A/N: Here's the next. Just a heads up, the reason I don't really use the Docs' names/letters (J, G, S, H, and O) is because besides J, it was always easier for me to differentiate between them by looks. They won't play a huge role throughout The Taken, but I hope my descriptions help you to recognize them.

05 Blood

"So, this is where the magic happens, huh, Tro?" I winked at my partner in crime, causing a light flush to spread across the one cheek I could see. We were at the end of my tour, finishing with Trowa's room. "I'm just teasing!" I prodded his ribs with my elbow, but I was surprised when he let out a little Ow!

"Man, Duo," he was rubbing the spot I'd nudged. "You're stronger than I remember." He was frowning and so was I. My little nudges and shoves had never had an effect on the tall man before. This was a first for both of us.

"That just shows how well the anti-venom is working." Quatre explained, smiling. The blonde had rejoined us in the last bit of my tour. "This is what it was meant to do; take away all of the workings of the venom; the strength, the invulnerability, the sensitivity to the sun. That venom turned you into the equivalent of a fairytale vampire. Now we're trying to reverse that."

"Vampire?" I'd never thought of it this way, but I was starting to see what Quatre was saying. I was, after all, in the process of draining my fourth blood baggie in only hours. "I guess so. We're just vampires without fangs." I laughed but it was the truth. Our teeth couldn't break skin like the monsters of legend. We'd always used more conventional methods for getting to the blood, a little slice from a knife worked just fine for me. I slurped down the last few drops and discarded the now empty bag.

A little buzz, the sound of a vibration, broke us from the conversation. Our guide pressed a button on the piece hanging on his ear. "Quatre here." He turned away to take the call.

The petite blonde was growing on me. I could see the little details that would attract Trowa. The expressions that showed every emotion, the little worry lines between his soft pale brows, and the warmth that seemed to radiate from the man at all times.

"Don't even think about it," whispered Trowa. It was a warning, though a friendly one.

"Think about what?" I knew what he meant, but it was too fun not to toy with my all too quiet friend, so I leaned over, trying to catch a glimpse of a toned backside.

I was yanked back by my collar before I could really observe anything, a death glare shooting holes through the side of my head. I just laughed it off. I threw my arm around Trowa's neck and he relaxed, too. He knew I was joking and he could never stay mad at me.

"That's great!" Quatre's excitement was oozing out of every pore. "We'll be right down, then." He disconnected the call and turned back to us, heading back towards the hallway. "Come on, we're needed down in the labs."

That call was kind of a lucky break, I needed a few minutes to digest all that I'd learned.

It turned out the building we were being housed in was actually quite large. The night of our 'escape' I hadn't paid much attention to the outside, I was more interested in just trying to keep up with what was happening.

There were four floors hidden under the seemingly normal five story building that sat on the surface of the colony. The first of the underground levels was the 'office' of sorts. The two levels below that were the housing and kitchen areas for all of the employees, which now included Trowa and myself. The bottom floor consisted of laboratories. Above the surface, legitimate businesses rented out the available space. The building itself was owned by a man named Zechs Marquise.

Marquise, it turned out, was the founder of the organization that had helped pull us from the torture we'd been forced into since childhood. He'd named the organization Epyon.

No one seemed to know much about Zechs and what little they did know was pretty basic. He knew about Sanc, the aliens and their queen, and what they were doing. He was determined to stop them. He'd made the contact with the doctors that had set this whole escape in motion. He was also funding the research that had developed the anti-venom and that was now redeveloping it for use with me.

The elevator door opened to the fourth basement. I still didn't quite recognize this floor from that first night and I still wasn't sure of my way around its twisting halls, so I simply followed Quatre and Trowa to the door we needed.

"Ah, there they are." The doc with the claw hand motioned for us to come further into the room. In a far corner, Heero stood with his back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, ignoring everyone. The man looked like he was straight out of an action flick.

It was partially disturbing, and partially a turn on.

I mentally slapped myself. What was I thinking? A turn on? The man threw me on the ground before we'd even met! I forced myself to focus on what the doctors were saying instead of my own internal turmoil.

"It seems as though Heero's blood is holding up to the anti-venom. There are a few more tests we have to run for assurance, but it should work." The man's claw hand clicked its prongs together. "There is however one test we can't perform with this equipment. We need to see if Heero can withstand the Reaction."

"I thought the anti-venom took care of that." It was Quatre that spoke up, but he looked just as concerned as me.

The man with the hook nose was the one to speak up. "Only if the anti-venom is already present in the Hunter. In Duo's case, we had to reverse the anti-venom because his body was rejecting it. He'll be feeding on a human without anything to buffer the Reaction from taking hold."

"Now, now." The man with the claw hand spoke up again. "Heero is no normal human, don't forget. That's why we want you to test his limits to see if he can fight the Reaction before we start."

My mind was scrambling for an excuse. Everyone knew how the Feeders would act during a feeding, and they probably knew how we acted as well, but I still wasn't comfortable losing myself like that in front of a room full of people.

"Duo just fed." It was Trowa to the rescue.

"Yeah. I'm not too thirsty right now."

I glanced to Heero. The man still hadn't moved, but he was watching the scene play out before him. Our eyes locked for a moment before I looked away, feeling heat rush to my face.

The taller doctor with a prosthetic nose spoke up. "I suppose they'll have to try it on their own. We don't have time to wait and watch anyways."

"I suppose you're right," said hook-nose. There was a bit of distaste in his tone. "You'll have to test it tonight. We'll need time to make adjustments if they're needed."

"S-sure." I felt like a child being given an impossible mission. I looked at Heero again, tall, dark, and brooding. He pushed off from the wall and headed for the door. "I guess I'll stop at your room later?"

"Hn," was all I got as a response before he left the room.

"That man has got to be a robot." At least it got a chuckle out of Trowa and Quatre.