Hey! Here's the next update! Sorry that it took me sometime to update this!

Anyways, enjoy this chapter! :)

Chapter 2: Not The Last Time

Leon paced up and down the room. Abel watched him from where he sat on one of the two narrow beds that were in the small room. Abel had been in better lodging than this. But ever since the church had been converted into an orphanage, all the larger guestrooms were used as bedrooms for the children. It was a sad sight to see a room crammed with 8-10 children all sharing beds as narrow as the ones that were given to Leon and Abel to use.

"I hate this town even more…" Leon muttered. "First the Rosenkreuz Orden and now this! I can't sleep on such a narrow bed!"

"We have more pressing matters than these beds," Abel reminded him. "If we don't solve this problem soon, everyone in this town is going to starve and there would be no way we can save the children. Poor things have already lost their parents…"

"Imagine how I feel about my daughter back in Rome?"

"Leon! Please concentrate! Lady Caterina is hoping that we can solve this. Not to mention there is a girl in question…"

"Girl? What girl?"

"At the Wilsons' house was a young lady they had saved about a month or so ago. Found her in the forest after a group of merchants were attacked and drained of their blood. She is apparently the sole survivor and had also managed to kill one of them."

"And you suspect that the girl is more than she says she is?"

"Yes. After checking with Sister Kate, I found that the girl only started her training as a nun about a year ago. She was adopted by the merchant a few months earlier after he found her wandering around town looking lost."

"And I will be guessing the merchant is dead?"

"Yes… He was among the group that was found dead."

Leon scratched the back of his head. "This makes things more complicated. Did Sister Victoria test the young lady to be sure?"

"She says she did. And there were no signs that she was a vampire."

"Even more interesting. So, what can we do now?"

"Well… We need to get rid of the Rosenkreuz Orden first. Ashlyn can wait till later."

Leon groaned as he settled onto the bed across from Abel's. "Sounds like a good plan. I will see you in the morning then. Make sure you have a better plan all worked out for when we could go after the Rosenkreuz Orden!"

"Wait! Leon!"

But he was too late as Leon had already fallen asleep. Abel sighed. He felt his stomach growl and clutched it. He had so little for dinner and obviously his stomach was not happy. He got up and went out of the room, closing the door silently behind him. He hoped that the nuns here would be gracious enough to give some food to him. Maybe two or three slices of bread would be good enough.

He walked in the direction of the kitchen. He saw light streaming from the slightly opened door and was happy to see that at least there was someone awake. He was about to call out a greeting when he heard whispering. He frowned and peered around the door into the kitchen. He saw the girl, Ashlyn, there. Around her were little children. There was a loaf of bread on the table and in her hands was a knife. She sliced the bread and gave the slices to the children, whispering to them.

Maybe he was wrong about her… He walked into the kitchen, making the children squeak at the sudden intrusion and Ashlyn stare at him, frightened. He said, "No worries. I can understand the children's hunger. I too am hungry. May I have two slices of bread please?"

"That is a relief," Ashlyn sighed, slicing the bread and handing the piece to him. "If it was any of the sisters, I would probably get punished for doing this. Though, Sister Victoria may let me off."

"Thank you," Abel murmured, taking the slice of bread and gobbling it down. That single slice seemed to satisfy his stomach a lot. "What happened to you?" Ashlyn looked at him surprised at his sudden question and slightly puzzled. "Before the merchant found you. Where were you from?"

"I… I don't know…" Ashlyn frowned, looking as if she was thinking very hard. "I don't remember much. Other than a fire maybe… Because… I remember myself waking up in that town with lots of burns… And cuts. But I don't remember much. It is all a blur. What I do remember was the sound of an explosion. Nothing else." Ashlyn looked down at the slice of bread as she cut another slice and handed it to a little girl that had been tugging her skirt all throughout the conversation. Ashlyn smiled to herself. "I do wonder at times where I came from and whether I had any family. If I did, did they survive that explosion that I remember seeing? All so confusing. But father, Mr Roseworth, would tell me that it was no point I continue thinking as he would be my new family. And… He was…" Abel heard her voice break and saw the tears that dropped to the table.

"Don't cry… I really did not mean to make you cry," Abel said.

"I… I am fine…" Ashlyn wiped her tears aside using the sleeve of the nun's clothing that she wore. She looked at Abel, a fierce determination in her eyes. "Bring me with you!"

"To where?"

"To find those monsters who killed my father! I will get back at them for what they have done to me!"

"I can't do that, Ashlyn."

"Why not? I can protect myself! My father taught me how to use a gun! Just give me a gun with silver bullets and I will be fine."

"It is not as simple as that."

"I will go with you either ways! I probably have two or three more bullets in my gun."

"You have a gun?"

Ashlyn nodded. "My father gave it to me before we left town. If only I was better than the shooter I am now, maybe I could have saved him…"

Abel frowned. He knew how much the girl wanted to get revenge. And revenge was not good. He knew what would happen. He looked again at her, seeing something familiar in her eyes. An emotion that he remembered having so long ago when Lilith was killed. He sighed and said, "Alright. But don't do anything rash." He got up and went back to his room, no longer feeling hungry. He hoped he had made the correct decision. But then… Since he still had some doubts, he didn't really need to include her in whatever they were going to do.

"How exactly is this suppose to be helping us solve the case?" Leon demanded as he slapped another mosquito that tried to bite him. When he saw that his colleague was not saying anything, he said, "Abel! God! If I don't die from getting my neck snapped into half by those vampires, I am going to die getting bitten by these blood-sucking monsters!" He had thought that his day was going well until the outing that Abel had proposed just as the sun was setting.

"Then, why don't you come up with a better plan?" Abel growled at him. "Do you know how hard it is to think on an empty stomach?" He clutched his growling stomach and whimpered. "I think I am going to die from hunger…"

"Stupid four-eyes…" Leon muttered.

"Don't talk so much, no brains…"

"What did you just call me?"

"Can you two just shut up?" Victoria demanded, appearing from behind a tree. "Those vampires will hear you!"

"Sorry…" the both of them said. They glared at each other.

"Kids…" Victoria muttered, walking further into the forest.

"Wait! Victoria!" Abel said, running after her. Leon followed behind him, slapping the mosquitoes that landed on him. He was looking down at his legs and did not see Abel stop, walking straight into him.

"Whoa!" Abel said, his arms flapping in the air. Leon, who was about to yell at him, grabbed him by the collar and yanked him backwards. The two of them stood at the edge of a ravine that was 6 meters wide. Across the ravine stood Victoria, who looked back at them.

"How did she get there?" Leon wondered aloud.

"I am sorry…" Victoria said. "But they said they would leave the children alone if all the adults are handed over to them."

Abel heard rustling and warned Leon, "Be wary." Vampires emerged from the shadows, surrounding them in a circle. Abel counted at least twenty. Not good. Too many for just the two of them to handle.

"You are a bringer of trouble…" Leon muttered, watching the vampires for any sudden moves. "Got enough blood in you to transform?"

"No," Abel said. "Been some time since I last fed. Though my guns have enough bullets."

"I can't believe Lady Caterina decided to send you instead of someone more worthy…"

"Ah… More friends…" Isaak stepped forth from the shadows beside Victoria. "My dear Victoria, I must thank you for what you have done so far. Your death will not be in vain…"

"What…?" Victoria begun to say. She gasped when she felt a knife slide between her ribs. She stared down at it in shock before she collapsed.

"I see that the Vatican have sent their best agents," Isaak said. "Unfortunately, Cain told me to not leave any survivors in this village. Including you two." To the vampires, he said, "Get rid of them. The others will be at the village. Go there once you are done here."

"ISAAK!" Abel yelled.

"I'd love to stay and chat, Abel," Isaak said. "But I have work to do. I will see next time. If you do manage to survive this round." He vanished into thin air.

"I will leave you to take care of the ones here," Abel said to Leon. "I have to prevent the others from harming the townsfolk."

Screams echoed around them. Isaak breathed in deeply. The smell of chaos and death. The scent he loved the most. After living in hiding for two years so that Cain could recuperate, it was good to be back in business. Isaak opened his eyes, seeing houses on fire. He heard footsteps approaching him and said to the Methuselah that came near him, "Let's go this way." He lead them towards the church. That stupid nun really thought that they would leave the children alone. What a stupid girl she was. Either way, all Terrans were stupid.

They were soon near the church. All the nuns and priests stood around the church carrying either guns or pitchforks with them. One of the priests said, "Stay away from the children! They are God's blessing to the people here on Earth! We will NOT let you take them away from us!"

"Who said anything about taking away?" Isaak said, leaping straight at the priest and snapping his neck in half. He drank deeply of the blood, feeling his nearly gone strength being replenished. He dropped the priest's body to the floor and smiled, saying, "We will be glad to just have our meal here." His comrades leaped to attack the adult Terrans. Isaak wiped the blood from his mouth and strode through the fight towards the door of the church, pulling the doors open.

There was the sound of a gunshot and a silver bullet lodged itself into Isaak's side. He looked at the girl that stood at the altar a gun in her hand. He ran up to her, ignoring the pain in his side, and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her off the ground. She dropped her gun and clawed at his hand, trying to free herself. She looked familiar to him. Isaak frowned, wondering where he had seen her before. The girl choked out, "M-m-monster!" Then, Isaak remembered where he had seen her before.

"The little Terran who tried to protect her father," Isaak said, tightening his grip around her throat. "You are a failure at protecting people. A hopeless failure." He threw her to the side, not caring about where she landed. He looked down at his wound and pulled the bullet out, throwing it aside. He had little time to spend here. He had a greater mission. He needed to find the children. There was a gene in a few of the children that could help Cain recover a little more.

He pushed open the side door that lead to the sleeping quarters. He walked up the stairs, encountering more nuns and priests. He killed them quickly. He had not much time to spare. The AX members were not to be trifle with. Especially the Crusnik. He searched the rooms on the upper floor, not finding any of the children there. A hoax? He was starting to hate the church.

He went back down the stairs, wondering where else could the children be hiding. Until he heard someone squeak before being shushed. Isaak smiled. Stupid Terrans. They never smart enough to defeat the Methuselah. He walked down the corridor towards a door at the end. He pushed it open and barely avoided a bullet that was aimed at his head. He stabbed the priest in the chest using his long, sharp nails. He heard someone squeak and turned to see a little girl cowering in the corner.

"Where are the others, little one?" Isaak asked, tracing a nail down her cheek, drawing red blood that made him hungry. The girl squeaked again, looking scared. She seemed frozen with fear. Isaak sighed, a worthless informer. He was about to kill the Terran when something slammed into him. The force that slammed into him was so hard that it slammed him into the wall, breaking it that he found himself outside the church, in some sort of vegetable patch behind the church.

"What the-?" Isaak begun to say, looking up. This was the first time that someone had managed to surprise attack him.

At the hole in the wall stood a tall figure with very pale skin, like Death itself, and lips that were an ice blue colour. The figure, Isaak could see that it was a lady because of the long dress she wore that clung to her figure, had blood red eyes that glowed in the dark as well as fangs like a Methuselah's. Her long, dark hair floated around her face, as if a gentle wind blew through them. Then, Isaak noticed the wings that sprouted from her back, pale blue, large and shaped like a butterfly's. In her hand was a staff that had, what looked like vines, winding all the way up the staff. The top end of the staff curled around a piece of something that looked like glass. At the outer end of the staff were sharp spikes.

A Crusnik! Isaak thought. But this Crusnik was unlike what Cain had described his sister to be and as far as what Isaak knew, Seth was the only female Crusnik since Lilith had passed on. Isaak watched as the Crusnik seemingly float above the ground towards him.

"You are a monster," she said. "Murdering, killing for no reasons at all. You should never have existed!" Isaak saw her staff start to glow and quickly jumped away from his spot. He turned and saw the spot where he had been lying down burst into flames. The Crusnik turned to look at him, baring her fangs in anger.

"I see that my mission is a failure," Isaak said. "I will tell my master of your existence, Crusnik." Isaak quickly vanished into thin air. He had to report this discovery to Cain. He was sure that Cain would be interested to know about the new Crusnik. Possibly whoever that had helped her come into being would have a cure for Cain himself.

Abel rushed into the church. He heard a loud explosion coming from the kitchen area and rushed there. He saw a priest lying dead on the floor and a little girl sitting in a corner, her back facing him. He followed her line of gaze and saw a hole in the wall. Beyond the hole stood a figure with four huge blue butterfly wings sprouting from its back. The figure turned and Abel saw that it was a woman with blue lips, very pale skin and the fangs, as well as eyes, of a vampire. He and the figure stared at each other for awhile before the figure took off.

"Wait!" Abel said, rushing towards the hole. But the figure had already disappeared. Abel shook his head. It couldn't be. There were only two female Crusniks that he knew of. One was Seth and the other was Lilith. But Lilith was dead and Seth did not look like that. He must have seen wrong. There could not be another Crusnik in existence. There couldn't be!

"Thea?" Abel turned to see the nun, Ashlyn, enter the room, scooping the little girl that sat in the corner into her arms. "Thea! Thank God you are alright! Where are the others?"

"Downstairs in the cellar," Thea answered. Ashlyn went over to a door and pulled it open, talking to the frightened children, telling them that everything was going to be alright. "Sister Ashlyn?"

"Yes?" Ashlyn said.

"Do fairies exist?"

"I don't know… Why do you ask?"

"Cause a fairy saved me just now. She had blue wings, Sister Ashlyn. You should have seen her!"

Abel frowned, thinking. So, he had not imagined it. Another Crusnik does exist. But who was she? And why did she appear here? Were there any surviving Methuselah scientists from that project? He had to report this to Lady Caterina. Maybe she knew something. Even if she did not, she would be interested to know that there was another Crusnik that existed and was on their side.

"Look out!" Abel turned and saw a vampire leaping toward him. Before he could react, a knife flew pass his head and into the head of the vampire. It dropped dead. Abel turned to see Ashlyn standing beside a sink, across from where he had last seen her standing. Abel stared at her, wondering how she had managed to move so fast. She looked down at her shoes, guiltily.

"Do that again! Do that again!" Thea cheered.

"No, Thea," Ashlyn said. "You and others go back into the cellar for awhile longer. We will let you out once everything is really alright. Ok?"

"Aw… Ok…" Thea murmured as Ashlyn placed her on the floor. She went back into the cellar with the other children, closing the door behind them.

"I am sorry I did not tell you about this… ability of mine, Father Nightroad," Ashlyn said. "It's not something I would like to brag about."

"I see…" Abel murmured. "Oh well! Everyone has their own abilities. As long as they use it for the good of mankind, then it is good that they those kind of abilities."

"Really?"

"Really!"

"Thank you, Father!" Ashlyn bowed and ran off.

Abel watched her smiled before he looked back where he saw the Crusnik disappear to. He frowned. He had thought that only Seth, him and Cain were the only living Crusniks. But looks like the appearance of that lady has proved that they are not the only ones. If Isaak had seen her, which Abel knew he most probably would have, Isaak would try to find the scientist that created this Crusnik to find a cure for Cain. Abel shook his head. He could not let that happen. The sooner he got back to Rome and reported this to Lady Caterina, the better. He had a strange suspicion that the Rosenkreuz Orden would be planning more attacks soon and that this would not be the last time he would see Isaak.