Disclaimer: Don't own any of the series mentioned in this story.

Author's note: I'm glad I've gotten some attention for the story. I've watched both shows, and to be honest, I really don't like the direction that both shows went, and I damn sure don't like the way both shows ended. The humor alone would've been better if not for the way that Dan had written certain characters, not to mention having one of the main characters the butt monkey of his show. In truth, for a show like iCarly, Dan seemed to reinforce the same concept that Joss Whedon did in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which is that the one consistent male who is a main character is made made to look bad and is humiliated despite his importance to the other characters. It's a concept that's both sad and irritating as emasculating said characters has only caused a false sense of empowerment among audience members. As for Victorious, I really hate how Dan has his characters treat each other and then make certain behaviors seem okay. I've asked this before: ladies, if you were with your boyfriend for three years but he let other girls flirt with him even while he was taken, and treated a female friend better than he treated you, would you honestly be okay with that? Anyway, I'm done. Enjoy the new chapter.

Nozu

Los Angeles, California

Freddie and the brunette girls walked into the restaurant, with the young man holding the door open for the two. Both smiled at him as the walked further into the establishment, but stopped as they noticed the owner at the bar. Mrs. Lee immediately noticed their presence and made a beeline straight for Freddie, with the widest smile any have ever seen.

"Oh my, you're Freddie Benson from iCarly! Welcome to Nozu!" Mrs. Lee said. Her smiled dropped a little as she noticed Tori and Jade each standing on one side of the former tech producer.

"And it's you two girls. The same girls who left my daughter dangling from the ceiling!" the owner yelled. Freddie raised an eyebrow as he was lost on the specifics of what Mrs. Lee was talking about.

"I told you already, there was an issue with the rigging. Your daughter was at safe as the equipment was secure. Besides, you got your money back and then some, so what's really the problem?" Jade challenged before Tori could try and smooth things over. Mrs. Lee sneered at the two girls before replacing her smile.

"I have a nice table for this handsome young man and his two...girlfriends. Please, right this way," Mrs. Lee said trying not to lash out. The three young adults followed Mrs. Lee to a table close tot he stage. The girls recalled the night that Sikowitz forced them to 'date' in order to get along. In truth, they were still annoyed about having been forced to do so, by their teacher, let alone a male, but let ti slide as they weren't sure what he would've gotten away with. The three settled at their table and looked over the menu while making idle chit-chat.

"So Freddie, what made you decide to go to school down here?" Tori asked cheerfully.

"Oh. I thought I should maybe get out explore life in L.A. It's been a while since I was last here and I do like the city. I figured I had a better chance of breaking into the tech business here than back home," Freddie answered with a smile that didn't entirely reach his eyes. Jade and Tori noticed and figured Carly and Sam's absence in his life may have had more to do with it than he let on.

"What about you two? What's been going on? I haven't had a chance to catch up with so much craziness going on," Freddie asked. Tori appeared caught off guard as she wasn't sure how she wanted to relay the details of the shift in dynamics of the group. She looked to Jade who looked back and shrugged her shoulders, and decided to speak up.

"I broke up with Beck," Jade replied almost nonchalantly. Freddie's eyes shot open while Tori's face took on a pained expression as she realized that going over the details again would be more painful for her this time around. Ever since the drama surrounding that event happened, she had wondered if she was really as good a friend as she had claimed to everyone she knew.

"I'm sorry to hear. You don't have to tell me why," Freddie said, snapping Tori out of her musings.

"It's okay. I'm sure Tori filled you in about the past breakups. But I need to tell you my side," Jade said as she recalled the memory.

Early April, 2012

Beck's RV

Los Angeles

Beck looked at his girlfriend as he heard her words, but wasn't sure he understood what was happening now. He got up off his bed and paced for a few moments wondering how this could be happening. He stopped to look at Jade who only looked back with a calmness that scared him, despite not being afraid of anything.

"Can you run that by me again?" the handsome teenager asked. Jade let out a soft breath as she had expected this kind of reaction.

"I said I want to break. For good this time," Jade replied with no anger or malice.

"Jade, where is this coming from?" Beck asked as he still felt confused.

"Beck, has anything about our relationship changed?" Jade asked still calm.

"What? What are you talking about?" Beck asked still feeling in the dark about her motives.

"Beck. Ever since we got back together, I've realized that nothing has changed between the two of us. All that happened was that I downplayed how I normally act because I didn't want to fight. But then you were still the same. Even after w got back together, the girls still flocked to you and you did the same thing every time. You let them carry on as if it was no big deal; like you were single," Jade began explaining.

"Oh my god. We're back on this again, Jade?!" Beck began to shout.

"That's not all," Jade spat back. Beck stopped and looked back at his girlfriend, or soon-to-be as it would seem to be.

"Not only have your let girls flirt like it's no big deal, the way you've treated me doesn't exactly paint you as Prince Charming. For one thing, you've never bothered to listen to me whenever I brought up these same concerns. You'd always blow me off as if I was just being a jealous and overprotective gank. Yes, I wasn't always the best person to be around but I was never mean to anyone unless they did something to bother me. You never even cared to know how I felt. You took every chance to bail and even went so far as to punish like I'm some little girl and you're my dad. Truth is, I should've gotten better form you since I never treated you that way. But you don't know anything about respect," Jade finished as she moved to stand up.

"Still the same jealous vindictive bitch," Beck mumbled. Unfortunately Jade heard him. She spun to face him and saw the look of surprise on his face.

"I told you already why I was mean. But you don't listen or respect me, not only as your girlfriend but as a person. I'm not going to let myself sink lower than I did when we got back together. We're done Beck," Jade said moving to the door, only for Beck to grab her arm roughly.

"Maybe I have more to say," Beck said getting angry. Jade tried pulling her arm away from him but it was proving difficult.

"Beck! Let me go!" Jade yelled as she finally yanked her arm away.

"You've been the one talk maybe I should do some too!" Beck said as he grabbed Jade again. Jade wouldn't have this time as she cocked her right arm back. As she threw a punch, her fist hit her intended target. However, when her fist connected with Beck's face, she heard a crack and saw him fly back and hit the wall painfully. Jade stood shocked for a minute until Beck looked up at her in fear.

"Get out," Beck said with labored breath. Jade didn't need to be told twice as she quickly left Beck's trailer to head home.

Present...

Freddie and Tori looked on in shock as Jade finished her story. She had looked contemplative as if there was something more to the story. Jade had decided not to mention the drama that followed days later. Beck had told the others that Jade had dumped him and that she had hit him before leaving. Since then, the others had not spoken to her, save Cat or André which was still few and far between. Jade wasn't surprised that he once again twisted the truth to be better suit him. Despite being left alone for the better part of about two months, she felt relief at finally feeling free to be herself.

"Wow. I'm so sorry. But Tori, didn't you or the others check on Jade?" Freddie asked, catching on that his question surprised Tori.

"Uh, w-well-" Tori stammered.

"It's okay Freddie. I didn't tell anyone else till now," Jade answered before Tori could.

"But they're still your friends. They should've come to see you," Freddie said, not understanding how a group like this could still have been together this long. Tori let out a breath, catching her companion's attention.

"Beck told us that Jade had hit him when they were talking. That she just freaked and lashed out. As ashamed as I am to admit it, we took Beck's side without even talking to Jade about her side. We've always been scared of Jade because he came off as...scary. We really let you down Jade. I'm sorry," Tori said with her voice full of regret. Jade wasn't sure what to say as no one had ever thought to apologize to her. Usually she would be blamed or seen as the bad guy even when she was wronged.

"Friendships are always hard. They're meant to be built on mutual trust, respect, and understanding. The hard part is knowing when the friendship is really one-sided and that you're being taken advantage of. As for romantic relationships, it's even harder, especially when you love them but they don't love you back. And no matter how much you show them, they just take it for granted. It gets hard because your heart and mind then become at war with one another. And you're just left wishing that things could've been different," Freddie mused as he thought on the situation.

Tori had listened to his words and thought back on the time when she had hung out with Beck, just the two of them. The awkward situation at the animal clinic was the oddest thing to have happened to her up to that point as the random clients had dug their noses in the her and her friend's business. But when the issue of her, Jade, and Beck came up, it became weirder. It wasn't until someone confronted the Canadian teen about his feelings towards both girls, where he said that he'd always love her as a friend but didn't say so as far as her being his girlfriend. Tori began re-evaluating just how good a friend he really was to her or Cat in the midst of everything. What really brought everything home was during the events leading up to the Platinum Music Awards where he tried to kiss her. She remembered feeling vulnerable at that time and realized that Beck had tried to capitalize.

"Speaking from experience?" Jade asked out of sympathy.

"You could say that," Freddie said. He thought back to his last conversation with Carly before he made his decision to leave. It was that conversation that made him realize that after seven years, nothing had really changed. That to the girl he loved, he would always be second, if not last to her.

Mid June, 2012

Seattle, Washington

Freddie sat in his bedroom with his laptop resting on his thighs. Carly had been gone for a few weeks already and he was looking forward to talking with the girl who held his heart. He brought up the window for video chat and sent a request. After a few moments, the request was accepted and a window opened showing Carly Shay's face on the monitor. Freddie noticed that she seemed surprised but ignored it for the moment.

"Hey Freddie. What's up?" Carly asked trying to keep from looking distracted.

"Not much Carls. Just thought I'd see how life in Italy was treating you,"Freddie responded with a bright smile.

"Everything's fine here. Just living. How are you? And how's Sam?" Carly asked. Freddie's smile turned into a slight frown at the question.

"I've been fine. I don't know what to tell you about Sam. She actually left the same night you did," Freddie replied.

"She left?!" Carly yelled at the news.

"Yeah. Just took off without so much as a word. Not too surprising though," Freddie said.

"Freddie she was our friend-"

"No, Carly. At best, she was your friend. I was just your free target whenever she felt the need to hit me, insult me, or humiliate me," Freddie said with his eyes downcast.

"Freddie...I'm sorry I let her get by with all tha-" Carly was saying before Freddie interrupted her.

"It doens't matter too much now. Whether or not she owns up to her behavior is up to her. IF she's alright, that's all that matters," Freddie said. Carly smiled that he didn't at least hate Sam in the end.

"Carly, I really mi-"

"Carly, sweetheart, who are you talking to?" came a voice that Freddie knew wasn't the colonel's. A young man about their age with short, slightly spiky hair, and a medium muscular build came into view of the monitor, with his arm around Carly's shoulders. Freddie immediately knew that he was about to receive the biggest heartbreak of his life.

"Just a friend Roberto. It'll only take a minute," Carly replied. Her company simply shrugged and walked away. Freddie had remained quiet with his head hung low as he realized what this now meant for him and Carly.

"Look Freddie, I-" Carly was cut off.

"He's your boyfriend," Freddie said for her.

"You don't know that for sure. Maybe he was just a friend," Carly snapped back.

"Since when have Gibby or I ever put our arm around your shoulders and you didn't recoil? How many times have you told me to give you space or something similar? We kissed before you left. I thought that maybe there would've been a chance to at least talk about whether or not there would be more between us like we promised. This is just like when Steven came into the picture," Freddie said the last part absentmindedly.

"What's Steven got to do with this?" Carly asked.

"You did the same thing when you started dating Steven. After I saved you from the taco truck, we promised that we'd talk about whether or not anything changed once the casts were off. But you didn't. I thought that I would've been given more consideration from someone who was my best friend," Freddie said, letting out a breath of the release that came with his words. Carly was about to say something when Freddie stopped her again.

"You know what. Don't worry about it. You're living your life. I should be living mine. Have a nice life...Carly Shay," Freddie said before he cut off the video chat and shut down his laptop. Freddie sat his computer down on the the floor and laid back on his bed, looking up at the ceiling. He didn't care that tears silently streamed down his face.

Present

Freddie shook his head as the memory of that night still hurt and he wanted to move on. As much as he had loved Carly, it was pointless dwelling on the past. He looked to his female companions and smiled that at least he could make a few friends here. The young man looked at the girls and smiled which they returned in full. The three decided on food and chatted about things they hoped to accomplish at UCLA.

After an enjoyable meal between the three, the left the restaurant and noticed that it had gotten dark. Freddie looked to Jade and Tori.

"Well, I guess the night is winding down. I think I'd better be getting back to my room. What are you two going to do?" Freddie asked.

"I don't know. It's only eight o'clock. We've still got time to kill. Wanna hang some more?" Jade asked, hoping to know more about the young man.

"Well, well, well. What have we here? Three kiddies all alone in an alley. Come on boys, maybe we can have fun with the girls before-Holy shit! It's Freddie Benson! Hey Guys! It's Freddie Benson from iCarly!" a stranger yelled out making the three companions stop in their tracks, as five more men surrounded them, each awestruck.

"You're not laying a hand on anyone as long as I'm around," Freddie said moving between Tori and Jade.

"You know, I've wanted to turn a celebrity since I was turned. Now I have a chance," the leader said as his face suddenly morphed into a monstrous face. The ridges of his forehead had furrowed and stood out from the face, while his teeth had sharpened and lengthened into fangs. Finally, their eyes appeared golden and were cat-like.

"Oh my god!" Tori shouted as she became nervous for her life. Jade recoiled herself as the guys surrounding her suddenly morphed their faces as well. Freddie tried to remain calm even as he was freaking out. He had heard rumors about something like this before. He remembered reading articles about a small town in California suddenly disappearing back in 2003. Even weirder, was that the town itself had become known for all of the murders that had accrued ever since it was founded. The murders usually involved incidents of 'people falling on barbecue forks' or 'gangs on pcp'. Looking at the guys in front of him, his normally logical mind could only come to one answer to the men, if he could call them that, surrounding them: vampires. He took note of the six vampires surrounding them and realized that if myths were to be believed, they may not stand a chance.

Freddie lashed out at one coming from their right, hoping to create an exit for the girls. However, before they could move, two of the attackers grabbed them and threw them to the ground. The girls could only watch as the other four set upon Freddie and proceeded pummeling him to the ground, as he feebly tried to defend himself. Jade looked up and saw that the former tech producer would likely not last much longer, when that feeling returned. She stood up as one of the attackers approached her. With one glance at her attacker, he was suddenly thrown back by an invisible force. Tori looked at her former frenemy in shock.

As Jade was coming to terms with what happened, Freddie saw what she had done and saw that she was still in shock. He wanted more than anything to make sure Jade and Tori would at least come out of this alive. Suddenly, he felt something powerful from within himself, that made him tremble. Suddenly, he felt his body become filled with power and the four surrounding vampires were thrown back by a similar force. Everyone looked up and saw Freddie standing with a strength that had been belied by his normal posture. What set everyone off was that his irises were glowing a silvery blue color, which also crackled. Himself could feel power coursing through his power, especially as it continued to ebb. One of the vampires moved to attack only to trap in a force, which emitted the same aura that Freddie's eyes had undertaken. Suddenly, the captured vampire burst into flames then dust, making everyone turn to Freddie who had his right arm outstretched.

Jade was marveled by what he had done and figured she could likely do the same. She looked to her attackers and noticed pieces of broken wood in a dumpster behind them. She concentrated and suddenly the two vampires were thrown back and flew towards the pieces of wood and were dusted as they became impaled. The odds were now more even as there was three to one. The leader and the remainder of his gang moved to attack, only to see everything in the alley begin floating and moving around them rapidly. Freddie and Jade looked to Tori and were surprised by her appearance. Her brunette hair had become slightly darker and was flying out everywhere. Her appearance was even stranger as her eyes had dilated grown darker. Jade and Freddie took to cover as the objects were slightly wild yet seemed focused while the vampires had a hard time simply dodging, as some of the wood had started flying around them as well. Freddie looked on and focused on the three remaining vampires until they each exploded. The objects suddenly dropped to the ground and the aura had left Freddie's eyes. The three looked to each other shocked.

"W-what just happened?" Tori asked breaking the shock she was in.

"I...I think vampires attacked. A-and we used superpowers," Freddie answered timidly still not believing what had happened.

"We need to get somewhere safe quickly," Jade suggested.

"But where to?" Tori asked.

"We can go to my house. Tori, you rode with me anyway, so it'll be fine. Just call your parents and tell them that we're meeting up with Cat later and that she wants to have a sleepover," Jade suggested. Tori took out her phone and called her parents, who consented.

Jade pulled her car into the driveway of her home, noticing her mother's car was not in the driveway. She remembered that her mother was going on a business trip for the week. This was a saving grace as she wouldn't be able to truthfully explain why her former frenemy and a random young man were staying in their house. Tori was feeling relieved as she wasn't sure she wanted to take the chance of hurting her family with everything that happened. Freddie, however, was trying to rationally figure out how this had come about and why this had happened to them. He realized that wouldn't be able to come up with a logical answer, or at least an answer that would make it seem as though he was tossed into a nightmare. The young adults entered the house and took in the lavish yet modest-sized home.

"Come on. My room is right upstairs," Jade said leading the way. The three reached the threshold of her room. Tori and Jade stopped as they realized that Freddie had not entered. They spotted him standing outside with a bit of trepidation in his face.

"I think I should sleep on the couch, in case we get more trouble," Freddie suggested mildly. Despite having been in Carly's room, being in the room of a girl who was still a bit of a stranger to him was new ground for him. Jade and Tori smiled softly at his chivalry.

"You don't have to Freddie. Vampires don't enter a home unless they're invited in. It's common knowledge. Besides, Tori and I would feel better if you were here with us," Jade said timidly, having never been this vulnerable except around Beck.

"If you say so. Is there a sleeping bag?" Freddie asked. The girls laughed softly as he continued to hold out.

"I think it'll be best if you stay close," Jade said, trying to keep her face from flushing. She felt oddly comfortable being in his presence despite their lives having been at serious risk not too long ago. He gave off a presence that made her feel safe even when the odds seemed against them. He had even put himself in further danger to make sure they lived.

"Well, I don't know about you guys but I'm tired. I'm going to change in the bathroom. Tori, you're free to change in there too. I've got extra clothes. Freddie, you can change in here," Jade said, as sh e brought spare clothes out of her dresser and proceeded to the bathroom, with Tori following. After ten minutes, the young man and women were changed and had settled onto Jade's bed. The girls were dressed in sweatpants and t-shirts. Freddie, in his reluctance, was dressed only in an undershirt and boxers. He had tried keeping his distance but couldn't go anywhere, especially since the girls were adamant about letting him stay. Jade had put in a movie for them to watch on her television until it came time to settle in for sleep. Freddie tried to proceed to sleep on the floor but was stopped as the girls kept him on the bed. As they each laid down for sleep, the girls had subtly communicated that Freddie would sleep in the middle. Freddie had a hard time being able to sleep as he had gone from protector to teddy bear in the same night. Eventually sleep claimed all three as they knew they had stepped into something unbelievable.

In the alleyway where the young adults were attacked, Xander, Faith, and Jenny had investigated the area. The former technopagan had a handheld device with a meter that seemed to be going off the scale. Her friends looked to her as she had a look more serious than they had ever seen on her face.

"What's up Jen?" Faith asked.

"These readings indicate that the psychic energies present are beyond anything any novice has ever experienced. Xander, you said you felt the power immediately after Sachiel awakened it within you. But the readings show that the energies present had soared past that. It's like their minds and feelings alone were the source controlling the power. We might have to get to these kids soon or else they could be dangerous," Jenny explained.

"I don't think we have to worry just yet. I just found about six piles of dust. And from the looks of this debris, it's safe to say they may be a bit wary until they learn a bit more control. And considering who we're tracking, it's safe to say they will. Let's give it a little while longer," Xander suggested.

"Are you sure?" Jenny asked.

"I remember how I felt when I first began using my powers. At first, everything seemed reactive until Sachiel trained me and I reached new heights. These kids are the same way. We at least know for sure they're not impulsive. We'll give them more time before we come to them. On the plus side, you might have a new student Jenny," Xander joked, making her smile and shake her head. The three Scooby gang friends levitated and flew off back towards their base of operations, hoping that the search will draw to an end soon.