Sasha sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at her hands. It had been three days, three days since she had woken as a Methuselah and learned of what Abel and Leon had done for her. She felt ashamed of what she was, sorry for what she had done, and unable to ever repay them. She sighed softly and looked up. I sat in the chair by the desk and Leon was sitting on the floor, his back against the bed. Tres was at his normal spot by the door. It had been three days, their food was running low again, and Leon again brought up the idea of them moving on to a new place. Sasha remember a little of the last few days- she had awoken to find me asleep on a makeshift bed on the floor where Leon and Tres were caring for the both of us as we recovered. We had talked about her, what I had done, and what decisions we had before us. I Sasha felt terrible- we had risked so much to save her and in the end she had attacked us and knowing that I was willing to sacrifice my own blood for her- it had to be a big adjustment for her. She sat there on the bed as Leon looked up from his spot on the floor.

"You know Abel, it's been several weeks we have been holed up here. I think its time we were moving on- if we are going to find Cain we need to be actively looking."

"So you want to go running around out there so we can bump into him?" I asked in an incredulous voice.

"No Abel but I also don't want to just sit here waiting for him to find us!"

Sasha watched us. We fought so often and yet she knew we cared about each other deeply and were intensely loyal to one another- as well as the other members of the group- Tres and this Hugue we spoke of whom she had not yet met.

" Leon is correct. Moving to a different location will confuse our enemies. Supplies are getting low. Fresh game has been reduced by 37."

Leon gave a cocky grin at Tres' response.

"I guess that means Tres is on my side."

"Negative. I do not take sides." Tres looked at Leon . "I am only stating facts."

Leon rolled his eyes. Sarcasm was wasted on Tres. He looked at Sasha, sitting on the bed. She wouldn't meet his eyes, her fingers were twisting the blanket, and she was nervously chewing her bottom lip.

"Sasha, we will protect you while we find a new place. We found this place quickly and with Tres, he can scan far away for people, so we can avoid them if that's what's bothering you."

I watched Sasha silently from my spot at the desk. She had avoided talking and looking at us for the past few hours, like she was hiding something or trying to avoid something.

Sasha shook her head slightly that no, that was not what was bothering her.

"Then what is it?" Leon asked as he looked over at her.

I too watched her closely but he had an idea of what was bothering her. Sasha was silent for a moment and then she shut her eyes tightly, turning her head away from us.

Leon closed his eyes. He had no idea that was bothering her, making her so quiet. He thought maybe she was frightened of them. He was a big man, with broad shoulders and long, wild black hair. And he was rough around the edges. Tres was a machine and he doubted that she had ever met anything like him before and myself, well...I was the most powerful of us all. Leon and I both wondered how much of her transformation she remembered. He had held her for several hours while she writhed in pain, sometimes so tightly, he was surprised she didn't have any bruises. When I had transformed into Crusnik form, even Leon was a little scared of me. Maybe that was what was bothering Sasha.

"I... I am nothing but a threat to you all. You have given so much to help me... and in the end, I... I nearly killed you. I cant live with that..." her voice trailed off as tears she had been fighting back for days now finally started to fall. "I am nothing but a monster" she whispered softly, her head still turned away from them.

Slowly I went over to the bed and sat down, putting my hand under her chin, making her look into my eyes. I felt such deep compassion for this woman. In the span of a few days, her entire world had been upended and everything she had even known was gone or changed forever- I couldn't help but feel compassion towards her.

"You are not a monster, Sasha," I whispered softly to her.

Sasha looked up at me…. her tear filled eyes meeting mine as I smiled gently.

"Being Methuselah alone does not make one evil, nor does it make them a monster. Humans can be some of the most wicked and violent of creatures, yet all are not that way. It is the way we decide to live our lives, the path we walk, and the choices we make that determines whether we are good or evil." Abel gently stroked her cheek. "You are not a monster Sasha. There is nothing monstrous about you, take it from someone who knows what it is like to be one."

I smiled at her softly as she looked from me, to Leon and then to Tres.

"Status report, Sasha" Tres said, his voice somehow a little softer and quieter than normal.

"I'm fine... Tres" she whispered softly, her eyes getting lost once more in the depths of Father Abel's eyes.

Leon watched the unspoken communication between Abel and Sasha. Maybe it would be better if he and Tres left so she could talk to Abel in private. She must have a lot of questions about being a Methuselah and Leon was sure she would rather he and Tres weren't there.

"Come on, Tres. Let's go shopping for dinner."

"That query does not make sense. There are no stores around for 10.2 miles."

"Just shut up and come with me. I need your sense of direction to find our dinner."

Leon turned to me as he grabbed his pack off the bed and headed for the door.

"We'll be back in a bit."

Leon shrugged into his black leather jacket and threw Tres's cloak to him.

"I do not understand why I am required to go. In your previous hunting expeditions, you had a success rate of 85.1 in retrieving game."

If Tres was able to speak in anything but his deep monotone voice, I was sure we would hear confusion at Leon's actions. Sasha watched as the two men left, leaving the two of us in the small room alone. She was silent a moment and then looked at him.

"I never got a chance to properly thank you for what you did for me... I mean the risk you took to..." she was rambling again. She hated when she did that. She fell silent and fiddled with the fringe of her cloak absent mindedly. Abel laid his hands over hers, stilling her fingers.

"And I would do it all over again," I whispered as I brushed her cheek gently.

Sasha was glad that Leon and Tres left the two of them alone. She had some questions for Abel, and she didn't want to bring up the name of Missa in front of Leon. She remembered how angry or sad he sounded whenever that name came up. She hadn't been totally unconscious for the two days between the start and end of her transformation. She had heard Leon and Abel yelling at each other, saying she wasn't Missa and Missa was dead.

"May I ask you something? Who is Missa?"

My mind paused for a moment as I pushed my glasses up higher on my nose. I was glad that she waited until Leon was gone to ask this.

"Missa was Leon 's daughter. I say was because just a year ago he received word that she was dead. He had not seen her since she was a toddler, and now he will never see her again. Missa would have been about your age if she was still alive. So I guess, in a way, Leon sees a piece of the daughter he lost in you- which is why he was and is so defensive of you and so careful with you. He wants to protect you."

Sasha nodded slowly as she thought this over. She wanted to ask him why Leon had not seen her in so many years, but something told her that would have to wait till she asked Leon himself- if that opportunity ever came. There was another question though she wanted to ask. Looking at Abel, her eyes drifted down to his hands.

"I... I didn't hurt you did I?"

Sasha knew what had happened when she had awakened, she knew what Leon and Abel had done- they saw no need to keep or hide anything from her.

I waved my hands in front of my face and laughed nervously.

"No! No, I'm fine! Fit as a fiddle."

Sasha smiled back, wondering if he had ever used that phrase with Tres. She almost giggled, imagining Tres's response. Her face fell as her eyes saw the bite marks on Abel's wrists.

"I don't think I should come with you. I'll only slow you down and make it easier for this Cain to find you."

"Well that is your choice of course Sasha, and we wont force you one way or the other," I said softly. "But I hope you would reconsider and come with us... I know I hope you would. And as far as Cain finding us, at this point and time, that might be our best option...right now all we do is chance after him, finding only the destruction left in his wake. But seriously Sasha, please think about it- we would love to have you accompany us."

Sasha gave a soft smile and nodded slowly. She was about to say something when the door opened and Leon rushed in.

"Abel! You will never guess who we found!"

I looked at him questioningly as my face changed to one of happy surprise as I stared at the blond haired man standing before him.

"Hugue!" I exclaimed as jumped to my feet.

Hugue stood in the doorway. He hadn't changed very much, although I could see a little gray in the long blonde hair. Hugue wore a white shirt, open to his navel, with tight black pants. He had a black wool traveling cloak covering him and the hood was pushed back. Abel could see more scars on Hugue's chest and he had a new one on his face. It went from the corner of his right eye, crossed his cheek and ended at his chin. Hugue's AX name had been "Sword Dancer" and by the look of him, Hugue had more than earned that name. The person who had given Hugue that scar, probably died soon after inflicting the scar. His eyes were wary, with dark circles under them. His eyes fell on Sasha on the bed. She gave him a small smile, but he didn't smile back; instead, his eyes narrowed and his hand went to the hilt of his sword.
 "Why is she here? She's a Methuselah, is she not?" His voice, which had once been soft and melodious, was hard.

"Now, now Hugue" I said as I stepped in front of my friend. "This is Sasha, she has been with us for several days now... It's alright."

Hugue stared at me with those piercing eyes and lowered his voice.

"Need I remind you Father that it was Methuselah's who killed my family and had their fun with me before they tried to kill me as well? We are the last of the AX and we swore to destroy evil...that is our duty Abel."

"Hugue, you should know as much as any of us that what group or cast you are born into does not make you good or evil. Your family was one of the richest and most powerful, yet they were kind caring people. Their wealth did not make them evil... it was the way they chose to live their lives that made them who they were. It is the same for all of us- Terran or Methuselah."

Hugue's eyes burned as he listened to Abel. He liked Abel, but he hated this soft side of him. Tension filled the small cabin and Sasha felt like she couldn't breathe and pushed past Abel and Leon. She ran out the door, hoping to get past this tall, angry man, but he was too quick for her.

"Where are you going? Back to your friends, to let them know where we are? So they can kill us?"

His grip was painful and she tried to pull away; she was afraid of this man. Leon growled at Hugue.

"Let go of her, Hugue! She's all alone. We found her in a burnt out village and brought her back here. We didn't know she was a Methuselah when we found her, but that doesn't matter now."

Leon tried to pry Hugue's fingers from Sasha's arm.

"Damn it! Stop this before you hurt her!"

He finally got Hugue to let her go and Leon wrapped his arms around Sasha. She was trembling, trying not to cry.

"Come on, Sasha. Let's go and get you away from this bastard for a while." Leon led her out the door, turning around before he left. "You try that again Hugue and you'll deal with me."

Hugue glared at Leon as he pulled the girl away. He stared after them as the door closed.

"I will never understand him" Hugue said as he turned to face me. "But you still have some explaining to do Father Abel. Why have you taken a Methuselah under the protection of the Vatican… not that the Vatican even exists still. Why are you protecting her and even more importantly, why are you trusting her? She could turn on you at any moment! Has Leon considered the fact that one minute she may be clinging to him for protection and the next she is trying to feed off him? Have you considered the fact that you might have to kill this girl you all seem so attached to?"

Hugue ran his hands over the hilt of his sword as he turned away from Abel.

"I always knew you were an odd one... but I never thought you would be crazy enough to do something like this... Father."

I let out a heavy sigh, it was time to tell Hugue the truth and I wasn't sure how he would take it. Hugue's hatred for Methuselah was well known and once he found out the truth about me, who knew what he would do.

"Hugue, sit down. I have something to tell you."

Hugue looked wary but took a seat at the desk as he waited for me to speak.

"Do you know the legend of the Crusnik? How the Vatican kept one for their use?" Hugue nodded slowly. "I am that Crusnik."

Hugue's eyes grew wide. "Are you joking with me? This is not funny, Abel."

"It's no joke, my friend. I am a Crusnik, and Cain is my brother. I was once like him, hating the Terrans but after a long time, I came to see that this was not the way for peace." Hugue couldn't speak. "If a Methuselah feeds off a Crusnik, their thirst for blood ceases to exist. I let Sasha feed off of me." Hugue's mind reeled with images of Abel, letting Sasha drink his blood.

Hugue shook his head.

"I don't believe it. Even if you are a Crusnik... why would you do something like that? Why would you let her feed off of you? Why would you basically allow her to keep on living?"

"Hugue, I know how hard this has to be for you- having lost your family to the Methuselah's, but surely you must agree and somewhere deep inside you know that being born a Methuselah does not make you evil. I let Sasha feed off me because I believe she is not one that we need to fear. I have killed many a vampire in my years, most at the bidding of the Vatican, i know evil- I can sense it, almost taste and smell it. Sasha is not like that Hugue. If you could just see past the hate and pain you hold against them, you would be able to see that. I know you do not believe in total peaceful co-existence the way the rest of us do, and I can understand that. But can you not give Sasha a chance to prove herself to you?"

Hugue was silent, he was thinking this through. He couldn't believe Abel had kept his true form from him all these years, but Hugue couldn't blame him. It was hard to think of him of anything but a bumbling, good hearted priest.

"I will give her a chance. But Abel, one wrong move from her and I will strike."

"You notice Leon is very protective of her. She looks like Missa, his daughter, who was killed last year. I would tread carefully around him. He's having a hard time with his daughter's death and he's become unbelievably attached to Sasha."

Hugue nodded. Leon was one man who could best him in a fight. The man fought dirty, but so could Hugue. He would wait and judge Sasha in a few days.

While the two men were outside talking things over, trying to reach an agreement or understanding, Leon was walking with Sasha a little ways away from the small cabin. Leon knew the dangers of wandering too far but he needed to be out and he could tell Sasha was grateful as well- she had not been out of the cabin since they day they had rescued her. They walked along together towards the edge of the nearby woods where Leon always hunted for their food. At first Sasha had just followed him, leaning against him as she fought back the tears. When they had reached the edge of the woods, Leon stopped. She didn't move or look up, she just sighed softly as she felt his strong arms wrap around her gently. Her shoulders were trembling as she fought to hold back the tears. She heard what Hugue had said about his family being killed by vampires, and how much he hated them. He looked at her the same as those who had killed his loved ones, and maybe she was no different. Father Abel had made such a sacrifice for her but for what? Even Leon, this man who held her now and had stood up for her as if she was something valuable, even Leon had made sacrifices for her... and Sasha feared that it would be in vain.

"Leon... I'm scared" she whispered softly as she clung to the edge of his coat lightly.

He put his arms around her shoulders.

"Don't worry about Hugue. He's more bark than bite, unlike me."

He pulled her away from him so she could see his grin. She gave him a trembling smile.

"I used to call myself, the Vatican's big bad wolf!"

She laughed a little sd Leon searched her face. Something was bothering her.

"We're probably leaving tomorrow to find a new hideout. Are you up to it? If you need another day to rest, just tell us. We can wait another day or two."

Sasha looked up and him and shook her head.

"No.. I'm fine... I think I'm ready to be moving on myself. "

She looked down at the ground a moment. There was something she wanted to ask Leon but she was afraid to. It wasn't that she was afraid of him- she trusted this man a great deal, as she also trusted Father Abel. No, she was afraid of asking because she didn't want to hurt him. Still, she wanted to know... she needed to know. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at Leon, her bright eyes meeting his dark ones.

"Leon I... I've wanted to ask you something."

"Go one Sasha, what is it?" he said softly as he put a finger under her chin and smiled reassuringly at her.

"Why... why did you rescue me? Father Abel told me it was you who found me and cared for the that first day you all rescued me. I know you stayed by my side during my transformation to what I am now... and even now you look at me like I am something, some treasure to be protected. Why?"

She looked up at him with pleading eyes. She didn't want to hurt him by making him think of his daughter, but she had to know what and how he felt.

"You talk like you're nothing important to anybody. Why?"

"Because that's what I am, a nobody. My family didn't want me because I was a girl. Only my brother's were important." Anger and hurt crept into her voice. "I was sickly for the first few years of my life and my family was ashamed of me. They only valued strength and brawn in the fight in the war against Terrans. I was a daydreamer, always looking out the window and drawing pictures of flowers or animals."

Leon couldn't believe it. He had so longed for his daughter in the dreary dank prison for those long painful years, and he would have loved a crayon drawing from his daughter.

"My brothers were killed and my mother turned her rage towards me. I left soon after and I was on my way to a relative's house. I stopped in the village you found me in, when it was attacked."

She shuddered, the memories of that attack still fresh in her mind. Leon gently put his arm around her.

"I'm sure Father Abel has mentioned my daughter, Missa to you?"

Sasha nodded her head, she knew a little about Missa but not much.

"The last time i saw my daughter she couldn't have been more than 3 years old. I never saw her after that- I spent the remaining years in prison doomed to serve a life sentence for the crimes I had committed. Father Abel found me there a few years after I had been sentenced and worked it out where with each mission I aided him in- 20 years were taken off my life sentence. That is how I came to know Abel, Tres, Hugue and the other members of our team who are not all dead. "

Leon fell silent a moment as the memories flooded his mind. Taking a deep breath he continued.

"I received a letter a year ago that said my Missa was dead. When we found you... I guess at first, I saw Missa when I looked at you, the daughter i was never able to hold and protect, I now could. I say 'at first' because it is different now."

Sasha hung her head, of course if was different now... no one ever cared about her fo very long, she would never be accepted so she might as well just get use to it. She hung her head. Leon looked at her and gently tilted her head back up to meet his face.

"It is different now because I know you are not Missa. Nothing will ever replace my daughter and I will always regret not being able to do the things I wanted to do for her. But now...I have another daughter in you..." his voice trailed off as he looked into her eyes, hoping she would understand what he was trying to say. "That is, if you will think of me as kind of a father figure?" Leon trailed off.

He was sure Sasha would think he was some sort of pervert who rescued strange women, helped them during their transformation to a Methuselah and seduced them by asking them to think of him as their father. He wanted to bang his head against a tree. His little speech sounded so good in his head but once he got it out of his mouth, he could have happily asked Tres to shoot him' and knowing the damn android, he would. He met Sasha's eyes and saw tears in them. Oh man, now he did it. Sasha looked at Leon in wonderment. He was serious… he really wanted her around and he wanted to protect her. He didn't think she was worthless or stupid or any of the cruel names her family had called her. He truly cared for her and already thought about her as a daughter.

She hugged him tightly and whispered, "Thank you, Leon."

Leon hugged her back gently and smiled as he put his arm around her and they started walking back to the small cabin, hoping and praying that Hugue had calmed down some.