Woohoo! A chapter up earlier than I had thought. Rather proud of this one actually... Especially the part in the end, which is a bit violent. Anyway, have a good time reading it, I had a good time writing it!

Funyun – Thanks. No, Adria didn't do anything to Remington, he probably just don't like her kind much. Yanking bandages... why didn't I think of that? Stupid me! And about the slave thing... huh? What?

Enough 'bout that, here's the story.

- - -

- - -

Talley cocked the rifle and looked around him, trying to notice anything unnatural about the dark. That was what the leader of the whole damn expedition had told him to keep a look-out for. Something unnatural. The man smirked bitterly, thinking that the entire place was unnatural. What kind of creatures would've done those things they had seen? The bodies, the 'art', the blood…He leaned against the mountain wall which was covered in runes and primitive art. One of the reasons they had come to that accursed place was to try and decipher the meaning of these scribbles. He thought they were just doodles made by some mountain child. And the other reasons… He smiled to himself and untied his pouch by his waist. He took out a large stone by the size of a normal hen's egg. He watched it gleam in the light from the torches. Colours danced over his face. He could almost taste the profit already.

"Greg?" a voice said beside him. He turned around, startled, while he cursed his own stupidity. Hadn't he been told already not to become so preoccupied with something that he couldn't keep an eye on his surroundings? When he recognized the face before him he sighed in relief.

"Veronica, you shouldn't scare me like that."

"Why not?" She asked, smiling while she put her arms around his neck. "I thought you wanted me to be as mysterious as I like. And don't look at me like that, I know that doesn't mean that I'm allowed to shout 'Boo!' whenever I feel for it."

He smiled and gave her a quick kiss. She looked at him, disappointed, when he had broken it.

"That's it?"

"Yeah, I have to keep guard."

She shook her head and kissed him again.

"Do you see him over there? John? He can keep and extra eye open during your 10-minute pause, hm?"

Talley knew it was against all he had been told, but he couldn't let this pass him by. This was just the second time that she had lured him away from duty. He smiled at her and led her away towards his tent. As soon as they had come inside, she threw herself into his arms and began to kiss him hungrily. He didn't waste a second on plays, he began unbuttoning her shirt while answering her kisses. All the while, his wife's face before his mental eye. The picture made him feel nervous, almost frightened. He worried that he felt too queasy to satisfy her that night, but her presence alone seemed to arouse him. When she dropped the blouse on the ground, he realized that it wasn't his wife that made him feel like that.

"What is it?" Veronica asked him. He hadn't noticed that he had stopped his loving handling of her.

"I… don't know." he replied. It was almost like they were short on time. "Get your clothes on."

"What? But, Greg, I…"

"Put it on! For God's sake!" he snapped at her. She stared at him, but put on her blouse again.

"Is it me? Look, if you react like this because of your duty, I…" she began, but Talley hushed her.

"It's not you. It's something else."

Seconds after, a terrifying shriek filled the air. It was soon followed by a vicious howl. Orders, frightened screams and battle cries sounded.

"Get your rifles, for fuck's sake!" someone shouted.

"Stay here!" Talley told Veronica and got out of the tent. He was greeted by a view that would haunt his mind forever. He saw the members of the expedition slaughtered by demons, creatures that seemed to be cross between blood-thirsty wolves and men. The members either fought for their lives or adorned the ground with their blood. Talley stared for a long while, before he fired his rifle at a near-by beast.

The remaining time was hazy for him. It was like his entire existence had always been to fire as much as possible and then for some reason steer clear of their claws completely. It could have gone on for 10 minutes or for 10 hours, for all he cared. He was only aware of one thing. All he could care about was to stay alive. Until he heard something else.

Another thing that haunted him.

The woman's scream.

"Veronica!" he shouted, turning towards his tent. She lay there, impaled on a creatures claws, staring up in its face. Her face was a mask of pure fear. He ran towards them, aiming his rifle against the beast's head. When he pulled the trigger, his treacherous weapon only clicked. Knowing he could not avoid impact, he jumped to hit it as high up as possible and maybe knock it off its feet. He slammed into it, hearing bones break, though he couldn't feel if it was the beast's or his own. The creature rolled when it hit the ground and seemed to be up on its feet before it had landed. Talley lay gasping on the ground, every breath hurting. The beast leaned over him and seemed to grin devilishly at his pain. It raised its paw-like hand into the air and with a swooping motion…

"Greg!" Veronica screamed.

…slashed his chest. Before the pain reached his dulled mind, the beast was gone. He stared at the moon.

"They're retreating!" someone shouted victoriously. Talley stared at the moon, which stared back. A head blocked it.

"Greg…" Veronica whimpered and rested her head upon his stomach, too tired and wounded herself to help him.

- - -

Talley was torn out of sleep. He looked around himself, panicked, before he realized it was just a dream.

Just a dream and nothing else.

Veronica, or Talon nowadays, lay beside him. She smiled in her sleep. He looked at the four scars, small rings, in her shoulder. Those scars that were memories of the day she was cursed. He put his fingers to the four scars on his chest. He could for some reason still remember how much it hurt. Veronica mumbled something and stretched out. He kissed her on her forehead and closed his eyes. He knew that he wasn't able to go back to sleep now, but it was soothing to lie there, feeling the ship rock and his lover's heartbeat against his own.

- - -

Javier looked down on the ship, Nautilus apparently. He couldn't help but like the way it reflected the faint light. He leapt off the roof, landing almost soundlessly on the street. He immediately stepped into the shadows. He looked at the guards protecting the only open entrance. There could hardly be more than 15 there. He smirked.

Too easy, he thought and crouched down to come up with a plan. He had heard Leo's screams for hours the previous day, felt his pain, and he was not going to rest until he had saved his loyal brother or avenged his death. He looked at the guards again. They gave the impression that they were ready for almost anything, but he could tell that few, if any, had seen a vampire in action. He grinned wildly and summoned his shadows. They crept around him, each embracing him in turn, quickly turning him into a space of pure dark in the night. With this giving him a temporary shield and the element of surprise, he advanced.

The guards soon realized that something was wrong, he assumed. There was uneasy babbling in a language he didn't understand. He ignored it, planning to enter the ship with his rage saved for the responsible of him being there. He saw a scarred man step forward with a gun in his hands. He only shook his head lightly. But when the shot came, he cried out in surprise and pain. The shadows around him crumbled and disappeared. He gritted his teeth, pressing the pain down and letting his fury empower him. The guards flocked around him, all ready with their guns. He hissed at some that came to close. When the second shot came, he decided to lose what little control he had left. He cried out in rage and pounced on the nearest guard. He gave him a quick punch over the face, hearing bones crack. The moment after he let his leg shoot out, possibly breaking someone's knee, while he let his fingers turn into deadly claws. He spun around, letting the claws shred whatever flesh they could find. A blade severed the flesh in his back, he rewarded the attacker by plunging the claws deep into his eye sockets. He made a high leap into the air, quickly looking at his opponents, how many there were left. He snarled loudly when he landed, knowing his eyes were like lanterns of blood. He put his fingers into someone's mouth, felt the man's tongue against his fingers before he tore his jaw off. He made another acrobatic leap, spreading his legs out this time. He felt them collide with something that broke beneath them. When he landed, there were no more attackers. He let his claws become his fingers again and looked around himself. The carnage was unbelievable.

"My best work so far." He noted, smiling to himself. He looked down on a man. He held his hand on his knee, making small whining sounds. Javier leant down, gently removing the man's hands from the wound. His bone pipes stuck out through the skin. The man stared at him, probably too terrified to move. Javier slowly shook his head.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk… That looks very, very bad, you know? I don't know any surgeon that could do anything about that, do you?"

The man simply looked confused.

"No, of course you don't. Let me help you." Javier said and quickly pulled the man up on his legs. He screamed in agony, trying to get down on the ground again. When he realized that Javier wouldn't let him, he tried to put all his weight on his healthy leg. After being punished by Javier for it, he stood up as straight as possible, tears streaming down his face. Javier smiled.

"There you go! Good as new! Now, you look good enough. Relax now…" He smiled and leaned his head slightly to the right. The man stared emptily out into nothing, while Javier's fangs pressed against his skin. He whimpered slightly when they broke it and Javier began draining him. He pushed him away when he was satiated, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. The man lay on the ground, twitching spastically for a little while, before finally he was still. Javier took a loose grip on the knife in his back and pulled it out with little effort. He looked at the bullet holes in his stomach.

"Hm. Silver. Bastards." He said calmly before he brushed some dust off his clothes, straightened them and entered the Nautilus.