"This isn't the house." Henry stated bluntly. The Gate behind them gave a moist groan before shutting, only leaving behind a black colored crack in the sandstone colored walls. The trio had entered the Gate in the Upside-Down Creel House's attic, so by all logic they should have ended up in the same location in the Overworld, not... wherever the hell this place was.

"Munson, what the hell did you do?" Emily snapped immediately.

"Me?! I didn't do shit! You're the one with the psychic powers!" Eddie protested.

"It's always your fault, Eddie, I thought we established this already."

"Not in this case, Ripley. That debunks your theory." Tauntingly, Eddie hissed at her like an irate cat, bearing his fangs. Emily waved a hand in front of her face, her nose wrinkling.

"I thought I gave you Tic Tacs, your after-blood breath reeks... not that it was pleasant before that." She said.

"Yeah, well, yours isn't exactly minty-fresh, either." Eddie spat back, sticking out his tongue petulantly. The leathery wings on Emily's back started shaking, a similar meaning to that of a cat's tail puffing up when it's irritated.

"Okay, both of you calm down." Henry said, stepping in between the pair with his hands out on either side, effectively separating them. Emily seethed, but folded her arms to indicate she was yielding. "We're not home, so we need to find out where we are in order to get home. Is there anything here that might tell us where we could be?"

"I just see stone and torches." Eddie said flatly. Henry sighed.

"I mean other than that, Munson."

"There's nothing else here, Creel. Stone, torches, and-- what the shit??" Eddie nearly jumped out of his skin as he turned around. Two figures dressed in identical dark hooded cloaks stood parallel to each other, their faces hidden largely in shadow.

"Who are you? Where are we?" Emily immediately asked in a hostile tone. The figures gave no answer. Instead, they turned around and began walking deeper down the stone hall. "Are we supposed to... follow them?"

"I don't trust this." Henry said, standing closer to Emily.

"Neither do I, but it's either them or standing around like dumbasses." Eddie said, speedwalking to catch up with the hooded figures who hadn't bothered to wait. Emily and Henry exchanged a look before shrugging, following closely behind.

In foreign environments, Emily would never admit she felt uneasy, putting up a stone-faced front and moving with confidence. As comforting as it would be, she never ran for cover in Henry's arms. This time was no different, except Henry voluntarily wrapped one arm around Emily's shoulders as they walked. She knew it was a show of defending her even if they both knew she didn't need it. Alas, this time she snaked her arm around and held tight to Henry's waist, never breaking their pace.

The hooded figures opened doors that led to a large room with vaulted ceilings. Being used to the low ceilings of the lab or the decrepit ones of the Creel House, Emily couldn't help but look up, fascinated. Her attention was pulled away by a voice at the back of the hall.

"Ah, Edward, Henry, and Miss Ripley, we're so glad you made it safely." Emily's gaze found three men sitting in chairs. The first, the one who had spoken, had dark hair and an over-eager expression. The second, the one behind and to the left, was much older looking with lighter hair and an expression of apathy. And the third...

Emily did a double take, blinking a few times. Her eyebrows furrowed as she stared at the third figure before she looked at Henry. Then back at the man and then back at Henry. She did this three more times before loosely pointing to them both.

"You have the same face." She said. Henry gave her a confused look that the other man matched... disturbingly closely. "Eddie, tell me I'm not crazy; you see it, too, right?"

Eddie did his own back and forth comparisson, his eyes growing wider with each glance.

"Yeah, you're right."

"Hmm, yes, I suppose there are some similarities--" The dark haired man said, his creepy smile unwavering, however beneath it, Emily could sense his confusion as well.

"'Some?' I grew up looking at Henry's face, I of all people know what it looks like." Emily said, resting her hands on her hips. The doppelganger in question hadn't said a word, in fact his eyes never landed on Henry. Too deep in her bemusement, Emily failed to notice the firm gaze on her, almost transfixed. She waved her hands in front of her face with her eyes shut as if waving away a fly. "I'm getting ahead of myself. Who are you and where are we?"

"Of course, where are my manners? Miss Ripley, I'd like to welcome you all to Italy--"

"Italy?? How the hell did we get to Italy!?" Eddie squaked.

"One of our guards was able to intercept and reorient your portal to open here."

"But why? We were just on a grocery run." Emily said.

"A 'grocery run.' That's a fun way of putting it! I like the subtlety. Marcus, make sure we start calling it that." The man's enthusiasm confused Emily. The older man, Marcus, she assumed, let out a great sigh, resting his head in his hand.

"Is there something funny about that?" Emily asked sharply, crossing her arms. She failed to notice the blonde one, Henry's clone, continuing to stare at her, his lips parting ever so slightly.

"Of course not, Emily dear, we all have to call it something. Hunting, feeding, the like." Emily's firm stance faltered. "Of course we know, Miss Ripley. We wouldn't have brought you here otherwise. You and Edward Munson over there, you're like us."

"Like you how?" Henry finally spoke up, stepping forward with his arm slightly in front of Emily. She glanced at him, her lips pursing. The man laughed like Henry had just told the most hilarious joke.

"Vampires, Henry Creel. Where you come from, Edward and Miss Ripley can't feed without hurting yourselves. If one creature gets hurt, you all get hurt. That's why we brought you here."

"Are you like the Red Cross for blood? Are we getting charity? Rations?" Eddie asked.

"No, not exactly. For vampires, we're like their rulers. We create and enforce rules for our kind to ensure our safety. We're called the Volturi. I'm Aro, that's Marcus, and you know Caius."

"Ah, the clone has a name." Eddie said. Emily whirled around, shooting Eddie an annoyed look. He raised his hands in mock surrender with an eye roll.

"As a result of this transformation you and Edward have gone through, we just want to ensure you don't go doing things you shouldn't be doing." Aro continued.

"Your rules don't mean shit to me. Eddie and I aren't exactly like you." Emily said shortly.

"Aro, I believe she speaks truthfully. Their skin is more grey than pale and they have wings we don't possess." Marcus said quietly.

"Yes, but their eyes are as red as ours." Aro replied, turning back to Emily. "Tell me, Miss Ripley, does your skin react to sunlight? Does it shine at all?"

"Is that a serious question? Because that's stupid if it is. No." Emily said. Wordlessly, Caius stood up out of his chair to the confusion of everyone. He walked towards Emily, stopping six inches in front of her. Henry moved to intervene before Caius instead gently grabbed Emily's hand in his own. She jumped slightly. "You're freezing."

"You're warm." Caius replied. Emily swallowed hard, unable to break the eye contact.

"Henry, he even sounds like you." She said.

"No he doesn't, he's British!" Henry snapped.

"It seems like they might fall out of our domain. They don't even come out very often." Marcus said lowly.

"I suppose you're right. Still, if you must come to the surface to feed, try to be discreet about it. We'd all be in danger if something happened." Aro told the trio.

"Noted. Are we free to go?" Eddie asked.

"Perhaps they'd like to stay for dinner?" Caius suddenly spoke up. He still hadn't let go of Emily's hand. The temperature difference wasn't as obvious now, but Henry's angry stare at the contact was.

"Oh, of course they can! You were after food, after all. We'll get something worked out, but in the meantime, feel free to explore the castle." Aro said excitedly. It seemed like that was his default setting.

"Do we have to pay for this?" Eddie asked.

"Absolutely not, Edward, you're our guests!"

"I already like it here." Eddie said, running to a random door and throwing it open, disappearing through it to explore. Emily glanced at Henry, watching her carefully.

"May I show you around?" Caius asked her quietly. Emily swore she saw Henry's nostrils flare. She gave him a soft smile and mouthed 'it's okay.'"

"Of course." She said. Caius offered her a thin smile, leaning down to gently kiss her hand before looping their arms together. They disappeared through a different door than Eddie ran through. Henry stood alone in the middle of the room. At some point, Marcus had slipped away, but Aro approached Henry with an impish smile.

"I've never seen Caius look like that. Or act like that. Remarkable woman, Miss Ripley." Aro said, walking past Henry. He didn't reply. His eyes remained on the door Emily left through. His nose scrunched before he marched up to it and went through.

***

"Well, it's like this world, just... different. We call it the Upside Down because it's... well it's upside down. If a Gate opened on the ceiling above us, you could look up and see the floor of the same place. It's just darker and covered in vines and creatures. No people. It's really peaceful actually. Well, I mean, when people haven't gone inside to try and blast us to bits or Eddie's not playing his guitar." Emily said, animatedly moving her hands around as she explained. Caius listened to and absorbed everything she said, fascinated.

"And these creatures, you're connected to them?" He asked.

"We all are. It's a hivemind. If someone stepped on a vine, everyone would feel it. If one of the bipedal creatures we call Demogorgons gets decapitated, I get a splitting headache and so on. It's why Eddie and I have to go to the Overworld to feed. He tried to once when we first found him like this. All of our limbs had this blinding, stinging pain. Couldn't keep doing that, so periodically we pop up."

"Do you only eat animals?"

"We've thought about humans, but the thing is that Henry and I use humans in a different way and we don't know if feeding upon them wastes them."

"So you've never had human blood?"

"Never. We don't know if the soul comes with it." When Caius looked confused, Emily elaborated. "Henry and I steal human souls to sustain parts of ourselves. Give me an honest answer: how old do I look?"

"In human years? Mid twenties."

"I'm almost fourty. Souls keep me young and we gain their talents. If we took a girl who did ballet, now we can dance ballet. I let Henry keep most of them lately so we could return him to his human form. For a while, he looked like a vine covered monster with a clawed hand and grey eyes. My right eye used to be blind after we were banished there, but after... this..." She gestured to herself. "I gained full sight back. Red irises, but my sclera is still grey."

"Did this 'Upside Down' have an effect on you?"

"That's what this is. However in the Overworld, the vines on my body can't survive. They're always with me, though." Emily traced one of the black vines tattooed on her arm with a fond smile. Caius reached over to gently touch her arm, running his thin fingers over the vines. The chill didn't bother Emily. Once he reached her shoulder, he let one finger trace the ends of the vines that stretched partway across her collar bone. They made eye contact, holding each others' gaze.

Strangely, Emily could almost see a warmth in Caius' eyes that contrasted his freezing skin. Even though her mind was having trouble telling the difference between him and Henry, she could identify the nuances aside from the few obvious things. The slightly elongated eye teeth were impossibly clean compared to Henry's rougher teeth. Caius' startlingly blonde hair was parted evenly down the middle, hanging in soft curtains to frame his face. Henry's was closer to a dirty blonde, almost golden with a gentle curl.

The similarities were jarring and the differences subtle, but those differences were very real.

A torch hanging on the wall above Caius' head suddenly gave a loud clang and broke off. Before he could even react, Emily stuck her arm out, catching the falling torch with her mind. It hung suspended in the air before she eased it down, still lit. Caius' expression changed from a trance-like state to one of shock.

"You're gifted." He said bluntly. Emily dabbed the blood trickling from her nose away with the pad of her finger.

"That's a cute way of saying it." She said with a thin smile, flipping her wrist over to show the 004 tattoo. "Henry and I are labratory experiments. We were trapped for twenty years either developing our skills or being forced to repress them. It was hell. Is gifted a term you use?"

"Some vampires have special gifts along with the standards like super speed or immortality. Aro can view memories through touch, for example." Caius clarified. "I... have no such gift."

"You have super speed and immortality as a standard?" Emily laughed as Caius smiled.

"You said you being fourty is laughable. I'm over three-thousand years old." He said. Emily gawked at him.

"I don't think harvesting five billion souls would even grant me that! Henry and I can raze and reshape the world however we want, I don't think that would be possible."

"Is this part of some sort of grand plan?"

"The world has fucked us over for our whole lives. Henry and I want to create a new, better world devoid of humans who would poison it. Burn everything and then rebuild it from the ashes." Emily said. She saw Caius' eyes dialate when she mentioned 'burning.' It made her face warm up.

"I rather like the sound of that. A cleansing inferno destroying the bad to leave behind the good." He said. Emily smiled with a nod. Words failed them both for a moment, once again transfixed upon each other. Caius cleared his throat before speaking next. "I believe we owe you dinner."

"Ah, yes, right." Emily said, blinking her daze away. Caius offered her his hand, which she gladly accepted as he led her down the hall. Emily could feel her heart racing and Caius could hear her quickened pulse. They didn't look at each other, but they both smiled.

***

Henry had never had a problem with eliminating bothersome people before. Hell, he and Emily had slaughtered children in cold blood once upon a time. It didn't matter who, if they irritated him, Henry would dispose of them.

Especially if he knew they were trying to take what was rightfully his.

When breaking the torch had failed (severely. If anything, Henry could see it only made his doppelganger more smitten), Henry seethed as he wiped his nose and sulked away into the shadows in search of wherever the hell dinner was supposed to be.

***

What surprised Emily was the fact that these vampires in particular didn't eat any human food. They were once human, they had stomachs, surely they could at least eat self-indulgently? Apparently not. As someone who would make a habit of stealing boxes of Kraft Mac n Cheese, Emily valued her calories, no matter how artificial they may be.

Still, their hosts made an attempt to be accomodating. The three of them had at least a little variance in their options. Emily and Henry shared a soup, but Henry also opted for a small salad. Eddie being the meat eater he was, got some absurdly fresh pork. As for his and Emily's... other need, the pig once again came to Eddie's rescue. Emily, however...

Like a woman starved, Emily consumed the human blood in the goblet she was given. Once no more easily came out, she scraped for the rest with her finger. If Henry was put off by what she was doing, he didn't show it. Emily grinned at him with bloodstained teeth and he offered a small smile back. Her soup went mostly untouched.

"The poor thing's been deprived for so long, hasn't she?" The woman seated across from Emily with silvery-blonde hair tied tightly back observed with an aloof tone. Her expression, though neutral, read of vague pity and a condescending look courtesy of her thin smile. Emily smiled, not meeting the woman's gaze as she ran her finger around the goblet's rim again.

"Forgive my lack of manners, Jane. Historically I'm prone to bathing in human blood, not drinking it." She said, sticking her finger in her mouth to get the blood caught on it. "That might be subject to change, though."

Emily remained oblivious to the way Caius was staring at her fondly. Henry of course didn't fail to notice it, staring daggers at the other blonde man. Henry cleared his throat in an attempt to gain Emily's attention.

"Emily, have you had the soup? It's very good." He offered. That was a lie; it was watery and salty. Emily opened her mouth to reply, but her attention was stolen again.

"She's so different than us, yet so similar. She bears wings, eats human food, doesn't have our speed, and doesn't shine in the sun, but she's gifted, has the preference for human blood, and has our eyes. It's fascinating." Jane observed, eyeing Emily curiously.

"I wonder what would happen if she was bitten?" Aro asked from his end of the table. Eddie looked up from scarfing down his food.

"She wasn't ever really bitten in the first place. She just took on some of the traits of her bat things. It explains her wings and the human preference." He said. Emily's eyebrow raised.

"You know, sometimes I forget that through your chronic stupidity, you can be very smart." She said. Eddie made a show of clutching his chest.

"It's really the end of times, you gave me a genuine compliment."

"That may be true, but it doesn't explain her eyes." Jane said. "They're unusually bright for the diet she's had."

"Beautful things are hard to explain." Caius suddenly said almost airily, unthinking. "Hers are the most beautiful shade of bright burning crimson I've ever seen."

"You're so pretentious. Just say red!" Henry spat. Emily looked at him, confused and a little hurt.

"I thought you said you liked my eyes." She said.

"I do! It's just that I... he... you... argh!" Henry let out a growl before getting up from the table and storming away. Everyone went silent, watching him leave. Emily's face flushed in embarassment before she got up after him. The halls were labyrinthine, but she found Henry pacing up and down one a few turns away, muttering to himself with his fists clenched.

"Henry, what's the matter?" Emily asked, her hands holding her upper arms as if stuck between sympathizing and chastising. He looked up at her, his bright blue eyes sunken and contorted in barely restrained anger.

"Don't you see what's going on here? They're trying to draw you in and take you away from me." Henry replied, pointing back in the direction they came from.

"Henry, don't be ridiculous. They're trying to be hospitable. I know it's hard for you to trust anyone, but I think you're being paranoid. Just because they're vampires doesn't mean they see you as a side dish." Emily said, her arms now fully folding.

"Please, don't tell me you haven't noticed Blondie over there looking at you like you're some fancy meal. His eyes never leave you."

"Just because Caius looks strangely like you doesn't mean you have to get jealous. He's just trying to be nice."

"You saying things like that makes me worry that you've fallen under his sway." Henry jabed his finger out again in an acusatory way. By now Emily was getting angry.

"I'm not spineless, Henry. To be honest, yeah, I've noticed. But you know that's part of my power. I steal souls through allure. What makes this different than any of the others?"

"Because he has my damn face!" Henry yelled. "You fell for it once, who says you can't do it twice?"

"Henry Creel, do you even hear yourself? You're being a paranoid, jealous freak."

"Maybe you're not being paranoid enough!" Henry pinched the bridge of his nose. "I want to go home as fast as we can. I don't want you being seduced by these... filthy bloodsuckers!"

When Emily didn't reply right away, Henry looked up at her to assess her expression. Her face immediately told him that he had fucked up. His eyes softened before Emily spoke.

"You... you do know that's what I am right?" She asked quietly. "I feed off of blood, too. Do you think I'm disgusting? Is that what you really think of me?"

"What? No, Emily, of course I don't!" Henry was quick to defend.

"Yes, you do. Don't lie to me. I could see it in your eyes. Every time Eddie and I had to feed, you were disgusted. Even when this became a need, you thought it was disgusting. That I was disgusting. Is that it?"

"Emily, no, I could never--"

"But you did!" Emily started taking slow, careful steps closer to Henry. He took steps back until he hit a wall, trapped. "Ever since this happened, you've thought about finding ways to get rid of it. It worked for you, surely it could work for me. But here's the thing: I don't want to go back. The Upside-Down turned you into a charred bundle of vines and flesh and it turned me into this. You're still a predator without that skin, but for me? Alone I'm inferior. I always have been.

"My powers were weaker than yours because Papa didn't perfect the system yet. My influence in the hivemind is weaker than yours. It takes more effort for me to steal souls and yet I still gave you them all lately so you could shed the skin you hated. The skin you didn't need to cause chaos or kill. Me, on the other hand? This is something I need to even get close to matching you. And the fact that you hate what it's done so much is telling.

"When you were in that charred skin, I never thought you were disgusting. I said I missed the old you, but I never even considered loving you less because of it. I've always accepted every part of you, be it you telling me what you did to your family when we were kids or you becoming a fleshy, grotesque mess. This," she gestured with one finger between them as tears threattened to spill over, "is supposed to go both ways. I can accept and love all parts of you, but you call this new part of me disgusting. And the fact that I can walk in here like this and be welcomed with open arms, even possibly loved for it, isn't earning you any brownie points when you can't say the same thing after several months.

"So, maybe Caius fell in love with me, but he fell for me as I am and will be. He's not yearning for a past that I don't want to go back to. And maybe that's what I need, don't you think? I spent years giving love to someone despite their flaws. I think I deserve some of that."

Henry found himself left speechless. In over twenty years, he couldn't recall any times they had ever fought, let alone like this. And Emily's feelings were genuine, he could tell that much.

"Emily, I..." he reached for her, but recoiled after Emily flinched away.

"Don't touch me." She whispered in a low growl. Hearing those words come out of Emily's mouth hit Henry in such a way that he felt physical pain. In fourty years, after abuses from his mother and from Papa... he hadn't ever felt this helpless and wounded. She started walking away and instinctively Henry followed her. "No. Leave me alone."

"Emily..." Henry tried reaching for her again.

"I said leave me alone!!" She screamed, whirling around and throwing her arms out. Henry launched into the air, flying backwards until Emily almost couldn't see him anymore. She let go, her hands falling limply to her sides. She'd never pushed someone that far back that aggressively before. Emily furiously wiped her tears away, but didn't clean the blood streaming out of her nose, this time through both nostrils. For five minutes she stood alone in the middle of the torch lit hall. Part of her maybe hoped Henry would come back for her...

Then again, did she really want him to? She wasn't honestly certain. The argument played back in her head like a broken record, becoming more and more aware of the fact that she felt a new sense of control. In her life, there had been very few things Emily was able to say she could control. For so many years, it felt like she had none. And if this was her seizing control...

Emily's mind made a decision she wasn't aware she was debating. Straightening her back, she strode through the halls until she found the ornately carved wooden double doors. Caius had said most times he could be found inside the library, and sure enough there he was, sat at a table with his eyes scanning through an ancient looking book. He heard her come in, looking up at her immediately. Emily strode over to him with a hard expression.

"Is everything alright, love? You look upset." Caius asked her gently, standing up to move in front of Emily. Maybe seeing Henry's face should have dissuaded Emily or at least made her feel uncomfortable after the fight. She felt none of these things, holding firm.

Shutting down any remaining mental protests, Emily wrapped her hands around the back of Caius' neck and pulled him in, smashing her lips against his. They were as cold as the rest of his skin, but Emily didn't care. Caius' surprise only lasted a second before he kissed her back. One hand tangled into her hair while the other one found her waist, pulling her closer. Emily alas still needed to breathe, so she pulled back, gasping for breath.

Caius raised an eyebrow to wordlessly ask her a question. Emily replied with a smile that quickly turned sinister as they both dove back in for another kiss, this one with even less holding back. A shiver ran up Emily's spine, though she knew it wasn't necessarily because of the cold. Maybe she knew what they were doing was wrong, but Emily didn't even come close to caring the warmer she felt.

In the back of her mind, she knew Henry could feel what she was doing through their connection. A short burst of sadness panged in her chest that didn't belong to her, quickly to be overtaken by her own rising ecstasy.

For once, Henry's burdens weren't hers to bear.