A/N: OK, so I'm back from my trip, which means Shadow and I can start working on this again… This is a bit we wrote before, but we decided to keep you in suspense for a while….And yes, I will probably update frequently until we get writes block…again so, enjoy this chapter guys!!!)

Once they were on board the Shroud, Raven lowered herself into a seat, dropping the dreaded stilettos on the seat next to her. Nero took the seat across the aisle from her. They sat in silence until the Shroud had taken off, Nero sitting with a smile on his face.
"So Natalya." Nero looked into her eyes, a strange and unnerving feeling.
"What?" She raised an eyebrow and leant back into her seat, making sure Nero was way out of her reach.
"At this party,"
"What?" Raven got to her feet.
"Everyone, is expected to, well, they're expected to dance." Raven immediately tried to think of every way she could kill Nero. In the end, she spat out a series iof death threats in Russian. She took a deep breath and sat down.
"You waited until after take off before telling me."
"I figured you might try to escape." Raven rolled her eyes and shrugged.
"I promised, remember?" Nero smiled evilly.

They sat in silence for quite a long time, until the pilot called down that they

were to land in fifteen minutes.

"I'm going to go and talk to the pilot," said Nero. "You might want to change your shoes."

Raven sighed, pulling off her combat boots and putting the stilettos back on. She could feel the plane slowing down, beginning its landing procedures. In just a few short minutes she would have to face the entire GLOVE ruling council in a dress and stilettos. She was never going to hear the end of that day. Ever. She knew that for sure.

Stepping out of the plane, Raven gripped Nero's arm perhaps tighter than was necessary. They had landed on a private runway behind the main hall, but that was nothing to be surprised about. Landing a plane like the Shroud in a public airport would attract way too much of the wrong kind of attention. Attention meaning Law Enforcement Agencies. Bad News.
"Are you sure about this Max?" Raven whispered as they entered an ancient gray castle, hidden somewhere in the English countryside where, typically, it was raining. It was not heavy rain, but it was coming thick and fast, so that soon, Raven's hair was damp. She brushed a lock of wet hair away from her face. "I mean, really sure?"
"It's too late to do anything else." Nero responded, gently reassuring Raven.
"Max!" Raven was suddenly gripped by fear. They had entered a grand and very old looking ballroom filled with what seemed to be every single member of the GLOVE ruling council. And they were all staring at them as they entered.
Of course Raven had to choose that exact moment to trip. She still couldn't walk properly in stilettos, and Nero's arm was the only thing keeping her from falling on the floor. However, that did not prevent what happened next. In a panic, Raven turned to head to the back corner of the room, out of sight, when the damp heel of her shoe slipped on the slippery ballroom floor. She started to fall backwards, her head very nearly hitting the wall, when Nero caught her. The members of the GLOVE ruling council began to whisper.
"It's about time..."

"Always knew this would happen one day..."
"I figure it's been happening since the day they met..."
"Come on Natalya," thankfully Nero seemed to have had the same idea about the corner as Raven had. He held her hand gently and led her over, stopping only to talk to Darkdoom.
"Well," Darkdoom could barely contain his smile. "It's a surprise to see you Natalya. I knew you'd be here, but I didn't think I'd be seeing you." He smiled and nodded knowingly. He turned to Nero.
"Max, I believe this would be the first time you have a date and I don't."
"The world is coming to an end," Nero joked.
"So Max," Darkdoom continued. "Have you spoken to our, oh so gracious host yet?" Raven frowned. Darkdoom had made it clear in his words that he obviously did not think much of Johnston, which didn't really make sense. As the supreme ruler of GLOVE, he would have been the one approve Johnston to the council.
"As a matter of fact, I haven't. Where is Mr. Johnston? It would be rude not to show up to his own party."
"Oh, he's around here, somewhere." Darkdoom sighed. "I've seen glimpses of him"
"You mean he hasn't spoken to you?" Nero raised an eyebrow. Darkdoom shook his head.
"Or anyone really. It was the biggest piece of gossip before you two walked in the door." Darkdoom smiled grimly.
"Would that, by any chance, be our reclusive host?" Raven nodded in the direction of a tall man with red hair heading towards them. His eyes were fixed on her.
"That would be him." Darkdoom's voice hardened.
"Diabolus Darkdoom." Johnston sauntered over to them. "So glad you could make it. Same to you too of course Dr. Nero." During this entire exchange, he didn't once take his eyes off Raven. "And this must be the infamous Raven, world's deadliest assassin." He raised an eyebrow, and took Ravens free hand.
"That's what they call me," said Raven, suddenly understanding Darkdoom's dislike for the man. She yanked her hand back to her side, and shuffled closer to Nero.
"So I've heard," Johnston's eyes looked Raven up and down. "So I've heard."
"Let's dance, Natalya," Nero somewhat forcefully dragged the all too willing Raven off in the direction of the back corner.
"You couldn't stay and talk to the host for just a few more minutes Nero?" Johnston asked, following them. Darkdoom saw this as his opportunity to get away from the man and quietly slipped away. Johnston stepped towards Raven, and once again grabbed her hand.
"I do believe we've talked enough." Nero stepped in front of Raven. "Perhaps you should go and talk to some of your other guests, from what I hear, they've hardly seen you." Johnston frowned at Nero, the side of his mouth turning up.
"Fair enough doctor." Johnston sneered. Dropping Ravens' hand again. She hurriedly pulled it in and behind her back.
"I'll just have to come by again later." He backed up, craning his neck so he could get one more look at Raven over Nero before turning and heading over to talk to Baron Von Sturm. "Baron," he called. "A moment of your time?"
Nero led Raven over to the dance floor.

"Care to dance?" Raven nodded and, she stepped a little towards Nero. A new song started. Slow, and romantic. Nero gently placed a hand on her shoulder, and one on her waist, and Raven placed a hand on his back and shoulder. Nero smiled encouragingly, and they began dancing. A few times Raven stumbled, but Nero caught her and set her back on her feet. She always smiled, and after every stumble, she held herself just a little closer to Nero. After they had circled the dance floor together twice, Conrad Johnston returned, his eyes still fixed on Raven.
"Doctor Nero, would you be kind enough to let me have a dance with your date?" Nero's eyes narrowed, and Raven moved yet closer to Nero.
"I suppose you may. I wouldn't be rude enough as to refuse our gracious host." Nero turned to Raven. "Raven?" He gently grabbed her hand and offered it to Johnston who grabbed it roughly, and pulled Raven away. Raven turned back to Nero, a pleading look in her eyes. Nero shrugged, and turned his back, disappearing into the crowd. Johnston tightened his grip on Ravens wrist and yanked her further away from Nero. She sighed, and let herself be pulled towards the man. He stopped walking, and placed a hand on Ravens waist. He pulled her close to him, and she tried to pull back, yet, as strong as she was, he was taller, bigger, and therefore, stronger. He grabbed her wrist and placed her hand on his back, and her arm went on his shoulder. They were a strange couple, a 6 foot man, and a fairly short woman, stretching to reach his shoulder. They danced slowly, Raven falling over often, Conrad, grinning like an idiot. After a few songs, Conrad spoke.
"So, Natalya, may I call you Natalya?" Raven narrowed her eyes.
"No you may not call me Natalya." Conrad took a step in surprise.
"So, Raven then. " Conrad looked like he was considering every word. "What kind of stuff do you like doing?" Raven didn't answer, she just prayed with every inch of her existence that Nero was going to come and save her. She looked around for the familiar, tall body and dark suit, but in the crowd, there was no way of telling who was who. Someone tapper her on the shoulder, and she tried to turn around, but Conrad tightened his grip. She twisted, a little bit, and smiled when she saw the familiar figure of Nero. Conrad pulled her back to face him, and he began pulling her away from Nero, but Nero stepped forwards, took Ravens hand from Conrad's shoulder. Conrad opened his mouth to argue, but by the time he had one word out, Raven and Nero were walking into the crowd. Nero and Raven wandered outside, away from the rest of the GLOVE members. The slow dance music that Raven had just finished dancing to could still be heard. As the two of them walked, hand in hand, Raven for the first time, felt a different emotion. She didn't know what it was, and she was still puzzling over it when Nero stopped. He turned to face Raven, with half a smile on his face, half a look of utter concentration. Raven watched his face as he struggled to spit out the words he was looking for.
"I just wanted to thank you for such a beautiful night." Raven smiled.
"You asked me to accompany you, and that's what I did." Nero looked at his feet again, and they kept walking, although Raven got the impression he hadn't said what he really wanted to say. She stopped walking, and turned to face him.
"Max, what is it?" Nero frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"I've known you for long enough to know that you're trying to say something, but you cant. What is it?" Nero sighed.
"Well, I was just thinking, since we're here and you're my date, maybe we should act more like a couple." Raven frowned, and picked up their hands that were still clasped together.
"I mean, maybe we should," Nero looked to his feet and began to mumble.

"…kiss?" Raven froze. "Just for show, I mean. You don't have to if you don't want to." Raven slowly came back into focus.

"I guess we probably should. For show." Nero nodded. Raven let his hand go, and she took a deep breath. She placed her arms over his shoulders, and leant forwards, Nero doing the same. Their foreheads touched, then their noses, and then they kissed. Raven didn't know what to expect, but when she kissed Nero, she lost all self-control. Nero brought one hand up to her cheek and he began gently running his thumb along her scar. Raven curled her arms around the back of his head, forming a cradle. Inside, people stopped and turned to watch the unexpected kiss between Raven and Nero. All the women "ahhed," and the men shot quizzical looks at each other. Darkdoom broke out into spontaneous applause, and others followed. Outside, the clapping brought Raven back to reality. She froze again. She broke away from Nero and looked, to her horror, to see the entire GLOVE ruling council and their partners watching on, and applauding, She turned back to Nero who looked equally shocked. She grabbed his hand, and they raced off towards somewhere away from everyone else. They didn't get far though. Suddenly, there was an explosion. Raven and Nero were thrown to the ground hard, and only Nero got up. He bent down to Raven. She had blood trickling from her nose, and cuts covering her bare shoulders and back from landing on the shattered glass from the window caused by the explosion. The black fabric of her dress was torn in some places, and she had cuts down most of her left side. There was a huge chunk of skin missing from her calf, grazes all up her arm, and more on her cheek. Nero rolled her to her back and gazed down at her. Her shoes lay on the ground a few feet away from her, and as Nero bent to pick them up, he was suddenly surrounded by people holding SMG's leveled at him. Nero smiled evilly, and called out.

"Do you seriously think I'd leave myself without protection?" He was bluffing of course, but they didn't need to know that.
"But your bodyguard is unconscious." Only one mercenary had the guts to reply. Nero smiled again.
"Yes, but, that doesn't mean I'm alone. Look around." All the guards turned around, and Nero ran over to Raven and bundled her up, and ran with her in his arms, back into safety. Nero could hear the footsteps behind him, so he turned into a corridor, and he hid in the shadows, hoping the assailants wouldn't find them. Raven groaned gently in her state of unconsciousness, and Nero placed a hand on her head. She was cold. Really cold. She had lost a lot of blood from her wounds, and she needed medical attention, immediately. Nero looked up at the sound of footsteps. They were heavy, and there was only one pair. Nero had a pretty good idea who was attacking them. He quickly swung around to have his head facing the wall, his back towards the door, and Raven was in a bundle in front of him. The door opened. A light flashed on, and searched systematically around the room. It went over Nero, but then flicked back.
"Ah, Doctor Nero. It seems I have the pleasure of seeing you again." Nero turned around. "And Raven too! What a lovely surprise!"
"What do you want, Johnston?"
"Give me the girl." Nero looked to Raven.
"Look what you've done! She is seriously injured, and all you care about is having her for yourself!" Conrad grinned.
"Give me the girl." He repeated himself.

"And what if I don't?"
"You both become my captives."
"Then so be it." Conrad nodded.
"Then so be it. Guards, take them away." A bunch of guards ran into the room, and roughly grabbing Raven from Nero's arms and throwing her to the floor. She groaned, and began to stir. Nero stepped forwards to help her, but the guards swung a baton to his head and knocked him to the ground. He watched as Raven came to, and she sat up, Conrad coming over to her.
"Look at your pretty face," he said, taking her chin in his hand. "It's all messed up!" Raven turned her head away from him.

"What do you want, Conrad?"
"Leave Nero, come and stay with me."
"I'd never stay with you. You are a despicable man."
"So be it then. Nero and yourself shall remain my prisoners in my castle until you have reconsidered." He took a last look at Raven. "Unless of course you die first that is." Raven narrowed her eyes, and tried to stand up, but she was hit to the ground by a baton. She fell with her head next to Nero's, both of them drifting into unconsciousness. Nero reached out with one hand and took one of Raven's.
"I will never leave you, Natalya." Raven smiled. Conrad snorted and kicked their hands apart before signaling for the guards to take them. Another hit to the head, and they were passed out on the floor, blood spattered around them.