5.

While I was unconscious, I dreamed I was back in Africa, back in my village where my people loved and adored me. Free. I was no longer tied down by the oppressive realities of America. America was only a distant reverie in my dreams – a land that no longer listened to its native rhythms, but survived on the constant bustle of everyday life. I savored the feel of the zephyr on my face as I rode the winds in my natural glory. How I wanted that more than anything, but as I said, it was only a dream. At least, I was alive. Dead people don't dream. At least, I didn't think they did, so that had to mean I wasn't dead.

Garbled voices drifted throughout my head, causing the pain to intensify; nausea was starting to attack me in violent waves. Memories of the events of the night flooded into my head, seemingly adding to the already blinding pain. The walk, the kiss, Triage attacking me, it all came back to me with a glaring clarity. I didn't want to think about it. I didn't want to do anything. I just wanted this pain to subside. Feet shuffled toward me.

"Open your eyes, Ororo." Vega's voice.

I groaned as I struggled to open my eyes. My head was throbbing persistently. For every beat my heart took, my head pounded in unanimity. I had to open my eyes, but they were refusing to obey my command. I tried to move my arms, but they ignored me as well. My first thought was that Triage had caused extensive damage, and I was now paralyzed.

I tried to open my mouth to answer Vega, to tell him that I couldn't open my eyes, but the small desert that now resided in my mouth, prevented me telling him so. I heard him sigh deeply. "Christie, bring me the water." I heard him command as if he knew just what I needed. His hands cradled the sides of my face for a moment, and then he used his thumbs to massage my lids gently. He stopped for a moment, and I felt him tipping my head back.

When the head tips back, it usually means someone is going to be bit. "Relax. I'm not going to hurt you. You will be okay. Drink this," he said, bringing a bottle to my lips. I was grateful for the rush of cool water, drinking greedily, ignoring the nausea that was trying to reject the water. My need to quench my thirst outweighed my nausea. "Now, try to open your eyes."

I tried. At first, they still didn't comply, but after a few seconds, they opened slowly. Light assaulted my eyes, and my head protested at the intrusion. Now, I wish I had kept my eyes closed. It would be better than this fresh surge of pain I was now feeling. I tried to turn my head away from the light, and my stomach flipped. "Are you feeling alright?" He asked.

No, I didn't feel alright, and I didn't know why he would ask such a question. Why did people feel the need to ask questions like that when the answer was obvious? "As right as rain," I whispered, holding back a dry heave.

"Huh?" Christie said, her voice laced with surprise.

"Sarcasm, Christie. Good old, Munroe sarcasm. She will be okay." Vega answered, his voice sounding relieved.

I wanted to say that I sure as hell didn't feel okay, but I knew that if I opened my mouth, I was going to throw up all over Vega's pretty, green shirt. I don't think he would have been too happy about that.

"Let me help you sit up," he said, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.

My limbs ached as he gently helped me sit up. Another bad idea. The bones in my head felt like they were breaking, and my brain was trying to escape. The mental image of yolk being separated from a cracked egg came to mind. I pulled from his grasp and rolled to my knees, clutching my stomach, ignoring the nauseating pain. I couldn't hold back the heave that escaped my throat as I draped an arm over my midsection, expelling everything from dinner.

I was acutely aware that Vega's arm was clutching my waist as he kneeled beside me. He started to speak soothingly in Spanish, rocking me between retches. I clasped my free hand firmly over the hand that gripped my waist, concentrating on his voice, willing it to take the pain. I breathed deeply, trying to fight the queasiness and the throbbing.

I let my head fall against his chest. He put a hand to my forehead, rocking continuously. The pain was subsiding, and now I felt embarrassed. Here I was—a former goddess—throwing up all over the place. My friends said I always handled everything with a refined poise. Oh, if they could see me now. However, I pushed aside that embarrassed feeling to make way for another thought. Where had the pain gone? Pain doesn't just vanish.

I had been injured enough times to know that pain that excruciating usually stayed with you for a while – unless you were Logan. However even he wasn't completely invulnerable to major damage. There was a reason that I wasn't in extreme pain, and I was betting Vega knew why. "What have you done to me?" I asked in an accusing voice, but I didn't pull away from his consoling embrace.

I heard Christie chuckle from somewhere in the room. "Yes, Vega, what have you done?"

For the first time I heard something other than confidence in Vega's voice when he said, "The master, Sakura, she wanted you alive and unharmed. I only…" He trailed off, and Christie chuckled again.

"You only what?" I nearly screamed, pulling away from him now. I felt better, and I didn't understand how I could recover from such a blow so fast. "What did you do?" I asked through clenched teeth.

"You were hurt bad, and you needed a hospital," he continued.

"So, instead of taking me to a hospital, you bring me here to this place." I said looking around the room. It reminded me of the dungeons you saw in old, horror movies. It was dank, badly-lit, and eerie. There was a corridor not too far from us, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to know where it led. "Why didn't you take me to the hospital?"

"We could not take you to a hospital, so I did what I thought was compulsory." I rested my back against the wall. The pain was now only a memory, but I still felt weak. He stood up and picked up a mop and bucket nearby. He splashed water on the floor and went about cleaning the floor, mopping my now expelled dinner and water into a drain. How convenient. I wondered how many people had lost their lunch down here.

It was odd seeing Vega undertaking such a servile task. I always imagined him as the type of master vampire that had minions readily available to take care of such things, but that was beside the point. The point was I wanted to know what was happening. He hadn't taken me to the hospital, but he had done something.

"How are you feeling, Ororo?" Christie asked, still smirking.

"I am fine, but how?" I asked.

Christie curled her lip, showing off her glittering fangs. I get the feeling she was trying to be impressive. It would take more than a little fang flashing to impress me. "She wants to know how, Vega. Should I inform her or should I let you do the honors?" She asked.

"I only did it because it was necessary and you could not do it." He said defensively, anger making his voice chill the air.

"Even if I could, I wouldn't have done it for her." Christie shot back, crossing her arms.

Apprehension was building inside of me. "Will someone, please, just tell me what's going on?" Neither vampire made a move to speak to me. In fact, they made no move at all. It was like looking at statues as a museum, and I'm sure they could stand there equally as long.

"Sakura would not allow me to take you to the hospital. I was afraid you would die if something wasn't done. In fact, I'm sure you would have died. So, I shared my life force with you." Vega said, his words coming out in one big blur.

I shook my head not understanding what he was trying to tell me. "I don't follow you." I said, and Christie let out an exasperated sigh.

"Fine, I'll tell her what's going on in a way she'll understand, and then we'll see how grateful she really is." Christie said, turning to me. She walked toward me, dropping to her knees in front of me. "Look me in my eyes, Ororo, and tell me what you feel."

I reluctantly looked into her pale, gray eyes, and I felt nothing. "I feel nothing." I responded, looking away from her.

"And you never will again. You are now almost completely immune to our gaze. Vega has taken the first step to making you a human servant." She explained slowly.

Ridiculous, she was lying. "He didn't bite me, send me into a deep trance, or anything –" I started to protest and she cut me off with the wave of a hand.

"He didn't turn you into one of those detestable halflings. Vega has shared the ultimate gift a vampire can give a human. I'm talking about someone who will never be bitten, never be hurt, and who will age almost as slowly as we do. Someone who will have all of out strengths; none of our weakness. Don't think this means that Vega runs around making human servants out of every pretty face. There can be only one. Mind you, Vega's only taken the first step with you."

"No…" I said. I didn't believe her.

"I took some of your pain and gave you some of my resilience." Vega interjected from across the room.

"Am I some sort of slave now?" I asked. This was a big pill to swallow. She was telling me that I now somehow bound to Vega.

"No. You will only serve him if you want to. You are now immune to his voice and his power. It doesn't matter either way really. Once the master finds out what has been done, you are both in trouble." Christie said wit a grim tone. She shook her head at me and walked away. She walked up the stairs and out of the door.

"Why?" I asked Vega, catching his eye. I stood slowly. "Why would you do this for me?"

"Because we needed you alive. If you had died, we would've been disciplined severely. Triage is already learning his lesson as we speak." He turned from me and walked toward the stairs. He paused for a second when his foot hit the first step. He didn't turn to face me as he said his next words, "And maybe because I like you." He continued his trek up the stairs, closing the door behind him, leaving me alone.

I sat there for a moment, expecting him to come back, but after a while, I figured they intended to leave me here for a while. I stood up and quickly rushed up the stairs, turning the knob on the door. It was locked naturally, but there was that urge to check it – just to reaffirm it. This would be a lot easier if I had something to pick these locks with. I pounded on the door with my fists.

"Is this any way to treat a guest?" I called through the door. I sat down on the top step, wondering what was going to become of me. I guess it wouldn't hurt to sit here for a little while. They had to come back for me eventually; the master wanted to see me. Perhaps, they were preparing me a nice banquet. I thought mockingly.

I saw a rat peer from around a corner of the "dungeon" corridor. You couldn't have a proper dungeon without rats I suppose. I think they were on the dungeon check sheet. Damp walls. Check. Rats. Check. Where was all this sarcasm coming from? I saw another rat scurry from around the corner. Mickey brought company. I guess they wanted me to know that I wasn't alone.

What walked from around the corridor next was enough to send me screaming. It was as big as a dog, but its features were rat-like. It sat up on its hind legs, tilting its head, and staring at me through its beady eyes. Rats were one thing. Rats the size of a dog are another. I stood and started pounding on the locked door gain. "Vega!"

"They will not come for you until we are done." I heard a voice say behind me. I turned around slowly. An ocean of furry bodies in different sizes covered the floor now, but in the midst of them, one man-sized rat stood with blonde fur.

"Wererats." I whispered. I'd seen a lot of werecreatures in my life—leopards, tigers, even cats—but I had only heard about wererats. Now, I was seeing them firsthand.

"Come down and play with us." The creature said. I stood motionless. There was no way I was leaving these steps.

"No thank you. I'm too old to play." I answered as boldly as I could. I was scared. I couldn't lie about that, but I wasn't about to become rat feed… or worse.

The creature chuckled deep in his throat and said, "We could come to you. We could force you to play with us. So, why don't you make this easy on yourself and come down to us, yes?" I didn't like that idea one bit, but I wasn't about to let him see I was afraid of him.

"If you want me," I sneered. "Come and get me." Perhaps that wasn't the smartest thing for a defenseless, tired woman to say. The creature sent two of the larger rats up to fetch me. I could tell by the eyes that they were indeed human as well, and when my eyes wandered a little lower, I could tell they were definitely male. Goddess. I pushed myself against the door. What could be worse than this?

The auburn colored one reached me first, and I felt a claw on my pants leg. Without thinking, I kicked the rat in the face, and it let out a squeal as it flew over the edge of the stairs back into the pit of rats. The other one, which had a sandy brown sort of mane, stopped in its tracks. It seemed to be sizing me up. "Bring her to me!" The leader commanded.

The rat tackled me, pulling me a down the steps a little. My ribs hurt slightly from the impact of falling against the steps, but I wasn't going to let a little pain hold me back. My life was at stake. I started flailing like a mad woman. "Get off of me!" I screamed.

The little rat (excuse my pun) let go of my leg long enough to try to restrain me. He straddled my hips, but I continued to bat at him with my hands. I felt claws on my arms as he tried to hold back my hands. He was ripping my sleeves to shreds – literally. Please, don't scratch me. I begged silently. The last thing I needed was for this thing to scratch me. Let's just say that if this rat scratched me chances are I would be in need of a serious haircut next month.

I needed to get him off of me. I wasn't going to be able to keep swatting at him for long. I remembered something I learned from a women's self-defense manual. Our strength lied in our legs. Using the power of our legs, we could even roll a perpetrator off. I braced my feet against one of the steps, pushing my hips at an angle. He tottered forward, his whiskers scrubbing my face, and I quickly rolled to the side, depositing him over the steps. He fell to the floor with a satisfying thud.

I stood up shakily. "Is that the best you can do?" I challenged. It was the adrenalin talking. I felt powerful just then, and I was waiting for the leader to make his next move.

"Do you think you can take us all, human?" He asked.

"There's only one way to find out," I answered bravely. I began to concentrate on the atmosphere in the dungeon. "But just in case, why don't I even the odds?"

The temperature began to steadily rise and a sweltering, stale breeze began to blow slightly. The coverlet of rats began to move away from each other, seeking a cool comfort they wouldn't find. Some of them even scurried back down the corridor – away from me. All that fur and nowhere to hide from the heat. Poor them.

"Cowards!" The leader of the group yelled as the temperature continued to climb. They were nearly crushing each other to get away now. I knew that if I turned it up another notch, I just might kill them all. Did I feel any remorse at the thought I might destroy them? No, I felt nothing. I wasn't a violent person by nature, but I was feeling vengeful at the moment.

"Where is your army now?" I taunted, noting that he tried to fight the impeding heat.

The leader growled at me. "I don't need them to defeat you or your magic." He thought this was magic? He stalked toward me, a determine gleam in his eyes. A few of the brave rats stayed to watch their leader destroy me. But if it was a fight he wanted, it was a fight he was going to get. How cliché.

"You underestimate me. What makes you think this is the best I can do?" I shot back. I didn't know if I had much power to summon up anything stronger; I was still trying to recover from earlier.

This seemed to amuse him because he laughed at me. "You entertain me human. Have you even been with a were?" He asked.

I frowned at the thought. I didn't find the thought of sleeping with a wererat particularly attractive. "No, and you couldn't handle me even if I wanted you to."

"We'll see about that, human." He laughed loudly, as if he had just made a funny joke. I calculated the odds of a stiff kick to the groin working on him. Wererat or not, I didn't know too many men who could shake off a well-aimed kick.

I had forgotten all about the weather in the dungeon as he advanced on me. He walked up the steps slowly, letting my fear build with each step he took. He leaped at me suddenly, and I fell to floor, pulling my knees to my chest. He was on me now, trying to pry my limbs lose. I guess when I told him he couldn't handle me, he took it as an open invitation to actually try.

He reared up for a second, and I knew if I were going to take that kick, now would be the perfect time to do so. I kicked him with everything I had, and he let out a scream-whine combination as he fell back, tumbling down the stairs. He didn't go all the way down, but he went down far enough to feel it.

He didn't move, and for a minute, I actually thought I might have killed him. Relief washed over me, but was quickly banished when I saw his friends were back, and now a new man-sized rat stood among them. His fur was black, and he actually wore clothes. I would have laughed if the situations wasn't so dire.

I readied myself for a second attack. My energy was dwindling, but I would not give in to them. I'd rather die than do that. "I told you not to come here." The black haired rat said to his fallen comrade who was now whimpering. I guess I didn't kill him after all. Damn.

"The master called to me, and I abided." The blonde rat, attempting to sit up on the step he occupied. I watched the exchange between them curiously. Apparently, the blonde haired rat wasn't really the leader.

"I am the master in these parts." The black rat said, striding up the stars and standing over the fallen rat.

"You're a fool if you think you can stand against the she master. She is far more powerful than you, and if she kills you, you will no longer be anyone's king." The blonde haired rat said spitefully.

The "king" picked the blonde rat up and started to shake him violently. "I am your master. Never, never disobey me again or I will kill you." He threw the rat down the stairs. I actually winced when the rat hit the ground. "Are you okay?"

I looked at the king startled. "Yes, I am fine. Thank you." Whether I wanted to admit it or not, he saved me.

He snorted at me. "I don't need your apologies. I don't give a damn about your life, but I refuse to let my people obey the vampires." He said with obvious hatred in his voice. I don't know if that hatred was directed at the vampires or me. I was putting my money on the vampires.

His words didn't anger me. "You have still spared my life, and for that I must thank you." I reiterated. I probably didn't mean anything to him in the grand scheme of things, but I was still appreciative nonetheless.

"You are welcome." He said, his voice a little softer now. "Why do they want you?"

"They want me to work for them." I replied.

"Do it, human. They will hurt you." This coming from the same wererat who told me seconds earlier he didn't give a damn about my life. If he didn't care about my life, why was he offering me advice?

"Some advice coming from someone who's disobeying a direct command. You could do as she wants and save yourself from punishment." I said with a half-smile.

The king chuckled. "I don't always follow my own advice. The master thinks she can control us because rats are hers to control, but she forgets that we are men first. We think for ourselves." He tilted his head as if he were listening to something. "They are coming for you."

He quickly ran down the steps, scooping up his unconscious (or was he dead?) friend, disappearing down the corridor. The door opened, and I found Christie looking at me expectantly. When she saw I was okay, she looked disappointed. "Where are they?" She asked. I shrugged, trying to appear blasé.

"Did they frighten you?" She asked. I shrugged again. Yeah, they had frightened me, but I wasn't going to tell her that. I knew that she would probably enjoy hearing about how much the rats had really scared me. "They were supposed to frighten you, but apparently, they did not do their job."

"Maybe, I am not easily frightened. There are worse terrors in the world than rats." And that was the truth. The rats were frightening in their own right, but I could think of things far worse.

"And you're about to meet one of them." Christie said with satisfied grin. I was now anxious at the thought of meeting the master. She seemed to hold a great deal of power. Something told me I should be afraid, but after what I just went through, I had enough endorphins running through me to last a lifetime.

Fear was the last thing crossing my mind. "Remind me to thank her for the lovely evening during the formal introductions." I said sarcastically, following Christie down the hallway. Christie chuckled, but her laugh held no amusement. Instead, it chimed with a caustic note like nails scraping a chalkboard.