A/N: Thank you again for all your WONDERFUL reviews. Without them, I would've probably had abandoned the story at like, Ch.3, or something.

Again, WARNING: Rated "M" for Mature. In other words, if you're immature, you may not want to read it. It's not like NC-17 or anything, just for more mature readers. Yep. :)

Crescendo

Chapter 7: Eternal

Amy felt a deep sense of foreboding.

Like a, bum, bum, BUM!- type of foreboding. Not a very a good thing mind you, especially when you're a just-slightly-more-than-five-feet woman face to face with a wall of muscle that was at least six feet.

At least.

Granted, it was a very gorgeous wall of muscle. Attached to a head that all but shouted "I'm sexy and fucking hot. You know it, I know it, and I'll catch you when you jump me."

Amy could feel her feet just itching to move.

She stared at the powerful looking hand extended towards her. Would it crush hers if she shook hands with him?

Deciding that she shouldn't lose her manners despite the man's intimidating presence, she nervously placed her hand in his and softly said in a relatively steady voice, "Amy Wilde." But instead of grasping her hand in his and shaking it as Amy had expected, the man, Zoicite (what an interesting name!), gently clasped it in his and bending over slightly, raised her hand to his lips and kissed it softly.

"It's a pleasure, Amy." Straightening, he grinned at her. Belatedly, Amy realized that Zoicite still held her hand in his.

"Ah… Er… Yes. You too," she fumbled, gently attempting to extract her hand from his with subtlety. When he still refused to let go of her hand, she began to tug harder. But he didn't seem to catch the hint. Instead, he covered their joined hands with his other hand, and smoothly tucked her arm under his, bringing their bodies closer.

"Sir! Mr. Mason! What do you think you're doing?" Amy cried, shocked. The nerve of the man to take such liberties! Despite the fact that she quite enjoyed the sensation of his long, hard body pressed against the side of hers… Ack! That's beside the point!

"Please, Amy, call me Zoicite. I insist. And what I am about to do is accompany a beautiful lady maneuver her way through the grounds—which is what you came here to do, I gather?"

"It is Ms. Wilde, and I don't need your help! I just wanted to see if anyone was home first. So, I suggest you release my arm, and go along your separate way." Amy finished her prim declaration with a haughty raise of her chin. She could feel her face grow warm under the intense stare of the handsome man, his bright green eyes staring directly into hers, entrancing, hypnotizing.

"Alright, I shall go. But first…" Before she could make a sound, a movement, he grasped her chin with his fingers and swooped down, softly brushing his lips against the delicate skin of her neck. "You smell so… wonderful."

Amy shivered at the breathy, aroused tones of Zoicite, and against her better intentions, began to feel her body relax into his and her eyes shutter closed.

Then he did something completely unexpected.

She felt something sharp and piercing bite into the side of the neck, and before she could cry out in pain and alarm, she was overcome with sensations of pleasure and lust. Zoicite moaned at her neck.

Sweet… Soft… More… Delicious… Mine. Amy heard the broken thoughts racing through her head, although she didn't know where they were coming from. All she could do was just lie there, limp in his arms.

The rational part of her was screaming, "Oh my goodness gracious, he is drinking my blood" and the other completely not sane part of was groaning in pleasure, "Damn, he is fucking HOT! Enjoy it girl, and hope that it happens again, and SOON!"

But this of course, was completely inappropriate.

But then again, he's so HOT!

Zoicite smiled against her soft neck upon hearing the jumble of conflicting thoughts racing through Amy's mind. He forced himself to bring his head up, but not before swiping the two puncture holes close with a long sweep of his tongue. The taste of her, so unique, so clean, so delicious, nearly tempted him to bite her again, but he wanted her to remain conscious so he could observe and talk to her more. Besides, now that he had taken her blood, he'd be able to find her anytime.

It was strange, but the thought of her ever leaving him made him feel… Well, fucking pissed off as hell. It was probably just because she was the most delicious and beautiful thing he'd ever had. He'd never felt so sated so quickly and so adequately in such a short amount of time.

He'd keep her.

"You'll keep me? Excuse me? Who the hell- I mean, heck do you think you are?"

And for the first time in his life, Zoicite was at a loss for words.

The days seemed to drag on for Raye.

First, she still had no idea where Serena was, and she was about to nearly go out of her mind. Second, she had to make a decision whether or not to die. Well, that is, whether or not she wanted to be a vampire.

To be or not to be –a vampire- that is the question, she thought amusedly. Oh the answer seemed easy. After all, of course she wanted to spend the rest of the life with Jadeite. But the thing holding her back was much more complex. Her life for one was on the line. Next, and more importantly, was her friends and family. Jadeite had been clear and blunt about the faults of turning. You would have to cut all ties with everyone you knew, to either wipe their minds or be presumed dead. There could be no contact, no explanation, and especially no revealing the truth- the existence vampires.

She sighed and rubbed her tired eyes. She hadn't been getting much sleep lately because of her dilemma, and the one person she could talk to, Serena, had disappeared. The timing of things was starting to give her a massive headache. She could feel it creeping up, the ache that starting at her temples and that was slowly starting to spread to her forehead.

She stepped into the elevator of her apartment complex, her eyes already shut before the doors closed, her head leaning back onto the mirrored walls. The elevator dinged, and the doors almost closed on her before she remembered to get out. Her heels clacking unenthusiastically down the hall, Raye trudged along, sighing with relief when she finally opened the door, shut it, and fell onto the couch before her. Except instead of hitting the soft, plushy cushions as she expected, she fell onto a strange lumpy thing.

It shrieked.

Scratch that- a strange, human, lumpy thing.

Swearing, Raye leaped back off the couch, reaching behind her to the umbrella stand to grab some sort of weapon.

The intruder was tangled underneath the couch's throw blanket, and attempted to claw itself back to the surface. Raye saw a flash of blond hair, and held her breath as the person desperately dragged the blanket off. It was-

"Mina? What on earth? Why- How- Are you okay?" Dropping her 'weapon', Raye hurried forward to help a much disheveled looking Mina up.

Rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes, Mina said drowsily, "I called you but you didn't answer, so I came here to wait for you, but I fell asleep. I didn't get much sleep last night," she admitted ruefully with a suspicious red tint on her ears. Raye decided that the blush called for further analysis, but later. There were more important matters at hand.

"So? Any news? Did you hear anything about Serena yet?"

"Actually, I did. Did you check your cell phone's messages yet?"

"No, I couldn't find my phone this morning so I had to leave without it. Why? Did Serena call?"

"Yup. And left a very interesting message behind for us as well. Not only that, Amy called this morning, saying that she'd found Serena."

" She 'found' Serena? How strange. I wonder where she was. Did you call Amy back?"

"Yes, but it went directly to voicemail, and that was when I decided to come here."

Raye paused for a moment, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Do you still have the message from Serena? I'd like to hear it."

"Yeah, I saved it. Hold on for sec and I'll put it on speaker."

Both women were quiet as they heard the phone crackle until Serena's familiar voice came on. "Hey Mina, it's Serena. I don't have much time, but I just wanted to say I'm safe, unharmed, and okay. By the way, you and Raye both REALLY need to start answering your phones more often. Anyways, I hope you get this message soon, and come get me. This guy named Darien Shields; yes, THAT Darien Shields, the evidently psycho but rich one, kidnapped me after the concert four days ago. I'm at his house, but I don't know where it is. It might be somewhere in New York, but I'm not sure. I think it's in the middle of a forest or something. Anyways, a lot of… weird stuff happened and but I think I'm still perfectly sane. In any case, I'm okay now, but please! Help me! I'll try and call again if I can get the chance. Just make sure that-"

The message was cut off, as the time limit had ended. Raye and Mina just stared at each other, Raye's look of utter confusion mirroring the same expression that Mina wore when she had first heard the message.

"What the hell?"

Mina smirked. "I told you it was interesting. Something like this would only happen to Serena."

"How unbelievably true. Oh Serena, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" Raye sighed, sitting on the couch next to Mina.

"Well, at least we know that she's unharmed. As for her safety… We better try and find her as soon as possible."

"Do you think we should call the police?" Mina asked.

"Let me talk to Jadeite first. He's good friends with Darien, so I'm sure he could explain what's going on."

"Raye… Speaking of Jadeite… I hear you're engaged?" Mina asked tentatively.

Raye beamed with happiness. "Yes. About a week ago. Did Serena tell you?"

"Yes, and congratulations. I can see how happy you are. But the thing is… I was wondering… Well. Does he… That is to say… Erm. Well… Do you believe in vam-" Mina was abruptly interrupted when the two women heard a sharp knock at the door.

"Wait a sec Mina. Hold that thought." She got up to answer the door. Mina had this weird tingly feeling running up her back. Not unpleasant; on the contrary, rather comforting, but too entirely familiar. This unusual feeling usually meant that-

"Jadeite! Kunzite! What a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here?"

Mina sighed. Stupid tingly-ness. Go away! Gah! But her body betrayed her. She couldn't help the way her heartbeat would increase, the warmness that spread throughout her body. And she just knew that Kunzite had probably picked up on it already, and would probably use it to his advantage. That smug bastard.

Jadeite grabbed Raye around the waist, pulling her against him and kissing the top of her head. Smiling down at her, he said, "Well not only was I getting lonely after you left, we have some important news for you." His gaze flicked over to Mina. "And Mina." His gaze sharpened, and his nose twitched slightly. His blue eyes flew over to Kunzite, who was leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed and his mouth half-smiling and half-smirking.

Mina's eyes narrowed. Wipe that look off your face.

But I can't help it. Seeing your beautiful smiling face just makes me want to smile. His smiled widened and his eyes crinkled at the corners.

Oh shove it. Just because we- we- Whatever-ed last night… Get over it. Psh. She rolled her eyes and with a stubborn and indignant "hmph", looked away.

We also "whatever-ed this morning in the shower. Don't forget.

Silence.

"Oh that's right, Jadeite, you met Mina last time at Serena's house, right?"

"Mina? So you're the Mina. The Mina who was the reason for Kunzite's horrible temper for the past year as well as his mysterious disappearance last night? Who would've thunk?" Jadeite asked laughingly. "I must say, this is quite the coincidence."

"Huh?" Confused, Raye looked at Mina, then at Kunzite. "Do you two already know each other?"

Jadeite laughed aloud. "You can say that. They're mates, love."

Her eyes widening in surprise, Raye whirled around and stared at him in shock. "Mates? But wouldn't that mean that Mina is-"

"A vampire? Sure does." Frowning, Jadeite said, "Raye, you didn't know?"

Both Raye and Mina stared at him in shock, and then after a heartbeat, simultaneously shouted, "NO!"

BORED. She was so BORED!

Serena sighed, slumped on the plush couch in her (and Darien's… psh- whatever) room. Her hand was fisted under her chin and one leg was tucked under her, with the other swinging slowly back and forth. She looked outside the windows, the moonlight streaming in.

She'd discovered that after an hour of tossing and turning, sleeping during the night was a near impossibility, short of knocking herself on the head with a blunt object (which, even then, would take a lot of effort, considering her newfound strength). So, with a frustrated moan, she flung the covers off and stomped towards the closet and got dressed.

Now, she had no idea what to do. She hated being bored like this. Not only that, she was getting restless, her fingers itchy. And, she TONS of questions. Questions that only one person in particular could answer.

Damn it.

Experimentally, she carefully searched her mind for that presence that seemed to always be there as a part of her. That string that seemed to connect them and bind them at all times. A shadow in her mind.

Yes?

Crap. Hastily, she responded without thinking, Oh, er, um, I was just wondering how to get to the… kitchen.

If you're hungry, I'd be more than happy to provide some nourishment.

She could totally see his smirk. And the worst thing was, she could feel herself salivating at the thought of that rich, red liquid sliding down her throat.

Ah, no, thanks. The kitchen?

I can just have something sent up to the room. Did you want something in particular?

Well, no, but- Wait, does that mean I can still eat normal food? Serena perked up at the thought.

In a sense, yes. You can consume regular food, and taste it just as before, but it will not in anyway fulfill your hunger or thirst.

Really? Now things were looking up.

Really. But you must be careful. Too much will make your body sick. You'll need blood to digest it. But the kitchen is down the stairs, the second door on the right in the left wing.

Kay! Thanks. Elated by this new bit of news, Serena jumped up and hurried off in search of the kitchen. She seriously craved pizza. Hopefully even Darien had some leftover pizza she could reheat. But wait, I can eat normal food (kinda), I can stand the sunlight, my fangs only pop out on command… I could totally just pass for a human. I could live, eat, sleep just as before… But with just a few adjustments, that is. Serena mused over this new epiphany, but thoughts stuttered to an end when she stumbled upon a room. Not the kitchen.

Down the stairs, second door on the right in the… right wing. No, she didn't find the kitchen, but something infinitely better.

"Oh…" Serena breathed. She felt the world tilt, then straighten. Finally. She felt at peace with herself, the inner turmoil calming. This was her element, her world. The one thing she knew inside and out and had no qualms about.

The room was large, not quite as large as her bedroom, but with much higher ceilings and a grand crystal chandelier in the center that caught the moonlight. The windows stretched from floor to ceiling, and exposed the winter wonderland outside. It was like being in a snow globe, from the inside looking out. Fresh snow drifted down, blanketing the ground with another layer of white froth. Anywhere there were no windows, mirrors covered the walls from bottom to the top. The glowing moon cast delicate shadows in the large room, the marble floors catching each and every one of them.

And in the center of the room, unhindered by any excess furniture in the room, completely isolated, was a piano. A beautifully carved, concert grand piano. It was dove white, with mother-of-pearl inlays that shined in the moonlight.

Almost in a trance, Serena seemingly drifted towards it. It was, quite simply, the most beautiful piano she had ever seen. Steinway, Zimmermann, Bösendorfer; she had played them all, yet none of them ever had the same beauty and elegance that this… Piano seemed too plain a word… Work of art had.

She sat on the cushioned bench and lovingly stroked the top of the keys.

It was like coming home, or a long drink of cold water after days of thirst. Instinctively, her fingers spread and readied themselves to play. She pressed a single note and the even, crisp note sang through the silent and still night.

She played.

She played and played to her heart's content. She played till she emptied out her soul, played until her heart sang with joy, played until tears threatened to come to her eyes, and fingers began to cramp. Oh she played until her fingers could play no more, and slowed down to a sad, soothing sonata. And finally, she wept.

She had cried in anger, in pain, in sorrow, but now she cried tears of joy. The relief that had spread throughout her body was unbelievable. Every crazy improbability in her life at the moment melted away and was replaced with a quiet, healing embrace.

Serena stared down at the keys, her hands lightly fisted in her lap. She had sensed him before she even heard him.

"Beautiful." The word was murmured quietly. It was the first word to break the silence after the frenzy of music and emotional outpour on Serena's part.

"Thank you Darien," she whispered. Somehow, they both knew that she wasn't thanking him for the compliment, but for the gift for which she was overjoyed to receive.

"I told you this is your home now. Everything you could possibly ever need or wanted will always be available to you here." He stepped towards her, stopping only when stood right beside her. "Serena, I love you."

She said nothing. Through their bond, she could feel his hurt, his disappointment, and his resignation at her lack of response. She didn't want to say, "well, I don't love you." No, there was enough pain and hurt between them, and she had no wish to add to it.

Suddenly, she felt a warm tingle run down her back, the distinct feeling of pleasure bringing goose bumps to her skin. Startled, she turned around, and was shocked to see that her wings lay raised, spread out, and that Darien was gently stroking them, just as he had done before. She couldn't help but preen under his soft but firm touch, as his fingers glided through the silky white feathers and wrought out even more pleasure.

"But how… I didn't even feel…"

"There is only pain for the first time, as they were being released from confinement."

"I see. But how do I make them go away?"

"Just will them to. Imagine them disappearing from your back, and fading away."

Serena did so, and couldn't help but feel a slight disappointment when they disappeared and the pleasure that Darien's stroking had brought left as well.

The silence stretched between them, long, but not awkward. Instead, for once the troubled couple seemed content to bask in the silence, without any arguments, any sadness. Finally the stillness broke as Darien reached out and grasped Serena's chin between his fingers. He tilted her face up and his own began to descend.

Serena saw it coming, but made no move to stop him. She was much too happy, much too content at the moment and she figured that she could at least give him a kiss in gratitude (since it was oh-so-hard to kiss Darien). She felt his lips press softly against hers and she stood still, waiting for him. He lightly traced the bow of her mouth with the tip of his tongue, and kissed her again, softly, gently.

And that was all he did. Despite the briefness of the kiss, Serena could feel her heart racing just as fast as the last time they'd embraced. She felt the warmness spreading to the lower regions of her body and sluggishness of her limbs.

So there they were, the dark and light pair in the moonlit room, Serena still sitting on the piano bench with her back turned and her head upraised and Darien bent over with his fingers clutching her chin. Their foreheads were the only parts of their body still touching.

"Darien?"

"Hmm?"

"Will you please take me outside? I will go with you."

Silence. "Of course." His grin was wide and true, and Serena all but swooned when those two dimples popped out. "Anything for you love." He stood up straight and held out a hand for her. She placed her hand in his and followed his lead as they left the beautiful room hand in hand. Serena turned her head just one last time to look at the piano that stood flooded in moonlight before the door shut behind her.

They didn't dress up or change into anything else. Serena was comfortable enough in her narrow jeans, plain white T-shirt, and sneakers. She pulled on a thick warm sweater and wrapped a cashmere scarf around her neck to fight the winter cold outside. When she met Darien at the staircase, he was dressed just as casually as she, in black jeans and a black sweater.

Surprise, surprise, black. Serena thought ruefully. But she had to admit, those jeans of his fitted him sinfully well. Especially when he turned around and she saw his- Well, in any case, Darien looked much better than any man had the right to.

"Ready?" Darien asked.

"Yup."

"Okay, now don't let go." Before Serena could ask why, Darien wrapped his arms around her and pressed her firmly against his body. With a sudden tipsy whirl, she found herself no longer at the staircase, but in a garage.

"Until you learn how to do that yourself, we'll have to do it together."

"Okay, but next time, a little bit more warning please," Serena said, pressing a hand to her dizzy head.

"Sorry."

They passed rows and rows of cars, motorcycles, limousines, and all sorts of forms of vehicles and transportation. "What on earth do you possibly need all this for?" Serena asked incredulously. "I mean, you don't even need to drive."

"Well, why not? It's not as if I can just move from here and pop right into my office. People would wonder, then get suspicious, then start snooping around, and I really don't need that."

"I see."

They stepped into a sleek black Aston Martin Vanquish (a.k.a freaking sexy-ass car) and Darien started up the engine, the bright headlights illuminating the garage right before the car roared out.

Amy was still within Zoicite's grasp, gaping at him in outrage and confusion. First the man drank her blood, then he had the nerve to declare that he'd "keep" her… What was going on?

Zoicite was just as confused and shocked as the petite woman he held. Never before in his entire existence had a woman ever been able to read his mind. His brothers, yes, as well as Darien, but a woman? Never! Maybe it was just a fluke.

He looked deep into her eyes and thought, Amy, your skin feels like the softest silk and your eyes would put sapphires to shame. I would feast upon your body and pay homage to it for the gift of such a delicacy.

Amy blushed and her eyes widened in astonishment as she realized that he was not speaking, but that she was actually hearing his words in her head. "What? I don't understand… How am I… And why can you…"

So it's true then…

"What's true? What's going on? What did you do to me?" Amy cried.

"I'm sorry for frightening you love." Zoicite stroked her soft cheek as he hungrily drank in the image of her face. The short cap of blue-black hair, her large navy blue eyes, the pert nose and rosy lips. "But you see, I'm a vampire, and it seems that you are my mate. Mine."

So Amy did what any well-bred woman would do. Her hand went to her forehead and she fainted dead away with a graceful backward arch.

Serena was excited to be finally leaving the house, even if she was under Darien's watchful eye and leash.

She sat in the plush luxury car, staring out the window as Darien drove down the long driveway towards the gate. She didn't even realize that the car was slowing down until she heard Darien speak.

"Zoicite. And company. What an unexpected surprise," he said drolly.

Zoicite laughed and looked down at the unconscious woman he held in his arms. "Yes, women can't help but fall at my feet. But this time, I don't mind quite so much."

Darien raised a knowing eyebrow. "Congratulations," he said, his voice bland and cool.

Serena was surprised at his iciness, compared to the teasing and seductive man she had witnessed earlier. She looked at the man Darien was talking to, this Zoicite. He was the first person to see in days, and she wondered what he was doing outside the gate.

Vampire…

It came to her, not as a big shock, but as if she'd always known, had just somehow sensed it. It was like some sort of twisted gay-dar… Except for vampires. Vamp-dar? She shook her head at the amusing notion, laughing at herself. And it wasn't until then that she saw the sleeping woman that he cradled. Her sharp and newly improved vision focused on the small woman, as she looked familiar.

Zoicite flinched at the sudden burst of power and heat emanating from the car. He instinctively secured Amy protectively in his arms, as she was his first priority to protect, even if it meant great damage towards him. He stared in shock as a small woman with long silver hair stepped out of the car, her pale blue eyes glowing and radiant white wings fully extended from her back.

"Release her." The woman pointed one slender finger towards Amy. Her voice was rich, powerful, beautiful, and nothing like he'd ever heard before. It burned and healed; lyrical yet terrible. "LET GO OF HER!"

He immediately threw up a shield to protect himself and Amy from the blast of power that she released. It initially held, but as the onslaught continued, began to waver.

Zoicite was absolutely astonished. Never before had he seen a woman wield so much power before. He had lived long, longer than most, only coming behind his brothers and Darien in years, but this… His startled eyes flew to Darien, who at this point had also stepped out of the car, his eyes directly trained on the glowing woman.

"Serena, enough," Darien said calmly, even though on the inside his gut churned in fear. She was still far too weak to continue draining herself like this, but he didn't want to startle her into losing concentration and end up hurting herself.

"Tell him to let go of Amy!" Serena yelled.

"No! Never!" Zoicite yelled back furiously. He wouldn't be able to hold much longer. Gathering up as much power and force he could muster, he thrust it back towards the woman, knocking her back. The white light immediately disappeared, seemingly sucked back into the woman's small body.

Serena stumbled back a few steps, her body tired and sore, her mind fuzzy and dizzy. "Oh damn." Her legs buckled underneath her, and before she fell to the ground, Darien was already behind her, catching her, comforting her. She could feel his energy surrounding her, seeping into her exhausted body.

"Now look what you did." Serena's eyes snapped up towards Darien's face upon hearing the eerily cold and deadly voice. Uh oh… Eyes… Almost red… Fangs… Extending… Wings… Out…

"Darien, Darien!" Serena tugged on his sweater, trying to catch his attention.

"A moment." A dark aura seemed to surround him, the same blackness that she had seen before.

Zoicite didn't know what to do. For one, Darien was his King and longtime loyal friend. If he commanded it, he would chop off his own head and gladly give it to him. On the other hand, now he had Amy. Dilemma, dilemma.

Darien couldn't think straight, couldn't focus. All he saw was a threat, a person that harmed Serena.

Zoicite. The four. Mason, Tremain, Pierina, Kinion. NO. THREAT! SERENA!

The strange buzzing in her ears finally cleared and her smoke hazing her thoughts cleared. Her blue eyes flew between the stranger who held an unconscious Amy and Darien whose predatory stance stood as a barrier between her and Zoicite. She realized that Darien meant to attack the man who, despite her earlier, hasty conclusion, was only trying to protect her friend.

Plan B! What's Plan B? She stared in horror as his wings flexed, as if meaning to move any moment. However, the other man made no move to attack Darien, but continued to guard and shield Amy. So she did what first popped to mind. She leaped up high over the car, landing right in front of Darien.

She sank her fangs deep.

A/N: Gah! Finally, DONE! With this chapter anyways… Haha. See! I haven't abandoned it yet! But fortunately I'm on a "relaxation" trip where all I do is read, sleep, eat, write, or go out to the beautiful lake. Man I'm lovin' it. Anyways, I work on the story at least every other day, so it's always on the mind, don't worry! Thanks for all your reviews and PM's. I read each and every one and each and every one is greatly appreciated. They're my motivation. So please, don't stop! I usually write the most every time I get a new review. :) . So, now, Ch. 8. Here I come!

Btw, you should Google the Aston Martin Vanquish. So hot. Man.