(grrrrr) I had this chapter ready to post three days ago, but stupid f f . n e t wouldn't let me upload it.

Sorry about the long delay between updates, I've been major-super busy with school and being Stage Manager in my university theatre, so I haven't had much time to write. I hope you enjoy this!

And I promise I'll try to make sure it isn't a month before I update again!

Chapter 17

Une was nervous. And had a very, VERY good reason to be.

She stood behind the bar, fidgeting compulsively with glasses and bottles as she watched Noin pace restlessly back and forth around the club like a caged tiger. The slayers, Heero, and Wufei were...somewhere. They had all agreed that whatever they were planning was left unsaid to herself and her lover, Dorothy had become so fanatical as of late that they didn't put it past her to try to feel their minds, searching for the unease often associated with betrayal.

It was bad enough having the knowledge that they had been in the slayers' presence, but that could be easily explained in an acceptable manner. It was a whole other thing knowing that they were part of the ambush with said arch-enemies waiting to attack a sovereign, of all vampires to plot against.

Part of Une wished she would stay away, delay the inevitable moment until they were more prepared...but as Heero had predicted, Dorothy was not gone for long, and before they knew it, she had materialized with her entourage amidst the small crowd of people in Midnight Masquerade.

"Ugh, Americans have been too desensitized by movies and television," Dorothy remarked with a sneer, leaning up against the bar counter. "Can you believe one of the poor idiots I played with tonight had the gall to -laugh- at me when I bared my fangs! He told me Halloween wasn't for another few months and to go back to whatever moldy castle I flew out of."

"Well, you obviously weren't too bothered, or else you would still be out here torturing him," Une replied mechanically.

"True, he -was- a stupid man after all."

She muttered something noncommittally and turned her gaze away from the blonde woman, pretending to be interested in the band Noin had hired and was helping set up on the stage. Une felt as if she was stuck in one of those old Western movies, sitting there behind the bar like in an old saloon, making small talk to customers during the calm right before the bad guy or the hero burst through the doors with a cloud of dust, guns barreling.

But no. Remembering the past few times they had been confronted by the slayers...their style wasn't to run head on with guns at the ready, they tended to infiltrate first, then make their moves.

Noin came over to them, stepping over the rope that blocked off entrance to the bar counter and standing beside her lover. "So where's your...friend, Dorothy?" Her lip curled up slightly, her disdain barely contained.

"Oh, he's around. I told him to have fun, he'll know whenever I need him," she smiled carelessly, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

Noin opened her mouth to reply then stopped, staring fixedly at the doors in complete incredulity. Une looked to see what it was and her stomach clenched queasily.

So it started now. And Noin was a very good actress.

Dorothy, irritated, turned to figure out what was going on and froze when she saw Heero standing right in front of her, arms folded across his chest.

"What's wrong? Why are you so shocked to see me, -mother-?" he asked dryly, raising an eyebrow.

"I- Well, I just you weren't going to be here, normally you're here as soon as the sun sets, otherwise, you don't come at all," Dorothy lied smoothly, her face instantly closing up.

Heero's eyebrow rose further. "So it has nothing to do with the fact that you sent your lapdog you try to kill me last night?"

"Oh now, Heero..." Her charm flashed on brightly, her voice laden with unctuous undertones. "Why must you blow everything out of proportion? I was just trying to..."

"Trying to kill me. Yes, I noticed," he snapped, his amusement quickly melting into a dangerous anger.

"You deserved it!" Dorothy flared up, all former pretenses gone. "YOU ARE A BETRAYER!"

Everything in the club went deathly silent and one by one, the people began to disappear, not wanting to be around when whatever was about to happen exploded into the open. Noin and Une unconsciously stepped back so far that their backs were pressed up against the wall.

"You- I thought we had brought you up better than this! You- a pureblood and utter perfection of immortality!" Dorothy raged on. "I saw everything you did, I saw it all in Duo's mind when I turned him-" She seemed so irate that she was having difficulty spitting the words out. "You are worse of a betrayer than that filthy fledging, Wufei!"

Une glanced uneasily to her lover, but Noin was just as confused as she was. How could Heero have done anything worse than what Wufei, or themselves for that matter, had? Unless...No, it couldn't be possible.

The room was almost entirely empty now, the only exception being a few shadowy forms scattered through out the club, and Une had a pretty good idea who they were. Heero and Dorothy were at a rigid standoff, glaring each other down with ire-laden gazes, until everyone's favorite person came waltzing out from behind the stage.

"You called?" Duo said smoothly, stopping a few feet away from them. His intense presence seemed to suck every last ounce of air from the room, drawing all eyes towards him.

As fast as a switch flick, Dorothy's facade was all smiles. "Ah yes, Duo...tell me something," she gestured to Heero. "I thought you took care of him last night. So why is he standing here before, unharmed?"

"I told you I was interrupted," he replied with the same cool tone as before, stepping towards the Japanese man and walking a circle around him. There was a flicker of deep pain in his unearthly purple eyes when he faced the women again and he reached out with a pale hand to touch Heero's lips. "Wufei..."

Heero jerked away from Duo's cold fingers and the moment was lost. Duo snarled and threw his outstretched arm back, knocking Heero into the nearest table with a nasty crash.

"Come out of your hiding places- I know you're in here!" he growled dangerously, rounding to the shadowy forms. Revealed, the slayer and empath presences filled the void that Quatre had created to block them. Une and Noin let out small sighs of relief as the blonde, Trowa, Catherine, Irea, and a few other sisters came into the light. Quatre and Trowa immediately went to Heero's side, helping him to his feet.

"Where is Wufei?" Duo demanded, still gazing at Heero with something akin to vehement jealousy.

Catherine crossed her arms. "Do you really think he'd come after the number you did on him? Don't forget, you considered him dead by your own hand," she pointed out bluntly.

The violet-eyed vampire seemed at a loss for words, so Dorothy decided to butt back into the conversation. "I still can't believe I trusted you!" she scowled at the red-haired woman, advancing menacingly to her. "And all this time you were one of THEM!"

"Take one more step and I'll pump your heart full of metal," Irea threatened, training her gun at the blonde.

Dorothy laughed, her voice washing over them like an icy waterfall. "Do you really think that will kill me?"

"No, but it'll sure as hell slow you down long enough for us to kill you properly."

"I would like to see you try," she smirked, watching Duo as he began prowling around the small group like a cat ready to pounce. His focus transfixed on Heero, his thoughts clearly read on his pallid features as he kept sensing Wufei's impression all over him and not wanting to believe why.

Naturally, Heero was utterly unnerved. His body ached from his collision with the table, simple pains like this were a new adjustment he was going to have to get used to, especially if he was staying around with Wufei and the other slayers. He really didn't like the way Duo's intimidating eyes bore through him and was horribly aware of the fact that the vampire could feel the influence of Wufei on him. It was the same sense he himself had used when he realized Wufei had betrayed him for the slayers so long ago and had Duo's aura all over him.

He silently wished things could go back to the way they were before. It would make life so much simpler.

Dorothy dismissed Catherine and Irea with an airy wave of her hand and resumed her smirk towards Heero. "I suppose this all works out in the end anyway," she purred, her perfect lips curled up in a sneer. "You obviously were not worthy of your noble birth, so instead of tarnishing my reputation by killing my own son despite his inexcusable crime, no one will bat an eyelash at the death of mere mortal."

"What in the hell are you going on about?" Noin demanded, finally getting the courage to speak up in her irritation. "I may not like Heero, but human or not, I don't want him killed in our club. You've already broken your promise and killed enough of our kind in here."

"Oh, you may want to wait before you try to enforce that idea," Dorothy's Cheshire Cat smile broadened as she beckoned Duo to her side. "Darling, why don't you tell them what –really- happened the night Treize and Milliardo died."

Quatre and Trowa covertly shared troubled glances between themselves and their respective sisters behind Heero's back. If Duo told the truth, the shaky alliance with Noin and Une will be annihilated, and this half-cocked plan of theirs will quickly be blown to hell and back.

This definitely didn't look good.

"What really happened the night Treize and Milliardo died..." Duo repeated with relish, unmistakably getting amusement from watching everyone squirm. "Well, you see, it all really happened like this-"

"I killed them, plain and simple. I thought everyone knew that already."

In a blur of purple silk and chestnut hair, Duo's attention, along with everyone else's, was immediately turned towards the door to Noin and Une's upstairs loft. It stood open, the light from the narrow corridor sharply silhouetting a lean, muscular body leaned up against the frame.

"Do you know how hard it is to climb up the drainpipe and get quietly through that boarded up window to your apartment?" Wufei remarked dryly to the two shocked women as he stepped in between them and walked around the counter, clicking back the safety on his gun.

The atmosphere suddenly exploded with a volatile surge of energy and Quatre cried out painfully, his hands gripped tightly over his heart. Before anyone could even comprehend what was going on, Dorothy let out a shriek as she was slammed down brutally to the floor while Duo and Wufei seemed to vanish into thin air.

They reappeared across the room, far away from everyone else, as Duo's inhuman howl vocalized the anguish that had the empath falling faint to the floor.

"How could you betray me like this!"

Mmmm... Jealous Duo. Things are about to get more interesting. :)

Reviews are nice! It makes this poor, ego-starved authoress feel like SOMEBODY'S reading her nonsense.