Line of Fire (EVENT DAY 3)

[sephora]

Sephora clung tightly to Alex's back as he ran. He was not as large as Jeremy, so holding onto him was easier, though his shorter span meant that the ride was jerkier, which caused more pain in her aching leg and shoulder. Looking around, she wondered how long they had been running. The night flowers in the woods had closed, for she saw none but knew that the forest was riddled with them, for she herself had let them grow.

This meant that the night had passed and it was now early morning, though the sun had not yet ridden. It was the third day of the invasion, and she and her friends had not yet been able to reach the AI Core. Sephora wondered if they would make it, if anyone would make it. Was her hope of reaching the Core feeble and there was in fact no one there?

No. The Armenian girl pushed these thoughts from her mind, they couldn't give up. Loss of hope meant that they might as well just stop running and die. Besides, Alex hadn't said a word and seemed to know where he was going. She was glad that he had found her.

The trees of the forest still coo'd, Sephora could hear, but their words were no longer what she had expected. They had seemed to realize she was injured, and talked of healing her.

[glow=green,2,300]Join us, little human, be with us[/glow]

The girl didn't know what that meant but she supposed that it had something to do with their promise to not let her die. It was strange, and unnerving. Their whispering didn't stop and though each promise and call was different, the forest was begging her to let it do . . . . something, she couldn't decide what.

Concentrating on the matter at hand, Sephora listened and heard the snarls and screams from the darkness. Her animals were doing their work well, it seemed, and she dearly wished she were fit enough to help them. The girl knew that if she had not been injured, she easily could have ridden that bear into the fight. As it were, her blood was soaking through the bandage on her calf Alex's back was already covered from her shoulder. She felt weak.

Suddenly, Alex stopped running, for which she was grateful. The jerking was close to unbearable, though she knew it would have been selfish and stupid to ask for him to stop. Looking ahead, she wondered fearfully if it was a group of soldier, or perhaps something worse, though she could not know what.

Her blue eyes peered through the darkness at a large mass, and at first she thought it was a bear. This was no problem, for she could easily subdue it. Then in stepped into a shaft of light and the girl saw that it was Jeremy. She smiled up at him, thankful to see him alive.

He said that there were many soldiers around, and that it would be best for him to hold onto Sephora. The girl agree'd with him, purely because he was much larger than Alex and had been carrying her before.

"He's right, Alex. It will be easier for you to not have me, and Jeremy can easily keep up to you while I hold on. Besides, this way you can clear the way."

Jeremy could easily keep up with Alex, even having Sephora on his back. Perhaps they could alternate carrying her, so that neither one of them got too worn down. He reached out a massive hand, and she saw his wounded shoulder. Had that been there the whole time?? Was he alright to carry her?

"Jeremy, if your shoulder is hurt, then I can stay with Alex. Or I can try to walk." The last bit they would all know impossible, but she thought she'd throw it in. She felt bad, having to depend on her two friends to carry her, especially when she knew fatigue must be getting to them.

Even as she spoke the words, though, Sephora reached up her hand for Jeremy. She knew that he would not offer to take her if he couldn't handle it, he knew his limits. Besides, Jeremy was her friend, and if she would be safer with Alex then she knew he would have her stay with Alex.

Small fingers clasped the mountain of a boy's wrist and his larger hand closed, it seemed, around her arm. He was ready to take her, but she had to wait for Alex to let go of her legs before he could lift her completely.

[Alex]

Alex ran through the forest, his eyes narrowed in concentration. He held onto Sephora's legs, keeping her supported, though he knew the jerky movements of his running was causing Sephora pain. " Forgive me Sephora, there's no other way I know of to get us to the core," he thought, as he ran on, " But just hold on, we'll be there soon, I promise. I won't let you die."

All around him, he heard snarls and screams echo through the darkness of the forest, and he knew it was the animals that were attacking, on Sephora's command, but he still ran on, he had something he had to do, and no one would stop him.

He felt his shirt become wet, and knew it was the blood from Sephora's shoulder, it had soaked his shirt, but he ignored it, nothing would stop him. " Sephora, hang on..." he sad softly, reassuringly. He then saw a huge figure before him, and stopped, his guard up. "..." was his expression, he was ready to use kicks if it was a soldier, and the person then stepped out, and Alex saw it was Jeremy. "!" was his reaction, as Jeremy spoke. "There are too many, but I slowed them down. Here, I'll carry Sephora, we'll move faster this way since I'm used moving with the extra weight. Oh, and the gun helped. I guess I was right to trust you with Sephora, now, here grab on Sephora, We've got to get moving." "He's right, Alex. It will be easier for you to not have me, and Jeremy can easily keep up to you while I hold on. Besides, this way you can clear the way."

Alex however, had a sneaking suspicion, even as Jeremy moved to Alex and began to take Sephora from him. "Jeremy, if your shoulder is hurt, then I can stay with Alex. Or I can try to walk." " Out of the question. You're not walking, you've lost too much blood." Alex said softly, as Sephora grabbed onto Jeremy's wrist. Alex however, kept his grip on Sephora's legs, and spoke at Jeremy, if this guy really was Jeremy. "Really now? If the gun really did help, there should be a bit of blood splattered on the gun, if you did use it, since it is dark, your shots would have to be pretty close, and some blood would have made contact with the gun. But there's none. If you did use it, where's the blood? It's clean, too clean. Who are you, really?" he asked quietly, putting emphasis on the word really.

Alex kept his guard up, he didn't know if this guy was friend or foe, if he intended to save Sephora, or harm her. He promised Jeremy, the real Jeremy, that he would protect Sephora, and he would, regardless, even if he hadn't promised, he would still protect her. She was his friend, and he cared about his friends more than anything in this world, because friends are the only real thing he had, and no one would take them away from him.

[Marquise]

Idiotic boy, what are you trying to be some type of hero? I'm only just fulfilling my promise to Sephora. The agreement we made. She will live with me, with you, she will die. And that is something I promised I wouldn't let happen.[/color]

"The longer we stand here and argue, the more likely we'll all get killed. Hand the girl over to me now!" The Jeremy double roared, "Truth, she will live through this if you hand her over. Truth, if you carry her you'll slow down and get both of you killed. Truth, the longer I have to stand here and convince you, the longer those soldiers have to flank us!"

Soldiers could be heard in the distance, Marquise was being completely honest with the boy but he was losing his patience, any longer and he'd not only have to turn into a soldier to survive, he'd have to shoot both of them to keep up his guise. The only way for all of them to simply live would be if this kid Alex stopped meddling with things he knew nothing about.

"Isn't that right, Sephora?" The cover had been blown as far as Sephora was concerned. She not only would know he wasn't Jeremy, she would know who he was. She would stand up for him, "Pretend as if I'm still Jeremy, he's still alive but they'll pass him up and find us. You have the power, force yourself onto my shoulder and get this boy away from you before the Paladins get here. We will all die if you don't."

[sephora]

Sephora felt Jeremy try and pull her, but Alex didn't let go. She began to become slightly concerned, for if the large boy got aggravated and tried to jerk her away, and Alex still did not let go, the girl's arm would easily pop out of her socket. Both of the boys were stronger than she was.

"If the gun really did help, there should be a bit of blood splattered on the gun muzzle. But there's none. If you did use it, where's the blood? It's clean, too clean. Who are you, really?" Sephora relaxed her grip in Jeremy's hand for a moment. This was true. But then, she did not know of any students who would know enough to figure out how to turn into Jeremy if they could. Besides, even if the student wanted to turn into Jeremy, how would they know that Sephora would trust him so easily? Even then, why would they want to take the girl from Alex in the first place?

As the trees whispered to her adoringly of taking her away from death, Sephora's heart skipped a beat. It was Marquise. He hadn't forgotten about her promise.

"The longer we stand here and argue, the more likely we'll all get killed. Hand the girl over to me now! Truth, she will live through this if you hand her over. Truth, if you carry her you'll slow down and get both of you killed. Truth, the longer I have to stand here and convince you, the longer those soldiers have to flank us!" Marquise/Jeremy said as she could hear soldiers shouting and breaking through the trees. The screams of dying men had grown closer as well, as more of the animals were hovering near their area to protect Sephora. Her mind whorled. Had Marquise decided that she was dying, and was going to turn her? Was that why he had taken Jeremy's form? To whisk her away and turn her in the deep of the forest? It was true that she had agreed to allow him to become her sire if she were dying, but was she really dying? Sephora didn't know. She also didn't know if what the trees were saying was true, if they could keep her alive even after death.

What she did know, though, was that with every second that Alex held on and Marquise stood in their way, soldiers got closer. She also knew that at this point, the vampire would probably not be too thrilled if she decided she no longer wished to be turned, and might kill both she and Alex for the trouble of sticking around the school. The problem was, again, Sephora was making assumptions. She just didn't know.

"Isn't that right, Sephora? Pretend as if I'm still Jeremy, he's still alive but they'll pass him up and find us. You have the power, force yourself onto my shoulder and get this boy away from you before the Paladins get here. We will all die if you don't." The girl snapped back to reality when she hear him speak in Armenian. This confirmed he was Marquise, as if there had been any doubt. It was only a short time ago she had been teaching him the language in exchange for fighting lessons.

"Alex, he is right." Sephora squeezed his shoulder reassuringly, though it was soft for that was the arm with the wounded shoulder. She then placed her hand gently over his, where he was holding onto her leg, and gently tried to loosen his grip. "I know who he is, he is a friend. In Jeremy's guise he can move faster with me than you can, which gives all three of us a better chance of making it to the Core." Having said this, the girl pulled slightly at Marquise/Jeremy's arm, letting him know to pull her slightly. She hoped that Alex did not continue to hold on, for it would have been quite painful to be stretched in between the two.

She could hear gunshots in the background. "Let me go. I'll be safe, we'll all make it to the Core." Sephora twisted in Alex's arms so that she could smile at him reassuringly, though the expression belied the fear in her heart. She was doing this to keep him alive.

"Take me from him. He needs to get out of here and survive." The girl said softly in Armenian, blood having seeped through the cloth strip wrapped around her calf. It also bled anew when she pulled away from Alex, for it had clotted between them enough that it had nearly stopped, but when her wound pulled away from his shirt, the hole tore open. Sephora grimaced slightly with the pain.

The whispering of the trees quieted slightly and the gunshots grew louder.


((OOC: Blue means they are speaking in Armenian by the way))

[Alex]

"The longer we stand here and argue, the more likely we'll all get killed. Hand the girl over to me now! Truth, she will live through this if you hand her over. Truth, if you carry her you'll slow down and get both of you killed. Truth, the longer I have to stand here and convince you, the longer those soldiers have to flank us!" Alex's eyes narrowed in the darkness, not in anger, but in concentration, he was thinking. What the imposter said was true, but the question at the moment was, was this imposter friend or foe? Would he help Sephora, or not? As Alex continued to ponder, the imposter and Sephora began to speak to each other in a language Alex was not familiar with, nor heard of.

As they stood there, shouting, growls, and gunshots echoing around them, Sephora spoke to him, "Alex, he is right." Alex closed his eyes briefly, as Sephora squeezed his shoulder reassuringly, lightly though, and placed her hand on his, trying to loosen his grip. "I know who he is, he is a friend. In Jeremy's guise he can move faster with me than you can, which gives all three of us a better chance of making it to the Core." Alex opened his eyes, and squeezed Sephora's hand lightly. "Let me go. I'll be safe, we'll all make it to the Core."

"Alright, take her." he said to the imposter, but before he released her completely, he spoke softly to her, so that only she could hear him. " Just promise me one thing," he said, turning his head and returning her smile, " Promise me you'll come back safe, alright?" Alex didn't know why, but the thought of Sephora not coming back safely tore at his heart, tearing it in two, he didn't know what this feeling that he felt in his heart was at the moment. Was it that he cared about Sephora because she was his friend? Or was it that he thought of her as more than just a friend? He didn't know at the moment, but there would be time later to figure it out. He also had another feeling, this time in his mind, that as soon as he released Sephora into the imposter's grip, he wouldn't see her for a long while. " I may not trust that guy, but I trust you Sephora." he said, looking at her, his eyes holding concern and a bit of affection for the girl, his friend.

" Let's go." he said, after releasing Sephora completely, he could see her wound on her calf had started to bleed again, but there wasn't very much he could do, he had nothing to stop the bleeding, nothing except for the one piece of cloth on his own arm. He nodded at Sephora, and took off, occasionally glancing behind him to make sure the both of them were stil behind him. His attention however, was interrupted by a lone soldier that appeared in front of them. " Scum of the earth!" he roared, pointing his gun at him. " In the name of the Lord, you will perish here!" The man fired his gun, and Alex dodged, though his left arm was grazed by the bullet, since it was dark, it was hard for him to see, same went for the soldier.

Alex winced in pain as his left arm now bled, he took aim, and peeking out from behind a tree that he took shelter behind, he fired three rounds, and by luck, one manage to pierce the soldier, right at his heart. The soldier died on the spot, as Alex walked out from behind the tree, and glared down at the dead soldier. " Fool...who is the one that perished here?" he muttered, tearing a strip from the soldier's shirt and wrapped it around his left arm, to stop it from bleeding too much. As soon as he looked up and around, Alex found himself alone. "...I knew it...damn it..." he cursed, heading out again, towards the Core once again, it was too dark for him to run around blindly looking for Sephora and possibly into the hands of the soldiers. If he saw Jeremy, the real one, the guy would probably charge at him, asking where Sephora was. And all Alex could say, it was the only thing he could say, was, he didn't know.

[Marquise]

Marquise took off in the body of Jeremiah, it was night and he knew he could change to his hearts desire if Paladins showed up. He saw ahead Alex was fighting them, "We must separate ourselves from him. He'll move faster alone, they will catch us if we're together."

Marquise was holding her on his back now, he heard the Paladins behind him, he heard them in front of them. "I won't turn this into a situation where I am going to turn you on purpose. At this point the Paladins are turning it into that. But I'll do my best."

Marquise took Sephora and lifted her up onto a nearby tree, "Do your magic, but more importantly, keep hidden while I do my best to draw them away, I'll be back in 2 minutes, don't trust anyone unless they speak Armenian, don't go with anyone else, student or not, unless they speak to you in Armenian. Alright?"

Marquise turned back into his true self, the form the Paladins knew. The dark one. He shifted the clothing into his formal wear. The upside down cross on his top, the scarred face, the long white hair. He took a few steps away from the tree.

"PALADINS! HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO TAKE A VAMPIRE TO YOUR DEAR LEADER? WOULD YOUR GOD NOT REWARD YOU?" He began to change his voice to his true voice, "WOULD HE NOT ENJOY MY DEATH? He failed to kill me once! Would he not like to correct this? For he should know my name! HE SHOULD KNOW THE NAME OF MARQUISE!"

Marquise grew his fangs out, he grew his nails out, and he held the M-16 tightly, Paladins changed their direction a bit and came straight for him, he turned around and lead them deeper into the forest for about 45 seconds, and then he turned and began to shoot them down. With any hope Sephora would not have been caught or hurt any worse by this point, but he knew that if she tried to attack she might have been found.

He quickly ran towards the soldiers, as he charged he was shot in his left forearm. He shot soldiers as he passed, running out of ammo he took a second to strip a silver knife from one of the soldiers. He hacked and slashed his way as he turned into a soldier. If she had been shot, if she had been found, this would be the time he had to fulfill his promise. If she was OK, this would be the time to retreat to the core and rest.

[sephora]

"Alright, take her." Sephora sighed with relief. The sounds of the soldiers were getting closer, their situation was getting worse. As his grip on her thighs loosened, though, the girl saw that he had something to say. She leaned in to listen,

" Just promise me one thing, promise me you'll come back safe, alright?" Sephora smiled at Alex. She reached out and squeezed his hand lightly, reassuringly. "I'll come back and I'll see you at the Core." Releasing him, she gripped Marquise/Jeremy's other hand as best she could and allowed him to move her onto his back.

With that, they took off, running through the night. She wondered if his eyesight was better even as Jeremy, for she had heard that Vampires could see in the night like it was the day.

They ran for a while and nothing happened, for the boys seemed good at dodging the soldiers. Sephora rested her head on Marquise's broad shoulder, for the pain and blood loss was making her tired. Looking up, her heart stopped as she saw Alex fighting. She expected Marquise to go to his aid, but instead he said, "We must separate ourselves from him. He'll move faster alone, they will catch us if we're together." in his stolen voice. Though it was painful for her to leave Alex, she knew it was right. He would be safer without her to worry about. As the giant that was carrying her turned away, Sephora gave Alex one last look. It was the second time she had had to seperate from a friend and she hoped that she would see him and Jeremy at the Core.

They ran for a while once more, though the weak girl did not know if Marquise was following a path to the Core or just trying to get away from the soldiers so that he could turn her. Was she even dying? Sephora didn't know. "I won't turn this into a situation where I am going to turn you on purpose. At this point the Paladins are turning it into that. But I'll do my best." It was almost as if he had read her thoughts, but she knew that he could not. The Armenian was surprised that he was going to try and keep her alive, perhaps he had had second thoughts on turning her? No, if he had he wouldn't have trailed after her and taken her from Alex. He would have let her die.

"Do your magic, but more importantly, keep hidden while I do my best to draw them away, I'll be back in 2 minutes, don't trust anyone unless they speak Armenian, don't go with anyone else, student or not, unless they speak to you in Armenian. Alright?" Sephora nodded that she understood as he lifted her into a tree. It was an oak and it welcomed her softly. The girl knew that if it could, the tree would have wrapped her in a leafy embrace. It whispered to her that it would keep her safe, that she would not die. She didn't understand how it could do that, but she did not argue. It was best to just go with things, at that point.

As Marquise turned, he changed his form. She had only seen him do this on a few occasions, and each time she shivered. It was unnerving, knowing that anyone she had ever spoken to could have been a shapeshifter. Could have been him. The form that he took, though, was not one she recognized. Sephora could only see him from the back, and in the dark all she could see were ruffly clothes and long pale hair.

As he walked from the tree, he shouted to the invaders, "PALADINS! HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO TAKE A VAMPIRE TO YOUR DEAR LEADER? WOULD YOUR GOD NOT REWARD YOU? WOULD HE NOT ENJOY MY DEATH? He failed to kill me once! Would he not like to correct this? For he should know my name! HE SHOULD KNOW THE NAME OF MARQUISE!" Halfway through the speech, his voice had changed to one out of a nightmare. Sephora wondered if her voice, too, would sound like that. It seemed odd to her that the leader of the Paladins -for that was what he had called them- would know him, unless the reason they were here was because of him. Sephora would have to ask Marquise about it when this was done.

Closing her eyes, she listened. The voices of the soldiers had followed Marquise in shouts and gunshots, but she was not fool enough to think herself safe. Calling out to the forest, she could feel animals coming from farther off to help in the battle. Bears, cats, wolves, even dogs from the close town. They all came, even the insects and the birds.

Hearing a sound, the girl froze and opened her eyes. There was a soldier, walking around the area below her tree. He hadn't seen her. Hearing more rustling, the man tensed and turned towards her. She couldn't tell if he had seen her or not, so she stayed still. There was a rustling below the tree, and a black bear came into her line of sight, huffing, fangs bared. A wet spot appeared at the man's crotch.

Going onto its hind legs, the beast roared at him, a deafening sound. Sephora realized suddenly that it had placed itself in front of her. The bear was trying to keep the man away from the girl in the tree. The only problem was, as the bear lifted, the man caught sight of the slim girl, and grinned. He must have guessed that the bear was protecting her, for a simply hungry bear would have smelled her blood and gone after her instead of the fully able man.

Lifting the weapon, the man pressed the trigger. Jerking violently, Sephora felt a bullet pierce her side, shattering ribs and organs. She screamed, unable to hold it in, and the bear roared once more. It charged the man and though he shot at the creature, it was close enough that after four steps the man's head was gone, crunched into pieces in the bear's strong jaws.

After having made sure he was dead, the bear turned into the forest. She heard more screams and gunshots, but barely. The pain was overwhelming, worse than she had felt when the demon had attacked. The bullet in her side outweighed the injuries in her calf and shoulder, the pain so great that she forgot about them. Due to where the bullet had gone, she was unable to move her right arm, the good one.

Using the one moveable limb, Sephora struggled to breath as she pushed her left leg against the limbs of the tree, going farther into the foliage for more cover. The girl tried her best to do something, she had to keep the searching Paladins from finding the origin of her scream. Sticking her fingers into the little pouch of dirt, vines grew out of it.

Sephora closed her eyes and let the vines grow, ivy lacing the vines like a decoration. The green ropes grew out of the pouch and down the sides of the tree. They hit the dirt and spread, Sephora's power flowing through them. Ivy-covered vines went every direction, growing up every warm thing they bumped into. The ivy sunk into flesh of men who had not noticed until too late, roots instantly going deeper than anyone could pull out.

Keeping her eyes closed, Sephora put all of her remaining strength into that concentration. It took her mind off of the pain, and she would not stop until she heard her name or heard Armenian. There were screams in the background of her concentration, screams that the forest was attacking. Screams that the trees were demons like the animals.

Feeling her life eb slowly, the tree's soft whipser began to invade her concentration. It told her to give in. It said she would not die, that she would live with the forest, be one with the forest.

The girl was too far gone, though, to really understand or hear what the tree was saying. All she could understand was that she had to hold on. She had to listen for Armenian. She couldn't remember why, just that she had to listen.

[Alex]

"I'll come back and I'll see you at the Core." Alex nodded at her, and as soon as she was in the grasp of the imposter, they took off into the darkness. While Alex had been fighting with a soldier, Sephora and the imposter had taken off, leaving him alone. As soon as he finished the soldier and bandaged his wound, he took off, weaving through the trees. He moved closer and closer to the Tower, but before he could run the last little mile, he had to face one last encounter, this time, with three soldiers again.

"There's one!" one cried out, pointing at Alex. " Get him!" They ran at him, they knew in the darkness, their shots would not be as accurate, so to compensate, they decided to go close range. As soon as they got within range, they opened fire, but Alex, by that time, already strafed to his right, hiding behind a tree. The soldiers stopped firing, and two moved closer, trying to box Alex in. Not a chance. As soon as the two got close enough, Alex opened fire on them, firing multiple rounds, which managed to connect with the two soldiers, who dropped dead on the ground.

The last soldier immediately charged at Alex, who had formed a fireball in his hand and launched it at the soldier, hitting his face. The soldier immediately screamed out in pain, clutching his burnt face, and in his panic, fired bullets wildly, flying everywhere. One bullet skimmed Alex's forehead as he turned his head sideways to dodge it, another one grazed his left cheek, and another one pierced the front of Alex's leg, he felt the bone break from the impact of the bullet, as he hid behind another tree again, clutching his leg in pain. "Scum of the earth! We the Paladin's will kill you all! No one will ever have powers like yours again!" the soldier screamed, still clutching his burnt face, as he continued to fire in random directions. Alex moved out from behind the tree, and opened fire, pouring bullets into the soldier, who dropped dead on the spot. Alex stopped firing, and took deep breaths, his forehead, cheek, and leg bleeding.

He dropped the M-16 he had been using, and hobbled gingerly over to the dead soldiers, and picked up one of the other M-16's that were on the ground. " Powers like ours? It's not like we wanted to have these powers." Alex muttered, as his wounds bleed, running down his face, his leg. He used the M-16 as a crutch, the safety on, and slightly bent to ease the pressure on his leg, took off to the Tower. By luck, he encountered no more soldiers, and saw the familiar door of the entrance as it loomed over him. He pulled out his MAC, which had emerged unscathed amazingly, and the door opened. He moved slowly, trying to put as little pressure as he could on his injured leg, as blood ran down his leg and dripped onto the floor, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

Upon reaching the AI Core, he collapsed onto the floor, as all around him, students broke out in whispers, some moving up to him, and seeing that he was injured, the M-16 he had used as a crutch now clutched in his left hand. "S...Sephora..." he said softly, as he slipped further and further into darkness. "Come back safely..." he thought, the effort to speak too much. He heard voices echoing from far away, but he was already too far gone. By the time anyone called for the nurse, Alex would already be unconscious, the effort to get himself into the Tower had used up his last reserve of energy. When he would wake up, was anybody's guess. Right now, he needed medical attention, fast.

OOC: Okay, let's re-cap the injuries Alex has. Two cuts on both arms, a cut on his forehead, a cut on his cheek, and a broken leg. Wonderful isn't it? As of now, Alex has exited this thread, stage left.

[Marquise]

Marquise ran and saw, no, smelled Sephora's blood. She was close, mostly because he couldn't smell that well, not that he could see in this dark either, the moonlight was the only thing making him capable of any sight. "Your time has come, Sephora. It is time for me to fulfill my promise."

Marquise in the form of a soldier lifted into the tree, wrapping an arm in front of Sephora, it was his injured arm, bleeding and pretty badly damaged. he then sniffed her neck, fantasizing about her blood once more. Now he would drain her to the point of death, then she would have to drink his blood. He smiled remembering he hadn't told her how to do the procedure. Now was as good a time as ever.

"When I start to drink, and you start to fade into unconsciousness, begin drinking the blood from my arm. Suck it out if you have to, but drink." Marquise smiled one more time, turning into the form he had been earlier with the white hair and fancy clothes. These Paladin's were freaking out over one member of the damned, wait till they have two of them on their hands.

I wonder what the dog would think, two of our kind and one of its. It seems like a very very good time to be on my side.[/color]

Marquise bit into the neck, and began sucking all the blood. This was her time to drink his.

[sephora]

The bullets ached, three of them having made their way into Sephora's small body. She could not longer feel her leg, for it had gone numb with the blood loss. Struggling, the girl bit back a shriek as she reached for the bandage that Alex had wrapped around it, the strip of cloth. The girl's fingers fumbled at the slick tie. Sephora wanted to unravel it and tie it above the wound, cutting off her circulation. She didn't know how much more blood she could lose.

The blood covering the bandage was too much, though, for her good hand couldn't get a good grip and the wounded could hardly move to be useful. This was not turning out well.

[glow=green,2,300]Do not fear, little human. You'll be home soon.[/glow]

"Your time has come, Sephora. It is time for me to fulfill my promise." The words swam in her head before she fully comprehended what was being said. The bleeding girl looked and saw a soldier had climbed into the tree with her. A long thorn grew from the little bag of dirt, before she realized he had spoken Armenian. That meant he was a friend. That meant he was Marquise. What had he said? His promise?

He changed, then, and once again had long white hair and scars. His visage was frightening, though Sephora was in too much pain to be scared of anything. He bent over her placed his wounded arm by her mouth. Sephora suddenly comprehended what he had said, and what he was doing.

"When I start to drink, and you start to fade into unconsciousness, begin drinking the blood from my arm. Suck it out if you have to, but drink."

Panic coursed through her body as she realized that she didn't want to go through with this, her promise. The trees had promised her life, and would take their offer over his. Pressing her good hand to his chest, she was too weak to make much of a difference.

Closing her eyes, tears leaked down her face. The pain of fangs breaking her skin was lessened due to her bullet wounds. "Wait," she said, but it was already past the point of no return. Sephora could feel the blood being sucked from her neck, an odd feeling. There was also a high pitched shriek, coming from somewhere. She couldn't decide where from.

The sound filled her head as she felt Marquise's mouth against her neck, his lips surrounding the area that his fangs had punctured. The scream became worse than the pain that coursed through her body faster than the blood left. It didn't stop, didn't stop as the darkness began to ebb and flow at the corners of her eyes.

The screaming didn't stop as her small hands gripped Marquise's arm, pulling it closer to her lips. His blood dripped down her throat, the coppery taste overpowering and odd. The screaming still didn't stop, it only made her thirst greater, in hopes that she would make it go away. The screaming became urgent, as a hawk joined in on the sound, flying at Marquise's head. Sephora didn't let go of his arm, sucking the blood from it urgently.

The screaming didn't stop, not when the bear climbed the tree and howled angrily at Marquise, dripping fangs bared to kill him for what he was doing to the human child of the forest.

The sound of soldiers shouting around the forest died in the screaming that filled Sephora's head as she fell away from Marquise's arm, blood dripping from the corners of her mouth.

[Marquise]

Marquise was weakened from his wounds, his own blood loss, the girls blood helped, and he noticed she got his blood. As it drained from his arm he smiled. A hawk swooped down and clawed his his face, he was thrown from the tree, and attacked by a bear, he had his silver dagger and managed to stab the bear in the throat, making it take off and crash on the ground, but Marquise was food to the next animal or just another kill as far as the Paladins were concerned.

His actual form appeared, an evil appearance of his formal self, hair not died, but styled into the mohawk/ponytail look. His eyes and fangs both very much vampire. He rolled over as he faded into unconsciousness. He remembered as he looked out onto the soldiers being attacked that it took him ten years to dig himself out of his own grave. He hoped the powers that be let her change soon, otherwise they were both going to die.

As long as she changed she'd still be worn out, but she would be strong enough to get them both to safety, slowly. The soldiers seemed to be retreating from the forest for some reason. The dawn came out and people were fighting in the distance. Tanks began firing, and Marquise would sleep during this day. Hopefully he would wake in the core near his newly sired companion.

"Get us out of here when you bloom into your new self." He wasn't sure if she heard the words, she was above him dying on a tree, and he was on the ground below whispering after being through the roughest fight of his life.

I am going to drain Dani dry..... that will help me.... I hope... I've never done this before, hopefully I did it just like my sire instructed me too should I ever turn someone.[/color]

[sephora]

Sephora lay in the tree, the screams persisting in her mind. She couldn't hear or comprehend anything as her heartbeat slowed, as she watched Marquise fall from the branch. The bear below her tried to maul him, she wasn't sure if it killed her new sire, but she doubted it.

Struggling to breathe, to force oxygen into her bloodless veins, Sephora closed her eyes. The screaming grew softer, less noticeable. Her heartbeat slowed, the screaming quieted more. She could feel it pushing in her chest, struggling to constrict. Finally the girl's heart gave up, laying dead in her still chest.

Sephora closed her eyes as she lost consiousness, the pain from her wounds gone. She couldn't feel anything. The screaming was gone as she stopped breathing, stopped trying to live.

All in a rush, though, it returned. Sephora lurched suddenly, her stomach rising as her shoulders and hips constricted with pain, her organs dying inside of her, having lost any direction from the brain, due to her lack of blood flow. A scream tore through her throat and the screaming in her head grew to match the sound she was making. The branch below her cracked, broke with her weight. The pain was too much, else she would have thought it odd that the branch that had held both she and her sire had broken under just her.

Laying on the ground, writhing, the screaming turned into a howling that tore at her thoughts, the pain almost overwhelming her. Then, all at once, the pain was gone. Sephora fell limp at the roots of the tree, her foot pressed against Marquise's hand. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe, didn't want to breathe. Her eyes dialated and all at once, Sephora was dead.

Her soul left her body, trying to cling to the lifeless form, but to no avail. It hovered there for a moment, realizing that it was about to go straight to hell. This was the consequence of giving her life and her all to a vampire. Sephora's soul prepared itself for Hell, when something happened. A warm and loving something took hold of her soul, keeping it tight. The girl's soul was stolen, unable to make its way to Hell. Sephora's soul was trapped and held by the Forest.

Eyes opened in the roots of the dead tree, the tree that had traded its spirit for Sephora's. It had given her its soul so that hers could stay with the forest instead of going to Hell. It had saved her.

Twitching slightly, the girl blinked, her once blue eyes now having tints of green, a deep leaf green that looked like the leaves of the tree who had just died for her. The girl could hear noises, gunshots, and Sephora's tongue moved in her mouth, pressed for a moment against sharp canines. They weren't fangs, but somehow she knew that if they needed to be, they would be.

Sitting up slowly, the girl's body ached, and she rubbed at her head. There was noise everywhere, though it was almost muted by a warm feeling, a feeling of being at home. Somehow she she it was because she was in the forest. Crawling against the dead tree, Sephora pulled herself up.

[glow=green,2,300]You are safe, little tree[/glow]

Little tree, not little human. Sephora's face split slightly into a sad smile. She wasn't human anymore. Looking around, the sunlight that peeked through the branches above was both comfortable and uncomfortable. The vampire in her loathed it, yet the tree in her loved it. She didn't know how to feel. Walking a few paces, the little tree looked down. She saw her sire, laying unconsious on the ground. Marquise.

Walking over to him, she took his blood-covered hand and pulled with all her might. It seemed that she had not regained her strength, for his dead weight was impossible for her to lift. Acting out of iinstinct, Sephora poked her toes into the ground, vines growing from the earth. Breaking them off with ease, she tied them round Marquise's limbs, wrapping them about his arms and his torso. The loops that had been created she wrapped around her shoulders.

Somehow Sephora's wounds had healed, she didn't want to think about it now, though. All she wanted to do was to get to the Core, and wake up her sire. She wanted to know what the ache in her belly was, though she was fairly positive it was a hunger for blood. A hunger for death.

Stepping forward, Sephora began to drag him. The animals in the forest were too busy to come and help her, and she wasn't sure they would help her sire, even though she was no longer a human in their eyes, but a tree. Tugging at the vines like a pully, Sephora got Marquise higher up, so that his head was resting on her shoulders. His feet dragged on the ground as she moved forward, slowly.

The animals kept soldiers from getting close to her, she could hear their screams. There seemed to be less of them, though, for the screams were far and few between. She wondered what was going on.

After a few hours of dragging, the sun had shown itself, and Sephora had reached the edge of the forest. The building was just across a clearing, and Sephora didn't see any soldiers. Moving cautiously, she headed for the big doors. It took twenty minutes to cross the small clearing, but cross it she did.

Reaching the doors, Sephora was surprised to find her MAC still clipped to her now torn and bloody green skirt. The door opened and she went in, still dragging the unconcsious Marquise on her back. Students stared at her as she moved in slowly, frantically searching for Alex or Jeremy. Would they know? Would her two friends be able to look into her eyes and know that she had lost her soul to the forest, that she was now part tree and something else?

Unable to find either of them, Sephora let go of the vines. Marquise slouched to the ground behind her, and the little tree slid down beside him, her back to a wall. The cool dark of the hallway felt good, the emergency lights the only ones that shone in the long halls.

Sephora closed her eyes, leaning her head against the walls. She kept her lips shut tight over her fangs, which for now only looked like slightly elongated canines, nothing that would be too noticable.

They had reached the AI Core.