Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. Mental collapse on my behalf. This is where – hopefully – things start to become clear for everyone. All those questions I've said will be answered in later chapters… they'll start to crop up here and there. Hopefully…

Marcus Lazarus: Telepaths are a viable option… but you'll have to wait and see. I'm not giving that away just yet XD You know me.

Mrs. Mina Harker: Don't worry… the Ezekiel and Mina back-story will come into it; I'm not leaving that out. And maybe I should have everyone taking part in a group hug… but that would probably result in shreds of characters all over the floor, so… O.o

Ceru S: Thanks very much. Very kind words, and I appreciate every single one. If you think about it, Falx wants Exuro back, so her initiating a truce is a last resort when she realises they need the team to find her lover. Thanks again!

Silversnow: Thank you! You are too kind. Glad you're enjoying it.

Shakai: Heheh, I have made it rather complicated; as in, you can't designate who's a 'baddie' all that well. Mwahahahah… go me and my devious-ness. OOH! Jaffa Cakes! That'll work XD

And now for the next chapter of Eternal Midnight…

Larson almost leapt out of his office when he heard the roar of the engines as the trucks pulled back into the building that had become his base of operations. He gripped the railing of the balcony, and nearly grinned ear to ear when he saw Donovan hop down from the passenger side of the first vehicle before it had even stopped rolling inside.

Masters looked up at his superior with a subtle smirk of triumph, and patted the container with the flat of his hand as it drove past, walking calmly and casually away from the trucks as the needed apparatus was brought close in order to lift and winch the crates from their perches.

Robert Larson made his way briskly but not impatiently down the steps, and came up beside Masters, asking with a simple gaze as to how the operation was handled.

"Easy as pie, sir," Masters quipped, shouldering the rifle as the two containers were winched down from the trucks and set side by side near to the far wall of the vast warehouse floor. One was shaking just slightly, and from inside came a bellowing only identifiable as the werewolf. The other one was still, but there was an unmistakeable growling from within that suggested the presence of the vampire. The drugs and sharp edges at the sides of the slits ensured her bats – if she had been able to call on them – would not manage an escape… and there was no way the wolf was going to batter his way free, especially after being tranquilised little over an hour ago.

Chuckling lightly, Larson turned his head to his second in command, saying, "I have a few things to finish up. Let me know when they're out of the containers and subdued."

Masters nodded. "Sir."

Larson jogged back up the steps, and with one final glance at the strong containers, slipped back inside his office with a triumphant grin on his face.

Donovan shrugged the rifle off his shoulder, and held it in both hands, before reaching into his vest and pulling out more darts; though these were somewhat different to the ones he had initially used on the wolf and vampire, before loading two into the chamber and slotting it closed. Holding the others – capped as they were, and therefore safe – between his teeth, he indicated for the men nearby to step back, as he strode up beside the wolf's container. The vampire seemed to quieten, as if she could smell Donovan and his weapon.

Good girl, he thought mockingly to himself, and pulled in a breath, seeing the flash of narrowed silver eyes from within the container. Raising the rifle, he brought it close to the hole… when a hand shot out and grabbed the barrel, cutting the skin on the way through, but seemingly not even fazing the creature as blood ran from the wounds.

Some of the men near Donovan jumped back in surprise, but all Masters did was pull the trigger, and hear a yell, before he subsequently let off the second shot.

It did little to subdue him, and he only slammed against the container anew with a roar as Donovan reloaded with a shake of his head. He fired the two shots into the wolf, hearing the impact of each one, and even the slight clatter as the spent darts were dropped to the floor as Exuro pulled them free.

Furrowing his brow in surprise more than anything – and even a little impressed – Donovan loaded two more, and – reluctantly at first – fired them into the slowly calming werewolf. Before long, there was a groan from inside, and Donovan heard the stumble that came with the drugs in the darts. He could handle them; they needn't worry about the danger of overdosing.

"All right," he mumbled to his men, who had the equipment ready at hand, and made their way to the container doors to open them. There were guards with guns levelled at the ready should anything occur, and a few men with tasers should things get even more out of hand. In actuality, Donovan would rather use the tasers in question if anything happened… they needed the two of them alive. He signalled to the men to open the containers, and after only a brief hesitation, the bolts were drawn back with slight struggles and heaving. They creaked and groaned as the men tugged on them, and before long, the doors were being opened.

To his surprise, Harker, the vampire, was cool and collected, and upon seeing the restraints in her guards' hands, said calmly, "Those will not be necessary." Though she glared and was obviously far from happy about the situation, it was clear she wasn't going to make a scene. Donovan nodded to the inquiring gazes of the guards, who simply stood around her warily as they brought her away from her container. She kept quiet and subdued, watching the twin container as the men stepped cautiously inside.

One of the men was knocked back somewhat haphazardly, and a brief somewhat shadowed struggle ensued in the crate before Donovan cocked the gun again… a sound that seemed to signal successfully to the rebellious Exuro that fighting would earn him another dose. Donovan refrained from smirking, and heard the men applying the restraints. It wasn't long before they were bringing the werewolf out, with cuffs around his wrists and a somewhat crude but effective collar about his neck. Two chains from both the collar and the cuffs ensured the restraint, and Exuro looked far from pleased about the situation… though the grogginess was evident in the slight clouding of his eyes.

"Go get Larson," Donovan ordered one of the men without a real priority, and with a nod, the soldier hurried off to do as he was told. Donovan never took his eyes off the werewolf, and his suspicions were confirmed when Exuro tried to fight again, growling fiercely and trying to lash out at those restraining him.

Rolling his eyes with a rather dramatic sigh, Donovan raised the rifle again, and hit Exuro with yet another dart, making him give a brief cry. He saw the wince, and nodded to one of the soldiers to remove the used dart. When it was jerked free, Exuro's legs wavered a little, and without warning, he collapsed to the ground, slamming down hard on his knees with a grimace and a groan, bowing his head forward a little. Harker watched all this with a measured degree of anger and concern, but wisely held her tongue. Donovan kept the rifle held readily in his hands; thankful he had loaded another two shots as he'd strode away from the crate.

Larson came up beside him then, and Exuro struggled weakly against his chains and collar, growling at the men who were holding the chains tightly. "You call this subdued?" he queried sceptically.

Donovan shrugged nonchalantly, shaking his head a little. "This is as subdued as he's gonna get, sir… trust me."

"What do you mean by that? Didn't you use the darts?"

Donovan laughed dryly and with very little humour. "Yes, sir, I certainly did. It's taken seven of 'em to get this far." Looking to his superior, he added, "I pumped enough into him to down a bull elephant… and then some." Shaking his head again with a sigh, he continued, "It'll have to do, sir. Vampire seems to know her place though."

Larson glanced over at Harker, and nodded, even though the woman was glaring with a red hue to her eyes. "Good." Warily at first, Larson paced closer and gazed down on the drugged werewolf, almost as if he were eyeing a specimen… which was, in fact, what Exuro and Harker were. Specimens.

"Not bad," he murmured. "Did you see his wolf?" Larson gazed over his shoulder at Donovan, who shook his head.

"He held back, I'm afraid, sir. Though if we let the drugs wear off, I'm sure he'll give us a show." With a slight chuckle, Donovan paced up beside his superior, shouldering the rifle again, before rethinking it, and passing it off to one of the men and swapping it for the guard's taser, for good measure. "Won't you, dog?"

Exuro glared up at Donovan, eyes flashing silver only briefly before a low and constant growl became evident. Rolling his eyes, Donovan backhanded the werewolf before ramming the taser down on his back, making him yell out in pain and practically collapse, much to Larson's amusement. Grabbing a handful of shaggy blonde hair, Donovan yanked Exuro's head back, threatening, "Don't make me muzzle you, mutt."

With a laugh, he threw the head forward again, noticing how it bowed right over, hanging somewhat heavily as the werewolf recovered from the charge that had been shot viciously through his body.

"Get them to the lab," Larson ordered, and with mutterings of acknowledgement, the guards started moving the vampire and the werewolf out of the large room, and away to the adjacent one, where the scientists had set up their primary and most important workspace.

Larson and Donovan watched them go, with the latter eyeing the taser almost fondly with a thoughtful expression. Gazing to each other, they headed off steadily to oversee the lab segment of the operation.

Anise practically threw herself out of the car, almost scrambling over Dmitri to get away from Gladius. She despised him in a way she had never thought possible, even for one who had seen the man kill a dear friend… Lei had died because of him and Falx, and she hated them both. Of course, she hated them all, but for some reason, Gladius made her blood run cold, and Falx made her want to scream. To her, they were the worst.

Dmitri looked to her questioningly as she dusted off her clothes, and she nodded, seeing Ezekiel leaning against the door, eyes narrowed as he waited. "Illyria and Zariel are inside."

Anise nodded, remembering Mina had given them the key and the code to get into the building. Paranoia and experience had taught them to up their security, and the secondary digital lock had been added not too long ago. When asked nosily by the installer what they were trying to protect or hide – of course, jokingly – they had merely said they were carrying out research, and the equipment was expensive. She walked over to the male vampire, and discreetly punched in the code, subconsciously covering the panel from the Quattuor members with her free hand as her fingers pushed the buttons. The light clicked to green, and she turned the key in the door before opening it. She ushered them inside, and followed, Dmitri and Ezekiel at her sides. She felt like she was being shadowed, but suddenly she welcomed that.

Up ahead, she could hear soft music… they must have left it running from when they had left in a hurry. And apparently on loop; they had been gone a while; longer than a CD's span. Shrugging it off as an unimportant fact, they entered the main 'office' of their building, finding Illyria and Zariel waiting for them. The werewolf had changed, it seemed. His clothes had been grubby from the scuffle in the alleys, and he sat on the table's edge now, cleaner and stoic as always. Anise noticed they'd tidied away the files concerning the Quattuor, thankfully. The last thing they needed was for a fight to break out regarding their spying… not that it would have mattered; they probably already knew to some extent.

Falx, Gladius and Lacertus were looking around with a lacking interest, the latter taking to roaming slowly, eyeing equipment and the like. Dmitri watched him carefully, never taking his dark eyes from the young member of the assassin group. Gladius and Falx stood roughly five feet from each other… as if allergic, Anise noted with a hint of amusement. She strode further into the room, removing her jacket, and skipping the obnoxious track on the CD. After a moment, she turned it off altogether; casting the room into heavy silence, save for the soft tapping of Lacertus' heels as he moved. He walked past Anise once, eyeing her as if in study, and then continued. She watched him, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

"So now what?" Falx asked impatiently, folding her arms across her chest with a glint of something distasteful in her bright eyes. Anise looked to her, noting the way Dmitri seemed to guard the door, and quirked a brow.

"Now we think."

"Think?" Falx disputed, and Anise almost groaned. It seemed the territoriality between the two of them was going to grow… and quickly. It would no doubt escalate; she was thankful the others were here to prevent anything, or at least step in and help if it came to that. "What is there to think about?"

"We have to try and think who would abduct Tom and Mina." She didn't even register her mental slip until a growl tore from Falx.

"Tom Sawyer is dead," she corrected sharply, her eyes black for just a moment. "Exuro is the one who was taken. Make no mistake about that…"

Anise ignored the challenge in the alpha female's glare, and looked to Ezekiel as he paced from behind Falx, almost brushing against her as he offered her an icy glance. She did not back down, and not too far to her left, Gladius practically smirked.

"Let's not go back to tearing each other's throats out, hmm?" he offered, raising both brows as he looked to everyone present. "We're here to help each other, and believe it or not… fighting is counterproductive…" The sarcasm in his voice was far from subtle, and behind him, Illyria smiled almost mischievously. It was the most expression Anise had ever seen in the woman.

"So, is sarcasm your only talent, or do you have some idea as to what we do now?" Falx said after a few moments, looking pointedly at the male. "Not that I should expect much from a vampire…"

"Now, no need to be rude," Ezekiel quipped, cocking his head in a manner that made his feral hair more noticeable. He chuckled quietly, rolling his shoulders. Anise noticed the way Falx tensed, as if she thought he was about to pounce, and almost rolled her eyes; they were getting paranoid too it seemed.

Illyria was glaring openly at Falx now, who sighed loudly and took it upon herself to sit none too lightly in an available chair off to the side of the room. Gladius took to leaning against the wall not too far from the imposing form of Dmitri. Lacertus was still sating his curiosity. Zariel hadn't moved, said, or done anything since they'd arrived, and Anise didn't know whether to be worried or not. Illyria motioned Ezekiel over with a mere gaze, and he relented, standing beside her almost possessively.

Well this is going well…

To Be Continued…