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Emerald took a deep breath as the elevator doors opened to Storm's floor. She hadn't been in his suit ever since the break-up. She was afraid that she'd have a meltdown just walking in because his suit held so many sweet memories, but she had to just get this over with.

Having Lucas helped, because he took most of the pain away. He made her smile and made her feel better about the break-up. But it wasn't exactly the same. Of course, like people, no two relationships would ever be the same, but she'd always love Storm and her love for Lucas just wasn't as strong as it was and always would be for Storm. Sometimes she thought about just breaking up with him because she felt she was using him for her own purposes, but then thought better of it.

Lucas was an amazing, sweet guy and this was partly his decision. Emerald had a feeling after the meeting with Storm he figured out just how much this break-up was affecting her, putting her actions the night they dined there with that. If he did, though, he never said anything about it.

Emerald came up to his door and hesitantly knocked. There was immediate movement on the other side of the door. Valerie answered.

She had a bright smile for Emerald, which she still couldn't figure out. Why was she so nice? It just didn't make any sense to Emerald, who'd grown up not being able to trust anyone and never meeting someone that she felt she could indefinitely trust excluding a select few that were close to her.

"Hey, come on in." Valerie greeted, pulling back and opening the door. Immediately she heard the TV with what sounded like a recent movie that'd come out on DVD (and Blu-ray).

"Am I interrupting something?" Emerald asked taking a small step in.

Valerie waved her hand passively. "No, it's totally fine. I was just watching a movie. You'll be quick, right?"

Emerald slowly stepped in, biting her lip as Valerie closed the door.

"Yeah, I should be. I didn't leave a lot of my things here." she murmured not feeling up to asking where Storm was, before heading to the bedroom. Valerie followed her inside and picked up a box that was off to the side, near the door.

"Here's a box for you to carry your things. You can see yourself out when you're done. Thank you for doing this on such a short notice."

Emerald nodded and gave her a small smile. Valerie left, closing the door.

For a moment, Emerald stood at the door, looking around the room all the good times flooding through her mind, one after another, each one hitting her, knocking all the air from her lungs.

Shaking this feeling off as best she could, Emerald picked up the box, heading straight for the closet where the rest of her clothes had been sectioned off in a corner, including her shoes. She pulled them off their hangers and picked up the shoes, throwing them into the box swiftly, but pausing momentarily. For a moment an overwhelming impulse to go up to one of Storm's shirts and smell them for that familiar, wonderful scent hit her. Ashamed at this thought, though, she hurriedly dashed out of the closet, closing the door.

After were just the small knick-knacks that she'd given Storm. They were all crowded on one side of the dresser that stood across from the bed, against the opposite wall, so Emerald assumed he no longer wanted them. With the feeling that someone had just jammed a knife straight into her heart, she trudged over to the dresser and in one fell swoop pushed all the little gifts into the box.

Just as she was turning to leave, though, a picture sitting on Storm's nightstand caught her eye. She went over to it and picked up. Tears pooled in her eyes but she smiled at the memory. Carter had taken this picture celebrating Emerald's twentieth birthday. It was somewhere in Central Park. All three of them—Emerald, Sky and Carter—were just taking a stroll in the park on a nice sunny, warm, summer day, the flowers in full bloom, the trees filled with green leaves, giving them the much needed shade. (Vampires, though don't burst into flames in the sun, get very weakened in the sun and it's not pretty when they stay out in the sun for too long.)

Anyway, they were celebrating Emerald's birthday and Carter and Sky insisted on going out. They told her that they hadn't invited Storm because they said that he told them that he was planning something special later with just him and her so they were trying to celebrate with her before Storm whisked her away. She was reluctant at first to go, because it just felt wrong without Storm, but they convinced her and for that she was glad because there was actually a surprise waiting for her at the park. It was Storm, as you probably guessed. It was Storm and, what it looked like, was 25 of his closest friends. It was like a smaller version of Mobbed (hosted by Howie Mandel) with Storm wishing Emerald a Happy Birthday. And the moment he stepped out from that crowd of people she couldn't stop herself from running up to him.

They embraced and Storm had picked her up and spun her around. That's when Carter had taken the picture.

Just looking at it, with a smile of delight and love on both their faces, looking like any young, happy-as-could-be couple, made Emerald's heart ache even more, the dull prick in her chest becoming sharp and more defined now.

"You can keep that." someone said from behind.

Startled, Emerald jumped and the picture slipped from her hand. Storm reached down to catch it and as he did Emerald sniffled and blinked rapidly getting rid of the tears, reaching up to wipe any that escaped. How she didn't notice that he was practically standing right next to her was beyond her.

Storm stood up and she let her hand fall to her side. If he noticed, he didn't say. He held out the photo. She stared at it for a moment. Even as a human he was still quick and nimble.

Emerald robotically took it from him before he held it out to her for too long and dropped it into the box.

"Thanks." she mumbled, avoiding any eye contact. "Well, I think that's it. I should be going now."

She stood out there on the balcony, eyes closed, thumbs hooked in her jean pockets, just enjoying the cool breeze. There was noise to her right, then, and she opened her eyes and looked over to her right. Carter and Sky stood there, looking up at her bewildered, taking into account how she stood on the rail of the balcony, balancing precariously, the danger of falling imminent; how she had ropes wrapped around bruised and bloodied wrists; how her clothes were sliced and slashed, hanging on her frame pathetically; how there was a cloth hanging around her neck, that was slightly damp in the front.

"Emerald?" Carter asked quietly in an appalled voice. "What… what happened?" she asked, looking back into her suite that showed virtually no signs of what had occurred.

A smile appeared on Emerald's face as she thought back to what happened.

"Hmm," she chuckled. "What did happen?"

Emerald had just come home from another long day at work. She had just closed the door and turned around when someone ambushed her, throwing their whole body at her, knocking both of them to the ground. Before she could react there a dagger was shoved straight through her heart.

Emerald, surprised, couldn't hold the cry that escaped her mouth. But only one. She'd only let that one go. The others, she kept behind gritted teeth as she glared up at her attacker who was currently dressed in all black and wearing a mask. All she saw were unnatural yellow eyes, staring down at her smugly. Her attacker was also still holding the dagger, Emerald's own hands coming up to grasp at the hilt, breath hissing through her teeth.

"Well, well, well," her attacker, now identified as a female, drawled. "The Great Vigilante." She pulled off her mask then, and revealed a pale, heart-shaped face with short, spiky pale-blonde hair who looked to be around 19. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Emerald spat, breathing hard, the knife in her chest becoming uncomfortable as her heart tried to mend and beat around it.

"Why don't we get down to business, then?" the Artful Attacker said, getting off of Emerald, but not taking the dagger out, leaving Emerald basically incapacitated because of the pain and especially where she'd been stabbed. The knife wasn't wood, but having a knife through your heart most nearly paralyzed her. She then grabbed a fistful of her hair at the crown of her head and started dragging Emerald down the hall and to the living room. Emerald struggled, but they were weak and couldn't even be called struggles, with how much she could move.

The Artful Attacker then dropped her and pulled out bast rope from a backpack lying in the corner of the room, before coming over to Emerald prying her hands away from the dagger's hilt and tying it around her wrists, leaving them unconnected for now. She was swift as she did this and as she went back to her backpack and took out a small vile filled with forest green liquid. She shook it and uncapped it before dropping some of it onto the floor, behind the couch, parallel to the French doors that led to the balcony, that were currently open. That must've been how she got in.

"I have to pay if that stains!" Emerald gasped, not just because the knife was still in her heart.

The Artful Attacker rolled her eyes but didn't say a word. She capped the vile and dragged Emerald over to the general area of where she'd poured that strange concoction. But instead of a big, dark green stain, she saw the root of a tree. Magic, of course. Why hadn't Emerald figured that out before? The pale blonde then took Emerald's rope that was tied to her left wrist and firmly tied it to the root. She repeated the action on Emerald's right side, making sure the ropes were taut, forcing Emerald to kneel on the floor, facing the balcony.

When she was done she finally pulled out the dagger, receiving a gasp from Emerald. The pain slowly receded as her wound healed though and then she was glaring at the perpetrator, a low growl building deep in her chest. She pulled at the ropes, gritting her teeth as they dug into her wrists, but they didn't budge. These roots obviously couldn't be uprooted like normal tree roots.

"What do you want?" Emerald asked finally, blowing some hair out of her eyes.

"We're going to have to fix that, won't we?" the Artful Attacker asked, turning away to her backpack. She pulled out a piece of thick, white cloth this time. She turned to face Emerald, her knife in one hand, the cloth in the other. She then stabbed Emerald's side and effectively got her to open her mouth, so that she could stuff the cloth into Emerald's open mouth and tie it into a knot in the back. "There we go, that should do it." The Artful Attacker smiled at her work and then went to grab a black pack from her backpack. She unrolled it, revealing big, small, intricate, simple knives that gleamed in the lights filtering through the still-open French doors from the all the building surrounding the Marriott.

Emerald narrowed her eyes at this display and realized what this woman was here for now. Who she was doing the job for was a question yet to be answered.

"It's nothing personal," she spoke, standing up and turning the TV on, the volume up high. "It's just business." She finished coming back around to pick one of her many knives and standing in front of Emerald. "Now," She grabbed Emerald's chin forcibly. "Where should we begin?" she asked dragging her knife down Emerald's cheek.

"Are you okay?" Carter gasped when she heard this.

Emerald looked down at Carter with a smile. "I'm fine." she assured her wide-eyed friend.

"So, how did you get out, then? You couldn't have gotten out by yourself, as good as you are." Sky probed not completely believing that Emerald was okay, but he could only surely determine that once she finished the whole story.

Emerald slumped to the ground, breathing heavily, hands gripping the ropes that bound her, resting her head on the ground for a moment, as the pain faded from her side.

"You look like you're in a lot of pain, there, Emerald." her Artful Attacker taunted, leaning in to say this in her ear. "That's just too bad. I'm so s—" She broke off as Emerald brought her head up, slamming it into the blonde's face, having enough of all this. She veered back, holding her nose, a small streak of blood dribbling down her face as she glared at Emerald. The knife she'd been holding a moment ago on the floor several feet away from Emerald.

The blonde cussed still holding her nose. "You broke my nose!"

Emerald wanted to retort but the cloth was still in her way. She couldn't even grit her teeth, the cloth was so thick. The only thing she could do was glare right back.

"You're going to pay for that." she hissed walking toward Emerald, who quickly leaned back, pulled one of her legs out from underneath her and kicked her square in the stomach so hard she went flying back onto the balcony. The blonde laughed as she stood up and cracked her neck. "So that's how it's going to be, is it? This one bites?"

It was kind of funny to Emerald how much this girl reminded Emerald of herself.

The blonde sunk into a crouch, a growl rumbling deep in her chest, forgetting that she could've easily grabbed one of her knives and hurt Emerald more than just attacking her like she was about to do.

Emerald prepared herself for the lunge, making sure that both her feet were out from underneath her. When the blonde did lunge, she reared back, laying down on her back and bringing her feet into the air just as her attacker landed. She managed to get a few slashes in on Emerald's face and chest but Emerald ignored this and straightened her legs out at an angle. The blonde went flying out of the French doors and over the balconies railing, straight over the edge.

However, being a vampire as well, Emerald knew this would only slow that woman down and not completely stop her.

Emerald sat up, breathing hard, looking around for a way to cut these ropes. She spotted the knife first but it was too far, even if she tried to reach it with her feet, legs fully extended.

She let out a frustrated growl, pulling at the ropes almost frantically. Great, she'd only thought about how to get that woman away from her. Now what?

Ask and you shall receive, right?

Just then Emerald heard a keycard being slipped into the slot and the knob turning and the door opening. Emerald's heart jumped in her chest and hoped it was someone she knew and not some hotel worker. How was she going to explain this?

Thankfully it wasn't a hotel worker. Unfortunately it was Lucas. An innocent human who didn't know anything about the Night World. She could smell his wet, pulsing blood as soon as he walked into the door.

"Emerald?" Lucas called over the running TV. He walked down the hall to the living room and stopped short, his eyes widening, his mouth dropping when he spotted Emerald. "Oh my God!" he exclaimed, running forward to quickly turn off the blasting TV and going over to Emerald while turning on a light. Emerald blinked as her eyes adjusted to the sudden onslaught.

Lucas kneeled down in front of her and gingerly pulled out her gag and letting it drop to hang around her neck before taking her head into his hands, brushing the hair out of her face.

"Are you okay? What happened?" he asked frantically as he eyed her ripped, torn cloths.

"Lucas," Emerald whispered breathlessly afraid of his wellbeing with him here but he kept asking her questions and not letting her speak. "Lucas!" she hissed making him freeze, his blue-green eyes meeting hers, his hands still holding her face. "Shut up and listen to me." she commanded quietly through gritted teeth. Lucas simply looked at her slightly appalled she'd talk in such a way in such a state.

"Emerald—" Lucas tried.

"Just listen to me!" Emerald interrupted. "I need you to do something for me, okay? I need you to act now and ask questions later." she said slowly and carefully. When Lucas didn't say anything she continued. "I need you to grab that knife to your left, a few feet behind you." she instructed nodding in the same direction. Lucas turned and grabbed the knife his eyes going wide again seeing the dried blood on the blade. "Ask questions later." Emerald reminded him quickly before continuing her instructions: "Take the serrated edge and cut through these ropes, quickly!"

She pulled the ropes taught to make it easier for him to saw through, but also to calm her down. She was so afraid that that woman would come back at any moment and then they'd both be in huge trouble. Putting Lucas's life in danger killed Emerald. Another innocent life lost. She couldn't let that happen to him. He had his whole life ahead of him.

As he sawed through the thick ropes she tried to keep herself calm, monitoring the balcony and the front door not sure if her attacker would come back in from the balcony or the front door. Based on her observations during her torture she was sure that her attacker wouldn't hesitate to scale the Marriott and climb back up onto the balcony.

Sure enough when Lucas was half-way through the second rope Emerald noticed a hand grab the very bottom of the balcony. Her heart jumped in her chest but she didn't alert Lucas. She didn't want to put pressure on him but he needed to hurry or he could end up getting hurt. It was like a horror movie with Lucas as the unsuspecting victim and Emerald's attacker the monster/creature/thing climbing up and out.

The blonde was just reaching up for the rail to pull herself back onto the balcony when Lucas finished and looked up at her for further instruction.

"Hit the floor." she ordered standing just the woman launched herself at Emerald.

Ah cliffhangers, don't you just love them? Hope you enjoyed!

thank-you-for-everything

~ See you at the Millennium!