Author's note: Sometimes I wonder if I've turned the Frogs and Sam into the three stooges. Then I remember how silly they were in the movie, and I realize...they already were. Also...Michael and Star are fountains of extreme angst.

"Ed...Alan...are you guys awake?" Sam lay on a cot beside his bed, looking up towards the mattress where he'd been forced to let his guests sleep while they were staying there. Lucy hadn't been too keen on letting Star's room out while she was gone, still confident she'd come back as soon as she felt like it.

His Rob Lowe poster smoldered at him from his closet door, and Sam frowned. He still hadn't taken it down, because he liked to pretend Mike was still coming home to laugh at the hilarious prank of putting it back in his room for the thousandth time. But...he really hated Rob Lowe.

"A soldier is always prepared to wake within a moment's notice, Sam," Edgar replied cryptically. Half of the things Edgar spouted tended to sound like that. It was like he was emulating Sam's grandpa, though a little less effectively. No one could take the tone in Edgar's voice seriously. Alan's snore chimed in with Edgar's remark, further dulling the power of the words.

"So...his jacket..." Sam trailed off.

"Yes. His jacket." Edgar agreed.

They were silent for a moment, save for Alan snorting a couple of times and shifting on the mattress. Michael's jacket had been the only 'clue' they'd been able to find...hanging in Star's closet and separated from all of her clothes as if it had it's own little corner shrine.

"That means he probably didn't leave of his own will, because he probably would have taken the jacket with him if he had," Edgar finally ground out, shoving his brother to get more mattress space. Alan groaned in his sleep and tugged on the blanket.

"So...David...or something...one of them must still be alive. And if they took Michael with them..." Sam didn't want to finish his thought. It was way too upsetting. Denial was a powerful protection charm, and he still wasn't sure he wanted to get rid of it.

"...Then he's probably one of them now," Edgar finished for him. He sounded as dismissive as ever of Sam's brother. Somehow it irked him, but he could understand where he was coming from. If Michael was a bloodsucker now, that meant he had to be staked...

Sam flinched at the thought and turned over on his side, sighing.

"Star and I went back to the cave when he disappeared...but we only went once..." he bit his bottom lip. "We were afraid we might actually find him there if we went back. And...neither of us wanted to believe he was 'dead'." He should have felt a sense of relief, finally stating those words aloud. The understood feeling between himself and Star for the last year that had pretty much kept Sam from really searching to try and find out about Michael's whereabouts. Leave it to the Frogs to finally drag it out of him, though.

"Well, we can't go back tonight. If they're there right now, we'd be the perfect snack. But that doesn't explain why they haven't come looking for us..." Edgar grunted, finally releasing the blanket so Alan could steal it completely. He was fine. He still had the sheet.

"You really think Michael would eat us? I mean...if he really is a vampire?" Sam whispered, and that thought more than anything sent shivers down his spine. He still remembered the night Nanook had saved his life, though Mike hadn't really done anything to him. If he'd...if he'd become a real bloodsucker all over again, that meant he'd probably killed by now too. So...there probably wouldn't be any brotherly love left for Sam anymore, when it came down to grabbing a quick snack.

Edgar didn't reply. So Sam waited...and still nothing.

"Ed?"

"Oh, sorry. I shrugged. Thought you saw me," Edgar abruptly apologized.

"I can't even see you from down here, why would you think I could see you shrug?" Sam frowned.

"Well, you should have assumed I shrugged. I'm telling you I just shrugged, so take it from me. I shrugged."

"Okay. Whatever. You shrugged. I believe you." Sam rolled his eyes.

"Tomorrow we need to get unpacked. Alan and I brought some holy water and stakes just in case we needed them. Then we'll figure out a way to sneak into the cave during the day...we'll find any bloodsuckers hiding out there, and deal with them. Now, Sam, they might be deeper in than they used to be, and they probably know we're coming...practically shitting themselves in fear at this point, now that they know how dangerous we are..." Edgar rambled on, and Sam closed his eyes. There was no way they'd be able to sneak out a second time with grandpa's car. And frankly, with every muscle aching in his body from all the housework he'd had to do that day, he didn't even know if he really wanted to try. Because...if Mike really was a vampire...and didn't give a shit about him anymore...that idea was even more disturbing than having his throat torn out.

"And if nobody's in the cave, then maybe...just maybe...Michael forgot his jacket when he ran off. Who knows? It coulda had a lotta bad memories for him..." Sam mumbled, though there was little hint of hope in his tone. He knew he was fooling himself. The denial he'd been supporting and re-enforcing over the last year with bricks made of solid avoidance and excuses was finally crumbling.

Michael rubbed his head and sat up, shoving Thorn away. The dog had been huddled over him, sniffing at his jacket and shirt like a crazed beast. It made sense, considering that was pretty much the definition of a hellhound.

"Get away, Thorn," he squeezed his eyes tight and leaned forward on his knees, which he'd drawn up. The last thing he remembered was taking that stupid dog for a walk around the hotel, and then stumbling into a weird drop...and...smoke?

"Michael?" David appeared in front of him, followed closely by the others.

"Nothing. Tripped...fell...hit my head," Michael lied. A nagging voice inside him told him to keep the smoke a secret. Whatever it was, they didn't need to know about it. Hell, they'd probably mock him for being scared by a bit of condensed air.

"Nice one," Marko whistled, glancing over at Paul who stood beside him...and was still snickering, though he was trying his best to keep a hand over his mouth.

David gave Michael a piercing look, and he felt a jolt of pain shoot through his skull. The asshole was reading his thoughts! Fine. I'll give you something to read...

So Michael envisioned Care Bears and Olivia Newton John having a tea party with Big Bird.

David glared and stepped back, crossing his arms. "Fine, don't tell me. But I'll find out, sooner or later, Michael," he threatened.

"Find out what? That I hit my head? Shit, David, give me a break, you megalomaniac albino fuck!" Michael snapped, getting to his feet. Unfortunately, he went a little too far, but he wasn't terribly surprised when less than an instant after his retort, he was slammed back against a cave wall with a hand wrapped around his throat and suspending him a little over a foot in the air.

"You really don't know when to keep your mouth shut, do you?" David hissed, fangs descending and eyes glowing in his anger.

"Nope. But you know that by now, Davey," Marko slapped David's back and stepped away when he got an angry glare in response before David re-directed his anger back at Michael.

Dwayne glanced between the three, and then back at Paul, eyebrows raised. He didn't remember David's temper being quite this bad before. He wondered if gaining the head vampire status went to his head, or actually physically changed his mind...made him even more dominant than he was before. He'd have to interrogate Marko later when they had a little bit more privacy. As silly as Marko might have been most of the time, he was way more observant than he let on. If David really had changed, he'd know better than the rest of them.

"Go on, then, kill me! I'm tired of this shit, David!" Michael hissed back, though forming the words was difficult with the pressure of David's claws digging into his neck. By now Michael had transformed as well. He didn't know where all of this anger was coming from all of a sudden, but he was glad to have it. Maybe if he just pissed David off enough, the blonde bastard would lose his temper and end his misery. Then take care of Star too.

Paul threw an arm around Marko's shoulder and grinned, "you got any popcorn? This is getting good..."

Dwayne gave Paul a warning look, silencing the stoned vampire more effectively than words would have.

"I give you immortality, Michael. I give you a second chance. I give you my patience. I give you everything, and every night you fight me! WHY?!" David demanded, for the first time resorting to actual words before action. Maybe he thought after the bonfire with the boys that he'd finally gotten through to his childe, broken the stupid rebellious streak that had nearly gotten them destroyed in the first place. Clearly, he was wrong.

"Because I HATE you, David. I've hated you since the night I found out what you are. What you all are. What you made me into. You're tired of fighting me, but you know what? I'm tired of you."

David stared at him in disbelief. It wasn't really what Michael said that surprised him. It was the fact that those were the last words Star had ever uttered to him, the exact words, the night before she fled the cave with Michael and Laddie...what's more...for just a split second, he could swear he saw her eyes blinking back at him from Michael's face.

"Dun dun dun dun..." Marko crooned to the tune of a funeral march. "You aren't gonna walk straight for weeks, Mikey!" He laughed, and Paul joined in with him. There wasn't too much energy in their laughter. At this point, they were just trying to diffuse the tension.

Dwayne crossed his arms and jumped slightly when a howl that didn't originate from Thorn echoed through the small chamber they were standing in.

"Oh, right...Star. Hey, why don't we go re-introduce you two while the lovebirds sort things out?" Marko reached forward to grab at the back of Dwayne's coat, which was highly ineffective. Dwayne slapped his hand away and spun around with a slight frown.

"Okay, okay...I get it. You can walk on your own..." Marko shrugged, backing out of the chamber with Dwayne and Paul following. Good luck, Mikey...Marko shook his head, smirking.