Caerwyn nodded absently. That works. His words seemed distracted however, and he was watching the doorway to the kitchen warily, as if he expected something (or someone) to jump out and attack them. He shifted uneasily in his seat.

----

Pavel looked down at Satin and saw that she was waking up. He drew his fingers away from her face quickly. Looking up at the elf, he swallowed hard.

"You-you can do that?" he asked, knowing nothing of elves or any other unnatural besides vampires for that matter.

Indigo growled warningly low in his throat as Mark approached Satin. He was suspicious of everyone there. Someone had tipped off Savage, and he was not willing to trust anyone until they found out who.

----

Thomas squirmed under Elisabeth's hand. "Why? Things are just getting interesting!" he protested. "I want to check out what caused the building to shake. It felt like there was an explosion nearby."

He turned to push his way toward the doors of the ballroom, his curiosity driving him insane. He had to figure out what was happening.

Ian grinned. "I got some pretty sweet pictures to go with your article," he said. "Should we head back and work on it now? I thought I saw Stanley York from the Monstropolis Daily. Wouldn't want him to get the story out before us."

"Mmm, should I hail a taxi?" Melanie asked, pretty sure she could do so quickly if she simply stepped into the middle of the road while wearing the type of dress she was.

Jason's frown deepened. "No it isn't," he told her sternly. "Any one of my men should have recognized her and moved in. Even I did nothing even when I thought she looked familiar. Don't get into a rut over this, Detective. I need you sharp. We have to find this vampire and deal with her."

He paused, realizing he was probably being insensitive. His look softened and he took a step back. "But you should go home now," he said almost gently, his voice low. "Get some rest. We'll have the police station to deal with tomorrow as well." He hesitated and glanced at the kitchen door. "I'll get Officer Burkley to give you a ride home," he added.

Glancing sidelong at her, his expression became unreadable once more. "Take care of yourself." He pressed his earpiece and radioed Burkley. A minute later the young officer came in, his face still flushed from all the excitement.

"I want you to take Detective Kavita home," Jason told him. "Stay with her and contact me if anything happens. I'll come by for questioning tomorrow."

"Yes, sir," the rookie said, nodding and glancing curiously at Kanti and her disheveled appearance.

----

Gwen sighed. "I'm afraid my nemesis is a child. A perpetual child in fact. The worst kind." She glanced over at Karl. "He appears innocent enough, however he is anything but. Very dangerous to all, even our kind. I thought I killed him years ago. Apparently, somehow, he survived." She frowned.

"This bothers me. It means I underestimated him. I shall not do so again."

P.S."Brooklyn!"

"Alright. I'll keep the discs with me for the time being." Neal said as he put the discs back into his coat. The Darkling walked over beside Cotton as the ex-tavern owner regained consciousness. "You're at the Sage pack din, in case your wondering." Neal said to Satin.

"You can heal bullet wounds, eh?" Neal asked the elf, not quite convinced that the kid had it in him.

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

"Ahh, a nemesis.... I also have one of those, though he's not a child and he tried to kill me not the other way around." Karl said with a strangely thoughtful expression. For a moment a rush of images from his past flooded Karl's mind.... Fighting anti-unnaturals.... turning on his companion.... being pinned to a tree with metal rods by... Neal. The one person, the one Unnatural that had actually outsmarted him and was also on the same level as Karl.

With a shudder/shrug, Karl let out a sigh before speaking again. "So, is this child nemesis of yours in Ditto Town?"

Mark looked at Neal and struggled not to laugh, partly because the bullet wound would be easy for him to heal and partly because he had been listening for any tratoris thoughts in the still living being and had heard Neal's dout about him being able to because he looked so young "That and broken bones, severed limbs and basicly anything besides an insane mind. Though I can alter that as well, it comes with being a dragon rider"

Should I tell them Brand?? Brand replied Keep it a secret, it may come in handy some time ok

Mark then opened himself to Neals mind but did not enter it (partly because Kate told his author not to and partly because he was afriad of what it held) We share a nemisis Neal, you know of who I speak; Karl, I share your discust. I had the displeasure of meeting him when I found that a very powerful vamp had entered the town, so I went to destroy him, it turned out he was a hybrid and that I couldn't. But I was every bit his equal, and so are you, I think together we may have a chance of stoping him

Instinct to move away from Eslatar's sudden advance caused Kes to take a step back, but she was too late to avoid being reached. Her left hand now ensnared, she brought her right around hard, grunting as she landed a desperate blow to Eslatar's jaw with the fist that she still had clenched around the knife.

"You think you know," she sneered his words, wrestling her arm free of his grip. "I woke up alone. I was cold, blind... so... thirsty... I was buried. I crawled my way out of a grave! I didn't even remember my own name but oh, I remembered you. I remembered you leaving me to bleed to death," she snarled at him, directing a backhand towards his face with the same fist, her knuckles turning white.

Incensed by the only true memory that she possessed, Kes aimed a haphazard kick at Eslatar's chest. "Yes, he did teach me little tricks," she hissed in response, words accentuated by slashes from the knife now, "He knew how to survive. How to avoid being burnt to death by sunlight. How to make the thirst go away."

Running from him never entered her mind again, her emotions taking control; all she wanted to do now was hurt him. "You think you know? Hmm? You think you know how this is?" she swung her fist at him again, both fists, "Tell me. Tell me why! Why did you do this? Why did you do this to me if you knew?!"

===

As the car drove further away from the destruction, Hook ruminated in the silence of the back seat. It was dark now, save for a few stars that were blurred as the vehicle sped along. Emma was the center of his thoughts instead of his work. He wondered if she had made it home alright. He kept reminding himself that everything he was doing was for her, but now that these attacks were reaching humans, he began to worry that everything he was doing wouldn't be enough.

If Ruth was responsible for tonight's attack, maybe there could be some other bargain he could strike to keep her from destroying anything else that revolved around humans. He couldn't even see why she need to do such a thing. It was a waste even with unnaturals. Perhaps it wasn't even her. Hook shook his head to clear his mind, squeezing the bridge of his nose.

He would do anything to keep from losing his wife again.

Anything.

Even selling his own soul.

As the car pulled up to a guarded warehouse some time later, Hook began to suspect that maybe... he already had.

Neal chuckled at the laundry list of things the young elf could fix. "Eh, maybe we should start calling you Doc instead of Mark...." He said with smile before Marks voice rang through his mind.

Neal had met psychics before, but it was always unnerving having someone speak without words, even if they were allies. Wait, Karl is here? In Ditto Town? After reading the news article about the nearby town burning, the Darkling knew that it was only a matter of time before Karl made his way to Ditto Town, though this revelation that his old acquaintance was already here came as a shock.

Neal stood up and walked over to the other side of Satin, where Mark was. "I need to speak with you... in private. After you heal Satin." the man said in a low voice to the elf. Neal's smile had been replaced with a slight scowl as the Darkling brooded over the information the elf had just revealed.

Mark immersed himself in the flow of magic and lifted his hand; his gedwey innasia shining brightly before he muttered "Jierda" the bandage broke and fell off Satins arm. Mark knelt and inspected the wound before saying "This may itch a little but here we go… Waise heill" the bullet made its way out of the wound and flew through the air till his came in contact with his out stretched hand. After that the muscle in Satin's arm sewed itself together and finally the outer skin flowed together as if there had never been a wound "There you go" he stood and walked to Neal.
Yes? he asked with his mind.

Von walked up behind Jason and said "Sir could I have a word with you?" He pulled Jason aside before he could reaspond "The target got away, Sir but we are preforming more searches as we speak" here he stopped to find the right words for what he was going to say next "Sergeant Croft, what is it you intend to do with the Detective? One of my men performing surveillance overhead you talking with the prince and..." he faltered at this point before regaining his composure "Forgive me if this is not my place but from what I've made of the conversation you seem to be trying to protect Detective Kanti. Now I hate it as much as you but the fact remains that Kanti was bitten and died then rose back from the dead and that classifies her as an unnatural. If you try anything I will have you arrested for breaking the law, the law we both swore to protect. Please don't make me do that Sergeant Croft” Von turned on his heel and walked out of the kitchen.

Neal was lost in thought, trying to figure out how Karl had survived their last meeting, when Mark walked up. "You said you met Karl when you went into town? When?" Neal kept his back to the company around the small fire, now was not the time to be bothered by questions.

"I infiltrated his hotel room... Early today" said Mark "He had no intentions that were abnormal at that time, now I realize I didn't know him well enough to read his thoughts accurately" he added before casting a simple spell to keep their conversation from being overheard “Now we may speak with out fear of any ears hearing our conversation”

"Earlier today, earlier today.... He's probably already caused some sort of disturbance in Town by now." Neal said with a sigh as he folded his arms over his chest. "Thanks for healing Satin and casting that spell so we can't be overheard." he said to Mark before going back into deep thought.

"It's only a matter of time before Karl finds out where we are... or where I am. He has knack for finding Unnaturals that I've never understood...." Neal said, pushing the brim of his fedora up with his thumb. "Thanks for your offer to help fight Karl, but this is my problem. He is my problem. I don't want to drag any of you into my own personal problems if I can help it....." The Darkling looked over his shoulder at the group of misfit Unnaturals that at the same time were... family. It's amazing how tough times can bring people together. Neal mused before turning back to Mark.

"So anyway, keep your ears, er, mind open to any disturbances regarding our mutual acquaintance and let me know if he starts heading this way." Neal said before walking back to the camp fire. "Oh, and one more thing, don't mention Karl's presence to the others yet. They already have enough on their hands as it is."

"Don't worry I won't, oh and by the way you won't be dragging me" he said with a sly grin. He released the magic and walked back towards the small fire. He sat back down and continued to scan the living unnaturals thoughts.

Emmaline's thoughts were disjointed as she drove home. It was a good thing nobody else seemed to be headed her direction, because an accident would have surely occurred. The car squealed into the drive of Fargone Manor as the gates closed behind. She turned off the engine after parking and headed up to the door, gravel crunching beneath her as she kicked off her high heels and carried them up.

Curse looked up as Emmaline came in the door, surprised that she was back so early. A frown appeared as she took in the state of Emmaline's dress and her smeared makeup...and was that the smell of smoke?

"What happened?" she asked.

Emmaline was relieved to see that Curse was safe and sound, though she hadn't expected to find her and Caerwyn sitting in the kitchen and at such a late hour. Collapsing into a chair, she sighed.

"It's a long story..."

((Do you have something more planned for Caerwyn on this night Ryan? Otherwise I don't mind ending it right there for them.))

---

Satin processed Neal's words as Mark came and healed her arm. When he was done, she sat up slowly, seeing Pavel's face first in the darkness. It seemed a little late to ask what had happened as everybody had lapsed into silent thought or quiet whispers.

"It's one more reason to consider Richard's offer," Terrance thought aloud, "If he's serious about offering us protection it would stop people like Savage from having opportunities like this."

---

Feeling generally as sisters do when younger brothers don't listen, Elisabeth gritted her teeth and followed after Thomas, noticing that the crowd seemed to be headed the same way. Everyone, it seemed, had the same insatiable curiosity about what exactly had exploded. As for herself, the princess just wanted to retire to her quarters and watch whatever report there was on the television.

Cyrano nodded, "That's a good idea. We need all the time we can get before morning." He headed towards the door with Ian and Melanie.

Kanti went with Officer Burkley, obediently climbing into the squad car's passenger side before heading towards home. She watched the chaotic scenery of the town fly past, thinking over what had happened and the persistent memory of the conversation she'd just had with Jason.

It seemed a short time until they reached the old farmhouse and it was only then that Kanti remembered one very good reason that Burkley could not come in. "Thanks for the ride, but I'll be fine from here...I have a dog who isn't much for people- gets a little overprotective if you know what I mean."

The lie came off easily- more easily than she'd expected.

---

"Forgetting part of the story aren't we?" Eslatar said, his words mingled with grunts as he was hit first by her fist, her hand and then her foot. Stumbling backwards, he dodged the slashing movements of her knife, one coming close enough to tear a hole in the formal shirt.

Whatever was in his mind, it wasn't dodging, as witnessed as the knife hit home, cutting undead flesh on his chest before she returned to fist fighting with wild abandon. The words were more important to him at the moment and somehow...he didn't want to hurt her. Still, the attacks were growing annoying.

Growling finally, Eslatar grabbed a fist directed at him, sweeping Kes's feet out from under her to land on top as they thudded onto the carpeted floor of the suite.

"First things first," he seethed into her face, "Tell me why you let me rot in Button's zoo- sold me to some bounty hunter and let me go crazy in there. A little bite didn't seem like too much of a price to make you pay for that." He breathed heavily anger but quickly calmed, realizing this wasn't how he had wanted it to be. Whatever she was now, he could blame that on Loren...it was obvious Kes wasn't remembering everything, but Eslatar did.

"I thought you were dead- gone forever," he said quietly, releasing pressure on her wrists minutely in his moment of reflection.

Mark questioned "And how do we know this attack wasn't cordinated between Savage and Richard? Richard could of easyly had a GPS tracking device or something like that on his person that they could of tracked, or even if Richard is not working with Savage he could still have been tracked, a cell phone can easyily be tracked"
((This was all guess work on my part, if this proves to be right slap me over the head and call me silly))

"We checked all that," Pepper said, speaking up from the shadows. The zombie's eyes flashed as she stepped closer to the group, "Neal and I made sure they didn't have anything on their persons that could be tracked."

"I think Richard's intelligent enough not to make it seem so obvious if he was against us," Mr. T added.

Mark's only reply was silence; all the tech stuff the humans had; they could of flown a sattilite over head and took pictures of the camp. It would have been so easy for anyone with the right resorces to find the camp. He cursed himself for not casting a spell that could have rendered the camp invisable.

Screeching as she was knocked off of her feet, Kes scrambled to grab for the knife, which she had dropped when she hit the floor. It had fallen just beyond her reach; her fingertips barely managed to brush against the edge before she was restrained by an irritated Eslatar, which infuriated her even further.

"No!" she shrieked, lashing out at him in a flurry of blunt claws, the only weapons that she had left. It was useless. Her wrists were pinned down before she could inflict any damage but she strained against his grip, intent on breaking free.

Frightened by his words more than his actions, coming across just as enraged as her own, her struggles lessened as she was... confused. Dread started to build.

He was lying. He had to be.

Along with being a murderer, Eslatar now sounded as though he were branding her a traitor too. It wasn't true. It was another lie. Everyone lied. To become a traitor, one would have had to have been... loyal, before. Kes hadn't ever been loyal, to Eslatar or to anyone. Even to Father- Her eyes widened in horror.

Had Father lied to her?

Everyone lied.

A sick feeling twisting down in her stomach caused her to resume her attempt to free herself, wanting away from him again. His last declaration, however, invoked a sudden burst of mundane laughter, her entire body going slack as she seemed to give up on freedom altogether. "Was that your intention then, love? To kill me?" she asked with a faltering smile, sounding oddly passive.