The Battle Has Begun

Crepsley didn't know how right he was about Katie he actually was, until the next night Rebecca ran to them.

"Guys, Katie's gone!" Rebecca screamed.

"What?" Evra and Crepsley chorused as they joined the group, looking at Rebecca, before Evra ran to Katie's tent and looked around.

"Katie..." He sighed, though he stopped as he noticed a piece of paper tucked into the side of the coffin that she used as her bed. He moved to sit on the floor as he opened it.

"Dear Evra,

I'm really sorry for leaving like this, but I still really, really love you. I can't stick around when Mr Tall was going to get rid of me anyway. It's not my fault, some book says that I'm going to hurt everyone, but I make my own destiny, and that's what I'm going to do. Promise me that you'll live a normal life, meet another girl – maybe another snake – and have a family and maybe a pet, after getting married and end up living in a house by the prairie like we used to talk about. I hope you get everything, I love you so much Evra and I promise that I will try and visit as soon as possible.

All my love, now and forever

Katie."

Crepsley didn't know how right he was about Katie he actually was, until the next night Rebecca ran to them.

"Guys, Katie's gone!" Rebecca screamed.

"What?" Evra and Crepsley chorused as they joined the group, looking at Rebecca, before Evra ran to Katie's tent and looked around.

"Katie..." He sighed, though he stopped as he noticed a piece of paper tucked into the side of the coffin that she used as her bed. He moved to sit on the floor as he opened it.

"Dear Evra,

I'm really sorry for leaving like this, but I still really, really love you. I can't stick around when Mr Tall was going to get rid of me anyway. It's not my fault, some book says that I'm going to hurt everyone, but I make my own destiny, and that's what I'm going to do. Promise me that you'll live a normal life, meet another girl – maybe another snake – and have a family and maybe a pet, after getting married and end up living in a house by the prairie like we used to talk about. I hope you get everything, I love you so much Evra and I promise that I will try and visit as soon as possible.

All my love, now and forever

Katie."

"Does it say where she is?" Mr Tall asked, as he walked up behind him.

"No, just that she's gone to make her own destiny...You were going to kick her out weren't you?"

"For the good of the cirque, I had to tell her to leave."

"We need to find her." Rebecca told them as she walked to join them.

"Go and tell her father, and then we will all split up." Mr Tall told them, and he watched them all leave, before he looked around Katie's tent, sighing. "I'm sorry Katie." He whispered, before he walked out to where everyone had gathered to search for her.

"We should all split up..." Rebecca was saying.

"No, we should go in pairs, that way if there is anything out there, we can look out for each other." Steve told her.

"That actually sounds like a good idea." Evra told him, looking at him.

"Alright then, Rebecca and Corma; Steve and Evra, Darren and Crepsley and myself and Alexander will split up, going into those teams." Mr Tall told them. "Now let's go."

They all split up into their given pairs, all of them going as fast as possible. Evra and Steve took the east side, and they seemed to be tolerating each other for the first time since Steve arrived at the Cirque.

"Why do you want to find her so much?" Evra eventually asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you want to find Katie so much?"

"Because I'm her friend, remember?" Steve told him.

"I know that you want more than her friendship." Evra told him simply, he was angered and jealous about it, but he knew that he couldn't do anything.

"Alright then, Snake boy, do you want the truth?"

"That's all I ask." Evra told him as they walked.

"I'm in love with Katie, but I know how much she loves you. I don't see why she loves you, but she does, and all I want is for her to be happy." Steve told him, stopping so both men were staring each other in the face.

"Then I hope you know when to back off." Evra told him simply, before he carried on walking.

Hours went by, before they eventually had to give up and head back, and Evra was becoming more and more worried.

"Surely she couldn't have gotten far, and why did she leave without saying goodbye to me?" Evra asked himself repeatedly, as they walked. "Oh Katie, where are you?"

When the two boys got back to the Cirque, they went their separate ways, walking back to their tents. They couldn't do anything more that night. When night fell again, Evra was up and ready like a shot, but he stopped at seeing Mr Tiny stood with the group, looking very smug.

"Ah, there you are, Snake boy." He said in a rather happy sounding voice.

"What have you done?" Evra asked him immediately, but we held in place by Darren and Rebecca.

"He's come to tell us where she is." Darren explained, watching as Evra slowly forced himself to relax so he and Rebecca could let go of him.

"Go ahead and talk Mr Tiny." Mr Crepsley told him, moving to stand with Darren, Rebecca and Evra.

"Well, let's be honest, it's better for me to show you." Mr Tiny looked at the fire, and it suddenly started to transform.

The fire finally showed them a scene, it was Katie walking through the forest the past night, and she looked sad and lonely with her jacket wrapped around her body to provide the only bit of warmth that she could. Though she suddenly became defensive, pulling a lighter from her pocket and flicking it so that it came to light, though she put it back in annoyance when she saw that it was only Mr Tiny who had suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Leave me alone." She told him shortly, aiming to walk around him.

"Poor little Katie, abandoned by everyone, left out all alone." Mr Tiny suddenly told her, smirking to himself knowing that he had stopped her from walking. "What does it feel like to be all alone, to not have anyone?"

"I said, leave me alone!" She suddenly shouted, her hands igniting in flames, before she was suddenly grabbed by one of Mr Tiny's minions. Mr Tiny watched in amusement, as Katie fought those who went to grab her, before it ended with her being captured and losing the lighter which she used for power.

"I had hoped that you would do this of your own accord." Mr Tiny sighed, walking to stand in front of the young girl.

"Do what?" Katie asked as she struggled.

"Katie, I want you to join me and my Vampanese, we can even get Steve back, since this was more or less his idea."

Katie suddenly spat at him. "Liar, I will never join you!" She told him. "Steve wouldn't do anything like that!"

"Oh, but I'm afraid that he already has." He nodded to one of the men who had hold of her, as he pulled a bottle from his pocket. "Open her mouth."

Katie tried to struggle, but it was useless, and as the contents of the liquid dripped down her throat, the scene vanished in fire.

"What did you do to her?" Mr Crepsley nearly yelled, struggling to keep his temper under control.

"I gave her what she needed, didn't I Katie dear?" He asked, looking to the shadows, where Katie walked to them, her hood up, her now bright purple eyes shining brightly and she was flanked by two rough looking werewolves.

"Katie..." Evra whispered, and like everyone he looked shocked, but only Steve walked to her.

"It suits you." He told her, moving a hand down one side of her face. "You should have been one of us from the beginning."

"I know, I feel so much more alive now." She smiled, her purple eyes looking into his.

"Come now you two, break it up." Mr Tiny told them, watching them both pull away, before he looked back at the Cirque. "She is still acclimatising to being under my control, but she will get used to it. Oh, and don't worry Crepsley, I will look after my prize." He walked towards his car, before he looked back at Katie and Steve. "Katie, Steve, let's go."

Katie and Steve looked at each other, before they turned to leave, though Katie stopped at hearing Evra say her name.

"Katie, don't leave."

"Why shouldn't I? You lot were all going to just kick me out anyway, at least with Mr Tiny I can be free." She turned on her heels and followed Steve, climbing into Mr Tiny's car. As the car drove away, a piece of paper landed on the floor, and it was picked up by Mr Tall. The piece of paper had a simple message, that told them all at the Cirque, that this had now become a battle, the note said:

"I told you that I would win."