Hunter, Hunted

[Khavi]

"I assume you're waiting for Thom again?"
"Of course. Who else is there?"

In a dark, far corner of a back-alley nightclub, filled strongly by the vampiric denizens of the city, two women sat talking. Both were paler than death, and more beautiful than anything mortal could possibly be. Of course, they weren't mortal.
One had dark hair and dark eyes, with long, thin features. She was sleeker than her companion, in a relatively short dress that was blacker even than her raven eyes.
The other, just as pretty, but more compact, had flame red hair and feral green eyes. She sipped slowly at the contents of her glass, looked absently around the room.
"I think I see your walking sex machine over there," she said, motioning vaguely towards the bar.
"Cait, you're terrible. He's not a walking sex machine... You have to lie down to do such things," replied the other.
"Oh I'm the awful one now, Sara?" Cait said, laughing a little. Thom, a fair haired, tall man, arrived at the table. Sliding into the seat next to Sara, he was barely past 'hello' before he had his tongue down Sara's troat.
"Thus, my point is proven," she muttered. "I'll be back in a while, give you two some 'alone time'."
Sara managed a small wave over Thom's shoulder as Cait stood and slipped away through the crowd, making her way towards the entrance. As she walked, she was rooting through her small purse, looking for cigarettes and her lighter. They were found just as she crossed out into the cold night air and onto the empty street. A few cars were parked at the curb, and the unmarked club entrance shut noiselessly behind her.
There was a sharp click as she flicked open her lighter, a quick flash of light as she lit the end of her cigarette. The lighter, emblazoned with her family's royal crest, was put back in her purse as she leaned back against the brick wall.
It was quiet outside, save for the occaisional noise from apartments above. This only served to further startle her when the shattering of glass rang out above her. She leapt to teh side, looked immediately upwards. A man seemed to have been shoved out the window, hit the cement sidewalk. There was a vile crack of bone as something vital snapped to break his fall.
She glanced back up, still in shock, and saw a second man noiselessly leap from the window, land boots-first on the fallen one's chest.
And then, before anything else, the man had his arms about her waist and was kissing her feircly upon the lips.
"Good to see you too, Dae," she said, once his grip had loosened. A small smile played across her lips as she slipped free and took another drag off the cigarette she had managed to hang on to through the entire ordeal. "He a vamp?" she wondered aloud, gesturing towards the dead man. "Or a hunter?"

[Raige]

"This is it chief."

"Yeah, I know. Ready to go Trick?"

"Ready when you are."

"Aright. We're right above a huge vampire hangout, we gotta do this quickly and quietly if we can. When we're done, you better jet fast in case we attract any attention."

"Dae, I know. This ain't my first time. Hell, we've been working together for damn near a month now dude, I think I'm used to working with you by now."

"Yeah yeah, I'm just tryin to help you out man. Just watch where you are shooting."

Dae reached out and took the door handle in his hand. It was locked, but that was ok. He twisted it firmly to the right and he felt the entire door latch mechanism break. He opened the door quietly, pulled out one of the pistols from his shoulder holsters, and went in, followed closely by Trick. Trick turned the flashlight on on his shotgun and looked around. The immediate room was empty, as expected. Dae shut the door behind them and motioned for Trick to head right while he himself would head up the stairs. Trick went, and he moved up the stairs quickly and silently, his booted feet not making a noise. He moved to the first room and looked in and sensed nothing. Opening the second door, he saw a couple laying in bed. Without saying a word he opened fire, wasting both of the vampires in a matter of seconds. They didn't burst into flames like in the movies or anything, they simply bled like normal humans do. Dae began to move at a run, killing anything he came across. He moved to the last bedroom, the master bedroom and looked in. A vampire was standing there with a gun pointed at the door. Dae and he were in a Mexican standoff, both of their guns pointed at each other and fingers on triggers.

"Now we see how good you are, hunter. And when I disable you, I'll let you live long enough that you will feel every burning pain that comes when I drink your lifeblood."

"Tonight isn't my time to die, Kinsha."

"How is it you know my name?"

"Call it an inside source. How do you want to do this? See who can withstand more bullets? I guarantee you will lose, my friend."

"Apparently bullets wouldn't be the most healthy way for me to kill you." Kinsha reached up to the wall behind him and pulled down a pair of short swords. He put his gun on the table beside him and made some fluid motions with the swords in his hands. "Care to test your luck with the blade?"

Dae grinned and put his own pistol in its holster. He reached behind his back and pulled his katana free from its sheath on his back. It hung upside down, so he had to reach to the small of his back to get to it. He cracked his neck and chuckled.

"Ready to die?"

Without another word they began to fight, swords whistling in the air, steel clanging out in harsh tones when they struck opposite blades. Should anyone witness, they would have thought it was a well choreographed dance, such was each fighter's skill and fluidity of motion. Kinsha was good, Dae had to admit, but Dae knew he was better. He jumped out of reach of the short blades, then lunged in and thrust his blade into Kinsha's unguarded throat. Kinsha's eyes went wide and he dropped his own blades and grabbed Dae's katana blade. Dae pulled his sword free quickly, drawing forth blood from both Kinsha's throat and hands. Dae turned his back on Kinsha and resheathed his sword, latching it into place so that it didn't fall out. He spun about and planted his boot firmly into Kinsha's chest, sending him flying out the window. Dae followed quickly, gracefully diving out the window, flipping in air and landing with his boots in Kinsha's chest, effectively making sure he was dead. Dae saw Trick running to their shared car and driving away quickly, and Dae grinned. He knew his lover was here tonight, and he had wanted to spend some time with her. He turned and in surprise saw her smoking a cigarette. He stepped off of, or rather out of, the body, wiping his feet on the pavement beside the corpse, and walked over to Cait, took her in his arms and kissed her fiercely. He loosened his grip and smiled when she let herself out of his grasp and took a drag from her smoke. He shrugged when she asked if he killed a vampire or a hunter.

"What's it matter, babe? They are all targets to me."

Dae snatched the cigarette from Cait and took a drag from it, looking at her through the smoke. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled before he spoke again.

"These things will kill you. He was a vamp, by the way."

Dae winked at her and took a drag, then kissed her again and blew the smoke into her lungs. He tossed the cigarette away and hugged her close to him.

"I gotta go now love, when can I see you again? Tomorrow night? I'm not working then."

[Khavi]

Lightning-quick reflexes caught the cigarette before it hit the sidewalk as Dae flicked it away. Looking back at him, Cait smiled and took another drag.
"What's the difference? Techincally, I'm already dead," she said. She glanced back at the very dead vampire on the sidewalk. "Vamp, hm? Well, with things like that happening, cancer sticks are the least of my worries."
He chuckled, wondered aloud whether or not she was free tomorrow night. She looked ponderous for a moment, then shrugged. "I've never got anything important going for me lately. Family's mostly using the boys anymore. Fangs is overworked, I'm telling you. Even Sara's tireless Sex Machine is run to the edge anymore, I've never seen Thom ragged before. But we can talk more tomorrow night. You know where to find me," she said. A quick embrace, a final kiss, and Dae dissapeared down the dark street.
Without another thought to the dead man on the curb, Cait stuck her cigarette back in her mouth and walked back into the club. Dae's boys would have it cleaned up soon enough, if she knew how these things worked.

"You're positively glowing, Caitlin. Thought smoking was supposed to do the opposite," Sara said when Cait sat back down.
"What happened to the Sex Machine?" she asked, ignoring Sara's inquirey.
"He had to go somewhere. But you haven't answered my question: Why are you glowing? Cigarettes that good for the unliving?"
"What is it with everyone and smoking tonite?"
"You saw him, didn't you? Daemion was out there, wasn't he?"
"Maybe."
"Spare me the dramatics, Caitlin, you saw him again. Honestly, you can't expect the Family to let him live forever."
"Who says they're letting anyone live, Sara?"
"Cait, be reasonable. When the Family sets their sights on someone, full-force, they don't live very long. He's not a big threat, so techinally speaking, he's being alloud to live, until such time as either the Montreaus or the Vryces decide to have him put down."
"That may be, but I'm quite qilling to bed Dae's smarter than most of those ancient, high-born, rule abiding dickwads that run the place."
"I'm just saying, Cait, that when things roll around, don't be too surprised."
With that, Sara stood up and left, leaving a few dollars on the table to tip the waitress who had been serving them. Caitlin sat quietly at the table for a short while after that, before stubbing out her cigarette and leaving, also dropping a tip for the waitress.

The following evening, whilst she awaited Dae's arrival, she sat alone in her apartment, watching Bram Stoker's Dracula on HBO, and cursing Keanu Reeves with a vengeance. Personaly, she always rooted for Dracula. He always seemed to be a much more likeable person than any of ther other characters.
"Lucy, you're a whore," Cait growled at the TV as she went to the pull open the blinds. "And damn you, Keanu Reeves, damn you."

[Raige]

Dae walked peacefully along the well lit sidewalk, seemingly casually but he was as alert as ever, watching for signs of anyone out of place. He visited Cait at least once a week, and it always was worth the extra caution he had to take to get to her, but the trip always grated on his nerves, the fact that he had to sneak in to see his vampiric lover when he was also, in fact, a true blood vampire himself. He looked up at the apartment he knew his lover waited in, then headed around to the side of the building. With feline grace he climbed from window to window, up to the top floor and into a window that was waiting open for him. He crouched in the window and whistled the tune to his and Cait's favorite song, and waited for Cait. She came fairly prancing into the room, and he hopped out of the window and into her waiting arms. They were silent for a moment as their mouths became familiarized with one another again, and Dae simply reveled in the comfort of his chosen beauty's embrace. Without words they moved into the living room and Dae plopped himself down on Cait's couch, and she snuggled herself beside him. He put an arm around her and smiled and kissed her again.

"Miss me, love?"

Dae ran his fingers through her hair a few times, marveling at his lover's beauty. He had been blessed, that much he was sure of.

"Tell me, what news of the Families? Have I reached my goal of having a million dollar bounty on my head yet?"

Dae sighed and stood and removed his coat, tossing it on a chair. He had only brought his 9mm pistol tonight, and he removed it from his holster and put it on the table. He flexed his arms, watching the tattoos on them distort slightly, then he grinned down at Cait.

"You know, its kinda fun being a pain in the Families' ass. It always makes for an interesting night. Particularly when you are bedding with their prize princess."

Dae laughed then grabbed Cait's hands and pulled her up to stand with him. He wrapped his arms around her, smiling, and began to dance slowly to music that was playing in his head. He kissed her softly.

"So Fangs and Thom are overworked are they? Well it must be tough when they are Hunting me. Should I make their lives easier and turn myself in to your Family?"

[Khavi]

Cait smiled as Dae leapt from the sill and into her apartment, immediately taking her into his arms. They stood that way for a short while, before eventualy going into the living room and curling onto the couch. Dae inquired into the business of the Families, wondered what the going rate on his head was.
"I'm not so sure you're up to a million yet, they care more for their other endeavors just now to put so much energy on you. Far as I can tell, Fangs and Thom are the only two they have on your scent at the moment... But I'm not sure, they've started leaving me out of the loop on a few things. Namely, what they've got going for you and your bandits," she said. She pushed herself to her feet, went into the kitchen. Dae followed, sat on a chair at the small table in the corner. They chatted a bit more, over the Famlies and their business, what each had been doing lately, and anything else that popped up. In the meanwhile, Cait busied herself with making a bit of a midnight snack for the two of them.
"The Familes are turning to their boys to get their work done lately," she said as she pulled two bottles of Icehouse from the refridgerator. "I haven't been sent anywhere or done anything for them in a good two months. Not a word is spoken to me about what they want to do with you, nothing of the big business that's come along lately... It's really very boring sitting around my apartment painting and writing. Sure, I love doing that, but even I need a little action once in a while."
Setting a ham sandwich before Dae and handing him one of the Icehouse bottles, she flipped open her own and took a seat across from him. "Despite all our secretiveness, they do know what goes on with their own prize of a girl. For the love of God, I have your name tatooed under the crest, how can they not suspect? But they always used to plug me for information whenever they could, drop in at unexpected times to try and catch us.... But now, I haven't heard a word from them other than trivialities from my brother or Tho-"
She was interupted by a knock on the door, and then repetetive rings of the doorbell. Cait froze, mid-swig, as her brother Fangs' voice came through the door.
"Oi, Caity, you awake? You should be, its almost midnight," came his familiar British-accented voice. He had been raised in London, as opposed to Cait being raised in upper Manhattan. They were siblings, but the Family had decided to raise each of their children in seperate parts of the world, to teach them each different things.
"Quick, get your coat and your gun and whatever else you brought and hide in the closet down the hall," she hissed. "I'll get rid of him quick as I can."
Quickly, calling that she would be there in a moment, Cait swept up Dae's plate and shoved in the fridge, behind the milk. She grabbed everything else, set it on the bar looking into the living room, and went to answer the door.
"Evening, Fangs... dare I ask why you decided to show up without calling first? I could've been doing something important." She shut teh door as Fangs sauntered in, then turned around to look at her.
"Important, hm? Like one of your paintings, then? Or watching the telly? Caity, you haven't been called in months, I doubt you'd be doing anything important."
Rolling her eyes and kicking Dae's left shoe under the sofa as she passed, Cait returned to the kitchen and perched herself on one of the stools at the countertop.
"Oh, I see, your pastrami and swiss is very demanding, maybe I should leave you to it, then," Fangs said, leaning against the bar across from her.
"Shut up and tell me what it is you want. I haven't got much patience," she replied, biting into her sandwich.
"Honestly, it's nothing terribly demanding, I was just wondering... if..." he said, suddenly trailing off. His gaze was over Cait's shoulder, to the Icehouse bottle still on the table. Suddenly, he wasn't playful, his face hardened, and his hand went to what Cait knew was a gun at his hip.
"Who else is here, Caity?"
"No one, Fangs, I'm by myself. I must have forgotten that I already hand a bottle open and gotten out two by mistake," she said, sliding from the stool and going for the bottle to put it in the refridgerator. Fangs was quicker, and he swept it up, sniffed the rim.
"It's him. He's here, isn't he Cait? Your disgruntled lover? Where is he. Tell me, and it'll be peaceful," Fangs said, setting the bottle back down.
"Peaceful my ass, Fangs, you didn't even like eachother before he was cast out. You've wanted to beat on him since you were sixteen years old," she growled.
"I'll find him anyway, Caitlin. I'm a trained Hunter, it won't take me but three minutes to find him in this apartment." With that, he left teh kitchen and went for the living room, bypassing it completely and walking down the hall towards the closet, the guest room, and the stairs leading up to her own impressive bedroom and study. He stopped at the closet.
"Fangs, please, just go. Don't do anything, don't take him in, just go. I can't let you-" she started, but he pulled open the door as if he hadn't heard a word she had said.
Dae, gun in hand, stepped out and trained the muzzle point-blank at Fang's forehead. Fangs, quick as a flash, had done the same. The open animosity glared brightly in both men's eyes, as the safety clicked off first one, then the other weapon.
"Don't be juvenile, you fools, put your guns away! Either of you pulls a trigger, and you'll have me to deal with after."
Fangs' left eyebrow twitched a little, as did the corner of Dae's lips.
"Daemion," said Fangs slowly, lowering the gun.
"Anthony," replied Dae, doing the same. Calling Fangs by his true name served to irk him thouroughly, a fact Dae new all to well.
"Fangs, leave. Just go. Come back tomorrow night, we can talk then."
"I don't-"
"GO!"
Cait glared, waiting for either of them to make a move.

[Raige]

Dae moved past Fangs, rudely running into Fangs' shoulder as he did so. He knew Fangs wouldn't try anything stupid, his love of his sister had always been more important to him than orders from his superiors, and Dae was counting on that now to keep Dae from having to kill him. Dae went to the bar and took up the bottle as Cait and Fangs followed him. Dae, his eyes never leaving Fangs, wiped the bottle with his shirt, then took a drink. He leaned back against the counter and nursed his beer.

"So, Anthony. Why haven't you and Thom caught me and eliminated me yet? Are you just taking it easy on me?"

Dae watched his implied insult take root and bolster Fangs' anger a little, and he grinned. He walked into the living room and grabbed his boots, after searching for his left one for a few minutes and finding it under the couch, then walked back into the kitchen and put them on and tied them. He finished off his beer, set the empty bottle on the bar, walked over to Fangs and got right in his face.

"Or maybe it's just the fact that you can't catch me? Or maybe you are just too scared to actually find me when I'm not in your sister's apartment. Maybe you don't want to find out what happens to the people that try and Hunt me."

Dae stared at Fangs for a few moments before smiling and patting him on the arm.

"Don't worry Fangs. I'm sure if you can't cut it they'll put someone better on my trail. That way I won't have to kill you."

Dae turned and looked at Cait.

"Some other time, love. I'm outta here."

Dae turned his attention on Fangs one last time.

"Feel free to follow me, if you care to test your luck tonight."

Without waiting for a response from anyone, Dae walked down the hall and back into the room he had came into Cait's apartment in. He slipped out the window then climbed to the roof and jumped to the next building, and made his way several blocks down the street on the roofs, before making his way back down to street level. He walked to the black '67 Mustang he had built himself and got in, turned the key and the engine roared to life, and he drove through town, mindlessly cruising the streets. Finally, close to 4AM, he pulled up to the warehouse he lived in and drove in, pushing the button for the door to close behind him. He killed his car and got out. Before he had even walked three feet, he smelled visitors. Lights from out of nowhere glared down at him and at him from across the room, effictively blinding him.

"Daemion Vryce, Second in Command of the renegade Hunter/Vampire allies. Don't try anything stupid.

Dae listened intently for the source of the woman's voice, but he couldn't make it out. She was either well taught in ventriloquism, or she was using some kind of tool that made it impossible to locate her voice. Dae squinted around, but couldn't make out any forms.

"Put your hands behind your back and do not resist. If you try to resist, we'll kill you. If you try to run, we'll kill you and your vampire lover. If any one of my men gets hurt, everyone you have ever met will die. Is your position clear?"

"Crystal."

Dae put his hands behind his back and tried to relax. Due to his present situation, however, he found himself unable to do so. He felt strong handcuffs being fitted on his wrists, and then his pistol was removed from its holster at the small of his back. The lights remained on, and a woman of considerable beauty came forth so that he could see her. She was dressed in business-type clothes, looking more like some corporate boss' dream secretary than a woman capable of disabling his team and rendering him helpless in one fell swoop. She had black hair and eyes, and was obviously of Oriental descent. She walked to him with a confident stride and stopped about 3 feet from him. Obviously they still respected him enough even though his hands were bound tightly behind him.

"Where's my team?"

"They are being kept occupied. Should you behave, none of them will be harmed. Act otherwise...let's just say they will be the least of your worries."

"Yeah? And who the hell are you?"

"I represent the Tans, a Family from Japan that has interests here in-"

"Yeah yeah, I know who the Tans are. What do you want with me?"

"Right to the chase, as your reputation declares. My employers have a business proposition for you, one that I think you will find difficult to refuse."

"I don't work for anyone. I'm self-employed."

The woman, quick as a flash, palm-thrusted Dae square in the nose. His head snapped back, and when he brought it back down, blood poured forth from his nose. He spat some blood out, then glared at the woman.

"You don't seem to understand, Mr. Vryce. I didn't come here to give you the option of taking this job or not. You will do it. Or you will die. Now come take a ride with us."

Dae followed the woman to a limo that was waiting behind his building. He looked around for other people, but saw none. He smelled them, all right, but that wasn't much help when he was looking for some kind of leverage to get out of this situation. The limo driver was holding the door open, and the woman got gracefully in, and Dae followed suit, sitting across from her. The driver shut the door and got in his seat and the drove away. Dae was quiet for a while, wondering what the hell was going on. As if in response to his thoughts, the woman began to speak again.

"We have taken a small interest in a pharmaceutical company that is dealing mainly in viral diseases. It has come to our attention that this company, run by Hunters, has developed a type of virus that targets solely vampires. The virus does not die, there is no cure, and the vampires that contract the virus die horrible deaths. They only last a week after they get infected, Mr. Vryce. Already we have found 20 cases of these deaths. Apparently these hunter scientists have decided that this would be the best way to get rid of vampires. Now you see why we want you to get rid of them."

"And do what with the remaining viruses?"

"We will be taking possession of the viruses once you have completed your job. What happens to the viruses then is none of your concern."

"Like hell. I'm supposed to risk mine and my team's necks to get this shit for you, and you tell me what happens to it is none of my concern? I'm calling bullshit on that one, Miss Asia."

"As I said before, you have no choice. My employers will give you more details."

"And what happens to me and my team once we've done your dirty work?"

"That is for my superiors to decide. We are almost there, have patience."

In another few minutes, the limo pulled up to a huge skyrise. It was almost dawn, a thought that bothered Dae very much. The thought of trusting himself to these peoples' care while he Slept was was not a thought he relished at all. Dae followed the woman into the building and into a well-hidden elevator. Instead of going up, as Dae expected, the elevator went down. Several floors below street level, it seemed. When the elevator reached their destination, the woman stepped out and Dae was compelled to do so by a pistol in the back of his neck. Obviously the elevator had two doors, as Dae knew there had been no one behind him when he got on the elevator. Dae followed her, and was led to a grand dining chamber. The sight that met him was one that disgusted him. Her "employer" was incredibly old, one of the oldest vampires Dae had ever met. He was also easily the most grotesque, a huge blob of a man sitting at the end of the table. Dae almost started gagging as he watched the freak-thing suck some poor girl's body dry of its life blood, but managed to keep himself composed. The woman led Dae to the man-thing and took her place behind him. Dae kept standing beside the table until the creature took notice of him.

"Ah, young Prince Vryce, welcome, welcome. Please, have a seat."

A chair was pulled out for Dae, and he sat down slowly.

"I regret the circumstances under which we are meeting, but you understand that you aren't an easy man to call on. Certain precautions are necessary, of course. Ryo! Remove Prince Vryce's restraints."

A huge Oriental, possibly the largest Dae had ever come across, stepped behind Dae and took off his handcuffs. Dae leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest, never taking his eyes off the thing that sat before him.

"Ah, that's better now, isn't it? Would you like something to eat? Drink? A little blood to sate your Thirst?"

"Cut to the chase, tubby. I got things to do."

The man's expression darkened considerably, which made Dae smile on the inside. Outwardly he kept a completely calm expression. Obviously the man wasn't used to being insulted at his own table.

"You would do well to learn some manners, young friend. But no matter. My proposition is this: if you do this job for me, eliminate the Hunters and retrieve the virus, then I will call a special Meeting and have you reinstated in your family. You will no longer be an Outcast. No longer until you dishonor your family again, that is."

"I did no dishonor by killing the asshole that killed my human. She was my Familiar, but that never came to light when I was outcasted. My family outcasted me to keep peace with the Montreaus."

"Ah, but the manner in which you killed him? Incapacitating him so that he couldn't find shelter for sunrise? Surely you would agree that this was a terrible, terrible act."

"She died in great pain. I figured I could return the favor to him."

"I don't agree with you, but it matters not. Will you accept my offer?"

"I don't have much choice now, do I?"

"No, actually, you don't."

"Where is my team?"

"Here, in my citadel. Together, in one room. Kept well hidden from the sunlight, so that your fellow traitorous vampires won't die in a matter of an hour or so. This can change very rapidly, you know. Should you disappoint me, they all die before you leave this room. What is your choice?"

"I'll do it."

"Excellent! I thought you'd see it my way. You can go and be with your fellow hunters. Tomorrow evening, you will all be released to make whatever preperations needed to complete the task. You have one week, Prince Vryce. I suggest you start planning."

Dae stood and was lead back to the elevator. Before they reached it, he turned back to the man.

"I don't want to be reinstated. The Families can all go straight to hell for what they've done to me. And you. When I'm done with this job...I will kill you for this."

"You are welcome to try, Mr. Vryce."

The guard leading Dae away pushed him but Dae stayed where he was.

"Rest assured, I will. And I will succeed."

Dae turned back and got in the elevator. They travelled up too many levels for Dae to count, and when the door opened, he found his team all in one room. He stepped in and the doors closed behind him. Questions and complaints and outrage poured forth at once in waves at him, and he quieted them with a hand.

"Gentlemen. And ladies. Dae nodded towards one of the females in the group, a human woman that he had rescued once from being attacked by several vampires at once. "It seems we've landed ourselves in a helluva predicament."

"No shit Dae! I was on my way home and BAM! A fuckin truck ran into my car! All of a sudden 20 guys are surrounding my car and I'm yanked out and tossed in the back of a van, and then boom, I'm here, completely unarmed, and I have no clue where I'm at or what the hell this is all about!"

Dae listened to Malkavian tell his story, then asked if any others were the same. Several of them were, damage to vehicles, property, themselves, whoever they were with, all of them out of nowhere and too quick and too overwhelming for any kind of escape. Apparently their new employer was quite ruthless in his dealings. Dae laid out what they had to do and how long they had to do it in. Dae had three of his human hunters stand guard while the undead in the group Slept, and the humans would take shifts for guarding them. They discussed possible plans and alternate plans and then alternate plans for alternate plans for a while before Dae called them to a stop.

"First of all, we need to do some snooping and check this building out. After that, it'll be time to play. I don't see the Reverend here, so obviously they weren't as successful as they want to be in rounding us all up. I hope one of you were able to get off some kind of signal to him to give him a heads up as to what is going on? Yes? Good, at least some one out there knows what's going on. Well, once we are done with this shit job, I guarantee we have new targets my friends. And one of them is so huge that even Korant couldn't miss him."

The joke had the effect that Dae desired, as the group laughed at his friend's expense. Korant was possibly the best hand to hand person Dae had ever come across, however, he couldn't handle weapons worth anything. He was the worst shooter in the group, and it was well-known and many jokes were made at his expense. He just laughed along with the rest of the group, however. They each found their own place to sleep in the empty room, more than one couple choosing to sleep together. Dae used to think it was a bad idea to allow relationships among his group, but after seeing one couple fight together for each other even after they had been incredibly wounded, so much so that they dropped dead as soon as they had finished off the rest of their targets, Dae decided it might not be such a bad idea to allow them to love one another rather than be strictly professional about the whole deal. The last thought in Dae's mind before he sank into Sleep was how much he wished he would've stayed at Cait's house and made Fangs leave.

[Khavi]

Cait watched quietly as Dae took his coat and gun and walked out the door, the open animosity between he and Fangs hanging heavily in the air even after he left. Finally, she turned her angry gaze at him, narrowed her eyes.
"Thank you so much, Fangs. You know, you can be a realy ass sometimes," she muttered, turning and walking back towards the stairs leading to her bedroom.
"Oh, Caity, calm down... He'll be back soon enough," Fangs said, as apologetically as he could manage. It wasn't very convincing, considering he would prefer his sister go for someone other than a renegade Hunter-vamp.
"No, Fangs, he won't. You've seen to it that it'll be a good week before I see him again. The thing is, because of this whole Outcast thing, even though I think he was very justified in what he did, I can't see him as often as I'd like. In fact, I can't hardly see him at all. And when he can get here, it isn't usually for too long. Most times, he has to be back to his... back by dawn, or risk getting found here," she said, turning to face him. "So please, Fangs, let it be, and just go. Maybe we can have lunch sometime. Just not right now."
Fangs sighed, nodded. "All right. I... I'm sorry, Cait, but you have to understand. The Families want him dead, and when they send me out, I have to do my job. Try to see it both ways, Caity... Much as I don't want you hurt, I would like to live a while longer," he said. Cait just watched him, didn't say a word back. "Fine. I'll do what I can, Cait, but I promise you nothing."
And then he was gone too. For another night in the long stretch, she had several empty hours before her. Crossing to the window she had opened all too shortly before, she latched it closed, redrew the drapes. They would block all light in case she fell Asleep on the couch again, as she was wont to do lately.

Her eyes slid open early the next night, maybe just after twilight. The clock on the wall said 7:30, so it was fairly early to be waking up. However, something had prodded her into the world of the living, a sound in her kitchen. She sat up, peered over the arm of the sofa. The back of a bald head, with a cross tatooed near the base of the skull, attatched to a trenchcoat adorned body rooting through her refridgerator served to keep her from taking drastic actions.
Silently, she slipped to her feet, crossed the room. Poking the center of the cross and ducking around him to grab whatever can was closest, Cait grinned.
"Hello, Rev, dare I ask why you're sneaking around my apartment at obscene hours of the evening?" she wondered aloud. He took the last beer bottled, straightened, and faced her.
"Actually, I'm after Dae. He wasn't at his warehouse, I figured he was here," he said simply.
"No... Fangs chased him off last night. Honestly, those two... They'll be the death of me."
"Where would he go if he wasn't here or at his home?"
"Beats me."
"...Something's wrong. There's no hunts to be done, no jobs to finish, no reason to dissapear like this."
"Maybe he'll come back here. You can stick around for a while if you want... Did you try his phone?"
"Got the 'number no longer in service' message. Three times."
Caitlin went quiet. That was certainly sign. The chances of the Reverand getting a disconnected message three times, or dialing the wrong number three times, was very small. Her brow furrowed.
"All I can think is that maybe he'll come back here later tonight, but otherwise... I don't know. Whatever you want to do about it, I'm willing to help."

[Raige]

Dae's eyes snapped open instantly slightly before sundown. He looked around at his group and most were already awake. Those that weren't were awakened by their fellows, and as soon as the sun was down a group of four heavily-armed guards entered the room through what must have been the elevator, followed by the Asian woman. Dae's eyes narrowed when he saw what she was wearing. A solid black bodysuit-type thing. Obviously she meant to go out and do some work, and Dae didn't like the implications.

"Mr. Vryce. My employer has ordered me to release you and your team. However, much to both of our mutual disliking, he has also ordered me to accompany you and be sure things go the way we want them to. Now, if you please, let's depart."

"Sorry lady, we don't take extra help along."

In response, the four guards raised their weapons and pointed them at Dae and three other members of his team. Safeties clicked off, and Dae felt the familiar creeping sensation along his neck like he always did when he suspected danger. They stood their, tension rippling through the room like a wave, before Dae shrugged.

"But I guess under the circumstances, we'll allow you to tag along."

In a voice dripping with sarcasm, the woman said "Oh, how generous of you. Let's go."

They went to street-level in two groups of five. As soon as they hit the streets they split up do take care of whatever devices they needed to. Dae, accompanied by the Asian woman, went straight back to the team's warehouse. Jimmy and Garris had already arrived, apparently they took a cab, and Garris was at his computer terminals speed-typing something, and Jimmy was on the couch in his office, and both of them were glass-eyed and reeked of grass. Dae chuckled to himself as he noticed the Asian woman's obvious disdain of his choice of people.

"Don't approve of my people?"

"No, I don't. I don't see why my employer chose to hire such riffraff as your team is composed of."

"You don't like them? Then get the fuck out. Nobody asked you to come along."

Dae walked into his own room and sat on his bed and proceeded to take off his boots. He took off his shirt and tossed it on a pile of the same color shirts in a corner, grabbed a towel, and went into his bathroom. After a refreshing shower, he went to the kitchen still wrapped in his towel and started some coffee. While he waited on it to finish brewing, he grabbed a can of Keystone Light and popped it open and took a deep drink. He hadn't been there very long before he was interrupted by Jimmy stumbling in.

"Dude...somebody just called."

"Oh? Who was it?"

"I forgot man. It was a chick's voice though. Can I get a beer?"

"Yeah, sure. Thanks Jimmy."

Dae handed Jimmy the rest of his beer, grabbed a mug and poured himself a cup of coffee, then went into Garris' computer room.

"Hey Garris, who called?"

"Your woman did."

"Cool, thanks bud. What're you lookin at?"

"Background info on this company we're supposed to raid. Tryin to get the building layout, security systems installed, shit like that."

"Sounds good. Let me know what you come up with."

"Will do chief."

Dae went into Jimmy's office and, ignoring Jimmy's passed-out body on the couch, sat down behind his desk and picked up the phone. He dialed Cait's cell phone and leaned back, putting his feet up on the desk. She answered on the third ring.

"Hey babe...sorry about last night. Where am I? I'm at our warehouse, why? Oh, Rev was lookin for me? Lemme talk to him real fast. Yep, love ya. Rev! You gotta get back here boss, we got a helluva job to do, and we need ya. Yeah, sure I'll fill ya in. It goes like this. These bloodsuckers captured the entire team except for you, corraled them all in one room, told me about the job, and said if I didn't take it, all of them were dead. Plain and simple. What's the job? I'll tell ya when you get here. Cait? Uh...no, we have company, and I don't think it'd be a very good time to introduce them to one another. What? Well fuckin a man, if she's makin such a big deal about it, tell her she comes at her own risk. Aright, see ya in a few."

Dae hung up the phone and took a sip from his coffee. He hadn't even finished swallowing before the Asian woman burst into the office.

"I demand to know exactly when it is you are going to start planning this little adventure and when it will go into effect. Your team of freaks are starting to grate on my nerves and I wish to spend as little time with you all as I have to."

"Look, it'll get started when it gets started. Nobody is forcing you to stay here, leave if its so bad. Don't expect to get very far if you do leave, but leave nonetheless. Really, I'm begging you to."

Dae stood up and put his coffee down and walked around the desk to the woman. He stopped about a foot from her.

"Because, quite frankly, the more I see you, the more I'm seeing a bull's eye on your forehead. And, to be honest with you, I'm this close to slapping you out of my home anyways."

Quick as a flash, the woman shot her hand out aimed towards Dae's face. Quicker still, Dae dodged it, grabbed her hand and arm, and simply tossed her over the desk into the opposite wall. She stood up and came at him again, fists flying and kicks being shot out rapidly, Dae blocking them all before he sent his own punch straight into her sternum. She went tumbling over backwards, gasping for breath. From a kneeling position, she pulled out a knife from her boot and charged him again, trying her best to slit his throat. To stop her attack finally, he put his hand up just as she was lunging for his face, and the blade was buried in his hand all the way to the grip. It was extremely painful, but he hid it well enough. He grabbed her by the throat, and with pure rage threw her into the same wall he did before. She stood up slowly, fixed him with hate-filled eyes, and pulled a gun from a hip holster. She no more had it out than the office door burst open and Rev stepped in, his own pistol already in his hand and trained on her. Rev looked at Dae, then back at the woman, and smirked.

"Really Dae, you should learn to treat out guests better. Pissing them off enough that they want to kill you, that's no way to treat this lady. She'd be better off in Betsy."

Dae grinned and laughed.

"Just getting to know her is all, Rev. I agree though...Betsy is a good place for her."

Rev stepped back out of the door and bellowed something, then stepped back in and to the side, so that he stood across from Dae and the woman both. Rev looked over at Jimmy, still comatose on the couch. Rev laughed, a deep booming laugh, and shook his head. Rev indicated for the woman to drop her gun, and she put on the table. Moments later, Malkavian and Bree came in, disheveled and not very happy being interrupted in whatever exactly it was they were doing to occupy their time. Dae couldn't help but snort with laughter as he saw the murderous look Bree shot Rev for bothering them. Malkavian quickly stepped around the desk and handcuffed the woman. He was guiding her out by the neck when Rev stopped them.

"Your name, woman. I'll only ask once, then it won't matter anymore because you'll be feeding the worms. What is your name?"

"Mia."

"Very good, Mia. I'm Rev, in case you didn't know. I'll be your captor for this exciting little adventure we shall be pursuing. Should you resist in any way, you die. Understood?"

"Yes. I understand."

"Excellent! Take her and put her in Betsy, Malkavian. And Bree? You look as lovely as ever, my dear."

Dae burst out laughing as he sat down behind Jimmy's desk again. Malkavian led Mia away, followed by Bree. Rev sat down across from Dae.

"That's a nasty blade you have in your hand. Plan on taking it out any time soon?"

"Yeah...just working up the energy to do it."

"Need some help?"

"Nah...I'll get her."

"Well, why you are trying to do that, fill me in on this job we're doing."

"OK."

While Dae worked at pulling the knife from his hand, he told Rev as much as he knew about their job, as well as what little he saw in the building they were held in. He told him about the huge creature that ran the Tans, about how they were all blindsided when they were caught. Dae managed to pull the blade completely out of his hand in one jerk with a minimal grunt of pain, then wrapped his hand with part of his towel.

"That's all I know boss. What do you think?"

"Hmm. I'm not sure yet. I'll think about it awhile, you yourself have company. Cait's in your room, go see her."

"Cool. Don't gotta tell me twice."

Dae stood up and left the office, clapping Rev on the shoulder in thanks as he did. He went down the stairs and into his room, closing the door behind him. He embraced Cait with one arm, then proceeded to pull on a pair of pants as he told her about what happened. Once he had his pants on, he wrapped the towel about his hand to soak up the blood. He knew once he had Fed that the wound would go away fairly quickly, so he wasn't worried about it too much. He finally sat down on his bed and leaned back, one foot hanging off the bed. He put his good hand behind his head as he studied his lover.

"Well babe, you've been silent this whole time. What do you think?"

[Harthar]

Acosh twirled the light stick in his hands and moved forward, it whipped out to take the foot of Dorek out from under him. The heavy man crashed to the ground and the end of the stick was raised above Acosh's head aiming for the bigger man's neck.

"You days of rulership have ended scum. No longer do we live in a world controlled by evil. You are the last of the Vampire royality and now I will put an end to you."

The staff came down and slid neatly between Dorek's arm and chest, up near the arm pit. The man on the ground shuddered and started to cough. Small holes in the floor appeared in front of the two men which sent grey ash into the air around the two men. Acosh walked forward and through the smoke whilst Dorek quickly got up and moved off to the right whilst the ash was still covering his retreat.

As Acosh got to the right corner of the stage a woman entered from the left corner, she was wearing tatters of clothing, which covered her private parts, and she looked frightened into shock. Acosh dropped his stick and ran to her, his hands moving to her shoulders as he said half to her half in front of himself.

"Elidia, Elidia, wake up, its me, Joleh. You are safe now."

"Joleh? Oh, is it really you!"

"Yes my love it is me. You are safe with me now.

"Oh Joleh, it was so terrible. The things they did to me..."

She shuddered and Acosh moved behind her to put his arms around her, his eyes were drawn to her neck and himself and those in front of him noticed the two spots of blood upon her neck. Acosh, took a deep breath and whilst holding her with one hand brought a wooden stake, which was hidden at the back of his belt, forward and he turned her around and as he spoke he thrust the piece of wood seemly into the womans breast, right where her heart was.

"I am sorry my love, but I cannot let you live like one of them. Death would suit you better. But now a whole is within my heart for I have killed the only woman I have ever loved because she became the only enemy I have ever hated."

The small wholes opened again and dust burst out to encircle them. The woman moved off stage whilst Acosh knelt and quickly took a pouch from within his shirt and from it he poured grey ash upon the ground. When the ash cleared Acosh's hands were within the ash, sifting it through his fingers whilst tears moved freely from his eyes. The lights slowly went out to him murmering two words.

"My love... my love..."

Suddenly there was a tremendous applause and the lights came up again. Acosh stood as the rest of the cast moved back onstage. they all stood in a straight line and bowed to the audience and then clapped to the pianist and finally up to lighting crew. Acosh stepped forward and spoke calmly when the audiences clapping and cheering has quieted somewhat.

"Thank you all for coming to the Final show of 'The Love of a Dead Vampire'. I hope you all enjoyed the show. We are serving wine and finger food in the courtyard if you would all like to move in an orderly manner there."

The Cast bowed one more time before the curtain stopped the audience from seeing the actors who dispersed and moved to their dressing rooms to take their make up off and get changed into their normal clothing.

Acosh moved into the Mens dressing room and washed his face, removed his clothing and then put on his normal cloths. He wore his jeans and a loose white shirt today. When that was done he hung up his costumes upon coat hangers and then moved out of the dressing room, up the stairs and into the courtyard. There were not many people left when he arrived but there were enough to socialise with. First he bought himself a glass of red wine and then began to chat to the patrons for a time.

After about half an hour of this, he said his goodbyes and moved into his office. Sitting down in his chair and sorting through some papers. It was getting late and he was tired. He didn't want to have to fill out these forms but they could not wait. He was in his office for an hour before finally signing his autograph at the bottom of each page and then standing and gathering his stuff together. Once he had it all he moved out of his office, locking it behind him, and then moved out of the courtyard. Everyone was gone now, and so he had to lock up and then walk down the street to his car.

[Harthar]

Acosh whistled quietly to himself as all he heared was the soft foot falls and lifts of his shoes upon the pavement. His left hand moved into the pocket of his trousers to shuffle around abit before appearing with car keys in his hand. He unconciously twirled the keys upon his finger and looked around at the surroundings before stopping beside his car. It was a black 1986 corvett which had been modified for use in this day and age. It looked to cost a fortune because frankly... it did cost a fortune.

He pressed his auto-locking button on his key and then opened the passanger door to set his books and files and the such upon the seat before closing the door and walking around the car to get to the driver's door. He opened it and stepped in, ducking his head until his bottom was firmly upon the padded leather seats. He closed the door and inserted the key into the keywhole, twisted and smiled as the car started with a satisfying hum.

He sat there for a bit as he reached over and opened the glove compartment and took out a thin metal cigarette case, which he proceeded to open and then after taking a metal dragon from in the glove compartment and by pushing down on its tail make the flame burst forth from its mouth to light the cigarette, he brought it to his lips and took a drag. He returned the thin metal case and the lighter to the glove compartment and then putting the cigarette in his mouth he grasped the wheel with both hands and drove from his parking spot.

As he did this the lights slowly fadded on the interior of the car and as they did fluro red lights faded in on the radio and CD player, as well as on the various other key pieces of equipment that needed to be seen whilst driving. He no longer needed two hands on the wheel and so he wound the driver's side window down and took the cigarette from his mouth. He blew smoke through slightly parted lips and a faint stream of smoke rose from his nose. He flicked the cigarette to remove the old ash before bringing it back within the car for another drag.

He was not a heavy smoker, he hardly ever smoked actually. He was perhaps a one a day smoker. One every night when he was on his way home, which was now his destination. He didn't live far away from the theatre which made it easy on him when he had late rehearsals or early rehearsals. Plus, since he wasn't going very far, he didn't have to drive anyone home.

When he arrived outside his house, he took a remote from the arm rest compartment and pressed the first button, which in turn made the roller door move upward. Once it was high enough, Acosh drove the car within and pressed the blue button whilst aiming over his shoulder. He also pressed one of the black buttons on the wheel which made the red lights fad and the normal lights fade in.

He finished off his cigarette and using his thumb and forefinger he flicked it into the cigarette tray upon the ground. He reached over and took his stuff under his arm before stepping out of the car and pressing the button upon his car key which locked the car. The roller door was now down and so when he had gotten inside his house he set the remote down upon a small wooden table. He then moved off to have a shower and get ready for bed...

[Raige]

Dae moved quietly, slipping from shadow to shadow. The Hunger reverberated through his soul, and only because he had learned long ago to control his Beast did he not succumb to it, because to succumb to the Hunger was madness. He ran his tongue across his elongated canines, stalking his prey. The woman had absolutely no clue he was following her, as to be expected from a vampire of his bloodlines and skill. He had been following her for nearly an hour; she caught his eye as she was leaving the restaurant she worked at. She was exquisitely beautiful, seemingly made of porcelain, with doll-like features. She and others like her were the only humans Dae would hunt, he used the time he stalked them to sense their fear, revel in its scent, always waiting until the last minute to strike, so that the combined sensation of fear and their lifeblood would be a delicacy. Dae never killed them, and always gave them a small charm to wear on a necklace that would protect them from others of his species, making them Familiars to him. He made them the promise that if they could sustain him for a month, he would in turn grant them immortality by Turning them. Few ever succeeded with their end of the bargain; most chose to escape the contract by suicide. Sometimes it pained Dae to find them, but morals had no place in his world that was ruled by survival. Now the woman Dae was hunting was almost to her doorstep, glancing around fearfully. Dae made his move, was on her in an instant, his fangs buried deep in her neck, her lifeblood like sweet nectar on his tongue. He drank enough to quench his Hunger and a little more to savor the flavor, then lay her down on the sidewalk. He leaned close to her, making sure she could see him and recognize him. He leaned down to her ear and whispered:

"For this gift, I thank you. I know you wouldn't have chosen, so I had to take what wasn't offered. Now I offer you this."

Dae lifted a small charm from his coat pocket and held it in front of her face to see.

"This charm means you are protected by me and mine own. You are protected from those like me, that would do worse to you than what I've done. Take it and be secure forever."

Dae lifted the girl's hand and placed the charm in it, then gently closed her fingers about it.

"Which home is yours?"

The girl whispered something inaudible, but Dae figured out what she said and picked her up in his arms and walked around to the side of the building, and using one hand and his feet, scaled up to her floor, and entered through a window, maneuvering carefully to limit the amount of uncomfortableness that she was feeling. He found her room, took the key from her and unlocked her door, then went in and carried her to her bed. He lay her on it and put the blanket over her, leaving her shoulders and up uncovered. He sat beside her and stroked her hair.

"You fear me, and rightfully so, for I am a creature of the night, just as you've heard of. However, you are under my protection, and you need fear me no longer. You have strength in you, I see it in your eyes. It lays hidden, wrapped in the fragile shell you have been raised to erect about yourself. I give you the option now to free that strength. Feed me for one month, and I will give you my own lifeblood, and you will become what I am. I will teach you, and under me you will florish and become a beauty more deadly than the most toxic poison. You will become one of my kind, the nightwalkers, and be granted immortality if you can survive the transformation. Do you accept?"

For a moment, the woman just lay there, seemingly dazed. Dae thought that perhaps he might've overestimated the woman's inner strength and that she might possibly die here in this bed, but then she nodded her head, albeit slowly and barely. He smiled down at her and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Then it is settled. I will come every second night to here. You would do well to be fully fed and have had enough to drink to survive and refill your own lifeblood naturally. For now, sleep. It isn't very often one is offered a chance at immortality."

Dae left her, going back out the way he had come, careful to lock the door behind him. Before her went out the window, he carefully etched a tiny symbol into the doorframe, that of his crest combined with the outcast symbol, his own personal symbol. It could draw either of his or Cait's Families here, and thus the girl would be dead. Dae was willing to chance that they would remember the last vampire to kill one of his familiars, and wouldn't touch her, but would try to use her to get to him. In that case, they had another thing coming. Food was easy enough to come by in this town...

Dae went into the warehouse through a side door and closed it quietly behind him. Dae went to his room and found Cait still sleeping soundly as she was when he left her. He removed his coat and hung it up on the hook on his door, then changed clothes quickly into a pair of black basketball shorts and a white sleeveless t-shirt. He went down to the basement to the team's weight room and found Korant already down there, sitting in the preacher's chair and doing two-handed curls with about 190 pounds. Korant looked in the mirror and saw Dae and grinned and nodded to him, never breaking his rhythm. Dae went to the stereo and pushed the "Open" button on the cd player and took out Korant's Beetles cd. Dae put his own mixed cd in. As System of a Down's "Sugar" started blaring through the speakers, Dae went over and started stacking weight on the benchpress bar.

"How in the hell can you listen to that slow stuff when you're workin out dude? I listen to that when I go to sleep!."

"It relaxes me and lets me focus on my breathing and lifting technique."

"Yeah, and it puts you to sleep man. I've caught you sleepin instead of benchpressing."

"Haha, when you are right, my friend, you are right. Need a spot?"

"Yeah."

Dae lay down on the bench and Korant moved to be his spotter, and for the next couple of hours they worked out together, effectively exhausting themselves by having lift-off competitions in everything they could think of. Around 5 in the morning they went upstairs to the kitchen, sweating but happy. Dae grabbed them a couple of beers and they stood there in the kitchen, leaning against the counter and talking about whatever happened to spring to mind. Not too long after, Cait came in, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Truth be told, Dae was ready for Sleep himself, and Cait had only been sleeping for the past three and a half hours, so she'd probably go back to bed when he did. He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hello sleeping beauty, glad you've returned from the dead. Dream about me, I suppose?"