The gang and I listened intently as my parents gave us the run down about their backstory with Braxton. From when he first joined the coven to his banishment from it, he was always stuck living in old vampire ways and living by the ways of the myths humans wrote. While other immortals, vampire or not, evolved to live among humans as time went on and adapted their ways to blend in yet still survive Braxton did not, set in the olden ways. He had a mindset that we were superior both over humans and all other types of immortals. He also had no intentions of ever changing, even with the threat of being kicked out of the coven, to be shunned by his kind and stopped from harming anyone who was innocent just to satisfy his own selfish mindset.
As for how he knew me, my parents explained that not long after I was first born they ran into him again while saving a young woman who was walking the streets of Seattle one night. He had his sights set on her as his meal for the night, without knowing my parents were coming back from showing me off to one of their close friends in the coven. My parents stopped him, saving the girls life and warned him about his eminent banishment. He refused to heed their warning, watching the girl as she ran to safety and he turned his attention to my parents and me. It wasn't long after this night that he was summoned by the elders of our coven and his banishment fell upon him.
"So, how did he get this scroll if he was banished?" Kenny asked my parents, breaking the silence that fell after they told their tale of Braxton.
"No idea. Probably found a window of time where the elders were far enough away to not notice someone sniffing around long enough for him to swap it with a fake." My mother shrugged, giving her best guess.
"So much for enhanced skills. What good is that when you can't even keep track of one stupid scroll?" Cartman scoffed, his rude remark earning one of my infamous eye rolls he so often receives.
"Just cuz the elders didn't notice it was a fake right away doesn't mean they wouldn't figure it out eventually. That scroll was stored so no one could use it for evil purposes and so we could live in peace, now that Braxton has it he will make both of those impossible." I responded snidely to Cartman, sick of his attitude through this whole situation. "We just need to get it back and return it to the elders. Once we get a hold of it we can get out of here and not have to worry about Braxton anymore right?" I asked my parents with a glimmer of hope.
"Well, theoretically yes." My mother hesitated a little before answering. "However, Braxton has been a problem for a long time and if it comes down to it, being rid of him may be the most beneficial outcome from this whole thing."
"But you would need to get a hold of that scroll first right?" Kyle asked, his mind already in motion as he put the facts from all he has found out about me and my kind together. "I mean, if you're immortal and that scroll is the only thing that can hurt you then doesn't Braxton have the advantage over us at the moment?"
"Well, yes and no." My father spoke in a flat but stern tone. "The scroll does make it so anyone can hurt us but only an immortal can seriously hurt another immortal without any help. Braxton has relied too much on the blessings from the scroll, so fighting him hand to hand may be our best bet if we can ensure the scroll is safely secured."
"So, basically we need a plan to get him distracted and away from the scroll. Why not let the elders know so they can come help?" I questioned as I leaned back against the cool walp crossing my arms.
"At this point, by the time one of us gets out of here and brings them here we could take care of him and potentially save the lives of others he has trapped here or plans to capture." My mother humbly replied. "We need to keep the safety of others in mind."
I looked around at the others as I let out a grunt and nodded my head in agreement to mother's statement. "So anyone have any ideas of how we go about our newfound goal or should I start?" I questioned my friends and parents, everyone remaining quiet as they each went into their own thoughts. "Well, the security cameras should still be down and so far it seems like Braxton just knows about Stan and Cartman being here with me. I don't think he knows Kenny and Kyle are here." I continued as I broke the silence to broadcast my thoughts.
"With any luck he won't go to where we found your parents." Kenny commented with a shrug. "We kinda left two of the assholes that worked for this guy in their places and not in the best shape either. That's probably why he doesn't know about us, if the two guys had gone free we would be in deep shit."
"That also means our window of time he doesn't know we escaped is limited. He would always check in on us and gives us just enough blood to keep us from starving before he would work on his research." My father grimly explained as he and my mother shuddered at the thought of their torture they only just escaped.
"I may have a plan, one that can work in our short time span if we act now." Kenny's voice hung in the air as the unavoidable "but" of the plan he concocted had yet to be voiced aloud. "Mr. and Mrs. Kearne do you trust me to keep Luna safe?"
"Well, yeah. I mean so far you seem to be doing a good job and she trusts you with her life so what kind of parents would we be if we didn't." My parents looked to each other as my mother spoke in a soft tone to answer Kenny's question.
"Then please hear me out on this. Since Braxton and his followers have no knowledge of Kyle and me we can 'return a prisoner' to get close to him and cause a distraction while the rest of you sneak around and try to get that scroll. He can't possibly have it on him at all times right?" Kenny looked to me for approval, knowing that this plan was walking into danger for not only myself but everyone.
My father opened his mouth to voice his concerns but quickly shut his mouth when I shot him a razor sharp glare. "It's our one chance to stop him for good. We need to take it!" I stated, looking to everyone before stopping at Kenny. "Plus I trust Kenny with my immortal life ten times over and everyone here should know that" I nodded at him and watched as my comment brought light to his eyes and a smile to his face.
Both of my parents let out a sigh, looking between Kenny and me before nodding in agreement with serious faces.
"We need to act now." My father's stern voice confirmed what everyone knew. "Braxton is a few floors above us with some humans. If you go now we can listen and follow behind when it's safe."
Everyone nodded in acknowledgment as I approached Kenny, ripping a piece of my shirt off and handing it to him.
"Last he left me I was injured, but he left me with Stan and Cartman in my cell as 'snacks' even though he knows I won't hurt them. That being said he may believe that I'm still too weak to fight back fully. Especially if I still have somewhat of a wound." I theorized as I lifted my shirt revealing my now fully healed side, digging my fingernails into where the bullet once was housed to create a new gash. "Time to go." I held my hands behind my back and turned around so Kenny could tie them together with the scrap of shirt.
"I can follow behind you guys if you want. Kinda like your back up for the confrontation as the others sneak around." Kyle threw in his contribution to the plan.
"Yeah, that could work out nicely." I gave him a small smile as Kenny pulled the knot tight around my wrists. "Also, Kenny ya gotta be rough and act like you hate my guts for him to buy this."
Kenny was quiet for a minute as he placed a hand on my shoulder and turned me around to face him, "I'll do my best."
"Just gotta be a little rough. Throw me down and hold me by my hair. Just pretend we are back at your house. Only try not to get turned on too much." I leaned in and whispered in his ear, letting out a small laugh and flashing a sly smile as I pulled away.
"As long as I can be rough nicely once this is all over with." He whispered to me barely audible, receiving awkward coughs from my parents who I momentarily forgot would hear our every word.
I looked to them with a knowing look and a shrug. "You guys know what being bonded is like so don't act like that." I mumbled as Kenny and I headed towards the elevator, Kyle following behind us.
"Just be careful, we will be right behind you once we hear you guys are with Braxton. He's still above us, would guess about three floors." My mother spoke as she paused to focus on listening to the sounds above us. "Yeah he's definitely got a scientist with him. That should work to your advantage in the way of having him talk with you rather than attack."
I nodded to them, Kenny and Kyle standing on either side of me as the elevator began to hum to life. "Don't worry, I have faith in all of us." I gave a confident smile to everyone before looking to my parents. "I love you Mom and Dad. I'm so glad we found you before what I had feared happened."
"We love you too Luna. Now let's get this over with so we can all go home." My father answered for both of them as he put an arm around my mother's waist.
The elevator began to rise, taking us to the third floor with a slow, smooth movement. "Are you ready for this?" I looked over my shoulder at the two boys. "Cuz we sure as hell better get an Oscar for the amount of acting that's going to happen once this elevator gets to our destination." I joked, lightening the mood one final time as the elevator ascended to the third floor and I let Kenny grab my wrists and prepared to put on the act of my life.
I FINALLY got this chapter up! It's shorter than I would have liked but I will make up for that in the next (probably last!) chapter I swear! :) I have a few more free nights this week than normal thanks to my schedule being less hectic so I should be able to write a lot more this week than I have been which I'm excited about.
-Sammy