Title: Dorothy: Vampire Slayer
Author: GundamNymph
Rating: R
Pairings?: Bit of 5xM? Er, 6x9?
!!!WARNING!!! More Character Deaths and 'Deaths'.
Music: Currently
The Soundtrack for 'Vampire Princess Miyu' (saw the series AFTER getting cd. BEAUTIFUL music. Nice and haunting)
'Hero' From the Movie SpiderMan
'The Princess Diaries' soundtrack. Don't ask. O___O;
'Sailor Moon' Soundtrack. Again, DON'T ASK! You don't want to know! ^_^;
DAMMIT! Why can't I use tab?!!!!!!! *growls* **************************************************************************** ********
~ooOoo~
The war was ruthless from the beginning. The thing about vampires, is that when they turn you, there is the SLIGHTESS chance you can come back with your spirit and soul intact. Oh, you'd still be a vampire, despising sunlight (you could still walk in it but it would be painful), have retractable talons and teeth, a craving for blood to keep you alive and there was always the great temptation to go Bad and demonic. It was always there, but if you were strong enough, you could fight it.
Problem is, the majority of new vampires came out as they were intended to be: ruthless, cruel demons. We don't know if the person that once occupied the body is still in there somewhere, pushed roughly to the back of their body's existence, witnessing the cruel deeds; or if they were dead, sent to the Heavens, or doomed in Hell. We tried not to think about it much. It was so painful.
Once we told the public, the trouble started. People were in denial that their turned loved ones were demons. They hoped, and believed that they had survived somehow. We knew this would happen, but we couldn't just NOT tell them. They had a right to know, and it was something that could save them.
There was an ensuing chaos. Many people died. Including children after an attack on a school. It was a nightmare, really. One of the teacher's sisters had been turned, and they were under the thinking that she had survived. She hadn't. And when she'd been Invited back into the school for work, it was a free for all for the vampires in the vicinity. The teacher died protecting his nine year old daughter. Even the little girl didn't survive the attack.
But we always hoped, somewhere deep inside, that our loved ones survived. We didn't know HOW it happened. An act of God, to help us? A hope to help us get through? Maybe it was genetics. We don't know, but we pray every minute of every day, that we won't have to kill them, that they would survive.
***ooOoo***
"Trowa?"
The silent teenager turned to Dorothy, and nodded that he was listening.
"I need a death sensor on that building."
Trowa didn't answer, but went back to his laptop. Dorothy rolled her eyes. She would have thought that Cathy and Helen would beat him out of his silence.
Hopefully, the death sensor that Heero had developed would pick up any vampires on their way in. Noin sat up front with Zechs, driving as he read the map.
"How close are we?"
Ice blue eyes looked up, as a white finger tapped the screen. "According to this, three and a quarter miles."
Dorothy nodded, and sat back down between Trowa and Sally. There were only five of them. Any more might endanger the mission.
She sighed, looking over Trowa's shoulder to gaze at the readouts. Quatre had always wanted to take her to his cabin in New England. He had thought it would be relaxing for her to get away from the pain for a while. It would have been just the two of them. And she had wondered if his thoughts had been completely pure.
There was a slight blip on the screen, and she sat up.
"Vampire?"
"It appears to have been a miscalculation."
She could here the 'but' in this.
"But?"
"But Heero's program is flawless."
"What do you think?"
Trowa's green eyes narrowed as he studied the screen, face lit by violet and blue light.
"A scout. It is possible they are already on the move, and are checking out how many of us there are. They could be following us, not knowing where the serum's exact location is."
After working with the tall boy for so long, she could hear a thought or two of his from time to time.
"Or?"
He met her eyes grimly. "Or, Duo's theory was right. They can turn animals into vampires."
Sally leaned over, not liking where this was going. "What do you mean?"
"Duo and Hilde had a theory after an encounter on a mission of his. It was a timber wolf. It appeared to have a higher intelligence then most animals. It attacked them in a way that made them come to believe that animals could become vampirized."
Noin glanced over her shoulder. "But if that's true."
Dorothy was staring at the screen. "We're in deep shit."
Trowa titled his head to the side. "We don't know what an animal could change into with that kind of DNA and blood change. They COULD become smarter, thinking like a human, if our theories on demonic vampires are correct. But if not, it's possible they won't know about Turning. They might not be able to turn other animals OR humans. They'd just have the blood craving, and vampiric tendencies."
Dorothy frowned. "I still say, either way we're in deep shit."
Amused green eyes met hers. "I'd say we are."
A soft snort came from the otherwise quiet Zechs.
***ooOoo***
Wufei stared at the gardens with trepidation. Sylvia Noventa was still in her office, gathering important documents on new technology. He had been assigned to escort her after the attack on Quatre. She was another strong ally.
He walked cat like into the office. There she was, bending over her safes, dressed in a violet suit. It was times like this she reminded him of Relena. Other times, she usually reminded him of Hilde. She turned to face him.
"What is it?"
"Can you remember what is on most of those documents?"
Her eyes shifted about the room, thinking. "Quite a few."
Wufei frowned, thinking.
She held up a disk that had been tucked into her bra. "But most of the stuff is on here. Only Heero can access it."
Wufei smiled briefly at her, before swiping the disk for himself. Sylvia had begun acting towards Heero much like Catherine had acted towards Trowa. Mothering him, acting as surrogate sister.
"Okay, then let's bomb the place."
Her widened as he proceeded to set fire to the papers on the floor.
"But.can't we take them with us?!"
Wufei didn't even look at her as he pulled out a cylinder from his pocket. Sylvia didn't know what it was, but she was sure it had a LOT of fire power.
"We're being surrounded. We have maybe a five minute window at most."
"Damn. I thought we had longer."
"Apparently, Intelligence was incorrect."
Tan fingers played with one of the ends before he set it on the desk. The fire had spread to her chair and curtains. Sylvia quickly stepped out of her high heeled shoes, and followed Wufei out the door.
"Which way?" Obsidian eyes searched around.
Sylvia started running to the garden maze, and he followed. With his ears strained as they were, he could here the vampires cursing as they found the fire. A sadistic smile lit his face as the Kelic Bomb went off, even as they were thrown to the ground.
Neither said a word, and just got up and started running again. As they reached the center, Wufei saw her run towards the center where a large shrub sat. She motioned for him to help her lift it. He lifted an eyebrow, but complied. The shrub was heavy, but sat on top a trap door. Wufei quickly swung it open, practically shoving her in there. He followed, closing the door with minimal difficulty. He HAD been a Gundam Pilot.
It was a long dirt tunnel. He pulled out his Lighter, and could faintly see Sylvia making her way south. He followed, and a while later, they started to go up. She pointed to the side where a niche was. Curious, he looked inside.and up to see a wooden base. There was JUST enough room for him to squeeze through.
He lifted the trapdoor carefully, looking through tall grass. They had come out near a highway in the woods, in front of a Shinto shrine. The coast seemed clear, and he emerged. He helped Sylvia, and then closed the door. This time a statue sat on top.
"How far are we?"
"I'm not too sure. Couple of miles?" She was bent over, trying to catch her breath.
Wufei nodded, and started to hurry into the forest. Sylvia hurried after him, trying to breath evenly. Damn Gundam Pilots. They had WAY too much energy.
Twenty minutes later they were surrounded. After killing about his share of demons, he saw Sylvia go down. He watched her pull out a grenade he had given her early that morning, detonate it as she gave him a grim smile. The blast knocked him and the others down.
Soon he was up again, swinging his katana. He managed to take out the lot of them. It was as he made his way further into the forest, that he was hit from behind.
***ooOoo***
"What's the matter, Trowa?"
Green eyes met her. "Wufei's down."
"Shit." Noin didn't know HOW he did it, but he was usually right.
She turned to Dorothy. "Well?"
"He said it was north of here. But."
"Yeah.but WHERE?"
All eyes turned to focus on Trowa and Dorothy.
"You both knew him best."
Dorothy nodded at Zechs wisdom, but wish it weren't true. It was so HARD to sort through Quatre's memories, when he had died nearly 48 hours ago. She glanced at Trowa, and immediately felt short. The boy had grown even more, and was almost as tall as Zechs. She came up to his collar bone.
She swept her eyes over the 'clutter' of the room.
"Did Quatre ever mention what he wanted to do if you ever got here?"
Dorothy blinked at him, thinking.
"Well, he mentioned quite a few things."
Trowa frowned. "Anything that had a lot of meaning to him. Special? That he wanted to share with you?"
As she gazed at a picture on the wall, it hit her. "The Lake. He said it was beautiful. It was like an aurora borealis during the day when the sun rose and set. A lot of the activities he mentioned were at the Lake."
Trowa strode over to the picture she stared at, focusing on it. A nimble finger traced a cove that had creepers hanging over it. "There."
"Why there?" Sally asked.
"See the lilac bushes?"
All nodded.
"They aren't native to this particular area. They're common in New England, but this soil doesn't exactly support their growth in this forest. Quatre mentioned he had planted them in hopes that Dorothy would be able to come with him someday. Helen helped him plant it when she was visiting friends in Vermont."
He turned an amused, but sad eye on Dorothy. "He said they matched your eyes perfectly."
"Wait. I don't get it. How did they survive?" Sally asked.
"Helen helped him pick out a soil that was compatible to the kind here, but would support the flower. That whole clearing is covered in it."
"You sure that's it?"
Trowa turned to face Zechs. "You're the one who said we knew him best."
Zechs nodded, and they headed out.
***ooOoo***
Wufei woke. Every fiber of his being seemed to be on fire. Why did it BURN so much?
He focused his eyes around him. Candles littered the room he was in, and he was on some sort of bed. A vampire flanked either side of him, hands on his arms. He looked down weakly to see their talons deeps in his wrists. Blood seemed to be all over him.
He was sickened to see that they had wounds on their throats. He nearly threw up when he tasted the blood in his mouth. It tasted a bit like human blood, only it was bitter sweet and had a spicy tang to it. It was hot, burning almost like molten lava.
Working up on saliva in his mouth, he managed to spit what liquid was left in his mouth at the closest vampire. The said vampire howled in surprise, backing away. Apparently they weren't used to their prey waking up. The other vampire backed away as well, when Wufei sat up. Lord, even his EYES were burning.
No way in HELL was he going to turn into one of those THINGS!
Wufei looked down at the gashes on his wrist, and without thought, hooked a finger under the torn skin, and yanked it back. He bit through his lip from the pain and couldn't keep back a shriek, but managed to lengthen the gash so that it was now to his elbow. Reaching into the wound, he pulled out what could have passed for a huge toothpick. It was polished, slightly thicker at one end, and was about four inches long.
Using the last of his strength, he plunged it through his heart. Obviously what the miniature stake was for.
***ooOoo***
Wufei could only guess this was what a druggie felt like when high. Whirls of white, color and air surrounded him, as he continued down this spiral. All at once, it was like he was coming to a stop AND going faster, as a figure danced in front his eyes.
The figure came into focus, and if could breathe, he would have gasped.
The figure tilted her head, amused, but truly gay at seeing him. (as in happy, folks. NOT yuri or yaoi)
"Husband."
Meiran greeted him. The wife he hadn't seen since she died when he was fourteen, riding Shenlong to battle.
***ooOoo***
Sally made the call as Dorothy studied the plant.
The many flowers were a cross between a violet and bright blue. A finger reached out to caress a blossom. She had never seen this shade on a lilac before. Either Quatre somehow crossbred them, or it was a rare color and he had paid expensively for it. Maybe she should ask Helen next time she saw the artist?
Sally snapped her phone shut. "Lady is sending a helicopter. We have twenty minutes to get it and get out of here. According to Bento, the vampires are massing at the mountains base. They're camp was just taken."
Dorothy nodded, and looked at Trowa. Together with Noin and Sally, they began to search the area while Zechs set up a perimeter. Half the motion sensors were already in place.
Eyeing something on a tree, Sally called them over.
"What is it?"
Sally turned to Noin. "I don't know, but it might be something."
Trowa and Dorothy eyed the lines carved into the tree. He fingered the lines, trying to make out the design. His eyes widened.
"What is it?" Dorothy didn't like the way he tensed.
"This is not Quatre's doing."
"WHAT?" Sally and Noin joined them in staring at the odd doodles meticulously.
Noin eyed him. "Then who did it?"
"Helen."
Dorothy stared at him. "Helen was in on this? Or was she just.?"
Trowa shook his head, and though he showed no emotion, Dorothy knew he was worried about his friend.
"Helen was what Duo would call a nature nut. She grew up in New England with great appreciation for trees. The only thing about nature I think she loved more was rain. She wouldn't have done this if she didn't have to."
"How do you know it's her?"
"They're Hieroglyph's. She went through some sort of Egyptian faze two summers ago. About the same time I'm guessing Quatre buried the Lilacs. And here." he fingered something in Chinese at the base of the doodles. "It's her Online name."
Sally frowned. "I did some field work in Africa a few years back. Those really don't look much like Hieroglyphs."
Trowa gave a ghost of a smile. "These aren't the doodles you're used to, Sally, nor are they the cartoon like ones. These are genuine. It's from the little known notes of the original Hieroglyph's. It's called Rakhigi, from the Archaeologist that made that discovery ten years ago in a temple found in Giza."
Dorothy gave a humorless smile. "She was always thorough. What set it off that time?"
Trowa raised an eyebrow. "I think it was after a movie she saw. Either that, or an anime." He shrugged.
Dorothy sobered. Hilde and Helen had gotten on pretty well after they found out that they were both obsessed with anime.and quite a few other things, too. She probably doesn't even know that Hilde's dead yet, she thought.
"Can you read it?"
Trowa nodded. "Just give me a couple of seconds."
After a moment of studying the scratches, "Dorothy."
"Hmm?" She leaned closer, and Sally and Noin watched as they put they're heads together.
Noin's radio beeped. Alarmed, she picked it up and moved away from the trio. "Zechs?"
"The lower motion sensors have gone off." Came the static reply.
Noin paled. "How long?!"
A pause. "Ten minutes."
Noin fretted.
"How much more time do you need?"
"Trowa and Dorothy are working on translating something."
"How much time?" he repeated.
Noin glanced over. Trowa was staring right back at her. She raised an eyebrow, and he nodded to Dorothy who was scouting near the bushes.
"They finished translating it. If we don't have to do anything else, we might be done in five or ten."
Silence. Then, "Keep me updated, Noin."
"Understood."
She turned it off and walked over to Sally. "How are they doing?"
"Dorothy's searching for it. Something about a clue only she'd know abou-"
"Trowa! I'm seeing more of your girlfriend's chicken scratches here!"
Trowa chose not to comment on that, and hurried over. Noin turned to Sally, raising an eyebrow.
"Since when does TROWA have a girlfriend?"
Sally smirked. "As far as I know, he doesn't. Cathy and the other girls never seemed to think so."
Noin was amused. "And what about Helen?" She had only met the girl once, and it had left an impression. The girl had been so much like Une, yet at the same time, not. Both in appearance AND personality. Noin barely remembered Lady Une before her transformation during the war, but meeting the girl Trowa worked with at the circus, had brought back those few memories.
Sally laughed. "Head over heels in love with him."
Noin raised both eyebrows. "Really?"
"Either that or a puppy crush. But she thinks Trowa was meant to be with Cathy."
"Hmm. Interesting."
"I know."
She reached down, and flicked her radio on.
"Zechs?"
A pause. "Yeah?"
"We found another 'note'. It may be a bit longer. How are you doing?"
"They've been working towards the second sensors. They're just beginning to go off."
"Shit."
"How much time do we have before the chopper comes?"
Noin glanced at her watch. "Roughly nine minutes."
"How are they doing?"
Noin glanced over. "They're looking again. Trowa managed to translate it again."
"Keep me updated."
"I will."
Noin turned to Sally, worried. "Do you think we can pull this off?"
Sally gave her a stern glance. "We have to. The serum the scientists are working with is only a copy. We'll need the original, if this goes to hell."
Noin sighed. "I just hope those traps will keep them at bay."
Sally laid a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "Zechs isn't easy to kill. He'll be fine."
Dark navy blues stared back at her. "I know that. But it's not impossible."
"Noin! Sally!"
They hurried over to where Trowa and Dorothy were crouched near a fox den. As they crouched down, they could see that it had been turned into a shrine.to the Blessed Mother. Both women turned to them.
"Helen's work. The vial should be here somewhere. Dorothy?"
The blond leaned forward, blocking their view. When she came out and sat back on her haunches, a small wooden box rested in her hands.
"It seems the whole area was blessed so that no vampire could enter." Trowa was frowning.
"What is it?"
"What if the vampires knew this?" Narrowed green eyes met Noin's.
Her eyes widened. "Shit."
Sally gave a dry smile. "I don't think you should swear in the presence of The Lady."
Noin ignored her, as she got her radio out. "ZECHS."
A moment passed, before he came on, slightly out of breath. "What?"
"We were expected!"
"What do you mean?"
"We found the serum. The place it was kept was a Catholic shrine in a fox den. Trowa believes Helen had the whole area blessed."
Silence for a moment while that sunk in. Then colorful words that made the hair on the back of her neck raise.
"Where are you?"
"Running in your direction."
"The vampires?!"
"They got through the east sensors without my knowing. They must have used the trees."
"Are you okay? Can you make it?"
"I'm fine. I'll be there in three. STAY THERE."
Noin shut off the radio and turned to Sally. "Get Une on, find out WHERE the chopper is. Trowa! How wide is the radius?! We got less then three minutes."
He turned around in a circle, eyeing the area.
"Fifteen feet."
"How the hell do you know that?"
He pointed to a small clump of flowers, nearly invisible under the leaves of baby trees surrounding a larger tree. They appeared to be mini roses. The kind you saw at the garden counter at Wal-mart.
Noin sighed.
"Remind me to kiss that girlfriend of yours, Trowa."
He raised an eyebrow at her, as if to say 'You, too?'.
Sally shut her phone, and sent them a grim look. She was clearly upset.
"What is it?"
"Chopper should be here in six."
"I repeat, WHAT IS IT?"
Sally gave a deep breath, trying to center herself. "Wufei has been taken and Sylvia Noventa is dead."
"Damn it!"
"NOIN."
Noin pulled up her radio. "What?"
"I'm coming through with at least twenty on my heels."
"We're ready."
She turned to Trowa. "Take care of the serum. Dorothy, take up behind him. Sally, get ready for him to come flying through."
Seconds later, the lithe blond exploded through the foliage. He ran until he was next to Noin, and stopped. Then he turned, and they watched as the vampires came next. True to Trowa's word, as soon as the vampires passed the roses, they imploded into ashes and screams.
Zechs turned an amused eye to Trowa.
"Remind me to kiss your friend when we get out of this."
How Trowa refrained from glaring, Sally didn't know.
Zechs turned to Sally. "Chopper?"
"Three minutes."
"Landing?"
Sally sighed. "Cove back by the Lake."
Zechs whistled. "Damn."
He waited a moment while the remaining vampires glared at them.
"That can't be all of them, but we have to get going."
Trowa nodded, having already hidden the box. Where? No one had a damn clue. The boy was wearing snug forest BDU bottoms and his trademark turtleneck. It WAS possible they were in his boots.
He pulled out a retractable sword, and looked at Zechs, waiting.
Zechs smiled, bright glint in his eyes. "I say we go straight through them."
Sally rolled her eyes, and muttered something about men. Noin chuckled while Dorothy mirrored Sally's movement.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?!"
Dorothy charged the vampires, a stake in each hand. Between the five of them, they made short work of them.
By the time they reached the landing site, one chopper was already waiting, another one circling the sky. Trowa and Dorothy were heading towards the first one, when the former Pilot heard a distant crack. He grabbed Dorothy, and they both hit the ground as bullets went overhead. Trowa grimaced as he got a couple in the back. Dorothy stared up at him, wide eyed.
Seconds later, both choppers were spraying the new arrivals with firepower. Trowa practically picked Dorothy up, and they started back to the first chopper. As they started to climb on, they turned to see Zechs and Noin fighting for their lives. Sally was fighting her way towards them, using weapon AND her teeth to reach them.
The chopper started to lift, and Dorothy concentrated on Trowa's wounds. Her eyes scanned the fabric, seeing holes, but no blood.
"What the HELL?!"
Trowa sent her an amused look, before taking her fingers, and guiding them to a hole.
A weak, 'shit' was all she managed as her fingers touched delicately woven metal. It was some sort of chain mail, covered with the black fabric. On closer inspection, her breath left her.
"Where did YOU get Gundamiun Alloy?!"
He gave her an enigmatic smile.
"Well." She sat back, hooking herself in. "I always wondered why you wore that sweater."
Trowa turned to look at the battle below as they flew over. They were outnumbered, and if he and Dorothy didn't have to worry about protecting the serum, he would be down there. He could only hope and pray that they lived.
***ooOoo***
Sally saw the second chopper come in as the first took off. It would land as soon as they could clear the vampires. She made her way over to Noin, stabbing and slicing here and there.
She reached her friends with a huff. "Damn it! Where in Hell did these bitches come from. Fucking pricks!!"
Sally always did resort to swearing in the heat of battle, but this was nothing. When she and Wufei had been saving MarieMaya from a pack leader, THAT had been swearing. Somehow the doctor had picked up language that would made a Gundam Pilot blush. And no, NOT Quatre. Heero had blushed rather nicely that day.
Noin turned an amused smile on Sally, a moment before she had to gut a zombie.
"Where they always come fro-SHIT!"
The vampires had stopped attacking, and now stood between them and freedom. Noin backed up until she was next to Zechs and Sally.
"Any one have any bright ideas."
Zechs raised his eyebrows. "We could just rush them."
They really didn't have any other choices.
"I don't like this. It'll be suicide."
Sally turned to Noin. "Do we have any other choices?"
"We COULD try to go back to the shrine, and wait for Une to send in reinforcements, but I don't think we'd make it."
Noin scanned the area again. She shook her head. "Damn. It's like they planned this."
"They probably did."
Noin absently clutched a gash on her side. Zechs noticed this movement, and reached down to peel back the green BDU jacket. He winced.
"That must hurt."
Navy eyes gave him a look that he HAD to smile at. He tucked a purple strand behind her ear, and he leaned close, waggling his eyebrows.
"Kiss for good luck?"
"You're purposely trying to piss me off, aren't you?"
He winked impishly at her. He hadn't acted like this since the academy, and it made her face heat up.
"Well, if you put it that way."
Noin was just about to retort, when he suddenly closed the distance. He gave her a quick searing kiss, barely giving her the chance to respond, before pulling back. He gave her a wink.
".then you're right. You're so beautiful when you're angry. I ever tell you that?"
Her jaw fell in shock. Sally fought back the laughter with every fiber of her being.
"I can see why you were so sweet on him during the war, Lu, if he acted this way at the academy."
Noin glared at her.
"What are we waiting for?"
Noin glanced at him, heart in her throat. Yes, he HAD said that to her once. Not long after they met, before they were close friends.
She nodded at his question, and together they charged the vampires. The chopper saw this, and started firing on the vampires at the end. It seemed like it was going to work, until Noin went down. Sally cried out her name, as two vampires dug talons into each of her arms, nearly yanking them out of their sockets.
Zechs turned in time to see one of the vampires bury it's fangs into her neck. A clawed hand swiped his back for his trouble, and tried to pull him down. Zechs managed to stay upright, but lost most of his shirt in the process. He made his way to Noin, yelling at Sally to get to the chopper.
The two vampires lost their heads, and Zechs helped Noin up. Talons sliced open his back, sides, arms and chest for his distraction. Noin came to, taking up a short sword from her boot, and hacked at the vampires.
Zechs pushed her towards the chopper. They were in range now. Sally was below the chopper, fighting any and all stupid vampires there. It was as they were in ten feet of Sally, that Zechs saw the net. He managed to heave Noin towards Sally, in enough time for her to avoid the net. He wasn't so lucky.
Before Noin could turn back and see what happened, the vampires had pulled on the net, pulling him under and towards their center. Feeling that their winnings were enough, the majority of them made towards the woods.
The chopper dropped the lines, and Sally hooked them up. The last Noin saw of Zechs, he was twisting in the net, covered in blood. She let out a choked sob, as the Preventers pulled her to safety.
***ooOoo***
Helen, Rebecca and Cathy were cleaning up the lunch tent, when the alarms went off. The girls looked at each other with horror, waiting for the code. Seconds later, the alarm stopped to chirp three times, before it started to wail again.
Rebecca went white. "That's by the animal cages and the offices!"
Helen turned to her, handing her a stake from her pocket. "You know the drill. Get out of here!"
The blond nodded, before taking off. Cathy turned to Helen, as the brunette snapped her broom in half.
"And where do you think YOU'RE going?!"
Helen looked up in surprise. "They're going to attack the animals! And who knows who's still in the offices!!?"
Cathy wrung her hands, eyes casting about, but Helen didn't give her a moment to answer. She was out of the tent, running at top speed, with a horrified Cathy staring after her. Leave it to Helen to worry more about the animals.
Her eyes widened. Damn. That girl was going to kill herself.
***ooOoo***
Trowa was just finishing up a conference with Une, when he suddenly stopped and went white.
"What is it Barton?"
"The circus is under attack."
Sure enough, his pager started to go off. Une eyed it, before waving her hand.
"Go, Get out of here! And take a team with you!!!!"
Trowa was already out the door.
She sighed, and sat down in her chair, fingering the vial's container. Only Helen would know for sure how to open the box. Apparently, the vampires had figured that out.
***ooOoo***
Eyes peered out of the darkness, watching the young woman sitting in her chair wearily. They watched as she leaned forward to grasp a picture, and started to trace the image.
"What are we to do, Treize? We're in pandemonium, and I don't know what to do. What would you do?"
"I don't know if I can do this."
Lips covered in shadow, smiled.
The woman had tears in her eyes, as she clutched the photo. "I wish you were here."
The large figure started to open the window, when it sensed movement out in the hallway. Seconds later, a secretary burst through.
He decided to follow Une home tonight and with a cloud of dark mist, he was gone.
Une turned to the window, frowning.
"Ma'am?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing. Sorry."
***ooOoo***
Sure enough, when Helen reached the animal tent, vampires were crawling all over the place. Three of them were feeding on Ben Miller from the offices. Anger burned in her.
"Hey! Scum buckets!"
All of them turned as one to stare at her.
"How about fighting someone who can fight back!?"
That did it. Within seconds, vampires surrounded her. She brought the broken handle up and swung it around like a staff, whapping heads, smacking groins, and stabbing hearts. There was already a pile of dust at her feet, when she noticed they weren't trying to kill her. Damn, that wasn't a good sign for her.
"Helen!"
"What are you doing here Cathy?!!" She couldn't afford to look at Cathy.
"Saving your ass!"
"Damn it Cathy! They're NOT here to kill me!"
"WHAT?"
She lost her weapon, and she barely had enough time to flip out of the cluster of vampires. She landed next to a struggling Cathy. She pulled out her sword, swiping the vampire's heads from their shoulders. More vampire's had emerged from the animal tent.
"If you hurt ANY of those animals, you are in SO much freaking trouble!"
In a slight lull, she gave Cathy a long dagger.
"Helen, NOW is NOT the time to worry about the ANIMALS!!!"
The vampire's backed off, circling them. Cathy eyed them.
"What were you saying about them not wanting you dead?"
Helen eyed the vampires.
"There are quite a few reasons why they might want me."
"Like?"
Helen shrugged. "Information? Maybe they have a thing for brunettes?"
"Not funny."
Helen sighed.
"What kind of information?"
Helen narrowed her eyes, thinking.
"Shit."
Cathy raised her eyebrows. "You're swearing."
"I noticed."
"That's NOT a good sign."
"Duh."
"WHY are you swearing?"
"Quatre was killed the other day."
Cathy's voice was soft. "I know. And?"
"He alone knew where the original serum was. Trowa was suppose to go with Dorothy and the others to retrieve it."
"And?"
"He wasn't really the only one who knew where it was?"
The vampires were smiling at her, and Cathy turned to look at Helen in worry.
"And you're that other person?!"
"Uh, yeah?"
"Shit."
A vampire strode forward, smiling. In one smooth motion, Helen brought her blade up, ready to lop his head off.
"I'm warning you, I'm in a REALLY bad mood right now."
The vampire stopped where he was.
"We have already lost the serum. We're not here for your knowledge, though it WOULD be beneficial."
Helen raised her eyebrows.
"I knew that. I just didn't know that YOU knew that."
The vampire frowned.
"How did you know? You couldn't have received that information so quickly."
Helen gave a snort.
"Simple. TROWA was on that mission."
The vampire glared at her. "And?"
She glared back at him. "He was a Gundam Pilot. They don't know HOW to fail. Besides, he wouldn't let himself die so long as his family's alive and he's depended on."
"Duo Maxwell, Quatre Raberba Winner and Chang Wufei were Pilots during the war, weren't they?"
"Your POINT?!" She was SO not in the mood for mind games.
"They were depended on, they had family."
Helen could FEEL herself go white. Next to her, Cathy started to tremble.
"Helen?" Was Cathy's question. Her plea.
"Make your point." She snarled quietly, ignoring the red head.
He smiled. "If they're dead, why wouldn't Barton be?"
The sword fell, still clutched in her hands, the truth hitting her like a ton of bricks. The satisfaction in those eyes were NO bluff.
"Duo? Wufei?" She could feel her eyes water.
The smug bastards smile widened. "Not to mention Maxwell's girlfriend AND Miss Noventa."
Her knee's felt weak. Hilde, Duo, Wufei AND Sylvia?!! A fine tremble had begun in her legs, and worked upwards until her sword shook as well.
Wufei had given it to her.
She slammed her emotions down, and took up a stronger stance. At least Trowa was still alive. And all the others.
"You are SO dead." It was a quiet and deadly growl. She could hear the animals in the silence, obviously pissed at the vampires.
It was then that a grenade suddenly went off near them, sending the girls flying, and the vampires down. Cathy landed on top of Helen, and helped her up. Both looked up to see Toni Manager and Pete Baker cradling weapons.
Helen pushed Cathy, and both ran to the men. Helen turned to Cathy.
"STAY HERE."
"No!" Cathy grabbed her arm. Helen twisted the hand, causing Cathy to pull it away with a yelp. As she ran back towards the animal tent, she yelled over her shoulder.
"If they get me, send a grenade over in my direction!"
"Helen!!! Get your ass BACK here!!"
She ignored them, and charged the vampires as they got up. Heads flew before turning into dust. Within two minutes, she had made it to the tent.
She ducted inside to see that, yes, some of the vampires WERE feeding on the animals. She noticed with grim satisfaction that some of the cats had fought back and had managed to kill a few leeches.
All bloodsuckers looked up as she growled at them.
"You are in SUCH deep SHIT!"
She could hear a battle ensuing outside, and the sounds of a plane too low to the ground. These guys didn't seem to realize that she was their target, or didn't care, and she received multiple gashes and bruises.
Another charged her, and she flipped over him, beheading him as she landed. Once on the ground, she rolled to cut another's legs off, before she stabbed him. Not missing a beat, two more went down, and soon, none were left. She was letting out the animals to help her get rid of the others when,
"HELEN!"
Eyes widening, she ran out at Cathy's call, cats not too far behind. The second she emerged, talons dug into her arms, keeping her in place. The cats made short work of the vampires, and Helen escaped to see a horrible sight.
Manager lay on the ground, gutted and dead. Pete was on his last reserves, trying to protect Cathy. Cathy had a bad head wound, and was trying to fight a vampire.
She ran, leaving a path of destruction. The cats picked up the stragglers, but didn't survive for long. They didn't have the ability to kill the vampires like a human, and were slaughtered. Helen was on her own now.
"Cathy!"
Cathy turned in time to see another group of vampires pile on her.
"CATHY!!"
Without the cats, she was momentarily vulnerable, and they took their chance. The vampires surrounded her, as the others carried a limp Cathy off.
"No! CATHY!"
That plane was getting closer. In fact.
She managed to get in a few hits before they overcame her in her grief. She felt a blinding pain in her mind, before she blacked out.
***ooOoo***
~ooOoo~
A/N: Dude, that was like, SUPER long. Not that you guys mind, right? *eyes widen* TWENTY PAGES!!??? Damn Plot Bunnies. And it seemed so short. Actually. Not really. My bum IS sore.
Next chapter..uh. Well. I haven't written it yet. Some surprise appearances, some LURVE.
REMEMBER not ALL characters taken will end up dead.
Author: GundamNymph
Rating: R
Pairings?: Bit of 5xM? Er, 6x9?
!!!WARNING!!! More Character Deaths and 'Deaths'.
Music: Currently
The Soundtrack for 'Vampire Princess Miyu' (saw the series AFTER getting cd. BEAUTIFUL music. Nice and haunting)
'Hero' From the Movie SpiderMan
'The Princess Diaries' soundtrack. Don't ask. O___O;
'Sailor Moon' Soundtrack. Again, DON'T ASK! You don't want to know! ^_^;
DAMMIT! Why can't I use tab?!!!!!!! *growls* **************************************************************************** ********
~ooOoo~
The war was ruthless from the beginning. The thing about vampires, is that when they turn you, there is the SLIGHTESS chance you can come back with your spirit and soul intact. Oh, you'd still be a vampire, despising sunlight (you could still walk in it but it would be painful), have retractable talons and teeth, a craving for blood to keep you alive and there was always the great temptation to go Bad and demonic. It was always there, but if you were strong enough, you could fight it.
Problem is, the majority of new vampires came out as they were intended to be: ruthless, cruel demons. We don't know if the person that once occupied the body is still in there somewhere, pushed roughly to the back of their body's existence, witnessing the cruel deeds; or if they were dead, sent to the Heavens, or doomed in Hell. We tried not to think about it much. It was so painful.
Once we told the public, the trouble started. People were in denial that their turned loved ones were demons. They hoped, and believed that they had survived somehow. We knew this would happen, but we couldn't just NOT tell them. They had a right to know, and it was something that could save them.
There was an ensuing chaos. Many people died. Including children after an attack on a school. It was a nightmare, really. One of the teacher's sisters had been turned, and they were under the thinking that she had survived. She hadn't. And when she'd been Invited back into the school for work, it was a free for all for the vampires in the vicinity. The teacher died protecting his nine year old daughter. Even the little girl didn't survive the attack.
But we always hoped, somewhere deep inside, that our loved ones survived. We didn't know HOW it happened. An act of God, to help us? A hope to help us get through? Maybe it was genetics. We don't know, but we pray every minute of every day, that we won't have to kill them, that they would survive.
***ooOoo***
"Trowa?"
The silent teenager turned to Dorothy, and nodded that he was listening.
"I need a death sensor on that building."
Trowa didn't answer, but went back to his laptop. Dorothy rolled her eyes. She would have thought that Cathy and Helen would beat him out of his silence.
Hopefully, the death sensor that Heero had developed would pick up any vampires on their way in. Noin sat up front with Zechs, driving as he read the map.
"How close are we?"
Ice blue eyes looked up, as a white finger tapped the screen. "According to this, three and a quarter miles."
Dorothy nodded, and sat back down between Trowa and Sally. There were only five of them. Any more might endanger the mission.
She sighed, looking over Trowa's shoulder to gaze at the readouts. Quatre had always wanted to take her to his cabin in New England. He had thought it would be relaxing for her to get away from the pain for a while. It would have been just the two of them. And she had wondered if his thoughts had been completely pure.
There was a slight blip on the screen, and she sat up.
"Vampire?"
"It appears to have been a miscalculation."
She could here the 'but' in this.
"But?"
"But Heero's program is flawless."
"What do you think?"
Trowa's green eyes narrowed as he studied the screen, face lit by violet and blue light.
"A scout. It is possible they are already on the move, and are checking out how many of us there are. They could be following us, not knowing where the serum's exact location is."
After working with the tall boy for so long, she could hear a thought or two of his from time to time.
"Or?"
He met her eyes grimly. "Or, Duo's theory was right. They can turn animals into vampires."
Sally leaned over, not liking where this was going. "What do you mean?"
"Duo and Hilde had a theory after an encounter on a mission of his. It was a timber wolf. It appeared to have a higher intelligence then most animals. It attacked them in a way that made them come to believe that animals could become vampirized."
Noin glanced over her shoulder. "But if that's true."
Dorothy was staring at the screen. "We're in deep shit."
Trowa titled his head to the side. "We don't know what an animal could change into with that kind of DNA and blood change. They COULD become smarter, thinking like a human, if our theories on demonic vampires are correct. But if not, it's possible they won't know about Turning. They might not be able to turn other animals OR humans. They'd just have the blood craving, and vampiric tendencies."
Dorothy frowned. "I still say, either way we're in deep shit."
Amused green eyes met hers. "I'd say we are."
A soft snort came from the otherwise quiet Zechs.
***ooOoo***
Wufei stared at the gardens with trepidation. Sylvia Noventa was still in her office, gathering important documents on new technology. He had been assigned to escort her after the attack on Quatre. She was another strong ally.
He walked cat like into the office. There she was, bending over her safes, dressed in a violet suit. It was times like this she reminded him of Relena. Other times, she usually reminded him of Hilde. She turned to face him.
"What is it?"
"Can you remember what is on most of those documents?"
Her eyes shifted about the room, thinking. "Quite a few."
Wufei frowned, thinking.
She held up a disk that had been tucked into her bra. "But most of the stuff is on here. Only Heero can access it."
Wufei smiled briefly at her, before swiping the disk for himself. Sylvia had begun acting towards Heero much like Catherine had acted towards Trowa. Mothering him, acting as surrogate sister.
"Okay, then let's bomb the place."
Her widened as he proceeded to set fire to the papers on the floor.
"But.can't we take them with us?!"
Wufei didn't even look at her as he pulled out a cylinder from his pocket. Sylvia didn't know what it was, but she was sure it had a LOT of fire power.
"We're being surrounded. We have maybe a five minute window at most."
"Damn. I thought we had longer."
"Apparently, Intelligence was incorrect."
Tan fingers played with one of the ends before he set it on the desk. The fire had spread to her chair and curtains. Sylvia quickly stepped out of her high heeled shoes, and followed Wufei out the door.
"Which way?" Obsidian eyes searched around.
Sylvia started running to the garden maze, and he followed. With his ears strained as they were, he could here the vampires cursing as they found the fire. A sadistic smile lit his face as the Kelic Bomb went off, even as they were thrown to the ground.
Neither said a word, and just got up and started running again. As they reached the center, Wufei saw her run towards the center where a large shrub sat. She motioned for him to help her lift it. He lifted an eyebrow, but complied. The shrub was heavy, but sat on top a trap door. Wufei quickly swung it open, practically shoving her in there. He followed, closing the door with minimal difficulty. He HAD been a Gundam Pilot.
It was a long dirt tunnel. He pulled out his Lighter, and could faintly see Sylvia making her way south. He followed, and a while later, they started to go up. She pointed to the side where a niche was. Curious, he looked inside.and up to see a wooden base. There was JUST enough room for him to squeeze through.
He lifted the trapdoor carefully, looking through tall grass. They had come out near a highway in the woods, in front of a Shinto shrine. The coast seemed clear, and he emerged. He helped Sylvia, and then closed the door. This time a statue sat on top.
"How far are we?"
"I'm not too sure. Couple of miles?" She was bent over, trying to catch her breath.
Wufei nodded, and started to hurry into the forest. Sylvia hurried after him, trying to breath evenly. Damn Gundam Pilots. They had WAY too much energy.
Twenty minutes later they were surrounded. After killing about his share of demons, he saw Sylvia go down. He watched her pull out a grenade he had given her early that morning, detonate it as she gave him a grim smile. The blast knocked him and the others down.
Soon he was up again, swinging his katana. He managed to take out the lot of them. It was as he made his way further into the forest, that he was hit from behind.
***ooOoo***
"What's the matter, Trowa?"
Green eyes met her. "Wufei's down."
"Shit." Noin didn't know HOW he did it, but he was usually right.
She turned to Dorothy. "Well?"
"He said it was north of here. But."
"Yeah.but WHERE?"
All eyes turned to focus on Trowa and Dorothy.
"You both knew him best."
Dorothy nodded at Zechs wisdom, but wish it weren't true. It was so HARD to sort through Quatre's memories, when he had died nearly 48 hours ago. She glanced at Trowa, and immediately felt short. The boy had grown even more, and was almost as tall as Zechs. She came up to his collar bone.
She swept her eyes over the 'clutter' of the room.
"Did Quatre ever mention what he wanted to do if you ever got here?"
Dorothy blinked at him, thinking.
"Well, he mentioned quite a few things."
Trowa frowned. "Anything that had a lot of meaning to him. Special? That he wanted to share with you?"
As she gazed at a picture on the wall, it hit her. "The Lake. He said it was beautiful. It was like an aurora borealis during the day when the sun rose and set. A lot of the activities he mentioned were at the Lake."
Trowa strode over to the picture she stared at, focusing on it. A nimble finger traced a cove that had creepers hanging over it. "There."
"Why there?" Sally asked.
"See the lilac bushes?"
All nodded.
"They aren't native to this particular area. They're common in New England, but this soil doesn't exactly support their growth in this forest. Quatre mentioned he had planted them in hopes that Dorothy would be able to come with him someday. Helen helped him plant it when she was visiting friends in Vermont."
He turned an amused, but sad eye on Dorothy. "He said they matched your eyes perfectly."
"Wait. I don't get it. How did they survive?" Sally asked.
"Helen helped him pick out a soil that was compatible to the kind here, but would support the flower. That whole clearing is covered in it."
"You sure that's it?"
Trowa turned to face Zechs. "You're the one who said we knew him best."
Zechs nodded, and they headed out.
***ooOoo***
Wufei woke. Every fiber of his being seemed to be on fire. Why did it BURN so much?
He focused his eyes around him. Candles littered the room he was in, and he was on some sort of bed. A vampire flanked either side of him, hands on his arms. He looked down weakly to see their talons deeps in his wrists. Blood seemed to be all over him.
He was sickened to see that they had wounds on their throats. He nearly threw up when he tasted the blood in his mouth. It tasted a bit like human blood, only it was bitter sweet and had a spicy tang to it. It was hot, burning almost like molten lava.
Working up on saliva in his mouth, he managed to spit what liquid was left in his mouth at the closest vampire. The said vampire howled in surprise, backing away. Apparently they weren't used to their prey waking up. The other vampire backed away as well, when Wufei sat up. Lord, even his EYES were burning.
No way in HELL was he going to turn into one of those THINGS!
Wufei looked down at the gashes on his wrist, and without thought, hooked a finger under the torn skin, and yanked it back. He bit through his lip from the pain and couldn't keep back a shriek, but managed to lengthen the gash so that it was now to his elbow. Reaching into the wound, he pulled out what could have passed for a huge toothpick. It was polished, slightly thicker at one end, and was about four inches long.
Using the last of his strength, he plunged it through his heart. Obviously what the miniature stake was for.
***ooOoo***
Wufei could only guess this was what a druggie felt like when high. Whirls of white, color and air surrounded him, as he continued down this spiral. All at once, it was like he was coming to a stop AND going faster, as a figure danced in front his eyes.
The figure came into focus, and if could breathe, he would have gasped.
The figure tilted her head, amused, but truly gay at seeing him. (as in happy, folks. NOT yuri or yaoi)
"Husband."
Meiran greeted him. The wife he hadn't seen since she died when he was fourteen, riding Shenlong to battle.
***ooOoo***
Sally made the call as Dorothy studied the plant.
The many flowers were a cross between a violet and bright blue. A finger reached out to caress a blossom. She had never seen this shade on a lilac before. Either Quatre somehow crossbred them, or it was a rare color and he had paid expensively for it. Maybe she should ask Helen next time she saw the artist?
Sally snapped her phone shut. "Lady is sending a helicopter. We have twenty minutes to get it and get out of here. According to Bento, the vampires are massing at the mountains base. They're camp was just taken."
Dorothy nodded, and looked at Trowa. Together with Noin and Sally, they began to search the area while Zechs set up a perimeter. Half the motion sensors were already in place.
Eyeing something on a tree, Sally called them over.
"What is it?"
Sally turned to Noin. "I don't know, but it might be something."
Trowa and Dorothy eyed the lines carved into the tree. He fingered the lines, trying to make out the design. His eyes widened.
"What is it?" Dorothy didn't like the way he tensed.
"This is not Quatre's doing."
"WHAT?" Sally and Noin joined them in staring at the odd doodles meticulously.
Noin eyed him. "Then who did it?"
"Helen."
Dorothy stared at him. "Helen was in on this? Or was she just.?"
Trowa shook his head, and though he showed no emotion, Dorothy knew he was worried about his friend.
"Helen was what Duo would call a nature nut. She grew up in New England with great appreciation for trees. The only thing about nature I think she loved more was rain. She wouldn't have done this if she didn't have to."
"How do you know it's her?"
"They're Hieroglyph's. She went through some sort of Egyptian faze two summers ago. About the same time I'm guessing Quatre buried the Lilacs. And here." he fingered something in Chinese at the base of the doodles. "It's her Online name."
Sally frowned. "I did some field work in Africa a few years back. Those really don't look much like Hieroglyphs."
Trowa gave a ghost of a smile. "These aren't the doodles you're used to, Sally, nor are they the cartoon like ones. These are genuine. It's from the little known notes of the original Hieroglyph's. It's called Rakhigi, from the Archaeologist that made that discovery ten years ago in a temple found in Giza."
Dorothy gave a humorless smile. "She was always thorough. What set it off that time?"
Trowa raised an eyebrow. "I think it was after a movie she saw. Either that, or an anime." He shrugged.
Dorothy sobered. Hilde and Helen had gotten on pretty well after they found out that they were both obsessed with anime.and quite a few other things, too. She probably doesn't even know that Hilde's dead yet, she thought.
"Can you read it?"
Trowa nodded. "Just give me a couple of seconds."
After a moment of studying the scratches, "Dorothy."
"Hmm?" She leaned closer, and Sally and Noin watched as they put they're heads together.
Noin's radio beeped. Alarmed, she picked it up and moved away from the trio. "Zechs?"
"The lower motion sensors have gone off." Came the static reply.
Noin paled. "How long?!"
A pause. "Ten minutes."
Noin fretted.
"How much more time do you need?"
"Trowa and Dorothy are working on translating something."
"How much time?" he repeated.
Noin glanced over. Trowa was staring right back at her. She raised an eyebrow, and he nodded to Dorothy who was scouting near the bushes.
"They finished translating it. If we don't have to do anything else, we might be done in five or ten."
Silence. Then, "Keep me updated, Noin."
"Understood."
She turned it off and walked over to Sally. "How are they doing?"
"Dorothy's searching for it. Something about a clue only she'd know abou-"
"Trowa! I'm seeing more of your girlfriend's chicken scratches here!"
Trowa chose not to comment on that, and hurried over. Noin turned to Sally, raising an eyebrow.
"Since when does TROWA have a girlfriend?"
Sally smirked. "As far as I know, he doesn't. Cathy and the other girls never seemed to think so."
Noin was amused. "And what about Helen?" She had only met the girl once, and it had left an impression. The girl had been so much like Une, yet at the same time, not. Both in appearance AND personality. Noin barely remembered Lady Une before her transformation during the war, but meeting the girl Trowa worked with at the circus, had brought back those few memories.
Sally laughed. "Head over heels in love with him."
Noin raised both eyebrows. "Really?"
"Either that or a puppy crush. But she thinks Trowa was meant to be with Cathy."
"Hmm. Interesting."
"I know."
She reached down, and flicked her radio on.
"Zechs?"
A pause. "Yeah?"
"We found another 'note'. It may be a bit longer. How are you doing?"
"They've been working towards the second sensors. They're just beginning to go off."
"Shit."
"How much time do we have before the chopper comes?"
Noin glanced at her watch. "Roughly nine minutes."
"How are they doing?"
Noin glanced over. "They're looking again. Trowa managed to translate it again."
"Keep me updated."
"I will."
Noin turned to Sally, worried. "Do you think we can pull this off?"
Sally gave her a stern glance. "We have to. The serum the scientists are working with is only a copy. We'll need the original, if this goes to hell."
Noin sighed. "I just hope those traps will keep them at bay."
Sally laid a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "Zechs isn't easy to kill. He'll be fine."
Dark navy blues stared back at her. "I know that. But it's not impossible."
"Noin! Sally!"
They hurried over to where Trowa and Dorothy were crouched near a fox den. As they crouched down, they could see that it had been turned into a shrine.to the Blessed Mother. Both women turned to them.
"Helen's work. The vial should be here somewhere. Dorothy?"
The blond leaned forward, blocking their view. When she came out and sat back on her haunches, a small wooden box rested in her hands.
"It seems the whole area was blessed so that no vampire could enter." Trowa was frowning.
"What is it?"
"What if the vampires knew this?" Narrowed green eyes met Noin's.
Her eyes widened. "Shit."
Sally gave a dry smile. "I don't think you should swear in the presence of The Lady."
Noin ignored her, as she got her radio out. "ZECHS."
A moment passed, before he came on, slightly out of breath. "What?"
"We were expected!"
"What do you mean?"
"We found the serum. The place it was kept was a Catholic shrine in a fox den. Trowa believes Helen had the whole area blessed."
Silence for a moment while that sunk in. Then colorful words that made the hair on the back of her neck raise.
"Where are you?"
"Running in your direction."
"The vampires?!"
"They got through the east sensors without my knowing. They must have used the trees."
"Are you okay? Can you make it?"
"I'm fine. I'll be there in three. STAY THERE."
Noin shut off the radio and turned to Sally. "Get Une on, find out WHERE the chopper is. Trowa! How wide is the radius?! We got less then three minutes."
He turned around in a circle, eyeing the area.
"Fifteen feet."
"How the hell do you know that?"
He pointed to a small clump of flowers, nearly invisible under the leaves of baby trees surrounding a larger tree. They appeared to be mini roses. The kind you saw at the garden counter at Wal-mart.
Noin sighed.
"Remind me to kiss that girlfriend of yours, Trowa."
He raised an eyebrow at her, as if to say 'You, too?'.
Sally shut her phone, and sent them a grim look. She was clearly upset.
"What is it?"
"Chopper should be here in six."
"I repeat, WHAT IS IT?"
Sally gave a deep breath, trying to center herself. "Wufei has been taken and Sylvia Noventa is dead."
"Damn it!"
"NOIN."
Noin pulled up her radio. "What?"
"I'm coming through with at least twenty on my heels."
"We're ready."
She turned to Trowa. "Take care of the serum. Dorothy, take up behind him. Sally, get ready for him to come flying through."
Seconds later, the lithe blond exploded through the foliage. He ran until he was next to Noin, and stopped. Then he turned, and they watched as the vampires came next. True to Trowa's word, as soon as the vampires passed the roses, they imploded into ashes and screams.
Zechs turned an amused eye to Trowa.
"Remind me to kiss your friend when we get out of this."
How Trowa refrained from glaring, Sally didn't know.
Zechs turned to Sally. "Chopper?"
"Three minutes."
"Landing?"
Sally sighed. "Cove back by the Lake."
Zechs whistled. "Damn."
He waited a moment while the remaining vampires glared at them.
"That can't be all of them, but we have to get going."
Trowa nodded, having already hidden the box. Where? No one had a damn clue. The boy was wearing snug forest BDU bottoms and his trademark turtleneck. It WAS possible they were in his boots.
He pulled out a retractable sword, and looked at Zechs, waiting.
Zechs smiled, bright glint in his eyes. "I say we go straight through them."
Sally rolled her eyes, and muttered something about men. Noin chuckled while Dorothy mirrored Sally's movement.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?!"
Dorothy charged the vampires, a stake in each hand. Between the five of them, they made short work of them.
By the time they reached the landing site, one chopper was already waiting, another one circling the sky. Trowa and Dorothy were heading towards the first one, when the former Pilot heard a distant crack. He grabbed Dorothy, and they both hit the ground as bullets went overhead. Trowa grimaced as he got a couple in the back. Dorothy stared up at him, wide eyed.
Seconds later, both choppers were spraying the new arrivals with firepower. Trowa practically picked Dorothy up, and they started back to the first chopper. As they started to climb on, they turned to see Zechs and Noin fighting for their lives. Sally was fighting her way towards them, using weapon AND her teeth to reach them.
The chopper started to lift, and Dorothy concentrated on Trowa's wounds. Her eyes scanned the fabric, seeing holes, but no blood.
"What the HELL?!"
Trowa sent her an amused look, before taking her fingers, and guiding them to a hole.
A weak, 'shit' was all she managed as her fingers touched delicately woven metal. It was some sort of chain mail, covered with the black fabric. On closer inspection, her breath left her.
"Where did YOU get Gundamiun Alloy?!"
He gave her an enigmatic smile.
"Well." She sat back, hooking herself in. "I always wondered why you wore that sweater."
Trowa turned to look at the battle below as they flew over. They were outnumbered, and if he and Dorothy didn't have to worry about protecting the serum, he would be down there. He could only hope and pray that they lived.
***ooOoo***
Sally saw the second chopper come in as the first took off. It would land as soon as they could clear the vampires. She made her way over to Noin, stabbing and slicing here and there.
She reached her friends with a huff. "Damn it! Where in Hell did these bitches come from. Fucking pricks!!"
Sally always did resort to swearing in the heat of battle, but this was nothing. When she and Wufei had been saving MarieMaya from a pack leader, THAT had been swearing. Somehow the doctor had picked up language that would made a Gundam Pilot blush. And no, NOT Quatre. Heero had blushed rather nicely that day.
Noin turned an amused smile on Sally, a moment before she had to gut a zombie.
"Where they always come fro-SHIT!"
The vampires had stopped attacking, and now stood between them and freedom. Noin backed up until she was next to Zechs and Sally.
"Any one have any bright ideas."
Zechs raised his eyebrows. "We could just rush them."
They really didn't have any other choices.
"I don't like this. It'll be suicide."
Sally turned to Noin. "Do we have any other choices?"
"We COULD try to go back to the shrine, and wait for Une to send in reinforcements, but I don't think we'd make it."
Noin scanned the area again. She shook her head. "Damn. It's like they planned this."
"They probably did."
Noin absently clutched a gash on her side. Zechs noticed this movement, and reached down to peel back the green BDU jacket. He winced.
"That must hurt."
Navy eyes gave him a look that he HAD to smile at. He tucked a purple strand behind her ear, and he leaned close, waggling his eyebrows.
"Kiss for good luck?"
"You're purposely trying to piss me off, aren't you?"
He winked impishly at her. He hadn't acted like this since the academy, and it made her face heat up.
"Well, if you put it that way."
Noin was just about to retort, when he suddenly closed the distance. He gave her a quick searing kiss, barely giving her the chance to respond, before pulling back. He gave her a wink.
".then you're right. You're so beautiful when you're angry. I ever tell you that?"
Her jaw fell in shock. Sally fought back the laughter with every fiber of her being.
"I can see why you were so sweet on him during the war, Lu, if he acted this way at the academy."
Noin glared at her.
"What are we waiting for?"
Noin glanced at him, heart in her throat. Yes, he HAD said that to her once. Not long after they met, before they were close friends.
She nodded at his question, and together they charged the vampires. The chopper saw this, and started firing on the vampires at the end. It seemed like it was going to work, until Noin went down. Sally cried out her name, as two vampires dug talons into each of her arms, nearly yanking them out of their sockets.
Zechs turned in time to see one of the vampires bury it's fangs into her neck. A clawed hand swiped his back for his trouble, and tried to pull him down. Zechs managed to stay upright, but lost most of his shirt in the process. He made his way to Noin, yelling at Sally to get to the chopper.
The two vampires lost their heads, and Zechs helped Noin up. Talons sliced open his back, sides, arms and chest for his distraction. Noin came to, taking up a short sword from her boot, and hacked at the vampires.
Zechs pushed her towards the chopper. They were in range now. Sally was below the chopper, fighting any and all stupid vampires there. It was as they were in ten feet of Sally, that Zechs saw the net. He managed to heave Noin towards Sally, in enough time for her to avoid the net. He wasn't so lucky.
Before Noin could turn back and see what happened, the vampires had pulled on the net, pulling him under and towards their center. Feeling that their winnings were enough, the majority of them made towards the woods.
The chopper dropped the lines, and Sally hooked them up. The last Noin saw of Zechs, he was twisting in the net, covered in blood. She let out a choked sob, as the Preventers pulled her to safety.
***ooOoo***
Helen, Rebecca and Cathy were cleaning up the lunch tent, when the alarms went off. The girls looked at each other with horror, waiting for the code. Seconds later, the alarm stopped to chirp three times, before it started to wail again.
Rebecca went white. "That's by the animal cages and the offices!"
Helen turned to her, handing her a stake from her pocket. "You know the drill. Get out of here!"
The blond nodded, before taking off. Cathy turned to Helen, as the brunette snapped her broom in half.
"And where do you think YOU'RE going?!"
Helen looked up in surprise. "They're going to attack the animals! And who knows who's still in the offices!!?"
Cathy wrung her hands, eyes casting about, but Helen didn't give her a moment to answer. She was out of the tent, running at top speed, with a horrified Cathy staring after her. Leave it to Helen to worry more about the animals.
Her eyes widened. Damn. That girl was going to kill herself.
***ooOoo***
Trowa was just finishing up a conference with Une, when he suddenly stopped and went white.
"What is it Barton?"
"The circus is under attack."
Sure enough, his pager started to go off. Une eyed it, before waving her hand.
"Go, Get out of here! And take a team with you!!!!"
Trowa was already out the door.
She sighed, and sat down in her chair, fingering the vial's container. Only Helen would know for sure how to open the box. Apparently, the vampires had figured that out.
***ooOoo***
Eyes peered out of the darkness, watching the young woman sitting in her chair wearily. They watched as she leaned forward to grasp a picture, and started to trace the image.
"What are we to do, Treize? We're in pandemonium, and I don't know what to do. What would you do?"
"I don't know if I can do this."
Lips covered in shadow, smiled.
The woman had tears in her eyes, as she clutched the photo. "I wish you were here."
The large figure started to open the window, when it sensed movement out in the hallway. Seconds later, a secretary burst through.
He decided to follow Une home tonight and with a cloud of dark mist, he was gone.
Une turned to the window, frowning.
"Ma'am?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing. Sorry."
***ooOoo***
Sure enough, when Helen reached the animal tent, vampires were crawling all over the place. Three of them were feeding on Ben Miller from the offices. Anger burned in her.
"Hey! Scum buckets!"
All of them turned as one to stare at her.
"How about fighting someone who can fight back!?"
That did it. Within seconds, vampires surrounded her. She brought the broken handle up and swung it around like a staff, whapping heads, smacking groins, and stabbing hearts. There was already a pile of dust at her feet, when she noticed they weren't trying to kill her. Damn, that wasn't a good sign for her.
"Helen!"
"What are you doing here Cathy?!!" She couldn't afford to look at Cathy.
"Saving your ass!"
"Damn it Cathy! They're NOT here to kill me!"
"WHAT?"
She lost her weapon, and she barely had enough time to flip out of the cluster of vampires. She landed next to a struggling Cathy. She pulled out her sword, swiping the vampire's heads from their shoulders. More vampire's had emerged from the animal tent.
"If you hurt ANY of those animals, you are in SO much freaking trouble!"
In a slight lull, she gave Cathy a long dagger.
"Helen, NOW is NOT the time to worry about the ANIMALS!!!"
The vampire's backed off, circling them. Cathy eyed them.
"What were you saying about them not wanting you dead?"
Helen eyed the vampires.
"There are quite a few reasons why they might want me."
"Like?"
Helen shrugged. "Information? Maybe they have a thing for brunettes?"
"Not funny."
Helen sighed.
"What kind of information?"
Helen narrowed her eyes, thinking.
"Shit."
Cathy raised her eyebrows. "You're swearing."
"I noticed."
"That's NOT a good sign."
"Duh."
"WHY are you swearing?"
"Quatre was killed the other day."
Cathy's voice was soft. "I know. And?"
"He alone knew where the original serum was. Trowa was suppose to go with Dorothy and the others to retrieve it."
"And?"
"He wasn't really the only one who knew where it was?"
The vampires were smiling at her, and Cathy turned to look at Helen in worry.
"And you're that other person?!"
"Uh, yeah?"
"Shit."
A vampire strode forward, smiling. In one smooth motion, Helen brought her blade up, ready to lop his head off.
"I'm warning you, I'm in a REALLY bad mood right now."
The vampire stopped where he was.
"We have already lost the serum. We're not here for your knowledge, though it WOULD be beneficial."
Helen raised her eyebrows.
"I knew that. I just didn't know that YOU knew that."
The vampire frowned.
"How did you know? You couldn't have received that information so quickly."
Helen gave a snort.
"Simple. TROWA was on that mission."
The vampire glared at her. "And?"
She glared back at him. "He was a Gundam Pilot. They don't know HOW to fail. Besides, he wouldn't let himself die so long as his family's alive and he's depended on."
"Duo Maxwell, Quatre Raberba Winner and Chang Wufei were Pilots during the war, weren't they?"
"Your POINT?!" She was SO not in the mood for mind games.
"They were depended on, they had family."
Helen could FEEL herself go white. Next to her, Cathy started to tremble.
"Helen?" Was Cathy's question. Her plea.
"Make your point." She snarled quietly, ignoring the red head.
He smiled. "If they're dead, why wouldn't Barton be?"
The sword fell, still clutched in her hands, the truth hitting her like a ton of bricks. The satisfaction in those eyes were NO bluff.
"Duo? Wufei?" She could feel her eyes water.
The smug bastards smile widened. "Not to mention Maxwell's girlfriend AND Miss Noventa."
Her knee's felt weak. Hilde, Duo, Wufei AND Sylvia?!! A fine tremble had begun in her legs, and worked upwards until her sword shook as well.
Wufei had given it to her.
She slammed her emotions down, and took up a stronger stance. At least Trowa was still alive. And all the others.
"You are SO dead." It was a quiet and deadly growl. She could hear the animals in the silence, obviously pissed at the vampires.
It was then that a grenade suddenly went off near them, sending the girls flying, and the vampires down. Cathy landed on top of Helen, and helped her up. Both looked up to see Toni Manager and Pete Baker cradling weapons.
Helen pushed Cathy, and both ran to the men. Helen turned to Cathy.
"STAY HERE."
"No!" Cathy grabbed her arm. Helen twisted the hand, causing Cathy to pull it away with a yelp. As she ran back towards the animal tent, she yelled over her shoulder.
"If they get me, send a grenade over in my direction!"
"Helen!!! Get your ass BACK here!!"
She ignored them, and charged the vampires as they got up. Heads flew before turning into dust. Within two minutes, she had made it to the tent.
She ducted inside to see that, yes, some of the vampires WERE feeding on the animals. She noticed with grim satisfaction that some of the cats had fought back and had managed to kill a few leeches.
All bloodsuckers looked up as she growled at them.
"You are in SUCH deep SHIT!"
She could hear a battle ensuing outside, and the sounds of a plane too low to the ground. These guys didn't seem to realize that she was their target, or didn't care, and she received multiple gashes and bruises.
Another charged her, and she flipped over him, beheading him as she landed. Once on the ground, she rolled to cut another's legs off, before she stabbed him. Not missing a beat, two more went down, and soon, none were left. She was letting out the animals to help her get rid of the others when,
"HELEN!"
Eyes widening, she ran out at Cathy's call, cats not too far behind. The second she emerged, talons dug into her arms, keeping her in place. The cats made short work of the vampires, and Helen escaped to see a horrible sight.
Manager lay on the ground, gutted and dead. Pete was on his last reserves, trying to protect Cathy. Cathy had a bad head wound, and was trying to fight a vampire.
She ran, leaving a path of destruction. The cats picked up the stragglers, but didn't survive for long. They didn't have the ability to kill the vampires like a human, and were slaughtered. Helen was on her own now.
"Cathy!"
Cathy turned in time to see another group of vampires pile on her.
"CATHY!!"
Without the cats, she was momentarily vulnerable, and they took their chance. The vampires surrounded her, as the others carried a limp Cathy off.
"No! CATHY!"
That plane was getting closer. In fact.
She managed to get in a few hits before they overcame her in her grief. She felt a blinding pain in her mind, before she blacked out.
***ooOoo***
~ooOoo~
A/N: Dude, that was like, SUPER long. Not that you guys mind, right? *eyes widen* TWENTY PAGES!!??? Damn Plot Bunnies. And it seemed so short. Actually. Not really. My bum IS sore.
Next chapter..uh. Well. I haven't written it yet. Some surprise appearances, some LURVE.
REMEMBER not ALL characters taken will end up dead.
