Okay just to let you guys know in the story we are now on Saturday, January 21st. BTW, I think I'm going to post a new chapter after every at least five or so reviews because I need to know that people are actually reading, you know? So yeah... AND REMEMBER TO READ MY AUTHOR'S NOTES! MINE ARE ACTUALLY IMPORTANT!

City lights filtered in through the cracks between black curtains. Maka's sheer red ones were underneath, and she would draw the black ones when she needed to sleep. She had difficulty sleeping the first few nights with the city lights outside, and no coffin to shut out outside light.

Maka groaned, looking at her clock. 4:30 am; she would have school in three and a half hours, three of which she could spend with precious sleep, but her body was telling her she wasn't going to get any sleep anytime soon. Even though the previous day had exhausted her, apparently the small fox she caught had been enough to restore her energy, so she didn't require sleep. That didn't mean that she didn't like it however.

She decided she might as well get out of bed and do something more productive than groan in complaint to no one in particular about this ungodly hour. Well, ungodly to most others. Before Shibusen she would still be up at this time, going to sleep around six or seven, when the sun rose. Such was the life of most vampires, although they had cozy coffins to sleep in while she slept on a fluffy bed, not that she was complaining or anything, but it felt so empty, and she preferred cozy, more compact places to sleep. Or perhaps she was going to mature into a vampire that liked to hang while they slept. She had always joked around with Blair about it, being that she had found her on more than one occasion doing so, before her coffin came through shipping.

Maka pushed the random drivel in her thoughts aside as she stood, walking to her mirror. She had forgotten she went to sleep in her vampire form, and she changed back, allowing her to see herself. She looked awful. After she had her drink, she went straight home and did her homework, then some cleaning, and then took a shower before going to bed.

She had a lot on her mind, realizing just how much her vampire life conflicted with her human one. Her thoughts wandered to her new partnership with Soul and how they would work together. They would find out later today, when they stopped by to get their extra lessons from Stein.

The next two hours were spent with Maka going through her daily routine before school. Cleansing her face, adding toner, moisturizing her skin, making her tea, brushing her teeth, deciding what to wear and putting it on, doing her hair and then even adding some mascara and eyeliner today, on top of her usual look with lip gloss, which was substituted with lipstick today.

It wasn't until 6:35, however, that she had realized she didn't have school today. It was Saturday. Still, she had gotten ready and had nothing better to do than to read a book, but she had read everything she owned already and the books store didn't open until 10 today.

She groaned at how bored she was, with all she needed taken care of done, and in all her boredom took off the little make-up she had and even threw her pajamas back on. Soul would probably want to sleep in before heading to Shibusen. There was nothing better she could think of doing at the moment, so she decided to turn on her laptop and check her inbox.

She had two new messages, one from Alucard, and another from her mother. Both were listed as important, and being that Alucard was her master, she felt more of an obligation to open his message first.

Scanning through the letter, she re-read everything, committing all the information to memory.

It read:

"You have a new assignment. I expect this to be done with nothing short of excellence as usual. This is not your average mission, details are in the briefing.

Target: Salvatore "Lucky" Luciano

Alias(es): Known to humans as Salvatore Evans.

Target affiliation: Werewolves , Dracul Bloodline of Vampires

Down-world Occupation: Werewolf King, Lord of Shadow

Relationships: Scarlet Luciano/Evans - significant other, Wesley Luciano/Evans - eldest son/only child

Current location: Verbena Manor in Paris, France

Mission start- Sunday, January 28th.

Objectives:

Leave for Paris as planned with your Spartoi group.

Agent is to speak with target. Do not kill nor threaten. Target is believed to have valuable information and perhaps seek negotiations.

Target will speak with agent on subject to later be disclosed at the manor.

You are to have a full report of the conversation sent in after your mission. Be thorough.

Notes:

Agent will most likely meet the rest of the head family as well.

While you are to be polite and respectful, be wary. Verbena Manor is named so after the genus of which vervain belongs to.

Target has requested you specifically to be the one to speak to, stay vigilant and think before you speak or act.

Dress formally. Make a good impression on them as well, you are representing not only yourself but your master.

You are going on a new moon for a reason, you are at your strongest then and they are at their weakest. However, that doesn't mean that the target and the others can't shift at will. This is the King of Werewolves, don't underestimate him."

Maka had been expecting guardian duties, being that she was still a noble blood, and still a valid member of vampire society, somehow. She scanned over the letter once more, and she found it odd how well it worked with her schedule. And how did the Were King even know about her, let alone want with her?

She then opened the email from her mother. If her mother spent time trying to communicate with her then it had to be important. She scanned over it, and when she opened it, she couldn't believe what she was reading.

She scanned over it again:

"My dearest daughter,

It has come to my attention that you are getting stronger and that you are to be turning 17 this May. In fear that I may not see you any later before your birthday, I have had a soiree planned in celebration. Only a select few will be in attendance and you needn't worry about the preparations.

As you know, it is the tradition for a fledgling to get their marks once they become a true vampire, worthy of being called a child of the night. In your case, you will grow into your full affinities at 17, and thus it is a momentous occasion, worthy of being celebrated. You will be as strong, dare I boast, even stronger than any full fledged vampire, with the exception of Master Alucard and Father. You will grow to be a fine Draculina.

As for your soiree, it is a formal ball. You are to dress as such. It will be held during your time in Paris, and you as well as your friends will be receiving letters in the mail as to the exact day. And yes, "your friends" does apply to those in your Spartoi group. I hope to meet all of them. I also hope Death The Kid is faring well and I have received word that you are in the same classes. I send him my thanks for watching over you when I can not.

As tradition dictates, you will drink some of my blood to unbind you from me, and our bond will no longer be the same. That is how you become full fledged and it has been decided that drinking from me will shatter the sire-child bond, seeing that you are my own flesh and blood. My child, I look forward to seeing you once again.

With deepest love, Mother"

Maka couldn't believe her eyes; her mother had actually planned her a party, let alone took the time to e-mail her? Of course, while she would have liked more of a heads-up on the subject, she couldn't complain. This ball would be nothing to scoff at, and at least her mother cared enough to do something for her, even if it wasn't her cup of tea.

Kami was always a strong woman, and for those she had deemed important enough to spend time with, lovely, charming, and all around sweet. Of course, Maka wasn't one of those she had found important, apparently, because Maka barely ever had conversations at length with her mother, let alone saw her.

It was 10:30, and while Maka had found some entertainment in playing Skyrim, she was once again starting to get bored. Video games were boring her, and she groaned in annoyance.

She glanced up at the clock and when she realized the time, she decided to get dressed and go to Soul's and tell him to get ready. She used her vampiric speed, happy that she would finally have someone to keep her some company, since Blair had been out all last night, and hadn't come home, which wasn't unusual. She would disappear and reappear as she pleased, and Maka was sure that she would find Blair in cat form napping on the couch's armrest later on, perhaps in the evening.

She knocked on Soul's door, and when she realized she could check on him through the bond, she found that the lazy bum was still asleep. She nudged him through the bond, her soul trying to send him a message to wake up, and his almost subconsciously replied to let him sleep in. Maka thought of her own restlessness and thought that it was perhaps Soul who kept her up last night. She hadn't been consciously thinking of the bond, but perhaps he was rubbing off on her, and his restlessness spawned her own.

She scanned up and down the hallways, finding no one else around, before walking right though the door. Since Soul was asleep and obviously oh so tired, she figured maybe her asking him to wake up would be more enticing with breakfast waiting for him. She put her hair up in a bun before going over to the kitchen. Looking in the pantry and the fridge Maka shook her head, mumbling to no one in particular. She found it ironic how she was the one who had the full stock of food that was at least decently healthy and he didn't, even though her diet half consisted of nothing within said pantry and fridge.

"This just won't do."

After bringing in some ingredients from her apartment, she stocked and reorganized the pantry and fridge. She couldn't have her weapon eating the way he did, with ramen and take out and microwave meals almost every night. She was going to make Soul a death scythe, she decided, because she owed him at least that much. It must be so weird to him, being bound to a vampire, or half-vampire anyways, but still vampire nonetheless, she thought as she stirred three eggs in a bowl.

The one good thing from Soul's constant eating of take out and microwave meals was that the little cookware he did have was spotless. It was a full set, she noted, as if he was planning on cooking meals for himself but never found the time to. No worries, she had so much time to spare she didn't mind carving out some for doing a relatively small favor like cooking a meal, he deserved it anyways. He worked long and hard on his own to get where he was, no matter how laid-back and lazy he made himself out to be.

Soul awoke to an unfamiliar smell in the air of his apartment. It took him a moment in his state of grogginess to realize that it was actually food, and for a moment he believed he had left his dinner out and it had spoiled, but this smell made his mouth water. This was the smell of fresh food. Did Tsubaki and Black*Star come over?

He sat up and took in his surroundings, no blue-haired monkey best friend in sight. Perhaps Tsubaki left him a meal? Perhaps she had thought his birthday was today, rather than next Saturday? No. Tsubaki always remembered, and even though she found it important, she and her loud mouth meister had kept it to themselves, seeing that Soul wasn't the happiest person on his birthday. They didn't know the reason why, and after a few attempt's on Black*Star's part, they let it drop. Though Tsubaki and Black*Star always made it a point to visit him in the morning on his birthday, even before he came to Shibusen.

But if it wasn't them, then who was it?

He turned his arm into a scythe blade, just in case, but before he even made it out of the hallway, a voice came from in the kitchen.

"Morning sleeping beauty. I was going to wake you up after I was done making your breakfast, but seeing as you're awake, how do you like your coffee? There's creme brulee, French vanilla, Italian sweet creme, and hazelnut creamer if you want any."

"Morning Maka..." He says, some of his British accent making itself apparent, as it often did when he was tired.

It took him a moment to process all that was going on, because right now he was working at half-speed, having just woken up. He knew that voice was Maka's but it wasn't until he saw her in the kitchen, cooking something in a frying pan, that he started to realize what was going on.

There she was, shaking the frying an a little to loosen its contents while holding a spatula in the other hand, which was leaning on her hip. She was dressed in a black and white striped tank top with a sweetheart neckline, the stripes running only about a centimeter thick. Above it was an all-lace black tee shirt, which went well with the stripes underneath. She wore black skinny jeans that ended a little above the ankles, a zipper on the side of each pant leg, going halfway up her calves, but most of the zipper save for the top were covered by her classic combat boots, with the classic criss-cross of straps they always had. The heel attachments were off today, and so they made her look just a little more bad-ass than chic, but Soul didn't care. She was there, and beautiful as always, though he wouldn't admit it, while he was there staring at her, looking like a bum clad in nothing but his boxers.

Wait, he was only in his boxers! And his best friend's girlfriend was there.

Maka chuckled to herself as Soul ran back into his room, got dressed, and ran out again. He found it odd that she was so calm about it. If she noticed, why didn't she say anything? As he walked out of the room the second time, she spoke again.

"Sorry, but I didn't think you'd be half-naked when I started cooking. You still didn't answer my question though, about your coffee." She said, her tone implicated she didn't really care that he was half-naked, but rather that she was almost acting as a mother-figure, doting over her son, making sure he got everything he needed.

"Um, there's no need -" Soul began, but Maka cut him off.

"I know, I felt like doing this. Besides, no weapon of mine is going to be eating ramen almost every morning for breakfast." She replies, flipping over what appears to be an omelet in another pan, and her motherly tone reminds him of Tsubaki, but with Maka there's a playful, joking undertone to it.

"Oh... Okay, but at least lemme make my own coffee, I don't want you to be doing everything for me." He says, still tired. She nods and tells him that the creamers on on the shelf on the door, and sure enough, there's four small bottles of creamer, completely filled, except for the creme brulee, which Soul assumes is the flavor Maka has in the mug on the counter, obviously for her since its halfway empty already.

"I hope you don't mind me coming over this morning, but I was awake really early today, so it's nice to finally have some company." Maka says, and Soul smiles, even though Maka can't see it because she's too busy focusing on the hash browns, which decide to come apart when she brings them up with the spatula, causing her to need to let them simmer a little longer until they're stable.

He knows it's not a big deal, but he somehow can't help but feel happy that of all the things she could have done, she decides to wake him up with breakfast, and from the smells wafting in the air, a damn good one too. He makes his coffee and takes a sip, still in thought. She chose to visit him rather than go visit a certain shinigami who'd undoubtedly be awake by now. She's here looking gorgeous, cooking him breakfast, which was meant to be a surprise, and he can't help but feel on top of the world. Okay maybe not that happy, but pretty damn close.

"Hey Soul?" He hums in reply, letting her know he's listening as he drinks his coffee.

"Breakfast is ready." she replies and he turns around to see her pointing to the table, with a large plate of hash browns, an omelet, and some OJ on the side.

"Oh, thank you." He walks over to the other side of one of the counters, sitting on the stool and takes a bit. His eyes widen and her cooking's got him unsure of whether he wants to just eat it all or savor the flavor.

After breakfast, Soul gets ready and they leave to get their extra lessons from Stein at 11:37am. Soul notices that Maka's wearing sunglasses with such a deep black tint that you can't see her eyes at all. Of course, it wasn't unusual, especially when the day was so bright and sunny, and so he didn't question it, not until he noticed she was biting her lower lip so hard it bled. Her canines were a little sharper than most other people's and even though her fangs weren't out, with the pressure she was applying she pierced her skin.

"Maka, what's wrong?" Soul asks cautiously. She doesn't respond and Soul asks once more, seemingly startling her.

"Oh! Nothing, just thinking about next week." Maka says, liking over the puncture wound in the lower right of her mouth. It healed, and with a last lick, all the blood is gone as well, any evidence of bleeding gone.

"The mission? It doesn't seem like that's all, you don't usually bite your lip that hard." He notes.

"I also have a guardian assignment, and..." Maka stops speaking, a wave of emotions hitting her. She's glad her mother cares enough to give her a party, but dubious to the exact purpose. Her mother never seemed to care much before, and hell, her mother walked out on her and her father when she was five. Maka only spent time with her mother when it was called for, out of necessity, not because she wanted to. She didn't want to drink her mother's blood either. That bond was the last thing she had left if her mother wherever she went. Her mother's only other gift, a red and black kimono, now held Maka's scent in place of her mother's. It was no longer a link to her mother, not like the bond was. Was her mother really that eager to be rid of her? Did Maka disgust her that much?

"And...?" Soul asks, he's wary of Maka's head, which now hangs low, almost as if in shame.

"My mother e-mailed me. She rarely ever does, at least from her private account. Usually she just has someone else write and send it, she wants to throw a ball."

"What's so bad about that? Shouldn't you be happy she's trying to be a good parent or somethin'?"

"I am, but I'm just caught a little off guard, she never really wants much to do with me, not unless it's for guardian duties or something else important, and I'm uncertain as for her motive. It's silly and I should just be grateful, I know, but it's not like her to have anything to do with me that's purely out of selflessness and kinship, not since before the divorce."

Soul opened his mouth to reply, but some music cut him off.

Singing Radiohead at the top of our lungs
With the boom box blaring as we're falling in love
Got a bottle of whatever, but it's getting us drunk
Singing, here's to never growing up

Maka picked up her phone as Soul noted the irony of her ringtone.

"Hello Uncle, Soul and I were just about to-" She stopped speaking, probably cut off by Stein. After a minute or so, she spoke again.

"Oh... Okay, and that will count as our extra lesson?...Okay, we'll get right on it. Goodbye Uncle." Maka hung up and turned to Soul.

"So what'd he say?" Soul asks.

"Instead of a mission where we were assigned a kishin egg, Lord Death wanted us to be more challenged. We couldn't do it though because we would need to travel far and don't have the time because the tickets for Paris have been reserved and cancelling now is a waste of time. It seems, however, that there's a newborn vampire on a rampage. It's held up near the forest on the other side of the city. If we eliminate it, then we don't have to do the extra lessons." Maka explains, relaying the information Stein gave her. She spoke without much sorrow, and Soul had to tilt his head at her behavior.

"Aren't you kind of sad or something, killing off your own?" He asks, but he didn't realize how harsh his words sounded until after he said them.

Maka spoke before he could apologize, and she could feel his guilt through the bond. "It's okay Soul, I know what you meant. To be honest, it's common for newborns to be going crazy like this, other than being a royal or very, very old, they're some of the most powerful of our kind. Their demon is more rampant, so it's hard to control them. It's sad to see them like that, so I consider it more like putting them out of their misery so they can die with some humanity. I've had to kill them since I was ten, it's not a big deal to me, nor to the rest of vampire society. It's just something that must be done sometimes."

Soul nodded, he figured it was so commonplace that it really wouldn't be unusual for her to not get too emotional about it, but she cried for humans losing their freedom? She was a conundrum, but he liked that about her, because she wasn't as transparent as (most of) the rest of the population of Death City.

It wasn't long to get to the other side of the city, since Maka and Soul turned to head for the nearby woods, where Soul would transform and Maka would use her vampire speed to get to the other side.

They stopped in a clearing, and Maka looked around, sniffing the air.

"He's near." Maka says in a serious tone.

"He?" Soul asks.

"Caucasian male, around 18 years of age, very strong newborn. Just killed a pregnant deer... dammit, I drink here. I think he just noticed us, he's heading this way... he'll be here in 3...2...1."

Sure enough, no more than ten feet in front of them stood a guy with pale white skin, black hair and striking blue-gray eyes. He did seem to be around 18, and he must have been around Kid's height, at 6 feet and 2 inches, an inch and a half taller than Soul in his human form.

"Hello gorgeous," He says, his blue-gray eyes turning more to an electric blue, almost sparking with sapphire. "what's a pair of humans like you doing out here, don't you know that the couple who goes to make out in the bushes always dies first?"

Maka laughs in reply, "But this isn't some slasher flick, now is it? You really must be a newborn, only your type find this life to be nothing but a joke. It's not. You think just cause you moved up the food chain that you're invincible now? Newsflash: You're far from it. In fact, you're nothing now."

The boy snarled, his lips receding far back enough to show long sharp fangs. He draws a little closer, but is still wary of the scythe which towers over her, the handle in front of her body almost protectively as the blade waits to swing down and slice his head off. "I'd watch what you're saying, because I can tell you your little scythe boyfriend there won't be able to slice me even once. He'll be even more useless when I bite into that pretty neck of yours too."

Maka giggles back in reply, finding the newborn amusingly stupid. Soul can tell she wants to change, it's what she usually did when she went out on a hunt. She holds back though, even though her inner demon says its feeding time.

"What a pity. You're cute, but you're pathetic. Low scum not worthy enough to become ashes on my boots. I feel offended I was sent to kill you." She says, watching carefully as he draws closer. She could swing Soul down now, it would surely be a quick kill, and he seems to confident that he's enchanted her, but Soul understands she wants to do things her way, and reluctantly lets her.

"You're different from the others." The unnamed newborn notes, "You smell just absolutely delicious. I'm not sure if I want to drink you... or fuck you."

The comment is crude enough to make Soul growl mentally, matching Maka's own. Soul understands when the wind picks up and the skies get darker, that she's pissed and that she's going to transform. Her soul doesn't rally change much, she just accepts the darker side of her, and Soul does too as her eyes become cat-like and her nails grow just like her hair. He notes the bats aren't around this time, and he gets a good view of how her curves grow, the fabric tugging her body almost scandalously tight, one cup size up and her shirt would rip a little for sure. She's taller, no longer 5 feet 5.5 inches like before, but rather 5' 8". Of course, she's older looking and hot and stuff, so the newborn is caught off guard.

The newborn's eyes widen, and he whistles appreciatively. "So you're a vampire too, go figure. I wonder just how you did that, and what are you doing playing around with humans? Oh, let me guess, he's your little familiar pet."

Maka giggles in reply, "I wonder who your master is, because they obviously must not care enough if they haven't taught you anything. This is my hunting ground... Death. City. is. mine. And I'm a noble blood, but I'm not just a vampire."

He chuckles in response, "Feisty, I like that. I can tell you're not just a vampire, mi'lady, you're strong as well. It's in the ominous peace that hangs in the air. You must be an old blood."

"Wrong." She says, taking a step forward, licking her lips as they pull back into a devilish smile. "I'm not any vampire, and I'm definitely not an old blood... I'm a hybrid."

The moment she finishes her sentence the guy steps back, his stance faltering as his knees shake a little in fear. All of a sudden, the vampire runs away, and Maka gives chase. She's thrilled by the feeling, and Soul knows its because of her instincts, but it still worries him a bit.

They land in a clearing deeper in the woods, and Maka tries to slice him, only for Soul's blade to get lodged into the vampire's hand. He hisses, and with his other hand he grabs the blade, slicing his hand as he pushes the away from him, Maka sliding back from the force.

She uses Soul to try and slash at him, and she gives him superficial wounds as he barely dodges, each healing before the next one comes along to mar his skin. She's slashed at his sleeves, causing the sun to bother his skin. It doesn't burn in fire though, because the sky had become a dull gray as Maka transformed earlier, the weather bending to her will. She didn't much care for excessive daylight, and so she used some of her vampire powers to make conditions favorable, albeit for both her and the newborn.

He has some weapons on him and flings daggers in her direction, using Soul to block them all.

"Maka, heads up!" Soul warns, and she dodges the guy's attacks, as he is seriously crazy enough to try her in hand-to-hand, or in this case, hand to scythe. He slices his arm almost entirely off while he punches her in the face. She's knocked back some from the force, and it takes him some to to regenerate, his arm still dangling off his body.

He's quite strong, and even stronger than most newborns, she realizes, as she spots tribal looking tattoos up and down his arms.

"So you used to be a hunter? I wonder why you haven't killed yourself, isn't being a vampire the equivalent of an angel becoming a demon to you guys?" She asks, partially joking, but there's an undertone of seriousness.

"I wanted to have one of my brethren to do it, but- I... killed them... I could ask the same thing about you, grigori. I'd think someone like yourself would be even more hunted than any others of your kind. You don't belong to heaven or hell."

Maka smiles back, "For your information, I don't give a shit, because I'm not the one dying today."

Soul smirks at Maka's cool comment, but the ground beneath them rumbles at spikes come out, impaling Maka from all sides. They recede and Maka collapses to her knees before regenerating her body, even her clothes' threads come back together as light surrounds her body for a few moments. The vampire's eyes widen as he runs away again, Maka giving chase again and dodging spike that come from the ground.

"So he controls the Earth. Interesting. Soul, I lost a lot of blood and energy healing, so we need to make this quick. Newborns are hard to kill, and the fact that he was a hunter before he was reborn means he's especially so, he's probably only a three days old is is making spikes appear out of the ground." Maka says to Soul, catching up to the newborn.

The vampire leaps from branch to branch and pulls out something from one of his pockets. It's a vial filled with some sort of powder, as Maka and Soul discover from it encircling them as she leapt into the air after the younger vampire. A second later, Maka shrieks in pain and she slips on a branch, landing hard on the ground. Her skin sounds like it's sizzling, and it makes Soul want to throw up with how much of her pain he can feel through the bond.

She runs to the river and drops Soul near the bank, diving in. There's red and black liquid mixing in with the water where she had jumped in.

He changes back and freaks out. "MAKA! MAKA!"

The vampire comes back, but doesn't get too close to Soul, he just wants to play with his food first.

"Ha, that's all it took to harm the bitch? Angel of Death my ass, all bark and no bite." he says laughing, but soon enough Maka comes out of the water, her face contorted into nothing but venom in her glare and fury all over. Her pigtails droop with the sheer weight of her soaked hair, and her clothes cling to her body in a scandalous way.

There's something different about her, and Soul realizes that she's not toying around as she had earlier. Her eyes glow so brightly it's almost as if there's lights behind them, but the younger vampire, older guy, doesn't notice as he continues to laugh. Something in her very soul shifts, and Soul's not so sure what's wrong.

Something black with a red tint bursts out her back, running as a vertical mass behind her before it flattens out and the bottom tips lift behind her. The newborn stares in awe, too shocked to move. It isn't until it completely forms behind her does Soul realize it's a pair of wings. Black wings.

They're quite large, and he's certain they'd be easily able to encompass her body if she wrapped them around her, each top arching a foot or so above the top of her head. They no longer have any red tint to them, now an endless void of black. Feathers glisten in the sunlight from the opening from trees around the river, and drops of water shake off as they flap once, not lifting her as it is a light flutter.

The tops of her wings look especially demonic, with ebony colored curving spikes, almost like claws. Her wings have almost a glitter to them, but not in a fake sense of the term, sparkling as it diamonds were crushed into a fine powder and sprinkled on them. She is beautiful and terrifying: a corrupted angel.

She trudges out of the water, a Cheshire grin growing on her face. Through the link, Soul can feel a dark sort of madness bubble up in her, and he thinks her demon has come out to play.

His suspicions are proven correct when she says, "Vervain? Such a dirty trick, but I suppose I should have known a former hunter like yourself would run away from your master, let alone carry vervain. But never mind that, let's play a little game! I'll count to ten, and you better run, because if I catch you, you're dead."

Maka starts counting, "1...2...3"

The vampire just stands there, before shaking his head, turning and running away.

"4...5...6..."

"Maka, you're letting him get away!" Soul shouts, but when Maka turns to him, he gulps audibly, scared of what she might do to him.

She giggles, and he finds it odd how she's in the throws of madness, yet somehow able to fully comprehend everything, and not kill him.

"Don't worry Soul. I don't bite, much." She laughs again and touches his cheek in a comforting fashion, rubbing her index finger up and down as her palm rests on his face.

"You really need to put more faith in your meister, you know that?" She turns his head back to where the vampire had run.

"10." And all of a sudden, an inky black swirl appears in the air no more than six feet away, and drops the vampire from earlier. He lands on his ass, and Maka giggles once again.

"You would have been better using the vervain on yourself." She says, pinning the newborn to a nearby tree trunk.

Soul stands back with morbid fascination, wondering exactly what will happen when she kills it. The vampire struggles against her grip, but she tightens it, and she stares into the guys eyes.

"Calm down or so help me I will make this the most painful death you can ever imagine." She growls before she turns to Soul, her voice calming.

"Don't worry. The Maka you know is still awake. Now come to me, Soul. I need you so we can finish this pathetic creature." Maka says, confusing Soul even further, but somehow he felt safe as he walked along over to Maka, taking her outstretched hand and transforming into a scythe. They resonated only slightly, but he could feel her madness, her inner demon was very much in control, but it wasn't entirely so.

Now he know what it... they... she meant by the Maka he knows is still awake. That creature, the one holding him to the neck of the vampire, wasn't Maka, it was her inner demon. Notwithstanding, the real Maka was pulling the strings, setting guidelines.

"Sorry, tutz, but your little scythe friend there won't be able to kill me." The vampire says chuckling.

Both sides of Maka and Soul know that in fact he could, and do Maka keeps silent, except for a chuckle of superiority in reply.

She asks for a soul resonance with him, and Soul finds himself saying yes, but not really sure why. He believes her madness is rubbing off on him, and he can feel the power between them build as they resonate. There's a surge of new energy, and Soul can feel something overtake his senses. It's not madness. Was it Maka's vampire form imposing on his soul or something? It was like he felt everything she was feeling. The thrill of the hunt, the want to chase something down and kill it; everything. She lets go of the newborn for him to run away, but she's in front of him in a flash and brings Soul down.

He's decapitated quickly with some sort of perversion of what he assumes would be genie hunter, the newborn is. Soul's blade is much like the black blood before it formed into Maka's... her wings, like a raggedy mass of liquid, but frozen in place and he's jagged. It's cool and creepy all at once.

The head rolls off and black and red blood violently spurts everywhere for a few moments before the body turns to ash, the blood that had gotten on Soul and Maka now gone and replaced with a little gray stain here and there.

For both weapon and meister, it all fades to black as they feel the ground beneath them give way, and they fall.

Soul found himself in a black and white room, or at least the floors were checkered so. He wasn't sure whether the walls were black or the red curtains were all hanging with some mysterious power.

He finds himself sitting in a throne-like chair, another to his left, with a small table between them. There's a piano in the far left corner. On the table sits a bottle of wine, and three glasses around it. On the piano's right is another table, with a record player much like the one in his own room.

"Where the hell is this place?" Soul mutters to himself.

"Why it's your soul, my boy." Soul looks to the direction of the voice to find a little red demon striding froward from the record player, smooth jazz now playing as he snaps his fingers off-beat to the music.

Soul merely looks at the demon in confusion, his brows knit together.

"What, you never seen a demon before? Well I suggest you get used to it." The little ogre says.

"What are you talking about? Are you Maka's inner demon? What the fuck do you want with me?" He spits out venemously, and the demon holds up two hands defensively.

"Now, now Soul my boy. I mean no harm, in fact, I'm here to help. And I'm not Maka's demon, thank hell." The demon replies calmly, trying to soothe him, which only irritates Soul more. After a moment of silence, the demon speaks again.

"I'm actually your demon. Or rightfully your inner demon. You, my friend, had black blood ever since the day you were born." The demon responds.

"What are you talking about you little ogre? Medusa infected me with black blood, I wasn't born with any. And if you're my demon then why haven't I seen you before?" The demon grows irritated.

"Shit. I don't have much time to tell you everything, they're going to wake you two up. I really am your demon, though. You might not realize it, but your meister will soon enough."

He jolts awake to find Black*Star standing above him, with Tsubaki next to him.

"BRO! WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO YOU TWO?! WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO FIND YOU GUYS FOR THE PAST FIVE HOURS! THE GREAT ME THOUGHT HE ALMOST LOST TWO FOLLOWERS!"

Soul blinks in confusion as he sits up unsure of what to say in reply.

"Hey you guys, Soul's awake!" Tsubaki says, and a few feet over to his right he sees Kid holding Maka. She looks asleep in his arms, and he's hurt that Maka's cuddling her boyfriend instead of worrying about her weapon partner.

A rustling of leaves is heard as a large black wolf runs out, slowing down and standing still a good fifteen feet red eyes are piercing in the twilight sun, and after they warily watch each person for a moment, they stay fixated on Maka. It doesn't move from it's spot, and goes so far as to turn around a few moments before laying down. Everyone except Kid and Maka eyes the wolf warily.

Liz and Patty rush over to Soul, deciding that no over-glorified dog is getting in the way of helping their friend out.

"Thank shinigami at least you're okay! What happened out here?" Liz asks, and Soul's eyes widen at the implications of her statement.

He looks over to Kid, who had not moved from holding Maka bridal-ish style as he kneeled on the ground, not caring if his pants got dirty. Kid looks back at him, shifting so Maka's more comfortably held in his arms. In the process her head falls to the side, and it's not until Kid re positions her head in his arms that Soul goes wide-eyed and stumbles over to Maka, ignoring the screaming of every muscle and joint in his body that tells him not to move any more.

He makes it over to the pair, and Kid gives him a weak, forced smile. He's in pain, Maka has no injuries anymore, yet she's not waking up. It's everything he can do it his power not to cry and blubber about like a baby.

Soul can now hear what Kid's been saying to Maka for the past hour or so, cradling Maka gently. He's been asking her to 'come back' and keeps listing off reasons to do so, like it makes a difference and she can hear him. He just keeps speaking to her about what Soul assumes he holds as his dearest memories. He keeps on rambling because there' nothing else he can do.

Kid hates it, he's a Shinigami and he can't do shit to help his own girlfriend. Her soul is staying in her body, but it's almost like it's asleep. It's perfectly still, inactive as far as he knows; he isn't as gifted in seeing souls as Maka is.

"Maka, come on... We need you, wake up... Liz needs someone to annoy and call a doll, and someone who she goes to for girl advice... I know she does, so open your eyes. Wake up because Patty needs that second older sister to draw giraffes with her and spar with her because no one else is crazy enough to do it alone. Please open your eyes! Black*Star needs his 'little sister' who Maka-chops him when even Tsubaki can't handle him, and the one person who picks him up and brings him home when he's drunk at three in the morning, even though we all know he makes his way back home on his own somehow... Please wake up, you don't even have to open your eyes, just let me hear your voice. Come on, Maka. Tsubaki needs that friend she can speak to in perfect Japanese and cry with when watching The Vow, even though you've both seen it before. Soul needs a meister, and he needs someone to Maka-chop him when he's out of line and help him be less introverted. I've never seen him talk as much as he has since you came around, and Black*Star sometimes tries to stay out of trouble more, Liz and Patty are less violent believe it or not, and Tsubaki is more vocal. You've done so much, so please wake up because you've changed us all and you can't undo it. Wake up because I haven't seen us as this much of a family before you. I need you, Maka. I need you because even when Liz and Patty can't handle me, you still can. Wake up already because I need you, because I haven't needed anyone this much before you. You're the person that I'm supposed to get along with even hundreds of years from now, when everyone's gone we were going to have each other to lean on. You made that promise with me when we were little, and now you're just going to break it? Please Maka! Wake up and say something! I know your soul's still in there, so it's not funny anymore. Just wake up and open your eyes, laugh at how stupid I'm being 'cause I'm a shinigami who's crying. Yell at me because when I held you I still fixed your hair symmetrically, when I shouldn't care because your perfect the way you are."

The wolf howls, and a mass of shadows forms next to it. Out steps Alucard, smirking as he pets the wolf.

"Thank you Achilles, go home." He commands, stepping forward, and walking towards Kid and Maka.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Black*Star asks, and Liz hits him upside the head.

"You idiot! That's Alucard Van Hellsing. Number five on Glam Mag's top fifty most eligible bachelors list, heir to arguably the most powerful and influential family in all of Europe, and probably one of the sexiest men I have ever seen." Liz starts ranting dreamily.

"You'll have to forgive her, she gets a little... like this, sometimes." Tsubaki says, careful not to say anyone's name in the presence of a stranger, and someone who was obviously a vampire.

Patty looks from Alucard to Maka and back again. She's the first of everyone who hasn't seen him to connect the dots. It's at this moment Patty surprises her friends with her new-found maturity.

"Is there anything you can do for Maka?" Is the first thing she blurts out, and everyone looks at her like she's just sold her soul to the devil.

He chuckles in response. "Observant, aren't we? While I do not enjoy watching any of my own suffer, I must admit I was quite amused at how a reaper was brought to his knees not because he was bested in battle, but rather by a vampire who is merely sleeping." Alucard says, his Romanian accent causing Liz to swoon. He smiles as he tries to hold back laughter, two sharp sets of fangs showing.

Kid's head snaps up, his Amber eyes meeting Alucard's fierce red. "What do you mean, sleeping?"

Alucard barks out a laugh, unable to help himself at how the young shinigami was about to cry. "I must say I take personal offense to your confusion. The young lady you hold in your arms is a member of the Dracul bloodline; she is a dragon, one of my own blood! That very same young lady could laugh as she swims in holy water! All she needs is blood, and I was actually hoping one of you would realize within the past hour and twenty minutes. It seems however, that you all are either completely dense or completely profound, having realized she would perhaps have killed you if any of you tried feeding her before any of you could speak of such an idea."

Everyone looks to each other, worried by the stranger's words. They may know who he is, and what he is, but they still don't know much about him, and remain wary of his every move just the same.

He walks over to Kid, but Black*Star gets in the way. "How do we know you're not here to kill her off?"

"I enjoy you humans, the group of you amuse me. You remain loyal to her, and you all do so even after you discover she is more monster than man... woman." He corrects himself.

"I am appreciative that you do so, and you have my thanks. However, if I wanted her dead, we wouldn't be having this conversation." He says, staring straight into Black*Star's eyes.

Black*Star turns around and walks to Kid's side, looking down at Maka's limp form. He looks back at Alucard, and the latter seems to understand that the ninja assassin understands that he means no harm.

He approaches towards Maka, and Soul, who's at his meister's side, feels a growl build up in his throat. His stifles it as Alucard approaches, but it's all he can do not to slice the guy in half as Kid reluctantly passes Maka over, her form how cradled in Alucard's arms. He turns to Soul.

"You are a loyal dog, aren't you? Celebrate the fact that you were not severely injured and bleeding, or she would have drank you dry." Alucard says, before looking down at Maka and speaking once more.

"Wake up now, my pet. Your master calls." He coos, biting into his wrist and bringing the bleeding wound to her lips.

Maka's eyes snap open to a cat-like electric lime. She sits up more, and bites into Alucard's wrist. Maka's hands reach up to either side of his wrist, and her elongated nails almost puncture his skin, but she tries not to. Her restraint only goes that far as her fangs sink just a little deeper.

It's obvious to Alucard that she hasn't been taking proper care of herself. She went from hunting and drinking blood of kishen to things so weak as animals, and it was taking a toll on her body. She would be exerting more energy than she had stored up on missions if she just fed on animals. It wasn't as bad as not feeding for days, but it wasn't something to be proud of either. Maka's drinking had slowed a bit, and Alucard had felt she'd taken enough blood.

"Stai." Alucard says, and Maka blinks for a moment and retracts her fangs the next. Her eyes turn to her more normal shade of green, though she is still in full form. He holds her frame with one arm now, bringing up his wrist to lick it, effectively healing the wounds, while gently letting Maka down.

Maka kneels, one knee on the floor, the right against her chest, and her right hand in a fist against the floor with the other behind her back.

"Lord Alu-"

"Don't thank me. Consider it a return favor. Now stand." He replies, cutting her off. She complies silently.

"You should be taking care of yourself more. You are a guardian, as such you are expected to perform like one. Personally, I don't care much for you collapsing like that, but I won't mention it to any of the others. You handled yourself well enough to refrain from making any of them a snack, so punishment won't be necessary." He says, surprising her.

She brings his hand up to her forehead as she bows. She tries to stop herself from trembling, barely suceeding at hiding her worries. She knows she need not fear him, but it doesn't stop her from feeling the sheer power of his old soul, nor the darkness that lies within, and certainly no the disdain he silently holds for her friends, and perhaps even herself.

"Thank you, My Lord."

Everyone sends Kid and Maka questioning looks as Maka stands up. Alucard merely ruffles her hair, and in his opinion, being courteous enough to not toy with Maka right in front of Kid. Maka would have no choice if it came down to it, but he wouldn't do that, no. Alucard would bide his time and strike when it was least noticeable.

While he enjoyed the more direct forms of combat, Maka's affection was more valuable to him than the glory of head-on battle. It would get him nowhere in the end, not even close. He would need to be sneaky about it, and so he would bid his time.

He turned around and portaled through shadows, leaving Maka to let out a sigh of relief, even though she hadn't realized she was holding her breath at all.

SINCE WHEN DID SOUL HAVE AN ACCENT?! Yeah I know, but re-read chapter 4 very carefully. I remember I gave him an accent but I completely forgot about it until now... hehe don't kill me.

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