The Day the Sun Died

One

The calm of a night-filled Battleon was pierced by an ear-splitting screech. The majority of those awoken by it were on the twelfth floor of the Guardian Tower, Female Dormitories. Rayne, Lizzie, Trip and Serras were left, for the most part, undisturbed, however, Natalya heard it and woke violently. She sprung from the bed she shared with Serras with a start. Pulling the covers over her head, she scanned to darkness, listening for the sound again.

"Did you hear that?" She whispered, nudging Serras. Her girlfriend groaned and shifted herself onto her side.

"All I heard is you waking me up. What's wrong?" She muttered. Another scream shattered the silence, waking Serras up fully. "What on Lore?" She asked, getting out with Natalya. They threw the door open and listened. A softer scream pointed them in the right direction. "Maria!" They shouted, running towards the younger Despair sister's room. As usual, the door was locked, but the bolt couldn't survive Natalya's shoulder. Exploding into shrapnel and splinters, the door fell to the ground. Serras and Natalya charged it, fists at the ready. Even in the darkness, they could see that no one, save for Maria, was inside.

"Stay with your sister." Serras placed her hand on Natalya's shoulder. "I'm going to find Warlic." Natalya nodded and ran to Maria's side. She nudged her.

"Maria! Maria! Wake up! What's wrong?!" She shouted, trying to wake her up. After shaking her rather violently, she muttered a quick curse and gave her a quick slap across the face. Her eyes sprang open, her eyes dilated to near night-vision. She laid in bed, frozen in fear, her covers pulled to her chin, sweat pouring down her face, soaking her sheets. She stared at Natalya for some time before saying something.

"B-" She started, shaking uncontrollably. "B-"

"Maria! What is it, Bee what?" Natalya asked, trying to get some coherent answer from her sister.

"Blood!" She shouted, pulling the covers over her head.

-Later That Same Night-

"It's weird, Warlic. She wouldn't stop screaming. When I woke her, she stared at me with these dilated eyes. She had the look of death about her. The only thing she said was 'blood' and then freaked out, pulling her sheets over her head, like a little kid afraid of the dark. Anyone else and I could write this off as a nightmare, but Maria? No, not her. She doesn't get scared. Mad, yes, she gets mad, but not scared. If she's scared, it gives everyone else full right to be scared, too. And quite frankly, I'm scared myself." Natalya explained to Warlic as he looked over Maria. She was trembling under the covers, her eyes bolting from side-to-side, as if she was searching for something; or someone. The Mage tried to look into her eyes, but she wouldn't keep them still for long enough.

"There's honestly nothing I can do. I don't know anything about psychology. That's Orta's field, not mine. Take her to Orta in the morning, but keep an eye on her for now." He sighed, ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head. "Weird. Really, really weird." He nodded to the two women and left, shaking his head, muttering 'really weird.' Natalya and Serras looked at one another and sighed.

-That Morning-

Natalya had opted to spend the night with Maria; just to be sure she didn't digress into another panicked frenzy. The sun poked through the window, waking Maria up instantly. She scanned the room and stretched. Her eyes falling on her sleeping sister, she blinked twice.

"Natalya, what the hell are you doing?" She asked, poking Natalya awake.

"Huh…" She groaned, pulling her head up, shaking the sleep from her eyes. "Oh, good morning Maria. How are you today?" She asked, standing.

"Uh… a little over par, why? I just woke up; I'm a little tired, but alright."

"No fear in your mind? No… panic?" She continued. Maria walked to her sister and placed her hand on her head.

"You okay, Nat? You're talking foolish-like." Natalya raised an eyebrow and locked her arm into Maria's. "Wow, Natalya. I didn't know you liked me like that. What would Serras say?" Maria joked as her sister pulled her out the door. "And why is my door broken?"

Natalya had drug her sister down the hall, their arms still locked, right into the Infirmary. She flung the door open and tossed Maria in.

"Orta!" The eldest sister barked. Crumpled on her desk, sound asleep, was the Guardian's medic, Orta Dragoon. Her arms were crossed before her and her head buried in her arms. "ORTA!" She shouted again. The Guardian stirred some, but didn't wake. Natalya felt a drop of sweat run down the back of her head. "You no good lazy…" She muttered, thumping her across the back of the head.

"Whaguhwha?" She asked, lifting her head up some. "Oh heya Natalya. What's up?" Orta questioned, sleep still evident in her voice.

"Something's not right with Maria. Find out what, and real fast-like." She responded, standing in the door frame, barring Maria egress.

"Yealright." She muttered, standing up and advancing on Maria. "Okie dokie, Maria. What seems to be the problem?" She asked.

"Nothing… What is this?" She questioned, looking between Natalya and Orta, her eyebrow in a confused manner.

"Natalya? What's wrong with her?"

"Well, middle of the freakin' night last night, she starts screaming, and I mean, screaming like a scared three year old. She starts screaming to high heaven, wakes damn near everyone up. Serras and I burst in, find her curled in bed, the look of death about her. I go over and try to get some cognitive speech out of her, and all she says is 'blood' and hides under the covers. Might be psychological, but I want to be sure. At this, Maria simply locked up, her extremities stopped functioning.

"Gya… Uh… NO! I'm fine… I'm… fhu… fine…" She stobbled, diverting her eyes. "Honestly."

"You're not alright, Maria. I've never seen you THAT scared in my life. You're getting looked at." Natalya crossed her arms, still blocking the door.

"I'm fine, really!" She smiled weakly. "C'mon, Orta. It's me. I'm good." Her teeth were chattering nervously.

"I will hold you down, Maria, don't think I won't."

"I'm FINE god dammit!" Maria shouted, all faux cheer draining from her face. Natalya began advancing on her, her arms uncrossed. "No!" She shouted, grabbing her sister by the shoulders, slamming her hard on the wall. Her head hit the wall very strongly, rendering her unconscious. Maria wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and ran out the door.

"MARIA!" Orta shouted, extending her arm. After she left, she ran to Natalya, placing her hand on the back of her head. "Oh, jesus…" She droned, pulling her hand back from her head, looking upon it soaked with blood. "Maria, what have you done…"

-Later.-

"Oh, good. She's coming around." Serras' voice droned, distant and distorted.

"Slowly, dear, slowly. You've taken quite the blow…" Safiria droned. Natalya managed to open her eyes and regain her bearings. "You're lucky, really. If anyone else would have been here, you'd be dead." She continued.

"How are you feeling?" Orta asked soothingly, placing her hand on her forehead. "Do you know where you are?" She continued.

"Yea…" Natalya muttered, holding the back of her head. "I'm in the Infirmary in the Guardian Tower.

"Good. Do you know your name?" Orta pressed on with her gentle questions.

"Natalya Ellie Despair." Natalya continued, shaking her head a bit, the throbbing increasing.

"Excellent. Can you tell me the names of everyone around you?" Orta followed up with another question.

"Serras Nerra…" Natalya began. Serras smiled. "Sa…Safiria Despair…" Safiria nodded and grinned slightly. "Captain Artix Von Krieger…" She droned to a finish.

"How are you feeling?" Orta asked once more, putting slight pressure on several points on her body. "Any fatigue or headache?"

"My head feels like I got a friggin' horse kickin' it…" Natalya nursed the head wound. "But other then that, no… What happened?"

"Maria is, as of oh five hundred this morning, AWOL. After disabling you, she took off. Last we have any sight of her is heading west out of Battleon towards Darkovia, her destination unknown." Krieger droned, striding to Natalya's bedside. The eldest sister swore audibly before trying to stand. "Oh, no you don't. You're not going anywhere. Crystal Lion, Wolfblitzer and Rayne are already going that way. They'll bring her back. Don't you worry."

-Darkovia. At about that time.-

The party of Wolfblitzer, Crystal Lion and Rayne stepped out into a clearing. Wolfblitzer sniffed around a bit before taking a huge sniff at the ground.

"She's close. She's at about a walk. Not panicking, just walking." He muttered, standing up. Crystal Lion nodded and ushered them forward. They continued through the clearing before Wolfblitzer stopped and started sniffing around more. "Funny... Lost the scent. It goes this way, then just... PBBBTH. Stops. Wiggy."

"Try looking up, Wolfblitzer." Maria's voice droned from above. The party looked up to see Maria sitting in a tree limb, looking up at the night sky.

"Maria. We're here to..." Rayne started.

"'Bring you back to Battleon. Do not resist and you won't be harmed.'" Maria spoke, her head never moving. "Is that what you were going to say?" Rayne nodded.

"Well, are you coming?" Crystal asked. "I can climb you know."

"One in a million." Maria replied, almost like she didn't hear Crystal.

"Excuse me?" Rayne asked, befuddled.

"Twenty-three million, eight hundred and fifty three thousand, two hundred and twelve." Maria droned, her head still locked towards the sky. "That's how many star signs there are on Lore. How many different combinations of stars any one person can be born under. All of those stars. Any of them, and you're fine. It's just that one." Her hand went up and pointed to an oddly bright star surrounded by five others. "The Darkstar."

"What are you saying?" Wolfblitzer asked, confused. "'The Darkstar'? What's that?"

"The Darkstar is a rare, beautiful star which rarely is seen from Lore. It's said that whoever is born when the Darkstar is the only star visible in the night sky, they are destined for great end. They will excel in anything they try. Top their class, if you will. A blessing... And a curse." She droned, almost as if she was not herself. Her hand went limp at her side again.

"Maria... come down from there. We need to get you back."

"Twenty-three million, eight hundred and fifty three thousand, two hundred and twelve fucking stars I could have been born under! Twenty-three million! And I had to be the unlucky mother fucker who has the god damn Darkstar as my birthsign!" She threw her arm to the ground, launching a fireball in the clearing.

"Maria... just calm down, and come down from there. Don't make me come after you." Wolfblitzer motioned to the three.

"It's said..." Maria continued, ignoring her friends. "That when the Darkstar is visible in the sky, surrounded by its companions, the Starlets, for more then two weeks, the Devourer will descend upon Lore, consume everything in its path, leaving not a thing behind. Lore will end, as will civilization as we know it." She finished, her eyes never leaving the heavens. Crystal shivered in her boots, a dread chill racing up her spine.

"Maria, you stop this crazy talk now! Get down from that tree and come back with us!" Rayne barked, drawing her sword. "Or so help me I will come up there, and if I do, you'll be missing a few parts!"

"I'll come down." She muttered, scanning the sky more. "In due time. You see, I've been having nightmares for five days now. And not just normal nightmares. Normal ones I can handle. These nightmares are the stuff that makes you never want to sleep again. The stuff that makes grown men piss their pants. Breaks down the moral of armies, kills children at just the thought. Their more like... premonitions then nightmares. Really fucking scary premonitions." She continued. "And every night that I've had a nightmare, I look out the window, and what do I see?" She pointed to the Darkstar and the five stars arranged in a pentagram around it. "THAT mother fucker. Five fucking days I've seen that mother fucker in the sky. Tonight was night six. If I see those stars in the sky tomorrow. That's it. Game over."

"What happens, hypothetically?" Crystal asked, still shaking.

"What do you think happens." She asked a rhetorical question, her eyes focused on her friends. For the first time, they could see her face. Tears of blood were running down her cheeks. "We die."

-Battleon, Shortly After-

Crystal Lion and the party had returned to Battleon with Maria in tow. Her eyes were still crying blood, and now her nose and mouth were leaking blood. She didn't seem too bothered by it. Maybe she didn't notice it, or didn't care. Captain Krieger was waiting at the base of the Guardian Tower, awaiting their return.

"Welcome back." He droned to the party. "Dear god..." He breathed. "I said not to hurt her!" He barked to Crystal.

"I didn't! She was like that when we found her! Honest-to-god truth!" Crystal threw her hands up. Rayne and Wolfblitzer did similar, backing away. Atrix grabbed Maria's face and looked at her.

"I'm fine Captain. Nothing's wrong." She insisted as he looked at her eyes.

"Jesus... You're eyes... you don't feel that?" He asked.

"Feel what?" She continued, a smirk crossing her face.

"You... don't. Do you?" He asked, wiping some of the blood away. Maria saw him pull a bloodied hand away and wiped her own hand across her eyes. When she looked at it, she saw the blood.

"Huh." She droned, licking her hand. "That is weird." She continued to lick her hand. "Never saw that one coming."

"Get her to the Infirmary. She's... not right. I can't tell physically or mentally... but you're not right, Maria. Not at all." He nodded to Rayne who took Maria's arm and led her off to Orta's corner of the Tower.

-Guardian Tower Infirmary. Late that Night-

"I don't know what to tell you, Captain. By all accounts, she should be dead. I've had her in here for six hours, and she's bled five gallons of blood. Don't get me wrong, it makes for great offerings to the Vampire Queen, but it's very, very weird." Orta told Atrix as he entered, announcing his presence with his usual 'report.'.

"Damnit, Orta, I'm fine! I feel like a million gold right now!" Maria insisted, trying to fight Atrix's hold.

"You're not fine, Maria. You're bleeding out of your eyes and you are not feeling it! You are unaffected by an otherwise life-threatening condition! This calls for drastic measures!" He announced.

"Good. Get her out of here. I'm stupefied as to her condition." The Medic replied, rubbing her temples. "But the only question is, where's left to go? I can't heal her either conventionally or magically. By all accounts, she's a dead woman." Orta muttered, mainly to herself.

"Catapult, anyone?" Atrix smiled. Natalya swallowed hard.

-Isle d'Oriens Main Gate-

"I really hate that thing, you know..." Rayne muttered, dusting herself off. Atrix just gave her a firm slap on the back and a 'ah, suck it up'.

"Besides. It builds character." He finished, proceeding to open the heavy wrought-iron gate.

"How come every time I build character, you get a good laugh at my misfortune?"

"That's just your imagination." The gate whined loudly and granted the four passage. As the great portal opened, a waft of musty, molding air blasted forth, assailing everyone's senses. Atrix managed to block with his arm.

"Enter." The stone gargoyle above the door growled slowly and rumbling. Wasting no time, the party entered.

The Isle d'Oriens was a place of science. While still in the same age as the rest of Lore, they had, for the most part, forsaken any magical connections, save for the most basic of all which is vital for all human survival, in excange for Science and Technology, one reason Warlic despised visiting. He was always so weak. If magic and convention failed, maybe technology would prevail. Artix led the party forward into the arboretum where Pae the Gecko was perched happily on her tree.

"Yo, Pae." Atrix spoke, poking the lizard slightly on the back to wake her up. "Is Vincint in?" Pae looked at Artix and nodded groggily, thowing her head towards the far wall. "Thank you." He led the group into the door where a large pile of rusted machinery parts laid in mis-use, and a large machine was being twinked with by a very busy looking Drakel.

"Vince!" Natalya called up to him. Engrossed in his work, he ignored her. "Vince!" She called again, louder and more direct. Again, Vince went about his work, oblivious to Natalya. Finally, the Despair sister went to drastic measures. She picked up a wrench from the floor and lobbed it up towards him. The metal instrument struck him on the broadside of the head, breaking his concentration. He looked about, staring in dumbfound puzzlement at the wrench that hit him. He then turned his attention downwards, towards Natalya.

"Ow." He stated, making Natalya know it hurt.

"Good. We need your help, Vince." She droned, shuffling around.

"Yea, sure, give me like, ten minutes." He went back to his work. Natalya picked up another wrench (He had a box of them on the ground.) and lobbed it up, missing him. "Jesus! Fine, fine, fine! I'm coming down. Pushy woman..." He pushed a button on the side of the framework, and the platform he was on decended to the ground with haste. "Okay. I am officially not working anymore. This damn well better be good, or else." He droned, standing up dusting himself off.

"It is good. It's my sister. She's got an... awkward condition." Natalya started. She took Maria by the shoulders and pulled her forwards. Vince jumped backwards at the sight of her.

"Good GOD!" He shouted. Taking his time, he advanced on her. "Is that... blood?" He questioned, touching her cheek. Maria had stopped bleeding from her mouth and nose a while ago. Collecting a sample of her blood on his finger, he licked it off. "Jesus... it is. Are you... feeling that?"

"Nope. I don't see what the problem is." Maria responded, looking about.

"The problem is, you are bleeding from your eyes... and it doesn't concern you. At all. I would call that a problem." Vince responded, pulling a little metal stick out of his waistband. "Look at me please." He muttered. She looked at him, and the Drakel pushed the end, the other lighting up. The moment the portable light hit Maria's eye, her pupil shut almost closed. He pulled it away, and it dilated back to normal. "Interesting." He clicked the light off and replaced it back into his waistband. "Take your clothes off." He continued.

"Wait... what?" Maria asked, crossing her arms around her chest.

"Take your clothes off. I need to check you out completely, and I can't do that with you dressed. Take them off." He continued, never flinching.

"Not with them here!" Maria barked, pointing to the others. Vince nodded, walked over to the three and began pushing them out.

"Could you three please wait outside, I'll call you in when I'm done. Go... I dunno, go bug Adder. I'm sure he'll love to see you." He shoved them all out the door, shut it and locked it.

"Well..." Natalya droned, her face going blank. "That's a new one."

"Right. Off with them." He continued, walking to a table where a mechanical hand lay.

"If I must." She droned, stripping down to nothing. "But I swear... Don't put anything anywhere." She pointed at him, halfway through taking her jeans off.

"Relax, Mrs. Despair. Your species only fascinates me in a scientific term." He muttered, attaching the arm to the stump that was once his left arm. Vince flexed the temperary arm and turned back to Maria, who hand finished stripping. "Excellent. Let's begin."

"Begin what?" She asked, shivering in the cold.

"I must check if you are broken elsewhere. It will not take but half an hour. Stand still and do as I say, and I'll be done fairly quickly. Straighten up, for god's sake. Don't make it look like such a chore." Maria groaned and stood up straight. "Now..."

He crouched down beside her and began at her feet and legs. Using his still organic hand, he felt the top and sides of her feet for anything out of the ordinary.

"Can you feel this?" He muttered, drawing his claw up her feet and legs. She shivered some and pulled her foot up.

"Hey, that tickles! Don't!" She replied, chuckling.

"Okay... so you can still feel when someone tickles you. Interesting." He muttered, walking over to a clipboard on the same table his had was. He made a few marks before continuing. Going back to her leg, he started at her foot and rubbed the outside of her leg up to her waist and back down. "No visible legions... no apparent legions under the skin... that's a good start..." He went back to the clipboard, made more notes and returned, this time to the other leg. He preformed the same exams as last time, with similar results. "Straddle your legs a little, please." He muttered, sitting on his knees. She spread her legs a bit, so her feet were only a few inches away. "Thank you." He went back to looking her over. He drew his mechanical arm up the inside of her leg, from her foot to her thigh.

"Hey, you keep that claw where I can see it, Drakel Boy." She pointed at him.

"Relax, Maria, relax. I wouldn't even dream of it. You're not my type, anyway." He droned, feeling the inside of her thigh. "Again, no visible legions. No apparent legions under the surface. Again, a good start." He made more notes in the clipboard before returning to Maria. After repeating his exam on the other leg, he moved to her waist. Drawing his hand across her waist and sides, he noted the similar lack of legions in his clipboard, much like her legs. "Nearly flawless skin... in a Guardian? Unheard of... Most interesting. My curiosity has gotten the best of me. How do you keep yourself in such good condition, despite your nature?" He asked, sitting on his knees, looking up at her face.

"Meh." She responded, twitching her head slightly. "I heal up like a starfish."

"More like your Undead body has an unnaturally high rate of regeneration. How long have you been a vampire, Maria?"

"Uh... eight years. Why?"

"Scientific curiosity, nothing more. Science dictates once the heart stops beating and the lungs stop breathing, life is impossible, yet, here you are. Dead, yet perfectly alive."

"Can we get back to the whole 'touching me like a pervert' thing, Vince? I kind of want to get this over with." She droned.

"I detest that comment. I would never touch you, unless out of nessesity. Have I ever touched you in the past?"

"Well... no." She responded.

"Then with all due respect, shut up and let me do my job." He went back to searching her. He migrated to her upper and mid back. Grabbing hold of her shoulders, he looked down and ran a hand down her spine. She shivered. "Again, recognition of physical contact... Good." He noted this. He moved to her neck. "Look down for me, please." She did so. "Thank you." He moved her hair out of the way and began searching, both visibly and physically. "Hello..." He muttered as his hand slid to the side of her neck. Two small bumps could be felt. "What are these." He looked at them, pushing her head to the side.

"What are they?" Without responding, Vince turned her head around, pushed her lips up and put his index and middle finger on her incsior teeth, then moved to the bumps. The distance matched.

"Apparent vampire bite makes. Judging by how well they have not healed, it was done by an Elder." He spoke to himself before making the same notes on his clipboard. "Who is your Sire?" He asked when he returned.

"Queen Safiria. Why?"

"Who's your daddy." He smirked, making that note on his paper. "Identification of Sire confirmed. Not Elder, but Queen." He returned once more to Maria. "Now. Turn around please." He droned, looking at her hair. She turned about to stare Vince in the face. "Initial contact with subject shows visible excretion of blood via the eyes. According to length of the trail, subject has been excreting blood for around ten to twelve hours. Approximate amount of lost blood. Unknown." He noted on his paper. He continued talking as he wrote. "Subjects pupils dilate and return to normal nearly instantly, possible connotation could be natural night vision. I will attempt to prove this, or disprove it." He walked to a huge toggle switch on the wall, near the door. "Captain Krieger, my key hole is for a key, not your eye." He muttered, pulling the toggle down. All the light vacated the room. The Drakel pulled down a small square screen from his helmet over his natural eye. As it activated, it bathed an area of around one to two inches in a soft, green aura. He walked back to Maria and held up his hand. "Mrs. Despair. How many fingers am I holding up?" He spoke, standing some fifteen feet away.

"Two." She responded instantly.

"Good. And now?" He followed.

"Still two." Maria replied.

"Superb. Again, please."

"Four fingers and a thumb." She chuckled to herself.

"Most excellent. Subject even remembered that the thumb is not a finger, but an opposable appendage." He went back to the toggle on the wall and pushed up, the lights turning back on. He pulled a key from his pocket and jammed it in the key hole.

"GAH! MY EYE! MY EYE!!!" Atrix called from beyond.

"That'll teach you, Captain." Natalya muttered. Orta giggled slightly at his misfortune.

"As earlier noted, subject has perfect, natural night vision." He noted. "Subject is, by all accounts, perfectly normal. However, I have yet to examine subject's chest. My studies into Humans has alluded to me that Human females do not like being touched on their chest, with the exception of their life-mates. I am, most likely in for quite a bit of physical pain." Vince droned, writing more.

"Do you have to monologue?" Maria asked. Vince simply nodded.

"It helps me keep my... how would you say... 'Train of thought' from 'derailing'." He muttered returning once more to Maria.

"Whatever." She responded. "Go where ever you have to, Vince, I stopped caring."

"Thank you." He noted something once more in his clipboard and returned to his subject. Using his mechanical hand, he took a gentle hold on one of her breasts and lifted it slightly. He then rubbed his organic hand under, feeling for anything. "Once more, no legions on the surface, and none apparent under the surface of the skin." He moved his organic hand away before releasing his hold on her breast. As he did, his nails drug slightly, scratching her. Maria never flinched. Vince's eyebrow went up. He didn't make any mention of it, simply proceeded to examine under her other breast. "No legions on the surface, and none apparent under the skin." He droned. He then went to his clipboard and made a note. After returning, he walked behind her, and ran his mechanical claw across her side. Silently, he pushed it into her skin, drawing blood. Again, not a flich. "Subject also has no definitive recognition of pain." He muttered.

"What do you mean?" She asked. Vince pulled the claw out of her side and brought it up to her face.

"I mean, you don't feel pain." His claw was coated with her blood and little bits of flesh. "I stabbed you. An excruciating process for any man. You would have at least felt it. Yet, you didn't even bat an eyelash. That warrants some further investigation. Let me get a..." He looked back at the would, which was closed. "Never mind. Get dressed again, Maria. We're done for the time."

-Moments Later-

The door opened once more, and Vince stepped out with Maria at his side. Maria was dressed once more, and Vince had put his mechanical claw into an acid bath to clean.

"Thank you all for your patience." Vince droned.

"You stabbed me in the eye with a key!" Atrix growled, nursing his eye.

"Did we learn a lesson? A key hole is for keys. Not eyes." The Drakel muttered. "Anyway. By nearly all accounts, Maria is a perfectly healthy, dead woman. There are a few areas of concern, however. One, the obvious bleeding from the eyes. I have not seen that in all my eighty years. And it is, admittedly, very odd." He wiped the blood once more from her eyes, but it only returned. "And second, her lack of nerve function."

"Lack of whoobawha?" Orta asked, a scowl of curiosity on her face.

"Nerve function. Observe." He dronded. He grabbed the sword from Natalya's side and drew it slightly across Maria's exposed side. "Not a flinch." The wound closed. He gave Natalya her sword back.

"So, what's wrong with her?" The eldest sister asked.

"Nothing... yet something very disturbing." Vince answered, putting his hand on his hip. "I must consult the Isle d'Oriens Library. It has the largest collection of books I know of. Maybe something contained within will be of some help." He shook his head. "However, I would like to keep Mrs. Despair here for the moment, if for no other reason, then to try some of what the books may hold."

"I have no problem. I've always liked it here." Maria sniffed the air. "Hey... anyone smell smoke?"

"Yea... we kinda... burned down Adder's shack." Atrix responded.

"WE?" Natalya and Orta shouted at him.

"Okay... okay... I burned it down. You know me! You put a button with the words "Warning: Blow Up the World Button" I'ma gonna push that button! So when he said don't touch the snake... I kinda... you know... had to." Everyone groaned.

-Later. Battleon.-

"I'm really, really worried about mommy..." Gale sighed, taking some comfort in Safiria's arms.

"As am I, Gale. As am I." The Vampire responded.

"Hey Gale. Guess what?" Wolfblitzer whispered in her ear.

"What?!" She responded, perking up some.

"I've got a secret to tell you." He continued.

"Whatwhatwhat!?" She shouted in response.

"Did you know that if you poke Sage enough, she can cough out chocolate?" He muttered. Gale inhaled deeply.

"REALLY?!" She shouted. Wolfblitzer nodded. "COOL!" She ran off to find Sage. Wolfblitzer smiled at his handywork.

"You know, Angelica. I'd ideally hit you for that, but you brought a smile to her face." Safiria droned.

"Yea, I know. And my name is Wolfblitzer. Not Angelica. NEVER call me Angelica. I hate it." He responded, sitting down next to Safiria.

"Sorry, sorry." Safiria chuckled, pulling him next to her.

"I'm kinda worried about Maria myself." He muttered. "I'd freak out if I was crying blood all the time." He shuddered. "Creepy."

"Well, the best we can do, dear, is wait for Vince's diagnosis to come through, and pray for the best. Maybe the Creator will be merciful." Safiria responded. She put her head on Wolfblitzer's shoulder and closed her eyes. "Don't move, pillow." She whispered before falling asleep.

"Great. Been down-graded to a pillow. Fantastic." Wolfblitzer sighed.

-That Night-

Vince had returned Maria to the earthly plane of Lore from the Isle. He had managed to find reasoning behind everything, save the blood from her eyes.

"The lack of pain is just a natural response to fear Vampires experience. They turn off their nervous system for the duration of the stimuli. Something is scaring her so badly she can't turn her system back on. The eyes... the eyes still boggle me. I'm going to keep digging around in the library, maybe get someone to help me. Until then, she's still fighting-fit, so she's of better use down here then up there." Vince droned when he entered the Guardian Tower with Maria. "Until such time as I find a reason behind the blood-tears, I suggest she get some rest."

"Good. Sleep. I need it." Maria muttered. Atrix nodded and allowed her to sleep.

Maria entered her room just as Trip and Aria were finishing the repairs on her door. They were celebrating with their usual cheesy dancing.

"Door all fixed, Maria!" Trip announced, snapping a salute.

"Oh, thanks guys." She replied. Trip locked her vision on the blood tears.

"Uh... what's with the..." She motioned to her own face the action of tears. Maria just smiled and went inside, shutting the new door.