We gathered the council members, and all the vampires we could call, close to 50. After quickly prepping them on the dangers of the Black Rose, and the hunters, the lab handed out vials of the antidote, and we set out.

I followed the tracker to an abandoned warehouse at the school.

"I told you high schools are no good." I whispered as we entered the grounds, staring at the dark building before us.

"One day you're going to have to explain that prejudice to me."

I gestured to the vampires behind. "Surround the building, enter on my signal." I forced Liam to set me down, and moved closer to the window. The glass was painted over, preventing me from looking inside.

I pulled up the mission progress window.

2% complete.

WARNING, IF THE HERO OR HEROINE DIES PRIOR TO COMPLETION OF THE MISSION, THE WORLD WILL COLLAPSE, AND THE MISSION WILL FAIL.

I was out of time.

I turned over to Liam, kissing him briefly on the lips. "I love you."

"Wife..."

I kicked the window in, jumping down accompanied by a rain of shattered glass.

Men in dark clothes and bronze masks stood in rows, staring up at the stage in front.

On a raised platform, Chelsea was strapped, unconscious, to a table, with needles in both arms draining into urns on either side. At her side, in dark robes stood a dark haired young man, wielding a silver dagger as he smiled at my entrance.

Theodore, Liam's brother.

Before I could process this new information, Theodore spoke up. "The vampire hag has arrived!"

"Seriously? Did you guys send out a memo or something with that nickname?"

"What, were you worried that we might kill your food before you get a taste?" He placed the blade in his hand against Chelsea's neck.

"Don't kill her!" I shouted, stepping closer.

"Why not?"

"You already have her blood... she's an innocent human."

"She's consorted with vampires, which is enough to condemn her." He shrugged. "Dead or alive, it never really mattered. The Black Rose is extremely potent. All I need are a few cups of her blood to destroy all of mankind."

"What if I take her place?"

Theodore paused before throwing his head back to laugh. The creepy sound echoed around the large warehouse, seeming to surround me in the creepy sound.

"All vampires are liars and betrayers." He motioned, and two masked men dragged out a figure chained in silver. The person struggled intensely, but couldn't shake off his captors or his binds. He turned his head wildly from side to side, his gagged mouth letting out a groan as his familiar red eyes met my own.

"Alex." I whispered. "Why?"

Theodore nodded and one of the men pulled down Alex's gag.

"It was the only way, Bel." His calm eyes, his pressured, arrogant way of speaking... it could only mean one thing.

It wasn't Alex. It was the traveler who inhabited Alex's body.

I felt frustrated. "Are you trying to kill me?"

His eyes widened. "Never! But I had to finish the story, before I lost myself again."

My voice was quiet and angry. "Even if it killed Chelsea?"

"She doesn't have to be the heroine, Bel. But while she sits in that position she's the shackles around my neck." He was begging. "Please understand, I can't change the rules. I can try to fight, but the story keep correcting itself. Even if I'm clear she forces me along. I can only find my way within these rules. This was the only way."

"Shut up."

"I can't do it myself... not directly, but heroines get kidnapped all the time."

"Shut up."

"Once it's done... I'll be free from this ridiculous restraint." As he spoke, his voice grew louder, his eyes tinged with black.

PSST!

I sprayed him in the face, calmly repeating. "Shut. Up."

"What...?" As he paused with shock, trying to wipe the fluid from his face, I reached forward and sprayed him multiple times.

"Stop it!"

"Taste the wrath of my Brother Behavioral Modification Tool's final form: ANTIDOTE EDITION!"

He convulsed, falling silently to the ground.

Theodore watched all this with a disgusted look. "You vampires are all the same. Lying, cheating, evil to the core."

"Wow, you suck. What are you even basing that on?"

"You stole my brother from me! Forcing me to put my plans into motion much earlier than intended." His eyes were full of righteous rage. "But I needed to rescue him before you could corrupt him!"

"For the record, I'm pretty sure the corruption was mutual... and he definitely wasn't complaining at the time."

"SHUT UP!"

"Fine, don't hear the truth."

"As amusing as this is, it's time for the human traitor to die."

His hand tightened around the blade, as he prepared to cut her throat. I reached inward for the power of darkness within me, striking out with tendrils of dark magic to freeze him in place. I rushed forward at top speed, grabbing Chelsea and tossing her towards the window. Before anyone could react, I picked up the now unconscious Alex and threw him too.

Liam and a vampire caught the two main leads, and once they were safe I fired off a flare, shouting.

"ATTACK!"

_______________________

CRASH!

Vampires came in from every window, falling to the floor with grace.

Theodore, who had finally been released from my magic, drew his sword. "Foolish vampires, you have come here only to face your final doom!" He threw something into the air, which exploded with a loud bang and a flash of light.

BOOM!

A spray of liquid flew through the air, soaking all the vampires. I felt an intense blood lust try to take over, and uncorked my vial, throwing it back, seeing the other vampires do the same.

Theodore stared in shock. "Wha... what are you doing? Why isn't the Black Rose working?!!"

Liam kicked open the doors of the warehouse, smiling. "Hello, brother dear."

"What took you so long?" I looked over.

"Unlike you lovely vampires, I can't jump 3 stories height down?"

"Hmm...Good point!"

"BROTHER!" Theodore called out happily. "I'm trying to free you from this evil ha..."

THUD!

Liam punched his brother in the face, watching him go down with a cool expression. "That's for calling her names."

THUD!

He hit him again. "That's for kidnapping her friends."

THUD!

"That's for sending people to kill her!"

THUD!

"And THAT's for causing all this nonsense right after my wedding day, preventing my honeymoon with my beautiful vampire wife!"

He threw the teenager down, wiping his hands.

I touched his arm. "Are you okay?"

Liam smiled grimly. "Don't worry, he's very hard headed. He'll be just fine. But we still have the rest to deal with."

We turned around, facing a room full of hunters in bronze masks and vampires.

I spread my hands out. "Any chance we can solve this peacefully?"

One of the masked men raised a stake. "KILL THE VAMPIRE SCUM!"

"Didn't think so." Summoning a sword from dark magic, I flung myself forward into the fight.

The world turned into a confusing mess of blood, tendon and bone. I moved, faster than the eye could follow, striking and retreating, preventing myself from being surrounded. It dragged on, lasting only minutes but feeling like days, and finally there were no more enemies to strike.

The vampires, of which 30 or so were left, let out a loud cheer.

I smiled at them, feeling lightheaded. Before I could comment, two strong arms surrounded me, pulling me into my husband's arms.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly, turning me from side to side to examine for injuries.

"I'm fine... but you're hurt.." I touched a small scratch on his neck, ignoring the hunger as a drop of his blood stained my fingertips.

"It's nothing. Let's tie up my brother and the rest of the survivors and head back..." He trailed off, staring at me. "Wife..."

"I- I'm okay." I muttered, trying to fight the darkness that was tunneling my vision. The blood loss from making the antidote and the use of dark magic had completely drained me.

"No, no, no, no." His voice was panicked, holding me tighter. "Stay awake."

I shuddered, seemingly seeing glowing words written behind his head.

You must accept your fate.

"No." The world faded into nothingness.

"BELAIRE!"

_______________________

"I brought the blood!" The man before me was still unclear, his hands holding out a cup of blood to me. His voice was cheerful, excited... hopeful. "Once you're done do you want to go exploring the western forest? I heard that's there's dragons back there, but I've never bothered to check. "

"... I saw another dove today."

He paused, sitting on the bed beside me.

"Flying nearby?" His tone took on an awkward edge.

"It killed itself at my feet again. Its blood spilled out a message."

"..."

"Do you want to know what it said?"

"..."

"'You must accept your fate.'" I laughed bitterly. "I won't be allowed to escape, will I?"

"Bel..."

"This world will reject me, force me back to the higher realm. Back to him."

"No, I..."

"I was a fool to think I could have a choice. " I choked back tears, no longer looking up at him.

I felt his hand, warm against my skin, grip my chin, gently tilting my face up until my eyes met his own.

"Bel." His dark blue eyes were blazing with an emotion I had never seen before. "I love you."

"..."

"I won't let him force you. No matter what the cost." He held the cup against my lips, his gaze gentle. "Now drink. Please."

I felt the warm blood spill down my throat.

_______________________

My mouth was full of the taste of blood.

My eyes opened wide with shock, I pulled back my fangs, only to see the bite mark over the previous small scratch on his neck.

I had been drinking his blood unconsciously.

I patted his overly pale cheek. "Liam?"

His dark blue eyes met my own. "Yes, wife?"

"I'm sorry... I don't know why I..."

"I do." He was overly calm. "I put your mouth against my cut, and your instincts did the rest."

"You jerk."

"I love you too, wife." He leaned against my shoulder, and I huddled against him, as we enjoyed the quiet company.

"Umm... Lady Belaire?" A vampire hesitantly spoke up. I recognized him as Orrick, the vampire from the blood test. "I know you and your husband are newly married, but can we head back to the castle? We're kind of in the middle of a bunch of corpses... in a high school. We should probably cover up the evidence."

I waved a hand. "Very well."

It was time to return home.

I helped Liam, who was still pale and tired, into bed. Smoothing back his hair with a trembling hand, I kissed his forehead.

"I'm sorry, I took too much blood."

He smiled, looking unconcerned. "It's my honor to help you."

"How about after this, neither of us get hurt for a while."

Liam reached out and hugged me, letting out a quiet sigh. "Deal. Besides, I still owe you a honeymoon."

I laughed, enjoying his embrace for a few minutes before reluctantly standing up. "I better go check on Chelsea."

"I'll miss you."

I leaned down and kissed him again. "I'll be back soon."

I left the room, feeling uncomfortable with the distance.

Let's get this mission done as soon as possible, and get working on spending the rest of his human lifespan together.

As I thought over the logistics of my never aging physique, I ran into someone, almost falling to the ground.

"Sister."

I backed up a few steps, feeling defensive. "Alex?" I stared into his eyes intently, but didn't see the prior hysteria, or the deep obsessive look he got when the traveler possessed him.

He rubbed his hair, obviously uncomfortable with my long gaze. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused."

"Really?" I sounded skeptical.

"Really. I don't get it. Ever since I drank that human girl's blood it was like... someone took over my body. I couldn't control myself." He groaned. "I did so many stupid things."

I squinted at him. "When did things change back?"

"After you sprayed me with that golden fluid. It was very effective."

Looks like the antidote worked. Fortunately it seems not a lot is needed for just the normal blood effect. I reached out and patted his head. "Go back to your room. We'll discuss the best way moving forward for vampires and humans later."

"Sounds good."

I started to walk away, but then paused.

"But one more thing:" I smiled at his confused look and held up a finger. "You have to stay away from Chelsea."

He shuddered with fear. "No problem doing that!"

"Good."

I kept walking.

_______________________

Reaching Chelsea's quarters, I saw a familiar face, polishing the silver in the outer lounge.

"Selina."

"Yes Miss?" She turned towards me with a calm expression.

"What are you doing here?"

"Protecting the hormonal teenager girl, just like you asked." She sighed. "I failed you once, since that little dung heap attacked me. But I won't fail you again."

"Selina?"

"Yes Miss?"

"You were literally just stabbed. You need to take some time off."

"Oh, don't worry about that. Just a little stab wound." She shrugged and began polishing silver again. Leaving me standing there, confused.

"... Selina?"

"Yes Miss?"

"You are... Human... right?"

She laughed. "I'm a butler."

What the heck does that mean?!!

Deciding to move on for my mental health, I entered Chelsea's room.

She woke up at the sound of me entering the room, sitting up in a daze.

"Belaire!" She jumped up and threw her arms around me. "You saved me!"

"It was a team effort. At least the Black Rose shouldn't bother you anymore."

"YAY!" She cheered, making me smile.

"Now. I have a question to ask you once more: Do you want to stay in the world of vampires, or return to the normal world?"

She leaned back, watching me seriously. "You know, once I thought that all I wanted in this world was to live in some mysterious world of vampires and hunters."

"What do you think now?"

"Now?" She chuckled. "I just want to live a long, healthy life. Being kidnapped once and attacked 3 or more times is more than I can take!" Reaching out to grab my hand, she continued. "I think I'll become a doctor, study hematology. Maybe one day my research can be useful to you. I'll always owe you for saving my life."

I patted her head. "No need to thank me. It's what I should have done as your friend."

She grinned at me, leaning back, content with her choice. Words popped up in front of me, hanging in the air.

"100% complete.

**** You have finished the mission! ****

Stay in this world?

YES/NO

I chose "Yes" with a grin. Waving goodbye to Chelsea, I headed back the way I had come.

Now to find Liam and discuss those honeymoon plans.

_______________________

Liam woke up in the darkness, knowing without a doubt that he was not alone.

His eyes searched in the darkness, seeing a familiar face.

"Alex." Liam frowned, trying to sit up but feeling weak. "Why are you...?"

Alex grabbed his head roughly, his eyes blazing. "Freeze."

Liam felt his huge frame lock up. He could still move his face, his eyes gazing around the room with anger as he struggled to move his limbs without success.

Instead, he felt a sharp pain at his neck.

Alex had placed a needle through the previous bite mark, puncturing the jugular vein carefully, guiding the tubing attached to it to a black container at his feet.

He then sat down, gazing at Liam with a calm expression. "I hate you, you know."

"I guessed, with the attempt to kill me. " Liam sneered as he considered screaming for help.

Alex seemed to guess his thoughts. "Scream if you like. I blocked the sound of this room with a barrier." He sighed, leaning back. "This is so annoying! You don't even understand why I hate you!"

"You want my wife." Liam spoke up, going off his intuition.

"SHE'S NOT YOUR WIFE!" Alex snarled, losing his composure. "You took advantage of a difficult time, and stole everything from me!"

Liam felt his life fading, slowly draining from the needle into the container. His consciousness faded out, as he worried about Belaire.

Liam's eyes opened once more, and this time they were calm. "Well, nice to see your personality is still as shitty as ever."

Alex's eyes widened. "You... remember!"

"Only towards the end. I'll forget it soon enough in the next world." Liam chuckled weakly. "Still trying your pathetic tricks. She'll never love you, you know."

"Easy for you to say! You just gave her whatever she wanted, with no concern for anything else, regardless of the consequences! Of course she likes you! But have you ever thought about me? I HAD to follow the rules! You know what would happen if I broke them! I had no choice but to send her away!"

"That's all very touching." Liam's voice was not sympathetic. "But you forgot one thing:"

"What?"

"Bel... she's not your possession. Not just a tool. You could have asked her, told her the stakes. Trusted her to choose to work with you."

"I... couldn't take that chance."

"And that's why she hates you." Liam smiled coldly. "So I'd appreciate it if you left me and my wife alone from now on."

"NEVER!" Alex laughed loudly. "You're going to die. She's already chosen to stay. She'll have centuries left to live by my side. All the time in the world for me to tell her the truth, bring her back to my way of thinking."

"Wow. You're so optimistic.... And also an idiot, if you think that plan would ever work. Have you even met my wife?" He wanted to laugh, but couldn't summon the energy. "She'll tear your head off and use it as a kickball."

"Shell do nothing, thinking you died from complications of her drinking too much blood. Die with despair!" Alex watched the blood flow with an increasingly satisfied expression. "It is your fate."

Liam's dark blue eyes opened wide one last time. "Screw. Fate."

His world turned into darkness.

_______________________

I headed back to the bedroom Liam was sleeping in, feeling cheerful.

Liam in this life is so clingy. I think it's the height difference. I should probably just resign myself to being carried everywhere. I chuckled at the thought. As long as it makes him happy...

I opened the door, and the first thing I noticed was the faint scent of blood.

"Liam."

He's not breathing.

"Liam... wake up." My hand touched his cheek, his skin was ice cold, even to my undead touch.

"Liam... it's not the time to nap, sweetie. You promised to take me on a honeymoon."

His heart isn't beating.

I felt a deep pain in my chest, as if something essential had been ripped out and destroyed. I swayed on my feet, as if taking a blow, but unable to register the wound.

"Liam..." My voice cracked on the name. "Please..."

There was only silence. I had no idea how much time passed as I sat there next to him, holding his hand, unable to speak, unable to cry.

"Sister?" A concerned voice spoke to me from the doorway. I turned and saw Alex, his face a perfect picture of concern. "Is something wrong with your husband?"

"He...he is..." dead. Dead. DEAD. Deaddeaddeaddeaddeaddeaddead....

Alex reached out, concerned. "Was it... from your drinking too much earlier?" He covered his mouth, looking horrified. "I'm so sorry!"

I reached out a hand, caressing Liam's cold cheek, smoothing back his hair.

"I'm sorry too."

"Sister, don't blame yourself. It was an accident. It's not your fault."

I leaned forward and kissed Liam's forehead, whispering. "Wait for me."

And then looked up.

"I know it's not my fault."

He looked calm as ever. "What do you...?"

His voice choked off as my hand gripped his throat and lifted him off the ground.

"You might have fooled someone else, but you forgot that I'm blood bonded to him." I smiled fiercely, showing my fangs. "Every drop of his blood is connected to my soul."

"W-what...?"

"And you have one such drop on your nice clean shirt. It wasn't there when I ran into you in the hallway earlier."

"N-no."

"You killed him." I dragged him by the throat behind me, walking into my bedroom, near my coffin.

"Sis..."

"Don't call me that." Snapping, I threw him against the stonewall, using dark magic to hold him there. "You aren't my brother. You're something else."

His eyes cleared. "You realized it."

"All too late." I smashed a fist down on my coffin, breaking it into multiple wooden splinters. "Too late for everything."

"Wait! Don't kill me! Don't you want to know what you've forgotten?" His voice was panicked, the words pausing my actions as I stepped closer with a makeshift stake in my hand.

"Forgotten?"

"You weren't always like this, Bel. Not always traveling in these lower realms without memories. Forced into high stakes missions without rest."

"...."

"If you spare my life, I'll tell you everything you forgot. Who you are... who I am... who Liam is!"

My hand clenched on Liam's name, blood dripping down the wood and pooling onto the floor.

"You've forgotten who you are, the higher and lower realms, all of it! But I can help you remember!" He looked at me with an affectionate expression. "Trust me, I didn't want to kill him, but I had to. Everything I do is only for your own good."

I stepped closer, studying him quietly. "It's an interesting proposition." He visibly relaxed. "But you forgot one thing:"

"What?"

His eyes widened as I drove a stake through his heart.

"You killed my husband. The only thing I want is your death."

"Bel..." He tried to claw at the wooden stake in his chest, but couldn't move under my dark magic. "You don't understand what you're doing! You'll destroy everything!"

"So?"

He was having trouble speaking, but I could make out one word: "....fate."

I laughed. "Screw fate."

I summoned a blade of darkness and cut off his head. It fell to the ground with a thud, along with his body as I released it. Smiling, I walked back to Liam's bed, laying beside him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, dear." Tears finally formed, but I blinked them back. "I'll come find you now."

I changed the sword of darkness for a knife, and pointed it at my chest.

"See you soon, Liam."

Before I could push it into my heart, a blue message formed in the air in front of me.

WARNING! YOU HAVE KILLED THE MALE LEAD! AUTOMATIC WITHDRAWAL FROM WORLD INITIATED....

The world faded into nothingness. I was alone in the darkness. Bright blue letters formed once more.

You have broken the rules.

"Take your rules and stuff 'em where the sun don't shine."

...

"Now I completed the mission. Send me to the next world. I have a husband to track down."

...

As punishment for your crime, your memory will be stripped in the following world. Mission difficulty will be increased.

"What? You can't do that!" I struggled, shocked, but there was nothing to resist against. It was me, the nothingness and the words that condemned me. "No! I have to find him again."

YOU WILL ACCEPT YOUR FATE.

"NO!"

No matter what.

_______________________

I woke up in a bright classroom. Confused.

Where am I?

Wait...

Who am I?