Here is chapter whatever, so read it, review, and get on with your life :p And I'm sorry for the late update ^_^; For the past few days it's been tough to get online to update cuz everyone else is on for ten hours straight.... But for the rest of the week, there will be an update of at least one story every day at the morning, and tomorrow's will be Dark Sanctuary. The only day I can't update is Saturday morning cuz I'll be gone for most of the day but then Sunday there will be an update (unless the stupid thing is being hogged again...) So enjoy this week of updates and possibly two new one-shots...

Red Rose

Chapter 15

Tommy sat in the living room with Takuya and the others, his face streaming with tears. He had stayed with his mother until the ambulance had shown up, then set off to find Nana. After nearly an hour of searching, he had given up and returned to Takuya's house.

"I can't find her anywhere," he said miserably. "I've looked everywhere and she's just gone."

"What exactly happened?" Takuya asked, trying to comfort the distraught boy.

Tommy wiped his face, only for more tears to dribble down. "My stepfather brought me to my old house, and beat me up a bit. Then he dragged out my mother, who looked like she was on the verge of death. That was when Nana showed up."

"Did he hurt her, too?" Zoe asked, her voice laced with concern.

"He knocked her around a bit, but he didn't hurt her too seriously. Then he grabbed a knife and went to go stab us. Before he could, Nana released her vectors and killed him," he told them. "She cut his head off."

Kouichi raised an eyebrow. "She actually killed him? I didn't think she had it in her...."

"Yeah, I guess she would've rather have killed him before he killed us. But she ran off and was upset with herself. And now I can't find her..." His voice cracked slightly, and Zoe handed him a glass of water.

"Drink this," she said softly. "And try to calm down. We'll find her."

Kouji sighed. "Well, that bastard deserved to die after everything he's done to you. Nana will realize that and come to her senses soon enough."

Zoe shook her head. "No, we have to find her as soon as possible. She doesn't know that there are other Dicloniuses out there, unless she's sensed them by now. They may not be after her, but I don't doubt that they will hurt her for information."

Takuya rose, pulling Tommy up with him. "Well then, it's settled. We're going out to find Nana and we won't stop until we do."

"Yeah, we should split up into pairs just in case we find her and she's in trouble," Kouichi said.

"Alright, Kouji and Kouichi can go together," Zoe began. "And Takuya will go with you, Tommy."

Takuya frowned. "What about you?"

"I'm going alone on this one," she said simply. "I'm the one who will most likely find her, so therefore, I should be by myself if those other Dicloniuses are around."

"But then we should stay with you," Takuya argued. "I mean, if you're the one who will find her, then wouldn't it make sense if we just stick together?"

"No, because there is no guarantee that I will," she explained. "My sensors only work on occasion, and it would be stupid for all of us to stay together if they don't work. We'll find her quicker if we just go with the original plan."

Takuya groaned. "I don't want you out there alone."

Zoe gave him a half-smile. "Takuya, don't worry so much about me. I'm not going to die that easily, partially disabled vectors or not. Trust me, I can take care of myself."

"She's right, Takuya," Kouji pointed out. "If you want, she can have Kouichi's cell phone to hang on to. That way she can call my phone or yours and she can call us if she's having any problems."

"Why my cell phone?" Kouichi asked, sulking a bit. "Why not yours?"

Kouji rolled his eyes. "Because mine is brand new. If Zoe gets into some sort of struggle, it's better if your phone is broken instead of mine."

"Bastard," the older twin grumbled, but gave Zoe the cell phone nonetheless. "Takuya's and Kouji's numbers are in it, Zoe. Call us the second you find her, if you do. Or if you're in trouble."

Zoe nodded. "Same to you guys. Call me if you find her and I'll get there as quickly as possible."

Takuya let out a defeated sigh. "Please be careful...."

"I will," she replied with a smile.

She leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on his lips, then pulled away.

"Come on, we better get going," Tommy said nervously. "And after we find her, I'm going to take a bus to the hospital to see how my mother is."

"Did you want to go now and we can just look for Nana?" Kouichi asked.

Tommy vehemently shook his head. "No. Nana comes before my mother nowadays. I'm finding Nana first."

"Okay, then. Let's go," Takuya said.

Twenty minutes later

Zoe continued to wander down the street, worry written all over her face.

Where could she be? She thought to herself. She couldn't have gone too far and she doesn't understand the concept of trains or buses, so she wouldn't have boarded either of them....

She hadn't heard back from the guys yet, nor had she called them in return. They agreed to call only if Nana was found, rather than calling constantly to keep asking whether or not they had found the girl.

As she walked down the road, she tried to think as hard as she could. Zoe hadn't sensed Nana, or the other Dicloniuses for that matter. She could only hope that she found her before the enemies did.

"Nana, where are you?" She quietly asked herself aloud.

She suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, her emerald eyes darkening. There was a familiar presense nearby, as well as the same strange aura from earlier. Nana was close by, but so were the others like them.

"Shit," she muttered, breaking off into a sprint.

Zoe could still sense Nana a bit, but it soon became hazy and unclear, much like a television with poor reception. She knew the general whereabouts of the girl, but not the actual spot itself.

"Nana!" She called out, hoping to hear a response. "Nana, where are you?"

The blond was not given a reply, and she soon came up to a cemetary. She paused, feeling her stomach churn slightly. Before her was the same cemetary that she and Nana had first fought in. The headstones they had destroyed had been replaced by now, but she could still picture the ruined chunks of marble surrounding them. For some reason, though, she had a feeling that Nana was in there.

Zoe rushed through amongst the headstones, scanning her eyes in every direction.

"Nana?" She called out. "Are you here?"

There was still no answer, but by now, Zoe's sensors had stopped working completely. She could no longer sense Nana, nor the other Dicloniuses.

"Nana?" She called out, worried that she had come to the wrong place.

"Go away!" A tiny voice shouted. "Just leave me alone!"

The voice, which undeniably belonged to Nana, came from the large, marble temple in the cemetary. The temple was located on top of long set of concrete steps, and it was the same spot where she had found Takuya and Courtney after she had escaped from Professor Kakuzawa.

Zoe sighed in relief, rushing up the steps as fast as she could. When she reached the top, she saw the younger girl huddled against a broken concrete bench. Her legs were drawn up to her chest and she was hugging them, tears were pouring down her face. Quiet sobs shook her body and Zoe felt a tug at her heart.

She sank down beside Nana, her face sympathetic. For about three minutes they sat side by side, neither one of them saying a word.

"Please...just go away," Nana finally managed. "I want to be alone right now."

Zoe understood how she felt and reluctantly stood back up. "If that is what you wish."

She began to walk away, only to feel a small hand roughly grab hers.

"Wait," Nana choked out. "I...I want you to stay with me, actually."

Zoe smiled and sat back down next to her, though she was feeling apprehensive. The other Dicloniuses could be coming, she thought to herself. But maybe not...maybe they don't sense us....

"I just....," Nana began, snapping Zoe back to reality. "I can't believe that I...did that...."

"Tommy told us what happened," the blond replied. "As much as it hurts, you did the right thing."

Nana looked up at her with a mixture of surprise, horror, and anger. "I did the right thing by killing him?"

"No, you did the right thing by protecting both yourself and Tommy. Kiyoto would've killed both of you if you hadn't done anything," Zoe gently explained.

"But....I could've just gotten the knife away from him," Nana said sadly. "I could've just thrown him into a wall and the two of us could've run away."

Zoe shook her head. "It wouldn't have been so simple. If you had just run, Tommy's mother would've been left alone with that man. He could've woken up and finished her off. Besides, chances are he would've gone out again to try to kill Tommy for good."

Nana looked down, sniffling as she wiped her face. "I...I guess you're right..."

Zoe hesitated, then pulled the girl into a hug. "It's hard to deal with taking someone's life. Believe me, I have nightmares every day about what I've done. But yours was completely excusable and understandable."

"Well, some of yours were too," Nana replied softly, welcoming the hug.

"No, most of them were out of hatred," the older girl told her. "If I could take back everything I did, I would. But it's too late now and instead of pondering on the past, I can only look forward to the future."

Nana looked up at her and managed as smile. "I suppose you're right. I mean, if I hadn't done it, Tommy and I would've died, right?"

"Most likely," Zoe replied. "Even if it hadn't been right away, he would've finished the two of you off within a few hours. Tommy called an ambulance for his mother, then went to go look for you."

"He's really worried about me, isn't he?" Nana asked sheepishly.

Zoe nodded. "Oh, he's a nervous wreck. But he's not mad at you for taking off like that. He's just worried about you. So, on that note, let's get you back home."

She stood up and pulled the purple-haired girl to her feet. Nana smoothed her skirt out, then fixed one of her ribbons. Just as she did, both of them jerked their heads in the direction of the entrance of the cemetary.

"Shit," Zoe hissed, dragging Nana onto the floor of the temple. "Keep quiet."

Nana glanced at her with fear, her heart pounding. Zoe's emerald eyes narrowed and she could vaguely make out two voices.

"...she's here....is the other one...."

"What the fuck....expect us to....while we're....Can't do anything....right now. Need to....out of sight.....

"...be patient...just need see them....keep quiet before I....a tree...

Zoe slowly crawled backwards towards the other end of the temple, trying to stay as close to the ground as possible. Nana did the same, and she was tempted to ask Zoe what was going on. However, the grim look on the blond's face told her to just remain silent. Luckily, the back of the temple had a set of steps as well, which would lead them to yet another entrance to the cemetary.

Zoe could sense the other two beings drawing closer, slowly making their way through the rows of headstones. From what she could hear, it was a teenage girl and a young man.

Dammit, I wonder if that's them, she thought to herself. However, she didn't want to stick around long enough to find out. She continued to cautiously make her way back to the set of steps, Nana following suit. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally made it to the top of the steps. To her horror, she could hear the two people walking towards the front set. The temple was between two walls, so Zoe was grateful that the approaching figures would not be able to cut through and go around the temple itself. She crawled down the first few steps, then suddenly turned and ran down the rest as fast as she could where Nana would still manage to keep up.

"Run!" She whisper-yelled to the girl. "I'll explain later! Just run!"

Nana nodded and the girls sprinted out through the back entrance of the cemetary, just as the mysterious pair had made their way to the top. They kept running until they had reached the center of town, completely out of breath.

"I think....we lost them," Zoe huffed, her chest on fire.

Nana nodded, continuing to pant as she leaned on Zoe for support. "Who were they?"

"Not sure," she replied. "It could've been the other Dicloniuses, but I don't know for sure. I couldn't sense them. Could you?"

"No, I didn't sense anyone," Nana told her. "So it must've just been a couple of random people walking through."

Zoe sighed, somewhat relieved. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

The blond pulled Kouichi's cell phone from her jacket pocket, her fingers shaking. She managed to call Takuya's phone, and then waited as patiently as she could for it to ring.

"Hello, Zoe?" Takuya asked after the second ring. "Did you find her?"

"Yeah, she's with me," she replied, her eyes scanning their surroundings. "We're in the center of town near the game shop. Where are you?"

"About five minutes away," he told her, excitement in his voice. "Just stay there and wait for Tommy and me to show up. I'll call Kouji, okay?"

Zoe nodded, not caring that he couldn't see it. "Alright. Try to get here as quickly as possible. Bye."

"Bye," he said, then hung up.

The blond put the phone away, then glanced at Nana tiredly. "They're coming. We need to wait here for them."

"Oh, I hope Tommy's not mad at me..." the younger girl said worriedly.

"Trust me, he won't be," Zoe replied. "If anything, he'll just be happy that you're safe."

Seven minutes previous

Masaki walked towards the cemetary, his pace brisk yet relaxed. Kanae rushed to keep up, cursing at his longer strides.

"Slow down, dammit! My legs aren't as long as yours," she hissed.

The male Diclonius glanced back at her, indifferent. "I don't think so..."

"Prick," Kanae muttered.

Masaki ignored her and continued to make his way towards the entrance. "She's in there. And she's not alone. Probably with that other Diclonius Kakuzawa told us about."

"Good to know," the girl replied sarcastically.

They walked through the entrance, and Masaki's narrowed eyes slowly looked from one area to the next. Kanae shuffled her foot carelessly, kicking up a pebble.

"Why are we just standing here?" She asked, bored.

"Because I'm trying to figure out where they are exactly," he said in a low voice.

The pink-haired girl rolled her eyes. "This is stupid..... How do you even know she's here anyway? You didn't actually see her enter."

"Because I sense her," Masaki replied icily. "I know she's here, and so is the other one."

"What the fuck do you expect us to do while we're here anyway? We can't do anything about it right now. We need to stay out of sight, remember?" She mocked.

Masaki scowled at her, somewhat annoyed. "Just be patient. We just need to see them for a few minutes. Now keep quiet before I throw you into a tree."

"Oh, fuck you," Kanae grumbled.

After a moment, he nodded towards the stone temple. "That way."

He led her over to the temple, a smile twitching at the corner of his mouth. She was so close, he could practically feel her....

"Up the steps," he whispered.

Kanae sighed, but didn't argue as she sulked up after him. Their footsteps were hardly audible, but Masaki's smile faltered a bit. He suddenly heard the sounds of other footsteps running down a set of steps nearby.

"There must be a back set," he growled, angrily rushing up.

"Oh, what the fuck..." Kanae tood off after him, taking two steps at a time.

By the time they had reached the top, the temple was completely empty. Masaki looked around, his lips thin with rage. There was no sign of Zoe, nor the girl she may have been with.

"They're close by," he said quietly. "They went out through the back entrance and towards the center of town."

"Oh, well. Looks like we'll just have to try again tomorrow." Kanae smirked and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Better luck next time."

"No, we still have plenty of time before we need to head back," Masaki told her. "It's only five. We have until six to get back and the walk back to the facility is only thirty minutes."

Kanae groaned. "But I don't want to. Can't we just fucking go now?"

"Fine, you head back by yourself. I'm going after Zoe."

"Okay, okay. I'll go with you," she muttered. "Damn, you don't have to cop me an attitude."

The young man simply walked past her, his navy eyes almost black.

Good, they found Nana. Well, Zoe did cuz the others are useless...

The others: Hey! It's not our fault we dont have a GPS system in our heads!

me: Excuses, excuses. Anyway, Zoe and Nana got away from the cemetary, but are about to be followed. And as I said before, since Zoe can only sense them every now and again because of her condition, she doesnt know how close by they are. But why couldn't Nana sense them? And what's going to happen next? Stay tuned for the next chapter and find out. Cuz I sure as hell don't know what will happen ^_^;