That sounds right for Karl.... Neal thought once Tallulah answered his question. "Well, if you have everything under control, I'll be around until the wedding." the Darkling said to the recently reappeared shape-shifting kitten. "Good day...." Neal said to the two coven vamps with the slightest tip of his hat to Tallulah before disappearing around the corner of the chapel.

Going through the chapel would be quicker.... but then that would mean going pass Satin and Malachi. Neal shook his head at the ridiculous thought.... Are you... jealous? Well, it's not the first time, though you have picked a great time to get attached to someone. the Darkling thought as he walked up the staircase towards his room. Keep it buried at least. Any and all attachments will be used against you when you meet Karl again.... "That's not a very confronting thought." Neal said aloud as he looked at his reflection in the mirror over the dresser.

"Might as well give myself a little trim before the wedding...." he said as he put his fedora on its nail before getting out the bowl, pitcher of water, shaving cream and razor. Hopefully everything will go well this evening. Neal thought as he began cutting off the stubble on his neck.

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

What started out as a simple plan had turned into a day and a nights worth of tracking for the Agent of Chaos. Karl had finally found his quarry in Ditto Town, an odd place for a vampire to return to, but anyway... The Hybrid watched from across the street as the cloaked figure of Eslatar emerged from the alley where he had been for the past several minutes.

Might as well introduce myself.... Karl thought with a grin before hurrying across the street and walking up beside the exiled vamp. "I don't suppose I could interest you in getting a drink, Eslatar." the Hybrid said in just right volume so that the vampire would be sure to hear, but the surrounding humans would not.

(((is this alright with you, Marshy? )))

Thomas looked surprised. "Why would you be a threat? You're on their side!" It was only after he said it that he realized he had said "their" instead of "our." His cheeks reddened slightly, and he hoped she had not noticed.

He studied her in the dim light, wondering if he could really trust her to help him. She probably had conflicted feelings about the Unnaturals, what with one having killed her and another having brought her back. Still, he supposed he needed all the help he could get at this point. He got the feeling the law enforcement wasn't taking him and his sister seriously in this investigation.

----

Ian nodded and hacked away into the account. Scrolling through the emails, he looked for one sent to Monstropolis Daily. He did not find one. However, near the end of the list, he saw one email that had been sent to a 'whalesRpeople2'. The subject line said "Information on Stryders."

He started, seeing his name glaring back at him in someone else's email. With a frown he clicked on it, curious as to what information the person was talking about.

Dear sir,
If you want that information about the siblings Stryder, meet me in the basement of Monstropolis Daily at midnight tonight. I believe you'll find what I have very interesting.

Your contact

It was dated the previous day.

Melanie looked confused. "Someone's investigating us? Why?"

Ian did not answer but his hand trembled slightly as he copy and pasted the email onto a word processor.

----

Pavel's eyes widened when he heard Mark mention that she could be coming. He shook his head vigorously and pulled away from the elf, getting to his feet slowly.

"It would be better for you all if she were dead," he said in a soft, miserable voice. "You wouldn't want her coming here." Unconsciously he took a step closer to Tallulah and Wystan. When he looked over and saw them however, he cringed and slunk back behind the rest of the Unnaturals gathered there, embarrassed now that he was done grieving.

Selena also looked reluctant to turn her back on the new guests and leave the clearing, but Zaref was right. She gave his hand a slight squeeze before slipping away.

"See you inside," she said so quietly only the vampires could hear it, before she stepped inside the chapel to make her way back to the bride's room.

It was then that Caerwyn and Curse stepped into the clearing. Caerwyn sensed the vampires immediately and hissed angrily. They were not supposed to be there. What would Emmaline say if she knew he had brought Curse to a wedding with unfriendly vampires present? He was not at all comfortable with the situation himself.

He let go of Curse's hand in order to walk in front of her protectively as they approached the chapel and the group in front of it. He did not try to speak to Tallulah and her bodyguard (for it was surely they now that he saw them up close), only stared at them coldly.

----

"Smells good," Indigo admitted grudgingly as he sat down next to the fire where Naomi was cooking the deer. "Though you didn't have to make anything. I've been hunting my whole life, and I bet the elf knows how to as well." He smiled wryly.

----

It was several long minutes before the sparks faded away and Sparrow opened her eyes. She inhaled sharply and blinked up at Dellan.

"Did she succeed? Are you well?" She reached up weakly and pressed a hand against Dellan's chest, over his heart.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Steel jumped spun around and kicked Matthew in the face which sent him flailing backwards then fired five shots at Basil. Bloody dodged Basil's foot and scampered after the bounty hunter, he reached him and climbed up his pant leg to his thigh and opened his mouth to bite again.

Steel saw he was out numbered when he thought of the police that would soon come. So he once again made a dramatic exit and burst through the bar window and out onto the ground.
---
"Yeah, I can" he said "Thanks though" he added with a smile as he sat down.
---
"Well actually... We didn't spend years in it, only a month or so" Rebecca replied "I wonder where Adam is" she added suddenly remembering her brother "I hope he's ok"
---
"I know Will, we will find her, don't worry" replied Mark Yeah, I've figured that out kid he thought to himself.

Malachi walked up to the table and began preparing garlic for Satin.

"It's been awhile since I did anything like this. Back at the Academy, the place I lived before all the trouble started, we used to make these huge dinners every night, everyone pitching in and helping. It was fun," Malachi abruptly stopped talking. He'd been on the verge of showing more emotion than he felt entirely comfortable displaying before a complete stranger. "Anyway, what's your story? You said something about being a barmaid?"

There was everything but a triumphant smirk pressing on the dignitary's features when Cotton took the pen. How could there be when there was no feeling of accomplishment in convincing the brainless bounty hunter into doing something he was already willing to give. All he had to do was tickle Cotton's nose with a promise of money, and that sealed it. An elementary ploy, really.

But, ah, for the prize, the thought appeased the dignitary with a renewed flutter of composed eagerness as he watched Cotton write the names, makes it brilliant.

His azure eyes had absorbed and processed the names on the list even before Cotton had passed it on to him, but as he snatched up the paper, his forehead creased in disbelief. He bent over the list as he checked and rechecked it, his shoulders losing their straight posture. Lost was he to the dealings Ruth made with Cotton; but when the gun went off and the lifeless body fell to the floor, the list fell from the dignitary's grasp onto the table, and he sighed with an incredible sense of defeat.

~~~~~~

As she listened to the creature's lecture, Fanny moved into a more comfortable position, pulling her knees to her chest and hugging them, but still seated in the farthest crook of the tree. Even though his gentle enlightenment had her interest, she was not comfortable with coming out.

"I never heard them called that way," she admitted quietly. Tilting her head to the side, she tried to see the Satyr she was talking to. No such luck as he to the side of the hole's visual, and despite her curiosity she didn't dare move an inch closer.

"Is it because only the mystic beings called themselves 'Unnatural'?"

Eslatar turned his head sharply to look at Karl. He didn't quite recognize the person though something told the vampire that this one was a fellow Unnatural. "Depends on what we're drinking," the vampire answered with ruby eyes narrowed, "I'm very thirsty."

---

"That's still up to the courts to decide," Kanti answered, sounding a little bitter as she pushed her dark hair behind her ears and eyed the prince again. "Well, do you want my help or not? I can always go back to the paperwork...though I'd really rather not."

---

Cyrano frowned as he looked between the email and Ian's face. "Could that be the spy? But why would they want to talk about you two?" he had the distinct feeling of being left out of something important.

---

"Well that was...dramatic," Basil offered, staring at the place where a bullet had grazed his arm. He cursed loudly and grabbed the animal through the cloth of his pant leg, intent on capturing something today. Somehow he managed to get the creature out and held it by its neck firmly. He glanced over at Matthew.

"Lots of help you were," he said grumpily.

---

"Anything useful?" Ruth asked as she fished out her cell phone. What use was it being the head of an organization if you couldn't manage to find someone else to clean up after your messes? She eyed the paper with Cotton's scrawl, waiting for someone to pick up as the phone rang.

---

Zaref nodded at Selena and watched her go inside before he took a last look at the group and left to get ready as well.

Mr. T's nose twitched as he studied Talullah and Wystan passively. He looked over as Caerwyn and Curse entered the glade, tail swishing slightly.

Talullah was a bit unnerved by the boy's cold stare and raised her lip slightly, a faint shadow of a scowl. "Looks like you have all sorts of guests for this event," she said lightly, looking at Terrance, "Shall we have the honor of meeting your famous benefactor too?"

"Not sure," Terrance answered, "I believe Mr. Latch prefers keeping his mortality, a desire you two would definitely not help." He rose and trotted over to Curse, weaving through her legs with a purring sound before he jumped up onto her shoulder. "Curse and Caerwyn, this is Talullah, matriarch of the vampire coven and her friend Wystan."

Curse would have shuddered at the attention from Terrance only a week ago. She and he did not share the fondest memories. But since she'd been spending more time with the group, they'd been able to patch up things and form some semblance of a relationship beyond the memory of Mr. Button's death. Nonetheless, she held tightly to Caerwyn's hand and watched the vampires warily.

"Nice to meet you," she managed.

---

Satin looked up as Malachi reminisced about his past. She had been interested to hear more, but knew now probably wasn't the right time to be prying. He'd just come to their camp and like most of the Unnaturals, had probably left behind a trail of memories he'd rather forget.

As the topic conversation moved on to her own past, she looked back down at the large pot she was stirring. Setting the spoon aside, she pulled a small vial out from under her sweater, the candlelight reflected on the thin chain it was connected to as Satin pulled out the stopper and poured three drops into the mixture. Replacing the vial under her clothes, she glanced over at Malachi.

"Tears," she offered with the start of a smile and pressed a finger over her lips, "It's a secret ingredient. Well used to be anyway. I was a barmaid for a specialized tavern. 'Blood and Tears' it was called. We served vamps mostly. The local hate group burned it to the ground a while back," she stirred slowly, wondering how to summarize her story in a couple of sentences. Terrance had made it clear he didn't want her revealing the fact that she was a fugitive, but she didn't see what difference it made since all the Unnaturals were too.

"When the laws against Unnaturals were put into place all my friends started disappearing and the tavern had to close. We hid a couple and I was arrested when the police found out. I escaped and spent some time with the coven Talullah's in charge of. Then I left there and found everyone had set up camp here. The politicians in town assumed the vamps had killed me so they wrote up an obituary in the paper."

Done with the stirring, she reached over and took the chopped garlic from Malachi with a nod of thanks and poured it into the pot. "It was a nice town, just a year ago," Satin added quietly, "Now it's just one more place with too many rules."

---

"No it's the humans that call us that," Udi answered, "At least I think so. Now that you ask it, I'm not sure if anyone knows where it was first said."

He looked around and then took a seat on the ground, wondering if he'd be able to find his way back to the camp in the dark. The Satyr had never had problems before with his sense of direction before but somehow it seemed like the day for unexpected complications.

---

"I figured we could all use some company," Naomi said with a shrug, looking across at Indigo. "All of us have been busy scouting but I don't think we've had any sort of conversation since we started. If we're going to work as a team we should start by knowing something about each other."

---

"I am," Dellan responded, relief flooding him as Sparrow opened her eyes. He was being truthful, he had not felt this healthy in a long time, but he also said it to prevent her from trying anything again that day. He was back to his normal health, but inwardly he knew that he didn't feel stronger than before.

"There's a nice little pub just up ahead off of the main street. It's well stocked with all manner of rums, vodka's, beers.... and hungover patrons if you're interested in more "organic" drinks." Karl said with a knowing look at Eslatar. "I'm more interested in grabbing a few beers myself, so you can have the majority of the patrons to yourself." the Hybrid added nonchalantly as he continued walking beside the vampire.

The thought of a whole pub full of delectable humans was enticing though, especially to Karl. It has been several days since I've had a good civilian meal.... perhaps I can snag a few humans from Eslatar. I wonder how much he drinks? The Hybrid wondered with a glance over at his vampire acquaintance.

Thomas considered for a long moment. He really did not have much to lose at this point, besides scaring off someone with potential information. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"If you promise not to arrest the people I'm looking for, then I'll let you help," the prince decided finally. He stood and brushed himself off as best he could before offering a hand to Kanti.

"And I promise not to tell your superiors what you're up to," he added with a crooked smile.

----

Ian shrugged. "I can't think of anything except . . . well, maybe the fact that we were adopted and no one knows were we came from."

Melanie nodded solemnly. "Just showed up on our parents doorstep when we were three. Can't remember anything about it either, which is weird because I remember everything."

----

Caerwyn did not bother with niceties. He could feel Curse's apprehension keenly and gave her hand a slight, reassuring squeeze. He would not let these vampires near her.

What are you doing here? He scowled. It was harder speaking to these vampires than to anyone else. He could feel his words sliding across their mental blocks. They were incredibly strong. His voice probably sounded distant to them, as if coming from far away. He felt a sharp pain in his mind as well. Like he had with Gwen. She had had strong mental blocks also.

For some reason this annoyed him, having to struggle to get his words into their minds, and the pain that followed. He decided he would not bother speaking to them if this persisted.

But he could not resist one last short, scathing statement:

You're not wanted here.

----

"I like pie," Indigo said, and the faintest hint of a smile crossed his lips. "There. Now you know something about me." He seemed to realize his mask was slipping, for he stood abruptly, his normally impassive expression covering his face again. He took a couple steps away from the fire and looked in the direction of Savage's place.

----

With a sigh, Sparrow let her fingers fall away from Dellan. Her eyes fell shut once more.

"Your heart is still heavy," she said softly, sadly. "Sparrow is sorry she cannot fix this. She is sorry she cannot fix all the wrong." Opening her eyes again, her gaze moved to what was left of his arm. Tears gathered in the dark pools and slipped silently down her pale cheek.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

"Shut up" said Matthew wiping the blood from his mouth "Who ever that vamps is he has tons of self restraint… Here I am… Bleeding like heck… And just leaves… Why?” he murmured to himself. He glanced at the ferret in Basil’s hand as it was squirming violently; it reached its paw up and delivered a long scratch to the bounty hunters hand.
---
Josh snorted in an attempt to silent his laugh before calming himself as well and then replied to Naomi “Well I’m really 96 years old and an elf prince… I also like pie” he smirked as he tossed a rock back a forth between his hands.
---
Two Days later... Steel stalked into an alley way to get from a road to another bar in which he would loath over loosing Bloody in a jug of beer. When he ran into "Karl..." he snarled "I see you found another... Friend" he said as he walked towards the two unnatural.
---
Mark stood up and glanced back at the vampires... Releasing the spell that kept his scent contained to see what these two would do, and said "Well you seem to know most of the people here so you might as well know mine, its Mark and I'm an elf. Not that you would care or anything" he said.

Then he turned around and walked into the chapel and approached the two other more vulnerable members of the camp “Well… That was interesting” he said and sat down in a pew, then rested his head back against the seat to study the structure of the building.

Brilliancy has a perverse side that not very many have a chance to meet. Mainly because not very many can claim to have met Brilliancy, but just something that looks an awful lot like it. Only a small percentage can make that rightful claim, and then that percentage shrinks for those who never want to meet Brilliancy again. For, after a time of friendship, these few know how Brilliancy likes to swindle you when you use it ungratefully.

It was with this rejection that the dignitary had to console himself. Straightening, he adjusted his jacket with a switch jerk to correct the sitting on his shoulders. With determination gathering in his jaw, he vowed he would be of the nonexistent group that chases after Brilliancy.

"Probably," the dignitary replied indifferently, turning away from the table and facing Ruth. With his head bowed he fixed the cuff of his sleeves as well, only to be distracted when he saw Cotton's prone body lying beside his feet.

"You will have to checked it out in any case," he added, tone unchanging but there was something of a thoughtful expression in his eyes. "I don't trust his loyalty, even though I paid for it."

~~~~~~

Fanny nodded, murmuring an "Ooh" as if sympathizing with his lack of knowledge but also accepting for his sake the finality of the subject.

There was a long pause before she could find the courage to ask the question that had been agitating her since the beginning of their meeting. "So your people—Unnaturals—are living in the woods now?" she mentioned hesitantly. "Because of the humans."

Eslatar was about to answer Karl when they were interrupted by the appearance of another vampire. He watched the newcomer a moment, "I wouldn't say we're friends...just share certain tastes," he said with a slight smile before turning back to Karl, "Let's go," he said, forgoing with his usual wit. The thirst was starting up a drumbeat in his head.

---

"As long as they're not vampires," Kanti answered, unable to give up on that point. She shook the prince's hand, wondering who exactly Thomas was looking for.

---

Cyrano was confused about the siblings past but didn't know if that would really have anything to do with the person they were looking for. "Do you think this guy is the informant too? Maybe we should check him out...seems like he at least knows someone at Monstropolis Daily."

---

"I was planning on it," Ruth replied, hanging up after she gave an underling instructions for Cotton's clean-up. Sighing, she pocketed her cell phone. "I don't know how much use the names will be anyway. We have no chance of doing anything unless Latch suddenly changes his mind about his little pet project," her lip curled in disgust.

---

"I really feel like killing this rodent," Basil said with a growl as Bloody scratched him. However much he wished to, he had a feeling his drama vampire might get into trouble so he let go of the ferret and hoped to the forces of the universe that it'd run into some fatal trouble soon.

---

((Hey Ryan, we established earlier that the vamps minds work on a different 'wave' because they're undead and had said nobody else can communicate with them mentally...at least for our non-Twilight vamps so...you might need to edit, sorry ))

Talullah looked at the new arrivals, arching an eyebrow. She wasn't very impressed with them, but found herself looking at Curse's white eye before a sudden flash of memory made her gasp and step back from the two. Her eyes narrowed.

Wystan watched the elf leave.

"Now, now, let's all get along, shall we?" Terrance said, sounding amused as his tail brushed against Curse's face. "After all, this is supposed to be a happy occasion."

---

"Some of us," Udi replied, hoping for his own sake that this girl wasn't some sort of clever spy. "I just came actually, needed somewhere to stay and this group sounded safe enough. Though they don't seem especially friendly..." he added the last grumpily.

---

Naomi sighed at Indigo's abrupt words and then turned to listen to Josh. "96 huh?" she asked, slightly amazed, "You look good for that many years," pausing she took a knife and began cutting the meat, "Food's ready."

---

Dellan didn't dare admit that he didn't mind that the healing hadn't reached his heart. This contact had made him miss the days of innocence somewhat, but more than anything the image of having his revenge of Savage dominated his thoughts.

"It's alright," he offered to Sparrow and took her hand tentatively, "You've done a lot."

His nose twitched. Salt. It was a familiar smell. Along with the other odors permeating the air, he knew all too well where he was. He was on a ship. A small ship by the manner in which the sway carried him, rocking his tired body back and forth. His throat was dry.

Cracking open an eye, Victor peered through a blurry slit of vision. He was uncomfortable too. Something rattled as he moved his stiff limbs, restraining him from getting very far to comfort. A groan issued from his parched lips, forced to open both of his heavy eyelids to see what the obstruction was. Chains? His brow furrowed at the sight. Where was he?

Darileen.

Suddenly wide awake, he sat up, the shackles pulling taut as he did so. She wasn't with him. Darileen was always with him. What had happened?

Before he had time to wonder or worry about all of the possible scenarios, the door creaked open, revealing two men. Large men, or at least larger than himself. "Where's the-" he started to demand, but the threat carried no further than the dry squeak that was his voice allowed.

Victor coughed as the two brutes unlatched his chains, then proceeded to haul him from the bunk like a sack of potatoes. Use of legs seemed prohibited at the moment from lack of circulation.

"Be careful!" he rasped, "I'm very brittle." Neither one responded with so much as a grunt so he supplied one for them out of disgust.

As they reached closer to the deck, the smell of salt air grew stronger. It brought back memories but also increased the steady drumbeat inside of his chest, sending it pounding up to his ears.

He was unceremoniously dropped when they arrived top-side. "Your treatment of prisoners is despicable," spat Victor, glowering. However, his glare began to fade as he caught sight of the view before the bow of the ship.

It was an island.

((Heeeeey, all. I've been having a terrible time with writer's block so this was best I could squeeze out for right now. I'll try to add some more tomorrow, if I can. So sorry for the long wait!))

"And I see Life has continued to give you loaded dice...." Karl replied with a smirk to Steel. Before the Hybrid could excuse himself from yet another meeting with his old acquaintance, Eslatar did the excusing for him. "What he said." The Hybrid said pointing to Eslatar. "Try to keep out of trouble... if you can." Karl added over his shoulder as he continued to walk towards the pub.

A minute or so later, Karl was standing outside his planned destination: A small pub nestled between two abandoned office buildings. "Here we are." The Hybrid said with a devious smile as he opened the front door, peering in at the locals. "Looks like plenty of patrons are here and the bar is fully stocked. Have at it, my friend." Karl said mock-bowing towards Eslatar and gesturing into the hazy, smoke filled pub.

((( YAY! Kate's back!!!!! )))

"You know what, I'm just going to follow you" Said Steel as they walked to the bar and leaned against the out side wall "Where ever you go havoc is sure to follow" he said grinning "I just wait till you two are done and get some beer" he said leaning against the wall.
---
Josh nodded "It's one of the advantages of being an elf, perpetual youth” he said with a smile as he reached for the food “In my people I am considered the like of a human twelve year old though I’ve seen, done and developed my mind way past and average human twenty year old who is in the prime of the of their life and mind”
---
Bloody scampered through the streets of Ditto Town, dodging cars, big shoe's and little children who though he was cute. Oh and the owls he hated the owls, they were everywhere, good thing he had been geneticly mutated in a lab before Steel came in a thirst for blood and killed those dudes in white and decided he would keep the ferret... Ten times more resiliant then most rodents and twice as strong were among the mutations he said biting the finger of a child who tried to pick him up.

"No, no vampires," Thomas said reassuringly. "I . . . don't really know what she is. But her eyes aren't red so . . . not a vampire."

He moved cautiously to the empty doorway of the building, peering around it. Once he felt the coast was clear, he walked quickly out and retraced his steps to where he had seen the two children disappear. But when he got there, no one was around. He frowned slightly, then sighed in disappointment. He should have figured they would be gone by the time he got there.

"Looking for someone?"

Thomas jumped as a familiar sing-song voice spoke right next to him. Glancing around he still saw nothing. Then he remembered how the girl had disappeared and figured she could turn invisible as well as teleport.

"Um, I'm looking for the girl who helped me and my sister the night of the fundraiser ball. Her name was . . . Katie?"

"Who's your friend?" the voice asked, and Kanti's arm lifted as though an invisible person had lifted it. The fabric rustled as an invisible hand ran up and down it. "She looks like a cop," the voice said accusingly, and Kanti's arm was abruptly released.

----

The bodyguard who had chased the prince, returned to the cafe. He bowed before the princess before looking her in the eye to report his bad news.

"I'm afraid I have lost the prince, Your Highness. He gave me the slip in an abandoned building. I believe he may have had some help." He stood stiff and still, hoping she would not fire him for this.

----

"It has to be the same guy," Ian said, clenching his jaw tightly. With a few more clicks of the keyboard, he found the computer the email had come from.

"It's not work computer," he said with surprise. "This is coming from someone's home unit."

Melanie's heavily-lined eyes widened with glee. "That means we get to stake out his house, right?" She ran a hand down her leather-clad torso. "And I get to use my new outfit after all."

Ian looked pained. "Mel . . ."

----

Caerwyn muttered something under his breath at Mr. T's words, but he kept his gaze on the ground so no one suffered the effects of the curse. He glared darkly at the vampires and tried to ignore the fact that Curse was practically cutting off the circulation in his hand.

He turned to look up at Mr. T. Must they be here?

----

Indigo turned back to the fire and sat down, watching Naomi with a slight frown. Something about her reminded him of his sister Magenta. Pain twisted in his gut, and he forced himself to look away, frowning into the flames.

----

Sparrow smiled faintly. "It has been some time since Sparrow could help someone. She has felt useless these many days, surrounded by pain and unable to heal. She thanks you for letting her help." She gave his hand a feeble squeeze.

P.S."Brooklyn!"