He he, I'm baaack. From the dead. :3

Well, I never thought I'd say it but this will be the last installment of Fledgling. Hope you liked my story! :)

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Nathaniel and his coven sat at the large, stone table back at Zachary's manor. No one spoke about what was unfolding upstairs. The sobbing had yet to cease, as Katherine had yet to wake up. The vampire-healers could do nothing more than sew up the wounds that had to be stitched. The rest, they had said, was out of their hands. Serah, the woman from the Russian coven, had decided to stay and be with the vampires in this time of great loss. Danny stirred his mug of heated blood, not having the usual thirst. Tucker and Sam had found their way to Danny and Zachary's place of hiding, and were seated beside the vampire teen. Ciera suddenly stood and Nate did as well. When Serah was about to leave the room with Nathaniel, he motioned for her to sit back down. The pair walked outside onto a balcony that was one floor up, leaving the rest of them to wonder.

Danny, being curious, decided to sneak a peek. He looked about and told them that he was going to check on Zachary. Each of them nodded and continued looking morose. Danny crept up the stairs and slithered onto the balcony. Levitating so that his footsteps wouldn't alert Nate and Ciera, Danny made himself invisible by shrinking into a corner.

"It's not over, is it, Nate?" Ciera turned to the man while they watched the moon rise up, once more. Nathaniel shook his head and his look was very somber. Nate held the woman's hand and looked into her red eyes with a great amount of sadness and distress.

"I don' think it is, C'era." Ciera sighed and looked to her feet in something akin to slight anger and mostly stress. She shook her head and closed her eyes. She elaborated on the situation.

"We've sparked a war with the council. They're going to come any day, aren't they?" Nate didn't get to throw in a reply before Ciera continued. "They're going to come and take away everything. They might kill us and break apart Laur into a facility of their own creation. They'll brainwash her and-" Nate pushed his finger into her lips.

"C'era. Stop to rilin' yerself up. We ain't gonna stay down. We'll make it, I promise." Ciera looked at Nate with blood red tears sparkling in her eyes. Nate held her in his arms and patted her hair.

"Now come on. Less go check on Zach'ray, god knows he'll be havin' a breakdown righ' 'bout now."

Danny left the corner and sped up to Katherine's room before Nate and Ciera got there. He stood in front of the door awkwardly. There were no noises coming from the room and he got worried for Zachary's mental health. Suddenly, a large hand clasped on his shoulder and Danny turned around to see Nate standing behind him with a forlorn expression. The once-halfa teenager smiled sadly in return and pushed open the door gently.

Zachary stroked the girl's hair gently, reminiscing on their adventures together. She would no doubt be awakening soon to find that her master was by her side, as always and forever. Danny looked upon the seed with pained eyes. Katherine had made no recovery in her time in her coffin. Her cheeks were absent of their normal flush that was always present due to her ability to control fire. Her more minor lacerations hadn't even begun to heal and her silver blood was no longer oozing out of her limp body; rather, it had dried on her body. A single blood-red tear escaped out of the corner of Danny's eye. But he stopped soon because he had to be strong for Zachary. Nate sighed and put his hand on Zachary's upper back. The Irishman stooped to the younger vampire's level.

"She's… Zach'ray?" The man stopped during his sentence and looked at the other master, who had developed a twitch in his mouth.

"Why isn't she waking up, Nathaniel? She is bound to be awake soon, am I correct?" Nate spared a small glance at the young girl, who lay motionless and not healing. Nate turned away from the sight of the vampire corpse, feeling a twist in his stomach.

"Zach… She… She's gone." Ciera spoke up and put a hand on his shoulder. Zachary was silent for a moment but shook his head and chuckled.

"You almost got me, but you fail in your presentation. Now, that is the last practical joke until she wakes. I'm truly not in the mood, Ciera." Nate, Ciera, and Danny all looked at one another. Danny gulped and tried where Ciera had failed.

"Zachary… Ciera wasn't joking… Katherine's dead. She isn't healing at all." Zachary turned to Danny with rage written across his face. Eyes flashing, he gave Danny a direct order.

"Danneth, you listen to me. Katherine is not dead. Now silence." He turned to the lifeless girl that lay peacefully in her coffin, a small smile forever frozen onto her small features. Zachary scrunched up his face and tears came from his eyes.

"No…" He whispered and looked to Katherine's little form. His sad expression melted into a cold fury. Zachary reached out and his hand collided with the dead girl's face.

"WAKE UP!" He slapped her several times more and Nate watched on in horror. "WAKE UP YOU BLASTED GIRL! THIS IS AN ORDER! DO YOU HEAR ME?!" Nathaniel and Ciera finally were able to hold him back, so that he would not hit the poor girl any more. Zachary grew limp in their arms and fell to the floor, sobbing from the agony that he felt inside. Danny shook his head and retreated from the room, wiping away the tears that formed in his red eyes.

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Zachary and Danny were the sole people to stay by the grave. Nate, Ciera, and Laur had left-going back to Zachary's manor, where they would be staying with Zachary and Danny. Danny turned at the sound of footsteps and saw two familiar faces walked to him. Sam wore an elegant black dress and Tucker wore his suit and beret, which he took off when he neared the grave. Danny gave a half-hearted smile as he turned back to the grave, sullenly. Zachary had a dozen wild red roses in his hand that were shaking ever so slightly. Sam laid down a few tulips that she had gotten from the store. Zachary sighed and laid down the roses. He then placed a silky black top hat upon his head.

"Today, Danneth," Zachary looked down at Danny, "Marks the end of our dear, beloved Katherine. But it also marks a beginning. A beginning of something sinister and perhaps never-ending, for today marks the date that I started planning my revenge."

"But Tarok is dead, Zachary." Danny cut in, not sure what his master meant by his words.

"Oh yes, yes he is. But his allies, the Vampiric Council, they are not."

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Well, there you have it, my lovelings; the end of the final chapter of Fledgling. J Please review, follow, favorite, and do what you must. And one last thing… I have posted a poll on my profile and I would encourage you to check it out. J BYE~!