Melty Blood heARTS

By Demon Eyes

Disclaimer: Anyone dares claim the following characters theirs, don't get surprised when Type-Moon sends Primate Murder on your ass. I am not that stupid.

Note: The Moonlit World didn't provide enough info on some 27 dead apostles so if you see anything weird in here, I made it up. There might also be a lot of information in this chapter but please bare with me. Believe me; I edited almost 1000 words from it after I visited Beast's Layer for more info. And for those who are unfamiliar, I will note a few alien words and what they mean but I suggest to visit: for more that this cause I will be using less English words. Japanese words sound cooler.

Shinso – True Ancestor.

Nanatsuya – Name of Shiki's Blade.

Act VII

Ciel couldn't remember when she last slept with anyone in the same bed, least of all in the same room except Nanako. She had slept alone for so long that the idea of finding anyone else in her bed would shock her so. This was the reason that she woke up early. Her whole being felt that something was out of order and thus, Ciel was forced awake. She had even forgotten that she had allowed someone to sleep in the same bed with her the night before. The other occupant of the bed would have been history as soon as Ciel's senses registered an invader had not that person had their limbs tightly wrapped around the blue haired girl, rendering her immobile. Ciel sensing her vulnerability, she was forced fully awake. She turned to look to her side and became completely still. The sight that had greeted her was a, probably, dreaming Arcueid getting ready to kiss someone with her mouth puckered up. That someone at the moment, seeing as said mouth was only inches away from hers, was Ciel herself. Ciel struggled to get herself free, but for some reason, she found that she was weaker than usual. This was strange and Ciel was confused as to why. Did she want it to happen...?

"Oh Shiki, come here and give me a kiss. Don't be shy..." It looked like she was indeed dreaming, but that wasn't on Ciel's mind at the moment. Suddenly, she seemed to get the strength that she was missing back at light speed and was able to disengage herself from the clutches of the vampire Princess. She didn't know really why but Ciel was a little angry...okay, more than a little angry for she rushed a powerful punch to the dreaming girl's head and sent her flying, over Nanako's and into the opposite wall. That was the wake up call for Arcueid who found herself in the skies, seeing stars. Her super healing took care of that little shake-up quickly although she was confused as to where she was. She was pretty sure she went to bed last night with Ciel so why was she in her own bed in the wall?! The hit had enough power to leave a dent in the wall after the blonde girl. This made it clear to Arcueid as to how she had ended up where she was. "Why did you hit me Ciel? If you wanted a fight, you could've waited until I was away. No need to be impatient." She had gotten it all wrong. " And I was having a nice dream too..."

Ciel wanted to retort with " I know" but she kept it to herself. She looked up when she saw Arcueid stretching as if getting ready for a marathon. "Well Ciel, I am a very generous person so if it's a fight you want, a fight you shall get." She flashed Ciel that smile that disturbed the Executor so. Ciel had never seen that smile being given to anyone but herself. It was usually used in their fights against each other, but something felt different. It really disturbed her. She wasn't really looking for a fight and after she had come to her senses those few seconds after she had punched Arcueid, the reason that Ciel had done it was a little unsettling. It had knocked her side ways but she was never one to turn down a chance to give the smirking vampire a beating of her life. She still had a great many debts to settle with the girl now approaching her. Ciel stood up and got in position. Nanako, who had been forced awake by Arcueid hitting the walls, stayed hidden under her covers feigning sleep but was peeking out to see what was going to happen. The sight that she saw was hard not to have a laugh about. There they stood. Ready to fight. In their pyjamas.

Arcueid went first moving so fast that no normal eyes could catch her at all. Ciel was far from normal though and she had the real movement of the vampire. Arcueid slashed at Ciel with her claws only to be blocked by three Black Keys that had suddenly appeared out of no where. The two female figures disappeared but the sound of two forces clashing was very much audible. As to be expected, a fight between beings of such power, there was great damage done to the property. This was no normal property seeing as they were inside the Vatican itself. One more hole in the wall was all it took for the superiors to come to the poor room. Arcueid and Ciel were now on the floor with Arcueid on top of Ciel with one of her hands inched away from Ciel's throat. Ciel was holding it in place which was hard considering the blonde's power. Similarly, a Black key was stooped in its wake to behead Arcueid by a slender hand with sharp nails. Ciel glared at Arcueid while the Princess smiled back. Their bodies were shaking from the tension, but they were forced apart by an invisible yet familiar force.

They both hit opposite walls and Ciel grunted in pain. This seemed not to be Arcueid's day with walls. They both stood up ready to kill the suicidal jerk that had interrupted them. They hesitated and one's anger fell a little, but the other's just got even worse. "You've got some guts to damage property in my turf girls. I keep telling you to keep you games until you have left here, but you never listen." The speaker smiled without the kindness one would expect from a smile. Her one eye, the other was blocked by patch for reasons only known to Ciel and other burial Agency members, had a fire that sent even Ciel shivering but she was not afraid to stand up to anyone. The amethyst eye bore into Ciel and it looked like the woman wanted to say something to Ciel, to mock her as she always did, and Ciel gave her an eye that always dared her to say them. It usually ended up with the woman saying them most of the time but not this time. It seemed that in Arcueid's presence, the woman always held back, but not from fear. This great force was only human although she had a reputation to everyone who knew her. If her name didn't shock the hell out of you, then her story of capturing three of the Dead Apostles surely would. Her name is Narbareck.

"You are very well aware of what comes next, aren't you?" The fearless head of the Burial Agency gave them her creepy smile again. They knew well alright. Their frowns were all the confirmation Narbareck needed. "Well, let's not waste time. Off to the cube with you. You will pay for waking up everyone so early." She turned and walked out of the now door-less doorway. She didn't turn back for she knew very well that they would be following up very soon. If they didn't, well, she smiled to herself. Not that they would dare. As long as Ciel was in the Vatican, she was to follow the demon woman's orders or...something might happen...something that she wasn't ready to face yet. The 'Cube', was a square room as its name suggests. In the past, when Ciel and Arcueid were to be going on the same mission, they would meet up in the Vatican palace but they always clawed at each other. When that happened, they would get sent to the Cube where sound or even light couldn't escape or reach. It was stinky as that was the same torture chamber where captured Apostles would be sent for 'purification.'

That was the same reason why Arcueid and Ciel hated it. They were walking in from behind Narbareck as she sauntered forward humming a crazy tune about how Vampires were the abominations of God's creation. This was supposed to get to Arcueid but the innocent young woman either paid it no heed, if she had gotten the message, or she didn't know. Ciel found herself once again being amazed at how a person who has lived and seen more horrors than anyone else could act so innocent. The next few minutes it took them to reach the cube was spent with Ciel questioning herself even more at her feelings towards the vampire. The most driving motion was anger and revenge for what happened between the two in the far past, but the others...the rest of the emotions in her were confusing. Ciel had a flashback of only minutes before and was so lost to notice a blush that came over her smooth cheeks. She was snapped out of her thoughts which left her even more confused. "Now stay here until I come to get you for your briefing." She locked them inside.

Some time later in the room, all was not as it should be. Usually, by this time, there would be fresh blood from both girls and blades; nails and skin came into contact. No one would want to be in that room with those two in it, yet, Ciel was sitting quite silently in one corner, thinking of their assignments to come. Arcueid was probably the only one in character. That girl found anything amusing. This time, she was doing what looked like acrobatics...poorly too if Ciel was honest, on chains that were so dark from the blood of their victims...Eeew! Actions weren't the only ones she was doing. Apparently, she had found this time too to practice her singing...God! She was horrible. Well...not so horrible, but Ciel would never admit that. She was actually quite good and Ciel found herself missing the singing voice so childlike. She looked up to see what was going on when she didn't hear the sounds of chains moving. Arcueid was sitting now in a corner of her own with a very alien expression on her facials. She was thinking. Arcueid was thinking about something and there was no smile on her face. Dead serious she was, if you can believed it.

Ciel didn't really know why she had asked, but she did anyway. "What are you thinking about?" Maybe Arcueid had come to her senses and started thinking about their upcoming assignment, just like Ciel was doing. She was getting worried and when she got worried, things were promising to be messy. First of all, she found it weird that they had been called from Japan seeing as a couple of Dead Apostles were there at the moment. Secondary, they always called upon Arcueid's help when they were in a very tight bind. Arcueid's thoughts however, wouldn't have gotten anymore different from hers. Ciel was still lost in her thoughts that she didn't even hear the Princess get near her.

When Arcueid spoke, so near the blue haired girl, she was startled. "Why did you hit me in the morning?"

Huh! "Huh?" The closeness wasn't the only reason Ciel was knocked sideways.

"Well, I've been thinking and it isn't like you to pull such a sucker punch so I must have done something in my sleep...maybe?" Crimson eyes met dark blue.

Well, so much for thinking that Arcueid would ever think anything serious. At least she had 'thought'. Ciel had almost forgotten about that incident now she was reminded and the confusion resurfaced. Searching for the reasons of hitting Arcueid reminded her of her strange feelings and she found that she still didn't know why she had reacted like that. She knew though, that it had something to do with Tohno-kun's name being mentioned. This brought some safe harbour in her cloudy mind. If Tohno-kun was involved then it was to be expected. She wouldn't deny that she had feelings for the cute boy. A faint blush came to her cheeks and this was not missed by the blonde nearby. Then she remembered what really happened. Arcueid about to kiss her, but calling Tohno-kun's name. Anger boiled up in her for reasons unknown yet again and she spat. "What would you have done if you woke up and found me all wrapped around you and about to kiss you all the while whispering another's name?" Ciel breathed hard. She turned away.

Arcueid's crimson eyes widened at the revelation. She thought of that some more. It didn't make any sense. The dream she was having was so different from what her actions implied. "I'm sorry Ciel." She wasn't sure what part Arcueid was apologising for. "You didn't have to hit me though." Arcueid smiled at her. Ciel couldn't say anything. She was thinking the same thing. They stayed silent for a while and after so much silence, Arcueid, forever active, could take it no more. She didn't know how long they would be in this room so she had to find a way to pass time. Seeing as Ciel was never one to strike up a conversation with her, the only other option was what they knew very well – Fight. But how to get Ciel angry! A grin spread across slightly pale skin and as if her conscious sensing danger, Ciel turned around to face Arcueid.

"Could it be that you were angry because I said Shiki's name instead of yours? That's why you hit me, right?" Arcueid got even closer to the blue eyed girl.

Ciel was at first confused at what the blonde implied but when the ball hit home, the blush was not missed by either girl. "What? What are you talking about?" She let out, a little louder than she intended. Ciel tried to get some more distance between herself and Arcueid. She was ready to send a reply as to how absurd the thought was, but found herself trapped between uncertainties. She wasn't 100 sure that Arcueid's reasoning wasn't the reason she had done what she did.

Arcueid caught the hesitation and she didn't know why, but the thought that the reason she gave might be why she was socked one, pleased her greatly. She pressed closer to the executioner and decided to push the girl until she breaks and fights back. Arcueid found that she was itching for a fight between them once again. "Could you have let me kiss you then, if I hadn't said his name?" She wisely left out 'Shiki'. Her voice got huskier as she went on. "Would you have let me kiss you had I said your name?" Only millimetres separated the lipstick-innocent lips. Ciel had never been so uncomfortable and shaken in all her life. Not even that time...the poor executioner tried to back away some more but she hit a wall. Arcueid's face took on a very alien feature and her eyes weren't gold, they were another colour that wasn't crimson either. Ciel wasn't in the right mind to think so she could not know what colour they were, but they added to her confusion.

The kiss was almost inevitable now. It seemed like Arcueid was serious about kissing her that moment. Ciel gulped and made to dive to the side with the little strength she had but the vampire was faster. She reached forward and tightly held the shoulders of a now trembling Ciel. "Le...Let me go." Ciel asked weakly. What was happening to her! Did the vampire do something to her? Arcueid was not listening however. Ciel began to panic a little. She didn't know why, but she wasn't ready to let what was about to happen, happen. She felt that so much that it scared her. Arcueid's eyes were closed and just as their breaths mingled, Arcueid's eyes were forced open. They had a little pain in them and shock. "I said, let me go damn it." Ciel had buried two Black Keys inside Arcueid's abdomen. The agent's face was emotionless. She looked like how she always did when she faced vampires and demons that were soon to be wiped out of history.

A knee sent her flying through the air to land a few feet away from Ciel who materialised more Keys. Arcueid pulled the blades away from her body with easy though with a little pain. She wanted to get Ciel angry, but maybe she had gone a little far! Still, there had been no reason to react that strongly. Was the idea of kissing the vampire that unwelcome? Arcueid felt a little pained by that thought. 'But Shiki loved my kisses.' She pouted in sorrow not even thinking that thinking of Shiki was toe root of this problem, mostly at least. "You are not getting away by playing with my...with people's emotions like that - Unforgivable." Okay, forget her earlier comment, Ciel was pissed. Ciel moved faster than Arcueid has ever seen her. The vampire Princess found herself being surprised by Ciel's actions.

Ciel was all over Arcueid and the blonde found comfort in the thought that Nanako was with Narbareck somewhere at that moment. No body would want to be in Ciel's sights at the moment with her conceptual weapon by her side. Not that Ciel was nothing without that damned scripture, not at all. The girl knew how to use those sharpie things. A blade hit her in the shoulder only to explode and send her falling backwards. Arcueid actually hated those knives more. They did stuff no normal blades could. She was getting manhandled and even though she fought it really strongly, she felt her deep desires coming out to the surface. "Ciel...Stop." She tried to get the girl to calm down. If she continued to make her lose blood, then she would lose control and even a little slip could mean a lot of danger.

Ciel ignored her though. She disappeared in one of the many dark corners in the room and instantly, eighteen Keys hit Arcueid. She coughed blood and tried to pull the blades out as fast as she could to avoid losing more blood. As she pulled the last blade out of her thigh, a flash of blue caught her eye and she turned. Ciel was coming down on her and it looked like she was ready to behead Arcueid. She had had enough though and her control was slipping. She was very thirsty and no one was in sight except Ciel. Her eyes began to turn an eerie bright gold that lit in the slightly dark room.

"ENOUGH."

Arcueid activated her Reality Marble and restrained Ciel's limbs. The blue haired girl gasped and she seemed to come back to her senses. The two stared at each other for a while. Ciel blinked at the girl, who was slightly lower than her, seeing as she was suspended in the air. Arcueid's golden eyes turned even brighter and she clutched at her one eye. She let out a gruff and she seemed to be in pain, but her wounds had already healed. "Are...Are you okay Arcueid?" Ciel found herself asking the question. She didn't have a clue as to why she was worried about the girl. She was about to kill her herself, not that she would ever be able to, but they had never fought to their limits. Still, her anger at the blonde vanished when she had inkling as to what was happening. The vampire girl was losing control and it was her doing. She had used the forbidden effect of the Black Keys that was effective against unnatural beings.

Arcueid's one free eye came up to look at Ciel and the blue eyed girl gasped at the fire behind it. Arcueid extended a clawed hand towards Ciel and the captive sucked in her breath waiting for the inevitable pain. Her hand stopped in its track when the doors to the room opened to reveal Narbareck and Nanako. "Come on you two. It's time for briefing." She turned around and left, not even paying any attention to the positions the girls were in. They were always clawing at each other's throats anyway, so she might have cared if they were sitting quietly about perhaps. Nanako sensed that there was something a little off so she stayed and sent a worried glance towards her master.

"Are you alright Master?" Nanako asked worriedly. The girl was really afraid of Arcueid.

"I'm alright Nanako. Everything is fine." Ciel turned to look at Arcueid with pleading eyes. She was a little relieved when she saw the golden eyes were back to their normal crimson and Arcueid let the chains disappear, only to look to Ciel with worried eyes and the fear that she might have injured her – badly. Ciel turned away from her and walked towards Nanako to go and follow her leader. Arcueid paced to catch up to her and laid a visibly shaky hand on Ciel slender but firm shoulder. Ciel turned to Arcueid and found her looking at her with those rare expressions that she never saw being directed to another. She knew that Arcueid was probably going to apologise, but Ciel wouldn't let her. "It's alright Arcueid. I was the one who went a little too far. There is no need to apologise." Ciel had a feeling that she should apologise to the vampire, but she squashed it down. She hadn't yet sunk to that level yet.

Soon, they entered the room that they had been using as the briefing room for years now and all the other members of the Burial Agency were there. As soon as Arcueid laid one foot in the room, she wasn't surprised at all to find herself ambushed by a small form. Glancing down, she found the most expected culprit there in her bosom, giving her a crushing hug. It was a young boy who looked about ten or one year more, but never let the looks deceive you. This boy was one of the 27 Dead Apostles. He was number five of the seven. His name...? "Merm Solomon, it's so good to see you. How have you been?" Arcueid bent down to return the hug, fiercely. She loved the boy greatly. In all the 27 Apostles, he was the only one who she really got along with. Well, there was her guardian, but he was never emotional.

"Bored Princess but I'm glad that we get to go on the same mission this time. It's been so long since we went together." They hugged some more much to the others' disgust. Most of the executors didn't like the vampire...much. And seeing as almost half of them were Dead Apostles, enemies of the Brunestuds, well, seeing one of their own acting like that with their enemy didn't make matters any easier. The two ignored the looks and muttering however. Merm seemed to catch Ciel's eye then and she disengaged from the Princess to go greet her one time partner. "Hello Ciel. It's been a while since The Forest of Einnashe. How have you been?" Ciel didn't like the kid but she didn't hate him. She didn't like any of the Dead Apostles and vampires. During their mission to destroy the Seventh Apostle, they had bonded a little, but only to the point of Ciel not hating him. She still didn't like him.

"If you are quite done catching up, it's time to get to the reasons as to why you're all here. I am sure some of you have met him, but I will introduce to you one of the legends in history, the Wizard Marshal Zelretch, he will tell you of your mission this time." The said man entered but he was greeted by very few claps. Those were from the apostles to be exact. The man standing in front of everyone was a legend for one thing and one thing only. He had destroyed the Crimson Moon – The half of the origin of the Brunestuds. Nature had fused with the great alien being known to reside on the moon and created the perfect being. Or was it the antigen created by mother earth in its protection! No one knew exactly how but the man had accomplished the task though without a price. He had become a Dead Apostle himself during the confrontation.

"Good morning. Good to see everyone is still here, well except one." The real No.5 of the Burial Agents was killed by Merm because he wanted to go with Ciel on the mission to eliminate Einnashe instead. "I come bearing bad news, very bad news indeed. Long before Arcueid here even came to life, the Vatican had been doing research on the first True Ancestor – Brunestud of the Crimson Moon – Type-Moon. The Ultimate One. There were no notes anywhere of her being exterminated when she fell so research was done. Around three hundred years ago, a conclusion was reached that she had gone into an eternal sleep after she had defeated her first victim – The Dark six." There were gasps in the audience. They all knew of the first Dead Apostle. Apparently, she is the reason why there is something called the Red Sea. She wiped the entire region off the map. "When the first True Ancestor came back to her senses for a while, she defeated The Dark Six but not destroyed her for she was very weak from suppressing her urge for blood. When she was sure she had weaken The Dark Six enough for her to be stoppable, she went into her sleep."

"Now the bad news: The Dark Six has been regenerating, but we never knew of her whereabouts. Apparently, the Mage's Association knew but they decided to keep the information to themselves. After losing three of their best men, they saw it appropriate to contact us. They were killed by The Dark Six. She has completed her regeneration cycle without our knowledge. The worst is that she is rumoured to bring all the other dead Apostles together once active." He gave Merm and the other three Apostles present; Enhance – The Knight Of Vengeance, Gransurg Black-more – Lord Of The Black Wing and El-Nahat – No.01 of the Burial Agency. They all felt it. It was like a shift in the atmosphere, for vampires. Zelretch was sure they felt the 'calling' as he did too. He was one of the 27, but he was neither good nor bad. "Arcueid, I suggest you contact Rizo and tell him to join you as soon as possible. I am sure you know what is to come now. Which brings me to the worst..." Ciel was having a bad feeling about all this. "It is only speculation, but we assume that someone broke into The Ultimate One's castle and woke her up."

There were murmurs, well, not quite murmuring but the room was lit up. Ciel decided to ask the question that seemed to be on everyone's minds. "Is it possible for anyone to get into the True Ancestors' castle? And if this Ultimate One was awoken, then why call it an eternal sleep if you can wake up?" Things were not making any sense. Ciel chanced a glance in the direction of Arcueid but the look on the Shinso's face was unreadable – Disturbing, considering that that face always had one or more expressions on it. What were they up against? What did the Wizard mean when he talked to Arcueid? The blue haired girl returned her attention to the speaker. Marshal was looking into his small note book then he looked up when Ciel finished her question to answer her.

"As I said, we are only assuming. It couldn't have been Dark Six because we are quite aware of the relationship between those two. And as you said, it is quite difficult to digest the thought that an Ancestor who has gone into an eternal sleep could wake up. In our study, we have concluded that in this case, since the Ancestor had fallen once, she would have the characteristics of the shito. Were they to be given blood in their sleep, nothing is quite certain that they wouldn't react to the blood. I won't go into details, but not just any blood would do. Here is where we come to suspect that Altrouge Brunestud had something to do with that seeing as she is the daughter of Type-Moon and Type-Mercury – O R T." The audience would have won prizes for 'Most Shocked Expressions'. All those present knew of Altrouge and the most physically powerful Apostle O R T. What they didn't know is how they were connected to the first True Ancestor and themselves.

"Shit." El-Nahat cursed under his breath.

"Fuck!" Replied Enhance. He was all for defeating the 27 Dead Apostles but he didn't sign up for this. He had been wise to not confront O R T when he knew very well where the being resided. Everyone knew, but seeing as he didn't really seem to hunt any more humans after a certain period, they wisely stayed away from him. Soon they would have no choice but to confront him if he decides to show himself, and he will seeing as his love(?!) has been awakened.

"Indeed. I agree with you completely. We are, as a matter of fact, fucked! There has been nothing out of the ordinary so far and we predict that they won't show until they have regrouped so you have one week only to prepare. We also need to get the Mage's Association to cooperate with us on this one on our part. In a week, we shall all meet at Atlas in Egypt. Apparently, the Mages lost their people somewhere in East Africa. That is their territory so we shall make our plans from there. This is the greatest war we shall ever face friends. Be prepared. That's all." He replaced his notebook in his coat and walked over to Arcueid who was looking at the floor in thought. "Arc, could I talk with you for a while?" He asked softly. Arcueid was like a grand daughter to him. Arcueid looked up at him and slowly nodded. The rest left the room to the two them for everyone had very important decisions to make.

Once they were alone, Marshal was the first one to speak. "Arcueid, I won't go into the talk, but you must be careful. I have seen what's to come and it isn't pretty. The First is totally fallen this time. She has been awoken by blood and she will want to change nature to suite her. For that you have to be out of the picture. I predict they will come after you first so be careful." His features that had hardened softened a little bit. "Make sure you have Rizo by your side at all times and have that boyfriend of yours with you too. His ability is very unique. He could come in handy. I will ask Ciel to be there for you too." Arcueid gave him a look which screamed 'crazy'. "I have my ways of persuading her. You just wait." He gave a mysterious smile. "So, how have you been all this time? Anything knew happened since we last met?"

"You already know what was going on. Why do you still ask?" He raised his eyebrows. "You mentioned my boyfriend and I don't remember telling you about Shiki." She made an 'O' but his face didn't show any shame in being caught. She sighed. He was always like that. "Nothing really exciting happened that you don't know of. And in case you didn't know, we're taking some time off, Shiki and I."

"Have you been alright then? I may have seen, but I don't know how you feel about all this." He laid his hand on her shoulder and caressed it a little.

"Yeah, I have had a chance to hang out with Ciel. Okay, we may have spent most of our time fighting, but I was strangely happy when I was with her." Arcueid let a smile on her face and she actually seemed happy. Zelretch raised an eyebrow. "Happier than even when I was with Shiki." Another one joined the other up there. Things were getting interesting in more ways than one. He grinned to himself. He actually didn't feel safe letting this girl in the presence of a guy who could kill her so easily, though not destroy her. That was the reason why he spied on them with his Third Eye. He actually almost appeared to destroy Shiki that first time he had sliced the Princess up in many pieces, but Shiki's ability intrigued him. The only reason why he still lives and Arcueid had also gotten attached to him.

"Well, that is good. It will be even better then if you were together in the missions to come." He waited to see if Arcueid wanted to add something.

"Ermm...About that thing. I would like for you to release it. I think I will need it." Zelretch looked at her hard. She was serious.

"Are you sure? I won't be able to do it some time soon. I will need all of my strength in the coming fight." Arcueid gazed at him smugly. He had answered his own question. "Okay, okay. I get it. Fine, I will do it tomorrow night. I have to stay here for a while to take care of things first." He reached in one of his deep pockets in the coat and muttered to himself, "I am not gonna get any sleep tonight." Then he said out loud, "Here are your tickets to Japan. Try to see if you can get more help from all those friends of yours back there. I know they are special. In a week, I will call you to let you know of the flight prepared to take you to Atlas. Well then, till next week." He patted a blonde head and smiled affectionately. Arcueid knew no one but herself had ever seen that side of him. She closed her eyes and got lost in the feelings she was getting from the touch. He was the best thing to a parent she had ever gotten. "Be careful my dear. If you feel more than you can handle when 'it' happens, just do that sign I taught you in the sky and I will come, okay?"

Arcueid nodded her head and she missed the hand when Zelretch turned to leave and walked out of the room. She sighed and walked back to her room she shared with Ciel and Nanako. She found Ciel gathering her things and Merm was there on the bed whining about something. "Do you really have to go now? I wanted to play with Arc some more." He turned when he heard the doors open. He ran towards the princes and hugged her thighs closely. "Arcueid, please say that you are staying. I want to spend more time with you." Arcueid patted the dark head below her and smiled a bit uneasily.

"I'm sorry Merm, but we have to leave. We have things to do before we meet up in Egypt. We shall spend more time together there. I will make sure we are in the same group, okay?"

"You promise?" the look was so not what one of the 27 Dead Apostles should make. Arcueid felt like eating him right there. She didn't eat him but she gave him a fierce hug.

"Yes. I promise. Why don't you come with us to the airport?" The boy lit up like a bulb. Arcueid didn't have anything packed so she just stood there holding Merm's hand and waited for Ciel to finish whatever she was doing. Were it any other day, she would've asked Ciel to stay one more night but not this time. She didn't want what was going to happen the next day happen to happen when she was in the Vatican. Most definitely not. She also hoped that she hadn't made a mistake, but she knew she would need it to be able to have a slight chance in what was to come. The last time she and Altrouge met, things didn't end pretty. Now she was going to be meeting Type-Moon. Things were not looking good at all.

………………………………………………………………….

(Tohno Mansion)

Ring "Good afternoon, Tohno residence, Shiki Tohno speaking." Shiki and the others were seated on the dining table having lunch. He was the man in the house so he decided to pick up – much to Hisui-chan's dismay though. There was an extension in the room so the others could hear Shiki talking. "Ciel-sempai. How are you? Is everything okay?" A pause as Ciel answered. "I'm fine. Everyone is fine here as well. How is Arcueid? I hope she isn't giving anyone trouble." He answered. There was silence again as Ciel talked to him. "Of...of course I knew that Arcueid, I was just joking." Those on the table could hear the nervousness in his voice. Arcueid had been defending herself it seemed. The conversation went on. "Oh I see. At ten pm. Right. Okay then sempai, we will see you soon. Bye." Shiki replaced the receiver at the set and went to sit down. Gazes were sent his way as expected. Nothing was let go by in this damn house.

His sister's was the most piecing. He decided to drop the pins before they hurt him. "That was Ciel-sempai. She was saying that they will be returning tomorrow and that we should pick them up at 10 pm." He resumed his meal but before his fork made it to his lips, he felt the gazes on him still. "She will explain everything when they get here too." He hoped they would let him go with that but alas. "That is all she said, honest." The gazes were getting to him and couldn't help, but blush a little.

"Oh? Then why are you getting flustered Shiki?" It was his sensei that had spoken. Shiki wasn't sure of how he felt about her at the moment. That comment was on the list of 'Not to say in the presence of one Akiha Tohno'. Sure enough...

"Yes Nii-san. Please enlighten us. You still haven't made it clear what your relationship is with that devil now. We are all ears." Akiha was glad that Aoko had started this. 'She might not be so bad after all. We might just get along yet.' She thought to herself. Kohaku just giggled away at her seat while Hisui continued eating away silently. Shiki had finally convinced the twins to sit with the rest and eat together. Akiha had disagreed at first, but she too was under the mercy of the Tohno gland. Now they all sat around the table looking to the entire world like a normal family. This was anything but normal though that goes without saying.

"Shiki wasn't sure if he could name all the disadvantages one had in living in a mansion full of girls. They were mean, mean and mean. Okay, that summed it all up. "Arcueid and I took some time off. I really don't understand it either but she decided it."

"Oh! Are you okay with that?" Aoko asked tentatively.

"Yes, I am actually. Maybe she saw something I didn't, but I feel like I'm less...if that makes any sense." He finished. All present looked at him. Even Hisui paused to look at him. He actually seemed less affected. He said his thank you and got up from the table to take his plate to the sinks. He would soon be going out with Arihiko and Satsuki to the movies. He went back to the table to ask his sister for permission. His request was granted easily. It seemed that Akiha was in a good mood. He decided to leave before she changed her mind though. After a quick goodbye, he went upstairs to change and re-freshen up.

……………………………………………

"Ah, my nerdy friend, you've finally showed up!" Inui greeted Shiki. The new comer waved to his two friends. He and Yumizuka were standing right outside the cinema they were going to. Shiki asked Arihiko why he always called him 'nerdy'. "Well, you always wear glasses and you aren't in any sports clubs, so..." The boy knew that Shiki's body was weak so that had been the reason why he wasn't in any sports clubs, but apparently, he had forgotten that. Not that Shiki would ever get annoyed by that. He liked the guy despite all his weird behaviour.

"Good afternoon Yumizuka, too bad that Sion couldn't join us." Satsuki had asked Sion to join them on their day out, but she apparently had things to do back in Egypt. Shiki wondered some more what was going on. First, it was Arcueid and Ciel being called back to their superiors and now it was Sion! He had a bad feeling about the future. Sion still hadn't found the cure to her 'curse' even after meeting Arcueid and at one time she had even decided to leave town for good, but Yumizuka had somehow convinced her to stay. They were getting along quite well. Shiki finding out that his classmate was a vampire was quite a shock. It was more shocking than finding Ciel about to 'erase' her though Shiki had begged his sempai not do it.

"I am good Tohno-kun. Thank you for asking." A blush came to Satsuki's cheeks. Shiki wondered how a vampire could still blush having read and seen all those movies about them, but this was one weird town. Satsuki may have found someone else but she was still a little uneasy in the presence of her classmate. Also, he knew of her real relationship with the mage and she couldn't help wondering what he thought of that. "A...Anyway, what movies are you going to watch guys?" She timidly changed the subject. Had it been weeks before, going to movies with Tohno-kun would've been like a dream come true. Now, it felt so natural like she was going with another girl friend.

"Well, Yumizuka, you will love this one. I saw the trailer and think it will be to all our taste. Now if there are no questions, off to the movies we go. I've even got the tickets to the first one so no queues for us." He grinned to the two as he waved the tickets to them and headed for the inside. The building was swarming with students and other adults. It was weekend after all. Shiki shook his head as Arihiko greeted every single girl he came in contact with. Shiki and Satsuki followed their leader into the unknown movie that promised to be great.

It was horror movie. Shiki should've known. It was about a possessed TV. One person was watching a horror movie on it and suddenly, zombies were getting out of the TV. So typical, but poor Satsuki was shaken and struggled to hold Shiki's hand. When one guy held a chainsaw to cut up one zombie bride, Satsuki gave in and clutched at Shiki's shirt. Arihiko was having a thrill of a lifetime there on the other side of Shiki. Then zombie dogs started appearing in the movie. What was interesting was that these dogs were not slomo walkers. They were fast, strong and deadly. People died so fast in their wake and Arihiko was so disturbingly enjoying that. Shiki got a very déjà vu feeling from the scenes however and he didn't know what until said dogs literally jumped out of the screen to land on the platform in front of his eyes.

Screams filled the hall as a few people who liked taking short gun in the cinema were added to Today's Menu. To prove his suspicions further, the shadow of a man came in after the dogs and it was unmistakeably, 'him'. People started for the emergency exists. Shiki shared a knowing look with Satsuki. "Arihiko, come with me." She said as she took his hand to pull him towards the exit. He dumbly let the girl drag him to safety. The place was fast emptying so Shiki made his way to the front where his one time enemy stood. That pale and scarred face was unmistakeable. It was Chaos, but how many lives does this guy have! Well, it didn't matter. He would keep killing him whenever he came back until he never came back. He drew Nanatsuya coolly and flung it at one of the beasts that was about to jump the last escapee. As soon as it came into contact with the wolf-like creature, the animal started cracking up and moments later, it was dust. He went to pick up his trusty buddy.

"I see you are even sharper than the last time we met. You weren't the only one who changed though and while I am aching to show you your place, today is not that day. We have business with you." Chaos called his beasts back and jumped to land on a high beam somewhere. Shiki followed his movements and gasped at what met his eyes. It was more than seeing his own double up there that gave him a shock. Well, it wasn't exactly his double. The guy standing there was much more different than he was. He was so...mean looking. His eyes screamed 'Death'. Even Shiki shivered when he looked into them. How did he survive without glasses though? The person next to his doppelganger was what really shocked him. He would never forget that face as long as he lives. That face, that still to this day, haunts his dreams. The last face he saw without the 'lines' and without his glasses, the face that started it all. The Crimson Master, Kishima Kouma, the killer of his real father.

"Hello Shiki. We meet gain, in more ways than one. But fear not, I am not who you think I am, well not really. Perhaps telling you that the last time we met was at school with the Shinso and that demon girl from the church." School? Demon girl? Did he mean Ciel? No! It couldn't be. Was he dreaming or something? Roa saw the look in the young man's eyes and knew that he had figured it out. "Yes, it's me Roa. Though I have many reasons why I want to kill you, today I come asking for your help. Join me Shiki Tohno. Join me if you want to live to see another year." He gasped visibly. The three other men waited patiently for his answer.

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(The Vatican)

Three nuns were out in the garden watering some plants when suddenly, the atmosphere that was warm and light with sun light, turned cold and dark as if it were night. They instinctively looked up to the sky and exchanged confused glances. The sun was no where to be seen. There were no clouds that might have obscured their view. Where the sun should have been, stood the moon in all its dark glory. It wasn't the rock that they were used to seeing, but a swirl of dark energy. They turned their gazes to the sounds that originated from in front of them. They couldn't see more than ten meters forward. It was as if the darkness was alive and moving towards them. They started to back away picking up their pace with each step. The last words they heard were. "Go Primate Murder." Followed by the roar of a big dog. Did dogs roar?!

Seconds later in the underground facility that held the captives, all was suddenly silent. Inside one of the holding cells, a dark figure appeared to one of them in which a tube containing something akin to vapour resided. The lithe figure seemed to walk right through the seals and instantly it was near the tube. It spoke in a feminine voice that seemed familiar to those who knew a certain person. "It's time, Stanrobe Calhin. Your presence is requested."

To Be Continued...