Jane had heard someone run up to approach the vehicle. It was loud and big.

Felix.

He first glanced in the cab expecting her to be sitting there initially. It was empty. Glancing in the way back, he was greeted by a fun surprise. A dead girl in barely any clothing completely drained of blood. That was something he was used to. It was the fact that whoever had left the prostitute there had decided to pose her on the trucker bed in the back cabin with a bow tied around her. He really had to wonder who was immature and twisted enough to do this.

"JANE!"

He made his way to the back to find the back door covered in bullet dents. How? Behind the dented door was her smiling and sitting criss-cross apple sauce. The dozen and a half kids plus their creator were all huddled in the corner terrified of the small girl, who looked rather bored. "You are a scary, scary child," Felix commented. She just smiled bigger, "I'm guessing you found my present?"

"Why is there a dead hooker tied up in the back of a truck that is covered in bullets?" was all he could force out.

"Because Society, that's why," Jane huffed, "So are you going to help me herd these ankle biters or should I ask my corpse copilot to help?"

Eventually they got everyone back inside before the towns people began milling around the plaza in the early dawn. Jane wondered how this town has been oblivious to all that went on right under their noses for thousands of years. Would that ever change with video cameras and recorders and new human technology?

They entered through a back tunnel where old jail stalls were hidden away. The corridor was narrow and bendy designed to make it difficult to escape. Felix had to turn sideways to even fit hit broad shoulders through as droplets of stale water tapped them on the shoulder like an old friend, echoing off the cobwebbed cobblestone. If someone were to break out, it could easily be blocked or sealed up. It was impossible to have bars that were stronger than a vampire, especially a new born. But they were reinforced enough to slow one down and make enough noise if they were bent to alert of an escape. The Guards would take turns watching them to make sure no one even thought of running. Since they were short on Guard members in general at the moment, Jane and Felix would switch off. Donovan volunteered to watch with Jane, but that idea was shut down by Aro because the last thing he wanted was those two alone together.

"Glad you are now deciding to be my dad, Master," was all she sarcastically had to say about it, "'Cause teen pregnancy is really a problem in this situation."

They snuck down there alone any way.

"What can he do? You are The Punisher," Donovan whispered in her ear as they walked down to change rotations with Felix so he could teach combat training, "Ooh! Maybe he will make you stare at a mirror and see what happens?"

"Well, I know if you looked in a mirror, you'd shatter it," Jane lightly teased before kissing him on the cheek. Felix nodded at them as they came to relieve him. He honestly didn't care that they were breaking the rules. Things could be way worse and he saw that this was pretty low risk. They were just a bunch of teenagers being teenagers. What did Aro expect? For Jane to become a nun? The idea made him laugh.

The two sat down against the wall as Donovan wrapped his arm around her. His body heat was a nice contrast against the cold, damp dungeon. "So how was the mission?" He awkwardly began.

"Good, met more allies along the way who were interesting," Jane smiled feeling herself decompress as she lazily drew shapes on his thigh.

"Good interesting?" He followed up.

"Interesting," was all she said.

"It was lonely here without you. Basically went out of my mind of boredom. How are you and Alec still sane after living here for centuries?" He laughed.

"Killing people helps kill time," she smiled darkly.

"You are frightening and that is why I love you," Donovan joked before pausing. He had said it. Jane looked up at him with wide eyes catching the tail end of that sentence.

"You do?" Jane froze. He nodded, curious if that was all she had to say. He felt like he just screwed up big time. What if she didn't feel the same way? They still hadn't really discussed with exact words what they even were.

"As my boyfriend or as my friend?" She asked bravely.

"Well I'd hoped I was both," Donovan smiled feeling less awkward. Why did she make him feel so nervous and like he constantly had butterflies in his stomach fighting to get out making him trip over his words as a cat hung on the tip of his tongue.

His thoughts were stopped by her lips on his. His face felt warm as he brushed his fingers through her corn silk hair. His heart skipped when she rested her hands behind his neck, pulling her small frame onto his lap. Her scent was driving him wild. The butterflies fluttered more as he heard her breath catch.

"EEEWWW!" a shrill voice screamed. Jane whipped around to find most of their faces scrunched up, grossed out by them kissing. He screamed for a different reason as she glared at the small child.

"Well, that kills the mood," Donovan grimaced, "I guess it's back to talking until we have a chance to get out of here."

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Are you sure you are doing alright? I know you joke about killing people and being unbreakable, but is that the whole truth?"

"Do you always tell the whole truth?" it came out more accusatory than she meant, but it had been rattling her for a while.

"No, but I don't think anyone ever does. And maybe we need to just trust each other that it's for the best," he smiled slyly as Jane realized he had caught on to what she was saying quicker than she was expecting. "Have you been lying to me about things?" Jane felt guilty for being rude, but a good part of her didn't. "Yes," he said too honestly, "But you just need to trust me on certain things and trust that it's better if they stay secret. I know that there are things you keep secret and I trust you enough to know that you are a good person and you want what's best for the people you care about."

"I'm not a good person," Jane spat, squinting her eyes at the insult.

"You care about people. You have a set of morals that fit your unique, current life situation that you stick to. You make sacrifices for others. You, at the end of the day, fight fearlessly for making the world a better place despite what others say about you. You are a good person," Donovan hugged her closer.

"See, there you go lying again," Jane snorted, punching his arm lightly.

"Here's me lying for real: I am NOT madly in love with everything you are, Jane," Donovan kissed her again.

Aro was still thinking of how he was going to have the children battle their latest criminals. One on one slowly over time? They already had that with a newer newborn three times their size. Maybe all at once and let them see if they could together fight. Maybe take away weapons? This way they could sort out which were stronger and which were weaker by who was still alive. They'd need a big enough place. Maybe the court yard, but they would need better borders. Maybe he could use this as a redemption for Alec? If he could stand on the side lines and not interfere even as he watched his bastard offspring fight, it would remind both boys that Alec was a Guard member and loyal to Aro before Subject Two. Two broken winged birds with one cold, sparkly stone. He would maybe mention his idea to Felix, but with the clause of not mentioning that the children must go unarmed into the arena. The surprise made him smirk. They needed to do this soon, but not too soon. He wanted the immortal children to be starved to the point of madness and have their more predatory instincts heightened. Aro would avoid Damien to avoid having him figure out his plan and have it be a surprise for all of them. Oh, how he was so clever!

Alec was still aghast that nothing had been done. The Building was literally falling apart. The kitchen looked like a Hurricane Dracula attacked it. Needing to take something of his mind after having Caius threaten to hurt his kid, he decided to try and work on fixing everything up. He needed to do something constructive to keep him from acting out and doing something he would regret later. Alec could feel his self-control slipping away. He started clearing out the spoiled food from doorless fridge and nailing back together the cabinets and wiping up the bloodstains. His head felt clearer the cleaner the kitchen got. Finally with his heighten sight and attention to detail, everything was sparkling like a sunny day.

Still needing something detail oriented and constructive, he went downstairs to start trying to clear out Damien's room. It couldn't be left alone to just mold and rot away. He needed to fix this before it got any worse. He started with throwing all the clothes into the wash and propping the door open to air it out. The paint needed to be replaced, but luckily the furniture just needed to dry out. It would be warped, but the damage had been done. At worst it would be a good chance to start over and have a clean slate. He was confused when he saw the broken mirror. Alec couldn't tell how it had been broken. There wasn't a single concentrated point where an object could have struck it. It was as if it had magically shattered without anyone touching it. Odd. Glancing in the pieces that remained he noticed that his eyes had darkened to a dark brown complimenting his dry throat hinting that he would need to feed soon.

Alec almost cried when he saw the soggy, destroyed books. Life was a heartless bitch! How could the world be so cruel? These were just innocent books!

Alec almost ran out of the room to go quickly try and save the books, but something made him pause. There was one more. A sketch book. Most of the drawings where murky and diluted from being saturated with water for so long. But one still stood through it all. A picture with Jane, Damien who looked older, himself, and one other boy all smiling under a tree. He thought it was Donovan for second. He had blonde hair, but he was too young and his face was wrong. Round and angelic with paler eyes. Alec kept staring at it as his back slid down the wall. He felt too shaky to stay standing. He dropped the picture as he buried his face in his folded arms, resting them on his knees.

The pain was still there.

His first son had died. He was the reason he was dead. His gift had killed his son. He had a feeling Chelsea had made him not "care about" him, but he still felt the raw pain of losing him and feeling like it was all his fault. He didn't even give him a name. He failed to do his most basic task as a parent. Marcus had later told him that he named him "Jonathan".

"I'm sorry, Jonathan," was all he could choke out to the empty air as he hugged the picture of their family, for once complete, "I'm so sorry."

The buzzer of the wash machine motivated him to get off his feet and move again. Part of being undead was the constant temptation to stop moving, to be stationary. Alec robotically put the clothes in the dryer, shaking his head at whoever failed to empty the lint from the screen. Did they want to start a fire? Twisting the nobs, he set it for an hour.

The clothes tumbled and tumbled and tumbled. Spinning in circles, being throw into the air in a tumult, but never getting anywhere. The vibrations hummed like a calming heartbeat, radiating warmth as Alec sat back down on the floor as he leaned against the dryer. Taking a deep breath, enjoying the white noise of the machine, he held it in before closing his eyes. Then he let it go.

His mind was so far away he didn't hear notice the dryer shut off. Instead he opened his eyes when he heard someone walk into the room. He flinched feeling the brush of a robe before looking up.

"My, it's been so long since I have sat on the floor. Time has spoiled me," Marcus laughed without emotion as he noted how the dryer window seemed to form a halo around Alec's head. He slowly sat on the floor next to Alec. He scooted so that his Master could lean against the dryer instead and be comfortable. Marcus held his hand up, gesturing that Alec could stay where he was. It was odd. Sitting with Marcus so casually. Like equals almost.

"You seem lost, boy," Marcus broke the silence. The way he said boy made Alec's forehead crease. It wasn't in a way that was degrading, reminding him that he was a child and less. But rather in a sort of warm way. Alec wasn't used to warmth.

"I have no clue what I am doing," Alec shook his head, his voice cracking as he tried to keep it even.

"How so? Entertain an old soul like me," his master smiled, wanting him to elaborate. Alec shrugged, not used to being put on the spot and speaking. He was supposed to be silent.

"I've noticed a change in you lately. You're stronger. Older even, I would say. A year ago I saw a child ago. Now I see a young man. You are growing into yourself," Marcus commented. Alec still shook his head.

"I'm really sorry, sir, but that's impossible. We can't age. We are frozen. I can't grow. I am fifteen and I will always be fifteen," Alec argued, his eyes stinging suddenly but he knew they would stay dry as they always did.

"Not all growing is based off size. Yes, you are in the body of a fifteen year old. A shell. But you are changing. From what my gift lets me see, there have been some changes in your relationships," Marcus began.

"Is this about Aro?" Alec spat quickly before apologizing.

Marcus continued, "No, actually the opposite. I wanted to let you know that you are doing good, good things. And I don't think you hear that enough. You don't hear enough that you are loved. That your sister really loves you. That Damien loves you more than you realize. That I am honestly worried about you. You are fifteen and you need to realize that somethings are not your fault and not on you. You are not a bad parent, if anything you have risen to the occasion remarkably despite the situations you have been forced into. You are fifteen. And yet you have never really had a chance to be a "normal" fifteen, given your human life. And that's not fair to you. I don't think a "normal" fifteen year old could handle even a fraction you have endured. A full adult would even stumble and would have probably given up. But you still haven't and you shouldn't. You should be a, what are they called these days, freshman? You should be figuring out high school, wondering who you will ask to the next dance, worrying about driving and homework. You should be worried about being caught experimenting with drugs or alcohol. Hell, experimenting with other things. Not this. You have never really had the chance to have companions besides family members. You feel disconnected from life. I have been down that road, and it's not a pretty one. I don't wish that amount of sadness on anyone, especially someone so young. I can tell that you feel alone, and I think that you need to hear that is not true. I'm not a mind reader like Aro, but I can tell that your relationship with yourself is almost as toxic as Aro and Cauis' relationships with you."

He rose to his feet, "And that is all I am going to say on that matter." He winked before leaving Alec, who was just brooding, staring at the wall in front of him.

"What was that!" Aro hissed at Marcus as he entered the throne room. "The truth for once," Marcus huffed. "You had no right," Aro growled.

"You are too hard on the boy. You need to realize that you might have made mistakes and own up to them. That he and Damien are reaching their breaking point. Alec's just a kid. He is fifteen. Damien is still a kid for now. He is seven months. Haven't they been through enough?"

"You still have no right," Aro gritted.

"No right? I wasn't aware that this was an Aro-ocracy," Marcus smirked at Aro, the younger vampire, "You don't give him enough credit. What year did you turn him? 1168? Minus fifteen, so that makes him almost a thousand years old and only a sliver of that was not serving you and only your selfish agendas. He's wise beyond his years and very conscientious of the world and how it's changing. Alec is more mature than you in a lot of matters it seems these days. He's a better father for one, and with no great examples to emulate no less. I think you need to take a step back, drop the emotional rope, and listen for once."

"Looks like St. Marcus Day came early this year."

"Looks like you are the child in this relationship."

The doorbell rang. Aro closed his mouth, wanting to argue more, but he caught the scents of his three runaways.

Marcus stayed present for the conversation.

When it started getting heated and the first swear words started erupting, he interrupted saying that Marina needed to leave the room. "It's late at night and surly she needs to be able to attend class tomorrow with her father present as their teacher," he said making sure she was safe and wouldn't get caught in the cross fire. Luckily Aro's conversation with Demetri and Heidi did not escalate beyond yelling and screaming and breaking things. And threats. Lots of threats.

"Have Felix and Alec come join us. I have a change of plans for your curriculum," Aro fumed, smiling, "It seems we need a reminder of what 'chain of command means'".

They stood rigid, holding their tongues as Aro explained what would happen. How things were to be arranged. What the rules would be. As a test, they were not allowed to give any hints. Or Aro would change the rules. "Any explanation, interference, or defiance what so ever will result in a penalty for your child," Caius smiled, "Felix that goes for both Tiago and Olivia. And these could be penalties such as perhaps starting with a broken arm. Maybe a blind fold. I think we have hand cuffs around here somewhere."

Aro smiled, "Alec we will have you re-earn my trust by having you work your power as a border."

Demetri & Felix looked at each other. What did Alec do? He was the quiet, polite, good kid. They looked back at the boy. He looked more exhausted than they had ever seen before. His eyes were so empty and blank. He still had yet to speak. They left and Demetri pulled Felix aside asking what he had missed. Felix shrugged, "All the kids have been acting weird lately. None of them are talking. It's like they got replaced with machines overnight."

"Do you think Corin's death had anything to do with this?" Demetri asked trying to figure out what was going on. Corin had the ability to make people feel content. Complacent but not happy. There was a difference. But once it was gone, it was like going cold turkey and could make people feel even worse than they did before. "The only reason I came back was Aro threatened to hurt the kids," Demetri began, "As long as we do what he wants, the kids are safe."

"Speaking of which, how's Marina doing?" Felix asked, "She wasn't in good shape when you left."

"She seems better. Aro had paid off human security guards to pull us away, faking an Amber Alert. I got pulled into a back room and we got separated. When I got back she was completely healed like nothing had happened. It was weird. Then there was this half-vampire girl who somehow was working at the airport and…I don't know," Demetri shook his head, "Something is going on. But I can't figure out what."

Aro crossed his arms in confusion as soon as the three had left. He had read Demetri's thoughts. The same girl in Demetri's thoughts had appeared in Alec's. But the two males had not been seen in Demetri's as they had in Alec's. Especially the smaller male. He had definitely been in Alec's thoughts. She seemed dangerous. They all did. This affirmed it. He would send out a notice to have them hunted and killed, claiming that they had attacked Jane and Alec first when they initially met. Have them charged for attacking members of the Volturi. A million Euros for each heart brought back to him perhaps?

The day passed torturously for everyone. The thought that any day they could be saying goodbye to their children made everyone tense. But no one breathed a word. If a thought popped up, it was forced to be forgotten. Or else.

Felix noticed that the kids seemed more and more focused each day. He knew thinking was dangerous, but he tried to not think about how the four seemed to conveniently be serious when Aro had just decided on this death match. He kept his mouth closed and thoughts neutral. That night he surprised his daughter by sitting on the piano bench next to her as she played. He had never realized how talented she was until now. He even say through a stupid chick flick with her. He felt guilty for always devoting his time to Tiago because he reminded him of his dead best friend and shared more common interests. Plus Grease wasn't as bad as he thought and he liked watching his daughter smile and sing along. She even convinced him to try and join in. He was a soldier. An unbreakable wall. This was only due to dire situations. He was a manly man, he tried to convince himself.

Demetri noticed the kids whispering to each other and passing notes in class. Although it was disruptive, he turned his back for most of class so that he could have deniability. Even if it was them just being kids and not anything to get his hopes up, he didn't want their potentially final impressions of him to be negative. He didn't give his usual homework. Instead he hoped it would open up more time for the kids to do whatever they were thinking or at worse spend time with their parents. He even turned his back on catching his daughter sneaking out of bed to sleep in Tiago's room at night. He knew that Caius had made it a rule that the kids were not allowed to be alone without "supervision" so he kept an open ear and all he heard was uneven breathing and tossing and turning letting him know that the children were scared and he could do nothing about it. He just had to trust that this was for their own good like Aro said and would help them get stronger.

Heidi surprised Marina by asking if she wanted to go for a walk around the plaza with her. Just them girls. She had gotten permission from Marcus. It was late into the twilight, but the incoming night winter winds did not affect either of them. Heidi was saddened that she sometimes did not get to spend time with the little girl she considered her daughter. When Marina was little she used to curl up in her lap as a toddler as she read her picture books in German. She missed braiding her pale toddler curls before she jumped up often to go run around with Tiago in endless games of tag.

"Are you going to marry Demetri?" Marina asked as they sat down on the edge of the fountain.

"Well, first he would need to propose," Heidi smiled.

"I hope he does. I like you as my mother," Marina smiled. Heidi paused feeling…off. Something felt familiar, like a long lost memory.

"I had been a mother before," Heidi said more to herself than to Marina. That's right. Heidi had daughter when she was still a human. A sweet little girl with her same wavy auburn hair, with big blue eyes and a shy smile.

"I'm sorry for asking, but what was your human life like?" Marina asked with curious eyes.

"That is a story for when you are older. Much, much older," Heidi said looking down at her cold, frozen hands.

Smelling sugary and sweet she looked up to find a simple ice cream parlor. She also caught Marina looking at it with her usually curious look. "Have you ever tried ice cream before?" Heidi asked

Marina shook her head, "No, I was told that it was wrong if we ate human food and that I'm not supposed to."

Heidi smiled, standing up, "How about we go check it out and if you see a flavor that seems good, you can try it?" She watched the girl pause and almost look around nervously, like she was looking for someone, before nodding and saying, "Thank You."

Damien watched Marina and Heidi sitting on the edge of the fountain talking. He had asked Joan if she wanted to walk around and get out of the Building. She still seemed quiet and he hated seeing her so sad. Joan kept looking at him oddly. He hated it. She was the one person who looked at him like he was normal and now she looked at him like everyone else did.

As they walked she seemed to be mumbling to herself. They sat down at one of the outdoor cafes and ordered one coffee and one hot chocolate. Looking over the steaming mug and shivering in the winter air she asked, "How?"

"How what?" he asked, enjoying the cold.

"How did you stop me? I was stepping off the chair and then it was solid beneath my feet. You were dead?"

Damien froze. He had used magic in front of Joan. Aro would be able to read her thoughts and see what he could do. He felt his stomach twist and no longer his drink looked appetizing, despite not eating anything since he went crazy after waking back up from the dead. He needed to think of a lie. He hated lying to Joan.

"I didn't really die. I guess my body sort of shut down to try and heal. When I walked in I saw you step off the chair and ran and moved the chair to catch you. I'm sorry you were so shaken up," he smiled placing his warm hand on hers, "I'm not going anywhere."

She looked away. "How about we invite the DeLeale's do something this weekend? I bet Eliza would love to catch up with you," he suggested trying to change the subject.

"You mean you want to play with Enzo again," she smiled knowingly. The boy often forgot how young he still was. He needed to relax more and being surrounded by good influences was lacking in his life. She saw how much happier he was with his human family. "It would be something pleasant to look forward to," Damien smiled bigger. And fight for.

The scent of three others made him look up as he felt others approach. Donovan with his arm lazily around a chatting Jane with Alec trailing behind with his hands in his pockets and hood up. They pulled the table next to them together with the one they were sitting at.

Donovan ordered a coffee as Jane continued explaining why Valentine's Day wasn't a real holiday.

"It is if you make it," Donovan winked.

Alec cleared his throat to have Donovan change the topic. He noticed Damien's drink was untouched as he fidgeted in his seat and in the evening light could see the dark circles under his eyes from not sleeping. He was such a bad parent and his kid was trapped into a bad situation because of him.

The topic changed again, but Damien wasn't really paying attention to it. He just knew that he heard Donovan, Jane, and Joan all talking together and they sounded happy. Looking over at Alec, he noticed he still was quietly looking at the table looking at the table with his arms crossed. His eyes were almost black. He could tell that Alec knew of Aro's plan. He had been asked to work as a boundary. That he felt guilt for so many things and it was strange seeing him like that and Damien didn't know what to do to make him feel better.

"I'm really happy you are home. I really missed you," he whispered to Alec. Alec looked up, blinking a couple times as if something was in his eyes.

"Do you want to have a Sherlock marathon when we head back in?" Damien asked. Alec smiled, "As long as you get to bed at a decent hour, young man."

Just like in the dream, Felix woke him up the next morning. Or rather knocked on the door to find him staring at the ceiling with blood shot, sleepless eyes. Damien went to get clean clothes from the dryer like in his dream. He paused. He realized that he had not thought how this happened. The clothes were folded in the same neat rolled manner that Alec folded his. Alec had been the one to do his laundry. Damien blinked back tears, not used to having people do nice things for him. He blamed the tears on lack of sleep and not knowing if he was going to die later. He sensed people coming into the laundry room.

Olivia, Tiago & Marina.

"I have a last minute idea," Olivia said quickly, checking to make sure she wasn't followed.

"What?" already he was liking the change in how the vision went.

"We need to prove that we are to be taken seriously. How about make it look even more official by coordinating what we wear," Olivia said.

"That's a stupid idea," Tiago rolled his eyes.

"No, it might actually send a message," Damien smiled.

"How about grey V-neck shirt, black pants with black shoes. Olivia and I will braid our hair the same way," Marina smiled. Everyone nodded. They had less than thirty minutes before they would be searched and the exam would begin. "One last thing," Damien stopped them, "This may seem weird, but hide a sheet of folded paper in your shoe."

Just in case any of them died, they would not go insane. He didn't tell them that though. They needed to stay positive and believe that they would survive. Otherwise…

The three left.

Damien hid the rosary in his shoe as well. He knew he should go upstairs to get something to eat, but his stomach still kept twisting and he couldn't stop shaking. Even if he had a blood bag, he doubted he could keep it down.

They were regrouped and patted down. Damien noted the two tight Dutch braids that made almost a crown on the two girls' heads. All four of them had stony faces. They had to stay focused. It would be over soon. He heard Heidi choked back a sob as she hugged Marina. Felix hugged Tiago and Olivia. Chelsea hugged Olivia. Demetri hugged Marina. Tiago hugged Marina. Damien stood still knowing Alec was already out in the courtyard. Aro had asked Donovan to shield him and Caius. Maybe the wives if he was feeling generous. Jane would be by Donovan's side. Joan would be doing paper work.

They were marched out into the courtyard. Damien noticed Alec struggling to hold back the Mist, like he had been perhaps doing it for hours. Probably had. His eyes were so dark. But so were Damien's. They nodded at each other. It said everything and expressed more than a hug would.

"You don't have to do this," Marcus warned Aro, "By doing this you will create an Us vs Them dynamic that won't end well. Don't do this, brother."

It fell to deaf ears as Aro explained the rules. All four stood straight, with hands folded behind their backs like soldiers. Like they had practiced.

The countdown began.

They ran.

Like they had practiced.

Twenty-two, twenty-one, twenty…

They got in formation.

Like they had practiced.

Why was his heartbeat erupting out of his chest? He needed to start a fire so that they could quickly deal with the vampires.

He could hear protests as it was realized what they were doing but looking back, the vampires still sat on their balcony.

Eighteen, seventeen...

He flicked the lighter, he saw the spark. Come one, come one.

He dropped it, picked it up swearing. Tried again.

Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck

Nine, eight, seven, six

He remembered the spell that Donovan used to light the grass of fire. No one was looking. He would deal with the consequences. They needed fire or they would die.

His head spun as it work.

He felt something warm on his arm as a buzz ran through him, waking him up. Olivia

Zero.

Alec parted the Mist like Moses commanding the sea. It wrapped around the courtyard. The children held their place as over a dozen of vampire ran at them, ravenous for blood. Marina shot the fastest couple with her bow as Olivia grabbed another two, weakening them. Tiago broke them like twigs. Damien dodged one, spinning and grabbing another by the throat. Tiago kicked one like a ball as it soared and knocked back three others. Grabbing a small girl by the hair, he tossed her in the air like a foxtail as Marina fired. Damien noticed a couple of the targets, he refused to call them kids in fears of humanizing them, had accidently run into the Mist and were frozen. In another minute the Mist circle would shrink and they would not be able to get the targets without being trapped themselves.

Seven targets now dead, five trapped in the Mist. Five still alive. Four as Marina shot another one.

Oliva weakened another one before zapping Tiago who had begun to slow. Three. They had twenty seconds before the vampires were unreachable in the Mist.

Damien bolted, feeling confident they could handle it. He reached through the Mist, careful to not get caught in it, grabbed a vampire, and breaking it before it woke up. Olivia ran up behind him to help.

The Mist was growing as he threw a still stunned target at her as she broke it like an old vase.

She reached in to help and went limp. Damien pulled her out of the Mist. He reached his arm into the Mist, pulling a third target and breaking it in pieces. Olivia snapped awake shaking the Mist off her. He reached in for a fourth one pulling it out. She ended the thing quickly. Tiago and Marina ran up finished with the others.

One last one. Taking a focused breath, Damien dove partially in the Mist as quick as possible before it could affect him. It was strange how cold it felt. Like running though dry ice. But it seemed weaker, like it was evaporating already.

All four smiled before working together to deliver the final blow.

And like that it was over. They were humming with adrenaline and they had done it!

Trying to keep composure, they lined back up side by side. And bowed in sync.

Like they had practiced.

"HOW?" screeched Caius. How did they know about the exam? Aro had checked all the Guard's thoughts and found nothing. He wanted a blood bath.

"Congratulations. You all passed with flying colors," Aro sneered, forcing a smile, "You are all dismissed."

As soon as the door closed after Caius, Aro, and the wives had left, a deep sigh had been released by everyone. All of them had been running on too much adrenaline and not enough sleep. Aches began to creep into muscles that had not been used that intensely before. Knuckles were bruised from punch such cold, hard objects. The fire died down as water was poured on it. Bodies drooped as they all panted, catching their breath. Parents cheered saying how proud they were as they started to go inside.

Damien looked over to see where Alec was. He found him collapsed on the ground.

NO!

He ran over on clumsy, cramping legs. He tripped, his body not working from not enough food, sleep, and all of the above. He felt the skin break as he skidded on the grass, ripping his clothes.

The scent of blood made Alec spring.

Blood. So thirsty. Blood. So thirsty.

Why was Felix tackling him on the ground yelling at him?

He needed blood. His throat was burning. The scent made him whimper with need. The monster in him needed blood. It smell blood. His teeth were so sharp. His mouth so dry, yet dripping with venom.

"Get the kids out of here now!" he heard someone shout.

Something was going to hurt the kids?

He would sink his teeth into them!

"Alec, you need to calm down. I know you are in there."

He felt delicate hands on the side of his face as a blonde girl looked into his sharp eyes with her red ones.

He felt the vibrations of a growl but heard it in the distance.

"This is for your own good. I'm so sorry," the girl said.

His body was on fire. The screaming was even more distant.

He didn't know what was happening.

All he could think about was blood.

He opened his eyes to find it stained on his face, soaking his shirt.

"Alec?"

"What happened? Where's Damien? Is he safe?" Alec quickly said looking around. The blood tasted human and an unfamiliar dead human girl lay at his feet.

"Yes, he's inside with Joan," Jane said, trying to calm him down, "You gave us quite a scare. I blame Aro for this. He had you use your power for too long with too low of—

"I need to see him," Alec got up and found Damien asleep at the kitchen table with Joan. The plate in front of him was half finished and the glass of water empty. Joan screamed seeing Alec covered in blood. Damien stirred whimpering and shifting, but didn't wake.

"He's out cold," Joan assured Alec, "He showered, eaten, and he nearly fell asleep face first in his dinner, the poor thing was so exhausted."

Damien's face was so calm, lips parted slightly taking deep even breaths as his eyes twitched beneath their lids.

"I think you need a shower, too," Joan cocked her eyebrows, "Go. He's not going anywhere."

He was back quickly with still wet hair and fresh clothes. Joan invited him to sit down saying "he looked like he needed to catch his breath ad clear his mind". She told him that her door was always open if he needed to talk to anyone, that Marcus had mentioned something to her. Alec was confused. He had killed her brother, why was she being nice to him?

"Forgiveness is a powerful thing," Joan smiled. Alec thanked her for the offer and for getting Damien to fall asleep. She winked and handed him an orange pill bottle that had sleep medication in it.

"You have your powers and I have mine," Joan adjusted her glasses, "If needed have him take one an hour before bed with the condition that I already made him promise that he would eat a full meal beforehand. I want to see if getting more sleep helps him."

"Thank you so much," Alec didn't know what to say. He wished her goodnight as he picked up Damien. He seemed so light, like he had lost weight, and hadn't noticed how thin he was. Damien stirred again as he carried him down the hallway before setting him down on the couch in Alec's room, like when he was a baby. His eyes, now a fresh green, opened slightly as Alec swept his bangs out of his face. Damien smiled drowsily at him before feeling his eyes close again. They had done it. They survived.

Like they had practiced.