INT. THE NIGHTSTALKER BOAT - NIGHT

Meg walks down the docks that the Nightstalker's boat is tied to. Even out here she can smell the blood of a massacre. She glances up and sees Blade on an upper deck. He sees her as well and comes down as she approaches.

BLADE
What took you so long?

MEG
A little thing called sunlight. (She nears him and her eyes darken.)
Why didn't you call me sooner?

BLADE
What good would you have done?

Meg slaps him as hard as she can. His head rocks slightly and it surprises him. He moves to stop her but Meg doesn't need to hit him again, he understands how she feels now.

MEG
You learned how to be an asshole from the best.
Jesus, Blade. I'm sorry. Maybe I couldn't have
helped you before, but I'm here now. (A beat.)
What the hell happened?

BLADE
A vampire.

She gives him a dirty look.

MEG
There's more than that.

BLADE
There's always more. (He turns away slightly.) They
found the original vampire, or so they think. Just another
fucking suckhead to me.

MEG
He did this?

BLADE
And took a little girl and a man.

MEG
So we go and get them back.

BLADE
It's not that easy. Drake isn't just your average….

She shrugs, but there is an uneasiness to the motion. The scent of blood is running rampant through her body and the thirst is rising along with it.

BLADE (cont.)
Meg!

MEG
I'm in control. (Quiet desperation.) I am
in control.

BLADE
There's another problem. (He grabs her hard.)
Are you listening to me?

She nods.

BLADE (cont.)
I don't have the cure. Lost it when I lost Whistler.
(Gruffly.) These kids have created a virus that
kills vampires. If you go in their with us…
it might kill us both.

She tries for a little bit of humor.

MEG
Is that all?

But the words seem to fall flat. Blade pulls her in tighter. He's fought against caring about anyone but it has backfired. With Whistler gone, Meg is all he has left. She's trusted him with her life and he is suddenly afraid that if she should die – there won't be anyone else. Certainly not the asshole King or even Whistler's daughter, Meg is all he has.

BLADE
I don't want you to die.

MEG
You only get so many second chances. (Sadly.)
You're as vulnerable as I am.

BLADE
No. You protect yourself.

Meg stares up at him and notices for the first time, that he's wearing red. It almost makes her smile, as if their whole world wasn't crashing down.

MEG
So what's the plan? Kill the vamp and
rescue the kids?

BLADE
Essentially.

ABBY
Blade?

Abby is in the doorway. Her eyes wide with disbelief at Blade and Meg standing there. Her right hand drops to the big revolver she's wearing on one hip.

BLADE
Whistler's daughter or not. Watch yourself.

ABBY
This is her. The one my dad told me about.
He also said that she was dead.

BLADE
We all keep secrets.

Meg pulls away from him slightly. Her eyes narrowing as she looks at Abby.

MEG
You're right in what you're thinking.
I'm one of them. A vampire.

BLADE
Meg…

MEG
If your dad told you about me, then he
also told you how it happened.

Abby nods reluctantly, her hand frozen at her side.

MEG (cont.)
The cure is gone. And the asshole who promised
that he'd change me back seems to think we have
a more important job to do. Rescuing your friends.
(A beat.) You can ash me, but I might just be the edge
you need to win this thing. Do you want to risk it?

ABBY
No.

MEG
Then let's figure out how to go and get them.

She turns back to Blade.

MEG (cont.)
Do you know where they are?

ABBY
We do.

BLADE
You've been there before. The Talos
building.

Meg's eyes widen, the amber shocking against the pale of her skin.

MEG
You said something about a vampire?
(Whispered.) The original vampire?

ABBY
What do you know?

MEG
I've already met him.
(Her resolve stiffens.) We have to hurry.
We're running out of darkness.

EXT.A HELO PAD - NIGHT

Calder is talking urgently to a pilot while Abby is loading her bow and an extra bag into the back of the chopper. The bird's rotors are already cycling up.

Blade is standing next to his motorcycle, a small radio next to his ear.

BLADE
Are you ready?

MEG (radio filter)
I'm in position.

BLADE
We're ten minutes out.

MEG (radio filter)
They won't know what hit them.

BLADE
(Hesitation…then.)
Be careful.

A small laugh comes across the radio, it makes him frown.

MEG (radio filter)
Hey, I've got the easy job.

BLADE
Don't do anything crazy.

MEG (radio filter)
Who me? This is just a hobby. Remember?
(Her voice gets more serious.) I'll see you
inside.

ABBY
Blade, we're ready!

He clicks off the radio and sets it on the motorcycle. For good or bad. Things are beginning.

EXT. THE TALOS BUILDING - NIGHT

Meg strides toward the front doors of the building. She can see four vampires inside, security guards and the initial line of defense. The plan is for her to disable their security system on the first floor so that they can't call in any help, human or otherwise. That's the easy part. She's going to have to be more cautious for the second half of the plan and hope that she's quick enough to get everything set up before they release Daystar.

She's wearing black camoflauge pants and a black t-shirt under a long overcoat. Not usually prone to theatrics, it does something even more valuable – hides the silver stakes in holsters around her thighs as well as the electronic pistol she's taken from the Nightstalkers, a canister of aerosolized garlic and silver, and a gas mask to protect herself.

She pushes the front door open as the first vamp rises.

VAMPIRE
(Confused.)
Madam Damaskeinos?

MEG
Oh that. (She shrugs.)
A little white lie.

She draws the pistol and shoots him at point black range. His ash blows past her out of the door as she calmly targets and shoots the next two guards. The last is jumping toward the alarm button when she kicks him away from the console.

He hisses at her and Meg smiles at him very slowly.

MEG (cont.)
That's not very nice.

She lunges forward and the silver stake impales his left eye. For a brief moment, reflex pulls the vampire away from her but then he crumbles. His skull remains whole and Meg has to shake it off as she retrieves the stake.

For a moment Meg is alone. She pulls a small disk from one pocket and slides it into the hard drive of the computer. The screen pauses for a moment as it loads the initial file. Meg taps her foot as it works, the disk has a computer virus that will freeze the entire vampire network. It will keep them from calling for human help.

The screen cycles and then starts to disseminate the virus when a sudden chill runs across the back of her neck. Meg freezes in place. It's him.

She can't turn around yet. The virus needs a command to make it fully operational. Without turning, even though every nerve in her body is screaming at her to look, she takes the time to press the three button combination on the keypad.

Drake moves closer.

DRAKE
It took me a while to figure out what you were.

Meg straightens and turns to face him. Her heart seizes slightly even though she knows exactly what he is. Still, there is something else there. A frightening attraction to him, much the same as the one she fights against the heady aroma of blood.

MEG
Oh really.

DRAKE
And then I met Blade. You're his line.
A vampire born of a Daywalker. (He circles her.)
Are you impervious to sunlight?

MEG
No.

DRAKE
Interesting. (He tightens the circle, getting closer
and closer.) But you're not like any of the others.
Not as weak as they are.

Meg shakes her head slightly. It's hard to think with him so close. His scent all around her. The sudden thought strikes her that she might be in mortal danger, but she truly is all alone. Whatever happens will happen.

She keeps her eyes trained entirely on him as she lets one hand drop down towards her asp.

DRAKE (cont.)
You remind me of how my race used to be.

MEG
Not for long. (Her fingers brush against the
tip of the handle.) There's a cure.

He lunges into her. One hand grabs tight around her throat as he slams her into the desk and sends papers flying from the impact. He pins her against it. His weight is squarely above her as his fingers tighten in the soft flesh of her neck.

Meg can't breathe. Can't fight him. Black spots dance in her eyes as he squeezes. She's fighting him, but his strength is immovable.

DRAKE
Is he here?

Meg struggles, trying to free herself but he clenches down and repeats his question. Finally she is forced to nod. Blade and Abigail should have been right behind her, and Blade was already looking for Drake, it wouldn't give anything away.

DRAKE (cont.)
Good.

His grip loosens and she gasps for air. But then he reaches down and wraps one hand in her hair. Meg struggles but can't move away. As he draws close again she sees his irises change shape back to the beast that is inside of him.

MEG
You can kill me. It doesn't matter.
I'm just the rear guard anyway.

DRAKE
I won't kill you. You haven't felt the
thirst yet. Not the true thirst that awakens
the vampire inside of you.

She's finally grabbed the asp and slashes upwards with it, scoring the outside of his bicep and shoulder. He gives her a satisfied grin as he wrests it away from her.

DRAKE
I was right. You're a fighter. Just like him.

He examines the asp and plunges it into her shoulder. Meg screams as the silver pierces her flesh. She screams as the thrust drives the metal down into the desk beneath her, pinning her to it. She tries to turn and reach the pistol on her hip but he takes it easily from her and sets it aside.

She's caught, in agony from the silver and absolutely helpless to fight him. He leans back over her a strange expression suddenly crossing his face.

DRAKE (cont.)
Now you're alive.

He releases her suddenly and starts toward the elevator. Meg tries to lever herself up off the asp but screams with the pain of it. She lays back gasping and then centers her breath.

She shoves herself up and off the desk, shrieking with pain as the heavier handle of the asp rips open her shoulder even further. Vivid red blood splashes out of the wound, flashing slowly into fire and then ash as they fall away from her. Meg collapses to her knees, using her free hand as front pressure as she presses her back against the marble desk to stop the bleeding in the back. Her shoulder around the gaping wound is tinged black from the toxic silver.

She pants with the agony of it all even as her body begins to heal the wound. On its heels is the thirst and the sudden knowledge that she needs to feed.

She reaches into her pocket and pulls out the small walkie-talkie that is connected, via a small invisible earpiece, to Blade.

MEG
First floor is secure…. (She barely manages to say.)
….He's coming.

The walkie-talkie drops from her fingers as the wound begins to bleed again. Her eyes go dark with need and Meg groans with the certainty that she is losing the fight. Drake has accomplished what he set out to do – unleash her thirst.

Meg staggers to her feet and uses all of her weight to dislodge the asp from the desk. The metal gleams dully where her blood ashed and left a faint residue all along the blade and hilt. She slides it into the holster and grabs the pistol that Drake has discarded. Barely upright, she staggers for the elevators. Despite it all, there is still a job to do.

INT. TALOS BUILDING 2nd FLOOR - NIGHT

The elevator doors open and a small cylindrical canister rolls out. The vampires working in the offices look up and then scream as garlic and silver explodes out of it. They lunge out of their seats, the ones closest begin to ash from the inside-out, the rest are panicking as Meg steps out of the elevator, gas mask on, and picks them off.

She's leaning against the wall, only her eyes are sharp behind the mask. Her skin is pale and tinged a horrible grey color.

She's never been so scared in her entire life. The hunger is so close to the surface that its wiping out almost everything else. She's losing her ability to think, to reason clearly. Soon she'll be nothing but a beast, and when that happens, she'll become the very thing that Whistler feared. She either has to give into it now - by choice. Or lose the battle later.

The silver and garlic from the grenade is burning into the weeping tissue of her shoulder. She grunts as a vampire gets close and she has to knock him away before shooting him. Ash blows over the mask and when it clears she sees that there is only one man left. A familiar.

She chambers a regular steel round even as he is begging with her to stop. Halfway to him, she hears the echo of a conversation in her head.

BLADE
I don't want you to die.
You protect yourself.

MEG
(To herself.)
I don't want to be a monster.

BLADE
Without blood you won't heal.

She'd delirious. Remembering pieces of old conversations, trying to keep from losing her mind, but what she remembers are the words so similar to forgiveness that he's given her. Words that make her believe, just for a moment, that surviving might be worth the price.

FAMILIAR
Please! Don't do this! Don't kill me.

Meg grabs a hold of him and smells the fear on him. She can't stand and collapses to her knees, pulling him with her. She reaches up and pulls off the mask, wincing at the bitter stench in the air.

MEG
No, this isn't death.

Like a viper her eyes go vicious and cold, and then she strikes.

INT. TALOS BUILDING TOP FLOOR - NIGHT

Blade and Drake crash into the metal support structures, bowing the steel around them with the force of the blow. So far they are not evenly matched. Drake is stronger and Blade just might be losing.

Drake throws him into the end of the floor and Blade feels the ache beginning that makes it harder and harder to get up and keep fighting.

Abby shoots the arrow and Drake catches it, throwing it to the side. Daystar isn't active until it is mixed with his blood. As he moves in to end everything, a door opens on the opposite end of the hall and Meg races out. She's wearing the mask again, her shoulder healed into a clean expanse of skin. As she sees Drake move in for the killing blow, she starts to run, as though she might be able to stop it.

But Blade strikes upward with the arrow and the vial breaks inside of Drake's skin as Daystar is released. Abby nods in satisfaction and Meg slows and stops as she realizes that the tables are turned. This time Drake has been overcome, not with brute strength, but with a technology that he never expected.

She approaches more slowly as he falls to the floor across from Blade. Her eyes wide and horrified as her skin crawls with the first onslaught of Daystar, yet her safety is of no concern to her. She can't decide if she's more worried about Blade or about the truth that Drake is dying. Suddenly, both matter to her. They've both brought a kind of truth to her in their own way.

Drake isn't looking entirely at Blade as he speaks. He sees her get closer and it causes a faint smile on his face.

DRAKE
(To Blade…and to Meg.)
Funny, all this time my people were trying to create new vampire…
but one already existed. I don't need to survive.
The future of our race rests with you.
(A long pause.)
You fought well. I respect that. Allow me a parting gift.
But remember this, sooner or later…
the thirst always wins.

Drake lays back as the virus works its way through him. Blade watches him for a second more and then lays back himself, horribly injured by their confrontation and by the virus that is attacking him as well.

Meg runs to him, pushing through the broken glass door. Her eyes are inside the mask, the amber flashing vividly as she goes to him. One hand drops to his chest and she almost rips off her mask when she realizes that there is nothing to feel.

No pulse.

MEG
You don't get to die on me.
Not yet. You don't get to….

The faint thump under her hand brings a sob of relief and then it is a long time before she feels the next one. She smiles faintly. He is alive.

She turns then, towards Drake.

It only takes a moment to reach him and she stares down in surprise. For all that he was a monster, he died a man. He looks human except for the wicked scar on his chest and the black threads of his veins now visible underneath his skin. What words she would have said to him are gone now that he is dead.

Surprising, and unbidden, a new set of tears flash into her eyes. She stares at him for a long moment before getting to her feet. Dawn is coming, already crossing the horizon, and she cannot stay to face it. She looks at the two of them one last time before leaving to look for Abby.

This then, is over.

EPILOGUE

INT.A ROOM - EARLY EVENING
Sunlight is streaming in through the windows. Meg is sitting, wearing blue jeans and an old white t-shirt, next to the bed that Blade is sleeping in. He looks somewhat the worse for wear, but is healthy, and visibly breathing this time.

She is looking out at the sky when his eyes open, take in her and then the sunlight glowing across the skin of her face.

BLADE
You're human.

MEG
Mostly. (Smiles brightly.)
How are you feeling?

BLADE
I've had better days.

He sits up and stretches, his back cracking painfully. Then he reaches out for her, one hand brushing across her arm. Then he hears Hannibal and his good mood vanishes.

BLADE (cont.)
You haven't gotten rid of him yet?

MEG
(Humorously.) No. Not yet. I couldn't
have gotten you out without them. (A beat.) Abby
says that you and King don't get along too well.

Blade snorts. He scans around the room and settles down a bit when he sees his sword and sunglasses sitting on a small night table across from him.

BLADE
I've laid around long enough. I should get
going.

MEG
To where?

BLADE
There will always be vampires to kill.
North maybe, where you found the blood farms.

MEG
And blew them up.

He ignores that little fact and glances down at the black underwear that he's wearing without pants. This little tidbit makes one eyebrow arch as he finds his black pants and pulls them on.

Once dressed he turns back to Meg.

BLADE
You should stay with them. (There's no confusion
as to whom he is referring.) Whistler's daughter
isn't so bad.

MEG
Open your eyes, Blade. (Sharply.)
I'm not an easy fit anymore.

He shrugs but she is on her feet and making him truly look at her. Karen's cure might have erased most of the vampire from her – but not all.

Her eyes are still the identical shade of golden as his and while her overall scent is human, the vampire is still there, just underneath her skin.

BLADE
What happened?

MEG
Karen called it permanent genetic alteration.

BLADE
It didn't happen to Whistler and he was one of
them for three years. King either.

MEG
Neither of them were bitten by you.

Blade is silent. There's not really an answer to that. He feels guilty enough for what he put her through.

MEG (cont.)
Blade. Don't push me away. Not now.
You don't know half the shit I had to put up
with because of you.

BLADE
Are you complaining?

MEG
No. I'd do it all again. So I guess I'm the fool.

BLADE
(He is about to reach out for her again. His voice
is suddenly tender.) Not so foolish…

Hannibal crashes in through the doorway. Tall, lanky, with that inappropriate humor he takes one look at the two of them and realizes he's interrupted something. It takes a second and then he regains his balance.

HANNIBAL
We've got a problem.

BLADE
Don't you know how to knock?

HANNIBAL
This is important.

Blade is about to retort but Meg shakes her head slightly.

MEG
What is it?

Hannibal glances at Blade again, as though he's expecting to be slapped.

HANNIBAL
They've stolen Drake's body.

MEG
(Shock.)
What?

HANNIBAL
It's gone. He's gone.

A dull heavy silence surrounds them, cooling the sunlight until it has no more heat than the darkest night. The air chills all of them, except Blade who seems to have expected this.

BLADE
It's not over.

THE END…for now