- Title: Vampiric Sacrifice
Author: stefani teee a.k.a. Koneko ^Å^
© Tales Spinners Inc.
Koneko-chan says!
Hi again. Oh good, someone reviewed (the last time I checked… ;;;;;;;) and so did sexy^Å^… nothing from you Piggy though. But that's okay. So far, what do you think of this fic? I've got ideas, but they keep warping in my mind as the story goes. TrowaxDorothy? QuatrexDorothy? Help me please? Thank you! On with the fic. The guys (and the girls, no need to discriminate, both of them would bite my head of if I did) meet Midii and the meeting isn't a nice one. As well, the strip club chapter which everyone's looking for! Here it is! Guess what? I have three muses! (*shrugs* So I'm very greedy.) Let me introduce them!
*gorgeous purple velvet curtains open to a stage and the lights flare on. In the center, in the spotlight is the chibi, ultra kawaii chibi-Relena!*
Chibi-Relena: *smiles cutely* Hajinimashta!
Crowd: *in unison* Awwwww…
Stefani: *wearing a sparkling sequined gown like Vanna White* *poses* Ladies and gentlemen, our one and only Chibi-Relena!
Chibi-Relena: *smiles and waves some more*
Stefani: And next up… our own wonderful Heero-chan!
*drumroll*
*nothing happens*
Stefani: *clears throat pointedly*
*nothing happens*
Stefani: *abandons pose and stomps towards the wings of the stage, heads up the stairs where, of course, Heero is standing at the balcony watching Relena* *drags him down* *pulls him on the stage* *resumes pose*
Heero-chan: Omae o korosu. *clicks safety off gun*
Stefani: *glares*
Heero-chan: *glares back*
Stefani: *wishes she'd shoved her muse in a CHIBI Heero*
Chibi-Relena: *pouts* *glares* *snaps fingers*
*POOF*
Chibi-Relena: *is now life-size Relena* *glares at Heero-chan* Heero… *warningly*
Heero-chan: *puts gun away and manages to still look empty-faced while Relena has her arm in his as she waves to the crowd*
Crowd: Awww! * crowd has no memory, never remembers one or more of them would be shot by one half of the adorable couple a few seconds ago*
Stefani: And now, last but not least, our own wonderful Nanashi!
*drumroll*
Nanashi: *walks out* …
Stefani: *sweatdrops* Er… okay, well uh, LET'S GIVE A HAND TO MY WONDERFUL MUSES!!!!!!!!
Crowd: …
Someone In The Back: SHOW US HOW GOOD THEY ARE!!
Relena: *grabs Heero-chan's gun* *shoots jellybeans at SITB* *calmly hands it back*
Stefani: …
Stefani: ON WITH THE SHOW!
And continuing on…
Chapter Three: A Strip Club, Two Female Politicians, Five Overprotective Armed Men, and Two Evil Bloodsuckers (a.k.a. A Visit to Hell)
"Bitch."
This was the first word that came out of Relena's mouth the second they were out of hearing distance of any security cameras hidden in the estate. Heero looked at Relena is silent surprise. Relena? Cursing? The thought just wouldn't compute even though Duo had informed him earlier just how bad a girl she'd been when hunting for Rosalyn and that Jacey. "You mean Blondie back there? Or me?"
"I'll give you one guess Dor."
"Thank you." Dorothy remained silent throughout the car ride and Relena opted for her friend to drive… hesitantly that is. Dorothy loved driving, but quite the speed demon and Relena made sure that Dorothy understood that friend or no friend she'd sue the hell out of her if she dared scratch 'her baby' as she called it. Dorothy rolled her eyes, "If only you were a guy Rel… I would've simply said something about guys and their cars… you are a completely different case study."
"I'm just warning you… one scratch—"
"Relax, your car is safe with me… and thank god you got a new one too." Relena blinked, "Huh?" Dorothy pointed to the guys in the backseat, "None of them have seen your car for the last few years… and I think they were expecting a pink limo…"
"Shut up about that thing! So sue me if my mother thought it proper for a young girl to be as feminine as proper… and I didn't have the heart to say no."
"I was walking around in combat boots when you were trussed up in crinoline and lace, little girl."
"Don't I know it." Relena agreed before her speech was cut off. Dorothy had started that car and they were off.
Finally, the guys realized that Relena hadn't been kidding. Dorothy was a speed demon and it was nearly impossible how fast they got their seatbelts on as Dorothy lurched around a corner, barely missing a red traffic sign.
"That was a stop sign!" yelled Relena over the wind coming in from the open windows of her black BMW.
"I paused and you know it!" yelled back the blonde, having the time of her life, momentarily forgetting all the heartbreak from the person directly behind her. And she never noticing how he closed his eyes as her long hair blew backwards into his face, along with the smell of her shampoo. Heero, who never really minded speed (he rather preferred it) found Quatre looking just about as excited as Dorothy. His big blue eyes were even bigger as he watched everything outside whiz past the window with a blur. Heero raised an eyebrow, "You're as crazy as the girl in the driver's seat." He stated simply and Quatre turned away from the window to laugh. "When you live a life with everyone looking up to you, you can't decide anything on your own anymore… it's been a while since I did anything like this… staying below the speed limit and obeying traffic rules of course." This he added as Dorothy raced through a red light. "I SAID I PAUSED!" could be heard through the howling wind through the windows. Anyone ever went on a highway with your windows open? Try hearing yourself talk, much less the person up front. This proves how strong Dorothy's vocal chords are.
Finally, the abrupt pause left them all choking on their seatbelts as they were wrenched forward. As they flew back against the seat, Dorothy grinned, shaking the stray strands of hair that had escaped her headband, triumphantly. "You're right, that did make me feel better!" she announced, smiling before noticing Relena sitting there staring at the Peacecraft manor. "Rel?"
"Hmm?"
"You okay?"
"Yeah… I just think… I just had this sudden thought that…" she shook her head as if clearing her thoughts, "never mind, it doesn't matter… not yet anyway." She got out of the car, checking for any visible scratches on her car. "You're lucky this time Catalonia!"
"I told you I was a good driver!"
"That was a bit of an overstatement," commented Relena dryly as she shook her hair into some semblance of order. "Quickly, we've got to get back in, let me change, and if you're willing, head off to the briefing." Then she blinked and turned to the backseat, bending down to look in the window. "Uh, don't worry… the car has stopped. You can take off your seatbelts now." She informed the three boys, wondering at how they could be perfectly fine with flying gundams in space faster than they had just gone and still be frozen stiff. Men, she decided.
"I wasn't scared." replied Quatre archly and Relena grinned. "I think you rather enjoyed that actually." The blond Arabia grinned, "I should think you'd enjoy it too… you spend more time in office than myself."
"Sure, but remember that this is my car… and I happen to like my car in one piece, thank you very much."
"I see…"
Relena led the way to the gate—she didn't often park in the garage… she liked having her car parked outside, it was less of a hassle when it came to the gates. As soon as they were in, Relena went for her room, in order to begin the almost daily metamorphosis from Relena Dorlian, normal (relatively speaking of course) blonde girl out with her friends… To Relena Peacecraft (however much she tried to drop the name like her brother had tried to) the one person who kept the Colonies and Earth from beating the crap out of each other again.
She stepped out, her long hair pulled back severely into a ponytail by the normal blue ribbon, and her pale pink (she was beginning to be tired of the color…) business suit. There she was the girl who was awed by millions upon millions. She walked out to find pandemonium. Dorothy had lost it completely (she was pretty sure she knew why… another girl with the same color blonde hair was present, along with the green-eyed clown) and was chasing after both Trowa and Midii with a frying pan snatched from a frightened maid who was playing 'innocent bystander' perfectly. "SAY THAT AGAIN YOU BITCH!!!! SAY THAT TO MY FACE AND STOP RUNNING LIKE THE COWARD YOU ARE!" Dorothy was yelling at the girl just a few paces in front of her, a mocking smile that seemed permanently attached to her face. Heero and Quatre were staying well away from the rampaging War Goddess (after Heero had been smacked in the side of the head with the frying pan while getting in the way). At the moment, they were taking refuge on the kitchen table.
"Looks like the political world doesn't need exercise anymore… what's wrong, can't even catch Nanashi's lover?"
"Midii, please keep me out of this—"
"Aww, come on Nanashi, you're not going to even save me from your rampaging ex-girlfriend?"
"You're perfect competent to enter this catfight on your own."
"IT'S GONNA BE A THREE-WOMAN CATFIGHT IF YOU DON'T ALL STOP!" yelled Relena finally, stopping the destruction to her kitchen. She looked well out of place in a business suit when she looked like a soldier in some old war movie. If they hadn't known her so well, she looked almost ready to throw a grenade in their faces, and they would've bowed down before the terrible Godzilla-Relena.
Midii shook back her wavy hair. "I came here to find Trowa, and that's it. I did not expect to be assaulted by his jealous, crude and sweaty ex-girlfriend wielding a frying pan." Now Dorothy looked like the one ready to spit fire. "What did you say?" she asked in a low, dangerous tone, masked by her naturally light voice.
"Despite how much you must want to assault him, you would do very well to remember that you are no longer on Mr. Townsend's property, you are on mine. Now please, Marie will you escort this young lady to the gates?"
"Yes Ma'am." The maid (who'd previously been cowering under the table) brushed off her skirt and with a slight look of distaste, led the other girl out of the room. Relena looked at her, then back at Trowa. "And you chose that spitfire over Dorothy?" Trowa shrugged, silence ruling the room again. Relena threw up her hands in a final gesture of "I give UP!" Trowa said nothing. Mentally however, he was knocking himself on the head and wondering why he couldn't damn well choose!
"Well… she's gone now. And I'd better get to that briefing… Dorothy, you have to come too, remember?" Dorothy blinked before gasping, bringing a hand to her open mouth. "Shit I forgot!" she swore, racing for Relena's bedroom where her duffel bag held her political uniform. She appeared, moments later looking more harried than they'd ever seen her. "Miss Relena, why didn't you tell me earlier?!" she seemed to have reverted back into her old high school way of speaking to Relena… respectably in a rather mocking way. Relena shrugged, "I forgot." She said matter-of-factly. All movement ceased in the room. Dorothy stared blatantly at the blonde-haired leader of ESUN. "Excuse me… what?!" she asked, wondering if she'd heard correctly. When had she ever heard those words uttered out of perfect little Princess Peacecraft's mouth?
"I told you. I forgot… you were the one who was supposed to remember, not me." Dorothy grumbled something under her breath before straightening out the dark golden-brown political suit (similar to Relena's), and her hairbrush had tamed her hair (after picking out the long strands of Duo's hair still stuck in it). She was clenching a several sheaves of crumpled papers, probably notes. "Okay, I'm ready." she grumbled, berating herself for not remembering… thank god she'd brought her suit and her notes last night. Then they were headed outside again. She perked up. "Can I drive?"
"No. I think the pigeons have had enough scares in this town for a long while."
"You know I always honk the horn for them."
"And that doesn't scare them?"
"If you, Miss Relena dare to begin a debate about the emotions of pigeons, I really will have to smack you." They were at her car now, and still arguing, the three guys, two out the three prone to silence, stayed silent.
"Then you admit pigeons have emotions?" teased Relena mercilessly as she went for the driver's seat, despite Dorothy's pouting. She had had enough law-breaking today… and seeing the two young politicians arrive while breaking more than twenty traffic rules would not help when she made her opening speech.
The remaining male ex-gundam boys were rather relieved that a more responsible driver was at the wheel. As soon as they had buckled up the confounded seatbelts, Relena jammed in the key, and slammed her dainty high-heeled foot on the acceleration. Needless to say, they were off like a shot again… somewhere around the speed of sound. But as soon as they neared the political building, they slowed down immeasurably and Dorothy ripped a brush out of her bag and brushing her hair thoroughly… it was quite a mess. Relena was busy straightening her clothing with one hand while steering with the other and thanking god there were such things as tinted windows in this wonderful day and age.
Then, she grabbed the brush from Dorothy's hand, and undoing the ribbon, began brushing her hair again, until it lay straight down her back. Inwardly, she wondered what had possessed her to let it grow to this length… oh wait, it was because Heero liked it long, wasn't it? She sighed as she wondered how much like a sheep following a shepherd she was. Tying it back, she took a deep breath and her 'political mode' was back on. She parked carefully, and got out of the car, trying as much as possible to ignore the wave of reporters and cameramen that swarmed her and Dorothy as soon as the doors opened. When the backseat opened, the commotion grew even louder… no one had expected ex-gundam soldiers to come to as simple a thing as a briefing. They were instantly swamped with questions. The more silent ones stayed silent and ignored everyone (even as several female newscasters literally swooned in their arms) while Quatre attempted to drag the others to Dorothy and Relena (also wading through the swarms of people).
"I now remember why I disliked these types of political meetings… the press on Earth is so much more aggressive." commented Quatre as they finally got their way out of the crowd and into the building. The thin glass doors acted like a boundary between them and the maniacal crowd, as well as the several million-bazillion soldiers guarding the doors that made Relena rather nervous.
Finally, she and Dorothy had to leave the three of them in order to enter the meeting room, where bodyguards weren't allowed in. The three of them blinked as Relena tried to protest, but the guards were adamant, they could not enter. The more kindly blonde looked back rather apologetically and started to speak when Quatre broke in gently, "It's all right, Relena, we'll be fine." Relena smiled, before following Dorothy into the room, and the door shut behind them.
Heero felt rather uncomfortable, in a political building without a weapon on his person. This feeling was quite bothersome, a leftover something from all the wars. They took stationary positions by the doors, ignoring the chairs, and ignoring the guard already posted at the door, watching them confusedly. Time passed, and the three of them found themselves wondering why on Earth they hadn't left with Duo and Wufei.
"Trowa?" asked a voice, and all of them turned, almost waiting to see the icy blonde that Trowa was enamored with. It wasn't, and they were shocked at who they found.
It was Cathrine. Trowa's sister. She blinked as every single one of them stared at her. "What is it?" she asked rather confused at their stares. Trowa relaxed, "Nothing Cath… why are you here?" it was nearly impossible for any civilian to get into the political building… hold on a minute… why the hell was wearing a Preventers uniform?!
"CATHY?!" she looked down. Previously, a well-placed chest of some sort had hid her, but now, as moving people or some of the sort moved it away, nothing hid her obvious jacket. "Um…" she looked rather nervous as her younger brother stood with his exclamation. "Oops?"
"That's just a costume right? You're just trying to trick me, right?" asked Trowa, and she was amazed that he could say almost blandly and still seem shocked. Not to mention rather silly. "Why would I dress up as a Preventer?" she demanded, setting down her backpack that she'd been carrying over one shoulder. "And another thing… what are you doing here?" she suddenly looked protective all over again. "You never came back last night! I was sick with worry over where you'd gone! Preventers HQ told me you checked in, and then checked back out after an hour or so! Where were you?!"
Trowa looked rather abashed in front of the others, but in actuality, Heero almost envied his family, if only it was his sister, and Quatre knew quite well what he was going through. No mention of his sisters is needed as all reading this have promptly brought them to mind. Cathrine sighed, as she sat down beside Trowa, bringing an arm around his neck in a sisterly fashion. "So where were you last night?" she asked softly, anger gone now. Trowa shrugged, "Reminiscing." Cathy rolled her eyes before turning her eyes to Heero and Quatre, pleading now, "Will you two tell me if you know?"
"We were at Relena's mansion."
"I see… Cathy blinked, "No I don't see, she and Dorothy shouldn't have been at her house last night, they should've been out hunting!"
"How do you know about all this?!" Cathrine laughed at Trowa's ignorance, "You guys mostly handle all the big, bad, out-in-the-open military stuff. We handle the subtle vampire killing business."
"Subtle? Vermin killing? You've got a strange idea of subtle, Cath." Cathrine paused as an arm slid over her shoulders and she visibly tensed, but stayed polite all the way. "Hello, Michael."
Trowa noticed the disguised uncomfortable look on his older sister's face and he gave the guy a once over. He was dressed in Preventer uniform as well, and he vaguely recognized him from orientation of some of the newer recruits a few days ago. Cathrine waved a hand at the guy as she shrugged his arm off her shoulders. "Guys, Michael, Michael, Heero, Quatre, and my little brother Trowa."
"Whoa… you mean the guys that kicked ass in the Eve wars don't you?" the guy looked more than respectful now, and perhaps a little nervous when Trowa, again gave him the once over. Who was he to act so chummy with his sister like that? Cathrine sighed, "Yes, yes they are." She above anyone else (being blood-related to one of them) knew how much they hated being reminded of this everywhere they turn.
"Wow, hey did you really—hey!" Cathrine cast him a sickly-sweet smile and continued pushing against him out of the hallway, her slender, lithe form hiding the muscle she had as she bodily shoved the much heavier man away from the guys. "We've got work to do Mike ol' pal. Or at least you've got work to do. I'll escort you in case you are distracted by the orientation of the new female recruits."
"You don't trust me?"
"Not when it concerns a girl and your testosterone young man." She sounded exactly like when she was lecturing Trowa. Quatre smiled at the slight humor of it all. Because just like when she lectured Trowa, she could intimidate any grown man. It was rather ridiculous to see the six foot something guy cower before the woman that came up hardly to his chest!
Cathrine winked at them before proceeding to drag him along, gesturing to the backpack she'd so unceremoniously dumped on her brother's lap. Trowa glanced at it as his sister's red-brown hair disappeared out of sight. "What the hell?" he opened the rather well worn army green backpack, and peered inside. Right on top were several sandwiches, wrapped in cellophane. Taped onto the one, was a note. 'Trowa, you are your friends are the worst ever. Remember to eat once in a while okay? I don't need your liver floating in alcohol.' He shrugged, ripped the note off and shoved it back in the bag with whatever else was in it. He then handed two of them to the other guys. They had never noticed, time had progressed so that they were well past lunch.
Eating in silence, they continued to wait, silent, having nothing really to talk about. At least not in public, they would have otherwise broken into a conversation about why all the females they knew were becoming part of Preventers.
~*~*~*~
"Gabe? Where're you going? Don't you want to play with me?"
Gabe turned back, "I don't think I want to play anymore…" The little girl pouted, before realizing what he wanted to do. "Oh… you want to see your daddy right?"
He nodded. She shrugged, "Okay… well, maybe some other time then?" she asked hopefully. "Sure." He replied, turning towards 'the door'. Not many people walked through that door, and if they did, most of those people stayed near the door, never venturing that far in. This was the room in which Milliardo Peacecraft slept in a deathlike slumber. The little boy stepped in softly, as if he were deathly afraid of waking his dad, when really, all he wanted was to wake him up. "Daddy? Hey, Dad, I'm back again." He bit his lip when he looked again at all the tubes and wires and machines hooked up to him, and he clambered up onto the high hospital bed, careful not to rip any of the tubes out. The nurse would come running and scold him horribly if he did. He snuggled under the limp arm of his father and against him.
"Daddy? Auntie Lena went out to fight again last night… but they came to our house first. She killed lots of them. And they were so scary, two of them looked like girls. But they scared me, and Auntie Lena made them run away. We had to go to Preventers because she got hurt." He paused… did he suddenly feel his dad's arm tighten around him? He continued breathlessly, "We went there and all these doctor people came and took her 'way." he frowned, "They weren't nice doctor people like Auntie Sally was. She went to go back to school. They were all mean and didn't let me say anything. I had to sit still for a long, long time."
He looked at his father's face. Still impassive. "And then Auntie Relena brought me home… she told me to stay safe. It's hard to stay safe now, right? Vampires breaking in… I wish you would wake up Daddy, Auntie Relena is sad all the time, especially with all those mean people at the ESUN, there are too many meetings and stuff she needs to do. She doesn't want me to know though… why Daddy?"
His father did not answer, and the monitor continued beeping steadily in its unnerving way. "Last night Auntie Lena left to find more vampires, she said it was because she was ordered to. She got hurt again, and she had to go back to those mean doctors. She came back with some big people. They were really tall. One of them was funny. He had long hair… he looked like a girl." Milliardo's eyelids flickered and Gabe lay bolt upright. "Daddy?"
But that was it. He didn't do anything else, much less wake up. Gabe sighed, and continued talking. "Then they all stayed in Auntie Relena's bedroom… and watched a movie. I stayed with Shelley 'cause Mrs. Petri said Auntie Lena and the guys needed to talk and stuff and I shouldn't bother them. Why would I bother them, Daddy?" Again, no answer.
"Anyway, they all were sick in the morning. Lots of water and asp'rin. And anta-somethings." This time Milliardo jerked, and his eyelids snapped tightly shut. Gabe stared, hoping against hope. Would his daddy wake up? "And then Shelley heard something about Dorothy and one of the guys… I think the guy with the hair covering his eyes… how does he do that?"
A mumble. Gabe's eyes widened. "Daddy? What did you say?" At long last, Milliardo Peacecraft's eyes opened and stared blearily at his son. "I said 'nobody knows'."
"DADDY!" Gabe flung his arms around his dad (or as much as he could in the cramped position) and had to keep himself from crying. "You're back!"
"Gabe?" asked his dad unsteadily and Gabe looked up at his father's face. "Where's Lena?"
"She's… she's at a meeting."
Milliardo nodded slowly, clearing his vision, wincing as he felt the light from the window shining directly into his eyes. "Should we surprise her then?" Gabe looked worried, "But… you just woke up!"
"I'm a soldier Gabe… I'm tough enough to stand on my own two feet." Gabe smiled and hugged his dad even tighter before smacking a button on the side of the bed. "NURSE! DADDY'S AWAKE!" he yelled joyously. There was a sound of pattering of feet, and the slam of the door as it burst open revealed the rumpled nurse. "Gabriel Peacecraft! I told you too many times to count, don't yell when you're dad's in a—" she stopped short, amazed. "Mister—oh my goodness, Mr. Peacecraft you're awake!" Gabe smiled, nodding his head vigorously. "We're gonna see Auntie Lena!"
The nurse's voice became brisk, "Oh no you're not little child. You're father needs rest, and that does not include taking you to god-knows-where right after this miracle… Mr. Peacecraft, please lie back down." Instead, the man calmly began ripping out all the tubes and lay them beside the oxygen mask he'd already discarded. "We're going." He told the nurse firmly, pulling himself in a sitting position and picking up Gabriel, stood up and walked to the door, perhaps a little unsteadily, but he did. And the nurse was amazed… everyone had thought that Milliardo Peacecraft could never wake up from his coma… and they'd thought Relena Peacecraft insane when she refused to unhook him. "If there's a chance that he'll wake up, he'll take it." she had said firmly. The Peacecraft's were miracles in themselves.
A scream echoed down the halls as the two of them appeared, and the clattering of silverware bounced on the floor. "Mister Milliardo! You're awake!" The young girl looked down at the spilled silverware and blushed deep red, "M-my apologies…"
"Don't worry about it. Where is Relena's meeting held?"
"A-at the…" she couldn't speak, "At the usual place, the main business ESUN building in this city." finished the voice of Mrs. Petri from down the hall. The old woman's were filled with tears as she looked up at the man that stood firmly in front of her. Like Pagen, she had been with the family for years, and had escaped when the Peacecraft palace had been attacked. She'd returned as soon as the family had regained the Sanq Kingdom. Milliardo looked down at the old hobbling woman with a small smile, "Then that's where Gabe and I are going." He told her, in that voice that bridged no arguments. And they walked off, father and son, hair blowing back of the same exact sheen.
The glass doors slid open smoothly, and the two of them walked in, Gabe holding steadfastly to his father's hand, a little intimidated by all the blatant stares at the man who was rumored to never be awakened again. Milliardo, dressed in his Preventer uniform again, gave him a firm stare, and Gabe straightened, walking with more confidence. He was with his dad after all. No one was better than him. "Mr. Milliardo!" gasped a young woman decked out in Preventer garb. She looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place her. "And you are?"
"Cathrine Bloom, sir. Trowa Barton's older sister?" she figured he'd know about him at the least. He nodded, "I see…"
"Yo Cathy, who's this guy, huh?" asked some guy behind her, giving him a once over. Cathrine slammed her elbow in his side, "SHUT UP!" she hissed venomously at him, "He's Milliardo Peacecraft you dork!"
The guy was struck dumb. "Oh." was about all he could manage as Milliardo and his son swept past him. Cathy winked at Gabe as they passed her. He grinned back at her. My dad's back! His hand tightened in his dad's bigger one as he looked up proudly at his father. Milliardo looked down, giving him a smile. "Do you think Relena will be surprised?"
"Auntie Lena always knew you were going to wake up! But she'll be surprised! And she'll be happy again!"
"I should hope so…" he trailed off when he noted the guards standing at the doorway. Now, normally this wouldn't have been a problem, had he not recognized three of them. And recognized them well.
"Zechs." Milliardo felt the wry grin appear on his face. 01 was never one to mince words… although he himself hated to think of himself as that side of his nature any more… the wars were over, he could be Milliardo Peacecraft with all his heart.
"Heero."
"That's him, Daddy!" yelled Gabriel excitedly, almost jumping up and down, but restraining himself just enough to be rocking back and forth on his heels. "He's one of the guys who needed all those asp'rins!"
Quatre bit his lip, and Trowa half-turned away… Heero didn't answer. He just continued to watch Milliardo Peacecraft. The man didn't need to know anything about what had happened the other night… he had no wish to fight him only a block of wood away from Relena… she would be sad if he should even try it.
"And why would he be depleting our medicine cabinets of aspirin, I wonder?"
"…"
Sighing, the older man made a huge effort to change the subject. He sat down on one of the orange plastic waiting chairs that looked like they'd been borrowed from some old elementary school. He gritted his teeth together as he finally loosened himself after all the weeks of doing nothing but lie there unconscious on the bed. Gabe immediately climbed up onto his lap and lay back on his chest.
What the hell happened? That guy wasn't supposed to ever wake up! Heero's mind was reeling, What happened? Why is Zechs up and about like before already? Why—
"SHE ALREADY TOLD YOU NO YOU IDIOT! GET THAT IN YOUR PUNY HEAD!" the huge doors slammed open and the original guard got smacked in the face by one of them. He blinked, holding his nose to keep the blood from coming down and cautiously looked around the doors. Duchess Catalonia was standing above some guy on the ground. He could see the Vice Foreign Minister still sitting at the table, her customary cup of tea cracked straight through, as if she'd slammed it down quick enough and hard enough for it to break in her hand. She had a veiled look of anger on her face.
The other politicians, though a little shocked were on the two girls' sides. "My dear sir, you must know, threatening the Vice Foreign Minister is not a way to get what you want… though the duchess's way of dealing with you is not as civilized as I might have thought, I must say you deserve it."
Heero's 'Perfect Soldier' computer kicked in. Threatened?
But Relena was no longer looking at the man sprawled on the floor. For that matter, neither was Dorothy. Both of them were staring wide-eyed at Milliardo Peacecraft, directly in the door's field of view. "Mr. Milliardo!" gasped Dorothy, her pale blue eye wide. Trowa found himself feeling a tinge of jealousy at the flash of attraction he recognized in her eyes. She'd always had a thing for the older man.
"Brother?" Relena's quiet voice was full of amazement and she stared at her brother like he was a ghost that might simply vanish if she tried to touch him. "Relena…" None present could believe she could change faces so quickly… one moment ago, she'd been literally ready to rip that blasted man to pieces, and then the next… Her face had broken into a huge sunny smile as she ran past the fallen man to her brother, crushing Gabe as she hugged him around the neck. "Oh… I knew you'd wake up…" she buried her head into the hollow between his shoulder and his chest. He silently held her for a moment before she gathered herself up, facing the congregation again. "Let us discuss the issue at hand some other time shall we?"
The entire thing was wrapped up in five seconds and the room was emptied of the excess politicians and their bodyguards. Milliardo found himself staring at his sister, and at his son. How much had happened since he'd been in a coma? It had been months he supposed. And Noin? His thoughts turned dark… Noin was dead. He'd watched her die right in front of him, being almost ripped apart by those monsters. He could feel the ever-present hatred stirring again inside him as he thought of his wife's shining eyes, her ability to be blunt and still be alluring, how she'd always stood by him… He shook his head. She was gone… all he could do was take revenge for her death. He'd murder those two vampiresses that had killed her, if Relena hadn't already done so for him already. Lucrezia. I miss you, he thought despite his determination not to mourn. He would love her forever and he knew that… but he'd spent enough of his life feeling sorry for all the injustices in the world. With his sister's guidance, the world was on a fast track to complete peace.
Relena… was she still hunting vampires? Before 'that night' he'd been completely against it. He wanted nothing more than keeping his little sister safe from those demons. But it had done nothing. He had not been enough to protect the mansion when they'd attacked. He'd had enough trouble protecting Gabe and himself, and Noin… she had been swamped. She had been torn apart while she was still alive. They had ripped her beating heart from her chest and wrestled for it. The one who'd won it had crushed it between her fangs, drinking while the others attacked Noin's body… he shuddered.
"Brother? It's time to go…"
"Are you still working in the Preventers as a Demon-Hunter?"
"Yes."
"Do you have a… mission tonight?"
"Actually…" Dorothy was about to answer for her, but Relena inconspicuously shoved her elbow in her friends ribs, giving her a pointed look. She knew better than anyone what her brother would do if the truth got out about what was going to happen that night.
"Er… Miss Relena and I were going to have to settle with the paperwork tonight…" it was lame, but it was more believable than all the half-imagined scenes Relena had going through her head. The other three didn't help at all. They stayed as silent as stones. Milliardo nodded. "Good." Dorothy rubbed her side, glaring her wondrously cold glare at the innocent-looking Relena through her ice blue eyes.
Gabe looked at Relena confusedly, "But Auntie Lena I thought you—GLOUP!" because at this point, Relena had pulled a Chupa Chupe, from her pocket, ripped off the wrapper and shoved it in his mouth. "—had to go over to Dorothy's to do it? Yes actually, I did."
Milliardo's eyes narrowed, but at the moment, he was a little too drained to say much. Waking up after several months and then continuing on with normal activity was more than a normal man could handle. He was above average as it was.
"So, uh, let's go! We can have lunch together!" Relena cajoled tugging on her brother's arm and almost dragging him along toward the glass doors. Dorothy shrugged, taking Gabe's hand and taking a deep breath, took on the role as Duchess Catalonia very, very realistically. As soon as they passed through the doors, a cool look, and a multitude of pretty words flowed out of her mouth as the other three, playing the role of bodyguard to a T followed behind, without a need to say a word.
It was later that evening, when Milliardo and Gabe were back at home, did Relena and Dorothy carefully sneak the 'costumes' out and to Dorothy's mansion. The three ex-Gundam pilots had suffered through the day quietly, not enjoying the mass attention from the general population (perhaps with the exception of Quatre, who was used to being stuck in the spotlight) finally met up with Duo and Wufei at Dorothy's, amazing the girl's on how they knew. They never noticed Trowa slipping the cell phone back to Quatre behind their backs.
"Hey little Missy, let's see how sexy you can be!" Duo was annoyingly looking forward to Relena 'dressing down' and seeing the normally uptight princess play the role of a strip-tease artist. Same with Dorothy, on a different level.
"Duo, if you don't shut up, you're going to get your ass kicked." This shut up the braided boy quickly as the two blondes disappeared into Dorothy's bedroom, leaving the others to muse mindlessly (or… not) about how'd they'd look like. Duo offered to set up bets, but the offer was denied.
Finally, after an hour or so of waiting, the door opened. The five men, as nervous as if in a maternity ward waiting room, looked up simultaneously. Trowa felt his heart leap to his throat as Dorothy appeared dressed in a casino bunny costume, fishnet hose and all. The black spiked pumps heightened her until the top of her head was about level with Trowa's eyes. He swore the hallway's temperature had gone up a few hundred degrees. He was tongue-tied, but it didn't matter because he was well known to be silent. Always. For once he was thankful his reputation preceded him. For one thing, the black fabric, tight black leather in fact, hugged her body in places that he dared say they shouldn't. What looked like fishnet stockings (which looked amazingly good on her) covered her long legs, or at least looked like they were supposed to, originally. The desired effect was that they were just a ploy. The bunny rabbit ears that came from her black headband (which she hardly ever went without) matched the white puffball of a tail. That little blob of white made all eyes (whether they wanted to or not) turn to stare at it, and at (in Duo's words) Dorothy's fine ass.
"Should I be a dancer or a waitress?" she quipped, looking askance at them. When they didn't respond, she shrugged, "Waitress it is."
Duo finally got his voice back, "Damn you fine!"
Dorothy awarded him with a wry smile, "Thanks… I think…" Then, a thought suddenly sprang into her mind and she lunged for Heero, caught off-guard, and only just managed to dodge her, making her land on her feet behind him, grasping him by the arms and literally, holding him back in his chair. Apparently, Trowa's old acrobat lessons had paid off, she thought as she kept him from struggling. "Got rope?" she asked between clenched teeth as she held him with all her might and main until Duo came to help her out, figuring out what was going to happen.
"What the hell are you doing?!" ground out Heero as he struggled against the two of them, the others merely watching the interesting spectacle… until Relena walked out. Then all eyes turned, and Heero simply froze into a likeness of stone as he stared. Relena came out wearing just about enough shiny red leather to (if together) would make about a small miniskirt. As it was, if Milliardo had been there, he would have had a heart attack and probably fallen into another coma. There was really no reason to go into detail, because it left Relena looking almost half-dressed… and she still managed to pull it off with the word "alluring" still intact and the word "slutty" not even in sight, despite the outfit which, by itself certainly would have screamed the word.
Dorothy was right in restraining Heero because, once the paralysis of shock was overcome, he looked ready to spit fire as he struggled against them with all his might and main while Relena shifted uncomfortably in the red leather… thing, incidentally showing even more skin than she needed to. And it drove Heero Yuy almost to the brink of insanity as he thought even dressing up Duo would've been better than seeing Relena in clothes that would drive not only him, but any red-blooded man insane with desire. It was only when Dorothy dumped a glassful of alcohol down his throat did he manage to calm down enough. Relena smiled rather wryly, "Damn, I need a collar and leash for you."
Dorothy perked up, "Spiked?"
"Definitely." Relena replied airily as Heero grimaced and backed away slowly and carefully, so as not to seem afraid. She grinned again, "Quit running Yuy, it's the truth, you guys have to change."
"Why?" protested Quatre, completely at home in his own clothes. Custom-tailored and perfectly neat as it was.
"Because, you all just scream 'I'm a cop, I've got a gun!'" she replied matter-of-factly as she began ushering them into one of Dorothy's many rooms. "You've got guys' clothes in here, right?"
"Plenty."
"Uh… why?" asked Duo, knowing full well she lived alone, except for her own servants.
"They're for my personal harem," she deadpanned before answering seriously, "They're mostly Trowa's."
Trowa stopped short and gaped, literally at his ex-girlfriend. "What?!"
"You heard me. You never dropped by to pick up the stuff, and I never saw much of you for a while so I couldn't offer them back."
For a moment, she looked almost vulnerable as she readjusted the bunny ears on her headband, "They're yours, and a few things of… other guys who cared even less than you did about me." Then she was all icy and prickly again as she strode into the room, gathering the things that Trowa recognized as his own.
Only then did a com-link suddenly flash on the screen. Relena, grasping a shirt and slipping it on to cover most of what she was wearing sped towards calling to Dorothy, "I'll get it!"
As soon as she turned it on however, she immediately regretted it. There was Hilde and Sally, looking rather enraged. "Let me get this straight… you're taking our boyfriends and bringing them to a strip joint?!" asked Hilde, glaring.
"Er… how did you learn that?"
"We work at the same place you do," replied Sally rather pointedly.
"Well, they asked to come and frankly, I figured we could use a few extra hands when it came to finding those two troublemakers."
"Relena, you realize that this is Duo you're talking about. He, being the wonderful, carefree, but sex-obsessed guy he is and a strip joint are not two things I want to put together!"
Relena buckled beneath Hilde's intimidating glare meekly and said rather slowly, "Hilde-girl, the guy loves you. No way he's gonna do anything with anyone else, I'll see to that."
"Same with Wufei, you hear?" demanded Sally, eyes looking for anything suspicious.
"Do you really need to worry about that prude?" asked Relena, raising an eyebrow and laughing at the image it conjured in her head of Wufei ever doing something without thinking out the honor in doing such things thereof. Sally allowed a small smile, "I'll give you that one," she said grudgingly.
Relena had it in the bag, "Don't worry! Your guys are safe."
Hilde frowned one last time, "If I find out anything different…!" she cut the connection leaving the threat open. Relena smiled, "Being a politician has its perks, few as they may be." With that, she turned and continued dressing herself. She still looked too much like Relena Peacecraft Dorlian to be comfortable. Thank goodness for new technology! The thin red choker she wore around her neck safely hid the computer chip that warped her voice and changed it completely. Armed with colored contacts, she appeared in the guys' 'dressing room' a violet-eyed brunette.
All turned to stare at the girl in the men's shirt (she was still wearing). Dorothy grinned, "So you put your time away from these guys to good use! Glad to see!"
"It'll be your turn soon enough," replied Relena, her voice full and throaty, completely different from her usual. She tapped the choker, "Great technology these days wouldn't you say so?" Dorothy nodded, pulling out her own. Black, it had a little golden charm in the center, a small teardrop. "I almost forgot, you do think of everything Miss Relena!" she pulled the thing on, after pressing a few infinitesimal buttons on it with the point of a pin. When she put it on, her voice took on a British accent, disguising her own completely. She then proceeded to enter the bathroom, leaving the rest of dressing up the ex-gundam pilots to Relena. She reappeared looking stunning with long raven hair even longer than it was naturally, and green eyes that so rivaled Trowa's that it seemed impossible that they could be fake.
She posed in the doorway, like a fashion model might on the runway. She didn't flaunt anything however, she made a mockery of those models as Relena whistled loudly, before bursting out laughing. "We'd better hurry." Frowning at Quatre, Dorothy unbuttoned the first few buttons on his white button-down shirt and smiled. "Better. You look much sexier." And so he did, Quatre, despite being so adorable, had always had that look about him. Perhaps it came from being a gundam pilot… it seemed the trait carried to the others as well. Relena disposed of the shirt and pulled on a black overcoat that went to her knees tying it round her waist securely as Dorothy found a dark blue duster for herself. Soon enough, they were off and took one of Dorothy's 'I-only-keep-it-because-it-might-come-in-handy-someday' cars. It was perfect for the 'undercover' look as they headed off for downtown.
Incidentally, a huge lumbering figure watched them go from the bushes, dried blood matting its long dirty fur and clawed hands gripping at the dirt beneath them, flexing and relaxing in turn. "Care—ful… you. Trouble. Rozlin. Tonight." It rumbled softly, the human words coming out foreign and strange on its tongue. It lumbered away into the distance, and into the darkness. It had other people to watch and look for.
They stopped finally in front of a rather dirty building with flashing neon lights, and a blinking cat in neon in the window, dressed in a little black dress. Relena and Dorothy were the first to enter, warning the others to park the car somewhere close enough to get to quickly, but hidden if they could. As soon as they entered, they were instantly bombarded, the manager looked ready to explode, his face red. "You two are late!" he exclaimed as he immediately ushered them towards the inside, "I don't like this plan, Madam, if I do say so myself. Don't like the business, if you know what I mean, but y'know, I ain't got nowhere else to go…"
"If you can keep this quiet, you'll probably be given a good chance of surviving. You and this… joint."
"Thank'ye, Madam, pleasure t'help ye it is." Relena smiled, "Good." Strolling in with the saunter and the swaying hips she fell into her element. She'd learned from the best after all. And the best was standing there next to her, surveying the room through her thick lowered eyelashes. Immediately, she went for the back of the bar, where she'd been stationed and Relena mingled on the 'dance floor' in the center, ignoring the other girls clustered around the edges, she went straight for the center, looking for anyone she thought was 'not right'. They were usually the most beautiful you could find. After a few minutes of fruitless searching, but enough sultry looks thrown at random men as to keep herself from blowing her cover, she noticed nothing more than Duo stumbling towards the bar, playing the part of 'drunk but sexy as hell' perfectly. Only if you looked carefully enough did you notice his eyes were stone cold sober and they were surveying the room looking for that 'feel' experienced vampire hunters develop after a long while of hunting.
Dorothy was having a hassle as she juggled between 'entertaining' a man at the bar and scouting for anyone suspicious. They were always the slipperiest ones to catch. They couldn't be seen. From descriptions on their looks, she knew a few basic details that could be said for about half the population of the place and the known fact that they were ethereally beautiful. Great.
Heero Yuy never went in at all, he was too busy haunting the alleyways around the club, eyes and ears perked for the tiniest movements, usually from the few alley cats digging through the garbage. Finally, he heard voices. "Do you really suppose we should continue coming here? Someone might suspect you know."
"Where else d'you think we can get some excitement in our lives? The Queen wouldn't allow it."
"What is she planning to do? She was after that princess…"
"She… sh, do you hear something?"
"Fresh blood?" asked the other and Heero could feel the man's bloodlust and was disgusted.
"No, probably another one of those stupid cats… enough, let's go in and catch us a good time before we eat."
"Always the one to play with your food before you eat it, aren't you?" The two of them entered the strip joint without another word said.
Heero followed them, with sure, silent footsteps. As much as he wanted to be rid of them here and now, he knew Relena would be as mad as a she-demon if she found out he'd stolen her assignment. And a she-demon was one of the few things he'd met in his career of Hunting, and wished to avoid completely. He entered and was immediately holding some girl in his arms, but he just as quickly, with a suave charm he had learned he possessed (as much as he disliked it, despite the scrapes it had gotten him out of) he placed her somewhere else.
Dorothy was at his side in an instant, "Any news?" she hissed quickly before, in a louder voice, "A drink for you, baby?" she asked in a voice that sent a delicious shiver down his spine despite himself. Dorothy was in her element… she was the best. And he knew, even though she had never been his type. She was a little on the too outspoken side. Any other person might've said the same about Relena Peacecraft. But in reality, Relena didn't just state her opinions, her persuasive manner (that appeared no matter how many times she denied anything other than crystal clear fact) and her assurance that all she said was truth was a completely different story.
"The two that just came in before me. The one with the long hair and the one with the weird shirt." It was weird all right, even for a guy's standards. It was neon green and with large orange Hawaiian flowers printed on it. It was also very, very ugly. "Got it."
"No, I don't want a drink, I'm waiting for someone." He continued, keeping up the act. She smiled, and with a purr reverberating in her throat, she smiled, green eyes gleaming, "Well, if they stand you up, I'll still be waiting, honey." She sauntered away, incidentally towards where Relena was. Gripping the girl's arm, she passed inches from her ear as she danced along with the beat of the music, "I'll be nice and let you have the guy with the long hair. I'll take the guy with no fashion taste."
"I owe you one."
"You got it." she smiled as she swayed her hips, sliding against some guy behind her and continued to slowly wander in the direction of the guy at the bar. Drinking from a shot glass as it was, and with some girl in his lap. Dorothy sauntered over, leaning back against the wood paneling of the bar and turned towards the girl in the guy's lap. "Hey, manager's looking for you… I'll keep your seat warm if you want…" she said, with a certain look through her eyelashes. The man grinned and slapped the other girl's butt, "Don't worry gal, I'll be waiting for you to get back though."
Dorothy immediately slid on the vacated seat on the man's lap, being sure to give him a view of what she had to offer first off. Raking fingernails through his hair, she purred, "So baby, you looking for someone?" The guy was literally putty in her hands. How on earth could the Preventers not have killed this guy? He was mere cannon fodder, naive and stupid.
"I think I just found you." He answered, his one hand wandering up and down her leg, his other gripping her ass, as he continued to stare at her chest. She could literally feel Trowa's eyes on her as she played on the seduction scene. Should she lead him…? No, not yet, it was too soon. "So what do you do for a living? A lover of pleasure?" she asked, suggestively.
"Soldier for the Queen." he said before adding hurriedly, "Queen Relena, I meant."
"Relena? You mean the Vice Foreign Minister?"
"Hey, I don't like girls that talk too much..." he said, his hand moving from her leg up her abdomen to her chest, squeezing hard enough for it to hurt, but she managed to moan just right for it to do the job. "Ohh… you must work well with your hands..." she said, as her own hand reached down lower to grasp the hardness she felt pressing into her hip. She felt his breath catch.
"Can you get off work anytime soon?"
"I can take a break if you want it… a very long break."
"Then let's go."
Perfect… now Lena, if you're as good as I know you are, you'dve caught the hint. She did, she was already heading for the door with the other man. The others were following, and she could see a look of veiled rage on Heero's face as he watched Relena's antics. She never noticed Trowa's.
Only when they got out did she finally let him begin nuzzling her throat, waiting for that moment. He would probably want sex first before he drank from her. Unless he liked screwing dead women… She shook away that thought away because at that moment, the contact and the feeling of the blood rushing through her veins proved a little too much and his fangs lengthened as he reared back to bite her. At that moment, she grasped a stake she'd had hidden in the alleyway right behind her, and slammed it towards his chest. It should've been easy. But it wasn't. As if he'd expected it, he swiped it away, smacking her face along with it, making her fly to the ground, the wind temporarily knocked out of her. "So you found out my little secret… too bad you won't live long enough to tell anyone…" Dorothy growled, kicking off the torture items that were known as high heels and landed a roundhouse kick on his jaw as she spun herself to her feet. His face smashed into the brick of the wall.
"AGH! Dammit you bitch!" he growled, swiping at her, dirt-encrusted fingernails swiftly becoming talons. Whatever idiot he was in dressing, he was quite good in battle experience… Dodging a side-sweep that would've knocked her off her feet and come crashing down on the white puffball that was attached to her ass, she jumped up, gaining enough height to shove a foot hard into his nose, breaking it a second time. A pity she hadn't still worn one shoe, she might've shoved it through his brain. But they were too risky, she might wrench an ankle and she would be in a fix!
Just as she was dropping from her jump, she found herself hurled against the wall, his large clawed hand crushing her windpipe against the wall as she kicked him in vain. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to stop tearing at his hand holding her and landed a solid punch at his own throat. Not stopping at that, her legs came up, grabbing him in a scissors-lock and twisted the lower half of her body. In a normal man, it would've snapped there neck. With a vampire, there was just enough pain to make him loose his hold on her, allowing her to rip his hand off her throat, and she smashed her heel into his face as she landed, gasping for breath.
Her lungs on fire, she grasped the wood of the stake she'd been holding and whirled, hoping to slam it in his chest if he was still down. Of course, luck was not with her and he was up and towering over her. She was at a height disadvantage as he kicked the stake out of her hand, crushing it with the heel of his boot. "You little bitch. Did you really believe that you could beat the Queen's warriors by yourself?" he hissed, eyes glowing a dark red color. He was mad, and the multiple wounds she'd inflicted on him, made his face even more grotesque.
Forget what she'd thought earlier. He didn't have good battle experience, he had excellent battle experience. And she was on the losing side, even though it wasn't by much. The others would be helping Relena, them always being the overprotected guys of the princess that they were. I guess being Duchess, a total bitch, and a past enemy does give you a disadvantage, she thought as she flung herself back in a back flip that she'd learned in the acrobatics that Trowa and Cathy had taught her way back when. She landed heavily on her feet, stepping in something she shuddered to thing about. The lack of shoes was a bitch to handle when fighting for your life in an alley at night. She kept herself silent, not liking to speak other than when absolutely necessary. It was wasting breath on this scum, breath she'd rather use to beat the crap out of them… if she survived this, that is. Wiping a line of sweat trickling down the side of her face, she kept her eyes on her adversary, not looking away. He was good… too good. She didn't like how this was going… A soft growl reverberated in her throat, this guy was pissing her off big time.
"What, too scared to answer me, little girl? Come on you little whore, you know what you were trying to do."
Anger surged up again and she snapped, "And you know you were putty in my hands. You in all your neon-orange and green splendor." The vampire's face turned red before lunging at her, fangs sparking in the sudden moonlight. They were out of the alley, and right near the door of the club. This was not good, someone might see. She managed to shove a fist into the guy's windpipe, nearly crushing it and making him lose his momentum. He fell to the ground, coughing and gagging. Grabbing a silver knife from a pocket in her costume (God knows where) she fell into a dive roll that would have allowed her to shove it in his chest and roll out of the way of the cloud of ashes that would explode momentarily.
Of course… things did not happen that way as she found out. With a powerful arm, he grabbed her and flung her to the ground, straddling her stomach and pinning her arms down as she kicked his back in vain. "Get OFF me!" she yelled straining to buck him off. He grabbed the wooden hilt of the silver knife in his hand, drawing languid figure eight's around her chest area as she struggled against him. "You recall I wanted a night of wild sex and pleasure, and I intend to get it whether or not you're dead or alive." Dorothy felt her normally pale skin pale even more. This was not good…
"NO! Let GO of me!"
"Shut it," he growled, bearing down on her, fangs snapping close to her neck. The situation seemed desperate… But he bore down on her, she smacked her head upwards, knocking his backwards, his grip loosening just the slightest bit. Tearing her arms away from him, she grasped the knife in her hand, shoving it towards his heart… he blocked it!
Swearing under her breath, she lunged rather desperately. Missed him! She was up now, and she was armed only with a rather small knife against this… thing. Close combat came again, she sliced open his flesh in several places, but absolutely nowhere vital. He didn't seem to be slowing… there! With a practiced slash, the knife slid through the side of his neck, encountered his spine and severed it with only an application of slightly more force and continued going. Blood flew into her face as the now dead vampire's head flew off its body, falling to the ground rolling several times. The rest of its body fell to the floor, draining the sticky red liquid of a previous victim and lay there for a moment, before it and the head exploded into ashes. Slipping several times in the slick liquid, she made her way slowly out of the alleyway, her body covered in blood, her clothes almost in tatters. A figure approached her at a run, and for a second she thought it was the long-haired vampire and she felt ready to drop to her knees in both fatigue and frustration… she could not handle another one tonight… all she wanted to do was curl up and sleep.
"Dorothy!" It was Duo, and her heart flooded with relief. She wouldn't be fighting him anytime soon… she literally fell against his chest, legs crumpling. He didn't seem to care about all the blood smearing onto his own clothing he looked extremely worried. "Wow, sorry there was no one there… we all kind of figured Trowa was coming here for you, and Quatre's coming too. He got stuck in the club in some bar fight that dragged him into it… Relena was barely able to keep the other guy at bay and the rest of us had to help out before it would go down… she was mad as hell though when we did… Did you take down that other guy by yourself?"
During all his chatter, Dorothy had been fighting to stay conscious. "Yeah… he was… harder than I thought… he would be…" she managed to say. Duo was immediately worried, "Did he do anything? Are you hurt anywhere at all? Is this your blood?"
"No… his… he already fed tonight… I'm fine… just tired."
"I should think you'd be tired! Hell that other guy was tough! C'mon, let's get you to the others." But she couldn't walk, she was already asleep. Sighing, Duo pulled her into a piggyback as he headed for the meeting spot. Her limp arms slowly came around his neck in a soft hug, and the sleeping girl murmured something, "Trowa… love you… 'Night." Duo would have cheerfully brought a knife to his friend's throat to ask why he had left his girl all alone to fight some vampire all by herself! To think he'd dropped this girl so harshly, and to think that Miss Ice Queen Duchess Catalonia could love a jerk like the resident circus clown so much was beyond him. Trowa had been a jerk tonight, and he had been for a long while whenever she was near. Why, the braided boy could not figure out. Something was extremely wrong with the guy.
Who would let someone like Dorothy get away?
~*~*~*~
End of chapter! I finished it! I'm sorry if you thought it would go a little more than that… hey, I'm not that old y'know, I don't make it a hobby to check out strip clubs. Anyway the muse thing. If you've read any of my other fics, you would've found out it's in all of them. That's because only ONE person read my author's fic! And it's about my friends and I out to find my muses! *sniff* Please, read and review it! Please?! And review this fic too, don't forget that!