Disclaimer: I don't own them. Only the new girls.

A.N. - This chapter gets a small tint of lemony fresh scent. There isn't that much but it is there. Don't worry it doesn't get graphic or anything. Just lemony tasting.

In The End

        Chapter 7: Shalamar

      By: Raven Moonshadow

The wheels go 'round and the sunset creeps past the

Street lamps, chain-link and concrete

A little piece of paper with a picture drawn floats

On down the street till the wind is gone

      The memory now is like the picture was then

When the paper's crumpled up it can't be perfect again

[Linkin Park, Forgotten]

Kamori sat curled up across her apartments comfortable black couch watching the afternoon soap opera's, avidly interested in the love triangle that had just unfolded. Becky was having Chris' baby and she didn't want it. But she was against abortions and putting it up for adoption. And she didn't think that she could go through with marrying Rob. Meanwhile her best friend had just been forced into a political marriage and found out that she was pregnant with twins. It was all quite complicated. Too hard to describe but Kamori found it fun to watch.

            Irene was asleep on the second couch, now wrapped and bandaged after her shuttle had crashed. She had been drugged after the Chinese preventer guy had taken her to the Preventers base. The drugs hadn't worn off yet, but that had been another adventure. Something Kamori didn't feel like thinking back to.

Becky had just confessed to Rob about being pregnant with Chris' child when the doorbell rang. The red head, mumbling dark thing to herself, got up for her comfortable place on the black couch and strode towards the door. She swung it open angrily.

            "Who ever it is you better had a good reason for…" She stopped mid-sentence. "Max?"

The black-haired 19-year-old girl looked nervous as she pushed herself into the room.

"Kamori you have to help me…he's following me and I don't know where to hide!" Max said flopping down onto the couch Kamori had been occupying. Kamori stood in front of her.

"Okay…time out. Answer this first, Max. Who? What? When? Where? Why?" Max paused, dramatically.

"It's that guy, you know, the one that tricked me into going out on a date. Well I went on the date hoping that I'd never see him again after that but I don't know…I must have gotten drunk, but…" Max paused again, looking embarrassed.

"What are you trying to tell me?"

"I ended up sleeping with him and now I'm trying to avoid him but he keeps appearing out of nowhere. I saw him down in the lobby and he trying to get on the elevator with me. He's on his way up! Help me, hide me, do something just keep him from finding me!"

Kamori sat down next to Max as the half-Japanese girl went into hysterics. The red head patted the dark haired girl calmingly.

"So he's on his way up?"

"Yes."

"And you don't want to see him?"

"Yes!"

"Why didn't you just teleport away in the elevator?" Max paused to think.

"Because, I needed to get that off my shoulders. I had to talk to you…or anyone of you whether it is Morgaine, Melody, or Irene." The doorbell rang again. Max cursed in both English and Japanese. "That's him!" Max looked around for a hiding spot. Kamori led her to the laundry room and pushed her in before closing the laundry room door.

Kamori now turned to the door with a sigh. So Max needed a diversion; something to keep him from finding her? Fine then…she knew exactly of how she was going to keep Duo busy. With a smirk disguised as a smile she opened the door. There stood Duo with her long chestnut braid and indigo eyes.

"Hi is Max here?" He asked politely while at the same time rudely pushing into her apartment to look.

"No she's not." Kamori could feel Max's energy gather and then… it was gone. She had teleported away. "But you're welcome to come in for some snacks." Kamori said, making sure there was a hidden meaning behind her words. Having a 'snack' sounded very suggesting.

Duo blinked, at first not believing he was hearing that right, but then a huge grin lit up his face. Kamori couldn't deny it; he was very handsome when he had that grin on no matter how annoying he sounded by the way that Max talked about him. She was going to have more fun than she had originally thought.

Kamori herded Duo into the living room. She faltered once when she saw that the blanket had fallen away from Irene, exposing her injuries to Duo. Duo looked at Irene and then back at Kamori.

"What happened to her?"

"Car accident." Kamori lied. Duo nodded sympathetically. The red head ushered him out and down the hall, right towards the bedroom.

"Isn't that the kitchen?" Duo pointed out with a mock innocent tone and a grin.

"Oh yes but you get the best snacks if you come this way." Kamori said seductively. Duo's previous grin was widened.

She pulled him into the bedroom and directed him towards the bed. With a swift push he landed on the bed. Kamori smiled predatorily and pulled her shirt over her head. His eyes roamed over her exposed body with hunger. She straddled his hips and dragged her nails down his chest before yanking the shirt over his head. His hands slide around her back to the clasp of her bra. It fell away and was tossed to the floor.

"Sweet." Was all he managed to get past his lips.

                                    *          *          *          *

Irene woke up suddenly. She blinked her honey-brown eyes to wipe away all the sleep. Her eyes adjusted to the dark and everything in the living room was illuminated by her feline night vision. Something was here. She could sense it. And besides the spicy aroma of sex, which seemed to be floating from the hall and leading to the bedroom, there was an unfamiliar smell.

Her eyes widened as she took another sniff at the air. She pushed herself up and winced as she heard her back crack rather loudly. Irene, ignoring the pain, lifted her nose up and smelt around some more. Her legs moved to follow the evil smell. It smelt foreboding and threatening, the smell of an enemy.

She turned. It was coming from the hall. She followed it with her nose. Her bloodhound like sense of smell picked up every little scent. Everything.

She found herself at the bedroom door. The evil was coming from in there. She pushed the door open quietly and snooped in.

There on the bed she could smell Kamori's distinctive raspberry scent and a male scent. But he smelt friendly with a hint of well kept sadness. No the evil was coming from across the room. But she couldn't see anyone. Yet the smell was defiantly coming from there.

Wait.

There was a small movement in the corner of her eye. Irene's eyes widened. The person was invisible! That why she couldn't see them but could smell them. It was one of the BLOOD organizations finest.

A FEM.

Yes it was definitely one of the infamous FEMS. It smelt like…

Irene took one large sniff and that was all she need to identify the FEM that she had once encountered before.

… "Shalamar!" she hissed. The threatening presence drew back and gathered itself. It came together in the shape of a 21-year-old blond woman with her blond tips dyed red and brown eyes.

"What a surprise to see you alive, Starsoul. I thought we had gotten rid of you when we shot your shuttle down." The woman, Shalamar said with a smirk as she looked at the bandages. Irene growled.

"I would have been if Kamori hadn't gotten to me first."

"Hm…and would this Kamori girl be Nightmare over there? It has a certain ring to it. I thank you for giving me her real name. It will help us greatly." Shalamar said, still smirking. Irene boiled.

"Get lost."

"Make me, little one."

The blue haired girl launched herself at Shalamar. She went up as a human, changed mid-air, and came down where Shalamar had once stood as a jaguar.

"You missed." Came Shalamar's mocking voice. The jaguar snarled and bore her sharp pearly whites at the blond.

'Shut up and stand still.' Irene/Jaguar hissed. She circled the blond looking for an opening or weak point. Shalamar waited patiently for Irene to attack.

'Irene?' Came a sleepy murmur from Kamori. The blond FEM smiled.

"Well it's been fun but I must be going. I have new info to report to my boss." And then she was gone. Irene felt her as Shalamar's invisible particles floated out of the open window. Her eyes swiveled back as she heard the rustle of Kamori's blankets.  She turned to look at the tired red head as she approached Irene.

'Is that you, Irene?' Kamori asked putting a hand on the jaguars head. Irene purred before shifting back into her regular human form.

"There was an enemy in your bedroom Kamori. I came in and stopped her from doing anything harmful to you." Irene said looking up as Kamori.

The red head smiled. "Don't worry about it Irene. Let's get rid of Duo and then get some sleep. Melody's wedding is tomorrow. She wanted you to be a bride's maid with me and Morgaine and Max. I'm her maid of honor. Heh." Irene smiled with Kamori. "Now why don't we kick Duo out of the apartment?" They both looked toward the bed at Duo's comatose and sleeping form.

"He sure looks like he had fun." Irene whispered as she got his legs. Kamori grabbed his arms with a giggle.

"I bet he did." They lifted him out of bed and carried him out of the apartment. Irene and Kamori set him down in the elevator and placed his clothes on his nude body.

"This is mean." Irene said not able to hold back her giggle.

"I know but Max would have loved to see this."

"She would?"

"Long story I'll explain later."

"Oh okay."

"Okay just press the buttons for all of the floors right down to the lobby. Someone is bound to find him before he reaches the bottom. Hehe." Kamori said. They did so and stepped out of the elevator. Ten seconds later the doors closed and the elevator went down. Not long after Irene's straining ears caught the sound of a woman's scream.

"I think someone found him." They both burst out laughing and walked back into the apartment. "I hope that he doesn't take it personally. I though he was kind of cute."

"That's because he's American like you."

"Do you have something against Americans?"

"No."

"Good. I thought I was going to have to beat the snot out of you."

"Whatever, Irene, let's just go to bed."

"Fine."

                        *                      *                      *                      *

Outside on another apartment complexes roof Shalamar stood watching the girls through the window with another young woman. Another one of the FEMS.        

"What do you think that young man means to them, Fala?" Shalamar asked the other woman. The brown haired FEM, Fala, smirked.

"I don't know. Maybe we should find out sometime."

"Yes…that sounds wonderful."

~Owari

Raven: Finally got another chapter up. There really was no point to this chapter except to introduce Shalamar and do something evil to Duo. Anyway, the next chapter will be about Quatre and Melody's wedding. YAY! So stay tuned.