Sympathy for the Diva

by Perentie Fan

What if Diva chose not to make Riku forever hers by killing him? What if he became a new kind of influence on her life? Can someone with a mind so twisted by her past ever be redeemed? Main Pairings: Riku x Diva, Saya x Haji, Kai x Irene

2. Chapter 2: Spider and Fly

Sympathy for the Diva

Disclaimer: Don't own so don't sue

Italics = Thoughts and specially emphasized words.

Let me state beforehand that I do not condone anything resembling rape in the real world, including chemical means of making the other person "cooperative" (not that that is what occurs here). It is one of the worst atrocities one human can inflict on another. What occurs in this story is meant to be seen in the perspective of the very unusual circumstances involved and obviously couldn't happen in real life. It also helps that neither participant is human and thus the rules can be said to be a bit different. As said in the last chapter I want my story to preserve the series' dignity, and hopefully my treatment of Riku's seduction won't destroy any chance of that.

I feel my take on events is at least somewhat within reason. The series itself mostly doesn't address exactly what Diva did with Riku aside from obviously getting him to climax inside her and her remarking on how "nice" he was. Her ability to speak into his mind, the base desire in the blood of chevalier to impregnate the sister of their queen (spoken of by Amshel) and the lack of any signs of struggle on Riku's stone body in the episode itself all lend credence to him possibly not being entirely unwilling in what she did to him. There is also the factor of how getting him to orgasm would be a bit more difficult if he was more terrified than stimulated.

--

Part 2: Spider and Fly

--

Where…where am I? Is this… am I… in heaven?

Those were among the few coherent thoughts that managed to come to Riku's mind as he wavered between consciousness and unconsciousness. It was just what he automatically assumed, for why else would be feeling such bliss after such a harrowing experience? For he knew he had just been through something traumatic, though at the moment he didn't want to actually remember what it was. Nor did he care that he couldn't see. He feared if he opened his eyes this happiness might end.

All he wanted to focus on was the sensations drifting through him, and the echoing melody of a beautiful song that he couldn't quite recognize. He was lying on something, something soft and warm. Whatever it was had wrapped itself around his chest from his back and seemed to be moving slowly about his body in a comforting caress.

He sighed contentedly and breathed in the wonderful aroma surrounding him. The scent was alluring… disarming... captivating… Something seemed familiar about it but he couldn't quite place it…

Where had he sensed this before?

Images flashed in his mind. He was in a tower, held by someone… a girl… she was... doing something to his neck… accompanying the action with an occasional satisfied moan, like one might make when eating something especially delicious.

More images. He was on a boat… someone was there with him… she had him on the floor… kissing him… she was moaning more here and… so was he?

What was going on? Did he even care? While he was growing increasing confused the song had also grown louder in the background.

Wait… a song?

Her song.

Diva… He realized and memories flooded back with that realization.

He should have felt fear, and he did. Yet he also felt the fear fleeing him, as though the voice was filtering it out of his senses and replacing it with a sense of awe and… longing. The notes and tones seemed to carry him as he drifted, and then wrapped around him like warm blankets. It was wonderful, enchanting, yet he couldn't help but notice it also felt so… sad… as though the voice was subconsciously bearing sorrows that could not be named.

There was music as well, music was playing wherever he was. It was then he began to feel her thoughts, her desires. They were directed toward him and seemed to urge him toward consciousness while planting themselves deeply in his mind. He began to feel warmer, almost hot as her voice echoed through him.

I want you Riku…I need you…

Be mine.

In reaction to this the warmth he felt around him was now joined by a heated stirring of his hormones, the voice in his head seeming to urge the fire inside him to flare wildly. At last his eyes opened to reveal him lying in a large, ornate bedroom. The room was low-lit and so he slowly took in his surroundings as his eyes adjusted to the light. He lay upon a bed as ornate as the room but instead of a pillow his head was laid on someone's warm lap. His face turned up to see that same someone was smiling down at him as she slowly stroked his hair and chest, her expression eager.

"You finally woke up, my sweet Rikku."

--

Elsewhere in the depths of the large house, Karl, back in human form, brooded in a dark corner, leaning against a wall. He knew perfectly well what his queen planned to do with the boy he had assisted in taking from the ship. Rational thought was not something Karl had possessed much of in many years so it was no surprise that despite his own inability to give Diva children he was still furious that she was using that puny brat. The boy wasn't worthy of licking Diva's shoes, let alone impregnating her!

Alas, she had chosen him and there was nothing he could do about it. It was yet more proof to him that Diva would never love him, and just like that his formerly devout thoughts toward the queen turned back to the festering resentment and loneliness that ate away at his mind day after day. If Diva would not love him so be it, that was her right. But why take him away from his darling Saya? It did not matter or occur to Karl that Diva would have had to swim to shore with Riku if she let him remain to fight on the ship, all that mattered was that Diva's order had caused his dance with Saya to be cut short.

It could also be said Karl's feelings toward Diva and Riku had not been helped by the errand she had sent him on after getting back here. Having to go out and buy the child new clothes when he was already exhausted from all the flying and fighting he'd done that night just added insult to injury. He may not have needed sleep but rest was still required at times. But then, who was he to expect any consideration from Diva, especially now?

He grinned maniacally as his thoughts meandered. Diva would have her fun as she always did, and once she was tired of the brat he would be the first to volunteer to get rid of him, slowly and painfully, if only to spite the boy for receiving the affection that he never had. Meanwhile he would bide his time and dream of his next encounter with Saya, hopefully the final encounter through which he would find peace for his tortured soul one way or another.

"Ah my beloved Saya… will your brother's fate bring you such grief that we shall be even more the kindred souls than we already are? Oh… I hope that it shall."

--

As Riku's awareness returned he realized he was no longer wearing the suit he had back on the ship. Rather he had been placed in thin, red, silken pajamas. She undressed me?! He realized with a start and a unconscious blush. For her part Diva had changed into some kind of lacy black negligee that while not fully see-through did show off her attractive figure and lack of a bra quite nicely. Considering the situation Riku wondered why he even noticed, the red tint to his face intensifying.

He leaped up with a gasp and stepped back several feet from her. "W-where am I?!" he demanded, trying to sound intimidating despite his blush and trembling voice. He continued to step back, scanning for an exit, wondering if he could make it to the door or window without being stopped. "Why am I here?!"

Diva merely smiled at him, slowly rising from the bed and walking toward him, slowly, rhythmically swaying her hips in a way that Rikku found hard not to stare at. "Silly boy… You're with me."

Her form seemed to vanish before his eyes and suddenly she was behind him, her arms wrapping around his chest and her lips to his ear in a playful nip. He felt a shudder go through him that he couldn't help but notice felt better than he thought it should. At least she hadn't brought her fangs out yet. She continued to nibble on his earlobe and whisper. "As for why… Because you are going to be mine Riku. Forever and ever…"

She meant it too. She had spent a good amount of time here with him in her lap and she felt increasingly attached to the boy with every passing second. Already her earlier idea to simply take what she needed from him, then take him body and soul by killing him, seemed woefully shortsighted. Why do that when she could have this charming, tasty, incredibly cute little chevalier all to herself for as long as she wanted? Plus taking him here would be so much more special than doing it on that noisy old ship.

Here she didn't have to worry about lack of time and was thus able to set up a night worthy of her fondest dreams. Romantic lighting, beautiful, sensual music playing in the background to help the mood, and a soft bed with plenty of room for the two of them to play on. The only thing that could have made it better might have been if her sister's severed head was lying in a corner, vacantly watching her sister achieve the happiness she so deserved. Or maybe if there was a pool filled with blood nearby for her and her soon-to-be lover to bathe in afterwards.

Even lacking those things she was giddy with excitement as she considered various ways she could now play with her Riku. It went without saying that she would take a little time to properly seduce and toy with him first, though she was still intent above all else on having him before the night was done. And it was his first time after all, so she couldn't play with him for too long. I might break him she noted to herself mischievously.

Riku knew he should by all rights be scared out of his wits, much as he was earlier on the ship, and he certainly felt some fear. But just as when Diva had kissed him there, he now felt an odd but nice fog in his head, along with a sense of belonging and attraction, to Diva. How was that possible?! It made no sense! And yet it was there and it made his blood rush and his heartbeat quicken.

"My-my clothes?" he sputtered, largely at a loss as to how to respond to the insane vampire as she turned him around in her embrace to face her.

"Oh, that suit?" Diva asked casually, all the while not allowing him to pull back or look away from her eyes as she caressed his cheek, sending more pleasant shivers through him. "Remember on the ship? I got a little excited and ripped it, so I had it put away until it could get fixed. I had Karl go out and buy you those pajamas and some other clothes, I hope they fit right. If they don't I can get you some more, but that can wait until later," she continued, ending with a lilting, playful tone in his ear.

Riku was dumbfounded at her reply. What kind of kidnapper cared about ripped clothes? And who the heck was Karl?! He then recalled more clearly just what had happened between him and Diva on the ship that had resulted in those ripped clothes. Was she really planning on continuing that here?

Diva had loosened her grip enough for Riku to slip out of her grasp, but the look in her eyes was so entrancing he could only slowly stumble backwards. And for every step he took she took one, always keeping the front of her body pressing against his and hemming his movements with her arms, the slight smile never leaving her. "W-what do you mean by 'later?'" he sputtered, hoping he wasn't digging his own grave by asking and only now noticing she had been slowly guiding him back toward the bed as they spoke.

As a reply Diva gave him a particularly wry grin before she pushed the smaller boy back onto the bed with a playful, if forceful, shove, then climbed on after him. Riku back-peddled away from her to the headboard, staring at her in panic. Diva however simply sat there at the edge of the bed, her body bathed in moonlight from the windows. Her eyes seemed glazed over now, Riku unable to read anything in them except intense desire. She raised one hand, a few quick motions allowing her hair (which had still been pinned up) to freely flow down to its full length. To Riku the locks looked so very soft and beautiful. He swallowed nervously, his own eyes wide.

That's right little boy… you like looking at me… don't you?

A smile tugged at her ruby lips and she shut her eyes as though pondering something pleasant or amusing.

I'm going to make you so hot your blood will boil...

She then opened them slightly, giving him an enticing look as she proceeded to slowly slide the straps of her nightgown off her shoulders, one side at a time, revealing herself bit by bit. Down it went, past her pert breasts and smooth belly to her hips, her creamy, pale skin making her seem to shine in the moonlight. With a few more, slow, sensuous movements she had slipped the clothing off completely and let it fall to the floor behind her. And although his blush intensified, Riku found himself unable to look away from the sultry display, much to Diva's pleasure. The effect was just as arousing for him as she had hoped it would be.

She now bent forward and started toward him, looking oddly like a cat preparing to pounce on a mouse. "Do you see Riku? We can play all we want now without anyone interrupting us."

"P-play?" he sputtered dumbly.

"Yes… we're going to have lots of fun," her voice had taken on an even stronger, sexier edge.

He still couldn't look away. It was somehow entrancing the way she slowly stalked toward him, crawling on all fours, a hungry look in her eyes. His eyes still locked on her, he scooted back the little distance left until he reached the headboard of the bed. She still approached and even as his mind screamed for him to try to run again he couldn't find it in him to do so. Diva was the enemy! She had hurt Kai and Saya! So why did he feel so… so eager and excited?

Diva seemed to find his rapidly-changing expressions of fear, shock and confusion to be quite amusing as she laughed a bit before reaching him, grasping his wrists and meeting his eyes.

She cocked her head to the side, looking a bit perplexed. "Are you shy? That's so cute!" she giggled. "It's okay though, I promise, I won't bite this time," she assured him, the hungry look in her eyes not wavering.

Riku was dumbfounded as he came under touch. When had he become a puppet? Why was he not resisting as she pulled him forward until his head lay on a pillow, crawled on top of him and straddled his hips? Finally forcing his body to move he threw his hands up to her shoulders in a vain attempt to push her back.

"W-wait!"

"I'm done waiting," she said simply. In fact Diva inwardly laughed at the very idea. It had taken her the better part of two hundred years to find Riku. She would get what she wanted this night and no later. He just needed the proper encouragement. First she smoothly moved his hands aside, and before he could try to push her back cupped his face again and brought her own face close, giving him a sensuous lick to the edge of his lips then sliding it back over her own in a savoring gesture.

Noticing how his breathing sped up at the sight and touch she now met his lips with her own and in a passionate display of energy rolled around with him on the bed a bit, continuing to kiss the now slightly dizzy boy. They came to a stop about the same place they started, with her still on top, her arms effectively pinning his hands at his sides to keep him from attempting to push away as she sought to wear down his resistance with her kisses.

"B-but W-w-why?" he stuttered whenever her lips gave him an opening. He had to do something to distract her! Struggling under her much stronger grasp was proving futile. "Why are you doing this?!" he managed to blurt out all at once as she paused to look at him.

"Because I want you, I want what you can give me," she replied simply, her breath heavy with lust. "You're the one I've waited for Riku, the one I have chosen to be my bridegroom, the one I will have my babies with!" she finished with genuine joy and excitement in her voice.

"B-babies?!" Riku's mind reeled. He couldn't be a father! Okay, biologically he could but that didn't make him ready!

She ignored his exclamation and closed her eyes as though concentrating and began to maneuver her hips more properly over him. The thin covering that was his silk pajamas meant Rikku was spared little of the resulting sensations.

"Where are you…" she seemed to ask herself more than him as she ground her hips into his, trying to match them up correctly without looking, her lips curled in a seductive grin. "Oh! There you are!" Her goal was sounded by a gasp of pleasure from them both and she immediately began to tease his arousal through the pajamas by rubbing herself perfectly against it. On reflex Riku arched into her and moaned slightly, briefly overcome by the sensation.

Again he tried to wiggle free, albeit only halfheartedly. Diva smirked at this. He was hooked, she only had to reel him in. She leaned to the side a bit, her lips brushing his ear. "Come on Riku… this is going to be fun… I promise… so just relax, and I'll take good care of you." she urged in a husky whisper, sending pleasant shivers through his body. Riku felt her words as much in his mind as he heard them through his ears. Feelings and urges, with Diva's voice, with his voice, with no voice at all, all assailed him, assuring that what was happening was good, very good. The urges strengthened and surged anew as she started another passionate kiss.

Riku continued to struggle and squirm under her but soon realized that aside from being futile it was having a rather negative effect. That being that his attempts to escape made his body rub up against Diva's, stimulating both of them and making Diva ever more excited. The heat, the energy between them was becoming overwhelming.

For Diva this had indeed all been wonderfully fun. Toying with Riku's hormones, watching, feeling his reactions to her, it was like having her own marionette with a brain. His small size made her feel all the more in control and his warm little body was perfect for cuddling with. She could do this all day. Indeed, she probably would eventually. However, there was something more pressing to get from him. As arousing as she herself was finding the experience, she needed him to be equally aroused. He was responding to her but it just wasn't quite enough yet. Now was the time to take this up a level.

She smiled wryly at his blushing face and proceeded to quickly pull the pajamas off, first unbuttoning his shirt, teasing his chest with her fingers as she did so. She then moved off of him a bit and went for his pants, any movement by Riku only seeming to make it easier for her to slip the silk garments off of him and throw them behind her. As she did so she also managed to pull the bed sheets out from under them before pulling them back enough to cover some of their lower bodies. It just made everything cozier.

She held him down on the bed again and gave an appreciative glance down at his arousal. Yes, he was definitely responding to her. She just needed to tease him a bit more and he'd be ready. The smirk never leaving her lips she held the boy back on the bed with one hand and reached down to firmly grab his arousal with the other.

"Hold on a second! Don't- ah! You- we- can't do thi- ahhhm-ah!" If it was possible Riku was blushing even more than before but his plea was only answered by Diva giving his manhood a few eager pumps with her right hand, Riku losing control of his body as he arched back and his ability to speak coherently left him.

Diva was certainly no stranger to this appendage, though she still found it to be a curious aspect of male anatomy. It seemed so vulnerable having it hang out like that. She was no stranger to Riku's in particular, having played with him a bit after undressing him while he was unconscious. Her twisted mind had, as it was want to do, wandered into violent territory during her examination as she started to wonder just what would happen if she tore the appendage off. Would it grow back, or would he need a replacement?

Luckily for Riku's manhood that particular line of thought had ended quickly as Diva's instincts managed to get through to her unstable mind that Riku needed to be intact for this. Now harming the organ was the farthest thing from her thoughts as she concentrated on making sure Riku would be properly 'prepped' for the real thing. Despite all his resistance he was rapidly giving in.

Riku felt like his consciousness was being engulfed in a misty fog of pleasure. It was hard to think, let alone think straight, Diva was making him feel things he had rarely felt before and to a degree that he'd never even imagined. A short time later he managed to open his eyes as the ecstasy ebbed a bit and saw Diva staring at him with a look that somehow left little doubt about what she was about to do. He strained to move away but found it even more useless than before. Her lips curved into a lustful smile as she aligned her body with his, the bed sheet covering their lower ends and seeming to conspire with Diva to hold him where he was.

Its time Riku… become one with me… climax inside me, be my lover!

Closing her eyes she gyrated her torso as she guided him into her, enjoying the way he gasped and moaned, although she soon was humming her own body's delight. She went slowly, as maddening as it was for her, knowing it would be equally maddening for Riku. Having fully taken him into her, she began to move her hips rhythmically against his, bending back down to kiss him as they both continued to lose themselves in the pleasure.

Any chance Riku had of escaping was gone now and he knew it. Now he was using what little self control he still possessed to keep himself from releasing… well… what Diva seemed to want him to release. This was all wrong. He couldn't do this with her, no matter how good it felt, he'd be betraying everyone! Wouldn't he? If only he could manage to think straight for one moment then maybe- but oh she felt just so good.

"This isn't right-" he panted and pled to no avail, "I can't, we can't- ah! Diva- ah! Di-ahhh!" he moaned as the pleasure took him near the edge yet again and Diva renewed her kisses.

Its more than right Riku… this is destiny… this is me, choosing my destiny and you, you lucky little boy, you get to play a part. Diva spoke into his mind, continuing in her relentless stimulation, both of them breathing hard now, their pleasure growing. With their lips otherwise engaged, their minds warred as Diva chipped away bit by bit at Riku's self control.

Come on Riku… you know what I want… give it to me…

I… I can't!

You can.

But I… I-

And you will....

More and more Riku felt his chiropteran side urge him to agree. He was feeling so confused, and Diva felt so warm, so soft and smooth… she smelled so nice… she was just so… so amazing… his tenuous hold on his passions was slipping with every thought of her and every second that passed. He found himself putting his arms around her, clumsily kissing her neck and shoulders or rubbing his face in her breasts and sucking on them whenever her lips left his, excitement filling him at the pleasured sounds she made in return.

Riku had tried valiantly, he really had, but at this point it was useless. Diva was stronger and carried him along in her movements, and it felt too good to keep resisting once she managed to get him into a heavy rhythm with her. He was steadily giving in as they continued to grind against each other, Diva kissing him nearly senseless before sending his body into further convulsions with adept applications of her lips and teeth to his ears and neck.

"Diva! Ah!" His head arched back under her attentions and the rest of him followed suit, the stimulation of thrusting into the folds of her womanhood overwhelming him. "What are you… what are you… doing- to-ahh!" Diva silenced his disjointed questions, bending to kiss him, pulling him out of her slightly then ramming herself in again, loving how it made him quake under her and thrust back.

Yet again Diva was finding herself awed by how wonderful this boy was to play with. He even smelled cute! The way he said her name amid his pleasured gasps, the way he blushed as he tried to return her caresses and kisses, the way she could dominate him and get him to willingly submit, it was all a nirvana for someone like Diva. By now she had managed to get him moaning as they kissed, sounds that in turn caused an even stronger reaction within her, her thoughts and words continuing to urge him on, her voice calm and commanding between her heavy breaths and aroused coos.

"Riku…"

Yes... that's right.

"More."

You know you want to.

"Faster."

Give into me.

"Harder."

Obey me.

"Don't stop."

Pleasure me.

"Don't stop!"

Make love to me.

He moaned into her lips as they rocked on the bed together, utterly consumed by her seduction. "Diva… Di- va… ah!"

At this sensation and sound she smirked in the kiss. Damn it he was just too adorable for words! And the feel of him inside her… She was so aroused, so wet and hot, she couldn't hold back any longer, she needed the release. She moaned and purred ever louder as she gave in. She cried out in pleasure, her inner walls contracting and pulsing, her body contorting, thrusting, and taking him along for the ride, all the while goading him on. As she continued to cum she wildly raked her nails over his skin, her mouth loosing moans and cries that now seemed to hold a nearly animalistic quality. She could lose herself in this. It all felt so damned good.

That was it. It was just too much stimulation for Riku's hormone-saturated body to bare. There was not just the sensation of her orgasming body upon him, the way she moaned now was somehow even more arousing to his ears. Coherent thought proceeded to completely abandon him and before he knew it he was thrusting and jerking into her, filling her with what she so desired. Most of his mind seemed to shut down to concentrate on the sensations and actions, her inner muscles' contractions and her bucking motions acting together to draw more and more of his essence out of him and into her while making the orgasm last and last. His consciousness seemed to submerge in a sea of bliss and for a time his every fear and worry about the situation vanished, leaving only the incredible pleasure. In addition, unknown to him, while their eyes remained largely shut while in the throws of coitus, when they did open Diva's were revealed to be her radiant blue feline form, while Riku's had shifted to the crimson shade that characterized Saya.

For Diva the achievement of getting Riku to peak had a two-fold reward. Firstly she was at long last gaining the special thing she needed to insure her future family. Secondly, it turned out the feeling of his hot fluids shooting through her in such a stimulated state was enough to cause her to climax again and again. She held onto the boy tightly, her body thrashing and spasming with his, cooing, gasping, moaning in pleasure as she rode out the best orgasm she had ever experienced. Her toes curled, her limbs thrashed, her breasts hardened. She was left in such a state of satiated rapture that her senses became utterly blind to everything except the boy in her arms and the warmth he was filling her with that powered a rush, a pleasure beyond any she had known before. At this point Diva became certain that the little chevalier had been created and existed solely to please her.

In the massive rush of hormones and emotions time lost all meaning for the two, nevertheless the nirvana inevitably came to an end. They lay together like this for a bit, breathing rapidly, their glazed eyes making neither seem very aware of their surroundings. Coming out of her own haze, Diva kissed Riku once more before she drew him out of herself and laid out on her back beside him. Her eyes remained glassy as the blue glow in them faded, and she giggled, holding herself as she squirmed about a bit, reveling in the pleasure that was still radiating in her.

"Mhmm… Riku… that was amazing," She bent to his ear, thanking him in a breathy tone and quick nibble that sent a tingle all over his body. She felt a strange compulsion to show her gratitude in some stronger way. He had after all given her his essence. If only she could put her essence in him the way he had into her. Yet the closest thing she had was her blood…

It would be almost perfect really, a gift fitting as thanks for him being so nice for her. Plus she would then be able to make certain no other woman would ever have him. It was in fact the strongest reason she had had to kill him. Yet her body argued with her mind's twisted logic, it wanted more of this feeling with the living Riku, it was almost addicting. Those thoughts reminded her of her earlier decision to take him here and the ecstasy she had just experienced was at last enough to truly silence her homicidal tendencies.

Riku would live and be her pleasure toy. Yes, he would live for a long, long time. So long as he made her happy she would not allow anyone or anything to harm him. He would not die without her consent. And if she felt she really needed to show her gratitude, letting him live here as her own pampered consort should be adequate reward for now. He would be her special companion, distinct from her chevalier, and forever hers.

As for Riku, with the flood of hormones receding he was left to consider the reality of what had just happened. It was more than sobering for the fairly innocent boy. Either he had just been raped or he had willingly let Diva take his virginity. He was honestly unsure what option was more terrible to consider. He felt victimized, though not nearly as much as he felt he should have, and was ashamed that he had actually found any enjoyment in the experience, but couldn't deny it either.

This feeling of enjoyment was made even stranger in that Diva had done a bit of damage to him in the throes of passion. He knew that she had scratched his back up a fair bit while clinging to him and was also pretty sure her frenzied movements had pulled or sprained some of his muscles. Yet the pleasure had been so intense that he had barely noticed the pain, which even now was rapidly vanishing as his body healed the minor injuries in seconds.

More than anything though he was confused and overwhelmed. His emotions catching up with his thoughts, Riku's eyes, the red glow in them now faded away, began to moisten and he sniffled even as he continued to pant from his earlier exertions. He was still largely in shock over his actions though and thus spoke in an oddly calm tone as he expressed his thoughts. "How did I… how could I… what did you do to me? I've never done anything like this before… how did I even know how?"

Diva laid back again, her eyes shut and still basking in the afterglow. "As a chevalier you know how to do all sorts of things, including how to please your queen and be pleased as well." She stretched, erotically arching her back and moaning contentedly.

As for Riku, the magnitude of what he had just done was slowly dawning on him, his building tears threatening to break into outright sobs at any moment. What have I… What have I done? No… this can't be happening, this can't be happening!

She sighed in pleasure. "Mmm… though no one has ever given me that much pleasure before. You are everything I hoped you'd be. A perfect little chevalier lover who I can make helpless beneath me whenever I want." Indeed, that was an important selling point for Diva and she considered again how much she liked being the dominant one in the lovemaking. Riku was even smaller than her, and always would be as he would never age. Yes, for that reason and so many others he suited her perfectly.

Diva seemed to at last take notice of how upset he was and responded with a moderately tender look, leaning over him and lightly licking at his tears before placing her hands on his cheeks, deft caresses of her fingers proceeding down in a massage. "Poor boy," she cooed, feeling unusually sympathetic. "Were you scared? All of this has happened so quickly. However, these passions are just part of being a chiropteran, so why not enjoy them?"

Riku didn't answer her, but with a bit of effort Diva pressed her mind into his enough to get a sense of what he was thinking about. There she found the problem, the poor little chevalier was so wrapped up in the meaningless rules of human society that it was keeping him from enjoying his primal nature. Plus he was in her opinion just plain thinking too much.

"You don't need to worry, my little lover," she stared into his eyes, their noses touching, "no one will be ashamed of you here for following your instincts. To me it is the ultimate thrill, to let go of everything and exist from one moment to the next, to let your body do what it knows how to do, what it wants to do, even if your head doesn't. Why think about anything if it makes you sad? If you have pleasure to focus on, then take it as a chance to ignore everything else."

It was honestly strange how much sense her words seemed to make to him and he couldn't help but feel enraptured at the attention. "You are truly mine now, so don't cry Riku," she continued to sooth him, caressing his face, her voice somehow like sweet music to his ears. "I did all this because I wanted you. It was fun chasing you, and even more fun catching you. You were so nice to give me what I needed, and great pleasure as well. So now you will smile that sweet smile of yours just for me, because I'm going to take very good care of you, forever and ever."

"For-forever?" he repeated, trying to shake the pleasant haze that was once more claiming his mind under her voice and touch.

Diva nodded and touched her nose to his, looking positively impish. "Things are going to be so much more fun now Riku. You will be my most precious lover, my bedmate and consort. And together… we'll make a family so wonderful that you'll forget all about your old life. Your blood knows it already, knows that you belong here with me. In me. Loving and serving me alone. So just listen to your instincts Riku, and follow them… stay here… with me…"

She proceeded to kiss him, deeply and passionately for several minutes, in a way that Riku found strangely comforting as much as arousing. It was also simply some relief to know that she wasn't planning on killing him any time soon. His thoughts swam as she at last released him and he tried to recall just what he had been upset over. "B-But… Saya- and Kai- will c-come for me," he panted as he tried to catch his breath, not sure why it ended up sounding like he was warning her out of concern rather than threatening her.

Diva smiled at him as though he were spouting naïve nonsense. "I'm sure Saya will try, but she won't ever take you away from me, I'll make sure of it. First she'd have to find us, and that won't be easy. I've hidden from Saya for most of my life after all. Plus, your brother will have things of his own to deal with, now that he is also one of mine."

Riku's eyes widened and he found his thoughts suddenly much clearer. "What did you do to Kai?"

"Made him my chevalier of course. Now when he comes to serve me you two will be able to be together as well," she finished with a sweet smile and held him close to her, his blushing face partially nestled between her shapely breasts.

"Now I know you don't sleep Riku," she purred, "but still, I want to hold you tonight, maybe every night. After all, I can't have you getting silly ideas and trying to wander off."

She yawned and Riku stifled his traitorous thoughts about how cute she sounded doing it, as well as what great pillows her breasts made, trying to focus on the unsettling things he had just learned. Being her personal teddy bear and being confined to the room were one thing but finding out his brother was now Diva's chevalier was another. Of Riku's siblings Kai had had the hardest time dealing with him becoming a chevalier, and Riku feared what toll becoming one himself might take. Yet for now he could do little beyond hoping that Kai would be strong. He hoped the same for himself as he lay skin-to-skin with the girl who had once more turned his whole life upside down and perhaps twisted his mind to her will. How could something feel so wrong and yet so right?

As for Diva, she murmured happily and began to drift off to sleep. "Mmm… Riku… you feel so warm… so much nicer than those… boring stuffed dolls… Amshel keeps… giving me…"

--

"What do you mean we 'CAN'T' go after Riku?!"

David had never seen Saya so angry at him before. The most obvious evidence being that she had never before lit her eyes up against him. That and the way she was gripping her sword left him more than a touch concerned. Haji for his part looked as he always did, stoic and prepared to do whatever Saya wanted whenever she wanted it. That didn't help him feel any better.

Still, he was not a high ranking member of Red Shield for nothing and managed to steel himself against the fear as he replied. "We have no idea where he is being held Saya. To look for him with no information would be pointless. Also the fact that Diva took him alive gives us reason to believe he will be safe for the time being. It's unlikely they would have gone through all this trouble to kidnap him if their purpose was only to kill him. So for now I must ask you to be patient."

Her eyes flared brighter. "Patient?! Do you have any idea what she could be doing to him! You expect me to just wait here until what little is left of your men come up with something?!"

That had been a low blow, made all the worse by how true it had been. Diva had humbled the Red Shield and all of their advanced defenses with terrible ease. David did not hold it against Saya for losing her cool, but that remark did give him reason to voice his own painful truth.

"And if we do find him now just what do you expect you will be able to do?" he began. "It is certainly true that you are the only one capable of stopping Diva, yet from what I have observed you are far from achieving that capability. In both your encounters Diva has overpowered you with ease all on her own. Do you really think you would stand a chance against both her AND her chevaliers?"

The light in Saya's eyes dimmed as her expression turned to one of shame. It was true. She had been able to do next to nothing against Diva, she had even forgotten to put blood on her blade, though if she hadn't forgotten she supposed Diva would never have allowed her stab to succeed. She took a breath and tried to consider just what their situation was.

Things had been very hectic in the hours following Riku's abduction. They had barely managed to grab Kai and escape the ship before it exploded, uselessly sacrificed as Diva was no longer even on the boat. The remaining members of the Red Shield had split up and were laying low in various rented buildings for fear of Diva's chevalier attempting the attack they had initially planned. Joel was in the hospital, receiving treatment for a wound that would likely leave him paralyzed for life. To make matters worse Julia and Collins had yet to report in. For all practical purposes Red Shield had been broken. Then there was Kai, still unconscious and now a chevalier of Diva.

The members of the Schiff who had lived long enough for Saya to restore them stood to the side silently observing the argument, save for Irene who was watching over Kai in a makeshift sick bay nearby. They had all been out patrolling the city for signs of activity that could identify Diva and her chevalier's whereabouts when Diva's impromptu raid had occurred and were unable to arrive in time to do anything to help. They all still wore their typical tattered robes and hoods, out of habit more than necessity, as the sun no longer harmed them. They were also still good for helping make it hard for an enemy to single out any individual in a fight, especially at night, and they disrupted their profiles enough to help them dodge some attacks that would otherwise find their marks.

As the leader of the group of experimental chevaliers, Moses was taking an analytical approach to the night's events and interpreting just what they meant for future conflicts. "It is most unsettling…" he remarked, catching Lulu, Darth, Gudrif and Karmen's attention. "To think that the combined forces of Red Shield, Haji and Saya proved to not be enough to stop Diva from accomplishing what she came to do. Should we ever have the opportunity to face her ourselves, we will need to exercise the utmost caution."

While the other two nodded in silent agreement, the large Darth grumbled, a look of distaste in his expression. "All of that just to take some brat kid chevalier. I don't understand a bit of it."

"Neither do I," Moses replied, "yet it has happened and we owe it to Saya to help her through this in whatever way we can."

"Kai too," the diminutive Lulu pointed out, holding her battle-ax close like a security blanket. "It's only because of him and Irene that we and Saya aren't still trying to kill each other. I hate imagining how upset he'll be when he wakes up." She gave a concerned look toward the room where Kai lay unconscious.

"Irene will be there for him," Gudrif said, trying his hand at thinking positive, "she's good at that kind of… thing… comforting people and all. Besides, he may not like it but the fact is that adding another chevalier to our side gives us more of an advantage against Diva."

"That's assuming we'll be able to trust him after he changes," Karman remarked with a frown.

"Karman!" Lulu scolded him, her expression somehow cute despite her anger and shock. "Don't say things like that! It's rude!"

Karman grumbled and kept his frown, "take it easy… you're as damned defensive of him as Irene." He then crossed his arms and sighed. "It's not like I have anything against the guy, I know we owe him, but the fact remains he's Diva's chevalier now. How do you know he's still the Kai you think he is?"

"Kai wouldn't betray us!" Lulu cried back.

Karman looked her in the eye. "Blind trust is foolish Lulu. After all, who would of thought that scientist woman would get in league with Diva?"

"That remains pure speculation!" David snapped, really losing his cool now and revealing he had been listening in. The room went quiet and the air temperature seemed to drop. Everyone essentially knew that if they didn't receive contact soon then it would need to be assumed that Julia and Collins had either betrayed them, gotten captured, or been killed. That didn't make it any easier to accept.

Karman, still unused to working alongside them, had been shocked at being spoken to like that by a human and was about to give a retort when Moses clapped a hand over his mouth. "And it would be more foolish for you to keep inciting arguments. Calm yourself, remember we are allies, not enemies." Karman glared back at him but relented.

Moses continued, "as for Kai, remember that we were made from Saya's blood, but that did not stop us from trying to kill her. We may not be true chevalier, but I believe Kai will be able to choose for himself just as we have. His blood cannot force him to serve Diva."

He can say that, Saya remarked to herself, but I can't underestimate just what this accursed blood of ours can force someone to do. What I did in Vietnam proved that. But even still… I refuse to believe Kai would ever betray us.

Trying to ease the tension in the room, Lewis extended a comforting hand to Saya's shoulder. "Look, we'll make a plan, you'll see. It's just going to take a bit of time is all." Saya couldn't find it in her to yell at him but didn't nod or look at him in reply, simply hanging her head in sorrow. No words could help right now, no matter how well-intentioned. It was very clear to her now that it would be some time before a rescue of any kind might be attempted.

David sighed, putting a hand to his head in fatigue. He hadn't slept at all during the night and had been up all day previous dealing with Solomon's warning about a planned attack on Red Shield. Yet the attack that had occurred was so different from what he had expected. Not only was it earlier than Solomon had claimed but Diva had come in person. In addition there was only one chevalier with her. It had been enough to largely convince him that Diva's raid had not been related to the attack they had been warned about and indeed Solomon may not have even had knowledge of it.

Of course that left the obvious question of motivation. "Do we have any idea yet why Diva kidnapped him? Saya, I know you're upset but its important you tell us everything. We already spoke with Haji but he deemed it inappropriate to speak on this matter in your place and wished for you to tell us when you were ready.

Saya wasn't sure if she liked it or not, though she was grateful for Haji's concern for her feelings, she still didn't want to talk about the troubling conclusions she had drawn about Diva's abduction of Riku. "She said…" she grimaced at the memory, "she said she would be taking care of him, that he was hers now… like she saw him as some kind of toy or something!"

She sighed and continued. "More than that… she said she wanted to know what it felt like to take something of mine and make it her own. She even acted like she liked Riku, but she could have done that just to spite me," she finished sharply. "Still… it does make me think that you are probably right, that she isn't planning on killing him right away. But that hardly guarantees anything. Diva's insane, there's no telling what little thing might set her off and have her take it out on Riku. He may be a chevalier, but his abilities have barely developed, I know she could still kill him easily if she wanted to, even without using her blood."

"So could this be some crazy extreme version of sibling rivalry?" Lewis asked as he tried to make sense of the situation.

"It very well could be," David replied. "Yet the fact is we know very little about Diva's personal life or what motivates her to do anything. Her psychosis complicates things further as due to it her actions need not necessarily have any rational basis."

Saya nodded absently, her mind elsewhere. She had not voiced all her thoughts concerning the reason for Riku's abduction. She had not mentioned how his shirt had been ripped open and his hair tousled, had not spoken about the look of desire in her sister's eyes when looking at Riku. She knew it was desire, she had seen similar looks from Dr. Julia toward David, from Mao to Kai, and she was pretty sure she had let a few such looks get directed toward Haji (when she was reasonably sure he wouldn't notice of course). Indeed, her link with Diva meant she had literally felt some of that desire.

These were not things she wanted to share, not when nothing could be done about them. All the same, it scared her to think about what that could mean, about what might happen to someone Diva felt such desires for. For all Saya knew to Diva feeling lust meant a one-night stand that ended with her consort drained of blood and their head mounted on a wall.

Still, this fear also reinforced her resolve to take some major steps in the war with her sister, steps she had been too afraid to take until now. Standing from the seat she had been resting in, she bowed slightly to Lewis and David. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to go to my room now. I need time to think on some things. Haji, please come with me."

Haji gave his own slight bow to the Red Shield members and faced her. "As you wish."

--

Amshel sighed, allowing himself a moment to muse on the irony that it was possible to feel so relieved and so displeased at the same time. Relieved that Diva was safe and secure in her room, and displeased that she had not only gone on such a reckless escapade but had brought back a new problem for him to deal with, Saya's chevalier/younger brother and now apparently Diva's chosen bridegroom. Across from him stood his fellow chevalier Solomon, who had just finished recounting the events of earlier in the night.

Solomon was not exactly happy either. Diva and Karl had vanished without a trace only to reappear a few hours later. Neither had yet seen Diva, who had left Karl with explicit orders that while she was in her room "playing" she was not be disturbed for any reason whatsoever. However, Solomon had managed to get Karl to tell him what he knew about what had occurred. He was after all the only one of his brothers who could have a civil conversation with the insane chevalier. Then it fell to him to inform Amshel and attempt to run what damage control he could. At the very least this would cause his elder brother to think even less of Karl than he did already.

Though it did not show on his face, Amshel was indeed angry. Diva's disappearing act had interrupted his meeting with two former Red Shield agents, two scientists whose knowledge of chiropterans could prove very useful to his future plans. He needed their loyalty, at least for now, and failing to meet with them was not a good way to start working with them. That Diva had apparently acted with disregard to his plans for filling the world with chiropteran through artificial means was irritating as well.

He knew Diva wanted children and over the years he had tried every way he knew to impregnate her, every way except using a chevalier of Saya, for Diva had not chosen Haji. Even so, she should have allowed him to plan out this boy's capture. If she had then his prepared assault on Red Shield headquarters might have gone as planned. Instead it had been scrapped as Red Shield had no doubt scattered and gone into hiding, broken but still a potential threat.

Regardless, what was done was done. The real question was what to do now. "Karl should not have been left alone with her," he remarked, barely hiding his disdain, "he has proven once again to be unreliable."

"Are you saying that you would have refused Diva's command big brother?" Solomon asked in an attempt to reason with him without overtly defending Karl.

Amshel frowned. "No, I would have convinced her to not go about it so recklessly. The experiments that began with the Schiff are bearing fruit. It is possible that in time I could have eventually developed a artificial chevalier capable of impregnating her."

Solomon shook his head a bit. "I doubt she would have gone along with any consort chosen by you. Not after all those past attempts ended in failure. With all due respect big brother, I believe Diva had some time ago given up on relying on you to give her a family. She also had become increasingly fixated on that boy, ever since she fed on him at the Zoo. This seems to have been something she prepared and planned for herself."

However, Amshel was not distracted easily as he now returned to his earlier point. "The fact remains her and Karl's actions have complicated things for us, given new variables that must be addressed."

"That much I agree with," Solomon remarked. "And yet, as things are we have no reliable way of telling if Diva's instincts are right. And if she does become pregnant we have no idea how or when the pregnancy will manifest."

"That much can be studied and monitored," Amshel said. "No, my concern lies with that boy. If Diva intends to keep him he could become a severe security risk. More than that, he is an unknown variable whose influence could have unforeseen consequences."

"I am sure James would agree," Solomon replied as a way to not voice that he had no desire himself to harm the boy. "However, it is out of our hands if Diva desires to have him here. The best we can do is monitor his movements and increase security."

Amshel scoffed, "such a bother." He turned away. "Once Diva leaves her room inform her that I wish to speak with her. Perhaps I can yet persuade her to dispose of the boy now that she has gotten what she needs from him." Amshel walked on, resolving that the scenario he had planned for Diva would come to pass. He would allow nothing to interfere with it, let alone this mere boy of a chevalier.

Solomon looked on, not for the first or last time questioning the wisdom of his brother's enigmatic ambitions.

--

Haji was not usually what one would call talkative. Still, he felt he needed to say something as he closed and locked the door, turning to watch Saya stand silently with her back to him. The only light in the room was provided through the windows by the moon, stars and the city around them, but it was enough for the two chiropterans to see by.

"Shall I search for him Saya? My ability to sense the presence of Diva and her chevalier is limited, however I believe I could detect Riku more easily as he is of your blood. It is possible that I could track them down."

Saya turned to him, her face in tears "And then what? You'll only die if you confront them Haji… David is right, neither of us can go against Diva like that. In fact, in all this time we've only ever chased after her and cleaned up the messes she's made. And now… now I just know its too late…"

"You believe that Riku is dead?"

"No… or at least I believe Diva didn't plan on killing him for a while. She's not the kind of person who waits on things like that. Yeah… she doesn't like to wait…" her voice turned to a disgusted tone as she finished.

"I will do as you ask Saya, but if Riku is alive why not search for him?"

"I want to search for him!" she cried back. "I just know it's pointless! If Diva doesn't want to be found then she won't be! Think about it, we've always just tracked her chevaliers because Diva is only ever behind the scenes. I knew it when I saw her take him… I could feel it from her in my mind… I just didn't want to believe it. Diva is going to be lying low for some time. Now that she has Riku she won't want to risk having him taken back… not until she's done with him or until she is forced to make herself seen."

"Saya… what are you sa-"

"Don't make me say it Haji!" Saya now yelled, hot tears travelling down her cheeks. "I saw the way she looked at him! She wants- she wants him! And I think it's because of me, because of what I made him become. I could feel it, she wanted him so badly that unless he's dead or somehow escaped then by now she's already… already…" she couldn't finish her words and broke down into sobs.

Haji held her close, now realizing just what Saya had meant. "Riku has more strength than he realizes… I will not tell you things will be okay, but I truly believe he may not be lost to us."

Her sobs quieted. "It's for that reason… and for so much more… that I have to do this… but first I need to know… I need to know…" she trailed off again before at last continuing. "Why is Diva so much stronger than me? I haven't even been able to scratch her no matter how hard I try. She doesn't even use a sword and yet I'm nothing against her."

Haji was silent and stoic as ever as he considered how best to reply. He knew Saya knew, or at least suspected, the answer, but wanted him to confirm it for her. He ended up going with his typical blunt, yet compassionate method. "It seems likely that Diva's indulgence of her blood lust enables her greater abilities. Since your awakening you have drank blood on only a few occasions."

"But it wasn't always like that…" Saya mused. "Back when it was just us… back when we traveled the world together… I…" she blushed slightly, "I took blood from you whenever I needed it just as you took it from me when you needed it. But now… after what happened in Vietnam, I'm so afraid Haji… I'm afraid to drink your blood or anyone else's. Even back when I did, I still wasn't as strong as Diva or her chevaliers. You've always been stronger, even now when you only drink blood Red Shield provides you. So what else am I missing, just what is wrong with me?"

Haji stared back at her, hesitant to reply. "You will not like the answer."

"Then just tell me and get it over with!" Saya snapped back, only for her face to fall in shame at her outburst. "I'm sorry Haji… I'm not angry with you… I just… I'm so frustrated I…"

She was at a loss for words and so Haji put a finger to her lips to reassure her. "You despise being a chiropteran Saya. You have from the very day you made me your chevalier. Your blood grants you the power to kill Diva but you fight as a human. It could be that your focus on sword techniques along with your distaste for behaving at all like a chiropteran, have caused some of your abilities to atrophy. Diva seems to make frequent, even casual, use of her powers."

"So basically… Diva drinks a lot of blood, uses her powers a lot, and above all enjoys doing it?"

"Yes," Haji replied curtly.

"Then…" Saya's expression wavered, a storm of emotions and thoughts rushing through her, but soon her resolve was set, "I will have to do the same… if I'm to ever get Riku back. I'll have to become more like… Diva" she spat out the words as though they tasted bad. At the same time she was assaulted anew with memories of her rampage in Vietnam. If she did as Haji suggested and got more in touch with her chiropteran side, she would little doubt become stronger, but what if she snapped again? What if indulging her chiropteran lusts ended up making her into something even more terrible than Diva had ever been?

"Saya… you should rest."

"No," she replied sternly. "There's something else I need to do, right now while I still have this resolve. If I don't… I may never be able to, even for Riku."

Her eyes met Haji's and turned crimson as her fangs lengthened. "Your blood Haji. Please, let me take some of it."

Even as she spoke she trembled, already losing some of her nerve as memory after memory of Vietnam flashed through her mind. Haji, however, seemed calm enough for the both of them. He simply gave her a slight nod, not bothered in the least by her request. Indeed, he even seemed relieved.

Saya watched as Haji produced one of his innumerable throwing knives and without the slightest hint of pain cut a slice deep into the palm of his chevalier hand. Her vision began to cloud a deep red as she stared at his blood oozing up from the wound. She felt odd desires stirring within her and without consciously willing it she grabbed his outstretched hand and brought it to her mouth, proceeding to lap at the red liquid as if from a saucer.

At first she thought little of the blood, her embarrassment and apprehension drowning everything else out. But as she tentatively drank from his hand, the strange desires within her became ever more fervent. She felt a bit dazed, her thoughts cloudy and her body heating up as her heart pounded faster and faster. She began to realize just how incredibly good Haji's blood tasted and how pleasurable it was to drink directly from a living source. Her heartbeat quickened and she began to suck at the wound rather than just lap it up. She wanted more, so much more.

It felt as though there was another person inside her, a person who was currently taking over, a person who was far too much like Diva for her liking. Yes… her other self, though she also thought of Diva like this, it referred to Saya's own chiropteran side in this case.

She recalled the fierce efficiency of her other side, the one that Haji's blood had awakened months before, the one that had calmly asked for her sword before cutting the enemy cleanly in two. In Vietnam that had been her as well, albeit in a far more untamed state. Then when she returned there and heard Diva's song she had nearly gone back to that state, slaying an entire room full of young chiropterans but also injuring an ally and violently sucking blood from Haji's neck.

Her other side truly frightened and disgusted her. She hated knowing there was such a primal, savage element to her personality, one that reveled in blood shed and carnal pleasure. So she usually acted as though it did not exist. Refusing to acknowledge it though only seemed to cause further problems. Namely her awareness of her other self allowed her to suppress it even when she went into the red-eyed state, and unfortunately this made her a slower, clumsier, and weaker fighter.

She had never truly merged with her other nature, never fully accepted it. And now that other side wanted nothing more than to have her way with Haji while draining him. No… if anything Diva was her other self. She needed to recognize this side of her for what it was, a true part of herself. How to do so without losing herself in it was the question. It must be possible. After all, when Haji had first awakened her and this side took control she had still acted to protect her loved ones, even if she had done so in an aloof, cold manner.

She now found that Haji's self-inflicted wound had closed up, depriving her of his blood. Frustration and impatience welled within her and she became all the more aware of her seldom-used fangs as she thirsted. What she'd gotten so far felt like nothing but a snack, she needed MORE. To both her own and Haji's surprise she growled a bit at his healed hand. Her still lit crimson eyes met his gentle ones as she felt her thirst, her other side, taking over more and more. She hesitated, panting, her eyes drawn to the large blood supply she could sense coursing through his neck, his warm, savory, mouth-watering blood.

"Haji…" she gasped, frightened and exhilarated. She wanted his blood so badly, but her fear of hurting him was just barely managing to keep her from acting on it.

Haji nodded in understanding and loosened his suit around the neck, then drew her close in his arms, bringing her mouth near it. "Drink from me Saya, it is my duty and honor that you do so."

Saya barely heard his words. Being so near so much of Haji's blood after largely abstaining for so long was maddening. Now she couldn't even hear her own thoughts. There was only the overpowering hunger and the scent of blood. With a sound that seemed far too animalistic to have come from her, Saya practically pounced on Haji's neck and bit into him with her fangs to begin fiercely draining him.

Despite being a good deal taller, Haji was still sent stumbling back from the sheer force of her 'attack.' He leaned against the wall to support them, trying to hold Saya steady as she climbed him, arms flailing for a good grip, legs searching for a bit of traction and all of her rubbing against him as her blood lust overcame her. Finally getting perfect purchase by wrapping her legs and arms around him, she proceeded to suck away at his neck with abandon, biting anew every minute or so to keep the wound open.

Haji had managed to get them into a stable position, one arm around Saya to support her and another braced against the wall he was leaning on, but now he faced the problem of how his own body was reacting to Saya's.

In the past she had never allowed herself to get so 'excited' while feeding and so what he had normally been able to consider merely a fairly intimate and pleasant chore was now feeling incredibly sensual. He fought to keep himself from being aroused and when that failed merely tried to keep Saya from noticing how his breathing had sped up and how tight his pants now were in a certain location.

However, Saya was actually far too engrossed by her own pleasure to take any notice of such details from Haji and merely continued to intermittently utter contented moans as she fed. She not only reveled in his taste but in the feelings of security and warmth from being so close to him.

The pleasure Haji felt was truly unique to chevalier, the pain of Saya's bite rapidly giving way to a sense of ecstasy. He strongly suspected that Saya's (and by extension Diva's) saliva had properties that not only soothed pain but had powerful aphrodisiac effects, both only working on chevalier and thus encouraging them to let a queen feed from them. However, there was such a thing as too much of a good thing and after a couple minutes Haji felt himself growing increasingly light headed. "Saya…" he groaned at last, "enough!"

In an instant the glow faded from Saya's eyes. She gasped in shock from coming out of her frenzied state which in turn caused her to gag on the blood that was still in her throat. Coughing and dizzy from the rush of feelings she semi-collapsed into Haji, who somehow managed to stay standing and hold her in his weakened state. Soon he could hear her quietly crying.

"It was… it was almost like Vietnam… but somehow… somehow I managed to stop this time when I heard your voice… does that mean I can control it?" She felt too ashamed to admit that she had actually found the experience extremely pleasurable, only her fear of hurting Haji or others marring it. Clearly, no queen could be entirely trusted around more 'breakable' people when feeding like this.

"Saya I believe you are more capable of many things than you realize," he replied, his voice betraying some fatigue. "I apologize, normally you would have been able to feed longer. However, I lost a substantial amount of blood and energy from my injuries on the ship. I have not yet had opportunity to replace it. If you will excuse me, I will ask David if any blood is available," with that said he straightened his ruffled suit and turned to leave.

Saya felt a deep sense of guilt well up in her and spoke before he could open the door. "Then perhaps… perhaps my blood would be better for healing you?"

Haji turned to her, appearing somewhat surprised, which meant he was very surprised. "You wish for me to feed from you?"

Saya could feel her face heating up and was hoping Haji couldn't see enough in the dark to tell how much she was blushing. She felt too self-conscious to meet his eyes but held out her right wrist to him. "Just please… make it quick."

"Of course." Haji stepped forward and knelt down on one knee, using his human hand to take hers gently to his mouth. If anyone had been watching they would have thought he was kneeling to kiss her hand as one would with some royalty.

Saya fought to keep herself from trembling as goose bumps spread over her skin. She could feel Haji's warm breath on her hand as he turned her wrist and pressed his mouth to it. She gulped, get a grip Saya! Just a minute ago you were sucking on his neck! Haji doing this is nothing compared to that, and he's done this to you before! Though now that I think about it… I tended to always get a bit flustered when he fed from me…

Noticing her nervousness he stopped and looked up at her. "Saya, I swear I will not harm you, nor will I continue if you do not wish it."

Saya shook her head and tried her best to give him a confidant look. "Its all right Haji, we both need to be as strong as we can be and I trust you. It's myself that I don't trust. Now just do it, I want you to."

Haji looked like he doubted her supposed lack of fear, but went along with her command anyway. Saya felt a brief pinch as his fangs penetrated her wrist, then slowly withdrew. Haji then closed his lips around the area of the bite and with incredible gentleness proceeded to drink.

Saya was amazed by how quickly the pain left her, it was different from the relief her regeneration abilities gave. What's more Haji was not even sucking on the wound. Rather he seemed to let the blood that leaked out of her pool in his mouth to a point where he would then swallow it. This method, though, meant the wound stayed open even shorter than it normally would via a bite and soon he had licked off the last of the blood on her now unmarred skin.

Saya looked at him in confusion as he stood back up. She had actually enjoyed that a fair bit. It had been strangely intimate and comforting to her, even if lacking the passion she had felt earlier. "Haji, why did you stop? I know I said to be quick but it really wasn't so bad so you can have more if you want," she remarked, trying to not sound too eager.

Haji closed his eyes and shook his head. "Your blood is powerful Saya, I do not require much to sate my needs. If I continued to drink, I could risk one of us taking this further than you wish it to go."

'One of us taking it further?' What does he… oh…Saya felt the blush returning and noted that Haji did seem to be breathing a bit more heavily than before. She tried to ignore how aroused she had subconsciously become, succeeding when she remembered her main concern.

Saya looked at him, perplexed. "How did you do it? How did you learn to control the thirst like that?"

"It is more than learning," Haji replied, his breathing still a bit fast as he calmed down, "it is not losing sight of what is important. When I was feeding I thought only about you Saya. I could never knowingly do anything to harm you, and I have no desire to see you upset. You see, although it may act like a monster, the chiropteran in each of us does possess loyalty and knowledge of what is important, the people who are important, just as a human does. Keep in mind what is important to you and you will never harm the innocent or your loved ones when you feed. However, if you feed in a state of fear and rage you risk losing yourself."

"Is that…" she paused, choking back a sob before continuing in a louder, desperate tone "Is that why I killed all those innocent people in Vietnam?! Why I hurt you?! I had no reason to be so enraged back then but I still couldn't stop myself!" Saya cried back. The only answer she could find was that deep inside she was every bit as cruel and monstrous as Diva.

"I will say it is possible that as a queen your chiropteran instincts are harder to control than mine. Even so, I do not believe that is the main reason. Saya, remember you were awakened artificially," Haji replied, his expression becoming more intense.

He almost looked angry. What happened in Vietnam had deeply effected him, indeed it had caused him to retreat emotionally into a shell of his former self. He had felt betrayed that day, by the Red Shield (for performing the injection that caused it all) and by Saya, for he could never forget the way she had glared at him as he begged her to stop, the utter lack of recognition, the feral rage in her eyes. With that look she had seemed more a beast than human. There was no need to forgive her, for he had understood it was not her fault, but the pain remained even now.

None of that changed his feelings though, he still cared for Saya more than anything else and so he spoke further on the matter, even if it meant recalling those painful memories. "Your sleep was interrupted early, and more than that you were given the blood of your chevalier without the chevalier present and via injection instead of by feeding. All of that interfered with the natural processes intended for queens in their hibernation cycles."

He calmed a bit and took her hand. "When you first awaken Saya you are never in a very lucid state. It is important that you be kept alone with a chevalier for a period to acclimate your mind to your awakened state, to feed and be allowed near a warm body. In a way it is fortunate that the trauma of what happened in Vietnam caused you to lose your memories and suppressed your chiropteran side. Had it not, you could have attacked George when you awoke in Okinawa."

"It's still no excuse!" She softened her tone and looked down, seeming to reminisce. "Vietnam proved all the more that I was right to have made that promise with you. I don't deserve to live Haji, its nothing but delusional for me to think otherwise. Which is why it will all end once I end Diva's life. If I can save Riku I will, but first I need to get stronger and I can only think of one way that won't put people in danger. And so I…"

She trailed off and looked away, seeming to stare into space as she considered her words, then finally speaking, trying to disguise her wavering tone. "I… I can't stay here…"

Haji raised an eyebrow. "Saya?"

Saya tightened her fists in resolve, seeming to speak to herself. "I realize now, I've been trying to fight as a human this whole time. I can't do that anymore and Red Shield can't help me in this. As I am I'll get in the way and put them all in more danger."

She turned to him. "Haji, I need to go away from here for awhile. I want you to take me somewhere far away, far from any people, far from anyone I can kill. I need to learn how to control my chiropteran side so I can be as strong as Diva, or stronger."

Haji paused as he digested the information, then nodded solemnly. "If that is your desire, then we can leave whenever you are ready. I know of many such remote locations."

Saya's expression brightened slightly, glad that Haji had no objections. "Of course, we'll stay in contact with Red Shield, and all of us can keep looking for clues about Riku."

"Yes, however supplies will be a problem," Haji replied. "If you are to feed on me for your strength, please realize I will have to feed as well. And if we are isolated, I will not have the blood that Red Shield normally supplies me with."

Saya looked confused. "Haji, what do you mean?"

"I am merely warning you ahead of time that I will likely have to feed from animals on occasion."

Now Saya smiled, glad for the polite gesture. In their past travels Haji had at times had to kill things such as rabbits and medium-sized birds for his own sustenance. In particularly trying times when Haji was too weak to safely provide blood Saya would even feed from such things, but it always made her feel squeamish and she never enjoyed doing it or watching it be done. "It's nothing new Haji… but thank you. And you should be able to…" she really wished she would stop blushing, "um, feed… from me a lot of the time."

Haji nodded, he wasn't smiling but his expression wasn't as grim as before either. "When shall we leave?"

"As soon as we can. Just give me time to pack up a few things and tell the others."

"Are you sure?" Haji asked. "You have not had any rest this night."

Saya gave him a look that indicated her mind was set on this. "I have thirty years to rest. I'll do it then. Besides…" she looked down, appearing ashamed, "I want to go before Kai wakes up. I know it's selfish and cowardly, but I just can't face him right now, not after losing Riku. He'll probably hate me for it, but I just know that he would try to convince me to stay or let him come with us. But he's a chevalier now, and I don't understand myself enough to even begin helping him. We would just hold each other back."

Haji nodded, "I understand."

"There is one other thing Haji."

He looked at her as she continued. "After we leave, when we're training… if I go out of control again, like I did in Vietnam, and you can't snap me out of it… I need you to promise that you'll stop me, even if you have to kill me."

Haji was silent for a moment, masking the various emotions he felt churn in him from the request and in the end chose to ask a practical question about it. "Then what of Diva?"

Saya tensed noticeably. "If I can't learn to control the rage then I will be a greater danger to people than Diva is. I need to know you will stop me Haji, and not the way you tried to in Vietnam. I need you to do more than block or hold me back, you will have to attack me. Back then I couldn't beat Karl on my own, so you would have a chance I think. When I'm in that state all my fighting is instinctual, which means a smart fighter like you would be able to anticipate my movements and get in a clean hit. You told me yourself how much you understood my sword fighting. Once you do get inside my defense, don't hold back. If stabbing me through the torso doesn't snap me out of it, then go for my head. Even a chiropteran dies if its head is taken completely off."

She took a breath, clearly emotionally and physically exhausted. Tears began to form in Saya's eyes again as she clutched the hilt of her sword so tightly one might fear it would break. "I hate this… I hate it all! I hate it so much… what I've done… what I am… and how I'll have to become even more of a monster to end this forever. I have so much blood on my hands… every life I took that day, every life Diva has taken from the day I freed her, they are my responsibility. And I know so many more are going to die before this is over… all because monsters like Diva and I were born into this world."

Haji came close to her, tilting her head back with a hand to her chin to look her in the eye. "Humans can also be monsters. Chiropterans are not the root of all evil Saya, least of all you."

"How can you say that?!" Saya seemed nearly hysterical now. "Humans don't run around like mindless machines slaughtering people because they woke up the wrong way! Humans don't turn their little brothers into something their sister wants to rape! And humans… for all the evil they do they at least are limited by short life spans!"

She babbled on, her words lost as she sobbed into Haji's chest, the events of the night finally catching up to her. It was not long before she had cried herself to sleep.

He carried her to her bed and laid her out on it with utmost care. "I will prepare for our departure," he said softly in her ear. "For now, please take what rest you can." He hoped Saya would not be too hard on herself over this after everything she had said about leaving right away. He also tried to keep his mind off what Saya had earlier remarked, to herself seemingly, as her sobs quieted and shortly before falling asleep.

"Me and Diva… we are the only real chiropterans, the only ones that keep the species going… and we don't deserve to exist."

--

Not being able to sleep but being kept in place by Diva's embrace meant Riku had been given a lot of time to think that night. Never in his young life had he imagined he'd be in a situation like this, naked in bed with a vampire queen who sought him out to get pregnant. Still, he had adjusted to a lot of strange things in recent months. There was the death of his adoptive father and the revelation that nightmarish blood-sucking monsters roamed the world. Then there was leaving home with a secret government agency to fight a secret war, falling off a moving train, discovering his adopted sister was a chiropteran and being turned into one after nearly dying from being fed on by the same girl he was now in bed with. Really he had handled it all quite well.

So his main thoughts had not been bemoaning his current situation but rather his reaction to it. He had been so confused at first and still was, yet one thing had become clear. He could have fought Diva more, he could have cried and screamed, even though he was fearful of how she might have reacted. And in spite of how wrong this whole situation felt, he couldn't deny that he had enjoyed being 'claimed' by Diva, as though his chiropteran side felt it was some great honor.

He should have felt worse about what had happened. It was a horrible crime, a life-shattering violation that should have traumatized his young mind. And yet he did not feel particularly upset. At first he had thought he must have been in some kind of shock. After all, his abduction and all that followed still felt so surreal. Yet by now his head should have cleared enough to think rationally. He thought back to just what had happened, starting with how he had ended up in her arms.

After their initial… activities… She had held him like this throughout the night and yet he wasn't bored, nor did he have any particular desire for her to let go of him. He, or at least some part of him, wanted to be with Diva, and that realization ate away at his conscience more than anything else. He felt sick and dirty for it but it was true all the same. He wanted to see Kai and Saya again, that had not changed, yet he did not want to leave Diva, or rather the thought of never being near her again made him feel strangely empty and sad. There was no rationalization for the attraction, just a natural desire for her in his blood that she had intentionally fueled… what kind of relationship was that? To be controlled like this by lust… It was insane… it was all so insane…

"You've been very quiet Riku," Diva noted, her airborne voice and mental presence inside him merging to break his train of thought.

"I've betrayed her…" he said quietly, too depressed to be surprised that she had woken up. He finally noted the faint light beyond the windows indicating the dawn of a new day.

"My big sister?" she asked in a knowing tone.

He nodded without looking at her. "I… I shouldn't have done that with you… it's crazy… this whole thing is crazy… I shouldn't have done any of this!"

She chortled in amusement and held him closer. "Then why did you?"

Silence followed before he replied in a quiet, shamed voice "Because a part of me… really wanted to… wanted to be with you…" Riku wondered why he was saying all this. Perhaps because after hours of brooding he needed to tell someone, and though she had caused his current crisis Diva was also the only person around to talk to. "I barely know you, you nearly killed me once and you want to kill my sister… and yet I somehow ignored all of that because of a feeling? What kind of person does something like that? Who am I now?"

"Who you always were of course, the cute little boy who was always looking on the bright side, always trying to make people happy and help out," Diva remarked cheerfully in his ear. She felt Riku tense up at her words, clearly he was surprised that she knew him so well given how little time they had spent together. He'd soon learn time only meant so much to a chiropteran. She had come to know Riku quite intimately from their first meeting when she had fed from him, acquiring the ability to take on not just his physical form and mannerisms, but even gaining the understanding necessary to copy his personality. Yes, she knew her new lover quite well.

Normally she didn't take the time to keep or process such knowledge when she fed, but with Riku it was different. He had been so very tasty, and the feelings she found in his mind had been so sweet. Despite everything he was such a happy boy, and Diva reveled in such pleasurable feelings whenever she could. Diva had honestly never fed from someone like him before, someone so full of hope and optimism. The way she'd surprised him even meant she didn't have to deal with the feelings of fear and pain that she usually experienced when feeding from someone unwilling. Such feelings didn't interest her and so she normally blocked them and any other aspects of her victims out, focusing only on the ecstasy of consuming their blood. The lack of those negative feelings was the very thing that prompted her to drain Riku so intimately.

However, knowing and understanding are two different things. Diva knew these sweet, kind aspects of Riku and could speak at length on his personality and how much she liked it. And yet at the same time most of that very personality was an enigma to her. She enjoyed the way it made her feel, but her malnourished mind lacked the knowledge to appreciate what it all meant or apply it in other ways. Riku was kind and full of sympathy for others and Diva loved it, yet she still couldn't comprehend just what precisely those things were or why anyone would want to be like that.

Yet she wanted to keep feeling it, feeling the kindness that seemed to waft from this boy like a sweet aroma. "As for when I ate you up, what can I say?" she giggled, "back then you just looked too tasty to resist. You were a very good meal. Regardless, let's not let a little thing like that mess up what we have now. After all, you're even tastier to me like this," she remarked, playfully tracing a finger down his chest as he blushed and shook a bit. It was then that the look in her eyes grew softer, more sentimental than playful. She leaned forward.

"Riku," she spoke into his ear, "thank you again. You see, this is the first time I've slept like this. With you here, in my arms, it feels so nice, like I'm not so alone anymore…"

"…Alone?" he queried, surprised at the sudden emotion in her voice.

"Yes…" she said as she seemed to reminisce. "I've always been alone. I have men who will lay their lives down if I will it, and I can have any material thing I want, and yet… at night when I lie here I'm still cold, still alone. Like in that awful tower… back when I had no name and the sun was nothing to me but shafts of light in the windows. But last night was different. Last night I held my own little chevalier lover and stayed warm all night long. You filled me with your essence and the darkness cleared a bit, then I woke up to see your big bright eyes. You made me feel so warm inside, in so many ways."

Riku had known the bare details of Diva's sad existence as Joel's imprisoned experiment, but hearing her speak of it from her own lips was an entirely different matter. As she spoke, an image had briefly flashed in his mind of a dark, dank room that reeked of the smell of blood and decay, and of a female figure, horribly gaunt, malnourished and utterly alone. The image had been nothing though compared with the feelings that accompanied it. Confusion, frustration, fear, envy, hunger, rage, despair, loneliness, they hit him so hard and fast that he had gasped in response as though the air had been knocked out of him. Of it all, the sense of hopelessness and despair had been the strongest and worst.

Diva was now peering at him with a renewed interest. "You saw me just now, didn't you Riku? I could feel your blood pulse with mine. You felt my pain as if it were yours? As if for a short time you were there?"

"I-" Riku's voice wavered as he struggled not to break into tears from the overwhelming, mind shattering despair Diva's mind had engulfed him with for the barest of moments. "I don't know. It- I don't understand, you're in my head and I-"

"Shhh," she whispered with a finger to her lips. "I told you that you would be mine and I meant it. I wanted this you see, someone who would comfort me and always be near me, someone who would finally understand. I thought I'd have to kill you to make it happen, but it seems we made it work anyway."

She smiled at his dumbfounded expression. "You may have my sister's blood, but we're part of each other now. In a way, you're alive inside me Riku. We have a link that bonds us, a link I've never had before. I want to explore this, I want to experience everything you can make me feel. With this bond, I think you'll be able to understand me Riku, I think you could learn to really know me. No one has ever really seen me for myself, not Saya or Joel, or Amshel."

He was surprised at that statement, but then thought of something. "But, what about your chevaliers?"

"I made them a part of me, but nothing that was theirs has ever been able to stay inside me." She of course referred to their DNA. "My chevalier and I share a bond but it is not like this one. Because of your age you could always hear my voice Riku, and now that link is so much stronger because your essence went inside me and mixed with my own."

"Besides, they can't treat me the way you can. I can't hold them the way I hold you." Her point was that her chevalier were all taller than her and rather than make her feel safer, she felt uncomfortable to be grasped by them for any length of time, especially in bed. If she felt in control, that is if she had made them do it, as she did when she often leapt off high places to make James catch her, it was different. But that was all fun and games, it didn't give her any sense of security or warm her at night.

"You see Riku," she took his nervous hand and guided his palm to feel her belly, "your blood resonates inside me now. When you are near I can actually feel the part of you that's inside me. You resonate in me like no one else. Even now they are there, the babies we've made, I am sure of it and I feel it so much more with you close. And a bit of you will stay inside me forever, even after my babies are born."

Riku was shocked, she could feel the babies already? They had a bond? Just what did it all mean and could she really be telling the truth about all this? She seemed so genuine, so sincere, he couldn't believe it was a trick of some kind. He could literally feel her sincerity. Just who was Diva? How could she be such a monster at one moment then so vulnerable the next? Indeed, as she spoke Riku couldn't help but notice how bits of her detached, aloof attitude seemed to erode away. There was a new energy in her tone, one that sounded so sweet and happy, truly happy.

She blushed at him, smiling brightly. "It's so different from the connection I feel with my chevaliers, better too. All my chevaliers care about is doing things for me, it's always the same. But you Riku, you won't do something just because I tell you to, I have to convince you, and that makes it all so much fun."

She crawled on top of him and brought her face close, staring into his eyes. "So stay with me Riku, keep being who you are but be it for me. Because that is all that is really different now that you are mine. You are no longer human Riku, their rules don't matter because you are beyond them all now. You don't have to please them anymore, you need only please me. Do that, make me happy… and I'll give you things I give no one else."

"And Riku," she adding, cupping his face with her hands and drawing her face close, her eyes wanting, her voice alluring, "So far you have made me very happy."

She began kissing him again with a good deal of passion and had soon managed to reacquaint herself with his arousal. With Diva continuing to steadily buck and grind against him, Riku soon was brought back under her power and lost himself in the pleasurable haze of taste and touch. Again he ceased to care for a time just how wrong or right this was.

--

It was daybreak, and though Saya cursed herself for falling asleep, she was glad for the bit of rest. Albeit, it would have been better without the nightmares. She had dreamt a strange vision that had combined Diva's actions, Riku's abduction and her own rampage in Vietnam into a single horrifying sequence of events. Then it had ended with her facing down herself, or rather her feral chiropteran side, and losing.

She sighed and leaned against the door. Her mind was as troubled as ever, and she was glad Haji had handled all the packing for her, as well as explaining what was going on. Even so, the weight of it all felt unbearable.

Dad… how am I supposed to face this? What would you want me to do? I wish… I wish you were here to tell me… She choked back her tears. She had already made her choice, pitying herself now wouldn't help anyone. She opened the door, to find all her companions save Kai in the main room awaiting her.

She sighed again. I guess it was too much to hope to get away without saying goodbye.

David was the first to step forward, and extended his hand to give Saya a satellite phone. "I know that you are set in your choice Saya. I can't say if I agree with it or not, but I am glad that you wish to keep in communication with us. I understand you may not want to be contacted at times and so feel free to shut the phone off, but on our end the line will always be open to either Lewis or myself. I know that I and Red Shield failed you Saya, but I can only swear to you that we will continue to do all that we can to assist you."

Saya took the phone and closed her eyes, shaking her head as she put the device in a bag. She offered him a slight smile. "David, I don't blame you or the Red Shield for this. I just wish you hadn't had to lose so much for nothing."

Lewis was next, and to her surprise enveloped her in a big hug. "You take care of yourself girl," he remarked as he put her back on the ground and smiled. "Just make sure you come back to us."

Saya nodded, "I will."

She turned to the Schiff and was a bit embarrassed as they all proceeded to bow down to her. Still kneeling, Moses raised his head. "We will begin our own search for Diva, her chevaliers and Riku, in conjunction with Red Shield. With all of us searching, we are bound to find them eventually."

"We may not be true chevalier," Karman added. "We're sterile and we can't transform, we didn't choose to be made this way. However, you have given us the chance to make something of our lives and rise beyond the test subjects we were supposed to be limited to. To help you achieve your goals is the least we can do in thanks."

"You can count on us!" Lulu chimed in a peppy tone.

Saya nodded, touched by their loyalty and gratitude. "Thank you." She then noticed Irene stand and step toward her, the gentlest of the Schiff looking less than confident. She knelt down again as Saya looked on perplexed. "Uh, yes Irene?"

"Saya, please, I would like to make a request. You know that I want to serve you as much as the others do, I want to save Riku and help stop Diva. However I… if you will allow it I would like to stay with Kai. I can help him with the changes he'll undergo, and then we can look for Riku together."

Darth looked skeptical. "Are you sure that's wise Irene? We could really use your senses out there."

Karman was more direct. "Irene, do you have any idea how long it could take for him to deal with all this and develop his powers? Time that you could put yourself to better use searching. Are you really going to let your feelings for the guy keep you from your priorities. Finding Diva is the most important thing right now!"

"I know it is!" Irene cried back, quite upset. "It's just… we can't just leave Kai to go through this alone. If he has another chiropteran with him, maybe it would be easie-"

"And I say it's selfish!"

"Everyone calm down!" Saya interrupted in a commanding tone, then looked to Irene with a soft smile once everyone was silent. "Actually Irene, I was already planning to ask you to look after Kai for me, though I have no right to. This makes me feel a bit better about putting that burden on you."

Irene turned to her with a gasp. "It's not a burden Saya! Kai did so much for me, for all of us! I want to help him."

Saya laughed a bit despite her mood. She could see why Kai had taken such a shine to Irene, she was such a sweetheart, really a great match for his bullheaded bravado. "I know… just realize Kai is a lot better at giving help than taking it."

She then looked at her more seriously. "Also, when he wakes up I want you to give him this message from me. After he finds out what's going on, tell him I'm sorry for leaving like this but that I believe its for the best. More importantly, tell him that I'm sure Riku is still alive, that Diva wants to keep him with her for a while." She may not have been as truly certain of these things as she sounded, but if it helped Kai deal with this even a little bit then it was worthwhile. It also was the only thing she believed she had to give her hope in the months ahead.

She turned and addressed all the Schiff. "Are you sure you have enough of my blood stored?"

Moses nodded. "Just a small bit of your blood mixed into normal blood is all we need. We have enough to keep us for healthy for over a year."

"Good," she stated. An awkward silence followed, as Saya found herself at a loss for words. Bowing slightly, she turned and headed for the exit. I can't say goodbye…

She was suddenly stopped as something small practically tackled her from the back. She could hear a slight sniffling.

"I'll miss you Saya!" Lulu cried into her back.

"Lulu…" Moses began to admonish. "You remember what Haji said, this is hard enough for Saya without you clinging to her."

"No, it's okay," Saya replied, her eyes watery, her voice breaking. She turned and embraced the little chiropteran. "I'll miss you too. Thank you." They look at each other as they dried their eyes, Lulu giving her an encouraging smile that Saya found impossible not to return. She took a last look at the others in the room and turned to leave.

Haji followed after her in silence. Pausing to look back at the group he gave them all a heartfelt bow before stepping out the door.

"Just what sort of training do you think they'll do out there?" Lewis queried.

"I don't know," David replied. "The important thing for us to focus on right now is what we can do." He was met various nods of agreement. "It's a new chapter for all of us."

--

Later in the day, as he lay in the bed utterly exhausted from multiple couplings with the vampire queen, Riku could do little but ponder what would happen next. Diva seemed intent on keeping him around and even now he could feel her presence in the back of his mind, somehow alerting him to the fact that if he tried to escape she would sense it and track him down as easily as she had on the ship. Not that he even had the energy to try such an escape.

He wondered how long he might have to wait here. When she had finally sated her desires Diva had gotten up and got dressed before kissing him a final time and remarking she would be out for a while to visit her chevalier and probably get a lecture from Amshel and that he should stay in her room and rest. She also said she would bring him some blood to help get his strength back. He had to admit he felt thirsty for it, but had pled with her all the same for it to not be blood from a human victim of her or her chevalier's. Thankfully Diva seemed to be in a generous mood and didn't take his request as an opportunity to force him to drink the blood of such a person, albeit she did seem a bit confused by how bothered Riku was by the idea.

Indeed she had remarked, with a fair bit of disappointment in her voice, like a pouting child, that to keep people from becoming suspicious and to keep from attracting Saya's attention, her chevalier discouraged her from eating whoever she wanted whenever she wanted. In fact they themselves rarely fed directly on humans, especially in urban areas where disappearances would get more attention. Instead they lived largely off the substantial amount of blood their resources acquired from blood banks and other outlets. Diva regarded such blood as "stale" and lacking in the primal rush of feeding from a living person, but accepted it as better than nothing. Getting to feed from a person other than her own chevalier was more of a special treat type of thing, or something done on the spur of the moment if the opportunity struck.

Riku tried to ignore the darker elements of her words, only thanking her for agreeing. He'd felt oddly warm inside when she'd proceeded to say it was worth seeing him give her a smile. Then she'd left and here he was with nothing but his own thoughts and the sights around him for company.

He blushed in embarrassment as he looked at the portion of the bed beside him where he and Diva had done most of… what they had done. It was fairly evident from the dried areas of sweat and various small blood stains, the latter left from where she had scratched up his back while in the throws of coitus. The sheets had even been ripped a bit at some point. He wondered if Diva intended to be so rough or if she just didn't know her own strength. Then he wondered yet again just how this could have happened, how he could possibly be involved in something as depraved as this?

It all came back to figuring out his feelings for Diva. Those strange, mixed feelings, some so passionate and hot that he could barely grasp them. But what was real? Was this all the cause of some massive, drug-like doses of hormones? Had his chiropteran blood possessed his mind like some kind of alien parasite from science fiction, and if so just what was he to do about it? With Diva no longer there his mind felt clearer and he had been able to work out his emotions more. This had translated to a greater sadness and anger on his part, as well as shame as he wondered what his father would think of him for enjoying any of this, let alone his siblings.

For that matter Kai, Saya and their fates also occupied his mind. He could only imagine how worried they were and he wished he could be there for Kai. It pained him to think how his being kidnapped could make their mission harder. Even away from them it seemed he was a hindrance… but dwelling on that would get him no where.

However, while his lust-crazed hormones had finally gotten under control and he overall felt he was thinking about as rationally as usual, one thing was different. He still felt a deep sense of sympathy from that moment he had seen into Diva's mind. Did that mean it was a real feeling? If it was real, if he truly was starting to feel for her on a deeper level, everything was going to become a lot more complicated than it was already. For now though, he didn't know what to think of it.

Riku stared up at the ceiling. As prisons went, at least it was comfortable. Still, he could only guess at just what the future held in store for him, when he would be able to leave this place, or if indeed he would ever leave.

He let out a long sigh, finally allowing tears he was holding back to slide down his face. I need to be strong, I need to survive… for Kai and Saya if nothing else. I just… can't let this get to me. I'll be okay… at least… I hope I will…

--

Irene had taken her vigil quite seriously, and as she didn't need to sleep it meant she had barely left Kai's since Saya left. It had been a few days and there was no telling when he would wake up, but she wanted to be sure to be there when he did. Sipping with a straw she had poked into a small packet of blood, she leaned back on a chair she had placed next to his bed and sighed. She was weighed down by worry, over Riku, over Saya, over Kai most of all. She had come to like them all so much in such a short period of time.

Still, none of them would have liked to see her just sitting around depressed, so she decided to take the opportunity to engage in a new pastime of hers. It was hardly a typical hobby, lacking as she was in most skills and knowledge that didn't have to do with fighting.. First she glanced at the door, using her senses to make sure no one was coming in. If she was caught doing this she would imagine at least one of the Schiff would make fun of her.

Having confirmed the immediate vicinity was clear, she put the blood pack aside and sat on the bed. Leaning over Kai she brought her hand to his face a traced a finger along it, marveling at the feeling of another living thing's skin. She then moved to his hair and started to slowly run her fingers through it.

For that was her new hobby. Touching people, or rather, touching Kai. It may have seemed silly, but it was an experience that was quite new to Irene. She had had no childhood and none of the Schiff knew much about interacting with others physically. It was a perplexing enigma that she was frankly very curious about.

From what she had observed physical interaction seemed to have many beneficial effects on relationships. She had actually seen Moses give a genuine smile after sharing a handshake with that nice man Lewis over some issue the two had worked out for their search plans. Then there was Lulu, who had seemed to become addicted to hugs, something that Irene had reciprocated when given but never initiated. Indeed, her lack of confidence was one reason she was practicing touching on an unconscious person.

What was it that Julia had said in one of their few talks before she had disappeared? Oh yes, it was something about that humans needed some degree of physical contact with others as it benefited their mental health. They were social creatures after all. Perhaps this was true for chiropterans as well, even experimental clones like herself.

Practice was clearly needed though, she noted. She giggled softly at the memory of how Karman had freaked out when Lulu had first hugged him, though he now took them with patient resignation. "Ahh…" she sighed, "I wonder what it would feel like Kai… for you to touch me like this." She started as she felt her face heat up at that thought and gave a nervous laugh. "I'm being silly… thinking about things like this."

"Thinking about what?"

Irene gasped and on reflex drew her hand back like it had burned. She then looked down to see Kai giving her a rather perplexed look as he regained consciousness. He was a bit groggy but otherwise seemed perfectly normal. A bright smile soon came to her face.

"Kai! You're awake!" she cried out in relief and happiness, but then paused, not really knowing what to do to show it. Throwing caution to the wind she gripped him in a gentle hug as she'd seen done on some of Lulu's television shows and by Lulu herself in a more frenetic manner.

Kai was glad they had no audience as he was pretty sure his face had gone a bit red. "Hey Irene…" he greeted uneasily and tried to return the hug, his intention of course being nothing more than to comfort her and then put her at a less intimate distance, or so he told himself. He smiled a bit, Riku would so make fun of him if he saw them like this…

Riku!

At that moment his pleasant awakening came to an end as memories of what he had hoped was just a nightmare came to the forefront of his mind. He pushed Irene back and grabbed her shoulders roughly, his expression desperate. "Irene! Tell me what's happened! Where's Riku? What happened to Diva? Please, tell me Saya stopped her!"

Though shocked at the uncharacteristically rough treatment (not that her body couldn't handle much worse with ease, Kai had just always been very gentle with her), Irene felt only sympathy for his turmoil as she was confronted with how to tell Kai what had happened. She had gone over it again and again in her head to no avail. She had concluded she simply didn't know enough about emotions yet to find a way to tell him correctly, until Lewis had told her there was no truly good way to give someone news like this. "Kai… I…"

Her eyes moistened and her voice shook, and Kai's expression in turn grew more and more horrified. "Irene… tell me. Where's Riku and Saya? Where are they?!"

"They are not here," came Moses' calm voice from the door. Clearly he had agreed with Lewis about simply telling him, but Irene had the distinct impression that to be so blunt was not Lewis' intention.

David stepped in front of Moses and gave him a pleading but stern look. "Moses, I think I should be the one to tell him." Irene could now see that Lewis and her Schiff kin had all gathered near the doorway, attracted by Kai's outburst.

Moses nodded slightly and stepped aside to let David enter, "yes, I suppose that would be best. You have been his comrade longer than we have." He was developing a lot of respect for this human and the similar burden of leadership he carried.

David was not a man easily swayed by anything. He had already seen more death and destruction than he would ever be able to recall and was now faced with somehow keeping Red Shield from collapsing. There was also the matter of the many brave men who had lost their lives to Diva and Karl's actions. They were heavy blows even for him. Now the look of fear and despair in Kai's eyes was almost breaking him. If Riku had died, if Saya had cut all ties with Red Shield… he didn't know what he would have done to himself. As things stood he still considered himself responsible.

"There is no easy way to say this Kai," he stated in a tone slightly more compassionate than he normally used, "so I am simply going to say it. Two days ago Diva and one of her chevalier attacked Red Shield headquarters. For as yet uncertain reasons their goal was the abduction of Riku. Saya and Haji did all they could to stop them but failed. Furthermore, at some point before this Diva infected you with some of her blood. You are now a chevalier, her chevalier. What this means for your future we cannot say with certainty, but we have no intentions of abandoning you nor any reason to believe you are a threat."

Barely taking a breath he continued. "As for Saya, she has left with Haji. They will be travelling, searching for Diva and thus Riku, and training. They do not know when they will return, but will contact us regularly if possible."

He tried to give him an encouraging look. "Understand this Kai, we have no intention of giving up. The Schiff have agreed to continue aiding us in our search for Diva and though Red Shield has been weakened we will rebuild and devote our resources to making this right."

For a while Kai was silent. When he did speak, he at first seemed eerily calm, only to break out in a sobbing yell by the end. "So you're telling me that Saya's gone, that I've been turned into a monster and Riku's probably dead by now?!"

"That's not true!"

"Irene?" Kai looked at her, surprised at her outburst.

"Kai," she said in a voice full of emotion, "before she left Saya left me a message for you. She said she was sure Diva didn't plan on killing him, at least not for a while. There is still a chance for him, you can't lose hope in that. I know Saya and Riku believe in you Kai, and I believe in you too. We will all become stronger and locate Diva. Then we can find Riku and save him."

"You believe in me huh…" Kai scoffed. "Me, the useless fool who couldn't even protect his own little brother?! The monster who has that bitch's blood inside him now?!"

"You are not a monster any more than Riku is!"

"I'm Diva's chevalier! I think that qualifies as a monster!" he yelled back.

Irene's voice had become surprisingly firm and strong by now. The other's were too surprised by it to interfere and simply watched the exchange. "Do you want to serve Diva?"

"Hell no!"

"Then nothing has changed!" She took a deep breath to calm down, then smiled at him warmly. "You are still you."

Kai was still far from calm. "You don't know that! For all you know I could turn around and stab you all in the back without even knowing it! Why'd you even keep me alive?!" He was left panting from his outburst. No longer able to maintain his anger, tears began to flow from his eyes and he bent over on the bed, Irene moving forward to let him bury his face in her shoulder as she held him tight.

All became silent save for the strained sounds of Kai's sobbing and Irene's soothing coos as she held him. David sighed, his thoughts turning to Julia for some reason he couldn't fathom. "We should go."

"I want to watch!" Lulu chimed excitedly, her eyes fixed on them and utterly fascinated.

Lewis bent down to take her hand and lead her out, "come on now Lulu, let's just leave them be. It's not easy for a guy like Kai to show his feelings in front of people like this."

"Well then why is it okay for Irene to stay?"

"That's different," he replied with a smile. "To him Irene is a person he feels he can let his guard down around. You'll understand when you're older."

Lulu looked perplexed at that. "My earliest memories are of looking like this. I don't know if I ever will get older."

"Well I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"What does that mean?"

Lewis scratched his head nervously. "Hey! How about we see what channels the TV in here gets?"

"Oh? Okay!" she cried out happily and pulled him from the room.

Everyone else managed to leave more quietly, Karman actually holding his tongue, albeit only after receiving a glare from Moses. Irene and Kai were largely oblivious to these goings on, however, Kai by his sorrow and Irene by her desire to help him feel better.

"'He's a nice human,'" Irene quoted softly after a while as she broke the embrace to look him in the eye. "That is one of the first things I decided about you after we first met. You knew what I was, but you weren't afraid of me and you didn't look at me with hatred in your eyes. You listened to me, let me tell you our story and you believed me when I said I didn't want to kill humans. You're still a nice human Kai, even if you are Diva's chevalier nothing I feel from you now makes me think anything different about you."

Kai stared back, unsure just what to say or think he looked away. "Irene… I want to believe that, but I…"

She hugged him again, and though they both felt oddly pleasant and warm tingles, the comfort was the important thing. "Kai… only a short time ago you gave me hope and showed me happiness when I thought neither were possible anymore. I swear, I'll be by your side as long as you'll let me be. I'll show you how to handle being a chiropteran. I'll help you get through this, no matter what. I promised this to Saya and its what I want, because even though I still understand so little about living, I know you are very special to me."

Kai still felt cold, numb in shock from all he had awoken to. He knew the pain would be lasting, but somehow things were warmer with Irene here. Maybe, maybe he could get through this pain… and maybe Riku really was still alive. For now at least he simply wanted to hold her close and keep believing those things.

"Thank you… Irene."

Notes:

I'll explain now one of my main criticisms of the Blood Plus series. Namely that through most of it Saya and to a lesser extent Haji, are made out to be EXTREMELY weak compared to their enemies. This is fine if done right, but instead in Blood we get Saya surviving most of her encounters with Diva and her chevalier simply because they choose to let her live for one reason or another.

Even after the time skip when it seems like Saya is acting more like a chiropteran, she is only slightly stronger than before and in some ways weaker (due to her thirty year sleep approaching). This is when we start seeing her being saved repeatedly by Solomon. Even against Karl, the one chevalier she came closest to beating on her own, she gets saved/helped.

I have no problem with her needing help at times, it's just not fair for Saya to not be on the same level as chevalier at least potentially. Indeed, she is the only non-artificial chiropteran in the series to never exhibit super speed and it is never really explained why. That is Saya seems to be drinking more blood but she still doesn't have that speed everyone else does. Hence why I developed the theory in this story about what she needs to do to develop those abilities. On the other hand Haji is revealed to have been suppressing his powers but even this doesn't excuse what happens at the end of the series.

That is, after being completely dominated in nearly every encounter with them, Saya is suddenly able to fight Diva quite evenly, as is Haji against Amshel. The latter is somewhat more believable, but still hard to accept given how outclassed Solomon (who appeared to be about as strong as Haji) seemed when he briefly confronted Amshel and got his arm cut off. However the final duel between Saya and Diva seemed like a joke compared to their abilities as displayed in every other part of the series. Saya fights the same as always, yet Diva seems to lose all her powers.

In every other encounter Diva moved so quickly that Saya couldn't touch her unless she let her do so, and she was so strong that she could send Saya flying with a flick of one hand. Then in their final fight she exhibits speed about equal to Saya's, and no super strength at all. One can't blame her pregnancy or her blood losing its potency for this as even after her babies were cut out she was still powerful as ever. She beat Solomon to near-death with ease while not suffering a scratch herself (and the ruined land around where they fought indicates it was quite a fight).

It's as though they simply made Diva and Amshel weaker because they needed them beaten for the sake of the plot. If they had not continually shown Diva and Amshel as so superior in ability or had given Saya an upgrade this would not have been a problem, but the way they ended up doing things just seemed like an insult to the audience's intelligence. It's unfortunate given that every other aspect of those final episodes was quite well done.

Okay, rant done. On the actual story I'll make note now that though it is about Diva's redemption it won't happen quickly. She's going to remain quite dangerous and twisted, only slowing beginning to learn about other ways of living through Riku's influence. That's why despite the title we haven't seen Diva do much to garner "sympathy" yet.

That bit of Riku's link with her intensifying is one of the main things that will be used to help Diva and Riku understand each other. It is based on how Diva came to know Riku so well i.e. matching his mannerisms (due to feeding on him in their first encounter) and being able to sense things related to him (due to being pregnant with his kids, as when she remarked that "Riku's blood" had sensed Kai's presence). If she could that kind of stuff and speak into his mind (as she did on the ship) it's not out of the question for images and feelings from her thoughts to be able to reach into his mind as well if they spent more time close to each other.

For anyone wondering, Okamura and Mao will be in this story, just not yet. I just didn't see how to incorporate them in a good way here. Consider them to be wandering around on their own at this point as usual for them.

Also, the thing about Diva and her chevalier not killing that many humans for food (at least in cities) wasn't put there for the sake of making them seem more benevolent. Rather it simply makes sense for practical purposes and helped give a source of blood that Riku could stomach using.

And no, I am not bashing Karman. The fact of the matter is it would be out of character for him at this point in the series to not be almost constantly saying something spiteful or negative. It's one reason we love the guy right?

This chapter ended up longer than I thought it'd be. Future chapters probably won't be as long. I can't say when I'll finish the next one, it will likely take a few weeks at least, but feel free to ask for it if you get impatient as it might motivate me more to find my muse.