~Chapter 20: One Hell of A Battle~

Zoey P.O.V.

I sidestepped as Ichiru tried to take off my entire arm. My face was still in shock that he was even alive! Its been ten years since then. I already knew talking to him would be useless until that woman was dead.

One of things I noticed was that he was trained really well in battle. He also looked stronger since he used to be sick all the time. Another thing is that he was still human, which meant he hasn't been bit not once yet.

Meanwhile, my family and several other vampires from other royal families were trying to kill Shizuka. She was using two swords to defend and attack with. All she did was grin evilly even as she was injured several times.

I just had to worry about my little brother. My gun and his sword had clashed several times over the next several minutes. He pushed me to the ground and tried to deliver a fatal blow but it missed because I moved my head to the left just in time.

"Ichiru!" I yelled at him. "She's making you do this! She nearly slaughtered all of us! Fight for control!"

Something registered in his eyes for a second but then it was gone. I grabbed his arm and threw him through a tree. He needed to learn that he was not about to win this battle.

I went over to him as he was slumped on the ground with a few twigs on him. He made a weird noise and said, "Wha- what's going on?" he asked confused as he got up, turned around to see me and gasped.

"Z..Zero? Is it really you?" He asked with disbelief as I nodded. Its been so long and I was surprised when he suddenly hugged me in relief. I hugged back too and then let go as he stepped back. "That women has been controlling me all this time!" He blurted out as he rubbed a big bump on the back of his head.

"I guess you got hit in the head so hard it brought you back to normal." I said as I thought about it. Was it really that easy? I was still wary about it.

"Ichiru, we have bigger issues to worry about." I pointed to the still ongoing battle between Shizuka and everyone else. "The girl in the purple dress has been taken over by that bitch and we have to save her."

"I see, I'll join in the fight then. She needs a good ass kicking right Zero?" He chuckled as he readied his sword and ran out into battle. He seemed to have more to say but that could wait till after this b.s. was over.

Zoey P.O.V.

Jeez was Shizuka more stronger than before. She must have been building up strength. We all had told the other vampires our plan not to injure her to the point where she would die.

We were in charge and they followed the commands but she wasn't making it easy. Suddenly i seen Ichiru burst on to the scene as he grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back and flipped her onto her back.

Zero was next to join in. He looked at us and gave a node of approval for Ichiru. He seemed to be back to normal I guess, I hope it would last forever.

"What! Ichiru you little pest, you are supposed to be serving me!"

"Too bad! Its time for you to go to hell!" We all joined in working in teams trying to bring her down. She was holding her left arm because it was broken. Painfully, she popped it back in place.

"I see, so its just me now huh? This is gonna be the best challenge yet!" She laughed. Her brows raised as she got an idea of some sort. "I have acquired all that i needed in this state."

Then she tore a deep gash in her side as she feel to the ground and we all were suddenly pushed back by unimaginable power. Shizuka now stood on the side of Krystal's labored breathing body. What the hell is this women up to?

Everyone was tense as she just glared at Krystal with so much hatred and then turned to look at us. She picked her up by her wrist and we could see that she was barely conscious.

"This is the girl that supposed to become the Immortal? We shall see about that!" Shizuka's face turned twisted as she threw Krystal into the air and slammed her on the ground.

In that instant everyone reacted and ran quickly to get to her. Damn, she was gonna kill her. Dad and another older gentlemen got behind Shizuka and they dove in for the kill. But she blinked and they were deflected by a invisible shield. We all tried various attack patterns to break it but it wouldn't let up. Zero and Ichiru came up with the plan for attacking it at the same time. We did but it still stood. And she was beating Krystal's poor self to death.

She had nothing to defend herself with, but at least she was trying to dodge. She wasn't running away either, knowing that it was pointless. I could see the intense worry in Zero's eyes as we tried in vain to close down that damn barrier.

Kyrstal was on the ground and bleeding heavily. "You know what? I'm not scared of you Shizuka, you can do what you want to me in this protective barrier, but how long can it last if I did this?" Krystal immediately jumped on Shizuka and they both fell to the ground. She was trying to claw out Shizuka's eyes or do something to make the barrier fall.

She kicked Shizuka into the water fountain and held her head down there as long as she could, which gave way to the barrier and let us in. Zero grabbed Krystal and brought her as far as he could before Shizuka could slaughter her.

Everyone was kicking her butt and she was on the ground unable to stand anymore. She death glared us all as her last defense which was her fan was broken.

"You're dead now you cruel women! This is for everything and everyone you have hurt in your whole life!" Zero's dad had unleashed the final blow and it was heading right toward her, but she did something unexpected.

I saw her look at Krystal and when she blinked, she was holding Krystal as shield taking the full blown force of the attack. It was so powerful that the blast went through both of them. All we heard was their loud agonizing screams as we were all blinded.

After that area was pretty much destroyed we found Krystal's body near the fountain, unmoving She had lost her everything she had on including the mask and shoes. Zero was the first to get to her, pain, sorrow and fear in his eyes as he held her close to him. I was crying too as I scanned the area for any sign of that bastard of a women. I didn't feel her presence at all, not anywhere on this planet. The Vampire Council came and took her dusty remains away. They saluted us for a job well done and would talk to us later.

The others left and it was just me and the family. We stood behind Zero as he started to shake uncontrollably unable to contain his grief. No one said a word for several minutes.

Then we heard it, a small but almost strong beating sound. Above us a green light illuminated the sky as it came down and greeted Krystal. It went around her body once before it settled on the spot on the side of her right shoulder. It formed a black symbol of three swirls with four small dots going around the shoulder to look like a tattoo bracelet.

Next, her eyes popped open and she sucked in some much needed air for her lungs.

Krystal P.O.V.

I felt something wet hit my face a few times as I began to register what was going on around me. I thought I died, I had seen heaven and it was wonderful. I was still kinda pissed because I was used as a damn shield but hey at least she's dead.

I looked up to see Zero crying over me. I lifted one hand up gently to wiped his remaining tears away as I smiled at him. I felt cold as a strong wind rushed past us. I looked down to see down I had absolutely nothing on! My face was on fire and I hoped that no one else was staring at me. I could see that Zero was blushing madly too. Luckily someone was kind enough to pass me their coat which was King Kiryu, and I nodded in thanks.

Once I had that secured, I stood up with Zero's help. Everyone gave me a warm welcome back smile and I returned it. Jeez my body as kicking my butt and I did not want to even take a step. Yes, the damage had been repaired when that warm green light showed up but-"

"Holy crap! I think I just earned the symbol of courage!" I said finally realizing what just occurred and glancing at the cool tattoo. I wonder if I could do anything with it?

"I believe it was because of you being brave enough to risk your life to take on Shizuka that you have earned it. But rest assured the others aren't going to be that simple. It'll be a great journey of experience for you Krystal." Mrs. Kiryu said.

I nodded but then stopped as I back up in fear. I blinked a few times but it didn't go away. All I saw was a world bathed in blood and me grinning on a pile of my family and friends as they all lay dead before me. My bloodied hands went to my hips and my reflection whispered to me, "Just two more to go, I'll be waiting."

Then everything went back to normal as I heard Zero calling my name. He was standing in front of me shaking my shoulders gently. "Huh? Oh! Sorry about that I guessed I zoned out for a second there." I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment.

Everyone looked worried, so I said, "I'm okay guys, just tired is all. I just need to rest okay, and then we can-" I swear I had never coughed so much before in my life. I fell to the ground on my hands and knees trying to gain control of it. More and more blood was rushed and thrown out of my mouth. I made such a medium sized puddle that when I was finally able to open my eyes and look at it, my horrible reflection was there.

This time "she" just stared at me and snapped her fingers and I felt a jolt of electricity shoot through my body. I bit my lip against crying out loud. I ignored the other me as I stood up and began to walk away. Everyone was asking me questions but I couldn't make them out. All I could could hear and see was the other me laughing her head off and the people I loved falling to ground in defeat.

It scared me and I began to cry. Is that what I'm going to become? Or is it just this fear keeping me from reaching my goals?

"Krystal!" Zoey called out. She led me back to the group as I tried to stop my tears. "What's wrong?" She asked worriedly.

"I..." I began but couldn't get the rest out as I looked at everyone's worried faces, my world spun and I fell to ground as I blacked out.