"Why did you not put him down? Or call my scientists?" A loud voice echoed in the hallway. "You had your orders if he became a danger."

"Because I'm not in the habit of killing my own men, sir." Tsukasa's voice was strained.

"He's a monster. You don't have the luxury of habits. You should have killed him after his attack. Obviously you can't be counted on to make the hard decisions." A second later, the voice was yelling in the infirmary. "Lieutenant Kanamoto! Wake up!"

Tet groaned, opening his eyes. Then he froze.

Andy blinked her eyes open at the noise, sitting up in the chair.

A tall uniformed figure stood scowling at Tet, who raced to stand and salute. "You're coming with me. Get your gear."

Tet shook his head. "Sir, I've been medically cleared to rejoin my squad."

The man sneered. "By who? Her?" His eyes scanned Andy, then dismissed her. "You attacked your commanding officer. You're under arrest, to be confined to the scientific branch until a decision is made regarding your permanent status. Get your gear."

Tet went pale, his legs shaking. "Please. Sir. I'm fine now."

The man glared at him. "We'll decide that. You should have never been released in the first place."

Tet's voice grew panicked. "Put me in the brig. Anywhere but the scientists. Please."

"He's not going to hurt anyone," Andy spoke up angrily. "He's just a shifter now."

"What would you know about him?" The man turned the glare on her. "You're a civilian. You have no experience in this situation. Don't involve yourself in this." He turned back to Tet. "If you don't comply, I will have no choice than to make you comply." He removed a stun baton from his coat.

Tet's face went white and he started for the door, his breaths rapid.

"First off, sir, I'm a medical doctor and a witch. Just because I'm a civilian doesn't mean I'm inexperienced. Secondly, I just have to say, you're a terrible father. Third, if you don't leave right now, I will hurt you."

"Andy! Drop it please…" Tet's voice echoed in her head. "He will punish the squad if you don't stop.." He was shaking, holding onto the doorjamb tightly.

She muttered the telepathy spell, "No. You don't deserve to be treated like that. He's an asshole, and I'm going to treat him like one."

Tet couldn't resist the chuckle. He straightened and turned. "Sir! I respectfully refuse."

The man quickly crossed to the shifter's side. "You refuse?"

Suddenly there was the smell of ozone and Tet dropped to the floor. The uniformed man began to raise a radio to his lips.

Andy quickly said a spell and focused it on the man.

He froze, the radio halfway to his mouth.

Andy went to Tet's side to check on him.

He was unconscious, a burn mark visible on his shirt over his heart. She went to check on it, touching it gently. She suddenly saw visions in her mind.

White coats injecting a young boy with various drugs, scribbling notes as he thrashed and cried.

The same boy, older now, tied to a stake and set on fire. Being put out, but not treated as the same coats discussed regeneration limits between shifters and vampires.

Andy growled, turning toward the frozen man and remembering a spell Seltain had taught her. He once made her use it on Tet, and though she never thought she'd need it, in her anger it was the best thing she could imagine for the man. She recited the spell by memory and watched with a slightly evil grin on her face.

His uniform shirt vanished as the skin was peeled from his body. His eyes went wide as his chest split open, revealing his heart.

Andy said another spell, watching his heart be crushed before the rest of the body collapsed.

She went back to Tet and said a healing spell, then moved him back onto the bed.

Tsukasa slowly entered, freezing as he saw the body. He looked at her in shock "Andy? What did you do?"

"I warned him." She answered, running her hand through Tet's hair.

"He was the head of this squad.. We're going to be in trouble if the higher ups find out." He paused. "What exactly happened?"

"Well, I told him to leave, and then he shocked Tet. And so I froze him, and then I saw Tet's memories and I got so mad that I just..."

"His memories? What are you talking about? What memories?" Tsukasa stepped over the body and slowly approached them.

"I don't know how I saw it.. maybe since he got shocked when I had the telepathy spell active? Anyway, he was little and there were scientists drugging him and then another one he was set on fire.." She looked down.

Tsukasa stared at Tet in horror. "The bastard let them do that to his own son? My god…" He went silent.

"So I remembered a spell Seltain taught me, figured it might be a good one.."

"What do we do now? We have to get rid of his body.." Tsukasa began to pace. "At least he drove himself."

"I'm sorry.. I'd put him back together and revive him but we'd probably be in more trouble from him.."

Kiba entered, firing a round from his gun into the body. It began to smolder, then caught fire. In seconds, there was nothing but ash left. The wolf spit on it in disgust. "Problem solved. Good riddance."

Andy gave a small chuckle before sighing, "I'm sorry if this causes you guys trouble."

Tsukasa shrugged. "What trouble? General Kanamoto never arrived here. We never saw him."

Kiba laughed before crossing to Tet as he groaned and blinked his eyes open. "Where? What happened?"

"Congrats. You're now an orphan like the rest of us."

Tet gave him a confused look.

"I might have gotten a bit too angry with him," Andy said softly.

Tet glanced at the pile of ash silently before looking at her. "This is my fault."

"How? You didn't make him an asshole."

"I lost control, attacked Boss. That's why he came to take me. If I hadn't, he would never have come." Tet curled into a ball. "I should have stayed with the scientists. If you guys get in trouble…"

Andy wrapped her arms around him, "Everything will be alright. We'll figure it out. Don't blame yourself."

"Can't help it..I was so scared of going back. The thought of going through that again.." He trembled in her arms.

"I know, but you don't have to go back. I'll make sure you never get taken back there."

He took several deep breaths, trying to control himself. Suddenly he broke away, racing through the door.

Kiba closed his eyes and growled. "Sonofabitch! Wish I could have killed him."

Andy stood there for a moment before going to the door.

Tsukasa sighed. "Kiba, go dump the car. Check for any documents first."

Andy headed out of the room to go try to find Tet.

Tet clambered into the bomb shelter, missing the last ladder rung and hitting the ground. He lay there stunned for a moment, then crawled on his hands and knees towards the darkest part of the room. He ignored the throb in his head, trying to curl as small as he could. He shook uncontrollably, his eyes distant as memories he had tried to bury overwhelmed him.

He squeezed his eyes shut, remembering the smell of burning flesh and the sound of his own screams. The relentless pain as the scientists poked and prodded his raw skin, chattering about regeneration and pain thresholds. The wish to die washed over him once again and he gritted his teeth. He reminded himself that the bastard was dead-Andy had killed the general to protect him! She'd put herself in mortal danger just because he'd been threatened… He choked back a terrified sob. He was such a weakling.. His head shot up as he heard a noise.

Andy entered slowly, "Hey, are you alright?"

He shook his head. "No. I'm so sorry you had to meet him. I can't understand why you killed him over me though. I was going to go with him to spare you guys. I.." He trailed off as more memories hit, ducking his head. The hunger.. He bit back a growl and backed further into the darkness. "I'm such a liability.."

She approached and wrapped her arms around him, "It's not your fault. And you didn't want to go, so I wasn't going to let him take you."

He clung to her as he tried to stop shaking. "The memories are terrifying. I try to bury them, but…"

"I wish I could have saved you from them and I'm sorry you had to go through all of that. If I could take your memories I would."

He turned horrified eyes to her. "Don't tell me you know? Did he tell you?"

"What? What you went through?" She sighed, "I saw some of your memories."

He let out a strangled whimper. "Oh god...You shouldn't have been subjected to that.."

Andy held him close, running a hand through his hair, "It's alright. I'm just worried about you." She kissed his forehead, "I just hate that you had to go through that."

He closed his eyes. "So tired.."

"Just rest. Don't worry about anything," she said softly.

"Andy? We need you in the infirmary." Jack climbed down the ladder cautiously.

Andy sighed looking at Tet, "Let's get you up to your room? It might be more comfortable there." She helped him up. She glanced at Jack, "What's up?"

"Tet wasn't the only one he was delivering to the scientists." Jack scowled.

Andy scowled, "Can you get Tet to bed and keep an eye on him? I'll be in the infirmary."

The vampire nodded, lifting Tet over a shoulder and quickly going up the ladder.

Andy went to the infirmary, entering slowly.

Taka was anxiously holding another man's hand. "Wake up, please." His other hand brushed through the man's blond hair.

Andy approached, checking the man's vitals and saying spells to heal any damage he might have.

Taka gave her a grateful smile. He sighed in relief as the man stirred.

"Oww." He blinked dark eyes open and stared. "Taka? Where?"

Taka grinned at him. "You're at the Farm. Meet our new doctor, Andy."

The phoenix turned to her. "Meet my twin, Akira."

"Nice to meet you," Andy gave a small smile.

Akira bowed his head. "Where's that asshole? I want to hit him repeatedly."

"He's been taken care of."

He stared at her quizzically before sighing. "Damn."

She chuckled, "Sorry. How are you feeling?"

"Surprisingly okay given he used me as a punching bag." Akira eyed her quietly.

Andy scowled, "Wish he was revivable so I could kill him again."

Jack entered, heading for the medicine cabinet. "Tet is panicking in his sleep."

Andy frowned and went to the cabinet, looking and grabbing something. "I'll take care of him."

Jack nodded, waving at Akira. "Long time no see birdboy."

Andy headed out toward Tet's room. She entered slowly and watched for a moment before injecting the medicine in his arm. She sat beside him, watching him sleep.

Kiba laid a hand on her shoulder. "I want to say thanks for killing that creep. Maybe now Tet can lay some demons to rest."

"I really hope so.." Andy looked up at Kiba, "Honestly, I'm surprised no one has killed him sooner."

"Well, there was the little thing of being Boss' boss ya know."

"I mean, I'm still new here and all, but that obviously didn't stop me. But I get it."

"Believe me, if he'd been lower on the totem pole, Boss would have flash fried him a long time ago. Plus, he only knew part of the story. I know what happened with the scientists, which is why Tet kept me away when the General visited." He scowled. "How the fuck do you let those things happen to your own son?"

Andy shook her head, "I don't know." She sighed and looked back at Tet, "Do you think he'll be alright?"

"Give him a little time. I'm sure he'll be fine. How's birdboy number two?"

"He's doing alright."

"Nice to hear. The General reassigned him a while ago to his office. Been worried."

"That must have been terrible."

"Yeah. Took Taka some time to adjust since they'd never been apart and share a neural link. Used to have to spend half the night trying to calm him down. He wouldn't tell me what was going on, though."

Andy frowned, "That's horrible they had to go through that."

Tet murmured her name, a smile flicking over his face.

Kiba chuckled.

Andy smiled softly. "It's still crazy to me how in love he is with me, especially when I just met him."

Kiba looked at her. "You don't know? He had visions of you when he was younger. He told me those were the only thing that kept him sane growing up."

Andy raised an eyebrow, "Seriously?"

He nodded. "He said they started the first time he got sick. A black haired, blue eyed woman came to him and took care of him. When he recovered, she disappeared. But every time he got sick or hurt, she showed up to comfort him."

Andy sighed, "That's interesting."

"We all thought he was crazy until we saw your file. Tet was stunned, but then he became a taskmaster. We weren't allowed to relax at all with guarding you. You remember last month when that car rear ended you? He went ballistic that we hadn't stopped it." The wolf chuckled. "Had to remind him we were supposed to be covert."

Andy chuckled, "That must have been rough."

"Only took a few slaps." Kiba grinned.

Andy laughed in response.

Tet's eyes shot open, staring at the ceiling. His breathing slowed to normal, then he glanced at them. "Something happen?"

"Other than discovering Akira in the trunk of asshole's car? Nope."

Tet sat up sharply. "What the fuck?"

"He's okay, don't worry."

"What time is it?" He looked out the window worriedly.

Andy glanced at the time, "It's about five. Why?"

He relaxed. "Gotta make nice with the vamps tonight. But not until later." He stretched, then blushed as his stomach rumbled.

"Oh yeah, I already forgot about that.." Andy admitted.

He rolled his eyes before standing up. "Wish I could." He rummaged around his bag, coming up with a ration bar.

"Do you want me to cook something for you?"

"You shouldn't have to take care of me so much." He sat down with a sigh. "I cause way too many problems for everyone."

"Here comes the pity train…" Kiba whispered to her. "I'm out." He headed down the hall.

"No you don't," Andy sighed. "And my job here is basically to take care of everyone."

"Physical injuries and food, not mental instability." He stared at the floor morosely.

"Look, we haven't really labeled what we are, but I'm basically like your girlfriend. It's my job to help you through things."

"You deserve a better boyfriend than me. All I do is drag you down." He ran a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh.

"No you don't," she sat beside him, "I love you, okay? I'm here with you no matter what."

He met her gaze. "You're amazing. I love you so much, I don't want to hurt you in any way." He kissed her softly.

"You're amazing too."

"You think so?" He gave her a raised eyebrow.

"Of course," she squeezed his hand.

He chuckled softly, squeezing back.

Tsukasa knocked on the door jamb. "Am I interrupting?"

Andy shook her head, "No it's alright. What's up?"

"Wanted to check on him. He took off so fast, I was worried. Our problem isn't a problem anymore, by the way. I straightened things out." He pointedly didn't look at her.

"That's good," she said quietly.

"Glad to see you're okay." He looked away. "Gotta go pack."

"Pack for what?"

"The MPs will be here soon. Have to be ready." He gave her a sad smile. "Here's hoping the conclave goes well."

"What are the MP's doing?"

"Escorting me to the brig." Tsukasa's voice was slow.

"Because I killed him? Or something else?"

"Because I killed him." He looked at her defiantly.

"You don't have to take the fall for this. It was on me, if anything I should be in trouble," Andy looked at him sadly.

"I can't let you do that. You're needed. I only give orders and annoy everyone." He tried to joke.

Andy shook her head, "You're probably more important than I am. You keep this team in order."

Tsukasa laughed as Tet growled.

The tiger stood, grabbing the dragon and shoving him against the wall. "How can you do this? You know what they'll do to you!"

"And I can't let you take the fall for something I did," Andy added.

"This is my job." Tsukasa slapped Tet's hands away. "You guys are under my command. I'm responsible for anything you do. I shouldn't have left you alone with the General in that situation. But I did and now I have to face the consequences."

"I shouldn't have killed him in the first place. I should be better than that, but I wasn't, and that's on me. I refuse to let you just give yourself up for something you didn't do."

He glared at her. "Am I supposed to turn you over to the scientists? No way in hell I'd survive that- he'd kill me." He nodded toward Tet who was visibly trembling with anger.

"You might not survive if they take you!"

Tsukasa hung his head. "Better me than you." He reeled back as Tet punched him.

Andy watched in shock for a moment before saying a spell to freeze them. "You need to calm down." She sat back down for a moment to think. She couldn't let Tsukasa give himself up for something she did. She sat there in silence for a few minutes before unfreezing them again.

Tet glared at her. "He's committing suicide because of me! I won't allow it!"

Tsukasa stared at him, his eye starting to blacken. "How are you going to stop me? The MP's are already on their way. General Katshiro has already accepted my resignation."

"You can't do this," Andy growled before looking at Tet, "And it's not because of you, it's because of what I did."

"My father, my fault. I lost control and he came to get me. You wouldn't have done anything if I hadn't fucked up." Tet slammed his hand into the wall. "He was right. I should have never left."

Andy rolled her eyes, "Let's quit with the blaming yourself thing and move on to trying to fix the problem. There has to be a way that they don't take you or Tsukasa."

"We fight." Daiki stood in the doorway, the rest of the team behind him. "They want anyone, they have to go through us."

Andy nodded, "Sounds good."

Tsukasa facepalmed. "Are you all insane? They'll either shoot you or take you with me. I'm trying to protect you idiots!"

"And we're trying to protect you."

His jaw twitched once before he stormed past the men, heading for the base entrance. "Unless you guys want to experience witch history, don't come after me."

Andy said the spell to freeze him before looking at Tet, "Are you planning to fight or are you planning something stupid?"

Tet looked at her. "Define stupid."

"Giving yourself up."

He looked thoughtful as Kiba snickered. "You think you could stop me if the team interfered?"

Andy rolled her eyes, "Get Tsukasa back inside and get ready to fight."

Tet went outside and pushed Tsukasa back in, then whirled and slammed the door behind the dragon. The tiger murmured a spell as he stood outside.

Andy focused, thinking of Tet as she said the freezing spell, praying it worked before going to the door.

It wouldn't open.

His eyes watched her impassively.

Andy said a spell to get the door to open before going out and grabbing him.

His eyes closed in defeat.

Andy lifted Tet and Tsukasa and took them to the infirmary, restraining them in beds before going back out to the others. "So, are we really fighting the military police?"

"Got any other ideas?" Kiba frowned.

"Boss isn't wrong. They will only shoot us if we're lucky." Yamae looked worried.

Andy looked down, "This is all my fault. If I hadn't gotten angry and killed him.."

"They may have come anyway. Tet was under orders to report to the Scientific Branch." Jack leaned against the wall.

"So fighting is our only option if we don't want to give them up," Andy sighed.

"Unless you can get the other boss to call them off." Daiki glanced at her quietly.

"How do I contact him?"

Daiki pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number. "Kaito for the General." He handed the phone to Andy with a small grin.

Andy took it and headed into another room where the others couldn't hear and waited, wondering how she'd manage to get him to call it off.

"What's the problem, Kaito?"

"Hello sir, this is Andy Takimoto, the doctor Kadoya hired to help with the team. I'm calling about the orders to take in Tsukasa and Tet."

"What about them?"

"I'd like you to call them off. I'm sure we can come to some kind of trade, I am a witch, I'm sure there's something I can do to help you."

"Trade? This isn't a hostage situation, Miss Takimoto. Kadoya has confessed to killing a superior officer and Kanamoto is a danger to the team."

"I've fixed the problem with Kanamoto, he won't be a problem anymore. And Kadoya didn't really kill him."

"How did you fix Kanamoto? And what do you mean Kadoya didn't kill the General?"

"Kanamoto is no longer part vampire. He's fully shifter now. And like I said, Kadoya confessed but he wasn't the one who killed him."

"Who did?" The voice was demanding.

Andy sighed, "I did, sir."

"May I ask why?"

"I was defending Tet, and then I got angry at everything he let them put Tet through."

The line was quiet for several minutes, then the voice asked "Where is Kadoya?"

"I currently have him frozen so I could try to save him."

There was a pause. "May I speak to him?"

Andy sighed again, "Just a moment, let me get him." She walked out, passed the group and into the infirmary. She unfroze Tsukasa, "The General wants to talk to you..."

He took a deep breath, then spoke into the phone. "Yes sir?" He listened for several minutes, nodding a few times and replying 'yes sir' before sighing. He motioned her to close the phone as he closed his eyes. "I can't believe you called him."

"It was one of our last ideas.. What did he say?"

"Orders are rescinded. He bitched me out for confessing, then told me to be alert for the Scientific Branch. Apparently they are super pissed about not being allowed to study us anymore."

Andy nodded, "So we're all safe for now?"

He nodded quietly. "You two need to go."

"Oh the conclave, right?"

"Yeah. With any luck the vampires will leave Tet alone aside from the rogues."

She sighed and unfroze Tet.

Tet scowled at her before looking at Tsukasa. "We need to figure out how to knock her out."

"Sorry. I was just trying to help."

"Slow your roll, Tet. She got us off the hook." Tsukasa said tiredly.

Tet stared in disbelief. "What?"

"I guess the orders got rescinded."

Tet rolled his eyes. "Now that we have a miracle worker on the team, can I slack off?"

Tsukasa started to laugh quietly. "Like you do much in the first place?"

"We need to get going," Andy reminded.

"Out of the frying pan into the fire." Tet sighed.

Andy took his hand, "It will be ok."

"Once they realize I'm no longer vampire, we may not get out of there alive." He took a deep breath and climbed off the bed. "Let's get this over with."

"We can take them," Andy answered, hoping she was telling the truth.

He gave a snort, then led her out of the base entrance. They walked for a while before stopping in front of a gothic looking inn. "Welcome to conclave." He continued towards the door.

Andy kept holding onto his hand, unsure what to expect.

Entering, Tet kept a tight hold on her as he watched the clans milling around. "They fight each other almost as much as they fight us. This is the only neutral ground for the clans. Normally, we would be dead by now for daring to come."

She squeezed his hand, "This will work out. I have faith."

He gave her a worried smile as a vampire spoke. "Tetsuya, son of Zandra. Have you come to submit to the conclave?"

"No, I have come to break ties to the clans. I am no longer one of you."

Andy watched their reactions, praying they'd let him go.

"You are Zandra's son. You cannot break ties with the clans. You must become King."

"He's not a vampire anymore though," Andy spoke up.

"Was he or was he not born from our Queen?" The vampire challenged.

Andy sighed, "But don't you need to be a vampire to be the King? His DNA is rewritten, there's no vampire left, which means he wouldn't have her DNA anymore."

"There are ways to return her DNA. He can no longer refuse his birthright." The vampire nodded to a group nearby. "You are free to go as a mark of respect for your bravery in battle. He must stay. Take him."

"He's not going anywhere," Andy stood between the others and Tet.

"Andy, don't be stupid. We knew this was a risk. Take your chance and get out of here." Tet's voice sounded in her head. Outwardly, he raised his hands. "I have your word she can leave unharmed?"

"I'm not leaving without you. I don't care if I have to fight them all, I'm keeping you safe."

"Please, Andy. Leave while you can." His eyes were pleading.

"I'm not leaving you," she focused for a moment reciting a spell, freezing all the vampires in the room.

"Are you crazy?"

"Probably, but I'm going to protect you."

The head vampire began to laugh. "Your powers are impressive. But you can't fight me." He locked eyes with Tet. "You're staying. You will submit to the crowning."

Tet's eyes glazed, then he nodded. He began moving toward the vampire.

Andy grabbed his hand, stopping him from going further. She started muttering spells under her breath, focusing them on the head vampire.

Tet looked at her blankly. "Must submit." He tried to pull free.

She said a spell in hopes to counteract the vampires control.

Tet's eyes rolled up and he sank towards the floor as the vampire hissed.

Andy recited a killing spell, focused on all the vampires in the room, both the head and the frozen ones.

Suddenly, they all burst into flames. The head vampire began to thrash as he ran towards Tet. "He'll join us."

Andy rushed forward and stood in front of Tet to protect him.

The vampire began to mutter, ignoring the flames engulfing him.

Tet didn't move.

The vampire howled in fury, finally disintegrating into ash.

Andy took a deep breath before kneeling by Tet. "Hey, can you wake up?" She shook his arm gently.

"Oww. I really hate it when they do that." Tet's eyes slowly opened with a grimace.

"I'm sorry," Andy gave him a small smile, "I think we're out of immediate danger though so that's good."

"Can we go now? I really would prefer to be with vampires who don't want me to be their King."

Andy nodded and held a hand out to help him up.

He sighed as he looked around. "Now that it doesn't matter that I'm not vampire anymore.. I don't know how to get out of this one. They won't stop."

"I'll take out anyone who comes after you. Don't worry," she smiled before kissing his cheek.

He slightly blushed before he led her out and back towards the base.

When they got halfway there, they could see an orange glow in the sky.

Tet froze. "No.."

"Come on, let's hurry," Andy started running toward the base.

Tet shifted, running ahead. He skidded to a stop as the base was shown to be engulfed in flames. "Bastards!" He ran in, looking for the team.

Andy finally caught up, saying a quick spell to try to protect herself before running inside.

Tet struggled to lift Kiba, the wolf dead weight.

Andy grabbed onto him and said the teleportation spell, getting them both out of the building, "Stay here." She then teleported back in and continued to look for people. One by one she teleported them out, doing her best to avoid the flames. After getting a majority out she looked at Tet, "Who are we missing?"

"Ryusei and Ryon were on guard duty."

Tsukasa coughed harshly. "This wasn't the vamps."

Tet's head was bowed as he cradled Kiba. "Who did this?"

"The Branch. They came looking for you. When I told them you weren't a hybrid anymore, one of them released some kind of gas." Tsukasa lay on the ground panting.

Andy scowled as she went through and worked on healing the men as she listened. "Where would Ryon and Ryusei be?"

"Guard house unless they were taken." Tsukasa pointed to a small building several feet away. "We weren't alerted to the Branch's arrival like we should have been."

Andy nodded, pausing a moment to cough from the smoke she'd ended up inhaling while saving the others. She then headed to the guard house, opening the door slowly.

Both porters lay still, blood pooling around them. They had no visible injuries.

Andy continued to look them over before saying a few healing spells just in case she missed something. She then carried them out to the rest of the group, finishing healing the others before working to revive the dead.

Tet rose to his feet, his eyes blazing. "I'm going to tear all of them apart!" His eyes began to glitter.

"Tet, calm down. We can go after them in a while but there's more important things like finding shelter and getting the guys taken care of."

"The barracks should be safe, at least for now." Tsukasa sat up, meeting Daiki's eyes and nodding.

Tet began to growl, his eyes glowing in the dark. He hadn't shifted.

Tsukasa watched him with concern. "What happened at the conclave?"

"I killed everyone there..." Andy admitted, looking away.

"That good huh?" Daiki deadpanned.

"Well, they still wanted him, and I wasn't going to let that happen."

"They are stubborn." Tsukasa backed up slightly as Tet's eyes landed on him. "He's not in control right now.."

Tet began to snarl, his claws extending as he stalked forward.

Andy quickly rushed in front of him, holding her hands up slightly, making a small barrier. As she tried to think of spells to use, she questioned, "Who or what is in control of him?"

"You tell me. Did the vamps try to pull anything?" He paused, then looked into the smoldering building. "The gas…"

"You think it's the gas doing it? The vamps did try something but I don't think it worked."

"Kiba lost control too. That's when he was shot."

Andy nodded, trying to think of a spell to help. She finally said one and prayed for the best.

Tet stopped, his eyes reverting. "What happened?" He looked at her in confusion. Suddenly, his nose began to bleed.

She stared for a moment, "It was the gas affecting you." She said a healing spell to try to combat the nose bleed.

He nodded slowly as he began to sway. "My head.." He wiped his nose on his jumpsuit, then coughed.

"Let's get everyone inside the barracks. You need rest."

Kai and Yamae stood. "We'll take care of it." They grabbed hands, encircling Andy, Tet, Daiki and Tsukasa.

Suddenly they were in Daiki's room.

The porters disappeared and Tet headed for the door. "Unused room down the hall." He held on to the wall as he walked, his steps slow.

Andy went to him, wrapping her arm around him to help him walk.

He continued to cough, trying to catch his breath. "Maybe we'll be lucky and they'll think we're all dead."

"Maybe, but I doubt it. Hopefully we get a little break though. Today has been one thing after another."

He gave her a small smile before his knees buckled.

Andy caught him, helping get him into the room. Once he was in bed, she sat down beside him.

"I'm sorry." He coughed into his sleeve.

She said a spell to help the coughing before asking, "For what?"

"Being born. None of this would be happening if I didn't exist." His eyes were dejected as he stared at the ceiling.

"Well, I'm glad you were born. And it's not like you asked to be born, so it's not your fault."

He chuckled sadly. "Hold me? I don't feel so good."

Andy moved to wrap an arm around him, resting her head on his chest.

He closed his eyes, drifting off.

Andy soon fell asleep listening to the comforting sound of his heart beating.

She woke the next morning, confused. Raising her head, she tried to figure out what had woken her. Suddenly she realized the bed was silent.

Andy quickly tried to find Tet's pulse, not finding anything. She focused on trying to revive him, the gold light surrounding him.

He lay still, not reacting.

She tried again, tears starting to fill her eyes.

He jerked, sucking in a shaky breath. Then he stopped. A minute later, another breath.

She listened for his heart, confused as to what was happening.

It began to beat erratically in time to his breathing.

She recited multiple healing spells hoping one of them would help steady him out.

Slowly it stabilized, his breathing doing the same a minute later. He didn't wake.

She laid beside him watching for a while.

There was a knock at the door.

Andy stood slowly and went to open it.

Tsukasa stood in the hall. He looked awful, his eyes bloodshot. He was coughing as well, blood staining his sleeve. "Andy, there's something wrong with us.."

She frowned, "Tet had trouble too.. It must be something with the gas?"

"That's what I think too.. But neither the vampires or Taka and Akira show any symptoms."

"Maybe they made it to attack those who had that 'vaccine'?"

Recognition dawned in the dragon's eyes seconds before he crumpled.

Andy lifted him and took him to where the others were, checking him over. She spent the next few hours reciting healing spells and checking vitals on everyone affected.

"What the hell happened?" Tet stood shaking in the hall.

"It's effects from the gas. How are you feeling?"

"Like I just survived pneumonia again.. My chest aches. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, it's not affecting everyone. I'm just worried about everyone. You really scared me you know. I woke up to find you dead and then I struggled to revive you.."

His eyes widened in shock. "The last thing I remember is you holding me. Then I woke up and you were gone."

"I would have stayed if the others didn't need help."

He nodded sleepily.

Then Kiba began to whimper.

Tet's eyes shot open. "That sounds like when he got caught in the trap a few years ago.."

"Think he's having a nightmare? Or just feeling that bad?" She frowned, "I keep using healing spells on everyone but it's not getting rid of everything.."

Tet grimaced. "Is it bad I hope it's a nightmare?" He crossed to Kiba's side, touching his cheek. "He feels like an oven.."

Andy frowned, saying a spell to lower his temperature. "I wish I knew how this gas fully worked."

"Ask and you shall receive." Daiki appeared with Ryon, holding a sheaf of papers which he handed her.

She looked through them, "I'd be interested to see what other things these scientists could come up with if they weren't coming after us."

Daiki shrugged. "That would be contingent on them not being total assholes." He looked over at Tsukasa worriedly. "I think he looks worse than when I left."

"Do you have a lab area I could use now that the one in the infirmary is gone? I could see about making an antidote."

He pulled out a pocket map, pointing to a building. "This is the research building. We never used it."

Andy nodded, using the teleportation spell to go there. She spent a while looking through the papers before finally figuring out what would counteract it. When she was done, she appeared back in the barracks and injected the medicine.

All the shifters instantly quieted, their breathing evening into sleep. Daiki gave her a thumbs up. Tet gave her a smile, leaning on the wall unsteadily.

Andy watched the shifters sleeping for a moment before going to hug Tet.

He returned the hug, lying his head on her shoulder. "You're comfortable."

She smiled softly, "You need some more rest. Let's get you back in bed."

He grinned sleepily. "Alright."