Disclaimers: I don't own Underworld or anything in it…if I did, I wouldn't be stuck here writing fanfictions. Now, my pretties…read the new chapter! Mwa-ha-ha-haaa!

Veronika

Chapter Three-Part of the Team

What's going on?, thought Veronika as she followed Kraven down a flight of stairs. He hadn't said a word to her since they had left Viktor's office. Usually, if he ever got a chance to be alone with Veronika, he would try anything he could to persuade her to be with him. Now, however, he was completely silent, and she had no choice but to wait until they reached their destination.

Wherever that is, she thought.

Kraven stopped suddenly, and Veronika walked right into his back. She mentally scolded herself for not having watched where she was going. Her mother, not to mention her combat trainers, had always told her to pay close attention to what was going on around her. That way, they had said, it would be more difficult for someone to sneak up on her.

As Veronika looked up, she realized that they had stopped in front of the elevator which led to the lower levels. These contained the armory, as well as all of the various training areas. She looked at Kraven questioningly, but he ignored her. He flipped open the key pad and entered the access code. Immediately, the elevator doors slid open, and she and Kraven stepped inside. Veronika glanced at Kraven, saw that he was looking at her, and glared at him. Kraven just smirked.

Well, thought Veronika, at least he's acting more like himself. It's not like him to be quiet like that. It makes him even creepier than usual.

"I never would have thought of you as someone who had had combat training, Veronika." Kraven had been silent for so long that Veronika nearly jumped out of her skin when he said this. Then she realized what he had said.

"Who told you that I've had combat training?" she asked him suspiciously.

"Viktor," he stated simply. Veronika was about to remark on how he might want to conceal the fact that his supreme arrogance was probably his way of compensating for something (A/N: ouch! I would so love to get the chance to say that to a few of the guys that I know!), but at that moment the doors slid open to admit them to the training areas. Kraven began walking towards the armory, and Veronika had no choice but to follow him.

"Soren," Kraven said as they reached the armory, getting the other vampire's attention.

Soren looked up from the document he was going over with Kahn, "Yes, my lord?"

"It appears that there will be a new addition to the team tomorrow night."

"My lord?" Soren asked, a look of confusion on his face.

"Viktor has decided that Veronika will be joining the searches from now on."

Veronika was floored. She had wondered what Viktor had told Kraven after he had sent her out of the room, but she had never thought it would be something like this. Kraven and Soren turned to look at her. She looked at Kraven.

"Viktor wants me to do what?"

Kraven smirked, "He wants you to join us on our searches for Selene and the hybrid."

Soren turned to Kraven, "But she doesn't have any training. She doesn't know the first thing about –"

"Actually," Veronika interrupted, "I've had quite a bit of combat training. My mother saw to that."

A look of surprise crossed Soren's face, but he quickly suppressed it. Veronika turned to look at Kraven, her head cocked and her eyebrows raised.

He stared back at her, "Is something wrong?"

"Why would Viktor want me to join the searches?"

"He feels that it would be beneficial to you."

"How so?" she asked, her eyebrows still raised.

Kraven was beginning to get irritated by her questions. He had expected Veronika to just accept what he had told her once she found out that it was Viktor's will. After all, Veronika might be extremely young compared to most immortals, but she wasn't stupid. She knew that, even though she might not like Viktor, it was smarter to show him respect and be afraid of him than to openly defy him.

"Think of it this way," he said as he stepped towards her, "It would be a much more productive use of your time than what you've been doing." By this time he was only a few inches away from her.

He lightly stroked his fingers across the left side of her face, running them from her temple to her jaw, "Maybe having you join the searches won't be such a bad thing after all."

Veronika's heartbeat quickened. This was a side of Kraven that she had never seen before. It wasn't that he had never made advances towards her. Oh, no, that certainly wasn't the case. He had made plenty of advances towards her, but never in this way.

"Kraven," she said breathily, staring up into his eyes.

"Yes?" he asked, looking down at her expectantly.

"Get away from me," came her flat reply, and, dropping her dazed expression, she pushed his hand away and walked over to the desk where Kahn was seated.

"Kraven up to his tricks again, eh?" Kahn said, looking up at her.

"Why can't he take a hint?" she asked, sitting down. Kahn grinned.

"Well if he did, he wouldn't be Kraven anymore, would he?"

"I fail to see how that would be a problem," Veronika said dryly.

"I think you might have hurt his feelings," Kahn said, looking past Veronika's left shoulder.

She gave him a confused look, then turned around to see what he was talking about. Sure enough, there stood Kraven, half-way across the room and talking to Soren. Anyone could tell he was pissed off just by looking at him.

"Impressive," said Kahn, still looking at Kraven. "I haven't seen him look that pissed off since Selene left." His voice lowered as he said this last part.

"You might want to watch your step for a while," he continued, looking at Veronika seriously.

"Do you honestly think I'm afraid of that poor excuse for a vampire? The only reason I show him any respect is because Viktor commands it."

"You show him respect?" Kahn asked her, an innocent look on his face.

"Shut up," she told him, lightly slapping him on the arm. "Honestly, I don't understand why Viktor would have left Kraven in charge. He's a bureaucrat, not a warrior."

Veronika was startled when Kahn laughed after she told him this. She couldn't think of anything that was funny about what she had said.

"What's so funny, Kahn?"

"You're just like Selene," he said, shaking his head.

"She used to say the exact same thing," he explained when she gave him a questioning look.

"Was she really a traitor?" Veronika asked him suddenly.

Kahn looked at her for a moment before answering. "Selene was very headstrong. In fact, she was probably one of the most independent people I've ever met. Still, that doesn't mean that she was never dependent upon anybody." He paused, thinking, and then continued. "Viktor was a type of father to Selene. As the story goes, when Selene was still human, her entire family was massacred by lycans in one night. She was the only one left, but, before the lycans could get to her, Viktor killed them all. He found her and turned her into a vampire, thus giving her the power to avenge her family. After that, she was more loyal to him than anybody had ever been. She never once questioned his orders."

"So why did she leave the coven? And with the hybrid, no less?"

Kahn looked at her thoughtfully. "I don't know. But I do know that Selene wouldn't do something like that without a reason. Like I said, Selene looked up to Viktor. She never questioned him because she believed in him. It would've taken something enormous to break her faith in him. Something must have happened to make her do what she did."

"I wonder what happened," Veronika said softly.

"I doubt anyone other than Selene or Viktor could tell you."

"True," she admitted. "So, what do I need to know about the searches?"

"Well, we obviously haven't found Selene or the hybrid yet. Anyway, we're going to search the mountains and caves about forty or fifty miles outside of town tomorrow night. Just stay with me and my team, and report anything unusual to either myself or Kraven. Other than that, I'm sure you know how to protect yourself."

"So, I should report anything unusual?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Well, wouldn't that mean that I have to report Kraven to himself?" She laughed when he rolled his eyes.

"Well," she said as she stood up to leave, "I guess I'm part of the team."

A/N: Well? What did you think? Please review and tell me. Just so you know, if you don't review, I'm not going to post any more chapters, and the Mutant Hell Bunnies from Outer-Space will attack you in your sleep. If you do review, I will give them all carrots so they'll leave you alone. Also, I like cheese! (And when I say reviews, I mean I want lots and lots of reviews! I'm not greedy, I'm enthusiastic.) Also, I'll be posting my first-ever Labyrinth fanfic, Back to You, and soon I'll be starting a new Underworld fanfic. I don't have a title yet…And for all those "Selene&Michael" fans, be happy, because the new Underworld fic is an S&M romance! But I won't post anything (new chapters or new stories) if you don't review (lol!). Now, be good little pretties, and click the button. Go on, click it! (P.s. – I hope you liked this chapter!)