "We're all people, whether we can do fantastic things or not."

He started laughing. "The idealism of youth."

Andy shrugged again, "It's better than having prejudices or separating yourself from others over dumb things."

His eyes glittered. "You should have been on the Council. Maybe there would still be peace." He noticed Tet's eyes fluttering. "I'll go check on Ryusei."

Tet woke as the door closed. "What's happening?" He sat up stiffly, eyes narrowing as he noticed the wounds were gone.

"Everything's okay. Your friends will be fine."

"We should get out of here before anyone comes looking. You shouldn't get dragged into this anymore." He stood, quickly dialing his phone.

"Kanamoto. Code Armageddon. Contact Twelve Delta Charlie 55. Rendezvous at Charlie Point."

When he was done on the phone, Andy looked at him, "The offer still stands, if you guys do end up needing a safe place, you can come to my house."

"What would your neighbors say? Plus, I doubt you have enough room for all of us." He gave her a smile.

"I have a pretty large basement, and in the book I've been going through there's some spells for invisibility. Maybe if I use those, the neighbors won't notice?" She chuckled. "Anyway, just an option if you need it."

"I might take you up on it, but you don't need eleven other men cluttering up your place." He laughed at her look.

Andy laughed for a moment, "That would be.. interesting, to say the least."

"Especially the porters. They eat like a small army and fight like hyenas." Tet grinned as his phone rang. "Kanamoto."

His eyes widened, then he spoke quickly. "Alright. Lock on to my marker and meet up here. We'll decide what to do when you arrive." He hung up and gave Andy a wry look. "How invisible can you make us?"

Andy grabbed her book and started looking through it, "It says you won't actually be invisible, but the spell should make it so no one notices you."

He took a deep breath. "Alright. I really appreciate this." He climbed out of the bed and opened the door. "Kadoya! Get Ryusei to the van and wait!" He closed it and turned to her. "Can they be moved?" His eyes roamed over his team.

"Yeah, they should be okay to move," Andy nodded.

"Can you help me?" He was already lifting a smaller man and heading out the back.

She nodded once more, helping him get the men into the van.

Another one pulled up beside them, a dark haired man leaning out the window. "Hey, fearless leader. We're here."

Tet chuckled. "We've got a hidey hole. Follow us. Tell the porters to get their asses there before something else happens."

The man saluted with a grin, then disappeared back inside.

Andy glanced at Tet, "So what's your plan exactly?"

"Lie low for a few days until this kill order gets rescinded. Then with luck, my boss can get us out of your hair."

She nodded slowly, "What if it doesn't get rescinded?"

"We can't stay here taking advantage of your hospitality forever. If my boss can't get this fixed, we'll have to go on the run. Probably split up and find a place to stay until either peace is restored or we get caught." Tet's voice was quiet.

Andy sighed, "Hopefully peace will be restored soon."

"I envy you." His dark eyes were sad.

"Why?"

"You have hope." He turned away, climbing into the passenger seat.

Andy climbed into the van, starting it up and heading out of the parking lot.

Tet looked out the window absently, sighing under his breath. He hadn't told Andy the entire truth when he told her about what was going to happen. Kill orders never got rescinded in his experience. He and his team were dead men walking and he knew it. But she didn't have to. Not yet at least.

Andy pulled up in front of her house, quickly parking the van.

Tet climbed out, quickly conferring with dark haired man pulled up in the other van and climbed out. Tet motioned him over, his voice low. After a few minutes, the men separated, Kiba and the other man beginning to unpack the second van.

A third man jumped out, looking suspiciously like the first.

Andy looked at Tet, "What can I do to help?"

"Show me to the basement? We can do everything else."

She gave a small smile and headed into the house, going down the flight of stairs. It opened up into a large, mostly empty room. There was only a couch and a small table, leaving the room feeling wide and open.

Tet grinned. "Perfect." He met her eyes. "You're okay with a target on your back?"

Andy shrugged, "I'll deal with it."

He gave her an empathetic smile. "Two, three days at most alright? After that, we're gone so you can get back to normal."

Andy nodded, "Alright." She looked thoughtful, "I'll pull some stuff from the freezer and make some dinner. I'm sure you guys will be hungry."

He looked at her in surprise. "You don't have to do that. We can eat rations."

Andy winced, "Rations don't sound very good. Wouldn't you rather have some real food?"

"Don't want to cause more trouble for you." Tet admitted nervously.

Andy shook her head, "It's no trouble at all." She gave him a wide smile, "I'll go get started on that. Let me know if you guys need anything."

He smiled back, his eyes twinkling. "If you insist." He looked at Kiba who was carrying some folded cots down the stairs. "Tell everyone we're getting a warm meal tonight and to be properly grateful."

Kiba snorted. "This bunch wouldn't know gratitude if it walked up and kicked them in the nuts." He put the cots in a corner and headed back up the stairs.

Tet turned red. "Sorry about him. He apparently was really raised by wolves."

Andy chuckled before heading up the stairs and going to the kitchen to start cooking. After a while, she finally finished up. She called down the stairs, "Dinner is ready."

Tet appeared, looking hesitant. "Sure we should come up?"

"It's fine," Andy nodded, "Even if you guys would rather eat downstairs, I'm not carrying that many plates down myself."

He chuckled, waving the team up. Twelve sets of eyes locked onto the food hungrily.

Andy plated it up and started passing them out to the men.

They didn't wait, attacking the food as if it would vanish if they didn't. Tet rolled his eyes and gave Andy an apologetic smile. "Sorry. They're usually a bit more behaved. It's been awhile since we had real food."

Andy smiled, "It's okay. I just hope they like it."

He chuckled as he began eating. His eyes went wide. "This is good!"

"Thanks," she grinned as she got herself a plate and sat at the table.

The men finished, stacking their plates in the sink as they began to file down the stairs. Tet frowned. "Forgetting something?"

A chorus of 'thank you's sounded, then they were gone.

Tet rose with his empty plate, going to the sink and beginning to wash.

"I can do the dishes, don't worry about it," Andy finished her food and went to the sink.

"Unh unh. We're disrupting your life enough. You shouldn't have to clean up after us too." Tet smiled softly at her. His eyes drifted to her lips for a moment, then he turned red and quickly returned his attention to the dishes.

Andy gave a small chuckle before looking thoughtful, "Do you guys need anything? I have a bunch of extra blankets if you need any? I know the basement can get cold."

"I'll ask. The vamps run cold, the shifters run warm. The porters might appreciate them." He finished the dishes, shutting off the water. "I should probably let you do whatever you do to relax."

Andy shrugged, "Lately I've just been reading about different spells and trying some out. Not really the most relaxing but it is fun."

"Careful if any mention fire. Wouldn't want this place burning down." He grinned playfully.

She chuckled, "There are a few about fire. Haven't tried them yet though." She sighed, "I guess I'll be in my room. If you need anything just knock. It's the door at the end of the hall."

He nodded, his eyes glittering. He looked like he was going to speak, but instead headed for the stairs.

Andy watched him a moment before saying a quiet, "Good night," and heading off toward her room.

Tet slowly walked down the stairs, his head awhirl with confusion. This feeling.. It couldn't happen. Especially under the circumstances. He was already under a kill order, though so did it really matter? He growled to himself as he opened the door.

"Ryusei, find me something to kill."

The tone of his voice ended whatever sharp retort the porter would have made, only a quiet 'yes sir' emerging as he checked the status of the world above.

"The vamps are back in the park." Kiba's voice was half bored.

"Alright. I'll give them a return fight." Tet suited up, Kiba starting to do the same before the tiger stopped him. "You stay here. I'm doing this alone."

Kiba scowled. "You want to die? Why not just walk up to the kill squad then?"

"I need to clear my head. I'll be fine. Just keep monitoring the situation and call the Boss. Give him a sit-rep."

Tet made his way out of the house, quickly shifting and running into the darkness.