Disclaimer: What do you want from my life? Huh? Does it feel good to make me say I don't own the Ninja Turtles every time? Does that, like, help your self esteem? Huh, buster? Answer me! Well, I got a good mind to tell you exactly what I think of you! Come here! grabs mirror. a wrestling match commences leaving the mirror as the victor

…limps away….yeah, that's what I thought…mirror glares EEP! runs like the pansy she is

Chapter Seventeen

Owen followed the calm Katrina into what looked like a small room only to freeze once reaching the other side of the makeshift doorway.

His whistle was long and low.

The library was huge, spanning to be way larger than he could have ever imagined. Katrina, however, was un-phased my it's extensiveness and continued walking contentedly. Realizing that she was alone, she stopped, turning back only to watch him steadily.

"I take it that this is your first time?"

His awe struck stare never faltered as he turned his head, his eyes moving from the left wing to the right wing of the massive library. "Christ, Katrina!" His gaze turned back to her. "What the hell do you guys keep in here?!"

"Books." She stated simply. He gave her a look at her bluntness. Laughing slightly, she fought the urge to take his hand as she began to walk, this time, with him at her side. He absently kept in step beside her. Meanwhile, he thoughtfully eyed the books that occupied all side. They were everywhere, stacked high and far as one could see. The smell of the old texts made the room sweet, homely. He always loved books, their pages full of the knowledge he use to seek openly. It was, just, now, he never got a chance to read them. Back, before…everything…he had been a scientist, of sorts; and as such, books were his life. But since the change…he just had no time for such frivolous efforts despite his longing to do them, and all of his loves had suffered because of it.

But now, it seemed as though some of those flames were being rekindled…he could feel it.

He resisted the urge to go to those shelves at once, reading as much as his heart desired like he used to. However, Katrina's retreating form brought his mind back to the task at hand. Coincidentally, it was then that she began to speak.

"These books are the remains of our history, of our origins." She continued walking as she talked, motioning to the vast rows of shelves as she did. "Years ago, these same books were scattered all around the world; lost to us. It was then that these books were discovered, one by one. It took centuries and many lifetime commitments to find these books, and even now, there are still people on the case, searching for any other manuscripts of our history. At these new turn ups, AVTech made it its mission to collect and keep all of these books, thus, gaining our history, our heritage through the meager form of a library." As they walked, her gaze seemed distant, as if remembering all of this from her own life. He watched her carefully; it was funny, when she talk like this…she didn't seem nearly as annoying.

Nearly.

Meanwhile, she continued her "tour" of the library, dimly running her hand over the spines of the treasured books she passed as she did. "AVTech succeeded in getting most of the books, but not all of them survived the sands of time…" She turned a sorrowful gaze to him, and in response, Owen nodded.

He knew about such things. Sometimes the most precious of manuscripts could be lost by ways of fire or of the poor handling of a person ignorant of its value.

He looked up, only to notice that she had stopped. "You can start your search here." She motioned to the air around her. Owen looked around. These shelves seemed no different than the shelves they had passed five minutes ago.

"Why here?" It seemed that with the awakening of his spirit of reading came the spirit of curiosity as well. She smiled a little as his childish wonder before answering.

"Because, this is the center of the library?"

'Figures.' He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, as he ran a hand through his feathery hair. He opened his eyes, only to realize that he was all alone. He turned, spotting her quickly retreating figure. "Where are you going?" He yelled to her, vaguely aware that he was in a library, of which, you should be quiet in. Well, at least there wasn't anyone there to complain.

The library was just as empty as it was extensive.

She turned, her answer coming in a yell as well. "I have to get back to work so I'll be going now. Good luck! I hope you find what you're looking for…" She waved once before turning to leave, leaving him completely alone in the dreary library. With no other presences, the library only seemed to grow all the more. He felt suddenly alone.

"…Well, I should get started then." His eyes ran over the first shelf he could find, searching for any clues, any hits, any leads as to what he was searching for.

Nothing.

'Ok, well, I'll try the next ones.' He moved the next isle, scanning over the spines of each book, his fast eyes reading each and every title.

But still, nothing.

' Ok. The next one then.'

Nothing.

'The next one?'

Still, nothing.

'OK! The next one!'

And…there was nothing.

By then, Owen was steaming mad, his patients running slim at his lack of sleep. His eyes blazed daringly at the never ending book spines that stood before him. However, it was not until his gaze fell on all of the books did his glare falter, his eyes going wide.

Rows and Rows of books seemed to extend in all directions, drowning him in a sea of pages and manuscripts; all of which would have to be looked over if he wanted to prove successful in his search.

Dropping his head, he cursed in silent defeat. How would he ever find anything in this place?

"Having trouble are we?"

Owen spun wildly, his sword leaving its sheath in an instant. However, surprise took its toll when the sword tip landed on the throat…

Of an old man?

Owen blinked once before putting it down, his face sheepish at his over-exaggerated surprise. Meanwhile, the man did not move as a small smile spread on his thin lips.

"I'm sorry if I started you." The man offered, the smile spreading at Owen's expression. Owen blinked one more time, willing his heart back into its rightful tempo. The man had startled him, that was for sure. It wouldn't have been so bad if Owen had at least heard him come up. But he didn't.

…Now that he though about it, he had neither heard nor sensed anything; no warning at all as to the man even being there. But he was.

And he nearly scared Owen to death because of it.

Meanwhile, the old man watched the other thoughtfully, as if waiting for him to speak.

He did not have long to wait.

"Who are you?" Owen kept his voice serous, despite the instant nervousness in his heart. Getting sneaked up on when you've spent your whole life making sure that that was impossible, was a little unnerving to say the least. Owen watched the stranger carefully. He had never seen him before, that was for sure. If he had, it would have been hard to forget. The man seemed rather old and fragile, but his aura told him otherwise. A kind and gentle soul, his warm dark eyes and bright smile easily giving that much away. However, his smile also gave away another very important detail.

This man was a vampire, just like the rest of them.

But what was he doing here?

At Owen questions, the man smiled wider; his grin warm and friendly, answering both questions (the unspoken and the spoken) aloud.

"I am the answer to your questions." The man chuckled at his own humor and cleverness at his pun as he stepped past the still Owen, only to look back at him expectantly. "Now, you were looking for something, were you not? Maybe, I can be of service." His eyes danced as he spoke. It was as if that was all he wanted all along. Owen threw him a measure look, seemingly trying to figure this new person out. Well, he seemed harmless enough…

"I was looking for anything I could find on someone by the name of…Drakoc."

The man's caterpillar brows furrowed as he pondered over the name, rubbing his chin thoughtfully with a single paled (and wrinkled) hand.

"Drakoc, ey? The name sounds familiar, but for the life of me…I can't recall who that is exactly." Owen suppressed an exasperated sigh; Katrina had basically said the same thing. However, as it turned out, the old man of a vampire still had more to offer.

"But, I think I know where to find him…" The old man smiled genuinely before turning. "Follow me."

Owen stared after him before falling in step, shrugging as he did.

'Well, what have I got to lose?'

-

Well, as fate would have it, his search did prove successful. The mysterious man led him swiftly through the entire library, picking up book after book on the way. Two soon turned into four, which soon turned into eight as Owen stacked them high in his arms. Now, he sat, the books spread out before him. The scene was seemed to be a fall back in time from his life before; these books spread out before him just as his science books had been centuries ago.

But, of course, things were different now.

"I hope I was of good help." The old man looked down at the sitting vampire, his smile never leaving his face at the satisfaction on the face of the other. Owen startled from the face of the old texts; he had nearly forgotten about the man. He looked up at him now, a true smile forming on his lips for the first time in ages.

"Yes, sir, you were a great help….T-Thank you." The praise sounded strange from his lips, but the grand smile that formed on the old man's features made it all worthwhile. Owen watched as the man nodded slightly, turning away. His hands clasped behind his back as his form retreated into the hush of the library. Owen went to look down, but suddenly pulled back up, as if remembering something for the first time. "Oh! What did you say your name wa-?" If Owen remembered correctly, the man didn't, which made him all the more mysterious. But by the time he looked up, the man had vanished.

"Hello?"

No answer.

The man was truly gone.

Owen would have dwelled on the mysterious man for a few moments longer but the pull of time and of the books before him called him back to the task at hand. It had taken hours to find these books, and it would probably take hours to read them. He yawned tiredly, feeling the time he had already spent there wave through his bones, having been back at AVTech since midnight.

His mind told him that it was now about seven in the morning.

'Talk about an early morning read…' He sighed, picking up the first book on the rather large pile. Reading the cover aloud, he blinked. Well, wasn't that convenient?

"Drakoc and other Generals of the Beelzebubian Army."

'Well, what do ya know?' He was a general; A general to the army of Satan himself. He smirked, the puzzle pieces finally coming together. He opened it, quickly read it for a few moments, absorbing the words and paragraphs at lightning speed. However, as fate would have it, another book soon caught his interest. Out of the corner of his eye, he picked up on the title;

Origins: Chronicles to the 'Creatures of the Night'

Slowly, he put down the book he had been holding, his eyes falling on the new one. This book seemed old, but well preserved. The outside was hard and dry, concealing the hand written script of the inside.

A treasure if he had ever seen one.

Cautiously, he opened this book, and began to read.

As passed down from generation to generation, the story of our history is received. However, regardless of the regeneration of our beginnings, the story of our ancestry is still left incomplete…

He quirked an eye brow at this, the poem of their history running through his head as he did. Now that he thought about it, it did seem a little…vague.

…There are many pieces left unsaid, many missing parts to the tale. That was the way it was meant to be, but nevertheless, as of now, you will know the true tale, the true reasons behind our origins…The first piece, and the most important detail of our begins, lay unmentioned in any other account of our history; A single angel, that without whom, vampires would not have even existed. It is said that because of her efforts and such that she and only she is the mother of all 'Creatures of the Night.' That being…

Hurriedly, he turned the page; his curiosity all but awoken with this new book. It reminding him of why he loved to read and research so much in the past. He always loved this kind of stuff, and no matter how long he lived, he knew that would never change.

His eyes fell on the next page, his breath hitching at the wonder that awaited him there. On the next page was the most magnificent picture he had ever seen. An angel inhabited the old paper, her beauty way beyond that of any mortal soul.

He stared at her, his breathlessness making his mind just as light headed. Her figure disappeared under that of her white robes, her smile; that of a mother, and her eyes the purest gold.

Six wings protruded from her back, lining her form with the white splendor of celestial feathers. The detail and colors of the small painting was flawless, and as he ran a tender hand over the soft brush strokes he realized that it was the original.

He sighed once before looking away and to that of the next page. He needed to know who this…being…was; her warmth filling him as her eyes seemed to watch him from the old and worn pages. He read on, memorizing her name as if it was life itself.

…the Arch Angel of love and Compassion, Seraphim, herself.

-

A/N: This (Chapter seventeen) was suppose to be the last chapter, but I guess it didn't turn out that way…More to come, as always!

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He he he! Now we're getting to the good stuff! Want more?! Only one way to get it, R and R!