Hearing several crashes, Ruth having been otherwise occupied with a frenzied phone call from Ms. Scope, returned to the room adjoining the lab, only to see that everything had gone very, very wrong. She patted her left thigh, only to find her usual weapon of choice had been left behind- there was no time for combat now for...

Eslatar concentrated on his old knowledge of transformation, the knowledge that now seemed to come across a gap that kept his current self from the weak, old vampire of before. Quickly a new pain came, splitting as his back sprouted grotesque bat wings and his face seemed to lose some sense of humanity. He saw himself a monster reflected in Daniel's wide eyes and with one infuriated cry shot up through the layers of material of the ceiling and flew out into open sky.

Pain. Exultation. Fright. Grief. Thrill. Thirst.

Ruth stared a moment after Eslatar's escape and then opened the door that took her into the chaos of the lab. She crossed her arms, stepped over the rubble and looked down at a very disoriented looking Daniel.

"Well...that went well."

---

Emmaline sat down in the bay window that overlooked the grounds of Fargone Manor, overlarge pajama pants covering her feet as she wrapped her arms around her legs. The place looked so lonely and abandoned at night and except for Green returning from his job with the corpse, there was no movement.

The overpowering feeling choked her.

Kes bolted awake with a cry. Margaret was gone but there was a fire burning on the hearth and she was covered with one of the discarded blankets from the floor, showing someone had cared. Looking around her, she held a hand to her head as she wondered what had been so painful. Nothing was injured anymore that she could tell, but still the pain had been there all the same.

Getting to her feet, she dragged the blanket with her, wrapping it around her body as she moved towards the window. It was dark out, no moon had risen, but the rain hadn't let up either leaving the air frigid. Holding back the curtain, she peered out at the inky blackness of the night sky as the burning dulled inside.

Somewhere he was out there...

===

Hook made it home from Ruth's facility, dripping wet from the rain that he had been walking in. Events from the day had soaked in as well by now, leaving him feeling extremely heavy. He trudged up the stairs to the bedroom, failing to notice the stale quiet that death had brought to his home. Pushing open the door, he walked in to find Emma. She looked so... so beautiful, just sitting there.

He felt awful, dreadful. Coming home to such angelic vision when he was so unclean, covered in the filth of heinous actions. He didn't deserve this. No, it was Emma who didn't deserve this. Emma deserved better than him. All he could do was look at her, completely lost, unable to speak.

===

Pacing in front of the table, wringing his hands, Daniel tried to understand what had gone wrong. Touching the screen, the area lit up to show the last scans that had been transmitted before the vampire broke loose. He focused on the before and after, looking for an explanation (before Ruth decided to hurt him).

Emmaline heard the bedroom door open, but didn't turn for a moment- trying to compose herself. It was hard not to feel bitter, but realizing Hook was standing there soaking wet eased the emotion for the moment.

"You'll get sick," she offered and climbed out of the window, damp hair falling over her shoulders as she reached down and grabbed the towel she'd abandoned before. Stepping closer she unbuttoned his coat, avoiding looking into his eyes for fear of showing everything she'd been thinking before he came home.

---

"I think you've misjudged my patience Daniel," Ruth offered as she watched him frantically work the computer. "I'm not kind enough to forget a mistake like this. Where's Hook? What happened?" her voice rose in volume as the questions continued.

Sliding his arms free of the wet coat, Hook folded under the weight of guilt. After everything, Emma was still caring. Despite being soaked, he wrapped his arms around her waist, letting his forehead drop down on her shoulder in complete defeat. He couldn't find any words to express how sorry he was so he just stood there, selfishly content just to hold her.

Somehow he would make everything right again. Somehow he would find a way to give her everything she deserved without disappointing her.

Still in the back of his mind...somewhere, he knew that the soul he had bartered away would come back to haunt him.

===

"Um, Hook is uh, eh... g-gone. Left. I don't know where- He changed something!" Daniel exclaimed in something of a whine, trying to make it clear that this was not his fault. "It wasn't like this the last time we went over everything. Last time all the simulations we ran concluded that the virus would be eliminated and the vampire would be be dead- again. Completely. Really, really dead."

He took a deep breath. "See here?" he asked, pointing at one of the scans. "This was before I... injected the drug in him. Happy vampire brain in blood-sucking fantasy land- this," he interrupted his rambling flow of speech and jabbed a finger at another scan, "This is the last image that was transmitted before he broke through the ceiling with his head. It's off the grid. Everything that he is, or was, is being overrun by the virus at an exponential rate. It's being advanced beyond normal because of the drug. He's becoming more aggressive as it does."

Turning around, Daniel forgot about Ruth's anger for the moment as he worked through what would happen. "If this happened in just a few moments," he volunteered, gesturing to the screen, "Then in a matter of days it will accelerate to the point where his brain or his body, whichever drops first, just can't take it anymore. Think of it as an adrenaline overload o-or...overdosing."

Daniel ran a hand through his hair causing it to stick up. His glasses sliding down his nose again, he summed up the seriousness of such a scenario, "Until that happens though, he'll be a worse danger than he was before."

Emmaline stood still, feeling the need for silence radiating off of Hook. She wasn't sure what had happened or if she even wanted to know. After a couple minutes the chill from becoming wet in the embrace made her back off a bit and look up at his face finally. The words are you alright died in her mouth as she stared into his eyes and realized something inside him had snapped. His temper she could calm but this new raw guilt made her feel helpless. And I'd just thought of leaving...

Emmaline drew her hand across his face, running a thumb over his lips before she followed the action with her mouth. The soft kiss ended without reply.

"What happened?" she finally inquired, tonight's events forgotten momentarily.

---

Ruth turned her gaze to the hole in the ceiling before turning back to Daniel. The explanation had ended, but she was still in the dark. One thing was for certain, their expensive experiment had been a huge failure. He would not be happy. Neither was she for that matter, but Daniel was needed too badly to take her fury out on him.

"So, what your saying is that not only did the injection not work but it's turned that vampire into a monster that could destroy the city." She ran her tongue over her teeth, trying to be patient, "Find out anything you can about him," she finally snapped, "We need to know whether he's a coven vamp or with that Unnatural group. If he's coven than we have to find him quickly because they'll be more than happy to set him loose- if he's with the rebels than they have a huge ol' bargaining chip for a few days."

The anger bubbling up inside her exploded in a moment of uncontrolled emotion and she knocked over a nearby chair with her foot, sending it crashing to the ground.

"I mean now Daniel."

---

Edmond Song was still reeling- though nobody would have guessed that by the calm way he finished his business and returned to his suite, far above any prying eyes. The face flashed before him again as he replayed the security tapes over and over. He'd known the Unnaturals would take their chance to steal Savage's research but he'd never expected to see her again because of all of this.

Sighing, he languidly drew his arms over his head in a stretch and traveled the cold floor to the wall of windows that opened up upon the evening struck skyline of Monstropolis. Lights were flashing, people were rushing but from this height Edmond could easily ignore those petty motions and focus on the big picture- that was the idea at least, right now his new discovery was distracting him.

"No matter," he finally said to the emptiness of the frigid room and leaned against the piece of glass that separated him from a long fall. "You'll all fall into place, one by one..."

First Savage, then Ruth and Ms Scope, then the coven and the Unnaturals- at the end I'll be strong enough with an army that can defeat even them. He glanced over at his black desk, staring at the only knicknack on the spotless workspace...an aged telescope, I haven't forgotten, not yet.

The End...for now

O.K, here is my fanfic I wrote over break. Enjoy!

-------------------------------------------

A Brief History of the Unnaturals Commonly Known as “Darklings”.

By Bernard Young, anthropologist and book shop owner in Monstropolis.

Darklings are a very interesting subspecies of Unnatural. There are only a few living, as far as this author knows, in the world today. First, I suppose I should explain what a Darkling is: A Darkling is a rare off-shoot from the line of psychic Unnnaturals. When the right blood types mix, a Darkling is born. This usually only happens in psychic Unnaturals, as it is a very rare ocerrance in other species.

Now, Darklings are in every outside appearence human. They look like we do, eat like we do, they can even be seriously wouded and killed like humans. But, it is their powers that make them different. All Darkling’s can levitate objects, are very strong and use shadow portals, though there are some special powers that only certain individuals have. For instance: summoning shadow hounds (great black, wolf-like animals that when killed merely turn to vapor and can be re-summond later.) or having the power to heal any and all wounds.

I have had the privilege of speaking with two young Darkling’s and learning about their powers and origins. Another interesting thing about these Unnaturals is that they age very slowly. They are not immortal like vampires or elves, but they do age very slowly.

I do hope to find out more about these amazing Unnaturals, maybe even enough to fill a whole book.....

This manuscript ends at this point. Appearently my uncle never got around to writing anymore on this subject.

[Howard Smith, nephew of Mr. Bernard Young.]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neal walked through the streets towards his favorite tavern near the edge of town, The Red Eagle. The Red Eagle was a touchstone of Wescraven, a small town about 200 miles north of Monstropolis. A large sign above the door proclaimed that the best hard cider in the world could be found inside and to Neal, the sign spoke the truth.

Neal’s parents were Darklings, third generation, and had settled in Wescraven about 60 years earlier. Neal had a younger sister, Serrena who acted more like a second mother to Neal than a little sister. Neal was 28, though he looked 24 and Serrena was 22, though she looked 18. One of the curses/benifits of being a Darkling, you age at an extremely slower rate than regular humans.

The familiar chime of the bell abouve the door sounded as Neal stepped into the tavern. As he walked to the bar, the Darkling noticed that hardly anyone was around. Usually the tavern was hopping at 8:00 at night as all the men from town would gather together and drink, share stories and play cards. Neal rang the small bell on the bar a few times and waited. After a few minutes, the Darkling slammed his fist into the bar, making the glasses in the cabnets rattle beneath the bar. A moment later, a slender middle aged man wearing glasses too small for him and wiping his hands on his apron appeared from behind the kitchen doors. “Oh! Neal, it’s you,” the man exclaimed wiping his brow with a handkerchief.

“Yep, it’s me. How about a drink?”

“Umm, sure. The u-usual?” the man asked as he looked over the bottles on the shelf behind the bar.

“Sure, Max. The usual will be fine.” Neal replied to Max as he watched the bartender pull-down the bottle of hard cider and begin to shakely pour the drink into a tall glass.

“Here you go, Neal. No ice, just like you like it,” Max said as he put the glass of cider down infront of the Darkling.

“Thanks,” Neal said before he took a sip from the glass, wincing slightly as he swallowed the spicey beverage.

Max kept looking around the tavern as though he epxected some gang to come crashing through the walls.

“What’s the matter Max? You’re shaking like a leaf. Something up?” Neal asked as he leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on the bar.

“W-well, eh... er, n-no. Nothing w-wrong here I don’t guess....” Max replied in a stammering voice before throwing his hands up in the air in a sign of surrender. “O.K, there is something up, Neal. Something bad’s going on. Something really bad.....”

“Is Frank and his boys trying to run you out again?” Neal asked after taking his fedora off and laying it on the bar.

“No, Neal. It’s something worse.... something bigger.” Max hesitaited for a moment, looking around the room as though someone was listening in before continuing. “The mayor, the new mayor that was sent in a month ago, has officially declared all Unnatural’s to be dangerious and enemies of the working man.” The bartender said looking at Neal.

“What? You’re joking, right? Why would they say we were “enemies of the working man”. I can see saying that about vampires, but all Unnatural’s? Come on.”

Max was busy pouring himself a shot glass of whiskey, so it took him a minute to respond. “No Neal, I’m not joking. This is real. All too real. It’s something that’s been happening for a long time now, mostly in the big cities, but still. It’s a movement to get rid of Unnatural’s. I don’t know why, but the sentiments towards your kind is becoming hostile. The movement is starting to pick up steam and appear in small towns, like ours.....” Max trailed off and shakily took a swig of whiskey as Neal absorbed the information. “What I’m trying to say is that it’s not safe for you to be what you are anymore. It’s not safe for you, your family or any Unnaturals.” Max added before taking a another swig.

“.... what can we do? I’ve lived here all my life.... all of Serrena’s life.... Are we just suppose to run like hunted animals?” Neal asked in a low voice.

“I-I don’t know. If I could help you I would, Neal. You know I would. But I don’t know what to do ....” Max said in a shaky, cracking voice.

“I better get the family out of here then. We’ll probably go and live in another town for awhile, until this blows over,” Neal said more to himself than to Max as he stood up and picked his fedora off of the bar.

“There’s something else you need to know, Neal.” Max said with a sudden solemness to his voice. “Sheriff Rickman and the mayor came in here earlier and got a posse up to run the Unnaturals out of town. They headed up the road towards your parent’s place.....” the bartender said before trailing off. Before the man could pour himself some more drink, Max found himself halfway over the bar, being held around the collar by a very angry Darkling.

“When did they leave? When? Tell me!!” Neal shouted at the frightened man before violently shaking the bartender.

“They left half an hour ago! They were going to the Barnes’s place first. You may still have time. Please don’t kill me, I couldn’t have stopped them even if I wanted to! You have to understand, Neal. I couldn’t have.....” Max blurted out before breaking into sobs.

Neal let go of the sobbing bartender with a few choice curses muttered under his breath. The Darkling then picked his fedora up from the floor where it had landed and put it on as he walked to the door. As the Neal opened the door, he could smell the distinct smell of burning wood. “If they are at the house, there will be blood.....” Neal thought as he closed the door behind him, leaving the broken Max to sob in solitude in his empty tavern.

-------------------------------------------------------

After using the shadows in the alleyway beside the tavern to teleport to the woods surrounding his parents house, Neal emerged from the shadows to see the house in flames and the mob from town crowded around a figure on the ground. The men were arguing among themselves about the person on the ground and what to do with her. “She’s one of them! Kill her!” “No! We can’t do that. We should let her go.....” “Ha! Fat chance of that happening! She’d just come back and murder us in our sleep!”

“Shut up! All of ya! I’m the mayor of this town and I’ll do with her as I please. Ted, get me a cage or something to put this thing in. I’ll take it to a friend of mine in Ditto Town. He might be interested in it.....” the roatund mayor said with a gleam in his eyes as he glared down at the still form of Serrena.

“Back off.....” Neal said in a dangerously low voice as he walked up to the crowd. “I’ll break the neck of the first person who lays a finger on my sister,” he said as he bent down to examine Serrena. “Are you O.K? Have they hurt you?”

“I’m fine, Neal. At least as fine as I can be....” Serrena answered with a weak smile.

“Hey! We won’t let you get in our way you... you... creature!” A young man in the perimeter of the crowd said as he strode up to Neal and grabbed the Darklings shoulder. Within a second the young man found himself laying on his back 4 feet away from the Darklings.

“Kill them!” a man shouted from the crowd as the angry mob rushed towards the two Unnaturals. Neal raised his left hand and made a pushing gesture towards the crowd. The entire mob was knocked flat to the ground as though a huge gust of wind had blown them over.

The mayor slowly began to back away from the two Darklings, but was too slow to escape from Neal. The Darkling got to his feet, grabbed the frightened mayor around the neck and began to squeeze while lifting him off the ground. “S-s-s-stop!.....” With a last few jerks the mayor’s body went limp. Neal dropped the corpse to the ground and walked back to his sister, picking her up and disappearing back into the shadows as the frightened townspeople looked on in amazed terror.

---------------------------------------

A few minutes later, Neal stepped out of the shadows deep in the woods and set Serrena down on a tree stump. “What happened back there.....” Neal asked his sister after a few minutes of silence.

“The mayor and his gang came to the house. They tried to force Mom and Dad outside, but they fought back. One of the men in the crowd sho....” Serrena paused as she swallowed back some tears “a man shot Mom and Dad. After that, they drug me outside and set fire to the house....” at that point Serrena broke down into tears. Neal sat down next to his sister and gave her a comforting hug. “It’s O.K.... it’s O.K.....” he said, though in fact it was not O.K.

After several minutes, Serrena stopped crying and began walking around the clearing. “What are we going to do now?” She aked Neal.

“There’s no home to return too.... I guess we’ll just become wanderers.” Neal replied with a shrug and short smile. “Go from town to town, stay until we’re not welcomed anymore and then move on. At least we blend in well with humans. Don’t have to worry about drinking blood or turning into a wolf during the full moon...” Neal continued with a playful grin on his face.

Serrena finally smiled back at Neal. “You always do have a funny way about you....” she said while shaking her head in mock disapproval. “Well, we better go I suppose,” Serrena said as she straightened her black dress while she waited for her brother.

“Very well.....” Neal said as he walked over to Serrena. The shadows began to ripple around the two siblings as they stepped into the darkness and disappeared.

------------------------------------------

For the next several months Neal and Serrena traveled from town to town, never staying too long in any one place. As the two Darklings travelled, they saw the building hostilities towards Unnaturals in every town, village and city they went to. For the most part, the two siblings tried to stay out of the way of the Anti-Unnatural movement, though more often than not they would find themselves helping Unnatural’s escape from humans.

It was when they travelled to Monstropolis that Neal and Serrena made the acquaintance of two very important figures that would change their lives, one for the better and one for the worst.

In Monstropolis, Neal made the acquiantance of an old bookstore owner and part-time historian Bernard Young. The old man, in his late 60’s at the time, was very kind to the two Darklings even after learning that they were Unnaturals. Instead of turning them over to the authorities, Mr. Young let Neal and Serrena stay in the apartment above his bookstore for as long as they were in Monstropolis.

The other person of note that the two Darklings met in the city was a young, handsome Unnatural by the name of Karl Tomlinson. At their first meeting, Neal was all for killing the new Unnatural after seeing him transform into his “natural” state: a hulking, bipedal wolf with black fur and two large bat wings that sprout from his shoulders. It was only thanks to Serrena’s intervention that Neal did’t run a metal pipe through the smooth talking Hybrid’s skull. After talking back at the bookstore, Serrena offered to let Karl join her and Neal in their wanderings. The Hybrid eagerly accepted the offer and joined Neal and Serrena for several months.

The trio was torn apart when they stopped at a small village overrun with vampires. Karl stayed behind to fight off the vamps as Neal and Serrena escaped. A few weeks later, Neal and Serrena stopped at a pub in a small town about 30 miles away from Ditto Town. That night the two Darklings were attacked in their little cabin and taken to the meeting rock of a renegade vampire clan. Neal was tied to a tree, but was able to get loose and kill the renegade vamps. Unfortunately, he was too late to save Serrena who died in his arms. Overcome with grief and rage, Neal swore to kill every vampire he met and became a rogue bounty hunter for a short time.

Three months after Serrena’s death, Neal ran into Karl, alive and well, in Monstropolis hunting vampires. Karl explained that he had only barely escape certain death while fighting off the vampires, but had managed to escape in the end. After that incident, Karl had decided to turn to bounty hunting for a short time since the business was booming at the moment. The Hybrid was able to talk Neal into joining him on the hunt and the two became infamous amoung both vampires and Anti-Unnaturalists who were also targets for the hunters.

About four and a half months later, Neal and Karl found themselves well away from any big cities or towns. Neal had heard of a powerful vampire-like creature that was preying on the townsfolk in the mountains and had a penchant for burning things. It was in a tavern in a logging community that Neal finally decided that hunting vamps and Unnaturalists was not the right thing to do and that Serrena would be very displeased with him if she knew.

“I can’t go on like this Karl. I can’t go on killing everyone I have a problem with.... unless they truly deserve it. It’s just not right.....” Neal had said as he leaned against the balcony of the tavern they were staying at.

“Right? What is “right”, Neal?” Karl had said in a sneering tone before taking a puff of his cigarette. “We’re the clean-up crew. We’re helping to make the world a better place, Neal, by getting rid of all these annoying, inconsiderate vamps and Anti-Unnaturalists. We’re doing a public service.”

“No, we’re renegades.... bounty hunters. We’re only killing for a profit, we don’t have a real reason for doing this. I want to help people... other Unnaturals, not kill everything that has a price on its head.”

“You’re starting to sound like Serrena.....” Karl had said as he walked back into the tavern, leaving Neal to muse over his thoughts alone.

-----------------------------------------------

The next morning, Neal and Karl had set out to track down the Unnatural that they were hunting. The creature had ripped apart a family during the night, so it was obvious the creature was still around. Karl and Neal had split up to cover more ground when Neal heard the screams of some men and the sound of a large animal feeding. The Darkling made his way to a clearing where some loggers had been working to find a large, black furred, bipedal wolf with large black wings perched on top of a pile of wood on the back of a truck feeding on a dead worker. It took the beast a few minutes to realize Neal was in the clearing, when it finally did, it dropped the dead worker and jumped down from the flatbed. The creature’s body began to shift and change as Neal watched the thing go from a bipedal wolf to..... Karl. “Greetings Neal. I never expected you to find me so quickly.” the Hybrid said with a unnerving grin. “How do you like my handywork?”

“You’re the monster? You’re the creature that’s been killing everyone?” Neal asked in a shaky voice. The answer was obvious, but Neal could not quite bring himself to accepting it just yet.

“Oh yes, I’m the one who has been killing those low life humans up here and in the various villages and towns we’ve stopped at. I’ve left a calling card in each town we have visited, a dead body or two laying around.... I’m planning on revisiting those places after we get through up here,” Karl said as he walked over one of the corpses laying in front of him while nonchalantly pulling out his lighter and a cigarette from his tattered pants pocket. “One of the bad things about being a Hybrid.... you always destroy your clothes when you transform....” the Hybrid said with a sigh as he looked at what remaind of his pants.

“Why? Why kill completely innocent people? Are you mad?!” Neal said clenching his fists at the nonchalant way his friend... ex-friend... was handling this situation.

“Innocent? Innocent?? Ha! There is no such thing as “innoccent”, Neal. There are only two types of people in this world: the bad and the evil.” The Hybrid paused to take a puff from his cigarette “We’re all monsters. You, I, everyone in this world. Some of us have just perfected the art better than others,” Karl said with a demented grin. “I myself have perfected causing chaos whever I go. A hobby of mine I started many, many years ago. In fact, you have expereinced some of my chaos, Neal. The death of your cute sister.....” Karl trailed off as he waited for Neal to realize what he was saying. It didn’t take very long.

Neal’s face went from anger to shock and back to anger in a matter of seconds as he suddenly realized what Karl was saying. “You... you’re the one who killed Serrena?” the Darkling asked trying his best to keep his anger under control, though it was a losing battle.

“Not exactly... you see, the vamps that attacked you and Serrena were from my coven. Yes, Neal, I have, er, had a coven until you killed all the members. In a very messy, yet original way I might add. Anyway, those vamps were under my leadership. I told them where you were and that they could kill the girl, but to leave you alive.... and unchanged.” Before Karl could continue, the Hybrid found himself pinned to a tree by a very angry Darkling.

“You ugly son of a.... “ Neal said through gritted teeth as he shoved Karl up against a tree with his arm. “Why? Why did you want her killed but not me? WHY?!?” Neal shouted at the Hybrid who was now starting to grin.

“Ahh, this is perfect.....” Karl said with a chuckle as he looked at Neal. “My reason? to bring you to this point, my friend. I wanted to see how far you would allow someone to push you before you snapped and became like me. I wanted to try and make you an Agent of Chaos like myself. I believe I’m succeeding.....” The Hybrid said before grabbing Neal by the back of the neck with his right hand and flinging the Darkling into a pile of metal rods. “You would have made a great Agent of Chaos if it wasn’t for your silly self-righteous attitude thanks to your weak sister...” Karl said as he dusted himself off. “Ahh, ‘tis sad the lost potential in you, Neal.”

At that, Neal raised up from the pile of rods he had been thrown into. “You.. are.... one.. sick.... freak,” the Darkling said as he wiped some blood off of his mouth.

“How right you are.....” Karl said before the howling of hounds interrupted the stand-off. The unmistakable shouts of men soon followed. “Ah, the bounty hunters. I hope you don’t mind them joining us. I tipped them off that the killer would be in the woods last night back at the tavern. They should have a fine time hunting you down,” Karl said with a demented grin as two large bat wings sprouted from his shoulders.

“You’re not going anywhere.....” Neal said as he grabbed a metal rod and threw it at the Hybrid. Karl was already airborn by the time the rod hit where the Hybrid had been standing a few seconds ago. Neal quickly levitated four rods and hurled each one at Karl. One of the rods pierced Karl’s left wing and caused the Hybrid to crash into a nearby truck. As Neal walked towards the vehicle, a massive wolf with bat wings jumped out of the wreckage and landed a few feet infront of the Darkling.

“Now it begins....” The crouching, hulking Hybrid said in a low, gravely voice before lunging towards Neal. Karl threw the Darkling into a nearby tree before stalking over to the Neal and grabbing him by the throat, slowly lifting him off the ground. The Hybrid felt a sharp pain in his stomach and looked down to see Neal’s hunting knife buried into his flesh. “Nice try, shadow boy,” Karl growled before slamming Neal into the ground and then procceding to pull the knife out of his stomach.

Neal took this opportunity to shove the distracted Karl away from him with his mind. The slightly dazed Hybrid landed about fifteen feet away from Neal, which gave the Darkling enough time to get to his feet and summon his shadow hounds. “Vlad, Narfu, Jaws, Terror!” As Neal said the names, the respective shadow hounds lept out of the Darklings trench coat. Neal gave a halfhearted smirk as he watched the four hounds snarl at Karl as the Hybrid slowly got to his feet. “I figured I could use some back-up. I hope you don’t mind.” Neal said in a sarcastic tone as Karl snarled back at the Darkling and his hounds.

With a roar, Karl leaped into the air and landed in front of the shadow hounds. “Attack!” Neal ordered as Karl landed. The four shadow hounds immediately began biting and tearing at the Hybrid. Vlad leapt onto Karl’s back and began biting the Hybrids neck as the other hounds surrounded the beast. While Karl was busy fighting the hounds, Neal retrieved his hunting knife from where Karl had dropped it, holding it tightly in his gloved hand for the next round of fighting.

Karl was finally able to get the upper hand on the shadow hounds, slamming two of them into the ground, ripping another in two and finally ripping the neck out of Vlad. As the Hybrid stood panting and trying to regain his breath, the corpses of the shadow dogs disappeared in a cloud of back smoke.

“Don’t worry Karl, you didn’t really kill them. They just returned to where they came from,” Neal said cuttingly as he watched his nemesis slowly turn around to face him.

“You.... are.... a sly devil,” Karl said in between gasps of breath. As the Hybrid stood there, his wounds began to slowly heal. Karl grinned at the shocked look on Neal’s face at his quick recovery. “I also have a few tricks up my sleeve....” The Agent of Chaos said before lunging towards Neal. This time Neal side stepped the attack and plunged his knife into Karl’s back. The Hybrid let out with a defening howl of pain as he twisted around to grab Neal.

Neal grabbed Karl around the throat with his free hand as he pulled the knife out of the Hybrid’s back and then stabbed the creature again in the shoulder. Karl let out another surprised howl as the blade burried itself in his right shoulder. Neal quickly lept back from the flailing Hybrid as Karl pulled the knife out of his shoulder and flung it at Neal. The blade stopped in mid-air as Neal held out his left hand. With his right hand, Neal made a shoving motion towards Karl. The hulking form of the Hybrid was suddenly flung backwards and pinned to a large tree. The knife returned to Neal’s left hand as the Darkling slowly approached the pinned Hybrid.

“You can’t keep me pinned here like this forever you know. Those bounty hunters will be here any minute...” Karl said with a twisted laugh as he shifted back into his human form. “So, you better just kill me right now.”

“I won’t kill you.” Neal said with a solemn look on his face as he watched Karl.

“Ha, Ha, ha, ha! I knew it! You don’t have the guts to kill me! Not after saying you want to “help people, not kill them” Karl said as he laughed.

“I won’t kill you.....” Neal said again “..but that doesn’t mean I have to save you either.” the Darkling added as he raised his left hand in the air. Behind Neal, six metal rods rose in the air from the pile of rods near the logging site. Karl’s expression changed from that of demented enjoyment to a sudden realization of what was about to happen. With a flick of Neal’s wrist, the first rod flew into Karl’s left shoulder. The second rod quickly followed burying itself in the Hybrids right leg, just under the knee. The third rod found it’s mark in Karl’s right shoulder, the fourth rode found it’s mark in the Hybrid’s left leg. The fifth rod slammed through the Agent of Chaos’s chest which caused Karl to gasp in surprise. Neal lowered his right hand which had been keeping Karl pinned to the tree as he twirled the final rod in the air with his mind.

“Well, Neal, I was right. You do have the makings of a great Agent of Chaos.....” Karl said with a gurggling chuckle as his eyes shifted between Neal and the last rod floating in the air.

“I’m not like you.” Neal said with a tone of finality as the sixth rod found it’s mark in Karl’s forehead. The Hybrid became suddenly still as though he was frozen.... or dead. Neal turned away and picked up his fedora which had been knocked off during the fight. After brushing off the hat, Neal put it on and headed for the dense forest. As Neal began to walk under the trees, a gurggling laugh came from the figure pinned to the tree. “We’ll meet again, Neal. We’ll meet again. You can’t kill.... death.” Karl said before breaking into a demented laugh that echoed through the whole forest.

Neal pulled his fedora brim down with a disgusted grimace as he turned away from the clearing and disappeared into the darkness of the forest.

-------------------------------------------------------

Six months later, Neal would find himself in Ditto Town and falling in with a group of renegade Unnaturals. Unfortunately, Karl would also reappear in the same town shortly after......

Afternoon, One Month Later

Kanti woke up.

It was a surprise in and of itself. She blinked blearily at the ceiling in the darkened bedroom and rolled over onto her side to stare at the empty pill bottle on her nightstand. It was still empty- which meant she obviously hadn’t dreamed up taking all of its contents only a few hours ago. So why was she awake?

Sitting up, Kanti’s vision swam turning the room into an abstract painting for a couple seconds. The house was still though noises from outside signaled that the day had started long ago. She was awake, a fact that felt more and more agonizing as she thought about it. How many times had she tried already?

Third time was not the charm…

There was no drug-induced stupor as she shuffled into her slippers and headed to the door, no headache as she turned the handle and entered the hallway. There was nothing at all to indicate that she’d been trying to kill herself for nearly two weeks. A month ago she had been dead and now Kanti thought she’d never be so lucky again.

The blurry vision of a woman leaning over her flashed in her memory, the only clue to this new deathless existence Kanti’d been struggling through. She pushed it away as she entered the kitchen, eyes landing on the handle of the knife drawer. There was a pause in movement, consideration as she tried to weigh her options. The drastic plan was erased by the sound of her grumbling stomach.

Lunch first she thought, aware of the irony, then we’ll see…

She was supposed to go into work today, but like several other times this week Kanti was planning on just ditching. There was nothing for her to do except paperwork anyway. With Ms. Scope still working on bringing the detective to trial, Kanti was restricted to deskwork until everything was resolved. They wanted to make sure she wasn’t a dangerous unnatural…the idea of a trial frightened Kanti, because she’d known for awhile now that she was something other than human. The conclusion sent a shiver up her spine.

---

Terrance looked around, plucking at the unnatural feeling shirt collar that was squeezing his neck. He undid the top buttons, feeling sudden relief and turned his attention to the land stretching on around him. Richard had brought him to give final approval on the location of the reservation. For the past month they'd been working hard on all the details and for once in his life Terrance was satisfied with the result.

There was only one shock- epitomized in the broken iron sign on the ground before the shapeshifter. Terrance picked up the rusted item with his human hands and a smirk turned the corner of his lips up. Ironic he thought.

Button Estate

He hadn't thought of putting the new home for Unnaturals right on top of the destroyed zoo where they'd once been captives but it was a nice touch. Turning towards Richard, Mr. T. smiled.

"I approve," he offered, "We should be able to get everyone safely moved by the end of the week. I'm sure everyone will be happy to have plumbing and electricity again."

---

Pepper finished with the flowers she'd been arranging. It felt strange to be standing in the reconstructed chapel when they'd watched it burn to the ground only a month ago. That night of destruction had seemed like the end of an age- yet here they were again, settled as if the camp had never been attacked. The zombie was used to taking things in a stride but she'd been experiencing strange sensations lately, almost a hint of- emotion?

The zombie shook her head and walked through the center aisle of the chapel that led outside. It was a sunny day which didn't bode well for the groom of today's wedding. It was a good thing they'd planned for an evening wedding she supposed. Zaref turning to ash at the alter wouldn't be a particularly good way to end the ceremony.

Outside things were recovering. Plants had grown where fire had raged and bloodstains had long ago been covered. Richard had been very generous. It was his funding that restored the temporary camp and placed more manpower around the settlement to insure another attack would not come before they moved to their new home on the Unnatural reservation.

Pepper wasn't sure what to think about the whole plan. It was a good idea for stationary beings but she had a feeling she'd soon be dissatisfied with sitting safe behind a guarded gate. Terrance kept saying it was temporary, that they needed a place to start from to gain back political power and the opinion of the people. It was all political nonsense to the zombie. All she knew was whether or not she'd get claustrophobic.

---

Naomi looked around Sage Pack Den and heaved a sigh of relief. It was an amazing feeling to have the Den back. The Unnatural group and their fickle kitten leader had been around for three weeks before their Senator friend had finally fixed up their old camp. It had been interesting to have newcomers the first week, but after that relations had gotten increasingly strained between the two groups. It didn't help that Mr. T. showed no interest in helping them stage a raid on Savage to retrieve their lost pack member.

Naomi hadn't known Lark long but she knew the loyalty of family and if Abijah said Lark was a pack member then there was no denying the responsibility that came with that relation. Even so, Naomi was skeptical of how they could manage to save her without some outside help.

"Naomi," Abijah called, seeing the young wolf pass by the cave opening.

Head turned to her pack leader, Naomi came over hurriedly. "Yes?" she asked, stopping in front of his seated form.

"I have a job for you Naomi. You're more acquainted with the human ways than any of us and you've been trained as a tracker. We need information on Savage and his den. I want you to go with some others to go seek out those answers."

---

Satin knew she should not be there. Terrance had already made it clear that she was to make no effort to help Eslatar. Only Unnaturals who had no blood for the vampire would be safe trying to bring him sustenance. It was a rule he had decided on after the first rampage. They had all been shocked- how could Eslatar have turned into a monster like that? Three humans from the town had been killed and drained, his thirst was obviously growing along with his strength.

Mr. T said it was all his fault. Something about a mission gone wrong, but he wouldn't volunteer anything more. Eslatar was banished from camp for fear of him harming them, but they still provided him with blood as they could to calm his raging hunger. With the stolen formulas from Savage they'd made a passable replica of Emmaline's blood and he'd been under control for the last week and a half. It was an uneasy peace.

A twig snapped under Satin's boot and she looked down at it a moment before continuing, trying to be quiet. She didn't want to alarm Eslatar in his state. She'd found out his location in the forest from the werewolves, they'd quickly discovered that avoiding the rampaging vampire was in their best interest. She walked on under the branches, trying to calm herself. It should be alright...after all wasn't the blood she carried in her backpack enough to sate even a feral vamp?

There was a noise behind her, but no time to react as a hand was clapped over her mouth.

Satin struggled violently but felt she was only hurting herself. She stopped, panting and Eslatar’s iron grip around her mouth and waist was still in place. With resolve Eslatar pulled her into a clearing, branches whipping across their faces as they emerged from the trees. The smell of her blood was growing as heat from the struggle flooded her body. He hoped she hadn’t tainted herself with any of that dreadful garlic.

All memory and recollection of their friendship, of every conversation and every sacrifice was taken over as he concentrated only on action. Throwing her down onto the forest floor (heedless of strength) Eslatar pounced, pinning her body to the ground. He didn’t wonder at the tears in her eyes or the bruises on her skin- it was time to feed and nothing else could matter more. He delicately moved loose, sweaty hair away from her white neck and bent closer, teeth bared. A former him would have at least muttered words of comfort but the idea made no sense now. Why comfort food? The scent of perspiration and blood filled his nostrils as he bent closer and positioned his mouth.

“Please- Esl-”

Satin was dazed but knew to keep pleading and struggling for recognition from this monster Eslatar had become. She closed her eyes, tasting saltwater on her lips. “Please- don’t…” the sentence broke as Eslatar’s grip was ripped free.

“Aiyiyiyah!” came the guttural scream as the new figure and Eslatar rolled across the glen- struggling. Satin could see they were matched for strength but this man was no vampire. Sitting up she watched, unconsciously still, though she’d almost been devoured moments before.

The men broke apart and Eslatar bolted towards her again. Satin watched the man leap after with supernatural agility and tackle the vamp to the forest floor again. A shock of blue light blasted from the man, knocking Eslatar into a tree with a resounding crack. The vampire fell, stumbled and then slumped, awake but completely exhausted for the moment.

“Ah-hah! The man chortled, resting his hands on his hips as he righted himself. “That should teach you some manners.” He strode over to Satin, eyeing her up and down appreciatively.

Satin was too caught up in wondering at who the man was- or what he was to worry. “you-“ she began.

“Sorry, I should introduce myself, but you see, I’ve a feeling he’s not staying down for long, shall we adjourn to another, perhaps more private place, for your thanks?” he asked, waggling an eyebrow as he took Satin’s arm and helped her up.

She ignored the comment and flung off her backpack unzipping it hurriedly. Eslatar was wavering to his feet now.

“I brought blood for him,” Satin explained to her bewildered savior, “Just couldn’t get it out before he jumped me.”

Cautiously Satin took a step closer and threw the thermos to land at Eslatar’s feet.

The vampire gave her a loathing look before grabbing the container and disappearing into the trees. Satin stood staring until the man at her side cleared his throat. She turned and nodded slightly, “I’m Satin.”

“Beautiful name, I’m Udi Blue, and since you’re out and about feeding the poor helpless vampires I suppose it’ll do me no harm to tell you I’m a Satyr.”

“A Satyr,” Satin repeated blankly, wondering why she hadn’t a clue what he was talking about.

---

Wystan was bored...usually that meant very bad things happened, but in this case it just meant a case of late day wandering. Many in the coven were sleeping still, waiting for nightfall, but the lone guard was walking around the mansion, hoping for something amusing to happen. There were more chances for that now that almost everyone seemed to be aware of growing tensions between Talullah and the Parents. Father was insistent on the coven disbanding and following him back to Sanguine where they had their home. Wystan personally had no desire to do either but keeping his mind open was important...for survival.

"Wystan wasn't it?" Margaret asked, stepping out of the shadows in the hallway. The curtains across from her were drawn but a faint glow of sunlight penetrated the curtains to cast a glow upon her white face. It was an unearthly sight that not even Wystan could ignore fully.

"It is Mother," he answered simply, knowing that the barriers in his mind might have been breached in his lonely moment.

"Do you truly recognize me as mother?"

Wystan didn't know what to make of her soft unassuming tone, "Of course. I am part of the family."

"Then as your mother I have a command for you Wystan."

"Anything."

"Find the location of Eslatar, Talullah's sire and tell only me once you find out."

Wystan's eyes narrowed and he nodded slowly. She must have been satisfied because she disappeared as quietly as she'd come, leaving Wystan alone...no longer bored.

---

There was only one thing Howard Savage enjoyed more than inflicting pain and that was making progress. Thus it was with great regret, Savage postponed all further experiments on Dellan and decided to focus his energy on the new captives. It'd been a month since the raid, but it hadn't been until recently that he'd thought of the perfect use for the werewolves he'd acquired. He smiled at the thought and looked over the projections again.

Meanwhile the guards were busy moving the passive Dellan to a different cage. With all the new additions there was hardly room. They finally decided to shove him in with another, hardly dangerous Unnatural. They locked the door behind as Dellan fell to the floor, unable to do anything but roll over in his straitjacketed state.

A month ago this was all nothing more than a burning skeleton of a building... A month ago..... Neal mused as he leaned against the chapel sharpening his hunting knife on the pocket wet-stone he carried around. It was still hard to believe so much could happen in a month: Richard offering to rebuild the camp and then arranging for a "reservation" to be built for the unnaturals, Eslatar going mad and Karl returning..... "At least there's the wedding this evening to look forward too..." Neal said to himself with a short smile.

After the meeting with Karl, Neal had been having re-occurring dreams.... mostly of his past. The wedding would be a nice respite from the gloom that seemed to be hanging over the Darkling's mind of late.

After putting the wet-stone and hunting knife back in their respective places, Neal walked around to the front of the chapel and went inside. The sight and smell of fresh flowers was a welcomed change to chapel's interior. "Glad I don't have any allergies." Neal said with a wink to Pepper as he walked up to the zombie.

-------------------------------------------

The noise and steady flow of drink, the thick fog of smoke from pipes and cigarettes.... it was perfect. Well, perfect to Karl at least. The Hybrid had always enjoyed the atmosphere of pubs, bars and taverns. Even if he did have to mingle with low life humans. It was in one of the many pubs in Ditto Town that Karl found himself in this afternoon.

The work had been good in Ditto Town so far: the local newspaper was more than willing to publish all the gory details of Karl's "handiwork" and the local police force was stretched to it's limit thanks to losing officers the night of the.... accident. Karl chuckled thinking of that night and all the fun he had since. So far, the Hybrid had destroyed the police station, massacred an entire public transit train, burned a few houses that belonged to politicians and strung-up a couple of townsfolk with the note "More is Coming" etched into their skin just that morning. All in less than a month

As Karl took a swing from his beer, he wondered where Gwen had disappeared to. He was used to females coming and going, though usually it was him that did the going. And then there's Neal... old Neal... the Hybrid thought as he took another swig of beer. I think I'll pay him a visit this evening. It's about time we had a real reunion.... Karl thought as he got up from the bar and payed for his drinks before disappearing into the crowd.

Selena sat on the floor in a small room near the back of the chapel. The bridal room. It felt completely and utterly unreal for her to be in this place, at this time. Her. The vampire who had always used her beauty and siren song to entice men of all species to fall in love with her. It seemed almost ironic that she would marry. She had thought she never could.

And yet she could not help but feel undeserving. She could not put on a wedding dress and declare herself beautiful on this, the most happy day of her life . . . allegedly. Always she had thought of her beauty as a curse, a curse the vampire who had sired her brought upon her. She had been fairly pretty as a human, she remembered only vaguely. She also remembered longing to look beautiful. Being incredibly vain. And afterward she had used her new beauty to draw men in to their deaths. Now, she was afraid. What if, this one time, she let herself be truly beautiful for Zaref? What would happen? Would her ability automatically kick in, despite the fact that she would not sing? Would he end up loving her because of that and not for herself?

Glancing over to her right, Selena reached over and fingered the black tulle of the skirt that made up half of her dress. She had chosen this dress specifically for the color. Black would not look good on her, she guessed, her skin being so pale. She would not take much time with her hair, probably just throw it up in some do that would not look polished and prim. And makeup she would refuse. She could do that at least . . . but would it help?

The first time she had met Zaref . . . she had used her ability on him, slightly. Gained his trust through a pretty face. And then she had betrayed him. It was hard to forget that part.

Glancing to the left, she caught sight of her bouquet. Red roses. A symbol of passionate love. She bit her lip lightly, would it be wise to carry these down the aisle? Turning her face away, she told herself not to think about it. Sighing slightly, she stood and picked up the dress. It was a few hours until sunset still, but she had to make sure . . .

Changing quickly, she gathered her hair up in a messy bun and picked up the roses. Turning, she looked at herself in the full-length mirror, her face impassive as she stared. Finally she grimaced at what she saw. Quickly she turned away and let her hair fall back down. She supposed it would have to do. The thought of going to the extreme crossed her mind, but she figured it would be insulting to everyone there if the bride showed up covered in mud and looking like something from a horror film.

She could only hope that what she had would be unexceptionable enough as it was, so there would be no possible way for her ability to kick in.

----

Pavel came crashing into the clearing and stumbled over to Satin, not noticing the Satyr for the moment, being too distressed by what had just happened.

"Satin! Are you alright??? I saw you go into the woods and I kind of followed you and the Eslatar grabbed you and I meant to come after you but he moved too fast and I was afraid he would kill us both so I started to go get help but then I knew you'd be dead by then so I came over here and saw you get almost eaten and I'm so, so sorry that I wasn't quicker, will you please, please forgive me?" He dropped to his knees and grabbed Satin's hands, looking up at her pleadingly. He was used to getting a sharp reprimand or a slap after neglecting to have Gwen's back during a crucial moment, and he expected Satin to do the same.

So intent on gaining Satin's forgiveness, as well as catching his breath from that drawn out run-on sentence, he failed to notice that he had dropped to his knees right on top of the Satyr's feet.

----

Sparrow raised her head wearily as Savage's men dumped an Unnatural into her cage. She gasped audible as she sensed the waves of pain that the Unnatural was sending off. Moving forward quickly, she struggled with the straps on the straitjacket, doing her best to pull it off. The Unnatural's pain crippled her however, and her fingers stumbled over the buckles. Tears of empathy rolled down her cheeks and she mumbled soothing words to him in her own Fae language through trembling lips.

----

Caerwyn entered the Hook's kitchen via the back door. He had been away from the Manor for a day and a half and was anxious to get back to Curse. He took the stairs two at a time, his slightly muddy cloak billowing out behind him. Pausing at Curse's door to catch his breath, he knocked his knuckles lightly against it.

Verity? he called to her gently with his mind. Are you there?

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Pepper looked up as Neal entered the chapel. It took her a moment to realize what he was talking about. She couldn't remember a time when allergies affected her...though they might have before, when she'd been human. The thought, as usual, disturbed her slightly.

"I'm not sure I understand why there's so much to do for this wedding, especially since it involves two immortals," the zombie admitted, "But at least it's something to keep everyone entertained for the time being."

---

Zaref knocked on the door to the room Selena was in, hand already on the handle. He'd been twiddling his thumbs down below in the temporary rooms, trying to get some rest but failing. Too many thoughts filled his head- too many worries and too much excitement to allow sleep. He hoped Selena didn't mind him coming up...it was just too hard to be alone anymore.

---

Udi gave a gasp of pain and glared down at the vampire before pulling his feet out from under the young creature's knees. "You just like flirting with danger don't you?" he asked Satin sarcastically. It seemed strange for a human to know so many vampires.

"Pavel, it's alright, it's alright," Satin said, trying to calm the vampire as he rambled. "This ma- Satyr helped me, so it all turned out ok. You don't need to apologize to me, there's nothing you could have done."

---

Naomi shouldered her pack, one that was easily carried in her mouth during transformation. She was waiting though, knowing that soon Indigo would be around to join her. Abijah's instructions had been clear. Though this was her mission, the other captured werewolf's brother would want a part in scoping out Savage. She wasn't thrilled at the idea, but knew better than to question Abijah.

---

Dellan groaned as Sparrow struggled with the straitjacket. He heard her strange words and felt they were more unnerving than comforting. His head ached and his shoulder still ached where his arm had once connected. Still the only thing he could think of was Savage's endless questioning and emotionless gaze.

As insane as Dellan knew it was, he wanted more and more until he drowned completely in the pain. The idea of resting here with this new person was distressing. Out of sheer frustration, he opened his mouth and let out a ragged scream to drown out the sound of Sparrow's tears and muttering.

---

Lark woke at the sound of a jolting human yell. She wasn't sure who had made the sound but was angry it'd brought her out of dreamland and into a reality she didn't care to face at the moment. Blinking her eyes, she sat up in the bare cell she was in and looked around. Through the wall to her right somewhere was Brick's own cage. They saw each other sometimes but she had the feeling it was only when it catered to Savage's plans.

A sudden jolt of memory made her stop, halfway to her feet and stare wide-eyed at the door. A shot. Dragged out of the cell, half-drugged already. A white lab room. The first time Savage had actually brought her into one. Was the torture finally going to begin? What was going on? She couldn't keep her eyes open...Pictures on a screen nearby, cold gel on her stomach.

The flashbacks ended, leaving Lark shaking until she fell back down onto the floor, covering her mouth with one hand. The moving pictures on the screen had been an ultrasound, she realized. It hadn't been the first time she'd been dragged into a lab- just the first time she'd been conscious to remember it. But why?

Why am I pregnant? she thought, laying a pale hand on her stomach.

---

Curse got up and opened her door, smiling down at Caerwyn. "You're here," she said aloud. I was waiting for you.

Emmaline lifted her head at the sound of Caerwyn's footsteps in the house. She smiled slightly, glad that Curse would be happy. She wasn't so used to his presence but it was good that the girl had a friend. Standing up, Emmaline crossed to the window in the study, wondering when Hook would be home.

Selena froze when the knock sounded at the door. Moving slowly, she walked over and opened it slightly, staring silently at Zaref for a moment.

"Traditionally it's considered bad luck to see the bride before the wedding," she said solemnly. She tried to wonder what she felt about seeing him just then. Then she remembered she was still in the dress. Deciding at this point it did not really matter, she opened the door wider and took a step back.

----

Pavel blinked blankly for a second before turning his head to look up at the Satyr.

"Oh," he said, getting up off his knees quickly, obviously embarrassed. "I-I--" he started to apologize again, but then remembered Satin's insistence that he not apologize, so in the end he said nothing, simply looked at the Satyr with curiosity and some fear. He took a small step behind Satin, even though this would be counterproductive in the event of an attack from the strange . . . person.

----

Indigo merged silently out of the trees, stepping up behind Naomi. He carried a small pack in his large hands, and he studied her with dark, emotionless eyes. He had given up on feeling much of anything this past month. Most of the time he just felt dead inside, having lost the only family he had to that Savage. His lips often curled in the irony of the name.

He could not bring himself to see Curse these days. He knew it would hurt her to see his pain and so he kept himself distant. As much as he did not like that upstart little kid taking his place at her side, he felt she would be better off feeling happy with the boy than feeling sympathy and sorrow with him.

And Satin . . . he tried not to think about Satin. That still hurt too much.

So the young man who stood behind Naomi now was almost just a shell of what he had been before. Hollow and empty of any kind of healthy emotions. All he felt was pain and rage at the people who had taken everything from him. Mainly, Savage.

"You're Naomi," he said flatly. It was not a question. He knew it could be no other.

----

Sparrow gasped and flinched away as the strange Unnatural screamed in her face. She clasped her hands over her hears, shocked into silence by this unexpected turn of events. Most people were comforted by her keening; none of them had ever reacted in such a violent manner.

"Stop!" Sparrow cried, squeezing her eyes shut. "Sparrow needs you to stop!"

----

Brick awoke in wolf form, snapping and snarling. It took him a moment to realize he was not on the examination table and he shifted cautiously back into human form. His hand shaking, he reached over to grab the tattered remains of his clothes, pulling them across to cover himself. Though he told himself it did not really matter. The scientist had already examined every inch of him. Still, he could not help but curl himself into a shivering ball in one corner of the cage, as far away from the clear side of his cage as he could get.

It was the fourth time he had woken from a restless sleep in shifted form. They had to keep giving him new clothes. He hoped they would not run out or tired of it.

He ran a hand wearily over his face. The nightmares had become increasingly violent, and every day he feared that either Indigo would be caught, or Lark would be killed in some botched experiment. So far neither had happened, but he always breathed a sigh of relief when Savage allowed the two werewolves to catch a glimpse of each other.

Every night he silently hoped and prayed that the Unnatural camp would find a way to rescue them, but every morning he woke in the same bare cage, the same painful, probing experiments. It was enough to drive a person mad.

The only thing that had him hanging on was the fact that Lark needed him. He could not abandon her now.

----

Caerwyn grinned and wrapped his arms around Curse's waist in a tight hug. Pulling back, he looked up at her expectantly.

Tonight is the wedding. You're going to go, aren't you? He glanced into her room as if to see preparations for going out. I don't think Selena really wants me there, he added with slight chagrin. But seeing as it's taking place at the chapel, she can't really keep me away. He smirked faintly.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

"I didn't realize vampires even did weddings...." Neal mused aloud as he took a seat on the first pew. "It's been years since I've been to a wedding of any kind." the Darkling said as he removed his fedora and pulled out his well-worn pack of playing cards.

Serrena had always talked about her wedding "someday"... before they had gone on the run. Neal smiled remembering how his "little sis" would change her mind on what kind of wedding she would want every few weeks. It was almost as fast as what her "dream guy" would be.

"You haven't happened to see Satin anywhere around this morning, have you?" Neal asked the zombie after a few minutes.

--------------------------

The rebuilding of the Unnatural camp by the politicians son had surprised Karl at first, especially seeing as how the sentiments around town seemed to be very hostile towards "creatures". It was a nice though... now the Hybrid did not have to worry about venturing into werwolf territory to visit his old friend.

Karl stood leaning against a tree just inside the forest surrounding the Unnatural camp, nicely blending-in with the darkness under the trees. Waiting.....

"Satin?" Pepper repeated, looking over at Neal. She remained silent a few seconds and then strode over to the door that led to the closet where the Unnatural's fridge stood. The light from inside shone on her face as she searched the contents. Slowly, she shut the two doors again and stepped out into the chapel.

"She went to Eslatar," the zombie stated simply, meeting Neal's eyes. No matter how she tried, Pepper couldn't think of a good ending for this situation.

---

"Oh," Zaref replied and would have blushed if he could. "I- I didn't know you'd be in the dress already," he answered and grinned, "You look great though. I haven't even started getting ready."

---

Udi raised an eyebrow at the cowardly vampire, affronted that such a creature had interrupted potential flirting. Sighing, he rolled his eyes and waved his hand at Pavel, trying to signify that the vampire was officially forgiven.

"We should get back to camp," Satin offered to Pavel. "You can come with us if you need somewhere to stay," she added for Udi's benefit.

"I'm just passing through- unless something interesting crops up." The Satyr answered, "But I'll come along, if not for any other reason than to make sure you make it back with all your blood."

Satin nodded, not sure she liked this man at all and started walking back towards camp.

---

Naomi stared at Indigo a moment. She had been genuinely startled by his appearance, something that didn't happen too often to the werewolf. She sniffed the air, memorizing the fellow werewolf's scent for a moment. Swallowing back a squeak in her voice she nodded, "You're Indigo then- Abijah said you wanted to come along to scope out Savage's den."

---

Dellan stopped immediately and lay panting heavily on the floor. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on calming himself. It wouldn't do to scare this new inmate even when the darkness inside was threatening to swallow him up whole.

"I'm- sorry," he managed to force out of his cracked lips.

---

Lark looked up as the usually locked door on one side of her cell opened up. She knew it led down an impenetrable tunnel and outside to a small dirt yard where she and Brick were allowed to be together for twenty or so minutes. She stared and stared, knowing the door would close soon if she didn't get up and go out.

Slowly she found her feet and walked down the tunnel, vision swimming. I shouldn't tell him...

---

"I wasn't sure if you were going," Curse replied. "If you are I'd like to too. I think they'll let me, though I'm not sure if they're going." She sat down on the edge of her bed. "It's exciting isn't it? That they're getting married...forever."

"Blast!" Neal said as he shoved the deck of cards back into his trench and grabbed his fedora off the pew as he hurried for the door. Curse it all, Satin! Eslatar is not his self anymore! Do you want to die? All this went through the Darklings mind as he briskly walked across camps lawn and disappeared into the forest.... heading for Eslatar's glen.

--------------------------------

A dark figure watched as Neal hurriedly crossed the camp grounds and vanished into the darkness beneath the trees. "You're in a rush, aren't you Neal?" Karl said to himself as he lit a cigarette. "Nice to see you being useful for once..." the Hybrid mused with a chuckle before becoming distract with his watch.

Selena glanced down at the dress. "I was just trying it on," she said, trying not to freak out at him saying she looked "great." She did not quite understand what he meant by that and told herself not to jump to conclusions. Silently she checked to make sure she was not using her ability in the slightest before taking another step back and gesturing into the room.

"You can come in if you want," she said. "There's still a couple hours until sundown." She forced a small smile.

----

Pavel looked insulted at the Satyr's words. "I could never hurt Satin!" he exclaimed, shaking his head. He reached over and patted the girl's shoulder lightly, as though she were made out of glass. "She's my friend." He smiled hesitantly.

----

"I do," Indigo said shortly, wondering if she was going to spend the entire time talking.

"You going to take me there?" he asked after a moment, realizing he was going to have to trust her to lead him to the right place. He was not entirely comfortable with that, but he knew he had no other choice.

----

Sparrow slowly lowered her hands from her ears as the scream stopped.

"Sparrow can feel your pain," she said softly, folding her hands on her lap and staring down at them. "She only wanted to make it go away. She is sorry if she hurt you." She peeked down at him from behind long, black hair that had since lost its sleekness. So many days within Savage's cage had left her unkempt to say the least.

----

When the door opened up revealing the tunnel beyond, Brick forced himself to his feet, not wanting to waste this opportunity to see Lark. Awkwardly he tied the remains of his clothes around his waist until he was wearing something that resembled a ragged kilt. Deciding there were worse things to be seen in, he made his way down the tunnel and into the dirt yard.

He smiled wearily as he saw Lark stumble out of her tunnel and hurried forward as fast as he could to help her to a spot on the ground where she could sit. He knelt on his knees next to her and frowned at her state.

"They didn't hurt you too much, did they?" he asked in a husky voice, his throat still burning from his nightmare. He lifted a hand and pressed it against her cheek, taking comfort in the fact that she was alive.

----

Caerwyn watched Curse carefully. Just because they're immortal doesn't mean that their marriage will last for all eternity. In a few hundred years they could tire of each other and divorce just as easily as humans do.

He did not want to be cynical, but he knew that in times like these people needed to think realistically.

P.S."Brooklyn!"