Chapter Eight

If Serena hadn't wanted to become princess or Sailor Moon, she definitely didn't want to become a vampire's slave. Sailor Mercury had asked Nikolai a lot of questions after he had told her the information about this new threat to her. But Serena hadn't heard most of it. Her mind was full of thoughts about wanting to leave again, or killing the new vampire, or anything she could do to stop the transformation from happening.

They had left Nikolai shortly after Mercury finished, and went back to the palace. After the Scouts and Tuxedo Mask changed back into Raye, Lita, Amy, Mina, and Darien, Darien took Serena aside and poured her a small brandy. He handed it to her quietly and waited while she downed it.

"A week ago, I thought that vampires didn't exist, and now all the sudden, I have to either become one's slave or kill it." Serena muttered, after drinking the foul liquid. The warmth of the brandy flowed through her, burning her throat and her stomach, and setting her nerves on fire. Darien calmly filled her drink again, still not talking. Serena frowned at him. "Getting me drunk wont help you know." But she downed the second glass anyway, then put the cup down.

"I honestly don't know what to say to be of any comfort, Serena. I don't know how to help you, at all." Darien said, shaking his head. "But I think Amy got some information from Nikolai that we should hear."

"Right now I don't want to hear anything else. I don't even want to think about it." Serena stated, glancing over at Amy. Darien followed her gaze and nodded.

"You can go to your room and sleep." Darien suggested.

"No. I don't want to be alone." He looked at her with a frown. "I don't know what I want." Serena said. She raised her hand to rub her temples.

"Well, lets go ahead and find out what Amy learned then we can go for a stroll around the palace. I don't think you have seen it all since you got back, and you might like some of the modifications that Raye designed." Serena looked at Darien through her fingers, feeling jealous again, but shook it off and followed him to where the girls sat.

"Well, it turns out that he didn't know that the Romanian Delegate was attacking people. He knew about the other attacks, but they supposedly aren't his people, which is why he sent for Serena." Amy was saying. "He figured out that there was another vampire or vampires in the area. But since they aren't killing a lot of people, and have actually stopped since Serena came back, he says that they aren't considered rogue."

"Rogue means that they threaten to reveal themselves to the world, so a lot of killings would do that?" Lita asked.

"Yes. Think about it, if a bunch of killings started, and they were all linked by certain clues, they would figure out who the murderer is and capture it. If it was a vampire, well, they sleep during the day in coffins, don't they, if he was in a cell that happened to be facing a window. It would be sure to be all over the news." Amy replied.

"What about the attacks to the delegates, I mean they aren't being murdered, but wouldn't the entire world be watching the whole thing, waiting for someone to get caught?" Mina asked.

Amy nodded, "Yeah, that's what I was thinking, and I asked him, he said that it is only considered rogue if they kill."

"That's stupid though, I mean, they are getting a lot of publicity, and drawing attention to themselves through the attacks, so why shouldn't that be considered rogue?" Raye asked.

Amy shrugged. "Nikolai said that he had contacted the council to double check the law. Maybe they will figure it out and add a new amendment to it."

"You actually believe him?" Serena asked, feeling exhausted and somewhat surprised about the way Amy was taking Nikolai's statements seriously. "We don't know if he's controlling the vampire that attacked me. He seemed to know a lot about it."

"No, Serena. I am certain that he has nothing to do with the attack on you, or the attacks on the ambassadors." Amy said, watching Serena.

"Well, I don't know about you, Ames, but I think he's playing with us." Serena growled, before turning on her heel and leaving the room.

Darien caught up with her in the hall. "Believe it or not, Serena, but I think you're right."

Serena smiled at him, feeling a little better knowing he agreed with her. "Thanks Darien. It means a lot to know that you believe me."

Darien caught her arm. "You know I do, Serena."

Serena sighed. She hadn't realized that she had lifted her hand to her throat, but felt the roughness of the bandage beneath her fingers as her eyes fell on Darien's throat. "Uh, Darien… we should have had Nikolai check your neck wound." She felt a small wave of panic slide through her. Darien's face paled.

"Could it be the same vampire?" He asked.

"I don't know." Serena said, wondering the same thing. "We need to be very careful. With the two of us in bad shape, we need to stay away from windows or anything else that leads outside for the time being."

Darien nodded. "I'm sorry, Serena."

Serena smiled again, then feeling tired, headed for her room for some much needed sleep.

Darien sat on the edge of his bed, holding his head in his hands. The thought that he could end up being a vampire's servant disturbed him. He didn't remember much about the attack on him, except for being with Raye at the time. He tried to recall exactly what was said, and any other noises he could have heard in the vicinity, but it was a distant memory and was clouded. He shook his head, feeling his hair run through his fingers.

His door swung open slowly, groaning on hinges that needed to be oiled. Luna stepped into his room and stared at him. "I'm sorry to bother you, Darien. But I noticed that when you came back, after Serena went to bed, you looked really pale." She said. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, Luna." He glanced over at her. "I'm just tired and worried."

"Is it Serena?"

"Yes and no. Yes because what is happening to us, and how much interest is in her, and no because there is another problem that I didn't want the other girls to know about. At least, I didn't want to talk about it with them at the moment." He stood up and began pacing. He rubbed the bandage on his neck and glanced at Luna. "Do you remember my attack?" Luna nodded silently. "Well, Serena brought up the point that I may have been marked as well." He shook his head. "I'm not really worried about that, but what I am worried about is that maybe the other emissaries who were attacked, may have also been marked."

A surprised expression rolled across Luna's face. "I never thought of that." She said, her voice soft. "The girls need to know. Maybe we can hire more guards for the ambassadors so the chances will lower of them getting attacked again."

"Did Amy find out if all vampires can get servants, or how many servants one vampire can have?" Darien asked, raising the hand that had been rubbing the bandage, to his forehead.

Luna frowned, "I don't know, I'll ask her."

Darien rubbed his forehead, thoughtfully, for a moment. "Yeah, do that, I think I will go to bed."

He stood and opened the door to his room. Luna nodded and went into the hall. "Goodnight, Darien."

"You, too, Luna." He closed his door and went back to his bed. After staring at it for a few minutes, he shook his head and left his room. He couldn't sleep. His mind was too active. But maybe a walk would help work off some of that energy.

Serena couldn't sleep. She had been tossing and turning since she had turned out the lights. A glance at the clock next to her told her it was almost one in the morning. She sighed and sat up.

The room was almost absolutely black, except for the light under her door and the clock. Her gauzy pink curtains had been exchanged for heavier ones and were closed, the door to her patio had been locked, along with all the other windows in her room that could be opened. She had even taken the precaution of locking her door to the hall, though she doubted that was necessary. But she was starting to think that it was better to be safe than sorry.

She wondered if the girls had come up with a plan, yet.

Finally, knowing that sleep was about as likely as the vampire to appear in her room, she stood up and grabbed a robe. She opened her door and stepped into the semi-lit hall. Then, deciding to get a book from the library, began to walk.

The palace was silent and almost eerie. Shadows stood in odd places and Serena began to watch them for moments, but they didn't move. She was beginning to wonder if she was paranoid when the door to the study opened and Darien stepped from the room, closely followed by Raye, who was wearing her cherry red robe. Darien was still wearing the clothes from earlier, though they were crumpled. Serena ducked into the shadows without really knowing why.

Darien turned to Raye and grinned. "Thanks for staying up with me. I feel better now." He cupped Raye's face, and kissed her lightly on the forehead. Serena felt tears sting her eyes as he continued to speak. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't kept me going, after Serena left."

Raye stepped up into him, and wrapped her arms around him. "No problem, that's what friends are for. Besides, you were pacing up and down our hall, and I didn't want you to wake Serena. I think she's having a hard time dealing with everything." She raised her head and looked up at Darien. They stood together for a few moments, then Raye backed up and giggled nervously. "Well, I hope you can sleep now." She turned and strode past where Serena stood.

Darien watched her for a few moments, then shook his head and went back into the study. The door closed behind him, and Serena let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

Tears rolled silently down her cheeks, and for a moment she thought about confronting Darien. But in truth, it made it easier for her to leave when everything was done. And she really couldn't blame him for going to Raye when she had left. It wasn't her business.

But it sure hurt like hell.

Serena went back to her rooms and got dressed quickly, this time in complete black. She wanted to get this done and over with, then she could get away from everything that was going on. She wouldn't stand between Raye and Darien if they really wanted to get back together, and if she was stopping them, she didn't want the guilt.

She pulled a black cap over her head, tucking her blond hair into it, then kissed Cammie's forehead with a hushed, "I'll be back as soon as I can." The kitten's only response was to yawn, stretch and go back to snoring. Serena smiled and slipped from her room.

The streets of New Tokyo were light up brightly. Flashing neon signs announced various bars, stores, dance halls on the streets, but Serena was looking for only one. She had been there once before, but couldn't clearly remember where it was.

She had hot-wired Raye's new jeep, which Raye had gotten right after she found out her old one had been totaled, and drove around New Tokyo for almost an hour looking for Limbo Dance Hall, when she finally spotted the semi-familiar sign. She found a parking spot and pulled the wires apart. No sense in wasting gas, though she wondered for a moment if it would be better to leave the jeep running so that she could make a quick get away if she needed to. She shrugged.

She climbed from the car and walked up to the entrance, where a line of people stood. Most of the people in line were dressed in black leather, and chains. One woman had a black leather cat suit that had holes over her breasts and crotch, revealing them to the world. Serena didn't blush though; she had seen similar stuff in the United States.

A bodybuilder stepped into the way before Serena could walk into the door. She sized him up, and feeling the creepy feeling that she was beginning to associate with vampires, knew he was one, but a young one, maybe ten years dead. He was bald, black, and tall. Serena had to crane her neck to look up at him. Six and a half feet at least. He was wearing a tiny black cotton tank top that looked like he had to pour it on to get it to fit. Black jeans, black cowboy boots, and a thick black belt completed his outfit.

"You can't go in, Miss." He said, his dark eyes rolling over Serena, taking in her almost burglar suit.

"Tell Nikolai that Serena is here." The black man's eyes widened and he nodded. He motioned to another bodybuilder to take his place and went inside. The second bodybuilder could have been the black man's twin, except for the fact he was Japanese. Serena frowned at him. He glared back.

Finally, Serena rolled her eyes and scanned the crowd. Too many of the couples seemed to be completely unaware of the fact that they were in a crowd, or they didn't care, because they were too busy making out. Other people were dancing to the faint chords of music that wafted through the building walls, or dancing to imaginary music.

Serena sighed, feeling impatient. She was about to barge past the new bodybuilder when the black man came back outside. He motioned her to follow and she quickly did. They weaved through couples, which looked to be of the same crowd as those outside, dancing in strobe lights and thundering music. If Serena had realized that it was going to be that loud inside the building she would have brought earplugs.

Her eyes were beginning to see spots, due to the blinding flashing of the strobe light, when they finally went through a side door, marked 'management'. The room she entered was similar to the one that she and Darien had seen when they had been brought there the first time.

Nikolai sat behind the desk that had to have been the one from the other room. He looked like he was posing. He wore a vivid royal blue shirt with fills at the cuff and neck. He had left it unbuttoned down to the tops of his pants, though it was tucked into the black pants. The shirt accented the pale skin of his chest and made his eyes seem even redder than usual. His pants had to have been painted on, a black glossy material that accented everything from waist down. Shiny black knee-high boots completed his outfit and were draped, half-crossed, on his desk. His fingers were steepled under his chin. His eyes watched her and for a moment, all Serena could do was stare. He looked like every woman's wet dream, and it the expression on his face said that he knew it.

The door closed behind Serena and she forced herself to swallow. "Hello, Nikolai, I didn't know you were the manager of Limbo."

He grinned. "Yes, I am. I also own it. What do you think of it?"

"It looks more like an orgy party than a dance hall." Serena said, frowning. His grin widened. He looked too much like Darien. Serena shook her head, trying to clear her head and focus. "I'm here because I need help. I need to find the vampire that attacked me and everyone else."

Nikolai's face became closed, like someone had thrown a switch. One moment he was grinning, his eyes twinkling the same way Darien's did when he was amused, then it was cold, hard like marble. "I didn't think you would actually come alone to me for help."

"Neither did I, but its time for me to leave. I need the help."

"Why didn't you bring your friends?"

"They would be put in danger, and I don't want that." Serena said, trying to force her voice to be calm. It wasn't true, but she didn't want to tell Nikolai that she didn't want to come between Raye and Darien. It wasn't any more his business than hers.

He tilted his head to one side and stared at her. "We can smell when someone lies."

Serena felt her mouth fall open. She couldn't help it, she sniffed at herself wondering if she smelled different. "I'm not lying." She told him.

He chuckled. "Alright, we'll play it your way." He drew his legs from the desk and stood up. "What type of help did you want?"

"Backup. I want to go after the vampire."

"Do you know where he is?" Nikolai asked, his voice sounded interested, but his face was still blank.

"No, but I think that he will come after me again, tonight most likely, if I make myself available."

Something dark crossed Nikolai's face. "You want to use yourself as bait?"

Serena nodded. "Yeah. I think I know the road he attacked me on. I have Raye's jeep. I just need some of your people to follow behind, pretty close, if possible."

"Alright, let me get my coat and a couple of my people."

"You're coming?"

Nikolai looked at her. His face was still like marble, cold and unreadable, and so much like Darien's. For a moment, Serena thought he was going to come toward her, but he simply nodded and left the room. "Stay here, it will take me a moment."

Serena pulled out of the parking lot, Nikolai sitting next to her in the jeep. He sat casually in his seat, looking like a statue made of flesh. Serena wondered momentarily if his skin would be hard and cold if she touched it.

She forced herself to look away and concentrate on the road and where she was going. Her eyes were feeling gritty. She rubbed at them irritably.

"I don't know why you have to ride with me. It would be safer if you road with Syrese and Damin." Serena told him. "They may try to push me off the road like last time." She noticed movement in the corner of her eye as Nikolai turned in his seat. He drew a knee up to his chest and laid a cheek on it to watch her. "Put on a seatbelt."

"I am not worried about my safety, Princess, but yours."

"Put a seatbelt on, or I will stop the car." Serena growled.

There was an audible sigh before she heard the telltale click of the seatbelt. "If they do push you off the road I want to make sure you get away."

"Why?"

"Because, Princess, if the world found out one of my kind killed you, we would be hunted to the brink of extinction, again." Nikolai said. "I don't think that that would be good publicity."

Serena shut up. He was right. She sighed and drove in silence for a few minutes. "Why doesn't anyone know you exist?" She asked. "I mean, if you have to drink blood, preferably human blood, there would be note of that."

"If you notice your and Darien's bites, they look like a dog attack, or scrapes from branches. We have learned to hide the evidence of the attack. There are some, more powerful Strigoi, that can drink energy from others."

"Energy?"

"Yes, another form of the life force in humans, like emotions, or if a person is vested in a goal, their energy would peak at a point or another and the strong ones can feed on that."

"That sounds like the Negaverse." Serena said, she glanced in the rearview mirror to see only one pair of headlights following her. That would be the car in which Syrese, Damin, and several other vampires were in. Serena shivered slightly at the thought that she was actually having bloodsuckers at her back. She knew one of them would turn on her as quickly as attack the bad guys, and that was Syrese.

Syrese had made it abundantly clear that if Serena got killed in this plan, she would be the first one to rejoice about it.

"Tell me of this Negaverse. You have spoken of it before." Nikolai said, looking curious. Serena wondered if his curiosity was a mask, given the fact that he can make his face look blank like a statue, it probably was.

She found herself giving him details of all the attacks she had been through so far. Some of the things she told him, she had forgotten. He turned out to be a very interested listener, asking questions about Beryl, Diamond, and various others, including some of the creatures that Serena had fought. She found herself actually enjoying the talk, and began to feel comfortable with him.

She hadn't even realized that several cars had begun to follow them, or that she had pulled onto the road that Raye and she had been attacked on. But that changed when something nudged the jeep from behind, throwing Serena into the steering wheel and Nikolai into the dashboard.

Serena glanced in the rearview and counted three cars. One car should have been Syrese and Damin; the other two should have contained the bad guys. Serena slammed her foot on the gas petal, causing the jeep to leap forward.

Nikolai turned and stared out the back window. "I think this is where we stop." He said.

"No, not yet. We need a road away from this one, I don't want some civilians getting involved in this. And if a bunch of us pull off to the side of the road, someone might try to find out what's going on."

"Do you know this road?" Nikolai asked, turning toward Serena. Serena shook her head. "Well, we need to find one quickly. Their cars look to be faster than this one, they are gaining on us."

Serena glanced at the speedometer and saw that the needle was buried. "Shit." She spat. She returned her attention to the road in front of them, and saw to her surprise and relief a small dirt road to her left. She turned the steering wheel hard, felt the car slide and scream, and hit the brake. The car squealed for a second, swinging into the turn, then Serena slammed her foot on the gas again when the car had stopped enough to do so without throwing it on it's top.

The wheels screamed again as they tried to catch pavement, then finally getting traction, the car threw Serena and Nikolai down the dirt trail. Serena could barely hold onto the steering wheel as the road caused the jeep to bounce and sway. To keep her teeth from slamming together every few seconds, she clamped them closed, feeling them grind.

"Are they still behind us?"

"Yes, there are two, but I'm not sure which two they are." Nikolai ground out. Serena heard his head hit the top of the car. "Do you think you can slow down a little? I do not believe their cars are made for this. We don't want to lose them."

Serena frowned but tapped the brake until they slowed down enough that Serena didn't have to hold her mouth closed. "I'm beginning to think this is a bad idea."

"I agree." Nikolai stated, his voice was calm as if he was talking about the weather.

Serena finally spotted a clearing after several minutes on the bumpy dirt road, she pulled into it and killed the engine. "Show time." She said. Her voice sounded shaky to her own ears. "Wait here." She opened her door and stepped into the night.

Two cars pulled up next to hers. Only four people filed out of them, and with a sickened feeling, Serena recognized the little girl from the night that she had been attacked. She was a pretty little thing, no more than eight years old when she had been turned. She felt around three hundred and very strong. She raised her dark brown eyes to look at Serena, with a look that shouldn't have been on a child's face. The look said that the girl thought of Serena as a piece of meat, but there was something else in the look that Serena couldn't put a finger on, and probably didn't want to. The other three in the field with her were just as brown haired as the little girl. Two of them weren't very strong, one very young, as if she had just been turned; the other was older than the little girl, but the third felt ancient.

Serena gasped at the weight of at least a thousand years bearing down on her. She stared at the blond haired man. He looked like he was maybe nineteen, with short blond hair, which had been styled to look windswept. His face was clean-shaven, and sharply angular. He looked like an aristocrat from one of Serena's old school history books. He was dressed in a pair of khakis and a green long-sleeved turtleneck shirt. His eyes were a light lime green and seemed to pierce the darkness. Serena felt the pull of his eyes and turned to look at the last two vampires who had climbed from the cars.

The first was an older man, maybe turned when he was in his forties. He looked more aristocratic than the blond had. Gray streaks ran through his almost black hair at his temples. He wore a mustache, groomed into looking like the handlebar mustaches that Serena had seen in the United States. He wore a pinstriped suit and looked rather gangly, but she felt the strength come off of him in waves. The power that flowed through him was nowhere close to that of the little girl or the blond.

The second was a familiar-looking woman. She hadn't been turned for more than maybe a month. She had bright red hair, which was extremely curly. Serena's heart stopped, as she stared at the girl, who hadn't been more than her own age. The girl was achingly familiar, so familiar in fact that Serena couldn't believe it was the same person. The red-haired girl smiled at her, fang tips showing on her bottom lip.

"Hello, Serena." Molly said. "Nice to see you came back."