Chapter twenty-two: Will power

"Shit!" I shouted, covering my ears as the wall next to me exploded into tiny pieces of bricks.

I scrambled to my feet as the dust picked up and ran behind another wall just before another yellow electrical ball blew up. The people around me screamed in horror as the teal haired vampire, Ayumi, destroyed the sidewalk with her electric shocks.

I sighed in exhaustion.

Why did all the vampires after me have a thing for explosives? Am I that cursed?

I ducked just in time to avoid a flying axe and watched it slice through three walls before it came to a stop.

Oh yea. That would have definitely ended me.

"You're good at dodging." I looked up to see another female vampire standing vertically, her feet firmly planted on the wall. Her orange hair was cut short to her chin and her lime green eyes had Ayumi's malevolent glint.

"She's fast when she's forced to run," Ayumi chimed in, hand on her right hip. "But she's not as strong as her father."

"Then she'll be easy to kill." The orange haired vampire yanked another axe from her back, extending the rod to six feet. "That's too bad. I was looking forward to a workout."

"Don't underestimate me!" I snapped.

"As you wish," Ayumi smirked as she hurled another electrical sphere at me.

I rolled away and leaped into the streets, accidentally hitting someone. I continued to run without checking to see if the person was okay, taking random sharp turns to avoid getting caught by the vampire dual. I knew I couldn't lose them permanently so I desperately needed to plan.

Where the hell was Thora?

I stopped to catch my breath and looked around to see if I could use anything as a weapon, and sadly, I only saw a stop sign. Wind suddenly blew down on me and I sprinted, knowing that one of the vampires was jumping down from the roof. Sure enough, the homicidal vampire with an axe made a huge slice into the ground when she landed.

I yanked the stop sign from the ground, swinging it to block the axe that was suddenly inches from my face.

"She's strong too," she grinned wildly and blew her bangs out of her eyes.

I grunted and dug my feet into the snow to hold my ground.

"I want to play with her too." Ayumi pouted from behind me.

I bent my back backwards as I swung the stop sign, avoiding the axe and hitting Ayumi in the face at the same time.

SCORE!

I rolled onto the ground and took off again, ears buzzing with Ayumi's shriek of surprise and the other vampire's hysterical laughter.

"OOOH! She got you bad Ayumi! Look at those red marks!"

"YOU'RE MINE BLOOD BAG!" Ayumi angrily threw her yellow spheres at me, causing me to skid to a stop before a bus could run me over.

I covered my head protectively, peeking out to see the bus explode as the sphere split it in half. To my horror, human body parts scattered everywhere.

"Fuck!" I cursed under my breath. I needed a way to kill them and it had to be fast before they wiped out the whole city.

WHERE THE HELL IS THORA?

Think Serena. Think.

And the idea struck me on the head like a basketball missing the net.

SNOW MELTS!

If I could somehow get the vampires wet with snow, then they should be electrocuted…right? RIGHT?

Luckily I was ahead of the vampires and the humans were distracting them with their screams. I sprinted into a hotel, barely evading an attack from the ax-wielding maniac. I slammed my shoulder into a wall as I hurriedly climbed the stairs to the top of the roof and smirked when I found a frozen pool. I scanned the area and found a nearby roof top. It wasn't going to be a pleasant landing, but I rather a broken bone than a barbequed body.

As expected, Ayumi blasted her way through and I jumped off the roof as the hotel collapsed. The ice cracked and water splashed everywhere, turning the surrounding snow into slush. I landed badly, totally missing the other roof and crashed onto the pavement. I bit my lip so hard it bled to prevent myself from screaming in agony, knowing I had broken both of my legs. I wasn't going to let them know that I was vulnerable now.

"Look at the mess you've created!" Ayumi shrieked, pointing at her face. "YOU RUINED MY FACE!"

"There wasn't much to ruin in the first place," I grunted, using my arms to crawl away.

Ow. Oww. Ow. Ow. Ow. Owwww. Broken bones hurt A LOT!!!

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "What did you say?"

"Oh," I laughed, breathing out. "You heard me."

"Let me cut her head in half." The ax wielder grinned. "She won't be pretty either."

Ayumi shot her companion a glare, which the other vampire shrugged off. "I can't help it if I'm more appealing than you."

Ayumi fumed, becoming redder in the face and electricity crackled in her palms. "Shut up Naoko."

Ayumi swiftly launched towards me and just as she was about to kill me, she abruptly erupted from the inside out and my face was splattered with her remains.

Naoko's jaw dropped. I numbly stared at her, just as shocked as she was.

My plan had work. Though I had thought I would have been electrocuted as well.

Score one for the newbie.

"What…how…?" Naoko glared at me spitefully.

I pointed at the slush by our feet wordlessly.

"You…you little…" Naoko's nostrils flared. "You're finished. You have no more tricks up your sleeve!"

Just as she said those words, a familiar small hand went through her chest and Naoko's eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh!" Thora chirped, perky as fucking ever. "But she does!"

Naoko's body ended up like Ayumi's—all over the place. Thora whistled as she cleaned off Ayumi's remains from my face.

"Legs hurt?" she asked, roughly poking them.

My eyes bulged and I pressed my lips tightly to keep from screaming at her.

OWWWWWWWW! DAMN IT! DOES IT HURT? REALLY? REALLY? WHAT KIND OF STUPID QUESTION IS THAT? OF COURSE IT FUCKING HURTS YOU DUMB ASS!

"Like a bitch," I grumbled, swallowing my inner opinion.

"I told you not to move from your spot."

I glared at her, nostrils flaring. "They attacked me."

She ignored me. "Can you walk?"

I tossed her another glare. "What do you think?"

"I think you should drink some of my blood. It'll help you heal faster."

I felt myself turn green in the face and shook my head. "I think I'll pass."

"Then I'll have to carry you," she smiled that creepy smile. The one that told me she was going to have her way or no way.

"I'm not biting you," I argued.

"You don't have to," she said.

"Is this like a turn on for you? People drinking your blood?" I snapped.

She batted her eyes jokingly. "Only you turn me on."

"That's settles it!" I forced myself to crawl. "I'm not drinking your blood, you psycho!"

I kept my eyes focused on the ground to avoid her cheeky smile.

"You won't last very long in your state."

I inhaled sharply to calm my nerves and repeatedly told myself that she was old, senile and a relative. It's a sin to kill your own relative, right?

"By the way, I must say that was ingenious of you…using the pool to melt the snow so it would turn into slush. Ayumi didn't even bother to notice her surroundings before producing her electricity and stupidly electrocuted herself. But how did you know about the pool? Not all hotels have a pool."

"The map listed some hotels with pools," I answered.

"Ah yes! Quite handy, that map is!" she chirped. "I was most impressed though with the stop sign move you did! Hitting her in the face! That was hysterical!"

I stopped moving and a vein popped on my forehead as my left eye twitched. "You…you saw that?"

"Of course I did!"

"Were you watching me fight them the entire time?" I asked.

She had a huge grin on her face. "Of course I did. I wanted to see what you were capable of doing on your own and without your weapon. It turns out, you have a brain."

I stared at her, flabbergasted. "You…you...YOU FUCKING CRAZY LADY!"

I swung my fist at her and yelped as I landed face first into the snow.

Stupid legs. Stupid, fast vampire.

"Now, now. Don't be angry just because I did that on purpose."

"I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED YOU IDIOT!" I shouted. "DIDN'T YOU SEE THAT BUS EXPLODE? THOSE PEOPLE DIED FOR NO REASON! YOU COULD HAVE SAVED THEM!"

"No, Serena, they died because you couldn't save them." Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Don't go using me as your scapegoat. I will not take the blame for your faults. You could have prevented that all by yourself if you had ran in a different direction."

I swallowed shamefully and glared at my feet since I couldn't bring myself to look at her in the eyes. "I'm not ready to face Kaede, am I?"

"Quite the contrary Serena. You're a capable fighter and have potential to become a great vampire hunter…if that's what you want to become," she said, sitting down next to me.

I snorted. "What other choice do I have?"

She glanced at me questioningly. "I must say I'm a bit surprised. You're the first human in our clan to hunt down the Bokyo clan. I thought it was your father's influence since he's a vampire hunter…or he was. Why is it that you believe you must become a vampire hunter?"

I curled my legs to my chest and wrapped my arms around me. I was biting my tongue to keep from complaining about the pain in my legs. I was not going to admit weakness to her again.

"Is it your mother? Has she become a level E?" she asked softly.

"Oh so you know?" I stared at her.

"I left America to hunt down the vampire that killed your brother. Your father tried to join me, but he had the aftermath to take care of. Your mother was alive but barely and you were missing," she answered. "Of course, I was never told you were found so I assumed you were dead too."

"Mom said Damon hid me in the barn."

"Ah yes. Animals hate vampires," she chuckled.

"I don't see how animals could stop a vampire though."

"Oh they can't, but I'm guessing that the animals rioted when the vampires attacked, which caught your father's attention and he chased off the vampires…but that's only a guess," she smirked. "Kaien Cross is a scary man when he's mad."

"I don't call him Dad," I confessed, smiling.

"Oh? Why not?"

"Because he left us," I said, the words tasting fuzzy in my mouth. Like it was a bad excuse. "He went to Japan, leaving Mom and I in America. Apparently he couldn't stand us anymore."

"You and I both know that's not true," Thora said thoughtfully. "I remember the day you were born. He had a fight with the nurses because they wouldn't let him see you."

I glanced at her, surprised. "They wouldn't?"

She nodded. "You were born prematurely due to your mother's injuries. You see, after she had Damon members of the Bokyo clan tried to kill him while he was an infant, fearing he would become a powerful vampire hunter like his father. She took lot of hits for him in order to protect him, thus injuring her abdomen."

Angry tears rolled down my cheeks.

"She was told countless of times that you might not survive, but you were a fighter even in the womb," she beamed. "You get that stubbornness from the Heolstor side of your family. Made your father real proud."

I sniffled and wiped away the tears.

"Will power." She wrapped her arms around me. "You have a lot of will power, and as long as you're determined, not even the Devil himself can stop you."

I laughed softly. "Thanks."

"So…why are you chasing Kaede? Not that I mind. It's fun to have a relative with you when you're on a Bokyo killing spree," she grinned.

"She…and her clan…killed my friends and their families. She was trying to find Mom and she had hoped my friends would give her any information on us," I answered.

"Oh…so this is for revenge?"

I nodded.

She smirked. "Just my cup of tea. You and I are going to get along famously."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh it shows."

"And your Mom? She has become a Level E, eh?"

Another nod.

"Then you're thinking of killing her?"

Yet another nod. "I don't want anyone else to do it."

"Well, I was going to offer my services…" She stopped when she saw my glare. "Okay, okay, I get it."

Silence swept between us and the cold, winter breeze caressed our faces. A couple of crumpled brown leaves blew by us.

"I've been underestimating you, Serena," Thora stated, her eyes studying me. "You're a lot stronger than I give you credit for."

She swiftly stood up. "We have to get going if we ever want to kill Kaede. She probably knows you're coming. She's sent many people after you."

"Did you ever find that vampire?" I asked.

"What vampire?"

"The one that killed Damon."

She laughed. "Oh yes. Bokyo Akira. He was a bomb specialist--my competition since we were both bomb experts."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "I take it you won?"

She grinned. "I literally turned his body inside out. What do you think?"

"I think you're right. I can't fight in this state," I grumbled, changing topic. The pain was becoming unbearable. I wasn't going to be able to hide it from her any longer.

Her eyes perked up. "Oh? So you've finally agreed to drink my blood?"

My stomach twisted. "Just don't act so cheerful about it. You're going to make me sick."

Without any hesitation, Thora bit into her wrist and offered her blood to me. I felt my body convulse the first time I took a sip from her wrist and nearly puked right there, but I forced myself to drink. I gagged a few times but I could feel the difference.

My legs were healing. My vision and hearing became more acute. I felt more energetic.

I pushed her hand away before I could become greedy and wobbled to my feet.

"Feel better?" she smirked.

I nodded, stretching my legs. "Much."

"Good, now let's go."

She began walking away but I remained still to allow my body to adjust. She must have sensed my lack of presence because she turned around and tilted her head playfully.

"Hey! You can come back with one of your boyfriends if you like this place so much, but right now you don't have the time to be a tourist!"

My face heated up. "They're not my boyfriends! What do you take me for? A whore?"

She laughed. "And what's wrong with being a whore? You don't like sex?"

"THORA!"

The airplane flight went off without a hitch and we landed peacefully in Moscow. I was becoming anxious. Kaede was nearby.

I could smell her scent cover the major capital of Russia. I could almost hear her insane laughter and see her cruel lime green eyes vibrant with blood lust.

"Stop that. You're making me jittery," Thora complained, patting me on the legs. I hadn't been able to stop my legs from bouncing since I sat down.

"Sorry," I muttered.

"You'll be fine, Serena," Thora said with a smile.

At least she wasn't perky. I was beginning to think she was tired because I had drank her blood, but she reassured me numerous of times that she was fine. We didn't have any luggage to grab so we marched out of the airport and as I waited for Thora to hail a cab, someone smacked me on the head. I spun around, ready to punch the person but stopped with my fist in midair and nearly cried.

"Zero?" I said to the person who looked a lot like the prefect.

"Who else, idiot," Zero frowned. "You're ridiculously stupid, you know that? Getting kidnapped like that. Lucky for you she was a relative."

"Don't mind him Serena. He's just upset because you left us with an overemotional vampire," Yagari-sama smiled, waving behind Zero.

"Yagari-sama?" My voice came out like a squeak.

"Are you just going to repeat our names like that, dolt?" Zero chided me.

I almost cried. The last time I saw them was a week ago and even though Thora told me they were alive, a part of me still believed the opposite was possible. After all, I couldn't have been the only one that kept getting attacked by vampires.

I lounged myself at the two vampire hunters, nearly suffocating them in my group bear hug. "I'VE MISSED YOU GUYS SO MUCH!"

"Fontana, you're about to break my ribs," Zero growled.

I let go of them quickly. "Sorry!"

And then I heard music to my ears.

"Fontana Serena…"

I spun to face a blonde vampire and had a hard time believing it was Hanabusa. His eyes were ghost-like. Dull and motionless. He was paler than usual, his face covered with dirt and his cheeks looked like they had sunk in. I could tell he hadn't eaten in a while--his fingers were really bony.

"Hanabusa…" I was cut off when he grabbed my face and crushed my mouth with his lips. I twitched, feeling the rough cracked skin of his lips and heard him whimper.

Is he crying?

But just like that, I was released from his grip and found myself staring into very pissed off pools of blue.

"DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN! YOU HEAR ME? THE NEXT TIME I THINK YOU'RE DEAD I'LL KILL YOU MYSELF!" he screamed.

I weakly nodded, not sure if he was aware that he made no sense.

"Yes, well, now that the reunion is over…can we go?" Thora interrupted.

"YOU!" Hanabusa snapped, narrowing his eyes at her and he hovered above her. He suddenly changed his tone of voice. "Thank you for taking care of her."

She grinned at his politeness. "Not a problem. I don't always meet my relatives while using my bombs."

Hanabusa's left eye twitched and I realized that he wanted to say something else, but he was restraining himself.

"Wait a second, how did you guys know that we were going to be at the airport?" I asked Yagari-sama.

"Darling did you honestly believe that I was just buying tickets?" Thora chuckled. "I called your father to tell him I had you and then he contacted Yagari-sama. The airport was obviously just a meeting point."

Note to future self: Do not trust Thora. She is always brewing up something.

"In any case, I'm glad to see you're okay. We were very worried," Yagari-sama smiled, tilting his head to point at Hanabusa discreetly.

I wrapped an arm around Hanabusa. "Aww, were you that antsy without me Pansy?"

I felt his shoulders relax and he exhaled slowly, using his eyes to tell me dangerous things. "Don't tempt me Serena."

"Oh please do. He might shut up afterwards." Zero got into the cab first.

"Say! Where's Hoshi? Did you guys lose him after the train explosion?" I asked.

The men looked at each other grimly.

"What?" I eyed them. "What happened?"

"He's dead," Yagari-sama answered.

"He died on the train?" I looked at Thora. She probably killed him.

"Yeah, something like that," Hanabusa said.

"My aren't we one big happy family!" Thora changed the topic, clapping her hands together as she laughed. "I get to sit next to Silver!"

"Be my guest," I muttered as she took a seat next to Zero.

Yagari-sama sat next to the right window and Hanabusa forced me to sit in the middle. He didn't want me next to a window just in case someone decided to blow up the car and yank me out.

"Something tells me that if he could, he'd put you on his lap," Thora said, receiving a glare from Zero and Hanabusa.

"Please stop talking Thora." I tried nicely.

"OOH! I have to tell you...Hanabusa, right? I can't remember your name...ANYWAY! Since you're her boyfriend, I'm suggesting that you take her to Kazan City! She really liked the place. She might want to visit it again with you," she grinned and had the nerve to wink at me.

I wanted to shrink into an invisible size.

"Really?" Hanabusa raised an eyebrow at her. "I'll consider it."

I opened my mouth to say she was just kidding but stopped. My face flushed bright red and it was suddenly very hot in the cab.

He didn't...didn't even object the boyfriend comment.

I became confused. Were we dating now? Is that how a relationship starts? By a stolen kiss? Or by someone who mistakes you for dating simply because you're close friends?

I stared at him despite the fact that I knew I wasn't going to get any answers. We had other things to worry about.

"Oh! OH! Take a left here!" Thora shouted to the driver, causing him to jerk the car. The cab driver shot her a dirty glare.

"Where are you taking us?" Even from the back seat, I could see Zero's glare. "The cathedral is in the opposite direction."

Thora shot him a devious grin. "The old Heolstor mansion is this way. I can't let you prance in the cathedral wearing what you are wearing now!You'd be an easy target!"

"What are you suggesting, you evil woman." I narrowed my eyes at her.

She laughed. "Disguises. I know that this particular mansion is a storage for the Heolstor Clan. I'll find all kinds of clothes and make up."

"Oh by the gods, she means to put make up on us," I whispered and glanced at Yagari-sama to save us all, but hope died when no one objected to her idea. I sighed, realizing I was going to be wearing a skirt soon.

A skirt. In December. In Russia.

"Can't I just keep what I'm wearing?" I asked but the question fell on deaf ears.

God damn it. Luck was still not on my side.

The mansion was ancient. Ancient as in 'they dragged me in cause I'm too chicken shit' kind of ancient. I really didn't want to enter the manor. The place looked like it would cave in any second. The pillars that kept the mansion from collapsing had turned black and the wood was chipping away, almost bending to the will of the fierce wind that blew in Russia. Doors and floorboards creaked on their own, and don't get me started on the ridiculously big windows. I mean what the hell? Did they expect King Kong to come through those or what?

Anyway, before we were dressed, we had to walk through a hallway of Thora's toys. Most of the toys were bombs, booby-trap, smoke screens and God-knows-what.

Hanabusa held a bazooka in his hands with a wicked smile, aiming it right at my forehead. "I wonder if she'll let me borrow a couple of these."

I snorted. "Borrow? You'd most likely try to steal them."

He frowned. "Would not."

"Children, move on. Aidou, put that away before you accidentally set it off," Yagari-sama ordered, getting into business mode.

"Yeah," I mocked. "You could take out this mansion. Bet Thora will kill you if the ruins don't."

"Ha ha," Hanabusa sneered.

I held up an interesting black gun that looked similar to the Blood Rose. Curious, I went through the drawers in search of bullets and froze with my back as stiff as a rock.

"What's wrong?" Zero asked, alarmed that I had stopped so suddenly.

Hanabusa looked over my shoulder and broke into hysterical laughter.

Now having everyone's attention except for Thora, I held up a large sized tube-looking thing. "What the hell is this?"

Zero rolled his eyes and walked on, but I could have sworn I saw the vampire hunter's face flush red. Hanabusa was still rolling on the floor, holding his sides and gasping for air.

Yagari-sama scolded me. "You really shouldn't be going through your aunt's belongings. Some things are meant to remain hidden."

"What's the big deal? It's just a tube thingy. It's probably used to shoot huge canons or something," I argued loud enough for Thora to hear.

Thora turned around and once she saw the tube in my hands, she snatched it from me. "Don't play with this! It's expensive!"

"What the hell is it?" I stubbornly crossed my arms.

"You don't want to know," she answered, returning it to the drawer.

"Yes I do. Otherwise I wouldn't have asked."

"Good luck," Hanabusa said with sympathy, patting my great aunt on the back. "She's stubborn as hell."

"Everyone else seems to know what it is!" I pouted. "Why can't I know?"

At that precise moment, the men around me walked away shaking their heads, muttering about how curiosity killed the cat.

Well, I wasn't a damn cat. I was a hunter. Sort of. I could take it!

Thora rolled her eyes and heaved a deep sigh. "It's a molder."

"A molder?" Obviously still clueless.

Thora shot me a dangerous dark glare. "Yes, a molder. Tell me you're not that innocent and know what a molder is."

I gave her a blank stare. "Sorry. The question mark still hovers above me."

"Okay…I'll be very blunt then so there's no confusion," she said. "Basically, you stick a man's you-know-what into the tube and the tube molds into their shape. So when I don't have a man around, I can still have fun."

I paled. "You mean…"

"You've been showing off my dildo."

I've been officially scarred for life.

My eyes dropped to the ground and I could feel my cheeks burn in embarrassment. The voice in my head kept repeating EW EW EW EW EW!

"Hey! I'm not ashamed of it! A woman has her needs too, you know! And I happen to be very, very active!" she defended herself, proudly putting both of her hands on her hips to make a greater statement. "I have a great sex life. I maybe old, but I'm not dead. Well, I am dead technically but-"

"Too much info! TOO MUCH INFO!" I shouted, clamping my hands over my ears. Not willing to hear anymore of her lecture, I ran to catch up to the guys.

Hanabusa grinned. "You had to know."

"Shut up!" I blushed.

Too bad Thora was quicker on her feet because she was standing next to Hanabusa when I told him to shut up and the next thing she blurted out was, "You know, if you want, I could buy a molder for you and have him shaped. This way when he's not around-"

"PLEASE STOP!" I must have turned purple. "JUST STOP!"

"I think she prefers natural, to be honest." Hanabusa played along with her.

I gave him my darkest death glare that I could manage. If only looks could kill.

Thora laughed, playfully shoving him. "Hey! Isn't he a keeper? He has a sense of humor! That's rare in a vampire."

She winked at me. "And I bet he'll treat you nicely too."

"I hate to interrupt your fun, but I already have enough disturbing images to last me an eternity," Zero butted in. "So could we please change topic?

"Yes! Please!" I yelled and it got real quiet.

Thora flashed me a big grin once Zero turned around and Yagari-sama, who had ignored us completely, started to hand out clothes he found in some random closet.

"I love it when she's flustered," Thora giggled.

"She's an easy target, I know." Hanabusa nodded.

Good god they're becoming fast friends. This is not good!

A couple of hours later I was staring at Hanabusa's hair in shock.

I was so used to his gorgeous blonde locks that the black dye offended me. However, even though black hair on Hanabusa was beyond abnormal, it still looked good on him. Not only was his hair black, it was longer too! It made him appear so feminine that I started to call him 'missy' just to irritate him. He was wearing a thick, furry red hoodie and dark pants. He was the least layered of us due to the fact he had immunity to the cold.

Lucky bastard.

I bet Hanabusa could be dressed up as Barney and still look amazing. It was insanely unfair.

Zero's drastic change made me giggle. I knew he would be Thora's chosen victim due to his sour personality, but I didn't know she would go this far. With the magic of make up, Zero would be easily mistaken as someone who was turning a hundred years old. The numerous wrinkles Thora adored his face with looked absolutely realistic that I nearly fooled myself. She had also given him a cane, much to his discomfort.

As for my transformation, I'll admit I wouldn't have recognized myself. Thora had given me a curly brown hair wig and blue eyed contact, which were ridiculously hard to place. My eyes were sensitive and became irritated easily. As I expected, she forced me to wear a frilly pink skirt and thick black stockings underneath. Needless to say, I was extremely uncomfortable and kept stretching them out so they'd stop sticking to my skin. I was wearing two sweaters and a long sleeved shirt underneath.

Thora grinned at me almost as if she was quietly laughing at me.

"What?" I asked her.

"You remind me of those pink dancing hippos in Fantasia," she said. "You know--the ballerina ones."

I glared at her. "Are you calling me fat, old hag?"

"If the shoe fits," Hanabusa smirked.

"Yes, my shoes do happen to fit up your ass Hanabusa." I smiled sweetly at him. "Did you want me to demonstrate?"

I heard Yagari-sama chuckle. "Behave children."

I was having a hard time controlling my nose. Thora had sprayed something horrible on me, saying it would cover my scent. However, it was making me sneeze and my nose run.

"Can we go outside? I'm starting to feel hot," I complained.

"Patience Serena. We're not done yet." Thora handed me a pair of emerald earrings, stating that they were actually cameras.

Here was the plan: Zero, Hanabusa and I were to casually walk inside the cathedral without drawing attention to us. We were to be as quiet as possible and sneak into the basement of the cathedral where the vampires should be waiting for us. While we're walking about looking for the Bokyo clan, Yagari-sama and Thora would remain on top of the roof. Yagari-sama was going to use the cameras hidden on us to look where we can't, and once the battle began, the bombs that Thora planted while we walked around would be activated.

With any luck, no humans were going to be at church today.

But I knew better.

"You smell like shit." Hanabusa wrinkled his nose.

"Yeah?" I snorted. "You look like shit."

"Is that so?" he scowled.

"Seriously," I said with concern. "Your cheeks are almost nonexistant and you look almost fragile...when was the last time you ate anything?"

He looked aside. "Since you were taken."

"You haven't taken anything at all? Not even one pill? Are you nuts?" I glowered. "We're about to head into battle and you look like you might collapse!"

He smirked arrogantly. "I might be a little weak, but I can still take them on. Watch and learn, Human."

"I wouldn't underestimate her Missy!" Thora laughed, calling him by his new nickname. "She killed a noble vampire an hour before getting on that airplane. And she did it without her weapon too!"

Yagari-sama beamed at me. "Is that true?"

"Yeah, I did," I said proudly.

"But even with that accomplishment, you did have broken legs after that. And lets not forget that bus. A lot of humans died on that bus." Thora shook her head. "All because she ran in the wrong direction."

"You just have to kill the moment, don't you?" I hissed at her.

"Everyone makes mistakes Serena." Yagari-sama patted me on the shoulder. "At least you were smart enough to kill one and I want to hear all about it."

"Why don't you ask her." I pointed at Thora. "She watched me the entire time."

A small smirk appeared on Zero's face, which looked really distorted with the wrinkles. "She said you had broken legs...I can't imagine how you managed to heal so quickly."

I pointed at the culprit once agin. "All her fault. She gave me no choice."

"There's always a choice!" Thora defended herself.

"And what was that? Hmm?" I glared at her. "You told me to drink your blood. Don't deny it!"

"Well yes, the choices were: Die or drink my blood. Simple as that." She gave me the peace sign again.

The vampire hunters laughed. Hanabusa didn't seem to find it equally amusing.

The Cathedral of Christ the Savior is the tallest eastern Orthodox church in the world, located in Moscow on the Moskva River. It was a massive tall church with blinding white walls, golden cone shaped roofs, and numerous slim windows. The entrances to the church were black and reminded me dungeons—ironically enough. However, it was a beautiful church.

"Seems like Serena is awestruck," Hanabusa teased.

"Another place you want to return to?" Thora winked at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Lay off Thora."

"That's Aunt Thora to you," she corrected me, handing the Blood Star to me.

"Right, right," I said, tucking it under one of the many sweaters that I had on.

"Come on," Zero muttered, pushing us along.

Thora clutched tightly onto Zero's forearm and snuggled him. "Aw, you're in such a hurry. Enjoy the scenery loves!"

I stared at Thora in horror, wondering where she had left her brain, and then wondered why Zero hadn't slapped her silly yet. He just kept staring forward, ignoring the female vampire attached to his arm.

To my surprise and delight, no one was around so I assumed that the church would be empty too. Hanabusa entered the church first, scanning the area in case there were traps.

"That's odd. It's a Sunday. You'd think there would be people," Hanabusa frowned.

"Maybe they've been taken as hostages down in the basement?" Thora suggested.

"Always the optimist," Yagari-sama chuckled.

"You've worked with her before?" Zero glanced at his mentor.

Yagari-sama smirked. "Word of advice: She's insane. Talented, but insane."

"That comforts me so much," I replied sarcastically.

Zero and I followed Hanabusa into the church, leaving behind the bomb expert and the vampire hunter. The church had very high ceilings painted with angels and people I probably never heard of. I could find a painting or sculpture of Jesus in every corner of the church, and in the middle were thousands of lit candles and a huge gold cross. The floors were decorated with art and made of marble.

"This must have been expensive to build," I stated, creating an echo.

Zero and Hanabusa fanned out, hands patting the walls to find the entrance to the basement. I walked around aimlessly as I played with my earrings, hoping the cameras would catch something.

"THERE!" Thora's voice squeaked, causing me to jump.

"Aunt Thora?" I looked around but found her nowhere.

"I'm on your sweater!" she said and I looked down. Sure enough, there was a tiny microphone on the collar of my sweater.

"When did you stick this on me?" I grumbled.

"When you weren't looking obviously," Thora giggled. "Now pay attention honey. There's a small wooden door on your left. Do you see it?"

To my left there were rows and rows of candles. "Not really."

"Behind the candles," Yagari-sama joined in the conversation.

I squinted, walking past the candles and smiled when I found a child-sized wooden door behind the candles as promised. I whistled to my partners in crime and they appeared next to me within seconds.

Fucking speed demons.

"I really hate it when you people do that," I whined.

Zero kicked through the door, taking the lead and Hanabusa grabbed my hand.

"I'm not handicapped Hanabusa," I scowled.

"No. You're just slow," he countered.

The basement was more like a tunnel filled with dozens of child-sized wooden doors. The ground was muddy due to being so close to the river and the air smelled like dirt.

"It's a maze," Zero declared, staring at the doors.

"So how do we know where to go?" I asked. "All the doors look the same."

"When in doubt, follow your nose," Thora said on the mic.

The vampires looked at each other and both of them pointed in different directions.

"Well that's helpful," I muttered.

"Serena, you should be leading the way. Your nose knows Kaede's scent the best and since you drank my blood, your sense of smell should be stronger."

"She has a point." Zero looked at me. "Which way Fontana?"

I blinked. "Well…umm…"

"Close your eyes idiot and concentrate," Hanabusa barked.

I scowled. "Yes sir."

I shut my eyes and breathed in the air, slowly relaxing my body so I could focus on the scents around me. I picked up Kaede's scent immediately. How could I forget the smell of burnt human skin? I was trapped with her during my torture sessions.

I pointed to the door at my left.

"You sure?" Hanabusa asked.

"I'm not a blood hound, but I do believe so."

He took my hand again. "Keep your nose focused on her scent. Most likely there will be more doors."

Zero kicked through the door and we began walking at vampire speed. As instructed, I kept my eyes closed so I could focus on her scent and lifted my hands to point out which direction to go in whenever we ran into a lot of doors.

"STOP!" Thora shouted.

I jumped and collided into Hanabusa's back. He showed no reaction whatsoever.

"Why?" Zero asked the talking microphone. "Do you see something we don't?"

"The camera is showing us that the tunnel you're heading in is filled with acid," Yagari-sama informed us.

"Courtesy of Tolucan, Master of Acid." I imagined Thora rolling her eyes. "If you inhale or touch any of it, you'll die within an hour."

"So what do you suggest?" Hanabusa asked.

"Take a right at this corner. Do not breathe. Do not touch anything until you're at least five feet away from the tunnel you're in now," she told us. "And once you're away from it, follow Tolucan's scent. He wouldn't poison the tunnels he and his clan uses."

I frowned. "But I don't know his scent."

Zero and Hanabusa smirked. "But we do."

I think an hour passed when Zero abruptly stopped us, holding his right hand in the air.

"What's wrong?" I asked but no noise came out of my mouth.

Well that's odd, and it became even stranger when Zero turned around. He was talking to me but I couldn't hear anything and since Japanese wasn't my first language, reading lips was definitely out of the question. Hanabusa shouted, or at least he looked like he was shouting, and he shoved me to the ground.

I didn't hear the attack but I did see it.

Tolucan appeared out of nowhere, hitting Zero on the skull with his fist. Another vampire dug out of the ground, pulling Hanabusa into the tunnel beneath ours. I recognized the second vampire, remembering his maroon hair during my torture sessions. He was the one who got into my head, making me believe he had raped Mom and I was his child.

A small pale girl with curly purple hair and lime green eyes held a sword that was twice her size to my throat.

"Aren't you a little young to be using that?" I asked. Once again, there was no noise.

"My name is Momi, I am the maker and stealer of sound," she said in perfect English. "And I'm quite old enough to be wielding a sword."

I stared at the twelve year old girl, or at least she looked twelve, and felt uncomfortable. I didn't like the idea of fighting someone who appeared so young.

"Take out your weapon, Heolstor," Momi ordered. "I want a fair battle."

I cocked an eyebrow at her. "Well that's new."

She smirked. "Not everyone in my clan has a sense of honor."

I smirked back. "You don't say."

I withdrew the Blood Star from my sweater, releasing the spikes. Momi launched at me with her sword. I sidestepped to avoid her, twirling the Blood Star to block her attempts to chop off my head. For a child, she sure had a lot of power. I was forced to use all of my weight to push her blade off of my Blood Star. I was surprised that I could keep up with her--she was so much faster than me! And just when I think I have her, she performed the splits to evade my head-on attack.

"Damn you're good," I grunted, shielding myself from her blade.

I was going to have to take her by surprise if I wanted to win this, but what did I have to my advantage? If I tried to use the maximum strength of the Blood Star, the tunnels would collapse and we would be buried alive. Well, Yagari-sama and I would be buried alive. I suppose it doesn't matter to the vampires. Momi proved to be a difficult opponent. Not only was she fast, she was also flexible, sneaky, and when she stole noise from the air she was impossible to find. I only managed to hit her a few times, catching her when she made the mistake of getting too close.

I wasn't able to hear or see her sneak up on me, but I could still smell her.

"Back off Momi. She's my prey," a familiar feminine voice demanded.

I looked over my shoulder to see Little Miss Pink herself.

"Serena...long time no see," Kaede greeted me with a snobby voice and laughed when I didn't say anything back. "What's the matter? Have I rendered you speechless?"

Momi glared at Kaede. "She and I have a battle to finish."

Kaede sneered. "Your battle can wait. It's not significant."

"You were right, Momi," I said to the child vampire. "Not many in your clan have a sense of honor."

Momi stared, eager to fight me but she didn't want to quarrel with Kaede. After all, Kaede was obviously her elder and kin.

"Maybe next time?" she questioned me.

"Sure thing." I turned my attention to Miss Pink. "I've been waiting for this day."

"Your date with death?" Kaede was smug.

"Oh please. If I had a date with death, it would be a hot guy." If Hanabusa didn't kill me first.

"You're still a smart ass."

"And you're still a dumb ass."

Her face darkened. "Watch your tongue Fontana or I'll remove it for you."

"You don't scare me bitch." Without warning, I swung the Blood Star at her head. She managed to dodge a little but a couple of the spikes scratched her face. She screeched in outrage and came at me with her claws. I shoved her off me, smashing the Blood Star into her rib cage and twirled it quickly to crush her skull, but she backed away.

She stared at me. "I feel flattered. You trained yourself just to kill me."

I laughed sadistically. "That's where you're wrong. I'm not just going to kill you. That would be too easy. I'm going to fucking tear you limb from limb until you beg me to kill you."

"Ha! We'll see brat."

Suntiger: Special shout out to Frieda, wolfmoon10, me heart aido, and Scarykidscaringkids....just cause I can. And much love to Rosenkreuz Orden. I agree that teenage relationships are complex, but the reason it's taken me so long to write their "romantic" interactions is because it's Serena's first crush. Has anyone been kissed by their crush and then wondered what kind of relationship they were in? If they were in one at all? lol. That's the situation now.

I'll be waiting for ten reviews before I upate again. I've decided to let reviewers decide when I update, so the more reviews I get, the sooner the update. School has started, which might also influence when I update. However, my best friend is also one of my greatest fans and she attends the same university...you can depend on her to kick my ass if I don't update.