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They boarded the bus and the engine revved, getting moving. Chris and Doll had a whole row to themselves on the opposite side of where Riven and Jacob sat. In the row in front, sat Lorraine and her attendant, a pretty little thing called Fifi. No doubt a lady native to Paris, considering the name and her grooming. Riven seemed to think this entire bus was to rescue the Kings. "No, only the Blood Pact and Chris and Doll will be going to Frisia." Dominic said quickly, shaking his head as he stared out the window. What was going through his head, Vi had to wonder as she was seated in the aisle seat with the most leg room. "The Generation 1 Hunters will be dropped off at Koblens where General Ray is waiting."

"Be nice to my wi-" Elise squeezed her leg in warning. Right, she had to act at least a little professional while she was here. If the Blood Pact acted out of orders it would look bad on Lorraine and she may be reprimanded by the Board of Councilors. The Board represented interested parties from various places, some may be company owners, some may be nation leaders, but one way or another, people funded the Human Alliance and would have their say in the goings on. Even the three Generals had to answer to them. "Don't bully my vampire, Jacob." Vi pouted, for once she was unhappy that she was Blood Pact 3 instead of four. Maybe she should have slacked off during the aptitude testing so that she could sit with Riven right now. But then again maybe she would never have been allowed to use the Rhomphaia had her results been sufficiently bad.

At the city of Koblens the bus arrived with no incident. Elise pinched Vi's leg to wake her up and she realized she was drooling a little. "Show some dignity, we're representing the Blood Pact. If we don't make a good impression we could lose a lot of our freedom." Being a member of the Blood Pact granted them quite a few extra rights normal hunters didn't get. They had higher pay, longer shore leaves, more access to mental health facilities, they had a lot of benefits for their position. Vi did not want that taken away. "I'm awake! Yup! Super awake." Lorraine smiled from the other side, Fifi taking the handles to wheel her to the front. "Hunters, we have arrived. Please exit the bus in an orderly fashion." The Fortress looked almost ominous, like an evil lair a villain would set up with it's dark colors and spikes in architecture. General Ray lived here, this was the Central Command Fortress where the front line of the war was being fought.

Just past here was the Rhine River, where the vampires and demons guarded with all their might. "Blood Pact, come and greet General Ray and then we can have our own special briefing." The general army went first, the three squads of Generation 1 Hunters who had finished their training. How many would die, how many would return home? Vi didn't know, and she didn't really care either. Once they were finished, the Blood Pact were lead out. It was colder out here than in Paris, and there was a sense of dread permeating in the air. The soldiers here knew death, they knew loss, they knew the fight was nigh hopeless but they kept on fighting regardless.

Viola found herself dizzily staring as she sat in a boardroom. General Ray was there, looking tough and very much like a wizened veteran. Dominic, Elise, Jacob, and Riven were here as well. "So this is the Elites." General Ray smiled strangely at them, turning to his second in command, a strange person whose gender could not be determined. "What do you think, K?" The person, known as K, shrugged. "They should be up for the task, I imagine." Christopher and Doll were also present in the meeting. "My only question is this." K looked directly at Riven. "How can we be sure Riven won't betray everyone, and that Viola won't collaborate with her? Can we ensure this Viola's loyalty?" Keen's eyes were sharp like those of a viper, she saw through Vi instantly. Even as Elise tensed, Dom almost stood up to defend her, Vi knew it was useless unless she and Riven could prove their fake loyalty to the strange person who could see all too well.

"It's pretty obvious Riven is going to want to retake her right to the throne." K said with almost a hiss. "If you two want a life outside of the cells, please tell us why exactly we can trust you." Viola's mind blanked of course, she had not expected this so soon. "Because I'm cute?" She wrung her hands helplessly.

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It reeked of death. The closer they came to the camp, the more solemn the car became. Riven was growing bored of this, she wanted to get out and stretch her legs. Her feet did not quite reach the floor of the van unless she sat on the edge of her seat. "We're here," Jacob unstrapped and Riven followed suit, eager to be rid of the belt. She followed after Viola, the Blood Pacts rounded up and led to a large circular tent. All of the structures here were temporary, but it was clear that they had been there much longer than intended. Riven could feel the eyes that landed on them immediately, a mix of hope, regret, and anger. She did not care about the humans, of course, as in their eyes, she was their enemy. Even here, even now.

The tent was just as tense inside as it was out. These were clearly superiors, giving orders, barking commands, seeing to it that their outfits were organized. Riven stood between Viola and Jacob, feeling particularly out of place as they spoke. These were not theories, these were plans for war, plans to kill people, her people. General Ray and a stranger named K, who smelled rather off putting. Christopher and Doll assumed that they were all up the task, but Riven and Viola were suddenly thrust into the spotlight.
K wanted to know where their alliances stood, if they were fit to fight underneath them. Riven's hands balled into fists. Did they really feel this question to be appropriate? Especially when moments ago, they were bragging about killing vampires like they were ants underfoot?

"You can't trust me," Riven replied simply. "I didn't volunteer for this, I'm not here out of the generosity of my heart, or whatever you humans say." Dominic and Jacob tensed, a slow smile was spreading onto Elise's mouth as Riven strode closer to the war table, perhaps wishing for death as the soldiers each, in turn, raised their weapons. "I've spent my entire life being used as a tool for other people's wars. Not that you care, you would just as well use my abilities in the same manner." She stood atop the table, not to get their attention, but because she was short and wanted to see eye to eye. "I hate it here, I hate these shackles, you can't trust me... but you have to."

"My plan is to retake my throne," it was no secret and they would find out eventually. "Whether I do it now or once you've all killed yourselves out of failure, I don't know. The vampires did not always wage war with the humans. When I reclaim my rightful place and mark my words, I will reclaim it, I'm going to take the vampires and disappear from the human eye, as it once was. Then your Tower Society can clean up its mess," Doll flinched at that, it was their fault the world was like this. "Throw me in a jail cell, see what I care! I've had far worse done to me than anything you humans could ever imagine." She placed her hands on her hips, the silver cuffs visible in the sleeves of her uniform.

"And before you ask, Viola has nothing to do with this. Look at her? Do you think she has two spare brain cells to think of anything aside from candy?"

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They weren't being trusted at all, were they? Viola laughed nervously, wondering if just by being cute they could succeed. Surely Dominic would jump in for the rescue, right? Maybe Lorraine was being quiet out of necessity but if it went down to the wire she would speak up! Yeah, there was nothing to worry about at all. But then suddenly Riven stole the show, giving a big speech about how they couldn't trust her and that she was going to rogue. "We could simply execute you." K said in response to the first half but General Ray shook his head. "There are ways to make her cooperate if it comes to it." He grunted, not looking at all like a kindly grandfather. Dom looked worried but Lorraine seemed to almost believe in Riven, judging my her calm expression.

And then Riven got to the point. They had no choice but to trust her, and that she was their best chance for peace in the long run. The only problem was getting the people to believe she was being genuine here in her wish to have vampires vanish from society's light. "I mean, it's better than a fight until one side is genocided?" Jacob tried to ask, doing his best to help who he perceived as a friend. Then suddenly Riven called Viola stupid. "We all wonder if Viola has it all there in her head." Dominic backed Riven up with a harmless grin. Viola puffed out her cheeks to prove their point. "Excuse me but I'm very smart! Just look how cute I am!" Jacob pinched her side. "Looks has nothing to do with smarts, Vi." He rolled his eyes, and K finally sighed. "Fine, I see your point. Doll, if you think they can be trusted I'll leave you the final judgment on this matter." Doll nodded, gladly given control. "I can trust her. Riven won't harm us, because we're her best chance to get to Castle Seylum."

Doll and Christopher trusted them.

With that done, it was time to discuss the actual mission. "In the mountains in the Netherlands in the Frisia region, we received an S.O.S two days ago. The signature suggests that Flame and Melody of London were the ones who sent it." General Ray explained, laying out the situation. "The seven of you are to go and bring them safely to Paris. They are international heroes who helped save the world from the Kings and deserve rescue." Vi couldn't really deny that, but wasn't this a whole lot of trouble? Still, Doll was always nice to her and probably the only Tower Agent that wasn't in insufferable boob.

"You won't need transportation. The five of you are faster on foot than any plane." Lorraine said kindly. They would have to use their Blood Pacts, but really, time was of the essence. "I trust you will bring them back safely." General Ray said. "It was a pleasure to meet you all. Particularly you, Riven, I don't know what I expected, but that spunk is quite admirable." It seemed the General had a grudging respect for the vampire now. "Get going, I know you'll all be fine." Lorraine was like a mother who never stopped believing in her children.

Dominic took them all into a group hug, the Blood Pact plus Doll and Chris even if Jacob seemed loathe to be so close to the brother he so despised. "Well, then, let's go. Doll, I'll give you command of us by proxy." Dom said, allowing Doll to take lead. Doll nodded, heading out into the cold. "We're due north. If we're all prepared, we'll head out this instant." She was agitated - was it really the smartest idea to give the reigns to someone who was clearly emotional?

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Riven's plan in confirming their expectations of her had gone exactly as she had hoped. She had earned their grudging respect and in turn, they would know what she wanted in return. Riven was a simple vampire really, she only desired a handful of things and one of them was to disappear from the human eye for however long she had left. Perhaps if she kept this loyalty act up they would release her at the end of the war. Not that, that was likely considering she was a wild card, an asset that they would continue to use time and again for as long as they had her. Which in turn, meant that Viola would be used in the same manor. Unless of course, her blood pact killed her first.

Was it selfish? Yes, but vampires were selfish creatures by nature. "They're onto us Viola, we'll need to be more careful with how we proceed." Riven spoke softly as they began the journey to rescue what appeared to be Melody and Flame's signatures. For all they knew, they could be walking right into a trap, which was exactly what Riven was expecting. Still, if those they would be walking in on were loyal to Seylum blood, Riven would not have that much of an issue, controlling many at once was a bit trickier, but she had seen King Seylum do it before and was willing to attempt it herself. She had no idea if there were any side effects to using it, but considering the constant exhaustion that plagued her, she figured it would just be another side effect of being alive.

Of course, Melody and Flame could very well be a key to helping them find this Luis Remus, there were still too many puzzle pieces that needed to be put together before Riven could escape and she was beginning to loathe this job. Maybe she should just abandon them all, but then Viola could simply demand she return. As long as Viola had that dreaded ownership seal, Riven could do nothing against her. Not that she wanted to, considering how harmless Viola truly was. Just another girl who had been brought into a war that did not concern her. They were one in the same in that manner. Perhaps escape really was the only right answer and so what if they did? Of course, the army would probably stop at nothing to find Viola and bring her back and then they would kill Riven where she stood.

"Viola, when we get to wherever it is we're going, I expect there are going to be plenty of vampires waiting for us." Since her senses were a bit dulled by the silver she was forced to wear, Riven would not be able to sniff them out from miles away like she normally could. She would have rubbed at her wrists mournfully had doing so not been able to potentially damage her hands. The sun was already high in the sky, it was blustering outside, the wind whipping at their hair and clothing. Riven shivered, colder than usual. "Are we there yet?"

Her own wrists still hurt of course. They would never ever heal sk she was never going to get to wear anything that showed them off. Doll had used makeup on the bandages during the show to make them look like skin but you can't just do that every day. Even Riven licking her open wounds didn't fully take the sting away. "We're vampire hunters!" Viola grinned cockily as she activated her Blood Pact, eyes going blood red. The others did as well and in unison they all jumped into the air. They could jump repeatedly on the way to Frisia, almost looking as if they were flying. Chris couldn't jump like that but he did have jet shoes made by Ellen Winter to allow him to fly. It was hard to use but naturally Christopher was able to master the new device.

In the air they went, the seven right into what would no doubt be a trap. They were prepared for it of course, why wouldn't they be? "If it's a trap we'll kill them all." Viola snickered, having faith in their abilities. "Don't get overconfident. You never know what to expect from vampires." Elise warned, eyes narrowrd into slits as she hugged her rifle to her body as if it were a pillow. It was blisteringly cold and the snow never ceased to continue its everlasting fall. "Elise." Doll spoke as they jumped over the Rhine River. "We're in enemy territory now. You have the best eyesight of everyone here so you'll be our alarm." The blonde nodded, determination on her face. Viola's legs were the best but Elise developed the best eyes. Jacob's arm strength was second to none and Dominic's reflexes couldn't be beaten.

"There! I see fighting!" Elise cried, pointing to the distance. Dominic's eyes went wide. "What's these bright colors?" It had been an hour since they left Koblens and now it seemed they were finally in Frisia. All of a sudden they heard a sound of something popping, like a giant balloon. "That's-" Chris looked at Doll in surprise. "A pocket dimension just got destroyed. Mages." What was that? None of the Blood Pact knew what a pocket dimension was. "There's a lot of vampires and demons... and a strange group of people holding sticks?" Elise sounded confused. "They don't smell like humans." Jacob muttered, sniffing the air.

"Soul Burst!" Two voices rang out clearly amid the chaos. A ring of fiery foxes formed a circle all howling a beautiful song, making some demons entranced by the music and forcing them to fight against their allies. "They're there!" Doll cried, rushing forward in desperation. She truly was being reckless, wasn't she? "We have five minutes! We have to save them before the Burst runs out!" Doll went ahead, faster than everyone into the fray. As she broke formation she msde one of the biggest mistakes a hunter could do - separate from your team. A figure that shoukd be familiar to them bore down on her from above, piercing her neck with a needle It was an old face from London. "Baron Wernicke at your service." The Baron of confusion said as he grabbed the poisoned and paralyzed Doll. "My, how the mighty have fallen. What an amateur mistake, Doll."

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Riven could smell them too, the strange scent that she had only ever sniffed once before in her life. "Witches," she scowled. It seemed that they had happened upon the entrance of a pocket dimension and the mages were fighting to keep the demons and vampires out. "Love makes you weak," Riven murmured as Doll stupidly rushed forward, Baron Wernicke piercing her through the neck. "Doll!" Christopher hoisted his sword out, but he knew better than to rush in. They needed to rescue Melody, Flame, and now Doll too. "My, my, what have we here?" Baron Wernicke teased, "a group of hunters, a tower agent, and a vampire princess?" He sniffed, then began to cackle, his gums full of razor sharp teeth. Riven cringed at the sight of such a monster, familiar with the Baron of course. He had visited King Seylum many times.

No doubt he had been one of the demons to advocate for uniting with the vampires. "If I bring you lot back with me, the others will be very happy." Riven bit down on her lip, looking at the others, who seemed frozen. She didn't blame them of course, as those who had never faced a Baron had never been caught in the fear sinking aura that made one want to pee themselves. "Elise!" Riven snapped. They were wasting their five minutes, just standing around here. "Long range attacks don't work as efficiently, but if you can take out the small fry and cover us, we'll be able to better attack." Riven turned towards Viola. "Can you use a sword? A staff? The vampires have orders to capture us, the longer the weapon, the easier it will be to fend them off."

She was prepared to turn into whatever weapon was needed. She had never expected that a mage might misidentify her for another enemy. She had never expected an orb of light to surround her, piercing her from all sides. Riven cried out in pain as she was stabbed through with several bolts of light that solidified into steel. She was thrust across the winter landscape, pinned to a tree. "Vi-" blood dripped between her lips, staining the white snow red. She could not fight like this, not with these wounds. Vampires had accelerated healing, but the steel nails were moving, preventing her wounds from closing.

Whatever advantage they had come in with was gone. Riven screamed in pain, writhing as the nails went deeper through her flesh. Her entire body shook, recalling those torturous years she had spent in that shed, chained to the walls, naked, afraid. You can't die, I'm going to fix you. The words rang through her mind again and again. Riven felt as though she were going to be sick. He couldn't hurt her anymore, she tried to convince herself. He was dead.

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The first lesson in Tower Society Team Combat was that formation meant everything. If you kept a good formation you would be able to cover all of your weaknesses. Doll messed up and now everything was falling apart. "Um, become a spear!" Viola had a little bit of experience with other weapons but because of her light frame smaller weapons were best for her. Still, she knew how to listen to sound advice. "Turn into a-" Right then mages attacked her, thinking her as an enemy. "You stupid subhumans!" Viola slashed through her arm and rushed forward. "Damnit. Jacob, protect Vi and Riven!" Dominic shouted, taking command back. "Chris, you'll have to hold off Wernicke, none of us are equipped to fight a Baron." The unfortunate truth was that Christopher was aging, he was no longer in his prime no matter how much he pretended he was. "I'll do it." He said, because he had the most experience, he had the best chance of surviving direct combat with Baron Wernicke.

"You stupid mages! We're trying to save you!" The mages looked up and looked away, now pointing their wands at her? What was this idiocy? How subhuman could you get? "Mages, you'll have to cooperate with us." Wernicke's voice overpowered Viola's as he held Doll in his grip. "You caused this mess by sheltering these Tower Agents. But if you help us capture these Hunters and bring the Princess into our custody, we can forgive everything. You'll all go free." The mages were bickering among themselves but Viola did not care. She dashed over to Riven with her super speed, Jacob in hot pursuit. Spells were slung their way but Jacob absorbed it all with his sword, Excella. "I didn't know it could do that." He looked surprised, but pleased. "Heh, this will be great."

The pair reached Riven trapped on the tree. "Not yet, okay, Riven? Please, don't do it yet." Now wasn't the time - not with this many witnesses. She wanted to talk to Jacob and Elise and Dominic before doing anything rogue. As Jacob covered her with his sword, Viola slashed through the silver cuffs, pressing her permanent wounds to her vampire's mouth for her to drink. The mages were now attacking Flame and Melody, and Melody's singing became more desperate and frantic, she did not understand, her lyrics turning from a song about bravery to one about confusion and betrayal. "I know what's in your heart, Princess." Wernicke spoke as he clashed swords with Christopher. "Kill the small one and you can be free to reach your ambitions." Viola growled, knowing she wasn't going to be able to kill his stupid face.

Christopher was faltering, the confusion was getting to him, making his sword hesitate. Without Doll to harmonize with him he wasn't able to fight off the mental distortion taking effect. Jacob was glaring at the scene, his grip shaking. "Jake, don't, let's just help Flame and Melody, okay?" Their mission was extraction, they had no reason to actually fight. Jacob ignored her and charged forward, eyes burning red with blood. "Stand aside, stupid brother! You're too weak for this but I'm stronger than you now!" He swung his arm in a mighty arc, but right before he could cleave off Wernicke's head a strange blue haired vampire was there, blocking the sword with one of his own. He smiled bitterly at Jacob, a mocking curve of the mouth.

"You try a little too hard, kiddo. Why don't you sit down and let the real fighters take care of this?" Wernicke scoffed, disregarding Jacob as a hunter. "Stand up and fight, Christopher, you used to be so much stronger. Back in London, you and Doll could have killed me many times over by now." Chris scratched at his head, trying to regain control of his thoughts. "Look at me! I'm your enemy!" Jacob growled, charging again only to be tripped by the strange vampire. "The name's Alty. I'm just a lowly Officer, so I'm perfect for small fry like you."

Viola was about to go help but she was torn - the mission objecive was right here. "Riven, what do we do? Jacob and Chris and Doll are all going to die..." Could Riven do a miracle? The mages had turned on them as well, this was just a disaster on all fronts. Elise was providing covering fire and Dominic was protecting her but it wasn't enough. "We have to help-" A whip struck out and grabbed her by the ankle, swinging her into the rocky mountain side. She was dizzy, her vision was swimming, her head made impact with the rocks. A familiar figure swung that whip, slashing it again, tearing at the skin on her throat. Why was Julia... "Sis? What are you... doing here?" Julia gave her a hard stare, one full of pity and regret. It was quickly blocked away by dismissal. "Kill her." She said to the two vampires flanking her and they gladly went forward, fangs sinking into her throat. "Suck her dry." Julia turned away with a sigh, preparing herself for what was no doubt Riven's counter attack.

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Riven screamed in pain as blood dripped down her uniform, the cold piercing her as much as the steel. She slumped forward as Viola cut her free, sinking into the snow. The silver cuffs on her wrists fell apart and Riven lurched forward, sinking her fangs into Viola's exposed wrist. Without the inhibition of the silver, Riven's wounds began to quickly close, sealing themselves shut. "We'll back them up," she rose, winding a torn piece of her clothing around viola's wrist to cover the slash. Her eyes widened as Viola was suddenly torn from her grasp by a whip, dragged away in the snow. "Viola!" Riven stood on shaky legs. Who were these vampires? Where had they come from?

No, she couldn't think about that now, she had to save Viola. Why? If Viola died, she would be free. If Viola died, there would be nothing in her way of returning and reclaiming her throne. She couldn't just leave her there though, not like this. "I'm coming," Riven bolted, her strength surprising her. She had been weakened this entire time and at last, could go all out. "Get away from her!" Riven slashed through the vampires throats that were attempting to drink from Viola. "And you!" She pointed an accusing finger as she hoisted Viola up. Riven's eyes glowed red as she gave her command. "Go jump off a cliff." It wouldn't kill a vampire of course, but it would break both of her legs.

She ran, carrying Viola as much as she could, back towards Elise and Dominic. Riven set Viola in the snow, "Watch her." She ran back towards the battlefield, the wind in her hair, whipping through her torn uniform. Christopher was being born down upon. "Christopher!" She yelled, giving him a subtle nod. "Riven, turn into a sword!" He caught her midair, slashing through Wernicke's arm. While Excalibur was great, without Doll to possess it, it was merely a regular sword. Wernicke frowned, it looked as though he would need to get serious if he wanted to win this. He tossed Doll towards the side, the smaller demons picking her up. "Jacob, go find Flame and Mel!" Dominic yelled, his voice carrying over the field.

Riven and Christopher would keep Wernicke occupied in the meanwhile. "This is a mistake Princess, you can kill them all. We can kill them together," the Baron attempted, but Riven was already a weapon. She could no longer recognize herself for what she was, merely aware of her power to kill; and right now, she wanted to kill this demon.

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Viola's head was spinning even as Riven picked her up. "Julia... that's my... sister!" Viola was trying to speak but blood was sinking into her eyes making it hard to really concentrate on anything. There was a load of nausea as she tried to do anything - why was she so useless? Why couldn't she help at all? Why did she just feel so dizzy? Her ears were ringing so loud it was someone dangling a bell right inside of her skull itself. "Lay her down, she needs to rest, that looks like a concussion." Dominic said, he would take care of her. Elise glanced over as she charged another shot of her Valkyria, the oversized rifle bringing an end to many enemies so long as she kept firing. "How is she?" Elise couldn't really look back and check of course. Dominic's expression was grim. "She's going to need some care, probably."

"That's a shame." A cute girl with an umbrella sat next to them, eating something sweet. It was like a pastry filled with cream inside, almost like a crepe. "She's pretty too, it's sad that she was hurt so badly." Dominic nodded, sighing. "It'll be okay, we'll take care of it." Another boy was sitting with them, he looked neat in his suit and reddish hair. "You're all so young to be fighting in battle. Isn't it hard to keep going? You're all barely more than children." Dominic grit his teeth and looked away. "We're doing our duty to save humanity." He said stiffly, the knuckles on his fists whiter than he thought with the tension. "We have to win." The lavender haired girl smiled gently and placed something in Elise's lap. "Here, a treat for you. It tastes really good!" Elise looked down at the crepe, sitting so temptingly in her lap.

She stared at it as if her life depended on it.

It looked really, really good.

"S-sorry." Elise muttered. "I'm on a.... who are you two?" Her eyes widened and Dominic came to the same realization as she did. Vampires! "How did you-" The sweets girl introduced herself with an adorable little smile. "You can call me Sweet Pea. There's no need for vulgar violence, let's just have a tea party, shall we?" Elise watched as Sweet Pea took another crepe and put it into her mouth, licking her lips in satisfaction. "You pig!" Elise snapped, pulling out a small handgun she had for emergencies since the Valkyrie would take far too long to fix. "Who eats trash like that?! I would never ever! Learn some restraint!" She was triggered by the sight, reminded of her own awful self. "Hey." Dom warned, touching her shoulder. "Calm down. You, what's your name and what do you want?" The reddish haired vampire sighed. "The name's Gregore. We're here to ask peacefully for you guys to step down. There's really no need to fight."

Gregore stood up and Dominic stood as well, his clawed glove already equipped and ready to strike. "You think we're just gonna hand ourselves over?" Gregor smiled pleasantly, as if there was no problem. "I've poisoned that girl, Viola." He said kindly. "I think it's in your best interest to obey." Elise was panting, clutching her arm, making half moon in her flesh. "I'm not like that! I'm not like her!" She cried, unstable, dangerous. "You might want to calm her down, Dominic." Gregor said softly. Dominic grit his teeth, he didn't know what to do now. Suddenly Jacob smacked his sword against the ground. "Everyone! We gotta get going! Chris, come on!" Melody and Flame were badly injured, Melody resting on Flame's back as he carried her.

The problem was, Wernicke still had Doll. No one was in any condition to fight him directly, it was all up to Riven and Christopher now.

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"More, more, give me more!" Riven cackled as she clashed against Wernicke's claws. There was blood dripping from the surface of her blade and it felt delicious. Christopher was a powerful sword user, much more experienced than Viola. The difference showed. Viola, how was she? Riven couldn't think of her right now. She had to focus, they were going to kill Wernicke, they were going to kill everyone! She and Christopher would be unstoppable. Could he feel it? How strong they were together? Riven could... Riven could... who was Riven? She placed a hand against her head, the fog was already coming on. She didn't think it would happen so quickly.

"Wernicke, make him drop the sword. Give him the demon, we'll take the vampire." Iflet spoke into an ear piece, watching from afar. "He's not going to," Wernicke muttered as he countered another parry, "he'll just take them both." Christopher slashed through Wernicke's arm, detaching it from his body. He grinned, feeling more energized than he had in a long time. His eyes glowed as he fought, feeding off of the energy that Riven gave off. "Riven, turn back," suddenly she was herself again, kneeling in the snow. It was dangerous, he knew what was happening, he knew that Riven's power was leeching into him and he couldn't have that. "Finish him," Riven nodded, not hesitating.

She grabbed the knife that was offered to her, at full power, taking on a Baron meant they were evenly matched, but Wernicke was already tiring. He still had a grasp on Doll though, holding her by her long blond hair. "Join our side Princess, you will be invincible." He grinned, offering out a hand. To which Riven stabbed him in the palm. "You must be joking, I don't want to live in a world like this, where vampires kill whoever they want. There needs to be order and currently, there is none. Gavyn is weak, Iflet is puppeting him and she's controlling you too." Wernicke jumped back, "Perceptive," he muttered, "but orders are orders!" He slashed at her, but Riven ducked underneath his large hands and rolled between his legs, coming up on the other side to stab him through the middle. She yanked the blade upwards, cutting through her spine.

He fell at her feet, his black blood dripping into the white snow. "Release Doll," Christopher caught her, retreating back towards the others. Riven followed, Jacob on their tail. The group was now being assaulted by a new group of vampires, ones that Riven had never seen before. Who were they? Why were they targeting them? Why did Elise look red with rage? And Viola was looking as though she had no awareness of her surroundings.

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Everything looked dire. Jacob cursed as Chris ignored him and continued the clash against Wernicke. He held his sword out at the strange vampires. That makes four strong vampires that suddenly appeared, didn't it? Alty, Julia, Sweet Pea, and Gregore, officers of Iflet Seylum. "Hey, back away from my friends." Dominic's hand was a ball of nerves, he was not his usual cool calm self. "Jacob, we can't. Vi was poisoned by this piece of shit.' Gregore looked almost offended by the accusation. "Excuse me, but I'm a vampire. I'm just doing my job, it's nothing personal." Viola was already suffering from a bad concussion and now poison was coursing through her veins. If she died, Riven would definitely go rogue. "But it's so yummy, look." Sweet Pea nibbled on a pie now, almost inhaling a slice of it. She grinned, offering a slice to Elise, who stepped on her fingers.

"I'm not some fat pig that can't control herself! I'm not a shame to my family!" Elise hardly seemed conscious of where she was as she clawed at her hair, Valkyria no longer firing at the vampires down below. "Get that out of my face!" Sweet Pea pouted, putting her pie away. "I'm so cute though! I thought it's a shame that a cute thing like you can't enjoy good foods." Sweet Pea looked almost sad as she put the pie back into her bag. Chris arrived then, Riven back on her feet. "Give us the antidote." Christopher muttered after Dom explained the situation to him. "Or we'll take you two out." Sweet Pea looked at Gregore who sighed. "It was a bluff. You can ask the Princess if you want some proof. The girl is fine, now there's no need to fight, so we'll just take our leave." He gave a wave and picked Sweet Pea up, the tiny girl accepting her fate. "I'll have more yummy food next time, so let's have a good tea party!"

Elise stomped her foot angrily as the two flew away. "Okay, now that that's settled, we gotta go." Jacob looked at Viola who was staring at nothing in front of her, wiggling her fingers. "She has a head injury, but we have to move. It'll be pretty fast, so we need someone who can keep her head from moving too much, we don't know if she has any brain damage or not." Flame said helpfully, and so Jacob gently put Viola into Riven's arms, trusting her to take care of her. "Lissie, snap out of it. You okay?" Elise was shaking as she stared at the crepe in her hands. Dom sighed, they didn't have time for this so he whacked her on the back of the head to knock her out and picked her up like she was a princess.

The trip back to Koblens was melancholy as Doll reflected on her mistakes. Viola's injury was a result of her own carelessness. Another problem was the fact that now mages were being rounded up and joining the enemy side. They were never allies but them being enemies would make things more complicated. "Doll." Melody gave a weak smile. "Let's go see Echo, okay?" Melody was badly hurt and Doll wasn't faring much better, they would have to spend time away from the front lines for a while to recover.

Hopefully, Dominic thought, the three sisters together in the Hall would help all three of them heal.

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Riven held Viola carefully as they made their way back to camp. They were sent instantly to the medical tent, where Riven placed Viola down and was forced to have her own wounds looked at. She was fitted with new silver cuffs, of course, feeling dizzy almost as soon as they were put on. "You should rest," Dominic said as he entered the tent, dragging Jacob with him, who had a slash on his arm that needed to be looked at. He wasn't talking to her, but she could hear him. "It was terrifying, she... changed him." Jacob murmured as they shuffled across the space. "I've never seen Christopher so mad. I don't want her to do that to Viola." Riven looked at her hand, wondering if she truly was a danger. "We'll talk to Lorraine about it, alright?" Dominic murmured.

Riven stalked out of the tent, the flaps flaring behind her. She wasn't a danger to Viola, she had merely enhanced Christopher's fighting ability. "Oh good, just the vampire I was looking for." K smiled mysteriously, grabbing Riven by the wrist and dragging her to another tent. "What do you want with me?" She asked, not enjoying the physical contact. As it turned out, there were a whole group of people waiting for her, reviewing the battle footage. "How had we never noticed this before?" Lorraine murmured, watching Christopher's eyes turn yellow as he wrapped his hands around the hilt of her sword form.

"Riven, sit." She was forced into a chair, "there is still a lot we don't know about your abilities and how they mesh with humans. As Viola is now out of commission until she recovers from the concussion, we would like to take this opportunity to study you." She tensed, wondering what this meant. "Viola will take a week or so. For now we'll send you somewhere you can be observed." Lorraine wouldn't meet her eyes, it was clear where her alliances stood. "And if I refuse?" She knew they wouldn't listen. "We'll send you anyways," her wrists were clamped together behind her. It was only a week, but Riven didn't know what would happen.

She was dragged to a truck, K escorting her. Viola was asleep on the seat across from her, she would be taken to the hospital while Riven was dropped off who knows where. "Vi, don't take too long to recover." The vampire murmured. "I don't want to be here much longer."

~~~

Echo whimpered as the door opened, hiding in the corner of her bed. Hawks was now at last allowed to see her again and had fallen asleep in a chair on the corner. "Echo?" A voice whispered, Doll sat on the edge of the bed, the demon pretending to be asleep. "Echo, I know you're not sleeping," Doll rubbed her back. Echo's tail flicked as she peeked out of her safety corner, it was just Doll. "I have a surprise," Echo shook her head, beginning to shake again. "N-no! No surprises!" She squeaked, the poor thing crawling onto Doll's lap to cower. "It's a good one, I promise." The door opened once more, Melody entering. Her purple hair was vibrant, she looked the same as the day she had left.

"Echo, it's me." The little blonde demon began to tear up, her entire body shaking. "Mel," was all she managed to say before collapsing into a fit of tears of relief.

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"Melody, Flame, I expect your report." Director Wei spoke, beckoning them in. Amy was there too, the poor girl was devastated. Years ago her fiance left to join the war in Berlin, leaving her pregnant and waiting for him to return. He never did, even now, he was gone, and she didn't even know if he was even alive anymore. Now was their chance to possibly gain more information. Doll wasn't doing well but Christopher was attending so he would relay anything back to her. "Whatever you two know over these past years, you need to tell us." Wei's face was gentle but they saw the stress behind it. He had been overworking himself for quite some time now out of necessity. They were glad to see the friendly face again.

"We found ourselves in the care of mages in a pocket dimension." Flame explained what a pocket dimension and what mages were to Wei. "I could hardly believe it, seeing humans use magic like that. Well - I guess they weren't humans at all." Melody huddled in the blanket, feeling cold as she remembered them. "In exchange for sheltering us from the Third Impact, they would use magic on us so we could infiltrate Castle Seylum unseen." Melody explained, remembering those terrifying days they spent invisible within the stone halls of the castle as powerful vampires and demons met. "The scariest of them is Baron Messiah. He reminds me Baron Ziel, except he's not artificial." Faceless, looking almost like a five winged angel. Flame hugged Melody to help her get over it. "He just... felt so unnatural." The singer remembered Baron Messiah's mere presence giving her a fear worse than Asmodeus ever did.

He single-handedly destroyed the Athens Branch, after all, with barely a twitch of the finger.

"Do you have information on the two remaining missing pairs?" Wei asked, his expression softer, gentler, seeing how traumatized they truly were. Flame and Melody had suffered a lot this past few years. It was a miracle they made it back alive. "Samurai was taken to the Human Farm in Warsaw." The entirety of the city of Warsaw was turned into a giant farm, where humans were forced to breed. "Samurai helps breed new children to be grown to breed and provide food and blood for the vampires." He would likely be forced to breed with women he didn't love for the rest of his life if no one came to help him. Amy broke into tears, her shoulders shaking as she heard the plight. Would death be a crueler fate? "Let me go to him." She begged Wei. "Then... at least I can be with him again." Even if it meant being a breeding cow for the rest of her life, as long as she was with the man she loved...

Wei's expression grew more stressed. "...And what about Fluorspar?" Melody threw up then, hot bile coming up and bursting out. Flame cried out as he tried to calm her. In the end Melody needed to be taken away. "We'll let her see Echo, she'll calm down then." Wei decided, allowing Melody leave to go with Doll to Echo's room. Flame would finish the report for them. "Flo is being harvested for her organs. The vampires are trying to figure out which part allows her to stop time." Flame's face was dark, full of anger. "They'll use her organs as tools of war, to stop time to get an advantage in combat." It wasn't successful the last time they checked, but who knows how long it would take until it succeeded.

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They dropped Viola off at the hospital first, she would need real medical care if she was to recover. "I'm sorry about this," the back end of the vehicle suddenly filled with gas. Riven coughed, choking as she began to feel sleepy. "But not too sorry," she slumped over, her head hitting the window. The van zoomed down the back roads, taking Riven somewhere secret. It entered a tunnel beneath the city, continuing its drive until it reached what appeared to be a dead end. "We're here," the doors opened, someone hoisted Riven out, the vampire dizzy. She was dragged down the hall by two orderlies, both dressed in white. "Hello Riven," a man in a lab coat smiled at her, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I'm Luis Remus, I'll be taking care of you this week." She could barely digest this information as she was dragged to a separate room.

They stripped Riven of her clothing and washed her with a hose, cold water waking her right up. She was then given a white gown that had a number sewn onto the pocket, her uniform boots disposed of, as well as the collar with the silver bell. Even her hair ties had been removed, as though they could pose some sort of danger. "This will be your room," it was threadbare, merely a bed that was hammered to the floor with starchy sheets and a nearly flat pillow. The bathroom had no door or curtain for privacy. How horrible was this place? Riven wondered as she was dragged to the next room. "We only have a week, therefore we'll need to make up for lack of time."

"What am I doing here?" Riven wanted to know, understanding why she was here, but also wanting to know what they would be doing. "We'll be observing you, running tests and the like. When was the last time you ate?" Her stomach growled in answer. "Breakfast," he nodded, "good, good, we'll get started then. Normally you would go through some sort of orientation, but our time together will be short." She was taken to a room with a large circle and a table. They strapped her down and poked her with a needle, the vampire squirming as something cold flushed through her veins that made her feel as though she had wet herself. What the machine did aside from make loud sounds that made her want to claw at her ears, Riven had no idea.

After the pictures were taken, they did more scans, measuring her, examining every inch that they could. They took samples of her blood, hair, and urine (which was the only thing extracted painlessly). "Luis Remus," she mused under her breath, wondering why his name sounded so familiar. Then, it struck her. This was the man that had created the half demon, half human hunters. This was the man Riven needed to speak to if she wanted to escape with Viola, alive. How would she go about this though? She couldn't outright tell him her plans, he would send her to jail for all eternity. Perhaps she could prod him somehow...

They dragged Riven back to the room, only uncuffing her wrists from behind her once there. The door slammed shut, sealing her inside. Through a small slot, a blood bag was stuck, dinner, she supposed. She picked it up off of the ground, hoping that this week would go by quickly.

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Dark. Dark. Dark.

Dark.

Light.

Sound.

The pink flinched, turning away from the light until she realized it was light. Light! Light! The pink inched towards the light as much as her mess of a body could manage. She could hear strange squish sounds as she moved, but decided not to worry about it. Light! Light was a rarity in this world, light was something not to take for granted. The pink drank it up, letting her wings spread and enjoy the light, basking in it. It was so good! It was so nice! The pink wanted the light to stay but she knew it would not last. With light always came something else too, light always made shadows. She drank up the light but was prepared for what was to come.

The Faceless Baron, the Mightiest Baron, Baron Messiah came down the steps. It wasn't so much that he was faceless but that you would never be able to remember his face even if you tried. Not even Baron Messiah knew what he looked like. The pink spread her arms, raising them up. What she was doing, did she want something? Did she even know? "Poor thing, it smells horrible down here." Baron Messiah gazed at her with something similar to wisdom. "Does it hurt? Is this suffering?" The pink tilted her head. She hadn't known how to make words for a long time. What was sound? She did not know, because it had been so long since she had been allowed. She opened her mouth and made some strange sound. "You're so pitiful now." Baron Messiah said, shaking his head.

"I will save you." He held his hand, aiming it at her throat. The pink decided that this was a hug and smiled, leaning in, wings fluttering in the dark. She liked the warmth, the feel of another's skin on her own flesh. It felt good in a way she could not describe. Pressure building, was it still nice? She did not know, did not know, would not know, did not want to know. The pink closed her eyes, the caged butterfly wilting in the darkness of the abyss she dwelled in. "My, this smells horrible. Fix this up, Messiah." Iflet's voice. The pink shrank away, no, she did not want the Iflet here, she did not want more fun time to be done.

A light glowed from Messiah and Zinnia growled, thrashing. She was altogether again, all of her organs and her mind returned to normal. "Stop." Zinnia begged, trembling. "I'm tired of this! I'm tired! Just end it already!" Messiah looked at her, and more light glowed. Flo coughed, coughed, hacked, disgusting bile spouting from her throat, she couldn't breathe, she couldn't breathe, her vision was dancing before her eyes. "That power truly is fearsome." Iflet said with a crafty smile. "The ability to turn back someone's time, or turn it forward again."

Messiah seemed almost hostile for a moment. "I do not do it for you, vampire." He was not fond of the vampires, he did not want the vampires messing with the demon's Third Impact. Iflet smiled testily, remaining quiet now. "I could turn you back into human." Iflet sighed, turning away. "Fine, I'll leave her alone for now. But we need to continue the experiments another time." She left, heading up the stairs and Flo continued to hack and cough. "I'll make you a baby today." Messiah decided, making another light, turning Flo into the human baby Mara, who cried and stared confusedly in front of her. It would likely be a very long time until the pink girl would be ever allowed out of this place.

Before they went in, Doll explained the situation to Melody. "Echo isn't... well, you'll see." She said softly, "just don't mention Flo, alright?" Melody nodded, she wasn't stupid, she had seen some of what had happened. She had not expected her sister to be like this though. She had thought Echo would bounce back, as she always had done the time before. She did not expect this tiny, pitiful demon to be her baby sister. She felt instantly guilty, she should have been able to stop this, she should have done something instead of just standing by and letting it happen. Echo sobbed between them, her little form having withered significantly. She was far too thin, her skin gaunt and pale, with dark bags underneath her eyes. Hawk was sleeping on a chair in the corner, no doubt having spent the night with her, to be there when Echo awoke screaming from the nightmares.

"I'm sorry," Melody whispered, clinging to her tiny form. "I'm so sorry," she noticed the tiny vial that Echo wore around her neck, filled with pink glittering dust. Her stomach wrenched, there was no way she could tell her sister about Flo's true state, not like this. The thought of it made her nauseous all over again. "It's okay, I'm here now. We're both here," Doll carefully rubbed Echo's back, whose tail had curled up around her leg. Melody began to sing, hoping to put her sister at ease. She relaxed in her arms, no longer shaking as badly. "We're going to go home, together, alright?" It was a lie though, Melody and Doll would only be taking a short break before they would have to return to the front. Echo would be sent away with Hawk, where they hoped Echo could make at least a partial recovery.

Enough that she would avoid work as a birth mother. Even if she no longer saw action, even if they simply became paper pushers at headquarters, it would be enough. "They won't hurt you again, I promise." No, Echo would be safe, Melody and Doll would see to it. A light knocking came from outside, Echo stiffened, burying her face in Melody's chest. It was just Shiro, coming with dinner. She placed the tray quietly on the table and took her leave, waving to Doll on her way out. Hawk roused from her nap, leaping to her feet as she heard Echo crying. "Melody! Doll!" She covered her mouth quickly, realizing that she had been yelling. "You're here, you're alive." They exchanged brief hugs before Hawk picked Echo up, attempting to soothe her the same way one would a baby. "It's okay, you're safe now."

The poor demon was still suffering from flashbacks and terrible fear whenever anyone came into the room. She didn't trust any of the food they brought her and she broke down every other minute, going into an unresponsive state as she was trapped in the memory of what Iflet had done and the nightmarish faces she saw in her sleep. "How are we gonna fix her?" Melody asked softly, as they exited the room so that they did not distract Echo while Hawks attempted to coax her to eat. "We can't," Doll admitted. "Wei is willing to send her and Hawk to rehab, but unless she makes a 180, she'll be sent to Switzerland." Melody gasped, aware of the implications.

"We should send them somewhere," Melody began to muse. "Somewhere there won't be any pressure to heal, just so that Echo can be Echo again." Did such a place exist? It would need to be away from the public eye, from the fighting, empty of other people. "There's an island, in Asia," Doll began to speculate. "I know someone who owes me a favor."

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Castle Seylum was never a bad place to hang out. Sweet Pea rubbed at her hand, still a little annoyed at the events of the fight yesterday. She couldn't get that girl to eat anything! Why did Elise have to be so stubborn? It wasn't as if she had it poisoned or anything! "We could be super dreamy cute as we drank tea and ate sweets together." Sweet Pea said with a lamenting sigh. Julia patted her on the shoulder as the two girls made their way towards the parlor. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get to eat with her one day." Julia was always like a kindly big sister, getting along with everyone. "I hope so." Sweet Pea smiled adorably, giggling. "She's really fashionable and not even fat. What's the big deal? Is it so bad to have sweets every once in a while?"

Sweet Pea glanced at the mirror, sighing as she knew once again that she had no idea how she looked. "Don't worry, you're still the adorable one." Julia took a seat, pushing a chair out for Sweet Pea to sit down with her. "That girl should learn to accept her body." Sweet Pea insisted, pushing her legs together in annoyance. "She's already really beautiful, you know?" Julia nodded, Elise really was quite stunningly pretty, no matter how ugly she may consider herself. The parlor didn't have too many people here, there were a few vampires, and one or two demons. Two familiar demons, in fact. Baroness Kitra slammed her drink against her table as her sister, Baroness Lilim, fretted and worried. "We'll find her eventually." Lilim said urgently. "We'll find Celeste, okay?" The two were apparently royalty from Hell, and now they were here on the human plane.

"I hope we don't get in trouble. Iflet wouldn't punish us for failing, right? The hunters are really so barbaric, I just wanted a tea party." Sweet Pea pulled some cupcakes out of her bag to share with Julia, batting her eyes enticingly. Julia smiled, gladly taking them. There were no sweets as good as a Sweet Pea sweet, after all. "How about you?" Sweet Pea's expression changed to one of worry. "Were you able to settle things with your sister?" Julia shook her head patiently. "No, not yet. I hope I made it clear that I don't intend on being her sister anymore." Julia had a new job and new friends to care for, she let go of the past in order to gain a happy future. "She's being used and was turned into a monster. I'll kill her and set her free, that's the last gift I can give her as family."

Sweet Pea nodded but her expression wasn't one of happiness. "That's sad." She admitted, nibbling on her cupcakes, each one decorated cutely and uniquely. "I wouldn't mind opening a bakery and letting her eat at one." Sweet Pea wanted to open a bakery, she wanted to spread happiness and help people realize that it's possible to be happy even if your body wasn't perfect. "Julia, even if she's a monster... that doesn't mean she should be killed. If the war ended, then maybe we could all be friends." They had to fight though, because their Lord demanded it, because Gavyn Seylum forced them all into the fight. "Once the war ends, work at my bakery with me, Julia! We can invite Gregore and Alty too!" Julia smiled. If they could all survive, that would be a fun life indeed.

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She was awoken early by an injection in her neck. Riven cried out in pain, attempting to sit upright, but someone was holding her down. Or rather, three someone's. The injection made her feel woozy and she slumped back on the bed, a mask placed over her face. She was transferred to a stretcher and brought to a room with large lights, her eyes straining beneath them. She was undressed and strapped down against the table, her head spinning. "Stop," Riven slurred as metal cuffs restrained her. Another needle was jabbed into her arm, the vampire's head spinning. "Vampires metabolize drugs differently than other creatures." Luis said as he pulled on a pair of blue rubber gloves. "They don't need as much as humans and it's more potent. Do you want to know what drug this is?" He asked, drawing an opaque white liquid from a tube. "Benadryl," He pushed it into the tubing that was now in her hand. "Have a good sleep."

The world slowed as her eyes fluttered shut. She wasn't asleep, but rather, in stasis, aware of everything that was happening. Her eyes were closed, but she could feel the scalpel slice her flesh. "We've never done one of these on a live vampire," she could hear on of the humans whisper. They were rummaging around her insides, their hands were invading her. "More Benadryl," it burned as it went up her arm, this time knocking her out. When she awoke she was in a curtained area, oxygen fluttering up her nose. She turned onto her side to throw up, feeling thoroughly invaded. "Oh? You're awake! That was fast!" The man's voice was chipper, his clothing clean despite the fact that he had just spent the last three hours invading her organs. "We collected an abundance of information, thanks to you."

Riven glared, she felt weak. "No time to waste, nurse, let's do a swallow study." She was wheeled on the bed to another room, where she was strapped down again. This time a tube was snaked up her nose, Riven choking the entire time. "Breathe, just keep swallowing," but she couldn't, not with this thing pervading her senses. At last they seemed satisfied that it was down far enough and she was sat up, a bag of blood placed before her. "Drink," her teeth pierced the sack, it hurt to swallow, she could feel the strange tube in her throat. Just as quickly the blood was yanked away. "Alright, we'll try honey thickness now," a new bag of blood was brought forth, this one with some sort of starchy thickener. She was given three more, each one thicker than the last.

"No more," Riven shook her head, she was full. They yanked the tube out, not minding her gagging and retching until it was done. Luis seemed satisfied with the result. "Good, now that you have a bit of energy, let's go for a run." She wasn't the only one here, Riven realized. There was a demon across the hall, but other than that, the cells seemed to be empty. Then why was it teaming with scientists? What else were they doing down here? She shivered as they stopped in another room, this one with a black machine of some sort. The assistant stuck stickers to her before allowing her to redress in a white gown. She stood top the black rectangle, the ground beginning to move. At first it was merely a walk, but then the sped began to pick up.

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After tea and cupcakes with Sweet Pea, the four officers were called to Iflet's office for a post-battle debriefing. Julia had already prepared herself for it but Sweet Pea looked anxious, the way she fiddled her thumbs and played with her hair in ringlets it was clear she was afraid of repercussions for the failure. Gregore and Alty were there as well, both of them ready to face the music from their boss. "This is ridiculous. Why doesn't Iflet just capture them herself?" Alty snapped, gnashing his teeth. "Don't speak ill of our benefactor." Julia said quickly, narrowing her eyes, both for Alty's safety as well as out of respect for Iflet. "If not for her we would all be dead, or worse, right now." It was true. Iflet had turned them all and it was thanks to them they were given a place to belong at Castle Seylum.

"We all survived, don't we deserve a little bit of respect?" Alty was hungry, desperate for some sort of recognition. He wanted to be viewed with respect, to be seen as someone to look up to. It was clear from his behavior that he was a sufferer of long term neglect from those who were supposed to have been taking care of him. Alty was the least stable of the Officers and Julia and Gregore did their best to try to placate him and heal his scars. They were a little family, they had to look after each other. "It's because Iflet respects us that she trusted we could do this." Gregore said in his calm, soothing dulcet tones. "We just have to succeed for the next time." Alty laughed loudly. "Next time? Gavyn Seylum doesn't give his underlings a next time!"

The door opened, revealing two people. Iflet Seylum was one, giving a small nod to each one as she entered her office. The second was someone they all feared. Baron Messiah, one who apparently was so powerful he did not even have to obey the Kings if he so wished. "Hello, my children. I'm aware of the failure, and while Gavyn was not quite pleased, I managed to talk down his anger." She smiled pleasantly, getting closer. "However, there still has to be a punishment. I'm sorry, but his anger is palpable." And that was what Messiah was here for, wasn't it? "Sweet Pea, reports say you barely fought, so I have to choose you."

At that Alty suddenly spoke up. "Hey, no, let it be me! I'll take the punishment!" How could he call himself a man if he let a cute little girl like Sweet Pea be punished? She had to rescue her and take it for her! Then she would finally respect him and call him her savior, right? Iflet sighed as if finding this ridiculous. "You fought well against Jacob Delanore." Iflet said dismissively. "Sweet Pea, step forward." The girl was trembling, she was so afraid. "It'll be okay." Gregore said gently. "We'll always be your family." Sweet Pea nodded, too afraid to say anything. Baron Messiah groaned. "This is so tiresome." A light came from his hand and Sweet Pea's body expanded, her arms, her stomach, dark ugly purple stretch marks forming on her breasts, her thighs, her beautiful lolita dress almost exploded.

Sweet Pea began to cry as her horrible self was shown once again, a past she could never escape from. "Really, how pitiful." Messiah's voice was gravely. "You only wanted to be loved, but you were given Cushing's Syndrome instead." Now wider than she was tall, who could possibly call her beautiful? "What a hypocrite as you pretend to promote body positivity." Iflet's smile was slightly twisted. "It's only thanks to Messiah that you can go back to your cute little normal self. He could easily refuse to continue helping you, if you and your team fails the goal again."

The pig went to her knees, sobbing, begging as her whole body jiggled, begging to be turned back, to not have to be like this again. "Do you still think she's cute?" Julia asked the boys. Gregore nodded without hesitation. "Cute is who you are on the inside, Sweet Pea. You're still the same, no matter-" Sweet Pea wailed, her cries drowning out his words. Alty looked away, face full of self loathing, as he was unable to think of anything kind to say. The light glowed again and Sweet Pea was mercifully changed back to her usual adorable self. Julia covered her up with her jacket, allowing Sweet Pea to sob into her arms.

"Please think of what may happen if you don't succeed for the next outing." Iflet's voice was friendly. "Any of you could be next, and I'm sure none of you want that, now do you?"

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Each day was something new, a new test, a new game of Luis Remus's invention. She barely had time to breathe as they pushed months of testing into the space of one week. She had no time to recover either, as it was one game after the next. "What happens after two hours?" Remus wanted to know, clicking his pen. "I don't know, King Seylum always told me never to remain in that form past two hours." Remus nodded. "Alright, Riven turn into a sword." She did so without hesitating, able to change quickly. They had done tests in this form already, but nothing like this. One of the humans picked her up, a soldier she presumed, swinging her at random as though he knew how to use a sword.

It was boring, she waited, the time trickling past. They were nearing the two hour mark, her head growing foggy. She lay back against her cloud, content to wait. The mark at last came, her eyes felt heavy. She could sleep here, yes, that would be nice. She could simply sleep and no one would bother her. They were coming up on three hours, then four, she could no longer feel her hands and feet. "Riven, change back," but Riven was sleeping. Someone shook the sword violently, "I order you to change back!" She didn't want to though, she was a sword, what else could she change into? "Riven, return to your vampire self!" At last she returned, albeit asleep. "So, past two hours and you forget who you really are?" Luis poked her cheek with his pen, the vampire not so much as stirring. "Wake her up."

They tried prodding at first, then water, even electricity, but Riven would not awaken. "I can't have another mistake, not this big!" Luis paced as Riven continued to sleep, seeming undisturbed despite their attempts to rouse her. "Wei is going to kill me, they're going to hang me from the rafters!" He glanced at the marking on Riven's chest, perhaps there was a way to wake her. He needed Viola, but how could he get her here without alerting anyone that he had made the biggest mistake of his career? "We'll try everything else first," Remus concluded. He grabbed a needle full of adrenaline, pushing it into Riven's vein. Bringing Viola here would only incite memories and possibly violence.

Riven stirred at last, but still did not rise.

"The car will be here soon sir." His assistant warned him, they were coming to pick Riven up. The week was over, but she was still would not wake up. "We already drugged her for the trip," Luis lied, handing the driver his documents on their findings. The driver suspected nothing though, taking the vampire back to Viola's side, who would hopefully be fit for combat once more. After all, without Viola, no one would be able to control her and force her to fight for the humans.

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The week passed by very uneventfully for Viola. Most of it was spent just reading and watching Elise make more clothes to show Doll, as she was currently Doll's apprentice in the clothesmaking industry. One day once the war was over Elise would make clothes and Viola would be her model, they would share a brand together. That was the ideal anyways. Vi was sure upset when she found Riven had been taken from her but Lorraine promised to get to the bottom of it. It was unfortunate that the system was split into three branches, Lorraine, General Ray's, and Wei's. Lorraine did not know who of Wei or General Ray to suspect but it had to be one of them. "She'll find answers eventually, just be calm for now." Elise said as she studied the fashion design books Doll gave her.

Viola was calm though. She was stupid and an idiot and al lbut she knew she needed to rest for now. Without Riven around though the pain in her wrists kept getting worse. "Don't be a hero." Jacob snapped as he tried to feed her pain medication. "If it hurts just take meds for it, seriously." Viola shook her head. "It's better when Riven licks it." She was stubborn, she only wanted the pain go away by Riven's tongue and nothing else. Was that really so selfish? "It's just my pain, it's not like it's bothering you or anything." Jacob puffed his cheek, looking annoyed. Jacob, for some odd reason, spent the week learning to cook. How was cooking going to help him kill Christopher? What a doofus, seriously. "Anyways, Riven should be coming back now." Dominic said, looking up from his magazine. He had trained under Wolf this past week, learning many new tricks to protect his team with.

The car was driven in and there was a commotion. Koblens was a small town, but the hospital gave Vi a good view of the road leading into the city. "Can I be discharged now?" She asked testily, but Elise shook her head. "Not yet. Let's go down and see what's going on." Elise put Viola into the wheelchair even though she didn't need it, it was hospital policy for the safety of the patients. Together the two girls made it down, so the boys followed them out. Lorraine was in her own wheelchair and she was picking a fight with someone. "Riven was under my jurisdiction, you had no right to take a soldier that was under my watch!" Lorraine snapped. Fifi shot daggers K's way and K smiled simperingly, not threatened by the french caretaker.

"You'd best expect a complaint to the higher ups, Ray. This was against regulations." Lorraine was cross and rightfully so. This was tantamount to a kidnapping, something like this wasn't supposed to happen. "My my." K sneered. "You shouldn't frown, aren't we all working together? It's almost as if you're trying to break this alliance apart, Lori." Lorraine was not intimidated by the foot on her wheelchair. "There are rules for a reason. If we're going to work together, I expect the rules to be respected. Riven is one of mine. I decide what happens to her." Her eyes narrowed coldly. "I expect reparations." Elise wheeled Viola in and Vi gave a cheerful wave. "It's okay, Lori, I can handle this."

She slashed her neck in the perfect place so as to not kill her and blood dribbled down, her eyes turning blood red. Elise let out a cry of surprise, trying to stop the blood from flowing. "We're monsters, all of us! We're part demon, part human! Next time you mess with us, we'll eat your children! We're Elites anyways, you're all just nameless grunts destined to die!" Dominic sighed, this wasn't going to help at all. "M-monsters!" Some of the normal soldiers cried, backing away in fear and terror. Riven was helped out of the car but she did not look okay. "Here, drink up." Vi said, showing the blood to her friend.

"Lorraine tried so hard to get us accepted." Dominic groaned, remembering the old days from the very beginning. "Now they're all going to hate us again, Vi." The german growled menacingly. "Then who cares anyways. All I care is that my family likes me, and the six of us is family." No one else was invited into her tiny circle.

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This was bad, this was very, very bad. What was Remus going to do? They would realize it as soon as they got there, that Riven wasn't alright. He may as well have killed her. For all he knew, the vampire was dead. He bit his nails nervously, a disgusting habit. As soon as they read the transcriptions, they would realize his mistake. They were going to have his head for this.

As soon as the car stopped, it was evident that something was amiss. The vampire hadn't woken up, even when the doors opened and she was carried out, still wearing the white hospital gown, albeit covered in a blanket to protect her from the cold. Her arm slid out, revealing the bruises of being stuck with silver needles again and again, slow to heal thanks to it being one of the properties that could cause permanent damage to her skin. Her eyes remained closed, her head slumping backwards. Two and a half hours was pushing it, but nearly five hours in that form had taken its toll. There was a reason King Seylum had never let her stay like that for too long.

Echo was not making the progress they wanted her to. Wei tried to push her a bit more everyday, but his push was met with traumatized resistance. She wouldn't leave the room, she wouldn't let go of Hawk, and any unfamiliar visitors were barred from coming into the space. Even the blood pressure cuff was enough to cause panic and fear. Melody and Doll had come up with their plan, the evening before, bringing Hawk into it, as it concerned her as well. They would sneak them out of VH and to the isolated island off of the coast of Japan. There, Echo would be able to heal, with no one but Hawk by her side to gently nudge her towards healing at her own rate. They would get flak for this of course, but the two demons were prepared.

It was at midnight they struck, Hawk having drugged Echo's food with a powerful sedative. From there, it was easy to hide the tiny demon underneath her cloak. Melody and Doll escorted her, the three of them going through the back entrance, the one used only for maintenance. "The airport isn't far, but we'll have to go on foot." They walked slowly, not wanting to cause any sort of alarm. The city was sleepy, curfew having been set for the safety of the citizens. Paris was not a completely free city, after all, and evening was the best time for a vampire to strike. Thankfully, they reached the airport without incident. "Well, this is goodbye. For now," Hawk said, saluting them both, as they outranked her.

"Take care of that brat, will you?" Melody teased, Doll handing Hawk a bag. "Clothing," she reasoned, "so Echo will have something familiar." Hawk nodded in appreciation, "I'm sure she'll like that," she boarded the plane, the flight seeming to take forever. The island was abandoned, save for the large house in the center. The air was humid, something Hawk was not used to. The door was unlocked, the power still running. "Wow, who would abandon this beauty?" Hawk murmured, setting Echo down on a bed. The demon cried out, bolting upright as she realized she had no idea where they were. "Hey, it's okay, you're okay." Hawk stroked her cheek with a smile. The sun was coming up on another day, this was a new beginning for them both.

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Lorraine was very angry at the proceedings. How dare they take one of hers and do this? Riven was as good as dead the way she was now. Lorraine Venatus was not a woman to be trifled with, and she was known for fiercely protecting those under her care. Despite being bound to a wheelchair, she was not going to simply bow down and allow someone to get away with hurting her charge. "Elise, take care of Viola." Lorraine said, and Elise nodded, hastily wheeling her back into the hospital. "Viola, don't do something so reckless again. I won't have you hurting yourself." Viola rolled her eyes. "Make sure she gets my blood." Vi pointed at the puddle of her blood dripping onto the ground. Fifi dutifully bottled as much as she could in vials, taking care to filter out impurities.

"You really can't do that!" Jacob snapped, shaking his head. "You're so stupid. Don't cut yourself." Viola rolled her eyes, finding her family to be quite idiotic. "But we always cut ourselves. It's literally how we get our advantage over the fossils that call themselves hunters." It was obvious, the four of them knew it. Because of Luis Reamus, none of them were human anymore. They were not humans, nor were they demons. They were nameless and would never truly belong anywhere. "They're going to hate us even more now." Dominic stressed, upset because he knew just how hard Lorraine worked to earn them a place to belong, to fit in and pretend everything was okay. Elise's eyes narrowed to a point and she sighed. "You know as well as I do that they never really welcomed us in the first place."

They were outcasts, weapons and tools to be used but then ignored and put in the corner. Only Lorraine ever gave them the time of day as if they were anything more than tools. They were going to have to address the other elephant in the room. "The car." Dominic's voice was colder than they had heard in a ver long time. "You know who that is." Viola grimaced, rubbing her wrists painfully. "Urgh, that Luis prat. What a joke." All four survivors had nothing but hatred for the man, for what he did to them. Even Jacob, who had volunteered himself, grew to realize what a monster he was. "If you're thinking about revenge, forget it." Elise warned calmly. "He's our only source of the medicine that keeps us alive." Without him, they were doomed.

It wasn't long until the door to Viola's room was knocked on. Vi welcomed whoever it was in and it was three peoples. Lorraine looked stressed - the blood did not work, so they had one final last resort remaining. If this did not work, Lorraine would have to do something drastic, even if it meant giving up her life. She knew one surefire way to save Riven, even turning her human again. But to do so would be her final act. "Viola, you have to order her back. The blood didn't work, she's still unresponsive." Fifi helped push Lorraine into the room, and Dominic and Jacob both gently held Riven and laid her on the bed next to Viola

Hopefully this would work then. "Riven, remember your true self as my wife!" Dominic smacked her then. "Take this seriously!" He muttered, wanting the family whole again. He flicked her into submission and Vi whimpered as she held her head. "Riven." Her contract mark burned. "Remember, remember your true form, you are a vampire and not a sword!"

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As much as they wanted it to work, Riven would not drink the blood. She sat in the chair Dominic had placed her in, not moving, slumped over. "Come on, drink it," Dominic murmured, but Riven wasn't moving. Lorraine gently pricked the bottom of Riven's foot, but there was no response. There was one last thing they could try and so, Dominic and Jacob lifted the vampire, carefully taking her to Viola's room. They placed her down beside Viola, oddly gentle. Riven did not so much as stir, like Princess Aurora with a sleeping curse cast upon her. Viola's first attempt, failed of course, as the vampire was not Viola's wife. It was the second attempt that worked at last, her contract mark illuminating brightly as Viola gave her order.

Pain was the first thing she recalled, she writhed with discomfort as she awoke, "Is it time to go already?" She moaned, rubbing her eyes. "Shit," her vision cleared up, revealing a group of concerned faces. Jacob laughed, Lorraine sighed in relief, Dominic crossed his arms, shaking his head, and Elise looked more than mildly annoyed. Riven turned onto her side, hugging Viola's leg like one of those koala bears Viola had shown her. "Ten more minutes," she insisted, closing her eyes. Someone, she wasn't sure who, smacked her on the head. "Fine! Fine! I'm up!" Riven groaned, sitting upright. "Where are we? What happened to Remus?" She asked, wondering how she had gotten here.

"Oh, Viola, how is your head?" Was this a hospital? It certainly smelled differently than the ones Riven was used to. The hospitals she knew of smelled like death and the plague. Of course she assumed the plague was no longer a problem, not as much as the vampires running rampant across the world and killing as many humans as they could. And the others? Had Flame and Melody made it back alright? Were they back in Paris? Riven honestly couldn't tell, thing were very unfamiliar, she had to assume that they were in another city, closer to the battlefield so that they could return to the front line as soon as possible. Of course, that visit with the hunter's scientist in residence hadn't been all for naught. While they had gained substantial information on her, she had more information on their half demon hunters.

Namely, that if they stopped taking their medicine, they would become full demons. Riven would need a private moment with Viola and Krane to divulge everything she had gleaned, but she could not do it now, not here, with Lorraine who probably knew all of this already and was withholding it. That's right, this woman, as much as she pretended to care, was merely the gate keeper. Another obstacle in the path, albeit one who acted like a mother.

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Riven slowly arose, as if waking up from a long deep sleep. "Sheesh, don't be such a sloth, didn't you want to be cute?" Viola snorted, poking Riven on the nose and honking it because it made her feel good. Thankfully while the cut on her neck had bled a lot because she was a monster she was able to heal it up to the point that band-aids would solve it. "Oh, my head injury's nothing serious. The doctors probably kept me here because they didn't want me to go looking for you." Jacob chuckled, though it was clearly half out of relief. "You shoulda seen Lori, she hardly had any sleep as she ran around trying to find out who took you. Apparently because you're under her care, no one had the right to kidnap you like that."

Lorraine blushed a little, looking away. "It was nothing like that." She said, readying to be wheeled away in order to save face. Fifi took the handles with a smile. "Hello I'm Lorraine." Jacob deepened his voice comically to sound like a bear. "You tell me what happened to Riven or I will personally ensure you are dishonorably discharged and your family finds out that you are a disgrace!" Dominic found himself breaking into a tiny little grin, rubbing the white streak in his hair unconsciously. "Come on, we should go. I'm sure they're tired, and Vi, you really need to rest up." Elise stood up without much hesitation, neatly packing her handicrafts into her purse so she could continue working on them later. She had been Vi's roommate for the hospital stay but with Riven here she would go back to the barracks.

"Tomorrow a new special mission will be issued." Lorraine informed them, once again keeping them on the clock. "Please rest well and be ready for tomorrow." Likely it was going to be a mission to try and save Fluorspar and Samurai, though doing so would be very hard considering they were being kept in different locations. "We'll be ready." Viola said, popping her medicine, making a silly face of enjoyment as the sweet hard candy landed on her tongue, delighting her with the citrus flavor. The room was cleared out then, allowing the partners their privacy. "Krane, come out. I know you're here." She could sense the vampire was slinking around. "Why didn't you tell me where Riven went? We could have helped her." She didn't mind cutting people up if it meant having her partner with her. "Reamus is a monster and I want to eat his testicles."

No, actually, that would probably be disgusting. Everything about Luis was unappetizing on all honesty. If they tried to use him as a sacrifice to please the vampires they would probably refuse to drink his foul blood. "We need to discuss the plan." Her mouth was grim, the usual joking light in her eyes had faded. "Now that we know where Luis is, we can go at any time." However, there was another problem. "But from here in Koblens, how are we going to break the Orgia out and save her?" It was so pitiful that she was trapped in containment and endless sleep like that, but she was all the way back in Paris, where Doll and Christopher were.