((I kind of wanted a minor confrontation to happen with Gwen at the house, Marshy; if that's okay. Nothing too big, just something for our characters to stew over during the break. ))

Gwen furrowed her brow at Karl's question. "I'm not sure," she said in answer. "I definitely feel him close by." She closed her eyes briefly, opening her mind once more. This time the pain was not so intense, although it did cause her frown to deepen as she fought off the headache.

She saw Caerwyn, seated on a chair in a mansion. Along with him were a teenage girl and a woman who looked somewhat familiar. Suddenly Caerwyn's head jerked up, as if he sensed her watching him. He looked do the side and his eyes met her's. She pulled away quickly, but not before another memory triggered and displayed itself painfully across her mind.

Something soft, cold, and feathery tickled Gwendolyn’s cheek as she slowly awoke. The first thing she saw was the hard rock she was huddled against. The air was chilly and she shivered as another feathery sensation covered her face. She looked up and realized she was outside, propped up against a rock face, and it was snowing. There was a cloak around her and she pulled it close over her shoulders. Something crackled behind her and she turned swiftly. It was only Caerwyn, she saw, crouching beside a small fire, staring into the orange flames with a face so impassive one could have mistaken him for a statue. The abbey was nowhere in sight. They were at the foot of a line of mountains, stretching as far as the eye could see in either direction. It was not possible for a boy for Caerwyn’s size to have carried her this far. Was unnatural strength a part of the curse as well?

The answer was swift and abrupt. He’s dead.

Gwendolyn reeled back, unable to believe it for a moment. But then she remembered the bellowing scream that had filled her ears just before she had blacked out. She shivered again but this time it was not from the cold.

Caerwyn sat close, almost on top of Gwendolyn’s lap, but the young woman did not mind. She took comfort in his presence; something she would have sworn would never happen when she first saw him. The uneasy sense that seemed to surround him constantly had faded. She did not know whether that meant he had changed, or if she had. All she knew was that in light of the falling snow, the late hour of the night, and the memory of recent events, there was no one else she would rather be with. No one.

Gwen growled low in her throat. "I know where he is," she said tersely. Glancing sidelong at Karl she observed him for a moment. "Normally I would ask if you'd like to come along. However this task I must complete on my own. I'll catch you later."

With that she turned and sprinted for the forest at vampire speed.

Caerwyn had been listening intently to what Emmaline had to say about the ball and what had happened. Near the end of the narrative however, he sat up bolt right in his chair, his eyes staring off into the distance. Suddenly he gave a small cry and slid off the chair, running over to Curse and grabbing her hand.

You and Emma have to get--

Before he could finish there was a firm, yet polite, knock on the kitchen door from the outside. Caerwyn froze suddenly, his eyes wide.

----

Pavel reached over and touched Satin's shoulder lightly, his fingers trembling slightly. "Are you okay?" he asked in a low voice.

Indigo pushed Pavel aside rather roughly as he bent to inspect Satin himself, nudging her gently with his nose, he sniffed at her newly healed arm warily.

----

Once outside, Thomas grasped Elisabeth's arm and pointed toward the police station.

"Someone attacked the station!" It felt weird to be standing there, looking at a building that he had been inside just that morning, gone completely up in flames. "I wonder who did it," he mused aloud, lowering his pointing finger. "You think it was the same person who attacked the Detective?"

It was a little difficult to get through the crowd and into the street in order to hail a taxi. Not many cars were on the road at this time of night. Peering up the street, Melanie saw no cars coming. Bending down, she took off her short heels and grinned slightly at the young men beside her.

"We'll have to walk," she said, and started off toward the newspaper building, hiking her skirt up so she would not trip over the hem.

Ian glanced over at Cyrano and shrugged. "With this crowd, walking is probably the fastest way," he said, and started off after his sister.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Neal shook his head slightly as he watched Mark join the others again. Young, ready to join the fight. In many ways Mark reminded the Darkling of himself when he was younger, before meeting Karl and losing Serrena.

Noticing that Satin was now fully awake, Neal hesintentaly walked over to where Cotton and the new young vamp were beside Satin. "It's alright Indigo. Our young elf Doc used magic to heal her shoulder." Neal said to the strangely territorial wolf that in human form would have been Indigo. "How are you feeling now?" the Darkling asked the ex-tavern owner, taking off his fedora and laying it on his knee as he spoke.

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

(((If the last bit of Karl's segment messes up anything, Marshy, let me know and I'll change it. )))

Karl barely had time to say "see you around" before Gwen had disappeared into the night. Looking around the town again, Karl decided that going back to the hotel at the present time would not be wise. "Well, nows my chance to get familiar with the landscape around Ditto Town." the Hybrid said as he pulled his jacket tighter before walking towards the surrounding woods.

As Karl walked through the woods, short bursts of memories from the time he had spent with Neal and Serrena returned to him. The first meeting at the mansion outside of Westgate where Neal was all for killing Karl.... the slow and tedious time of trying to win Neal's trust.... the way Serrena always looked so beautiful and finally helping the Veltar coven capture the two sibling Darklings. A devilish grin crossed Karl's face as he though of that night and how Neal never put two and two together until that other eventful night in the forest outside that little logging town.

Before Karl knew it, he had walked out of the forest and into.... a clearing with a burnt chapel in the middle. "A burned chapel? Why didn't I think of that!" he said as he looked over the charred remains of the chapel (which were still smoldering) and the corpses strewn all over the clearing. "Hmm, I should have been here instead of at that ball this evening...." The Hybrid thought as he walked up to the remains of the chapel, stepping over and on corpses as he went. "There is a familiar smell here...." Karl said under his breath as he smelled the air. "More vampires and.... Neal?" he said with a slightly puzzled expression as he continued to sniff the air, walking over to the edge of the clearing... to the exact spot where Neal had appeared early after the "mission". "You old dog you, you are here.... and seem to have fallen in with an Unnatural crowd too." Karl said as he looked around the clearing again.

"We need to have a reunion, old friend. Catch-up on the last year or so, maybe even have another one of those lovely little fights again." Karl said to the darkness with a smile which turned into a chuckle and then a laugh as the Agent of Chaos disappeared back into the darkness of the forest.

Mark returned to where Josh and Will were sitting, well Josh was sleeping so he walked over picked Josh up and laid him next to Brand. He then turned to Will "You had better sleep, I'll take the first watch and wake you if that vamp comes anywhere near us, Brand e'll take the next watch and then you will"

"Who could that be?" Emmaline asked with narrowed eyes, glancing at Caerwyn before she got up and reached for the door handle.

"Wait," Curse said, standing up with a panicked glance at the boy holding her hand. But it was too late.

Emmaline had already turned the knob.

---

Satin looked around at the many peering faces, seeing Indigo's furry head, Pavel's pale face and Neal's calming expression as he knelt nearby as well. Cotton was there too- though she had no idea why. Beyond them the firelight revealed the figures of other Unnaturals...though not all. She knew, they must have lost some people in the attack.

"I'm fine," she offered finally, brushing hair away from her face. "I'm glad you all are alright," she added hoarsely, wrapping an arm around Indigo's furry neck in a quick one-armed hug- hoping it would calm him for the moment.

Cotton was tempted to point out that Indigo could go shift and find some clothes now, but figured that the wolf wouldn't take kindly to his joking at the moment...or at any moment.

Seeing that his cousin had her fair share of people to deal with already, Cotton stood up and backed off, nearly running into the secreted figures of Pepper and Mr. T.

Terrance looked up at Cotton in a way the bounty hunter didn't like at all.

"Figuring out a way to escape?" the kitten asked, waving his tail back and forth. "Or, were you just afraid Indigo might remember he was about to kill you before all this happened?"

Pepper smirked, "Don't think I'll save you again," she offered.

Cotton scowled, not really wanting anything to do with their joking.

---

"I don't know," Elisabeth responded, irritated. She frowned and winced at the blaze, wondering if this city's officials had any idea how to run the government. Obviously they couldn't even take care of a little vampire infestation.

Cyrano nodded and followed after Ian and Melanie.

---

"No," Eslatar responded, his voice losing its smoothness in exchange for hoarse reality. "I-" he didn't finish the sentence but stared down into her face instead, coming to terms with the fact that this woman...this woman that he'd loved and still did? might not ever remember the times they'd spent together. The curse he'd left her with seemed far more vast than a little vampire bite.

"I'm sorry," he offered and got up suddenly, wary that she would take the chance to attack again.

Gwen pushed open the door as Emmaline's did, the momentum knocking the other woman off-balance slightly. Gwen strode into the kitchen, looking somewhat disheveled. Her ball gown was muddy and torn along the bottom, and her hair was windswept and wild. Dark red eyes gazed around the room, taking in every detail. Then her gaze fell on Curse and the small boy beside her. A feral grin turned the corners of her red lips and a hungry gleam entered her eyes.

"I see you're still alive," she said silkily, moving forward slowly, her body swaying. "Did you miss me, pet?"

Caerwyn stepped around Curse so he was standing in front of her, shielding her as best he could with his body.

You come here to kill me? His words echoed throughout the room, in everyone's mind, even Emmaline's. He did not seem to notice, his bright eyes fixed on Gwen.

"Oh now, we both know that failed the first time. So I decided to try a different method. You're vulnerable, you know. I can tell. You have . . ." her eyes traveled over to Curse, roving over the girl intimately. She sneered faintly. "Weaknesses."

Caerwyn glanced from Curse to Gwen, his eyes burning with intense hatred. You touch her, and I will end you.

Gwen did not look convinced. She continued to advance. "Will you? Will you really?"

She bent suddenly and grabbed Caerwyn's face with her hand, pinching his cheeks together with her long, sharp fingernails. She grinned as he winced and blood trickled down his cheeks where the nails pierced his white skin.

"I think you won't hurt me at all," she purred in a low, dangerous tone. "You still remember the way it used to be, don't you? When you loved me. Even more than you love her." She raised her eyes to stare up at Curse with a wicked smile before fixing her gaze back on Caerwyn.

"Don't you?" she hissed, suddenly pushing her mind into Caerwyn's.

Caerwyn cried out in pain as a blinding white light encompassed everything. And then . . .

It took Gwendolyn and Caerwyn three days to reach the nearest town. By then they were out of food and Gwendolyn was shivering almost uncontrollably. Caerwyn worried for her and the first public building they saw, they entered, sighing at the instant relief the warm fire brought to their cold and stiff limbs. They stumbled up to the bar and collapsed heavily on the stools.

“Goodnight my Caerwyn,” she said, and his heart stopped and then started again at the sound of the possessive word.

Goodnight my Gwendolyn.

Her smile widened and Caerwyn moved closer, snuggling up to her as she wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Her lips were in his hair and she kissed his head lightly as he closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of her neck. Then he fell asleep, feeling perfectly safe in the arms of the girl he had claimed as his own.

They had disappeared.

Tears coursed down Caerwyn's bleeding cheeks as he cried out again, this time less from physical pain than emotional pain. They rolled down Gwen's fingers and mixed with the scarlet liquid already there.

Gwen pulled her fingers away from his face and stepped backCaerwyn dropped to the floor, head down, hands gripping the fabric of his cloak tightly as he moaned a gut-wrenching moan that seemed to come from his very core. The cuts on his cheek healed themselves, but the blood remained, staining his pale face.

Gwen winked at Curse. "Not as powerful now, is he?" she asked, smirking.

----

Indigo lowered himself onto the ground so that he was lying beside Satin, between her and vampire. He licked her chin lightly and then rested his head on his front paws, turning his gaze toward the fire.

Pavel swallowed hard and tore his gaze away from the giant black wolf to look over at Satin. He managed a wavering smile.

"I'm glad you're okay too," he said.

----

"Let's go check it out," Thomas suggested eagerly. "There might be some clues around back." He took Elisabeth's hand and tried to pull her through the crowd toward the alley that stretched around several buildings, including the police station.

((Sorry Marshy and NN! I didn't see your edit, NN, and I forgot to post for Burkley, Marshy.))

Officer Burkley nodded slightly. "I can keep an eye on the house from out here," he said. "I don't think the Sergeant wants me to leave you by yourself, but that doesn't mean I have to come inside. If you think you'll be okay and all."

Jason stared after Von, seething. Did the man not have eyes? Kanti did not raise from the dead. She was resurrected by an unnatural. Everyone had seen it. There was no reason to suspect Kanti was an unnatural. She did not raise herself from the dead.

Turning on his heel, he ignored the guilty feeling in his stomach and decided to have Von reassigned immediately. Once outside, he gathered some men together and they went across the street to where the firemen were valiantly trying to douse the flames of the police station before the fire spread. He grabbed the fire chief and began to ask questions about the fire.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Mark paced and tried to keep himself awake. Several thoughts echoed through his mind over and over again: Stella. Adam. Rebecca. Gone. Captured. Stella. Adam. Rebecca. Dead "NO!" he yelled quietly, he whipped out his sword to keep himself from those thoughts and began going through maneuvers. Starting out slow but increasing his speed bit by bit till he was nothing but a blur, his red sword darting from place to place. Then he sat back down; exhausted.

Her careless mirth increasing, Kes rolled to one side as Eslatar freed her. He was sorry. Sorry. Always sorry. Everyone lied, then everyone was always sorry. It was all a lie. None of this was real. Nothing was real anymore. Just another lie. Her breathing slowed, the laughter dying away. Exhausted, she lay unmoving while she mulled over the bleakness of surrender, until...

Relentless thirst.

Awakened by a smell growing so strong that it made her head spin. Darting eyes soon found the source; the knife wound she had given him. Even though it was healed, the dark smear left behind was lure enough.

It had been too long since she had fed. Days or weeks... she couldn't remember a time anymore. It was becoming uncontrollable. Control. Something that he hadn't found beneficial to teach her. It was awful. So painful. Almost unbearable. Her human impulse to fight was crushed by the overwhelming desire to end the gnawing ache that seemed to spread the more she resisted.

Do it! several voices shrieked, none of them her own. Kes grimaced, looking ill as she shook her head. No, he hadn't meant to kill her. Glancing up sharply, her glare was marred by hot tears that broke the illusion of anger. "I wish you had," she choked through clenched teeth, her voice breaking.

Kes twisted, once again reaching for the silver blade, intent on killing the snake before it emerged again. Once, wounded. Twice, defeated.

((The group at the Sage Pack den is done for now unless you have things to do outside of that area ))

Curse stared at the woman who had entered, feeling the familiar creeping, icy sensation she got whenever a vampire was present. Was this the 'she' Caerwyn had been so afraid of? She didn't have much time to wonder as events quickly unfolded. She stood up as Gwen addressed her, Caerwyn's anguished moans almost drowning out the question that the vampire posed.

Emmaline frowned and rose as well, hurrying over to grab Curse's hand and pull her back away from the new visitor. She knew she was much safer from a vampire attack than Curse would be. Besides that- the necessity of calming the half-witch seemed evident as the sounds of an oncoming storm suddenly started.

"You need to calm down Curse," she offered quietly, wincing as lightning struck just outside the mansion.

Curse forcibly withdrew her hand from Emmaline's and knelt beside Caerwyn, frowning. "I don't care if he's powerful or not," she said very quietly.

The kitchen door blew open, slamming against the wall from a strong wind that brought a mixture of hail and rain in onto the wood floor.

---

"Thomas," Elisabeth scolded needlessly but followed, eager to get away from the growing crowd. "Thomas, we really should go back to mother. She'll be furious if we're gone too long," she managed to say as they made it to the back alleyway.

---

"Alright," Kanti replied and got out of the car. "Thanks," she offered, feeling guilty that the man had to wait around at all. It was either him sleeping outside or Graeme being discovered and Kanti was sure which one was worse.

Sighing, she shut the door of the car and walked a little unsteadily to the front door, unlocking it and stepping inside soon after.

---

Eslatar saw Kes's intent immediately and rushed forward, trying to wrench the silver knife from her hands.

"You can't- do this," he ground out as he fought with her over the weapon.

Steel watched the show from the balcony of his apartment, a cigar in his mouth and a ferret perched on his shoulder "That looks like Karl's work, eh Bloody?" the ferret known as Bloody squeaked "Of course we can't let him beat us, don't worry we will" the ferret purred and Steel looked down at him "How? I'll figure that out" Steel looked thoughtfuly towards the crowd "Say isn't that the princling?" Bloody's squeaked his reply "Yeah thats what I was thinking" Steel said with a sly smile.

"I'm glad you are doing better now. You had us worried for a bit there." Neal said to Satin as he stood up, holding his fedora. "I'll leave you alone so you can get some rest." He said as he put his fedora on and gave a slight tip of his hat to Satin.

Neal walked over to the edge of the clearing the company was in looking into the blackness of the forest. Somethings not right.... Someone's here. The Darkling thought as he pulled his revolver out and checked the number of bullets. Glancing back at the Unnaturals around the campfire one more time, Neal disappeared into the forest.

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

A few minutes latter, the Darkling emerged from tree line around the clearing where the chapel once stood. The smell of the smoldering remains of the chapel and fresh corpses still hung thick in the air. Neal could sense that he was not alone, but who was there? The presence felt sickeningly familiar.....

"It's about time you finally showed up. You always were one for late appearances, weren't you?" A smooth, nonchalant voice came from the trees on Neal's far left side.

Neal, in a matter of seconds, whipped out his revolver and pointed it towards the voice.

"How nice, you finally got yourself and gun. And a revolver no less!" An unnerving laugh followed as the flicker of a lighter was seen in the darkness under the trees, showing for a few seconds the face of Karl. "You can put that gun away now, Neal. I'm not here to fight you.... yet." Karl said with a grin as he walked towards the Darkling, chewing on a cigaret.

"What are you doing here?" Neal asked, lowering his revolver slightly, but still watching every move his old acquaintance made.

"What have I been doing all my life? Creating chaos." the Hybrid said as he walked up to Neal. "Ditto Town has become so ripe for chaos, thanks to all the Anti-Unnaturalists and the local vampire coven. It's perfect for my line of work." Karl said with a twisted grin that showed his elongated canines. The reflection of the fire from the chapel as well as the moonlight gave the Hybrid an even more demonic look than usual.

"I killed you. I made sure of it...." Neal said, more to himself than to Karl.

"Ah yes, pinning me to that tree with metal rods and leaving me for bounty hunters... I must give you extra points for originality, Neal." Karl said as he walked around the Darkling. "But, you made one false move.... the hunters you left me too were idiots." Karl whispered into Neal's ear. "They did not even try to make sure I was fully dead before they took me down. Needless to say, it was quite easy to rip their throats out and regenerate myself to an extent with their blood. Once I was healed enough to walk, I returned to town and finished healing myself there." he continued in a normal tone of voice as he walked back in front of Neal.

"So that's how you lived..... and then you continued to spread chaos around until you came here." Neal said with disgust.

"Yes. I made some small stops at other villages on my way here, but I wanted to get to Ditto Town before anything big happened. I've already made my presence known here. Burned down the police station and left a note for Mrs. Scope and her gang to find." Karl said as he took a puff from his cigaret. "Also met the local vamp coven and made the acquaintance of a lovely woman named Gwen. She's a vamp unfortunately, but very attractive and curvy." the Hybrid added with a gleam in his eyes. "You seem to have fallen-in with some Unnaturals yourself, Neal." Karl added.

"None of your business." Neal replied sharply. "I'm trying to help people while your out there killing everyone for your own sick pleasure." the Darkling said behind clenched teeth, remembering the sights he had seen the night he tried to kill Karl.

"You always have had this misguided notion of Right and Wrong....." Karl said with a sigh. "and yet we're the same in so many ways."

"We are not the same!" Neal half yelled at Karl, his fists clenched in a building rage. You can't afford to fight him just yet! Let him go and kill him next time.... the Darkling thought as he tried to calm himself.

"You believe in doing what is right, so do I. We merely have different ideas on what "right" is. For you, it's a strict ideal of doing this and not doing that..." Karl said gesturing to his right and left. "I on the other hand, only have one idea of what "right" is.... whatever I think is "right" at the moment." he said with a grin. About that time, the rumble of a distant storm echoed through the woods and a light, but steady rain began to fall. "Well, I better get back to the hotel now and let you get back to your "family"." the Hybrid said as he turned around and headed for the trees. "Don't get too attached to any of those Unnaturals, Neal. We both know what happens when you get attached to someone...." Karl said over his shoulder.

Neal clenched his fists again at the not-so-friendly jab and reference to Serrena that the Hybrid had just made. "If there is anyway I can stop you or kill you, I will. You can be sure of that." the Darkling said to Karl.

Karl paused at the edge of the forest at Neal's last words as though he was contemplating the threat. After a few minutes, Karl burst into laughter as he threw away his cigaret butt and disappeared into the darkness of the trees.

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

Neal stood in the desolate clearing watching as Karl disappeared into the darkness, the disturbing echo of the Agent of Chaos's laugh reverberating in Neal's ears. I thought I would never have to hear that laugh again..... the Darkling thought with sigh and shake of his head as he headed back to the Sage pack den.

Gwen raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Not interested in power? Why else would you have him here if not to try and use his power for your own gain? That's all he's good for." She tilted her head slightly. "Isn't that right, Caerwyn?" She ignored the freak weather storm, not making the connection that Curse was causing it.

Caerwyn took a deep shuddering breath, taking comfort in Curse's presence beside him. He gritted his teeth and winced when the vampire said his name, almost like a caress. Glancing nervously at the swinging door, he stared at the hail and rain for a moment before reaching over and grabbing Curse's hand, looking up at her pleadingly.

You and Emmaline need to get out of here, he pressed into her mind urgently. Stay in your room until this is over. He did not want her to leave, but knew he could not let her stay either. He bit down on his lip hard and grimaced as another wave of pain shocked his mind. Gwen was trying to get in again. This time he was able to hold her back, but he knew he would not be able to keep her at bay for long.

"Why do you care so much for a freak like this?" Gwen asked Curse with genuine puzzlement. "You know he is dangerous, don't you? Why don't you let me take him? Get him off your hands. Things would be much better for all of us if you did."

----

Thomas waved a hand dismissively behind him as he glanced up and down the alley, looking for any signs that someone had been there that night.

"Let Mother be furious," he said. "We haven't had anything exciting like this happen in, well, ever. Don't you want to do something, anything, other than sit around and just wait for news? We do that all the time."

He picked up a wooden board and inspected it for a moment before tossing it aside. "But if you're worried your dress will get dirty or you'll break a nail or something, go ahead and go back. I don't care."

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Steel stood and walked to a drain pipe which he climbed up and onto the roof. From there he jumped to the next one and so on till the came to the on across from the fancy hotel and crept to the spine of the roof which he jumped over and slid to the rain gutter on the other side. As Steel hung from the piece of metal he swung inward till his feet found a window sill which he stood on.

One of Von's men heard the two young members of the royal house from around the corner and radioed Von, "I think we found something sir" he rounded the corner and lifted his gun "Fre- Your highnesses I beg your pardon" the young cop then radioed Von "Sir that was a false alert, sorry sir but it is only the Prince and Princess" Von replied "What the heck are they doing down there? Hold on I'm on my way"

As Von came out the door Steel leapt for Elisabeth but the young cop saw the vampire out of the corner of his eye and pushed her out of the way, causing steel to land heavily on his back. The cop fell to the ground as his back was pulled out of place and the Steel bit into the man’s neck… The screaming began.

((Just tell me if this ruins anything and I’ll delete this part))

((It's fine.))

Thomas could not help but let out a small yelp himself as he was suddenly accosted on both sides by a police officer and then a vampire. He drew his foil but realized he would not be able to fend off the monster well with a blade that was more blunt than sharp. The only way to kill a vampire was to stake it through the heart or chop off its head. And he knew he could do neither.

Feeling sick from watching the police man get attacked, he grabbed Elisabeth's hand and took off deeper into the alleyway, his eyes searching for a way out. He saw a fire escape leading to the roof of a nearby building and pushed Elisabeth toward it. "Go up! Go up!" he yelled frantically, knowing they would be next once the vampire was done with the police officer.

((I'd like to wait for Marshy before we go anywhere else with this.))

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Steel dropped the cop and jumped towards the fire escape but Von jumped in Steel's way and punched him in the stomach; Steel hardly felt the blow and retaliated by taking out Von's leg's who then fell over the vampire. Steel kicked Von in the face and then as Von reached for his pistol; stepped on his hand, breaking his wristed. "Stupid boy" he said as he reached for Von's neck, Von stabbed the vampire's hand with a knife that he pulled out of his boot with his free hand. Steel looked at the knife the protruded through his hand and just laughed, he pulled it back out and threw it at Thomas before kicking Von into the escape ladder with superhuman strength; smashing the shaky ladder and Von's rib cage. The ladder then fell over till it crashed into the wall on the other side of the alleyway .

((I just wanted to add this))

Snapping at him with her teeth in a rather childish fashion, as though he were the mean grown-up trying to take a dangerous toy away from her, Kes grappled with her sire over the weapon; until the smell of his blood fragmented any resistance that she had left.

Her resolve shattered, taking all human reasoning with it.

Nothing was left but thirst.

Catching her boot behind his knee, she twisted sharply with an feral grunt, bringing him down on top of her in a tangle of extremities, then quickly swiveling so that their positions were reversed. In the span of a breath she had exchanged her grip on the knife for him, letting it fall away as she coiled tighter, uttering one final snarl of animalistic proportion...

...before the snake re-emerged, striking hard.

===

Hook had been lead to a darkened room. It was illuminated by the harsh, white light coming from the room on the other side, divided by a two-way mirror. He was sitting in a metal chair, staring into that room. He recognized the setting, the sterilization of it. A mock-up of an examination room. He could almost smell the chemical odor of ammonia.

Several things were different about this room. It had no color, only white. No windows, save for the large, mirrored one that you weren't supposed to know was a window. You could only see yourself through it. In the middle of the room was a table. Cold restraints were bolted to either side; several more straps were hanging down for reinforcement.

He frowned, resting his arms on the table in front of him. Something else about this sterile room was different. It held nothing of promise. No hope. Instead it reeked of destruction.

A chill ran down his spine. Hook shivered, sitting back and folding his arms.

All he could do now was wait.