In the wake of reading the new Harry Potter book and disowning J.K. Rowling as one of my favorite authors, I am venting in a horribly painful, cliffhanger ended chapter!

Enjoy.

Heero stared at the telephone on his desk with trepidation after he hung up with Wufei.

Did he just do the right thing?

He knew that as soon as Wufei told Duo where their partners were, he would jump the gun and run straight there to the basement of the club, no matter who was in their way. In fact, he was planning on catching them before they got too close to Midnight Masquerade and having them act as his prisoners, so he could get them to the cellar without a problem. Then he can take the full blame of everything onto himself and give them the opportunity to get Quatre and Trowa and leave.

He had been honest when he told the empath and his lover that he would not be able to stand Duo and Wufei's pain if they lost their friends, he would rather end his eternal existence and let them live freely.

These thoughts were so foreign to him, these ideas that considered Duo and Wufei friends and wanted them to be more than friends, these...emotions that -cared- about what happened to them. He had not believed himself capable of the human emotions that he had envied so much in Wufei when he was a vampire, but then he thought...he hadn't a use for those feelings until Wufei was dropped into his life by Zechs and Treize, and then when he had become entangled in the Chinese man's affairs with the slayers.

He really hoped tonight went according to his plans.

"Hey, Heero, right? The others are waiting rather impatiently for you by the bar."

Heero looked up at the doorway to his office at the slender woman with curly auburn hair leaned against the frame. "I know that. Who are you?"

"Catherine, I came with Dorothy's entourage from Europe," she replied, standing up straight.

"You're not one of us," he said flatly, narrowing his piercing gaze at her and not sensing a trace of vampirism, but there was something about her that wasn't a normal human either.

"You're right, I'm not."

Heero followed the mysterious woman out into the club where Noin and Une were waiting for them.

"It's about time," Noin said irritably, crossing her arms. "Heero, Catherine will be going with you tonight. Dorothy wants to make sure you're able to bring the other two in without any difficulties."

"Fine. Has anyone checked the cellar yet?"

"No, but I shouldn't think we have to," Une frowned. "I made sure everything was secure last night."

"That doesn't mean anything," Heero responded with a slight sneer, then glanced over at Catherine. "Dorothy's orders, right? I warned you to keep a tight grip on the reins, or she was going to take control." He threw one more dirty glare at an angry Noin before walking out with the red-haired woman close behind.

"Aren't you just a friendly guy?" Catherine asked amusedly.

"She deserves it for what she's done," Heero replied. "She still doesn't quite grasp the extremity of the situation she's started, but she'll realize it after it's too late."

He threw open the basement doors and led her down the stairs. His sharp hearing picked up Quatre and Trowa's quiet conversation before they shut up at the sounds of people entering.

The blonde was still hanging from his manacles on the wall just as the other unibanged slayer was still lying rather comfortably strapped up in the torture device, what was different, however, was their response to Heero's presence.

"Catherine, what are you doing here?" Quatre asked, baffled.

Trowa, who was facing the wall and thus couldn't see, was equally surprised. "She's here?"

"Hello, little brother, it seems you landed smack dab in the middle of my latest assignment!" Catherine greeted, her smile somewhat dimmed by the concern that showed as she stood by Trowa.

"Little brother?"

The empath chuckled. "Catherine does undercover work for us. Well, for my sisters really," he answered.

"You've called Duo and Wufei already, right? Before I came into your office," she added, turning back towards Heero.

"Yeah..." Heero shook his head to clear the confusion. "I told them Quatre and Trowa were here, so knowing them, they'll be here soon."

"I guess we've got a job to do then," Catherine sighed. "Hang tight in here guys, it's going to be a bumpy ride."

Heero and Catherine left the cellar and went into the alleyway.

"So what's your plan, assuming you have one?"

"We'll bring in Duo and Wufei as requested, but when I tell Dorothy the truth, she'll want to kill me instead of them. So it will give them the chance to escape that they need," he said, his eyes searching the sidewalks as they reached the street.

"That is the saddest, most selfish plan I've ever heard of," Catherine demurred, frowning.

"It's what has to be done."

"No, it doesn't. One call and I can have an army storm in, distract everyone and then you can make your escape with my brother and his friends," she remarked, stopping abruptly and pulling out her cellphone.

Heero wasn't able to respond before Une's voice called out over the crowded sidewalk.

"Yuy!"

He and Catherine whipped around and saw Noin and Une pursuing the two slayers in between people. "Shit-" He exchanged glances with Catherine and with a nod, they ran head on into Duo and Wufei's path. Heero snatched up Wufei by an arm and held him close, just as Catherine did to Duo. "Listen, fight with me, put on a show as long as I can get you into the basement. We have a plan."

Wufei shivered at the feel of the Japanese vampire's mouth so lightly touching the side of face as he spoke. "Fine, but we won't play lightly."

"I didn't expect you to," Heero smirked, loosening his grip and shoving him back into the alleyway.

Duo broke away from Catherine, tearing his gun out of its holster and pointing it at her. "Don't worry Cathy, I won't hit ya," he winked and aimed slightly above her right shoulder, where he had a clean shot at Noin and Une. She kicked the gun out of his hand as he fired, making the bullet just barely miss Noin's head as she came to a dead stop a few feet away.

"Are you all right!" Une asked worriedly, checking her purple-haired lover for injury.

"I'm okay, don't worry about me, we have to help subdue the slayers," Noin said waspishly, watching Heero and Wufei's brawl.

"I'll take Catherine, you help Yuy."

Wufei ducked Heero's punch and dove off to the side as Noin jumped into their fight in full fury. 'Damn it, we're not going to last long without harming Trowa's sister and Heero,' he thought desperately, glancing over as Une threw Duo into the wall with a sweep of her arm. 'And we still have to get Quatre and Trowa out of whatever situation they're in.'

He climbed to his feet slowly, allowing Noin's kick to connect with his ribcage and leaving himself open for Heero to grab his arms and pin them behind his back. Duo was quick to catch on and soon Une had him in a similar hold.

"I'm going to kill you fuckers if you've harmed a single hair on their heads!" he spat at Noin as she opened the cellar doors.

"I don't think you're in the right position to be threatening us," she replied coldly.

"Yeah, well Zechs and Treize said that too and see where THAT got them!"

Wufei's expression twisted into a scowl as Noin snapped around and punched Duo across the face. "Duo- be quiet! You're not helping any!"

"Fuck them!" he retorted, wincing. "Ow, that shit really hurt..."

Quatre gazed at the staircase as the arguments outside filtered down into the cellar and the vampires entered with their prisoners. Duo's cheek was already blossoming into an ugly purple bruise and he could feel the pain throbbing in Wufei's side from the kick.

"Do something with them, I'm going to go back up and tell Dorothy that we're ready for her," Noin said sharply.

Catherine stripped Duo and Wufei of their weapons and Heero secured them onto the wall next to the blonde empath, neither of them able to give them any of the leeway planned for their escape with Une's eagle eyes scrutinizing their every move.

"Are you really going to go through with this darling? It's a bit much just because Milliardo and Treize were stupid enough to get themselves killed in the middle of a vampire party in the first place," Odin said dryly.

"The more the better, it will send the perfect message out to all the other slayers to tread lightly," Dorothy dismissed airily. "And any others of our kind who are thinking about becoming betrayers will be too scared out of their wits to even consider it again."

"I still think you should drop it so we can go back to Europe, we won't have to deal with all of this insolence there," he replied convincingly.

"Perhaps..."

"Dorothy, we have them," Noin announced, standing in front of them and looking slightly out of breath. "All four of them."

"Excellent!" Dorothy clasped her hands together enthusiastically and sprang up to her feet. "Are you coming with us, Odin?"

"No, I think I'll just hang out up here," he sighed, stretching out on the couch and shooing her off with a lazy wave. "Just find me whenever you're ready to leave."

"So everything is as planned, correct?" Dorothy asked, practically glowing with excitement.

"Yes, Catherine, Heero, and Middie are currently watching over them while I came to get you," Noin answered curtly, leading the way as she returned to the alleyway and back down into the cellar.

Dorothy observed the scene with a smirk on her face until her eyes landed on Duo, then her mouth formed an 'O' of surprise. "Now this is -much- better than I expected..." she purred, walking past the purple-haired woman into the basement light. "Since all of our -honored- guests are present, I say we begin."

Duo growled, his anger rising at every word that she spoke. She wasn't going to destroy his life again. "Leave Quatre and Trowa out of this, you bitch! You want the one that killed Zechs and Treize, right! So just take me, let them go!"

"I am afraid history is just going to have to repeat itself," she laughed icily, bringing her face close to his. "Only this time, not only are you not a Maxwell, but you are not even a real slayer! Ironic, no?"

"Fuck you," he hissed acidly. "I don't give a shit what you say, I am what I am, no matter how I got here! Let them go and take it out on me, just like you shoulda fucking killed me years ago!"

Dorothy's amused façade only brightened. "But why do that when I can have even more fun watching you -suffer-?" she turned to the other women. "Begin."

Wufei's heart was racing a million miles a second. This was definitely not how this was supposed to happen. Why didn't he think to call Irea and the others? Maybe Catherine already did that, and they'll come charging in just as they had that night in the Maxwell house. He hadn't expected that when Duo said she went undercover that he meant -this- far undercover.

Catherine had pulled out a set of very sharp throwing knives and now stood in front of Wufei and Duo. She started with the smallest ones and worked her way to the largest, each one coming so close to hitting Trowa that they nailed his tight clothes to the wood of the machine.

Heero eyed the red-haired woman warily as she picked up the last dagger and lined her shot up to the center of the unibanged slayer's face. 'How far is his sister willing to go without blowing her cover?' he thought, feeling almost as nervous as Quatre looked.

The blonde let out a stifled gasp as Catherine's knife sliced Trowa's cheek as it landed into the wood just under his earlobe. Duo was cursing worse than ever.

"My turn!" Dorothy couldn't have been any more gleeful if she were Queen of the Underground and ruled over all the vampires. "Lucrezia, be a dear and turn the lever behind him a few clicks, make him feel really uncomfortable. He is enjoying this too much."

The panels of the machine pulled further apart with each echoing grid, taking Trowa's limbs with it and stretching them beyond their limitations. His right shoulder made a sickening pop, dislocated.

"P-please, stop this!" The pain Quatre felt resonated through his voice as he curled up as far as his restraints would allow. "Don't hurt him any more."

"Would you rather take his place?" Dorothy asked, raising a forked eyebrow.

"No, this hurts worse than anything we could do to him," Noin remarked with a smirk. "I believe he's empathetic, that's how they've been able to hide so long from us. So whatever the damage, he feels it as badly as they do."

"Interesting..."

"Lu, you aren't seriously considering using that kind of torture?" Une asked incredulously.

"Why not? It's what they deserve for what they did," she replied angrily.

"This is getting just a little too sick for my tastes. I'm out of here," Une said disgustedly, turning on her heel and leaving the cellar.

"Middie!"

"Forget her, she clearly does not understand," Dorothy sighed. "I had hopes for her too, since you spoke so highly of her. Oh well, let's have some fun, shall we?" She leaned her full weight against Trowa's straining body, toying with the collar of his teal turtleneck.

"This needs to go!" She gripped the shirt and ripped the front off, tossing it at Quatre's feet.

Heero did not like the way this was heading. Wufei was trying to placate Duo and Quatre at the same time with whispered words of encouragement and he was stuck, unable to do anything but watch his mother torture the people he close to. He glanced over at Catherine, who stood half hidden in the shadows, concealing the worry she couldn't banish from her expression.

"I hope you have reinforcements somewhere," he muttered, slipping over to the concerned woman.

"I was counting on them to call before they came barreling in here," she murmured back. "But I don't think they did, and I was interrupted before I could."

"Then we're screwed."

"Not yet, there might still-"

Catherine's reply was cut off as Quatre cried out in agony, bringing them back to reality. At first glance, it looked as if Dorothy was running her hands down Trowa's sculpted torso, though the rivulets of blood dripping from her fingertips as she withdrew her nails out of his flesh showed differently.

"HEY! Listen, you frigid bitch, you've had your fun, so let them go!" Duo demanded fiercely, his desperation almost at its peak. "They didn't do anything, I swear to God- It was all me!"

"We really have to end this charade..." Heero sighed heavily, walking over to Dorothy and Noin. "-I- am the one who killed Milliardo and Treize. I took his-" he pointed at the braided slayer, "-gun and shot them."

Absolute silence reined through the basement as Dorothy stared at him, unable to believe what she heard. Then suddenly, she erupted into hysterical laughter that rang like crashing icicles and held a hand to her bosom. "I think that has to be the funniest thing I have ever heard. You, kill them? You nearly gave me a heart attack for a moment there," she chuckled appreciatively. "I know you loathe me, but honestly, no son of mine would -ever- stoop so low as to kill one of their own."

"I did."

"Oh, stop it. You and Catherine take the empath and his little boyfriend out of here, I'm bored with them," she dismissed airily. "Lucrezia, you go find Middie and something to amuse yourselves with, I want these two all to myself for now. Since my pretty pet insists upon it so adamantly." Dorothy smiled coldly, stroking Duo's cheek adoringly as he gagged in disgust.

Heero hesitated at the stairway, adjusting Trowa's dead weight in his arms, "Are you sure you don't want anyone-"

"Go on Heero, listen to your -mother- and get the hell out of here," Wufei sneered convincingly, despite the lead replacing his insides. 'She didn't believe a word he said...now what is she going to do with us?'

Noin's expression curled into a defensive scowl. "I thought we were in this together Dorothy, and it's because of me you're even here in the first place," she argued angrily. "You can't just kick me out like one of your insignificant lackeys."

"Don't worry Lucrezia, I'll leave plenty for you," she replied with a hint of threatening undertone. "I just want a little alone time beforehand, that's all."

The purple-haired vampire stood defiantly in her spot, but after a few seconds she gave a furious huff and followed Heero and Catherine out of the basement.

Wufei was in a blind panic. Here they were, defenseless and bound in chains, in front of a very menacing vampire. "So what are you going to do to us now?"

"It's not 'us', it's 'him'," Dorothy replied smoothly. "You are of no use to me now, I will save your punishment for Lucrezia." She swung her hand back at Wufei and slammed his skull with a cracking blow into the stone wall.

Then all he knew was darkness.

w00t...and I'm going to leave it there for now...

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