I'm doin better! Really I am! Truly! Well… I have to say that I have only one comment and it goes to "Saris Yui". I think that you and I have the same mind because I was thinking the exact same thing! But I just couldn't figure out where I wanted to put them. But I really think that their going to be in the sequel of this story! Oh yeah… and thanks for the compliment! Everyone…. Keep R&Ring!
Chapter 5: The Book of Vampires"Which way?" Serena asked, walking into the rays of the full moon.
"Over here…" Heero whispered, climbing a ladder to the top of a building. Serena followed the vampire, and stepped foot on the rooftop. She walked to the edge of the building where Heero stood looking down at the streets.
"There… where those two men are standing. That's the entrance of the sanctuary." Hero said to her, pointing at an old, abandoned building.
"Only two guards? That isn't very smart." Serena said as she aimed her automatic bow and arrow at one of the vampires. Heero placed a hand on the weapon, pushing it down to Serena's side.
"No need. Let's go." Heero mumbled as he wrapped his arm around the slayer's waist.In one swift move, Heero jumped off the roof and landed on the pavement in front of the sanctuary.
"Who's there?" one of the men asked, stepping forward. Heero pushed Serena behind him, blocking her from their view.
"Prince Heero!" the vampire guards exclaimed, dropping to one knee.
"Is Trieze in?" Heero asked.
"Yes prince. He resides in his quarters." One of them answered. He looked up and caught a glimpse of the woman behind their prince. " Who is this savory treat behind you?" he asked, a small grin on his face, showing his vampire fangs.
"Thank you. And… she's with me." Heero answered before sending his fist in the middle of each of their faces.
"I didn't see that coming." Serena said, stepping next to Heero. The prince stepped forward and unlatched the door that the two knocked out vampires were guarding. The both of them walked inside the building.
"Some sanctuary…." Serena commented, examining the broken down are, weapon raised and ready. Heero stood in the middle of the room, staring down at the dust floor.
" We're here to get the book, not stare at the dirty floor. What now?" Serena asked, walking next to him. Heero tapped his foot on the ground. With that motion, the section of the ground below their feet began to move.
"What the…"Serena said startled as she felt herself be lowered beneath the cement ground. As they went further down, glass cases met their eyes, in them parchments of paper.
"This way." Heero whispered, stepping off the piece of ground that had brought them into the all white area. Heero led her to another door.
"when you enter this place, you must listen to my every word…or you'll die" Heero stated bluntly.
"Whatever, I can take care of myself. Just open the damn door so we can get this over with" Serena said, annoyance in her voice. The vampire prince presses the palm of his hand against the door. A green light appeared and the door slid open, revealing a long marble hallway. Along the halls were various rooms and oak doors. As the two walked down the hall, the slayer could see a number of vampires feeding on dead corpses through the glass windows.
"Do they not see me or are they just stupid?" The slayer asked, twirling a wooden stake between her fingers, trying to scare the feeding vampires.
"They're too enticed with feeding. From the moment human blood touches a vampires lips, they loose all sense of their surroundings. Nothing is going to disturb them until their hunger is fulfilled. I should know." Heero explained as they continued down the hall.
"In here." Heero said pushing open an oak door. The both of them slipped inside and Heero quickly closed it back.
"Is this were the book is?" Serena asked, looking around the room.
"Do you see any book?" Heero replied back smartly.
"Then why are we here?" Serena asked with the same tone of voice, taking a seat on he king sized bed with blue silk sheets that she noticed.
"You're to stay her until Trieze leaves the room with the book." Heero said, throwing his long leather trench coat on the bed next to the slayer.
"What am I supposed to do… sleep?"
"If you want. Right now… my room is your sanctuary. I'll be back to get you soon." Heero said as he left the room.
"Damn book… damn vampire." Serena said as she plopped the rest of her body onto the bed.
"Heero… Trieze is looking for you." Amidamaru told him as he closed the door of his room.
"Where is he?"
"His quarters." Heero turned around the corner and went down the hallway towards Trieze's room. He pushed the door open and walked inside.
"Where've you been Heero? I was looking for you earlier." Trieze said, coming into Heero's line of vision.
"I went out." Heero stated bluntly, looking around the room.
"I wanted to tell you… your time to take the role as king has come. You'll start training soon." Trieze said, pushing a curtain back to reveal another room.
"What am I supposed to do to prepare?" Heero asked, walking with him into the connected room. In the center of the room was a glass case, in it an open book.
"This book… will help you become king." Heero placed a hand on the case, feeling a sudden desire to actually touch the book.
"The Book of Vampires" Heero whispered.
"The legendary book that holds our past, present, and future." Trieze said, somewhat fascinated, his eyes fixated on the book.
"Soon my son, you'll become the greatest king and possess the greatest power…soon" Trieze said as he placed a hand on the prince's shoulder, and then left the room, heading towards the main common room.
Heero stared at the book for a moment longer before carrying out the plan he was meant to.
"Slayer…slayer."
"Hmmmm…."
"Wake up. It's time." Serena opened her eyes to see Heero staring at her, his gold ring gently brushing against her nose.
"I'm up…I'm up." Serena mumbled, sitting up on Heero's bed.
"Let's go." Heero said, peeking out into the halls.
"It took you long enough." She yawned as she stood to her feet and put on her leather coat, which she had taken off before she fell asleep.
"Hurry up…we don't have a lot of time." Heero said, opening the door wide enough for the both of them to get through.
"The book is in Trieze's room. The room is at the end of this hall. Get it…and get out." He demanded.
"And you? What is the great prince going to do?" Serena taunted, stopping in front of him.
"I'm going to keep a look out for you. I'll meet you at you home later tonight." He said, looking at her.
"Sure. Fine. Whatever." The slayer said, waving her hand at him, heading towards Trieze's room. She tiptoed her way through the corridor to the door, and pressed her body against the door, trying to push it open. With a little strength, the slayer managed to push the door open and quickly stepped inside. She examined the room. The round bed and black and white candles caught her eyes as she made her way to the other end of the room. She pulled back the curtain that lead to the secret room…and the book. Her eyes locked on the object in front of her, not seeing its importance. Standing in front of the glass case, she sent her arm through the glass, shattering the book's containment.
"Is this what I've come all this way for? A tattered, old book?" She asked herself as she closed the book and stuffed the relic in her jacket. Serena stepped back into Trieze's room only to see a vampire stepping inside. The vampire stopped in mid-step and looked at the slayer with wide eyes.
"Slayer! Slayer! Slayer in the sanctuary!" The vampire yelled running back through the halls, screaming at the top of his lungs. Within seconds, a number of vampires were in the doorway.
"As much as I would love to kill you all right now… I'm on a tight schedule so… tata." She grinned, running away from the entrance, towards the secret room from which she came.
"Great… no windows." She said, looking through the curtain at the oncoming vampires. She began looking around, trying to find a way to escape. She looked at the floor, and noticed a trap door beneath her feet. She knelt down, pulled the door open, only top see darkness.
"Bombs away" she said to herself, jumping into the passages unknown depths.
The slayer made her way to her bedroom window, slowly climbing off of the fire escape. She clutched the book tightly in her arm as she pried the window open and fell inside. She dropped the book on her bed, and began stripping off the raw sewage that had coated her.
"Uck! Who would've thought that a trap door would lead to a sewer?" Serena mumbled to herself sarcastically as she tore off her clothes and threw them into a pile on the floor. She grabbed her towel and headed to the shower. After nearly an hour, Serena finally came out of the bathroom, dressed in a white tank top and blue silk pajama pants. She towel-dried her golden-blonde hair as she went back to her room. She retrieved the book of vampires from her bed, sat down, and began flipping through the pages.
"What's so important? All I see is nonsense." She whispered, staring at the mysterious writings on one of the book's pages.
" It's nonsense to you because you are unable to read the scriptures." A voice said behind her. Serena quickly jumped to her feet and turned around.
" You know… it wouldn't hurt to knock before you just waltz into my house." Serena scolded the vampire prince.
"You were nearly caught slayer."
"Yeah… because you did a poor job of watching my back. Where the hell did you go?"
"I went to make sure Trieze was out of your way." Hero said exiting the room, ending the conversation.
"What are you doing?" Serena asked, following him into the front room, watching him close the curtains to all the windows.
"Nobody can see. Give me the book." Heero said, sitting on the couch. Serena handed him the book.
"O.k. Now that you've got your book, I do think my duty is fulfilled. You can leave now." She said bluntly. Heero didn't budge, all he did was flip through the pages of the book.
"Hello! I said you can leave now!"
"The job is only half done slayer. We have the book, now we have to stop the master plan." Heero said slowly, continuing to flip through the book's pages.
"We? Listen… there is no 'we'. All you asked was for me to help you get the book, and that's what I did. Now I can go back to my job… killing vampires. Now… if you don't want to get turned into a pile of dust, I suggest you leave." Serena said, slamming the book closed in his face. Heero looked up at her and stood to his feet, slowly advancing towards her.
"There's a page missing. I'll be back tomorrow morning with it. WE have work to do." He said, walking past her.
"Who do you think…" Serena began to protest, turning around to look at him, only to find him gone.
"Trieze, what happened?" Heero asked the vampire king, walking into the secret room he was in. Trieze picked up a few pieces of glass that were on the floor.
'The Book of Vampires… was stolen. You were in the sanctuary weren't you. You didn't hear anything?" Trieze asked, looking from the shattered glass to Heero.
"No… I was in my room. Who stole it? How did they get into the sanctuary?" Heero asked, trying to sound somewhat concerned.
"What does it matter? Whoever stole the book doesn't have the most important part." Trieze told him, throwing the shards of glass back onto the floor. He placed a hand on the far wall, which slowly slid open, revealing another table with a glass case on it. He went to the case and opened it, and retrieved the paper within.
"This… I believe is what they were after."
"What is it?" Heero asked, already knowing the answer.
"This is a page from the book. The most important page of the book. It holds the prophecy of the future king… you… and how to retrieve your ultimate power." Hero stared at Trieze a moment before speaking.
"What are you going to do with it? Whoever came to steal the book may return when they find the page missing." Heero said, watching Trieze roll the paper up like a scroll.
"That…dear boy… is up to you." Trieze grinned, handing him the parchment.
"I want you to protect it. Keep it safe." Heero cautiously wrapped his hand around the paper and took it from Trieze.
"I'm depending on you. Don't let me down." Heero nodded his head.
'Get some rest. Tomorrow night… your training begins." Trieze continued to look at Heero, even as he began to walk to his room.
"Oh… and Heero…" Trieze began, stopping the prince in his steps.
"Make sure you know who's side your on." Heero gave his guardian one quick glance before leaving the room.
A soft tap on the window slowly stirred Serena out of her sleep. The taps came to her louder. Reluctantly, Serena sat up in the bed, the sunlight that was seeping through the window temporarily blinding her. The taps came to her again.
"When you said morning, I didn't think you meant this early." She yawned, opening the window for the prince to enter the room.
"Early? It's 11:30." Hero said entering the room.
"Don't remind me…" She yawned again, heading to the kitchen. Heero followed her, took a seat on the couch, and watched the slayer make herself a cup of coffee.
"Either you tell me what you've got or leave so I can go back to sleep" Serena said sipping her coffee.
'For a slayer, you sue aren't active in the morning." Heero said, looking into her aqua marine eyes.
"Bite me… its Saturday."
"I'd love to slayer…but believe me…if I wanted to I would have done it already." Heero grinned
"Ha…ha." Serena said, getting more annoyed as she looked at him. He reached into his inside pocket and took out the parchment of paper Trieze had given him.
"This is the missing page." Heero said, handing it to her. She looked at him before taking the paper, unrolling it, and reading it. As she read the parchment, she paced the room back and forth.
"Au Suair? Red Moon? Every fifty years? Great, now we're dealing with some demonic vampire thing." She said, taking another sip of coffee.
"If my calculations are correct, the next red moon is next month."
"What! We have one month to stop your weirdo of a father?" She nearly screamed, dropping the coffee out of her hands.
'That man is not my father… and yes." Heero said calmly.
"Great." Serena sighed. She went into the bedroom, quickly got dressed and returned wearing a blue long sleeved shirt and a pair of blue jeans, the book clutched in her hand.
'Let's get to work." As the two of them left the apartment, and went to the streets, they were unaware of the pair of eyes that followed them in the shadows.
Once Amidamaru saw enough of the scene between the prince and slayer, he made his way through the shadows towards the sanctuary. Within minutes, he was at the sanctuary's entrance. He entered, and quickly made his way to Trieze's quarters.
"You were right. He's sided with the slayer." He said aloud once he got the door open. Trieze turned his gaze from the fireplace to Amidamaru.
"Well now… we're not the only ones being unfaithful…are we?" He grinned.
"What are we going to do?" Amidamaru asked.
"Just go ahead with our plan. Nothing's changed my friend… nothing at all."