In Plain Sight

Winter frowned as the pilot began prepping the plane for takeoff. 

Mercury had shown up around the same time they had and promptly fallen asleep in a seemingly random seat as had the others. 

To be fair they were worried over Miss Rose’s abduction and merely trying to make sure they were ready to assist her when the time came. 

Winter was worried as well, but part of her was worried for the vampire she was leaving behind. Her mother would have words for it she was sure, but even though Cinder was strong, monstrously so, she worried. 

How long until whatever it was the other supernaturals was feeling spilled over and brought the club into conflict? Would sheer numbers overwhelm her, would she be forced to reveal who and what she was? 

She closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. They were going to attempt to find and rescue Weiss and Velvet’s missing girlfriend so she’d do her best to focus on that. 

She allowed herself to send Cinder the update that they were about to take off, and then put her phone away. 

She turned to the bag and sorted through it. Holy water, silver bullets, a silver knife, and first aid kit with a few extras inside. At least she had the basics along with a pack of matches and a lighter.  

They had no idea what was waiting for them so it would have to do. Hopefully it was merely younger vampires hoping to lure the hunters into a trap. 

If that was the case then Miss Rose would likely be fine as dead bait would ruin the trap. They’d want to keep her alive to entice hunters into trying to rescue her. 

She used her phone to see if she could look up anything about the monastery they were going to. 

She frowned at it. It seemed familiar although she couldn’t say why only that it was. Still best be prepared and forewarned was forearmed after all. 

She continued reading even as the plane ascended into the sky. 

Willow eyed the sleeping waif on her couch with a discerning eye. It was strange. 

She was so sure she’d glimpsed her before in her vision and yet everything she’d seen of her said she was a completely unremarkable human. 

Pretty? Sure, with lovely eyes, and a kind disposition which made it easier to see why Weiss might be interested in her, but nothing else besides that. 

And yet she knew her visions were correct. What part would she play in things? 

As Ruby gently breathed in and out before shuddering and turning on her side Willow saw a small bit of blood escape her impromptu gauze wrapping. 

Why did she feel no desire to consume it? 

She frowned and gently leaned forward intent on seeing what, if anything, was so special about it. The voices that were starting to come back whispered something almost indistinct that she couldn’t make out. 

She reached her hand toward the sleeping girl’s face…

Watts dropped the desiccated husk of the leader of a band of hunters to the floor and waved for his staff to clean it up. 

Another family band taken care of, and another boost, albeit small, to his already impressive pool of strength. Every little bit counted when facing the potential unknown. 

He wasn’t fool enough to think he could displace Caine had he even, or still lived, but he was reasonably sure of his own strength. 

The attacks to split their focus, his other plans and countermeasures he created would be sufficient enough to ensure he was victorious when the inevitable fight came. 

He walked into his lab and removed the now deceased family from the list. Only a few left. Hopefully these wouldn’t try to break in and ruin his windows. Replacing them and cleaning the upstairs after each family attempted to ‘put an end to him’ was growing tiresome. 

He raised a brow at Tyrian’s message. So he had yet to kill all of them? Interesting, but accounted for. Perhaps it would happen at a later stage. 

He had yet to receive anything from the men he’d sent to wipe out the Malachite's beyond a message that they’d arrived and were about to begin. 

Hopefully he’d get a response soon so he could shift the forces to more pressing matters. 

He’d been patient for nearly a thousand years, what was a few more hours in the face of that?

Neo growled silently in her mind as the hidden silver blade in her parasol pierced the head of a hapless goon. She used her advanced strength to pull the blade through the top of their skull, instantly killing them and ignoring them as they began to turn to dust. 

She had no idea why they were here but she supposed it didn’t matter. All that mattered was they were and the other bodies of the servants she’d known were littering the area meaning they were enemies to be dealt with. 

Her world erupted in pain as a great burst of sunlight caught her and she let out a silent scream as she attempted to open her parasol for some, any protection from the pain. 

After a few moments the light cut off. Neo opened one eye weekly to see the vampire held in place. 

Penny was behind them looking highly cross, her arms in motion as various tendrils sprouted from her arms and latched onto various limbs pulling each taut. With a seemingly negligent motion from her hands each limb including the head was torn asunder splattering gore all across the flooring. 

“Friend Neo are you unvanquished?” Penny asked as she walked over. 

Neo flashed her a thumbs up. The attack had been painful but there probably wouldn’t be any lasting damage. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she felt a swell of energy flow into her. 

She opened her eyes and glared at Penny seeing her bleeding wrist in front of her. 

“It’s quite alright. I am more than fine, and your health is very important to me!” Penny said so sincerely that Neo looked away in annoyance as she fought down a small flush before she accepted Penny’s hand up. 

“We have company,” Penny whispered as the doors above them opened and a company of vampires or some other supernaturals entered the room and aimed more of those sun reflectors at them from on top of a railing.

“Well, well lookie what we have here. She’s in the files boys. Looks like we’ll be getting one of our targets after all,” an unnamed man said before a woman, likely the one in charge slapped him on the back of the head. 

“Shut up. You always talk too much.” 

Neo sneered and pointed her umbrella at them before she mimed slitting their throats only for the woman to laugh once more.

“Sorry love we ain't letting you get close. Got a special present for ya, and maybe we’ll take your friend back home as a reward. Don’t get to see a Tzimisce in the wild that often, and without clan protections. Be a mighty fine prize.”

Neo stepped forward before Penny put out a hand to stop her. 

“Smart. You see you move a muscle, either of you, and the ten of us turn those little sun guns on you both, and let’s just say neither of you strike me as the type to last long in that much sunlight,” the woman said with a sharp smile that was all teeth. 

“Anything to say? Or you want to surrender now and spare us the bother?” 

Neo glared as Penny looked around slowly at all ten individuals and stepped forward slowly raising her hands high into the air. 

“Like I said, smart choice.”

Neo glared at Penny who merely turned around to smile at her brightly. 

That was when chaos erupted in the room as several tendrils drilled through the railing and right through the vampires, or their sun reflectors. 

Several of the ones who were lucky enough to have avoided the surprise attack hurriedly aimed at the tendrils as they began to wither and turn to ash causing Penny to flinch from the pain of being partially disintegrated. 

Neo’s eyes widened at the destruction before she saw the woman take aim at Penny who was too busy trying to deal with the feedback and distracting the others. 

Neo’s parasol spun open as she interposed herself between the now bright beam of concentrated light and Penny. 

She grit her teeth as she slowly forced Penny backward so the light could only come from one direction as the survivors added their light to the leader’s own. 

Unlike Penny she wouldn’t be killed instantly by the light. It just hurt like a bitch as she began rotting from the inside. 

Even with Penny’s excellent chi and the parasol she estimated she couldn’t last longer than a few minutes at this rate. The beams were that strongly concentrated. 

Of course Penny would likely be killed near instantly as her tentacles she’d created could attest to so it was her best option. 

Damn it. She couldn’t summon her smoke clones like this with so much concentrated light on her. 

She felt herself picked up bodily. 

“Hold tight friend,” Penny whispered as she leapt with a great push off the flooring through a set of open doors and out of line of sight from the reflectors. 

Not wasting any time Neo instantly summoned a pair of clones and had them go stall and hopefully confuse their pursuers as Penny collapsed to the floor, her skin red and bleeding from the very short burst of concentrated sun. 

Neo gently picked her friend up and began running as she frowned. Her first instincts were merely to run outside the same way she’d come in but if they were at least moderately competent that’s where they’d go or they might have rear guards posted who had allowed them in but would cut off their retreat. 

Damn her bosses were irritating about having no entrances either, except…ugh. The back way it was. She’d need to double back though. 

She mentally ran through the layout in her head. A cat and mouse game then. With those mobile sun guns or whatever she was going to have to play this very carefully. 

She frowned as she gently chose a door a moderate distance from the room she’d need to double back to. 

Assuming there were at least the ten she’d seen, or rather seven since she’d seen Penny’s little show get three of them, plus whoever else might be wandering around. 

Damn it. If she were alone it would be much easier. She could easily leave her behind too…

A single glance at the wincing vampire on the ground took that idea from her mind. She was her…friend if such a thing were possible for Neo, and had done her best to save Neo’s life so she owed it to her for that at the very least. 

She closed her eyes and listened. She only had the vaguest of impressions on what her clones had accomplished. They’d already been dispelled though so the woman was likely pissed. 

Like it was her fault Caine had given the woman such a disgusting face. 

She heard a few footsteps coming down the hallway and wondered if the risk was worth it as she looked at Penny. If they saw her then maybe she could surprise them? 

But would they merely not take the chance again? She only had moments to make the choice. 

Neo signed an apology Penny couldn’t see before she gently rearranged her body. Hopefully she’d forgive her when she came to even if she never saw Neo again. 

Weiss was jolted awake by an alarm. Without thinking about it she reached over to turn it off on instinct only to be beaten to it. 

Why was her head so jumbled? She yawned and tried to move only to realize she was being held in place by a set of arms. She looked over her back and saw Ruby gently sleeping, her chest rhythmically going up and down in time with her breathing. 

Something in Weiss’s chest sang for joy at this, but she wasn’t sure why. This was normal wasn’t it? There was something missing? 

She turned around and found her vision obstructed by brown hair. Velvet. So no one was missing. 

She smiled as she stroked the ears and found them soft to the touch save a small bit of scarring on one of them she couldn’t quite remember where it had come from. 

Velvet’s ear gently twitched and flicked so Weiss ran her hand over it until she felt another hand join her. 

“Morning wife,” Ruby teased as she laid a quick kiss that stole Weiss’s breath and pulled back just as quickly. 

“Ruby?”

“Yeah?” Ruby asked as she stretched and rolled out of bed revealing she wasn’t wearing any clothing before opening the closet to look for something to wear before she shivered suddenly and glared at the air conditioner as she rubbed her hands up and down her pristine arms. 

“I…I’m forgetting something,” Weiss admitted, unable to think of what it was. It was important though. 

“Not surprised. You came in late last night from a hunt with Velvet. She’s lucky she doesn’t work today,” Ruby said as she selected a casual outfit perfect for lounging around one’s home. 

“A hunt?” Weiss asked as she extracted herself from Velvet and sat up in bed pulling the covers over her bare chest. 

“Are you sure you’re feeling alright? You said it was an easy hunt but did it knock you around or give you a concussion or something?” Ruby asked as she walked over with a worried frown on her face as she looked Weiss up and down. 

“Maybe she can just stay in bed or lounge around with us today?” Velvet said slyly now clearly awake as she sat up not bothering to cover herself making Weiss blush. 

“Feeling shy today?” Ruby asked in a teasing tone as she sat back down on the bed and began checking Weiss’s head for bumps or bruising she might have missed earlier. 

“I say we keep her here for the day,” Velvet said conspiratorially, draping herself across Weiss’s back. 

Weiss flushed as she felt the bare skin from Velvet press into her. 

This was wonderful, but what was, why was this happening? This wasn’t right was it? 

“What’s wrong Weiss? Did that mummy actually hit you harder than what you told me?” Ruby asked. 

“I…mummy?” 

“Mhmm. Beckett asked us for a favor. Said he wanted to explore some crypt that was guarded by a troublesome and territorial mummy and didn’t want to deal with it himself when he could be researching. 

You agreed to go so you could get more practice dealing with things that weren’t vampires. Velvet went with you while I was at work,” Ruby explained as she looked at Weiss. 

“Are you feeling alright?” Velvet asked as she grabbed one of Weiss’s hands. 

“I…no. I don’t think I am.”

“Let’s hope you didn’t pick up some ailment from the time of ancient Mistralians then,” Ruby said as she removed her hands from Weiss’s head.

“I’ll go make you both some breakfast. Take care of wifey for me, would you Velvet?” Ruby asked as Velvet gave a pained salute and Ruby left the room. 

“Weiss?” 

“Velvet.”

“This is…wrong isn’t it?” 

“I…don’t know why, but this is off somehow isn’t it?” Weiss asked. 

“It is. I thought it was just me, but it’s you too right? Ruby seems to not notice anything, but I…my head hurts,” Velvet said as Weiss grabbed her in a hug. 

“You were being a bit bold earlier,” Weiss said. 

“I thought it was a dream and didn’t see any reason not to go along with it,” Velvet admitted with a red face. 

“What are we missing?” 

“I don’t know…but at least you’re here with me right?” Velvet asked as Weiss tenderly kissed her forehead. 

“Now and forever. We’ll do our best to figure out what we’re forgetting, together with Ruby.”

As Willow’s hand neared Ruby’s forehead the girl sneezed and jolted awake. 

“Uh hi?” Ruby offered as she blinked at Willow who gently retracted her hand. “Did you need something?” Ruby asked tiredly. 

Willow pursed her lips a moment before nodding to the table. 

“Before that I was thinking,” Ruby started, “you mentioned three eyes, and revealing themselves to friends and family. That sounded important. Do you have any ideas on what that means?” 

“No. I have wracked my brain but can’t come up with anything,” Willow said, gritting her teeth at the annoying voices creeping back in. 

“I had a thought if you cared to hear it,” Ruby offered, sounding clinical which Willow appreciated at the moment as she nodded. 

“So people with three eyes would probably be pretty obvious but in a lot of stories a third eye usually involves portents of the future, or seer abilities. Could it be talking about yourself?” Ruby asked Willow’s eye went wide, having never considered that. So shocking was the thought that even the voices that were creeping back in fell silent for a moment. 

“Plus it said they needed to reveal themselves implying they’d been hiding or something, and I mean that’s basically what you’ve been doing right? Hiding here?”

“I…suppose I have,” Willow admitted as she leaned back in her chair in thought, the voices chattering excitedly. She couldn’t make out what they were saying just yet but she knew they were mocking her, although for what reason she didn’t know, likely about her self imposed solitude. 

“I mean Winter is kinda dating a vampire so you know they’re not gonna mind if you are one right?” Ruby asked softly as she grabbed one of Willow’s hands and gave a gentle squeeze. 

Willow chuckled. “And Weiss is dating yourself and Miss Scarlatina who was a, were-rabbit you said?” 

“You got it! She’s super sweet too!” Ruby cheered. 

“Perhaps I should see them, or at least send them a message. Unfortunately, the same measures that keep me safe inside here also keep me from leaving and harming others. I learned early on what a danger I was to others.”

“I mean could I get out and tell them, or disable your system for you?” Ruby asked. 

“Doubtful. Other than the one who brought you in here, only a few know the location, which doesn’t even go into all the wards, and protections put in place.”

“Uh, so how was I gonna get out?” 

“I might have made a slight miscalculation,” Willow admitted, turning pink as she looked away. 

“Oh,” Ruby said, realizing she was locked in a bunker or something with a vampire who admitted she’d locked herself away to protect humans.

That was less than great. 

“Do you mind if I try anyway?” Ruby asked as Willow gestured for her to go ahead and got up to show her to the exit. 

After a minute of walking they came to what was clearly a small hallway leading to the main part of the entrance. 

“I can’t go any closer. The wards don’t allow it without becoming painful. Your…captor could only do so since she was invited in. Any sort of supernatural should be repelled,” Willow said as she motioned down the hall. 

Ruby blinked and looked at what appeared to be a normal hallway to her and began walking down it eager to see what was keeping her locked up. 

There were some interesting symbols and talismans and various knickknacks but it seemed mostly normal to her. 

Best to keep going. She looked briefly over her shoulder at Willow who merely watched placidly. 

She waved and continued on for the time being…

“Hazel will be the only real threat of note,” Tyrian said, tapping the building blueprints he’d gotten from somewhere, or someone perhaps. 

“What about her sponsor or whatever?” Cardin asked, well aware of Hazel’s physical might, which is why he’d emulated the Schnee bitch and gotten hold of a gun with silver bullets.

Cardin was many things, but he wasn’t incapable of understanding when he needed to make a change. Especially when his life could be on the line. The were thing was ungodly strong enough to warrant the purchase by itself. 

Of course when Tyrian had seen the gun he’d taken it before shooting himself several times to ‘make sure it worked’. Based on the burning smell and Tyrians cheery confirmation Cardin was at least sure of its effectiveness. 

He did have to give credit to the crazy bastard for the stunt though. Since it was clearly meant to show him that even with the gun that attempting to betray or go against him was an idiotic plan, especially as he’d dug the silver bullets out with his bare fingers and merely said ‘stings a bit’.  

“How effective do you think the silver will be?” Cardin asked as Tyrian hummed and stared off into space. 

“Moderately. It would make a fight more even between you two, but it won’t win the entire fight for you. Might be best if you take poor Russel with you since Sky has vanished for some reason,” Tyrian said with a smirk. 

That was another thing. Sky had been missing since last night, and the crazy bastard kept implying he might know where he was. 

Russel was beside himself whenever he’d tried to ask if he’d seem him so he’d stopped asking after the second try. He’d known they were close, but not that close. 

“I assume you’re going after the head woman in charge?” 

“That I am!”

“And the sponsor?” Cardin asked again to get him back on track. 

“Has been lured away by some of the doctor’s other agents, and middlemen he’s having cleaned up as we speak!” Tyrian said cheerily. 

“How long do we have until they find out and get back though? I assume we don’t want to be here when that thing finds out we attacked its club,” Cardin offered. 

“You are correct. We’ll want to be in and out as soon as possible. I’ve enlisted a few others to help join. Together with the two of you, you should be able to overwhelm Hazel, and any other guards she has in place. 

We’ll then proceed to bring this Cinder Fall back to the good doctor, and be long gone before they get back. With any luck some of the fodder will stick around like idiots and they’ll go after the easy prey.”

“So we’re leaving after the attack?” Russel asked, his first words of the night. 

“We are. I wouldn’t be surprised if they go on a warpath which should lead them right to the good doctor’s lair where he’ll take care of them,” Tyrian giggled. 

“We move out in a few hours. Get ready and make sure you’re ready by the time I get back,” Tyrian ordered as he left via the window and into the fading light to set whatever else he had up. 

Russel merely stared at the ground not even moving when Cardin looked over at him before he left. 

What else was there to even say at this point?

Velvet took her plate of eggs, bacon and a hashbrown with a small serving of fruit that looked familiar for some reason from Ruby with a smile as she took a look at the kitchen. 

It was rather nice. A collage of pictures littered the fridge, a corkboard by the doors, and a few nicer framed pictures took up residence including one of the three of them in wedding dresses looking radiant. 

All told, the pictures told a story of a life well lived with a happy relationship. 

It was wonderful, the sort of thing she fantasized about back in high school in a theoretical life with Weiss or later on with Ruby when she met her at work. Or more privately both of them after Weiss had come back into her life and the interrupted date they’d had. 

Even the fact that they were dating now hadn’t really sunk in yet. 

And still, something was in the back of her mind screaming at her that this was wrong somehow. Weiss had said the same, but how was it affecting both of them at the same time?

What even was it? Her head hurt even trying to think of it. 

As Ruby busied herself at the sink tidying Weiss leaned over to gently grasp her hand and squeeze as she leaned in. 

“Even if this is wrong somehow we will make it happen,” Weiss assured her shortly as she returned to staring at Ruby at the sink who was humming some sort of upbeat song. 

“Where is she?” Weiss said after a moment as Ruby turned around. 

“Your sister? Or were you talking about Yang and Pyrrha?” Ruby asked as she dried her hands. 

“Ruby, where is she you imposter!” Weiss snarled as Velvet blinked at Weiss’s sudden turn around. 

“Weiss, did you hit your head harder than you thought?” Ruby asked warily. 

“Weiss?” Velvet asked worriedly. 

Weiss flashed her a reassuring smile before she went back to glaring at the thing imitating Ruby. 

“You did a good job, but I just remembered when I first met Ruby she had a rose tattoo on her arm but just now when you got ready you didn’t have one. 

Your entire arm was pristine and didn’t look like you’d had it removed either, and Ruby had mentioned wanting more,” Weiss deduced as she tapped her finger on the table. 

‘Ruby’ merely smirked before her eyes went red and giggled. 

“Where is she?” Velvet demanded with a snarl. 

“Oh, she’s around. Will you make it in time though? Did you like the dish? Those are the real questions, and I’m looking forward to finding the answer out,” ‘Ruby’ said as she snapped a finger and what appeared to be the actual Ruby appeared on the kitchen table looking disoriented. 

As Velvet reached for her a massive sinkhole opened up and swallowed the table, Ruby’s outstretched hands just barely grazing Velvet’s own as she fell into the bottomless pit.

Velvet turned to glare at the thing only to find nothing there before she felt herself being shaken and woke up looking at Yang’s concerned face. 

Weiss was being similarly woken up by Pyrrha. 

A single look and a nod between them was enough for Velvet to understand that for whatever reason they’d shared whatever nightmare, premonition, or dream that had been. 

Velvet pulled Weiss onto her lap and held tight. She needed to reassure herself this was reality for just a moment. 

“Did you also have some…strange dreams?” Pyrrha asked delicately as Weiss nodded, her face still buried in Velvet’s shoulder. 

“Mercury?” Velvet asked as Yang shook her head and gestured to the man in question who looked to be deep asleep with no troubling dreams to speak of. 

“Winter?” Weiss asked. 

“I did as well. We should see if we can figure out what they mean,” Winter said as she turned around in her seat. 

Weiss agreed but was far too comfortable to move from her seat so she merely turned around to face her sister. 

“How close are we?” Velvet asked. 

“The pilot said a little over an hour,” Pyrrha answered as she nodded to the cockpit before she sat down across the aisle to look at everyone.

“Oy I got that tendril girl over here. Looks laid out,” a male voice roused the woman on the floor as Penny slowly opened her eyes. 

“Not a single move, or I’ll finish the job,” the man threatened the ginger who merely laid back down with her hands in the air. 

“Looks like you got left behind didn’t ya?” the man taunted Penny who frowned as her green eyes teared up in despair. 

“Heh. Don’t feel bad now love, them Kue’s are always tricky like that. You ain’t gonna be the last one she fools to save her own skin,” the man said as he turned his weapon on low power prompting a hiss from the vampire. 

“Just high enough to hurt without actually killin' ya. No tricks this way,” the man said as he took another step into the room. 

“Been a while since I seen someone with a unique set of eyes like your old friends though. Boss said she saw some weird ones a long time ago. Terror ripped through dozens of her friends. 

Course that was hundreds of years ago, and I heard she got killed by the Tremere, good riddance as they say,” the man said as he rummaged in his pockets before he blinked as the vampire in front of him dissolved into smoke. 

“Wait, was the machine too high? Aw crap-” 

The man’s words were cut off as a blade erupted from his neck. He dropped his weapon as he scrambled to pull himself off the blade of silver which continued to burn his neck and hands where he touched.

He finally managed and fell onto his hands and knees further into the room. 

“Friend Neo is a far better person than you give her credit for,” Penny said with the man’s weapon in her hands that she had aimed at him. 

Unable to call for help with his damaged vocal cords he watched in horror as a bright light entered his vision before it went dark oddly enough. 

Penny groaned as she dropped the weapon. 

“I apologize. The weapon was much more powerful than I suspected,” Penny informed Neo who only frowned cutely at her and signed. 

“Yes, I am glad you are alright as well, but you said there were half a dozen more left, yes? We must be careful if we are to get you out of here,” Penny said as she accepted Neo’s help getting to her feet. 

Neo signed angrily with one hand as Penny blinked. 

“He was besmirching your reputation. You are most kind and fun, and he had to know the truth. Even if he wasn’t going to be around for much longer,” Penny said, sounding almost insulted that Neo wouldn’t assume that it wasn’t an important reason. 

When Neo’s response was to lean Penny on the wall and sign more Penny nodded. 

“I understand. I merely did not like them disparaging you in such a way. You are a wonderful friend. My very best!” Penny said sincerely, so sincerely Neo had to blink away actual tears as she crossed her arms in a pout. 

“I am sorry if that makes you mad. You said you liked ice cream, yes? When we get out of here I shall buy you some to make up for my error,” Penny promised. 

Neo sighed fondly before merely giving her a thumbs up. Stupid idiot. 

Oh well, she’d figure it out in time. 

Ruby reached the end of the hallway and frowned as she idly wiped another drop of blood from her face. She’d need to change the bandage soon. 

It was a simple metal door. It was the decorations around that made her pause, however. Various family photos and the like were strung up with a few phrases in Menagerian that translated to various positive affirmations. 

Was this all enchanted in some way, or more likely it was a reminder to Willow should she actually brave the hallway of what she was protecting by staying inside?

That was…a rather sad thought. Ruby vowed to do her best to reunite them as she turned her attention back to the door. 

Warily she put her hand on the handle and blinked when nothing happened. She pushed and the door opened. 

A stairwell lay beyond made of wood and stone rather than metal with a padlock on something resembling a cellar door. 

She heard something from above. Chanting maybe? That was strange. Best to go back and ask Willow about it before she did anything else. 

“Do you think any of them got out?” Melanie asked her twin who shrugged, not appearing to care in the slightest. 

“If they didn’t they aren’t worth our time or worthy to be our servants. We just have to hope that sponsor is as good as her word, or else I’ll be pissed and have to have words with her,” Miltia said grouchily from her seat on the train. 

“Oh, and what would you say to me? I'm very curious,” a voice tinged with a Vacuian and Menagerie accent asked from behind them.

“How did you get in here?” Miltia demanded to know as she stood up in front of her sister. 

“I wanted to get in, and so I have,” the figure said, sounding rather amused. 

“Bullshit. The strongest wards, and protections are on this train. We put them on ourselves. Caine himself would have been given pause,” Miltia spat at the figure ignoring her sister tugging on her sleeve. 

“You think quite highly of yourself childe,” the figure said lightly. 

“With good reason! We’re over five hundred years old. Far older than most of the so-called elder vampires today!”

“You do realize that if you want my protection you’re doing a poor job asking for it.”

“We’ve only heard of how strong you are. We have no first hand knowledge of it. I won’t trust my sister to an unknown,” Milita said testily. 

The figure merely nodded its hooded head. “Understandable. Family is very important. I do not however appreciate being disrespected however so let’s solve both problems at once.”

Miltia gasped as the figure lightly tapped her hand and then began to scream as she felt her body begin to break down starting at her hand. Her very soul was being torn asunder! There would be no finding another body if this continued. 

She looked up to beg for it to stop only to see she was left alone with the figure who knelt down next to them. 

“I have seen cities razed, people’s entire lives and family lines come and go, and much more in my very long life. Allow me to show you a glimpse of what I am capable of so you can understand who you’re demanding things from young one,” the figure said moving close to Miltia who scrambled to get away as she started screaming. 

“Is…she gonna be ok?” Melanie asked worriedly as she stared at her sister’s twitching form. 

“She’s merely being educated on her standing in the greater world. 

Now since you’re far more agreeable let’s talk. I want to know everything you two were holding back. I allowed it before while I confirmed something I didn’t know, but now if you want my full protection you will tell me everything you’ve been holding back and I will know if you’ve left anything out.”

Cinder worriedly tapped her finger on the desk. Her work was already done, and she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong and she had nothing to distract her from the feeling. 

What was worse was that everything had stopped. No more disruptions, the restaurant and everything below was going on like normal even as the sun began to set. 

Beckett wouldn’t arrive for a few more hours yet and so she was left with nothing to do to take her mind off it. 

Her master had ordered her not to contact her unless it was an emergency and she doubted her bad feelings counted. 

Winter needed to concentrate so there was no bothering her. She couldn’t even order Mercury around, and not even she was going to bother Emerald this early into her turning Coco…although….

She sent off a message telling Emerald and Coco to stay indoors for the night. That something was wrong or off and not to leave under any circumstance. 

The feeling grew worse until her phone finally vibrated and she snatched it up. 

Her master’s new orders…oh…that was bad.