TWP: Alright, let's hope this chapter will be better than the last.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Ava.

Ava Krory, Arystar Krorys youngest cousin. Discovered her Parasite type Innocence at the age of 14. Have been part of the Black Order ever since.

Race: Romanian

Age: 18 years

Height: 169 cm

Weight: 65 kg

Birthday: 15 October

Sign: Libra

Bloodtype: A

Ava hid in the shadows, watching her cousin cry as he tried to wake up the corpse in front of him.

"Oh God. Please tell me that you're still alive!" He sobbed but the man didn't move nor respond to his words. The woman, Eliade, grabbed his wrist and with a monotone voice stated that the man had already passed on. Krory covered his face as tears ran down his cheeks while Eliade said that she would bury the body for him.

"How did I turn into this monster, how?" Krory cried out in frustration. "A mob of people from the village came to fight me in the garden. I've now become an enemy to them, something to be feared and hated!" Eliade embraced him and said that it couldn't be helped how the villagers felt about him.

'What the hell…' Ava thought as she watched Krory refrain himself from biting into the blondes neck and drain her as well. He shuffled away from her, telling her to stay away from him, begging her to stay away from him.

"I will… even though… I will kill you… even though I… love you!" He kept muttering and the blonde smiled. "Don't you know that I love you too, Arystar? Don't worry yourself about what other people think about you. You're above them." She crawled over to him and embraced him.

'… This is awkward…" Ava thought and wanted nothing more than to creep away, feeling like an intruder. But still, even though the woman comforted her cousin she still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. After a few moments Eliade put the body in a coffin and left Krory for himself. Once the door was closed and only the soft whimpers of Krory was heard she dropped down in front of him.

"Arystar!" She exclaimed and he yelled out in surprise and fell back. She held up her hands with a sheepish grin. "I'm sorry."

"W-who are you? You're an Exorcist too right? Are you here to kill me?" She frowned and shook her head before squatting down in front of him.

"You really don't recognize me?" She asked and he stared at her for a while longer, taking in her hair color and eye color before his eyes lit up in realization.

"Ava?" She laughed and nodded. "Long time no see cousin." She held out her hand and helped him up. "What are you doing here?" Krory asked as he dusted himself off and wiped his eyes.

"I'm on a mission, for the Black Order." At his confused expression she waved it off. "Nothing important to you anyway. But I had to pass through here and thought that while I did I could visit you." Tears welled up in his eyes and she blinked. "Eh?"

"Ava~!" He cried out and hugged her. "You don't know how it's been. Ever since grandfather died I've been staying alone in this castle! Everyone feared me, called me a vampire and then suddenly I turn into one!" Ava put her hands on his shoulder and pulled him back a little before staring at him.

"Hey, it's gonna be alright. But, what happened after grandpa died?" she asked and he took out a handkerchief and blew his nose.

"I've been all alone with the flowers grandfather left me. I thought that I could finally do what I wanted but I had to care for them. Then a man comes, gives me a flower that bit me and now everything's turned into chaos. I don't know what to do."

"What about that woman? Eliade?" Ava asked again.

"I met her not too long ago. Even though I attacked her, she forgave me. She's such a sweet heart. She's been staying with me the whole time, even though I go around murdering people." He sobbed.

"There, there, Arystar. Calm down, everything's gonna be fine." She patted him on his back and suddenly a loud explosion could be heard and both their heads snapped up.

"What the?" Krory whimpered and Ava got to her feet. "Arystar, stay here. It's probably Allen and Lavi. I'll be right back." She smiled reassuringly and ran out of the doors, leaving her confused cousin behind.

'What the hell are they doing?' she thought to herself as she ran down the corridors of the castle. She could see Eliade look down through a hole in the wall, yelling angrily about destroying flowers.

"Oh my gosh, she's gorgeous!" She heard Lavis voice echo before it turned into nothing more than weird giggling and laughing. It was like he was enchanted. "She's totally my type!" He called out, completely obvious to the giant flowers that towered over him. He ran over towards her but before he could reach her his view of her was obstructed by black combat boots.

"Idiot! She's Arystars lover!" Ava yelled and Lavi was sent flying back to Allen who sweatdropped.

"What's your problem?" Lavi yelled and Allen flattened him to the ground in annoyance. "How can you be such an idiot over a girl like that? Did you happen to notice that we're about to be eaten?" Allen yelled angrily.

"Allen, you're such a child." Lavi chided him as he got out of the younger boys grip but was flattened to the floor again and stomped on by Ava. "Didn't I just say that she's Arystars lover, huh?" Eliade saw the crest that all three of them had on their uniforms and narrowed her eyes.

'Exorcists…' she thought bitterly before she got to her feet. "My name is Eliade, and I'm Arystars assistant. Now, I would appreciate it if you would tell me what business you have in our castle!" she demanded.

"I'm Ava Krory, Arystars cousin. This is my companions, Allen and Lavi. I'm just here to drop by and say hi to Arystar. These guys are also looking for someone named Cross Marian. You heard of him?" Ava asked as she got off Lavi, her eyes warded and suspicious. The blonde's eyes widened. She didn't know that Krory had any living relatives left.

"We're also searching the premises for a villager that Krory kidnapped." Allen added and Eliade looked thoughtful before lifting up the coffin she had taken with her.

"Can you guess what this is?" She asked.

"It's a coffin." Allen replied bluntly and she giggled.

"Silly boy. I meant what do you think is in it?" She pushed it over the edge of the wall and it slid down, opening and showing the corpse of Franz. The three rushed forward to stop it from breaking apart but just then a giant flower appeared from the ground. This was the biggest one yet. Two more emerged and all three dug into the coffin, eating the corpse. Eliade scoffed before running away.

"What the hell's her problem?" Allen said angrily but Ava grabbed a hold of his sleeve and pointed at the flowers.

"Look!" Pentacles appeared and the flowers shivered before giving off a blinding light.

"This is really bad!" Lavi called and they all began to run away, hoping to escape the blast zone. The explosion made the whole castle quiver, almost making Krory, who was alone; think that it was going to collapse on itself before it calmed down. Of course, the blast had blown a hole in the castle wall and the three were hanging outside it. Allen at the top, trying to not lose his grip or else they would all fall to their doom, Lavi second and Ava last. Allen had a good grip on Lavis left foot while Lavi himself had a good grip on Avas jacket.

"We're so awesome. I thought we were gonna die for sure!" Lavi panted as the excitement wore off.

"Yeah, but if we don't get back up we're doomed anyway!" Allen said and tried to pull himself up. "This isn't working. Lavi, Ava, you've gotta climb up yourselves!" He called. Lavi nodded but Ava was deep in thought. Her arms were crossed over her chest and a frown plastered her pretty face.

'Those flowers meant a lot for gramps, and Arystar cared for gramps and have taken so good care of them all these years. He'll be crushed when he learns about them. And that Eliade woman should know that. Why did she deliberately cause them harm?'

"Ava!" She snapped out of her thoughts as Lavi called on her. "Didn't you hear? You've gotta climb up. Allen can't pull us all up."

"Sorry!" She called and grabbed his pants, then jacket and began climbing up. Once up, she helped Lavi get up and then they pulled Allen up together.

"Wait, what's that?" Allen pointed out towards the gardens and the other two followed his gaze. Their eyes widened. "A graveyard…" Allen answered his own question when he saw the stones on top of the ground that showed clear signs of having been dug up.

"These graves don't look very nice do they?" Lavi said when they finally got to them.

"What grave is ever nice?" Ava muttered while kneeling down beside one and checked the stone.

"I think it's possible we've found the missing villagers guys." Allen said. "Look, the amount of graves match the number of missing villagers." He was right. There were eight graves, and not including Franz who had been eaten by the flowers, there were ten missing villagers; the first had evaporated so therefore there was no grave for her.

"There's something wrong guys… those flowers don't explode after having a meal." Ava said, looking up before removing one of the burial stones and pointed at the ground. The two walked over and stared wide eyed.

"You removed it! You defiled it!" Lavi yelled. Ava growled and threw the stone at him but he managed to duck just in time. "Hey! What was that for?" He cried out indignantly and she pointed at the ground again.

"Look. Pentacles." She said simply.

"On the surface of the ground?" Allen whispered. "No mistake. The curse of an Akumas blood." Lavi added just as silently.

"Then that would make this the grave for an Akuma." Ava said and glanced at the others. "Let's check the others." And so the three began removing the stones and checking the ground. All of the eight graves had pentacles on them.

"Hey, remember the flowers that ate Franz earlier? Did you see the pentacles on them?" Lavi asked and the other two nodded.

"I thought it strange. I've seen such plants eat before, and that never happened." Ava brought her hand up to her chin, eyes narrowed.

"Before?" Allen asked and she looked up at him, realizing she had thought out loud.

"Oh, yeah. I grew up with those things trying to eat me." She laughed and the other two gaped at her.

'She's crazy!' they thought before shaking their heads.

"So then… do you guys think the same things as I do?" Lavi asked as he got up on his feet. The other two nodded.

"The flowers ate an Akuma… and that would mean that there's a lot more going on than vampires. And if it's only Akuma that Krory attacked, then that means that-" Allen began but Ava interrupted him.

"Arystar may be in the possession of Innocence." The girl nodded.

"That still remains to be seen. If the bodies in these graves are Akuma, then you may be right." Allen said and tied up his hair. "Let's check it out."

'But then… who's Eliade? Arystar wanted to suck her blood earlier… don't tell me!' Ava slowly came to a realization and cursed under her breath before she ran towards the castle again.

"A-Ava? Where are you going?" Allen called after her and she glanced over her shoulder. "To find Arystar!" she called back.

"We should stay together!" The boys called after her but she leaped up into the air and right through the hole that the explosion had cause and disappeared into the darkness.

"… I think she'll be fine…" Lavi said as they stared after her.

'If what I suspect really is the case, then Arystar may be in danger! Gotta hurry up. Where's that damn shortcut?' Ava thought as she ran down the corridors. Then she found it. A giant picture of a man-eating flower. 'Bingo.' She thought and pushed it aside, showing a small entrance, just big enough for her to crawl through. She entered and the picture fell back in place and she could see no more, but she could hear a voice.

"I'm a vampire through and through now…" It was faint, but it was Krorys voice. She crawled faster now, hoping to reach him before Eliade.

"The villagers hate me already and the only place I'll ever find happiness is in here… in this castle, tending to our flowers, just as you said before you died... My fate has been set in stone. I will stay here until death takes me." There was a pause until she heard soft chuckling. She was close now. "Why am I crying? I have my dearest Eliade by my side. Grandfather, is this a curse you placed upon me? You knew I always yearned for the outside world-" He was cut off by the picture moving outwards and he fell back startled as Ava popped out from behind it.

"That's not true! Grandpa was always weird but he couldn't have cursed you!"

"A-Ava?" He squeaked as she stood before him. "He wouldn't curse you, you know that! Grandpa cared too much for us to do anything like that!"

"But… what other explanation is there?" Krory asked as he got to his feet. Before Ava could answer though, Eliade came running in the door, sobbing.

"Oh Arystar I've been looking for you all over." She sobbed as she stumbled over to him.

"Eliade!" He exclaimed worriedly when she fell into his chest. "What's wrong?"

"There are men outside claiming to be Exorcists. They snuck into the castle and want to murder you! They tried to attack me but I got away!" Krorys expression turned eerily calm, the same with his voice.

"They did what?"

"They burned the flowers, those that you loved. The ones below the staircase!"

"Of course! That must have been what I felt!" He realized, thinking about the huge tremor. He slowly turned around to glare at Ava with the coldest eyes she had ever seen him wear. "What is the meaning of this, Ava?" he asked calmly, a dangerous edge in his voice and she felt it. It caused shivers to run up and down her back. He believed Eliade, and the Exorcist knew for sure now that there was something wrong with that woman. She was lying to Krory, because what caused the flowers to explode was the Akuma Franz that she had fed them. Ava held up her hands in defense and carefully replied.

"It's not what you think. We didn't blow up grandpa's flowers, I swear. She's lying." Obviously, that last part wasn't something she should have said. Krory glared daggers at her, the room turned cold and she could swear that she could see her breath in the air. "Arystar, you've gotta believe me!"

"Why? For all these years I've been locked up in this castle, while you and the others were free to roam around. Now, years after grandfather's death you return. I thought that maybe you came for my sake, to meet up with family you hadn't seen for years but you're like the rest. You came to exercise me too, didn't you, Ava?" He yelled her name and she glared right back.

"Now wait just one god damned minute! I'm not here to kill you!" but her voice fell for deaf ears. Eliade made Krory bite her and suck some of her blood. Before Ava knew it, Krory had grabbed her neck and was sending her through the thick stone walls. Each time her body met a wall, pain coursed through her.

"Arystar…" She growled but was unable to break free. Drinking blood gave him superhuman strength and speed. Ava lost count of how many walls they had broken through when she was hit on the back of her neck. Immediately, she passed out.

'Arystar… you idiot!'

"That's right… If Krory isn't a vampire like we originally thought-" Allen began but noticed the tall man behind Lavi. Problem was, the redhead didn't notice it until it was too late. He was backhanded by Krory and crashed into the walls of the castle. It took him by surprise and he lost consciousness. Allen readied himself for a fight before he gasped. Krorys left hand was holding on to someone. He held a battered and unconscious Ava by her arm, dragging her across the ground, a sickening grin on his face.

"You three have made me very angry." He growled. He let go of Ava and rushed towards Allen who activated his Innocence just a moment too late. Krory lifted him high up in the air before he managed to break loose. He fell down onto the castle walls and stared at Krory. He successfully dodged the man's attacks and landed on the ground.

"Count Krory, please hear me out!" He called but Krory ignored him and continued to attack, forcing Allen on the defensive. What puzzled the older man though was that Allen didn't fight back immediately.

"Afraid you're gonna end up like your friends?" He yelled. Allen glanced at Lavi and Ava which gave the older man the opening he wanted. He pushed Allens weapon away but before he could attack he disarmed it.

"All I want to do is talk!" Allen panted and the Count stopped, letting Allen do just that. "All the bodies of the villagers in those graves, they're Akuma, not human. Were you aware of that? Do you even know the difference between the two?"

"Akuma?" Krory breathed out and Allen took that as no.

"Count Arystar Krory, are you a vampire or are you something else?" Krory maintained his icy glare.

"Mind your own business, got it?" He growled and rushed at Allen and bit his neck. The boy managed to get out of his grasp and clutched the wound. The man laughed sadistically and spit out strands of white hair.

"Your blood taste disgusting!"

"Yeah? That's because it's human blood." Allen answered.

"Human? Don't kid yourself. You're a monster and you know it!" Allen grit his teeth as Krory said that he was only a simple man that lived in his castle with Eliade. Humans and Akuma had nothing to do with him and he would kill everyone who dared to stand in his way. Including Allen. He rushed again, faster than before, and when Allen jumped into the air to get away, he followed quickly and kicked him into the castle, where the boy fell down under rubble and remained hidden, unconscious.

"Hmph, that was quick." Krory scoffed and turned his back on the three, which proved to be a mistake. Lavi leaped out from the rubble and, faster than he had been earlier that night, he attacked the dark clad man, who managed to dodge just in time.

"Don't fucking underestimate me." The boy wiped blood from his mouth with a smirk. "It takes a lot to take me down, so I'll just kick your ass now so we can chat later."

"Interesting." Krory growled. Lavi then noticed the unconscious Ava on the ground. He jumped down and examined her. She looked like a mess. Her hair out of its neat braid and he could see bruises on her neck, indicating that she had been held down. Her clothes were torn and scratched too, indicating that she had been caught in a fight. He lifted her up and put her against the wall, out of reach for any of them so she would be a little safer while they fought.

'His own flesh and blood. What the hell's wrong with this guy?' Lavi thought before he launched himself at the Count.

TWP: alright, hope you guys found this chapter readable too. Hehe, it's a bit different right? No? Hell, it is a bit different. Don't like, don't read. Those who like, please review :D