AN: Sorry it's been so long. Life and all that jazz. Things have been hectic. But, for those of you who've stuck around, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Let me know what you think.

Chapter Four

John shot back into the real world. His head spun, his muscles vibrated, and he felt a wash of magic leave him as he yanked the sinew off as quickly as he could.

He breathed heavily as he leaned against the nearest surface, doing his best to steady his racing head. From behind he could hear Oliver and Laura happily greeting their friend, the woman he'd helped pull out of the other realm.

When he could stand on his own, John shifted to see Cali. He'd offered her a smile until his gaze fell to her. The moment it did, all happiness fled.

Cali was on her knees just outside the circle. Her head was down, shielding her face in long waves of now-dull dark hair. Her shoulders were slumped and her arms hung limply at her sides. The skin he could see on her arms was grey, the color of dry slate stone.

A rush of fear forced him to her side.

"Cali," He said as he reached for her face. He tried to remind himself that her skin was always icy cold, but the feeling of it was still shocking. "Cali, luv." John felt the others congregate behind him and ignored them in favor of seeing the damage done. "Look at me, yeah?" He swept her hair away from her face, revealing her gaunt features. "Cali,"

Panic coursed through him as he tapped her cheeks and received no response. He wished there was a way to tell if a vampire was alive, but there really wasn't. There was no pulse, no heat, no nothing that would give him any idea.

"Shit," He grumbled. Thinking quickly, John reached into his pocket and searched for something that could help.

"What's wrong?" Oliver asked.

"Used too much energy." John said when he grasped the slick piece of metal. "How long we were in there?"

"Five minutes, max." Laura said.

"Five hours, you mean." Felicity said.

John's heart sank. "Dammit. She shouldn't've been connected that long."

He pressed the button and extended the blade in his switch-blade knife.

"What are you doing?" Oliver asked with a level of apprehension.

"Smellin' salt, mate."

He knew no one understood what he meant by it, but they didn't speak as he pressed the blade against the tip of his thumb. John winced and hissed through his teeth as he pierced his skin just enough to draw out a bit of blood. He tossed the knife away and grabbed Cali again, supporting her head while he held his thumb out.

"Cali, luv. Wake up for me, yeah?" He said, passing his bloody digit beneath her nose. "Come on, sweetheart… come on."

She began to stir for only a second before Cali took in a long, deep breath. Her eyes opened just enough to showcase the glowing red color, and her lips parted to reveal the tips of dangerous, pointed teeth, but it was enough that John couldn't deny the relief he felt.

"There she is." He said with a sigh, a small smile curling his lips.

"Oh, Jesus," A voice said from behind.

The sheer amount of terror in it drew their eye. John saw how they were looking at Cali, the fear and disbelief that saturated everyone's was only then that it donned on him, truly donned on him, that they might not have been expecting her.

But while he stood there, trying his best to think of a way for him to explain what the others were clearly seeing, John felt Cali shift.

"I have to go." Cali said.

She moved. John barely had to turn his head to see her trying her best to stand. She wavered and he rose to help her, but she pushed him off.

"No, please." She told him sternly. He saw how she did her best to keep space between them, and her appearance shielded from the others. "Just… don't, John. Not right now."

He knew what she meant and whether he wanted to or not, he stepped back.

"I have to go."

No one said a thing as she quickly scurried off, probably to get as far away from her food source as possible.

John let out a sigh. His shoulders slumped alongside his head as he rested his hands on his hips. They should have been quicker. They shouldn't have wasted so much time in the Netherworld. It might have felt like a blink, but that didn't matter. He should have taken into account how screwy time was in there.

"John,"

Oliver's voice was stern and sharp, filled with a commanding tone the young man lacked the first time they'd met. Back then, Mr. Queen was unsure of himself. Clearly, a lot had happened since.

John met his gaze.

"What is she?" Technically, Oliver had asked a question, but there was a none-too-silent demand that laced his words.

John weighed his options and thought quickly about what to say before simply deciding to, more or less, forgo a true explanation.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told ya, mate."

Oliver, still bearing that strong and fierce gaze, approached the Brit. He exuded a strange sort of power, intimidating really, and John knew it must have been what Oliver's enemies were faced with on the streets.

"What is she?" He repeated.

John glanced around. Everyone was looking at him, from those who'd been there when he and Cali arrived, to Sara and her old man. Apparently, all of them had seen how she looked when she woke up. He wasn't surprised. It was hard to miss, as was John's sarcasm when he spoke.

"She had fangs, mate –fangs and glowing red eyes. What do ya think she is?"

Oliver's expression fell. "Are you telling me," His voice was entirely deadpan, as though he couldn't believe what he was about to say, "that she's a vampire?"

"Look at that," John grinned. He clapped his hand hard on Oliver's upper arm. "Not just a pretty face."

John could tell his friend didn't believe him. Why would he? Or the others, for that matter. Despite what they'd just witnessed, or experienced, believing in monsters was something else entirely.

Without any further probing, John was allowed to clean up his mess.

John wasn't one to clean things regularly. It wasn't in his personality, really. He just wasn't a housekeeper of any kind, but he felt obligated for whatever reason to mop up the sigil he'd painted on the floor. In some small part, he didn't want to leave it behind because it was still thrumming with magical energy. The quicker he could get it off the floor, the better he would feel.

When he'd finished, he dropped the mop into the bucket of dirty water. He felt a sheen of sweat gathering on the back of his neck. Not one for manual labor of any kind, he'd long-since rolled up his sleeves because he needed something to help distract him. Even though he was breathing heavily, John wanted a cigarette.

As he scratched the back of his head, wondering briefly where Cali had gone, movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He glanced over and noticed it was Sara, the blonde he'd helped the others retrieve.

"So," She said. Sara leaned against the railing and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked him over casually, as though she couldn't have been even slightly bothered about the entire ordeal. "You're a magician?"

He grinned crookedly at her. "Somethin' like that."

"There was someone else who helped you." She continued. "Where'd she go?"

John took a deep breath and glanced around. Cali was nowhere in his immediate line of sight, which didn't surprise him. She needed to feed and probably removed herself from the humans just to save her from the ache and them from possible death. He looked down at his watch and spotted the time.

"Hidin' in the shadows." He replied. It was after sunrise which meant Cali couldn't leave the building. "She ain't gonna wanna be 'round people right now."

"Right," Sara grinned a little. "Because she's a vampire."

She said the word with a level of sarcasm that caused John to cock a brow at her.

"You sound awful skeptical for a woman we just pulled out of the Netherworld." He told her before simply walking by and then away.

He went in search of Cali. Most of the others had slightly dispersed after Sara's retrieval. When the atmosphere had calmed and with their friend safe, they knew they didn't have to linger, and John was glad that he had, for the most part, been relegated to the background. It gave him a chance to look for Cali.

As he did, walking through the basement where the numerous types of weaponry were held, John was approached yet again. Oliver, his face stern as it always was, headed for him with a bag of blood in his hand. It caused John to eye him curiously. When he reached him, Oliver offered the bag.

"For Cali," he said.

"Just got blood bags hangin' 'round, hm?" He said skeptically as he took it.

"It's mine." Oliver said. That was all the explanation John needed. There was no telling how helpful it would be to have one's own blood when they were a vigilante for a living.

"Right," He muttered. "Well, thanks." Oliver nodded slightly. "I need to find 'er, first."

"She's upstairs in the VIP." Oliver said. John didn't bother hiding his confused skepticism. Oliver promptly explained. "I don't trust your friend." He said. "So Felicity checked the heat sensors I have scattered around to find her. They couldn't. Problem is, she's right there on the cameras. So, either all of my sensors have suddenly gone bad, or she doesn't give off a heat signature." John smirked a little.

"Yeah, well," He chuckled, amused by the uncertainty that Oliver was doing a decent job trying to hide. "There another way outta here? One without sunlight."

"Yeah," He nodded. "Give her that first." He pointed at the bag. "Something tells me she's a little unstable right now."

John took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You have no idea, mate."

He held the bag tightly and headed to the main floor where the decrepit club rested. Once upstairs, he gradually made his way towards the VIP section, but John wasn't stupid enough to sneak up on her, not now. Vampires were dangerous at the best of times. That danger became more and more prevalent the hungrier they got. The only thing even worse than that was a vampire influenced by magic like she was.

"Cali!" He called out as he took slow, measured steps upstairs. "I'm comin' up."

"Don't."

Her voice was hollow and soft, yet echoed through the space. It caused a very real chill to trickle down his spine and, whether he meant to or not, John paused. A few steadying breaths was about the only thing that gave him the courage to continue.

"I got something for ya to eat. Somethin' to take the edge off."

"Leave it on the stairs." She replied in that same otherworldly voice. "You shouldn't be anywhere near me right now, John. No one should, but you less so."

He continued upstairs regardless of her warning, but kept his eyes peeled. "Why's that, then?"

She growled, "You know why."

He physically shuddered. He did know, he just didn't care. John felt responsible and a deep sense of need. He needed to take care of her because she was not only his friend, but it was his fault that she was so unstable at the moment.

John was finally able to see over the top of the stairs and noticed that most of his view was blocked. Long sheets of torn and dirty plastic hung from the ceiling like ghostly curtains. Just beyond some of them, he could see posh chairs that he assumed belonged to the VIP section. In its heyday, it was likely a rather nice place to drink away your problems.

There was a shadow on one of the benches, a shadow that was vaguely human in appearance. He knew, despite being unable to see it clearly, that it was Cali. Another unsettling feeling crept through him, a feeling that screamed at him to run, but he ignored it. John was stubborn that way.

"Leave it, John." She said. "Leave it by the stairs and go. Please."

"I want to make sure yer alright first." He continued his advance.

"You've never seen me like this. I'd rather you never did."

John finally made it to the second floor. He kept his body at an angle and walked closer and closer to her. The voice in the back of his head demanding that he leave grew louder with each step.

"I'm not scared." He hoped he'd removed the tremor from his voice.

"Liar!" She suddenly shouted.

She sounded inhuman, but he had no time to dwell on it as the shadowy figure disappeared. There was a rustle of plastic, a sheet or two that waved in a soft breeze, and then nothing. She'd run off and he froze as a result. He no longer had eyes on the predator. The situation had gone from bad to so much worse.

"Cali…" He spoke softer than before, her name weighed by undeniable fear. "Where are ya, luv?"

Somewhere in the distance, John heard a soft, but persistent hiss. It sounded like a twisted, a not-quite-the-same version of air being let out of a tire. He'd heard reptiles hiss like that before, the dangerous sort of snakes that had venom capable of melting skin. And it surrounded him.

The hiss came from nowhere and everywhere all at once. It surrounded him so completely that he had no idea which direction it originated from. His blood began to run cold.

"Leave the bag and go." She growled evilly.

Finally hearing her speak, John knew where she was. His eyes slowly traveled up. And sure enough, there within the darkness of the rafters, was Cali. She was crouched low, thin fingers wrapped firmly around metal beams, and long tendrils of dark hair in her face. Through her locks, he could see slate-grey skin and those terrifying red eyes. They glowed in the shadows like an animal's.

John knew the moment he saw the monster that his friend, at least for now, was on sabbatical.

"Okay," he said softly. John was slow to move, but did. He bent at the knee and tenderly set the blood bag on the floor. "The blood's right there, luv. I'm just gonna-"

As he tried to back away, John slipped on something. His heel lost any traction and he was sent reeling. When he landed on the floor, hard, a sharp pain radiated through more than his ass. John winced and hissed. He looked at the palm he'd used to brace himself. A large chunk of glass was imbedded in the soft flesh. Grumbling to himself, he plucked it out. Almost immediately, blood began to flow.

John's heart instantly sank.

"Oh, bloody h-"

He never got the word out. A split second before he was pushed to the floor, John heard the scuttle from above. He heard Cali rush across the metal like an animal on a tin roof, and then the wind was knocked out of him.

For a moment or two, John was dazed. He coughed and grunted, and did his best to get himself straight. He wished to hell he hadn't.

What held him firmly to the floor was no longer his old friend. The beautiful, statuesque woman whom he'd admired more than once had melted away. What was left behind was the thing of nightmares.

Grey skin barely managed to stretch across the bones beneath. Eyes sockets, shades darker than normal, sunken and unsettling on their own, surrounded those eyes –eyes of pure Hellfire. Full lips curled back of sets of sharpened fans and even though he was larger than her, John couldn't move. The strength behind the creature's hold was formidably.

John was petrified. He might have gone against vampires before, but this one wore a familiar face, no matter how twisted. Worse yet, she was an Ancient.

Ordinarily, he trusted her implicitly. More than once, Cali had cleaned his wounds. She'd smelled and even tasted his blood before. But this was different. She'd been drained by the incubus sinew, left a starving husk and filled with a hunger aimed specifically towards John. She was at her most dangerous.

In a staggeringly slow pace, Cali gripped his wrist and lifted his bleeding hand. John might've fought her, but to look at them, no one would be able to tell. He might as well have fought a brick wall with how much impact he had.

"Why couldn't you leave?" she asked, her voice twisted and unnatural. She lifted his palm to her mouth. John saw her tongue dart forward a split second before she ran it over the cut. Cali's eyes drifted shut and she let out a soft coo while John fought the urge to shudder. "I asked you to leave."

"Yeah, well, you know me, luv. Never one to listen to reason." Even though he felt his heart in his throat, John struggled to hold onto his composure. He had to hope, despite knowing otherwise, that he could make her see sense. "Cali, sweetheart, maybe you should-"

Her teeth pierced the side of his hand. They glided almost effortlessly through his skin, so sharp that he hadn't felt it initially. It wasn't until she began to feed that John realized what was happening.

"Bloody hell…" He groaned through a clenched jaw.

She fed for a moment, perhaps two, until they were almost violently interrupted. An arrow sang as it brush past her and imbedded itself deep within the concrete floor. John's wide eyes turned to it. The projectile was inches from him and, to his surprise, had actually left a small cut on Cali's shoulder. He shifted until he could see Oliver standing just behind Cali with his weapon aimed. He wasn't alone, either. It looked like the whole team was on parade.

When Cali moved, it was blindingly fast. One second she was over him and the next she was behind John, her limbs wrapped around his body firmly.

"Let him go." Oliver said firmly. Despite the six people aiming all sorts of dangerous things at her, Cali's hold didn't relax.

"He's mine." She hissed. John flinched when her icy breath glided over the nape of his neck.

"Oliver, mate," John said. He fought the lump of fear in his throat. Not even the two women with knives, the two archers, and the two shooters made him feel safe. "You lot could fill her full of holes and it won't do nothin' but piss her off, alright?"

"But I'm betting it will slow her down." Oliver said firmly. His steely eyes landed on Cali once more. "Let him go."

"Just," John said sharply. He could feel the tension rise. "Let me handle this, alright?" He could see Oliver's jaw tighten, but he gave the softest of nods. None of the group wavered in their aim, however, and he didn't really expect them to. "Cali, luv," He turned just enough to see her out of the corner of his eye. "This idn't you, okay? This is just cuz of the spell. I… I took too long, darlin'. You were connected to the spell for too long, and I'm so sorry, but ya gotta focus now. Look past it."

He felt her cold nose as she nuzzled into the side of his neck. John cringed. He felt like the bug a cat had pinned beneath its paw. He knew the slightest twitch would make it attack.

"But you smell so good, Johnny boy." She cooed. If he wasn't so frightened, he'd have liked how it sounded.

"I thought you said she just needed blood and she'd be fine." Oliver said tightly.

"Ain't that simple." John confessed. "Incubus sinew not only lets me take some of her life force, but it uh…" He let out a small scoff-type laugh. "It creates a sense of desire. Ordinarily, that'd just mean a fun bit of a romp, but in this case..." John could see understanding wash over Oliver's features. "What can I say? Ladies love me."

"John," Oliver began.

John shook his head and his face turned serious. "I've got this, mate. No worries. You and yer team just head downstairs, okay?"

He could see the internal battle raging within the Arrow, but John prayed Oliver was smart enough to listen to him. There were things in the world that the Englishman was more equipped to deal with than the vigilante.

Oliver made a motion that his team understood and, thankfully, they began to step away. John didn't feel better for their departure. The only thing that helped was he knew they wouldn't die, too.

"Alright then, sweetheart." John took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Have at it."

The pain of her bite was instant. John had never been fed on before, never bitten like that. Whenever he'd offered to Cali, she was careful. A nip on his hand, a bite to the wrist, and that was all he would experience. This was something entirely different.

Seconds ticked by and Cali continued to drink. He could feel the blood being drawn out of him, feel the strength behind her, and feel his mind drifting. Everything, from his own strength, to his wits was fading.

The already darkened room began to pulse until it finally disappeared with him into unconsciousness.