"Here we are," I stopped next to a tree abruptly. "She's not here."

Yagari was silent as he stepped forward, in front of me. I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Is...there anything you want to find?" I began hesitantly. "It's late, and-"

"No, there's something here," Yagari interrupted, bending down to inspect something. His shoulder brushed against a dark, formless tree trunk, and two things happened.

The tree trunk Yagari had brushed against burst out, turning into a cackling black figure that lunged at Yagari's throat.

Tiny, sharp blades came flying out of nowhere, the metallic surface flashing against the pale light of the moon. They all flew in my direction, and only fright and shock made me drop to the ground, sending most of them flying into the ground behind me. One went through my shoulder, the force behind it making it tear through flesh to go flying out the other side, while another grazed my cheek. The wounds hurt, and I knew they wouldn't heal. Whoever threw them had thrown Mother Metal darts.

"Behind you!" Yagari roared, locked in combat with the shadowy figure. I threw myself to the side, just as a glittering blade shot through the air where I had just been.

Scrambling to my feet, I faced my attacker. In the dark, I could still see him, and I imagined that he could see my eyes gleaming red as a vampire.

I need a weapon.

That was the first thought that rang in my head as my attacker ran at me, his speed faster than I expected.

Don't be scared.

I forced myself to breathe deeply and held my left palm outwards, facing the sword's tip.

Don't flinch.

I watched as my attacker's expression turned from glee to confusion as his sword stopped in front of my palm. A small white circle, just big enough for my hand to cover, rippled on the palm of my hand, stopping the sword from piercing me. The white light of the circle sent faded patches of light across the clearing we were in, and I saw another shadowy figure darting to me on my left.

Reflexes kicked in and I whirled around, erasing the white circle and molding it into a white pole, holding it one-handed lengthwise like a quarterstaff. I couldn't move my right arm - the first attack of darts had made my shoulder numb and painful.

The second attacker moved first, tiny blades flying towards me like a swarm of flies. That was where the initial attack had come from.

I couldn't move fast enough to block or avoid the blades, and felt them pierce my skin, most of them grazing my neck and face, while some went into my arms and legs. Immediately my limbs gave way, the effects of the Mother Metal sending zaps of pain and numbness through my body. The pole disappeared silently, and I fell to the ground in an awkward heap, unable to move.

At least they didn't hit the vitals, I thought dazedly. If they had hit my heart or head, they would have gotten me.

"Saki!" I heard Yagari yell. He was still fighting close by, but he seemed to be having trouble.

My two attackers' faces popped into view, the silhouette of their heads outlined by the light of the moon. One clamped a hand over my mouth, pinching my nose as well, as I lay there helplessly. Were they going to give me a slow, painful death through suffocation?

I could feel the other attacker begin pulling out the blades and darts, each yank met with a little pain. It did little to let me move. As soon as he had pulled a blade or dart, he placed something cool on the wound, something that zapped me as soon as it touched me.

They wanted me alive, I realised slowly, also noting that the person holding my mouth wasn't holding on so tightly that I couldn't breathe.

"Saki!" Yagari's cry came again. This time, two gunshots accompanied it. The person performing whatever surgery on my body exploded in a puff of dust, and the person holding my mouth let out a yelp, before releasing his grip, reaching over to pick something up before running off clumsily, his footsteps crashing over dried leaves and grass.

Yagari didn't chase him, his attention fixed on me as he began plucking off the mother metal pieces they had been busily putting on me. As each piece came off, I slowly felt more relaxed, without Mother Metal zapping me all the time. Eventually, I couldn't feel any more static, except the static that still zapped from the cuts the dart and blades had given me. Gritting my teeth, I scrambled to a sitting position, still wary of my right arm, which tingled and stung.

"We should go now," I managed to say. "There might be more."

"Hold on," Yagari was sifting through the pile of ashes that remained of my attacker he shot. He held up a dusty jacket, and reached to investigate both pockets. One of his searches proved successful and he held up a ragged piece of paper.

"Now we can go," Yagari nodded in approval at the paper. "Can you walk?"

"Maybe," I stood up shakily, my whole body weak from the effects of the Mothet Metal. "I think s-"

"Don't bother," Yagari was quick to toss me on his shoulder, carrying me like a sack of potatoes.

No sympathy for the injured, huh?

"What was on the note?" I asked Yagari as he marched through the headquarter gates, with me still slung over his shoulder. The headquarters in front of us were dark, except for a single light glowing through the window of Kaien's office. All the hunters would be at home.

"Too dark to see," Yagari replied briefly as he marched into the building. "But they might have just been stray vampires."

"Stray?" I watched as a new stone step appear whenever Yagari took another step up the stairs.

"The list is pretty accurate, but not the best," Yagari replied.

"Ok." I didn't know what else to say.

"And don't think I forgot what you were doing when you were fighting those vampires," Yagari spoke again, his tone accusing.

"Huh?" I twisted my head to look at him. "What?"

"The light shield and pole," Yagari replied flatly. "You know how to wield your light now?"

"Oh, that," I tried to come up with a new topic. "And they weren't vampires, they were wielding Mother Metal weapons."

Yagari stopped so suddenly I had to bite my lip to hold back a scream as I rocked forward, the stairs looking quite dangerous suddenly.

"What makes you think they were Mother Metal?" He replied quietly. I was confused.

"They zapped me when they touched me, and my wounds wouldn't heal. Doesn't it mean they're anti-vampire?" My words were met with silence at first. Finally, Yagari spoke.

"Let's go and find Kaien first."

~

The desk was cool against his face, Kaien noted as be dozed, feeling the grainy texture of papers under his hand. Who asked him to be president? It was too hard. Too tiring.

He should really appoint Adrianna as his secretary.

Kaien felt himself slip closer to the clutches of sleep and relaxed even more. He never had enough sleep nowadays, what with all the drama in the association.

He heard the door opening and relaxed. Adrianna must be back. She could help him with the paperwor-

"Wake up." The speaker wasn't Adrianna. What a shame. Maybe he should check who that person is.

Maybe.

A hand landed on the desk, pulling Kaien out of his dreamlike state. Looking up blearily, he saw Yagari staring at him.

"You're back," he rubbed his eyes, letting go of a yawn. "How'd it go?" Placing his hands on the desk in front of him, Kaien realised to his chagrin, that there was a small puddle on the desk. He'd been drooling.

"We were attacked," Yagari replied bluntly, gesturing behind him. "Saki's injured."

That woke him up.

"By whom?" Kaien got out of his chair. "Is she okay?" He saw the brown-haired girl sitting in the armchair.

"I'm alive," Saki replied, meeting Kaien's eyes. "Sorry about the blood."

"It's fine," Kaien replied absently as he picked up a first-aid kit from his desk. He had no idea where it had come from.

Must have been Adrianna.

"We found a note in one of their pockets," Yagari produced a small grubby sheet of paper. "It's smudged, but somewhat legible."

Wordlessly, Kaien took the note, passing the kit in exchange to Yagari for him to attend to Saki.

The words a thick and messy, written in lead pencil, and smudged quite heavily. With difficulty, Kaien made out the some letters.

G-- th- --ood --d ---urn

Frowning, Kaien peered more closely at the sheet. Get the, he assumed to be the first two words, but he had no idea what the rest were. Smears and smudges obscured and distorted them beyond recognition.

"Ow!" The yelp came from Saki as Yagari dabbed at her face. "That hurt!"

"I thought you were mature by now," Yagari grumbled. "You still yelp like a baby and this isn't even antiseptic."

"If it isn't antiseptic, what's on it?" Saki sounded suspicious.

"It's water," Yagari replied, dabbing at the spot again.

This time, Saki didn't make a sound.

"Do you have any idea who the attackers were?" Kaien decided to interrupt. "I can't figure out their purpose in attacking you from this note."

"Vampires," Yagari replied.

"Hunters," Saki said at the same time.

"Both?" Kaien racked his brain. "How many attackers?"

"Three," Yagari replied this time. He has moved onto dabbing Saki's arm. "But Saki thinks they're hunters. I think they're vampires."

"We don't have any hunters going stray, I'm sure," Kaien mused. "Are you sure you weren't mistaken, Saki?"

"They used Hunter weapons," she replied defiantly. "So they can't be vampires."

"Hunter weapons...?" Kaien looked to Yagari for confirmation.

"The one I fought didn't use a Hunter weapon," Yagari considered. "But the other two might have used them. One turned to dust when I killed it. The other fled."

"So it was a vampire and hunter that attacked Saki," Kaien concluded. "And only one used a Hunter weapon."

"But the one that turned to dust was touching the Hunter weapons," Saki protested. "He was yanking the darts out of me and when Yagari shot him, he turned to dust."

"Are you sure?" Kaien looked sceptical, but Yagari was nodding thoughtfully.

"The one I shot was holding some small objects," he admitted. "I never thought they were Hunter metal."

"It's the only thing that can keep me down." Kaien thought he heard Saki mutter.

"What was that?" Yagari turned to Saki. Considering he had heard Saki from this distance, Kaien doubted Yagari had any trouble understanding her.

~~~

Zero glared at the imposing metal door less than 5 metres from him. He sat against the wall, his legs stretched out in front of him and the toes sore after attempting to kick the door down. He gazed down at his bruised knuckles, trying to fight off the wave of frustration and fear.

After being roughly escorted to his cell by the twins, who no doubt took the opportunity to abuse him relentlessly, Zero had been locked in the small, empty room for a number of hours that he had no way of counting. His clothes were dishevelled and grimy, reflecting the cell's disgusting state, and he himself was not in much better condition. The skin on his cheek felt tender and sore when he touched it, especially the area around his eye, but he brushed aside the pain easily.

Injuries meant nothing - he healed fast and they wouldn't be there by tomorrow at the latest. He was more worried about the pain in his chest. A sinking feeling told him he may have broken a rib or two, to say nothing of the pain.

How many hours? Zero pondered. Had it already been a day? Did anyone know he was missing?

The thought boiled in him, as he imagined himself waiting in this dingy room as the grubby damsel in distress, waiting for Kaien to save him. He would never live that down.

Time to figure a way out then, Zero concluded, getting up with a grunt as a new wave of pain erupted from his chest. How long would those ribs take to heal?

He walked over to the door painfully and slowly, before placing an ear to it, hoping to hear any sign of people approaching. He thought he heard some footsteps, but then again, that could have been his imagination. Maybe a direct approach would be better.

He knocked on the metal door lightly, careful with his knuckles.

"Hello?" His voice was hoarse, and he cleared it, trying again. "Hel-"

"What?" A harsh response came from outside the door. "What do you want?"

It sounded like one of the twins from earlier. Zero cursed silently. If it had been someone else, they might have been easier to trick. The twins already had their guard up and he didn't blame them.

"Nothing," he muttered. Time to think of a Plan B. 

Sitting down, he leaned against the door with a sigh, unconsciously reaching up to touch his chest, feeling pain pulse from his injury.

~~~

So, my dear readers, sorry for that false alarm about update (ehehe...) Basically, I accidentally pressed 'publish' when I was on my phone, because of Wattpad's stupid update. They just had to put the publish button where the save button was ;-; Oh why did you do that? But because I felt guilty for baiting you guys, I decided to finish this chapter ^^ So here's a nice 2300 word long chapter. Enjoy!

~Evil_Incubator