"You don't have to be the biggest or the strongest." Edge once boasted. "You just have to be the smartest."

Edge slowly rose off the bed, a biting smirk stretched across his face. For someone who seemingly asked for a death sentence with every ill-fated idea, he was calm, happy, and if one were betting, proud.

Edge knew what he was doing when he stole Nevaeh. Truth to the matter is while Edge told both the Brood and Hunter that he planned to use and raise Nevaeh to become evil, he primarily stole her to see if he could get away with it. To everyone's surprise except his own, he did.

He strolled down the steps, a little swagger in his walk. Every other step, there was a slight clinging noise due to the chain attached to his leather pants. He walked past the Brood to meet Dave face-to-face. As the Family members gathered behind Dave, so did the Brood members with Edge. Eyes were dark and intense, some had a cloudy appearance while others were black as night. Fangs were shown, ready for the first bite. Weapons were drawn for protection and death. In the vampirical world, all vampires were fair game just as humans were. Both groups needed just a nod or a signal from their respective leader and the fight was on.

While Edge had a usual smug on his face, Dave was using every restraint possible to not kill him. Truth to be told, if Dave had it his way, Edge would have died a sharp death many light-years ago. However, Dave could only imagine the harsh repercussions from Stephanie since she ruled over all vampires, good or bad.

"Hello there." Edge greeted as he put his arms on the shoulders of Lilian and Carlito. "What brings this joyous visit?"

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't feed your balls to you." Dave countered.

"Ooh, touché, touché." Edge smirked. "Touchy, aren't we, today?" He glanced over at Trish. "And how are you, Trisha? Doing well? How's the breast-feeding coming along?"

With her mind, Trish twisted Edge's genitalia. Tight knots shot through his lower region as he tried to keep his focus. The pain was excruciating, almost as if someone was nailing his skin together. It became too much as he became crossed-eyed and bent over. Seeing Edge in withering pain brought a smile to Trish's face. "You should do something about those blue balls, Edge." She smiled.

Meanwhile, Stephanie and Hunter watched the drama unfold from their king-sized bed a short distance away. Hunter was sitting up while Stephanie sat behind him with her legs were flanked on both sides of his waist. She was nibbling on his earlobe and playing with his long blonde hair while he caressed her legs. "Well, I guess we don't have to worry about dinner tonight, Steph." Hunter smirked as he saw the impending feud. "Looks like there'll be enough bloodshed to last us a few days."

Stephanie rolled her eyes and slapped the back of Hunter's head. A servant quickly covered Stephanie's body and she walked off the platform to stand between the feuding groups. "I see all my children are here to play." She looked at Dave and Edge. "Well, since we're going to play, there are rules to follow.

"Rule number one, no one dies." She stated as both groups looked at her and began pointing the finger towards the other. She quickly raised a hand and both groups were silent. "If anyone dies, it is because I killed them. And given your actions of late, all of you have given me more than enough reason to kill each and every one of you. Do I make myself clear?"

Both groups nodded. "Yes, Queen Mother."

"Good." Stephanie grinned. "Second rule is that the battle will occur when I say it should and now isn't the time. However, just because it's not happening now doesn't mean it won't happen very soon. Until then…." Stephanie's face turned cold. "Get out."

Edge approached Stephanie. "Steph, come on. You know you don't…"

Suddenly, Stephanie's eyes turned bright red and her voice became a twisted, demonic sound. Lightning flashed behind her and thunder shook the steady floor. "Get out." She demanded.

The Brood and the Family nearly tripped over each other trying to exit out of the Palace. Seeing the groups were out of her mind and sight, Stephanie morphed back into her normal form and re-joined Hunter on the bed, who wasn't impressed.

"You always gotta do the bitch trick, don't you?" Hunter shook his head.

Stephanie removed her robe and laid down. She caressed her breasts and smoothed her hands over her waist. "You have two choices…" She began, "either you make me climax or you'll die." She smiled.

Hunter climbed on top of Stephanie. "So where were we?"