Emily draped a blanket over the sleeping Mimi. The dancer had gotten so wound up over Roger's disappearance, she'd overtired herself and fell asleep on the couch. And Nana's ramblings hadn't helped improve things, either. Emily gave out a deep sigh, feeling a fresh wave of exasperation toward the elderly Asian woman. Why did she have to start up with that nonsense when they were already worried enough?
Flashback
"Kevin," Nana whispered. "Please tell me you didn't just say what I thought you'd said."
"Is there a problem?" Officer Kurtz asked.
"You can't mean you haven't figured out what's going on!" Nana cried urgently. "The wounds on the neck! Being drained of blood! And of course the fact he died while unloading crates from Romania! Don't you realize that's the heart of vampire country?!"
"Wait," Maureen frowned in confusion. "Are you saying you think a vampire killed that longshoreman?"
"Oh, please," Emily groaned. "We don't have time for this horse bunk right now."
"It's not horse bunk," Nana insisted. "I don't understand why you refuse to believe…."
"Nana, I haven't believed in your omens, superstitions, and stories since the one you told me when I was ten, about the gremlins that made off with my Yogi Berra autographed baseball, remember?"
"Well, they did," Nana muttered.
"I'm sorry, Nana," Officer Kurtz pulled his hat onto his head. "But I'm afraid that blaming the death on vampires won't be seen as valid at the station, not without concrete proof." The cop sent an apologetic frown towards Mimi. "Mrs. Davis, if Mr. Davis hasn't contacted you by tomorrow morning, please give me a call and I'll do whatever I can. Until then, it'll have to be up to you."
"Thanks anyway," Mimi whispered as Officer Kurtz left.
"We'd better continue looking for Roger, too," Collins decided. After Maureen had returned Rodolfo to Mimi, she left with Collins and Joanne to start searching the city for their friend. Seconds later, Nana headed to the door as well.
"I'll be heading back home," she announced. "You may not believe me, Emily, but I know there's a vampire out there right now. I'll need to gather some of my protective charms."
"Fine. Whatever you say, Nana," Emily groaned, taking a seat next to Mimi, rubbing the Latina's back in an attempt to comfort her. Once Nana had left, Penny got up from the metal table, with Rupert and Jerry following her.
"Mimi?" Penny began. "I'm sure Roger's fine, and that he'll come home safe."
"Yeah, she's right," Jerry agreed confidently. "He's Roger, isn't he?" The smallest of smiles appeared on Mimi's face, showing her gratitude for the children's attempts at assuring her.
"Thanks, you three," Emily copied Mimi's tiny smile. "Why don't you head upstairs? I'm sure you have homework that needs to be done. You're all in the same math class, after all." The children obediently headed upstairs as Mimi tightened her hold on Rodolfo.
"Emily?" She began softly. "What if… what if Nana's right? Roger could be out there with some vampire running around."
"Mimi, trust me," Emily insisted. "There aren't any vampires. They're just stories. Don't let Nana's stories upset you. There's never anything too them."
"But what about that chupacabra we saw on Mark's film from our trip to Lake Austin Spa Resort in Texas? Didn't Nana have stories about them, too?"
"Hey, we have no proof that was a chupacabra. Mimi, come on. You're just upsetting yourself even more. We'll find Roger soon, I know it. And he'll be fine."
"Maybe," Mimi agreed reluctantly, a tear falling down her cheek. "I just can't get rid of this feeling that something terrible happened to him."
End Flashback
Emily sighed heavily again before deciding to check up on Rodolfo, who had been placed in his crib hours before, leaving Mimi to sleep on the couch with Maya jumping up to curl up at her owner's side. Penny was already asleep upstairs with Rupert and Jerry camped out on a spare mattress. Peering into the crib, Emily found Rodolfo asleep as well.
"Looks like I'm the only one still up," Emily chuckled, reaching in to lightly ruffle Rodolfo's patch of hair. "Can't help envying you, Rodolfo. You're too young to understand what's going on right now. You have no idea your daddy's missing, or how worried your mommy and the rest of us are."
At that moment, Emily heard the door open. Hoping for good news, she stepped out of Roger and Mimi's room to find Mark standing by the door, pulling off his scarf and matching beret with a crestfallen expression on his face.
"No sign of him?" Emily asked, already knowing the answer.
"No. I can't stand this, Emily. This isn't like Roger," Mark muttered, collapsing onto a nearby chair. "He wouldn't just disappear like this and not tell anyone. Something must have happened to him."
"I'm worried, too, Mark," Emily replied, taking a seat next to him, giving him a small hug. "But we need to remember. Roger's tough. I'm sure that, whatever trouble he might have gotten into, he'll manage to get out of it. He wouldn't just give up. Not with Mimi and Rodolfo waiting for him."
"But… what if he's de…?"
"Shhh! Please, don't upset Mimi any more then she already is!" Emily ordered softly, glancing over at the sleeping form on the couch. "Poor girl wore herself out worrying." Mark looked over at Mimi, feeling a fresh wave of sympathy for her. Despite being asleep, Mimi's forehead was still clenched, and she looked terribly in distress. Mark had never seen her this tense, not even when she was awake.
As if she sensed they were looking at her, Mimi shifted and woke up. The moment she noticed Mark had come back, she was up in a sitting position.
"Mark! Please tell me you found him!" she begged. Mark lowered his eyes before replying.
"I'm sorry, Mimi. There's just no sign of him anywhere."
"Then where is he?" Mimi cried urgently, her frantic tears returning. "I need him! He can't be gone!" Within seconds, Emily joined Mimi on the couch to wrap her in a comforting hug and provide a shoulder for her to cry on. For a few painful moments, Mimi's sobs were the only sound in the Condo, apart from the rain splattering onto the window. But then, a sudden, threatening hiss was heard. Maya was staring over at the window, her fur standing on end, slowly backing away while hissing at some unseen danger.
"What's wrong with her?" Mark wondered out loud. Almost immediately after this had been said, a powerful gust of wind blew the window wide open, bringing in a wave of rain water. The power of the wind knocked over the table lamp, which shattered on the floor, throwing the room into near darkness. After checking to see if Emily and Mimi were okay, Mark turned to shut the window. However, he stopped at the sight of the figure crouching on the ground near the open window, partially obscured by the shadows. As Mark watched, the figure rose to full height, an act that made the filmmaker take a cautious step forward. He'd know that silhouette anywhere.
"Emily? Turn on the kitchen light," Mark called over his shoulder, not taking his eyes off of the intruder. In the quiet that followed, he heard Emily make her way to the kitchen as Mimi came up to his side, also staring at the figure in shadows. A second later, the kitchen light came on, revealing the identity of the stranger. Mimi instantly let out a strangled gasp.
"Roger!" she cried, running up to hug him in relief. "Oh, Roger! Baby! Where were you?!" However, to everyone's surprise, Roger reached out and grabbed Mimi's wrists roughly as she got near, and held her arms firmly over her head. Mimi looked straight up at Roger's face in hurt and confusion. But those emotions were quickly replaced by sudden fear at the sight of the red eyes that were looking back at her coldly.
"Roger, what are you doing?!" Mark cried in alarm.
"My name," the reply came in a cold snarl, "is Crimson." Mimi flinched at the sound of the unfeeling tone to her lover's voice. But her trepidation skyrocketed when her eyes fell on the twin fangs that filled his mouth.
"Oh, God!" Mimi moaned in shock. "Nana! She was right about what killed the longshoreman! And the vampire...it got Roger, too!" Immediately, Crimson tightened his grasp on Mimi's wrists, bringing his face very close to hers, making it possible for the dancer to smell the blood on his breath.
"Roger, let her go!" Mark yelled. "It's us, remember? We're your friends! Don't do this." Crimson ignored Mark's words, pinning Mimi against the wall instead, his fangs bared.
"Roger, please," Mimi begged. "Please, stop."
"Roger is dead," Crimson hissed. "I am Crimson." Before Crimson could move, Mark, on pure instinct, charged forward and latched himself onto his tainted friend's back, attempting to put him in a head lock. The unexpected attack successfully drew Crimson's attention away from Mimi, but it had now shifted over to Mark instead. The filmmaker had always known Roger could always outmuscle him, but being a vampire seemed to amplify the musician's strength. With little effort, Crimson had peeled Mark off his back, and easily threw him hard against the wall.
"Mark!" In an instant, Emily was at his side, holding him protectively and staring up at Crimson in alarm.
"Emily, what are you doing?" Mark spoke urgently, clutching her arm to try and pry her off. "Get out of here, now!"
"Not without you," Emily replied flatly, tightening her hold on Mark. Crimson was now moving toward them, with the clear intention of feeding on them both, the red eyes showing no trace of mercy. But when he was an inch away from the Mark and Emily, Mimi's voice suddenly cried out.
"Roger, please forgive me for this!" she yelled, stepping in between her infected husband and her friends. In a rapid motion, she raised her hand and slapped him hard in the face. The sound of the slap seemed to echo through the room, revealing it as the kind of slap that you should really feel. But Crimson didn't even bat an eye at the slap. Instead, he glared coldly down at Mimi, and before anyone could do anything, he'd advanced at her.
As Mimi tried to back away, she tripped over the lamp that had fallen earlier and fell to the ground. In a flash, Crimson was hovering over her, his hands pinning her arms to the ground brutally. A small whimper escaped from Mimi's throat, which tensed up as Crimson opened his mouth, exposing his fangs. Fighting back the hopeless tears that threatened to fall, Mimi squeezed her eyes shut, trying to prepare for the sharp pain of the fangs piercing her neck, and forcing herself to remember Roger the way he had been before, his smile, his laugh, his loving green eyes, how he'd hold her in his strong arms when she'd had a nightmare while softly singing to her and whispering words of love into her ear….
As Mimi focused on those thoughts, she suddenly realized that it had been almost half a minute, and she still hadn't felt the fangs pierce her skin. She risked opening an eye a tiny crack. What she saw made both of her eyes fly open in surprise. Crimson was still hovering over her, but his face was no longer cruel and hard. Instead, it looked as if he was in tormented pain. His brow was furrowed, and his eyes were completely anguished. Now that she was aware of it, she could even feel him shaking.
"Roger?" Mimi asked timidly, hardly daring to believe what she was seeing.
"Muh….Meeee… Mim…Mimi…." Roger's voice was rough and gravelly, and made him sound close to tears. "N…no….Won't….can't… do…this."
"Roger!" Mimi cried in shock as he managed to release his hold on her arms.
"Lo…love…you…Mimi." Roger forced the words out. "Can't….can't…hurt… you." As everyone stared in surprise, Roger backed away, clutching his head in pain as he fought the internal battle. After a moment, he let out a terrible cry and collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily. Hesitating only briefly, Mimi slowly approached Roger and crouched down at his side. When she placed a cautious hand on his back, Roger's head shot up. Mimi drew back slightly, but quickly got a hold of herself when she took note of his eyes. They were still the vampiric red, but this time, they were anything but cold and hard.
"Mimi," Roger whispered.
"I'm here, Roger." Mimi gave a small smile. Roger stared at her intently for a moment before giving a small shutter, raising a finger to touch the fangs that still remained in his mouth. Immediately, he gave a sudden sob.
"No," Roger choked, turning to look at everyone in turn. "What… what was I…? I could have… I was really gonna…" Realizing what he was trying to say, Mimi gathered Roger to her, cradling his head in her arms.
"It's okay," she comforted. "It doesn't matter now."
"Yes, it does!" Roger choked through the guilt-induced tears that were now falling down his cheeks. "I wanted to…I could have…Oh, Meems!" Mimi held Roger closer as he broke down even further. It wasn't long before Mark and Emily had joined her in embracing their friend.
Not too long ago, their main concern was locating Roger. But now they were faced with a new series of problems. The utmost of these was if there was some way they could return Roger to normal. But for now, that didn't matter. For the moment, he was back and safe, for the most part. For the moment, nothing else was important.