ReVengeful Heart

Chapter Fifteen

Enjoy

X-_X-_X

A hand, the gore of battle clinging to it, grabbed the blood bag, IV line, and needle with lightening quick reflexes. The owner of the hand flew from one side of the room to the next, collecting another needle, saline, and another secondary fluid. He passed the woman he had just lain on the bed, and cast a glance before rounding the bed, and approaching the IV stand.

The small room used for any and all medical necessities was deserted except for him and his patient, all the better to him. He didn't need Zechs' servants flitting over him, eager to serve him in the name of their mighty lord. He would take care of the girl himself.

He would do it quickly, too, as the others would more than likely be arriving any time.

He attached a bag of O-negative to the IV, prepped the needle, and grabbed the pale human's frail arm the next second. His hand paused above the crook of her arm, the IV line poised to sink into her soft flesh. His brows furrowed, a thought had struck him.

It'd be so much quicker if he simply fed her some of his blood. Not that much was necessary to bring her out of her near death state. He was very old, so only a mouthful or two would be needed.

But, no, he couldn't do that.

"Hm," Heero hummed leaning over Serena's pale face "Such a complicated little human, making a vampire think such things."

He lifted one hand from his activity, taking an extra second that he didn't have to brush his wrist across Serena's mouth. He did so out of pure curiosity. He had never had another's mouth on his wrist, what would it feel like to feed a human to heal them?

Heero's preternatural ears twitched, he heard a sound far away, a sound a human could never have heard. He knew that he was running out of time for privacy.

Heero sunk the IV line into Serena, dropping her arm listlessly and stepping backwards. He nodded once in satisfaction, glad that the mission was complete. He had saved the human's life.

Color returned to Serena's cheeks, but it was too much and too fast. The blood would replace what was lost, but as her body began to shiver with fever Heero noticed her limbs twitch with the deep dream of delusion.

She'd be sick for at least a few days.

"Heero!" Duo shouted, bursting into the room. The other preternaturally inclined people arrived on the scene. Trowa, Duo, and Mina nearly tumbling into the room, Wufei was at Heero's side in an instant, and Zechs headed straight for the bed where Serena's pale form was visible.

Mina let out a wail and crumpled in onto herself, the sound more wolf than human.

"What'd you do, 'Ro?" demanded Duo, fear written plainly across his face.

Heero rolled his eyes at the superfluous scene before him, crossing his arms and setting his face. "Use that nose of yours."

Heero scoffed at the fact that it should have been fairly obvious to any of them there in the room that Heero hadn't done as they had feared. Heero hadn't turned her to protect her life, or for his own hedonistic pleasures.

Zechs exhaled next to the bed, an action superfluous on its own, as he examined the still breathing girl. "She's alive."

Mina gave a wordless shout and bounded to the bed, pushing Zechs out of the way in her naïve haste. "Serena," she sobbed with relief. "Serena."

Duo gave an experimental sniff, not letting go of Heero's eyesight the entire time. He had to confirm for himself that his vampire friend hadn't done the unthinkable.

When Duo's defensive stance relaxed Heero snorted and asked "Satisfied?"

Duo held Heero's gaze a moment longer before turning his attention to Mina, and joining her side. Zechs fell back to stand beside Trowa, the both of them examining the scene with double edged swords of observation.

Heero glared at Wufei, the latter of which was still standing intimately close to Heero, glaring back just as fiercely.

"You certainly got the woman medical treatment quick enough," sneered Wufei after a moment, softer, but not soft enough that the supernatural ears of the room still couldn't hear, he added "Worried about her?"

"Who worries about a mere human?" Heero asked. He cocked his head sideways, staring at Wufei, not a single recognizable emotion on his face.

Wufei stared right back, proving justice with the silent battle of wills between Heero and himself.

"Serena," Mina sobbed again "Why isn't she waking?" Mina shouted, near hysterics.

Mina's form grew blurry for a moment, and it was obvious that she was partially transforming in her grief. She looked wildly around the room, her eyes flashing from person to person. "Why isn't anyone helping her?"

"Mina," Duo took a step forward, a forcibly relaxed looking smile on his face. He raised his arms in a placating motion.

"Someone help her!" Mina screamed. The end of the scream formed more growls than actual words.

"Your cousin will be fine," Zechs said, looking Mina over as if estimating if he were going to have trouble from her "She's receiving blood, and a human doctor will tend to her needs so that she does not garner an infection."

Mina paid him little heed. She dug a steadily clawing hand into the night stand beside where her cousin was resting, throwing it down and smashing it against the ground the next moment.

"Contain yourself!" demanded Wufei, his eyes flashing. He looked down his nose at the young lycan.

Duo made a quick movement, and was around her the next moment. His strong, sinuous arms wrapped around her, holding her in place. She thrashed, her movements similar to the feverish movements of the woman ill on the bed, and struggled until her strength seemed to leave her and the sagged into Duo.

"It's my entire fault," she sobbed, moaning as if in pain "I'm why she's here."

Duo fell backwards against the wall, bringing Mina with him. He seemed to try to envelope her entire body within his own as they met the ground. Covering her and comforting her at the same time. Mina buried her head into Duo's shoulder, reduced to sobbing and clinging tightly to him.

"More importantly," Zechs looked over at the other two vampires. "She's feverish, was she bitten by that beast?"

Heero didn't deign to respond, and Wufei only snorted. "Ask one of the mutts."

Trowa ignored the jab, simply looking back at Zechs. "No," he responded simply.

"Can we be certain?" Zechs clarified, his eyes were cautious, and they promised pain if lied to.

Mina turned, Duo's tight clasp the only thing holding her down now "Turned? Serena?" she looked wildly to the bed.

"Serena wasn't bitten," Duo said, loudly. He was assuring both the vampires and his mate. "She won't be turned."

Mina looked relieved, settling back into Duo's embrace and letting another slew of tears, these ones relieved, travel down her already tear stained cheeks.

"Let's go," Duo broke in, he rose, lifting Mina as well "Let's go to our room, you need to calm down."

"No!" Mina protested, she tried to back out of Duo's grasp. "I want to stay with Serena."

"You can come back and see her later," Duo assured "Come on, let the doc take a look at her, and then you can come back."

Heero looked on with uncaring eyes. It would be better for all if Mina left the room, she needed to settle her grief, and if she became agitated and transformed within the room it could be problematic. He didn't care that much though—he was certain that he could destroy any mutt before they caused too much trouble.

"Come on, love," Duo tried again, softer. When Mina didn't respond he donned a sarcastic smile "We're either walking out, or I'm gonna' wrestle you out."

Mina gave up, letting Duo direct her. It was easier during her sadness to let him conduct her decision. "We can come back after the doctor looks at her?"

"Of course," Duo assured. They left the room, Mina turning back at the doorway, her eyes on Serena, to murmur "Sere," before they disappeared into the hall.

Zechs shouted a name, the call ringing with more than just voice, but also with the call of a master to his bonded servant.

"Tch," Wufei smirked "You have too many slaves for one man."

"I have what I need," Zechs responded. Heero narrowed his eyes when a simpering man, dressed in black rather than the white of a traditional doctor, slid through the doorway.

"Even a human doctor?" Wufei questioned, his unwavering prejudicial glare not leaving the hunched form of the man.

"Even a human doctor," Zechs replied. He motioned to the other two vampires "Shall we take our leave?"

Wufei's response was to glide towards the exit, Heero's, inversely, was to stay standing, rooted even, to his spot. He met Zechs' gaze in a clear challenge to make him move.

Zechs nodded once, rolling his eyes "I have other matters to attend to," he looked to the doctor "You know what to do, heal her. There will be others arriving soon enough."

"Yes, sir."

Zechs smiled slightly "I doubt you'll make a mistake with Yuy here to watch after you."

"No," Heero promised "I doubt he will."

X-_X-_X

"Let me go!" Mina wailed as Duo nudged the door to their bedroom open. He used more force than was intended, the heavy door banging off its adjacent wall.

"Here," Duo released the firm grip he had on her as they stumbled into the room, Duo turning to close the door. He stood in front of it, and gave Mina a reassuring smile, the relaxed feeling of his exuding aura served to calm her.

"Duo," she said, her voice wavering "This is all my fault."

"Right," Duo snorted, he crossed his arms, tossing his braid over his shoulder as he did so, and leaned his back against the door. "'Cause you paid that pretty prink princess to send her minions after us and specifically attack your cousin."

Mina glared at Duo, wringing her hands in her lap "Not funny," she said "The only reason Serena is caught up in all this is because she came looking for me when I ran away like a coward."

"Hey," Duo said, crossing the room and wrapping his arms around the woman "You have never been a coward, and it was Serena's choice to come here."

"To chase after me, you mean," Mina sighed.

"She could have left anytime, she could have gone back to Silver Alliance, and she could have decided not to fight with us."

Mina simply made a sound of disbelief, turning away from him.

"You know I may run and hide but I never lie," Duo insisted, softly taking her chin and turning her face towards him "So you know I'm telling the truth."

Mina just shook her head.

"Serena will be fine, and we'll get rid of this problem with Zechs' sister, and life will be good," Duo assured, his smile was confident, but Mina wasn't.

"If you say so," she finally said, letting out a breath and throwing herself backwards onto the bed "The only one that ever had hope in Silver Alliance was Serena."

X-_X-_X

"If that mongrel wasn't already dead I'd split his head with my bare hands," snarled Uranus.

The others, namely the humans who were unable to scramble to the house at preternatural speeds, had arrived, and were crowded around Serena's still feverish and thrashing form. Quatre had arrived, hand in hand with Saturn, and had then broken the clasp, retiring to find his mate.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Neptune soothed her counterpart in an undertone. Louder she asked "Why is she so unsettled? If she hasn't been bitten…?"

"She hasn't," Duo reiterated from the door. Mina was still in their room, resting in her fear and grief, but he had opted to return to the medical room, and Serena's injured side.

Uranus bit her tongue. Cutting words had been the tip of it. It wasn't in her nature to trust the word of an Unnatural. She was more inclined to belief that he was lying, so that Serena was turned uninterrupted and became one of them. However, she did have to believe that these individuals weren't the same as their more usually vicious counterparts.

"The human body is mysterious," replied Zechs, standing across the room, observing the humans "The way it chooses to heal will be its own."

"And you know about healing the human body so well?" Uranus sneered derisively. Her tone was meant to be sharp, but it didn't have much muster in it, she sounded tired more than anything.

"I've had centuries," Zechs sneered arrogantly, a piece of his vampire mentality showing "To study the human body."

"Tch," was Uranus' reply, choosing to lean her shoulder against Neptune's and look down at the unconscious form of her long time comrade and friend.

"She's not close to death," Saturn interrupted in her tiny doll's voice. "I can feel that she's strong in body right now."

Neptune smiled down at the dark haired girl. "That's very relieving," Uranus said, resting a hand on Saturn's head. Saturn smiled and then relaxed back into the two taller women, leaning on them in a manner that spoke of her years of love and comfort with them.

Zechs pushed himself off from the wall he had been observing the room from. "She'll heal soon enough," he moved past Duo in a few quick strides and was in the hall within seconds "It is nearly time for me to retire for the day. She will be cared for."

No one replied to him. The humans stayed where they were, congregated around their sister at arms, but Duo turned and left, far more quietly than most were used to.

X-_X-_X

Heero opened his eyes slowly, taking in the darkness of his sleep time seclusion. His eyes studied the grain of the wood of his coffin lid before he wordlessly pushed it to the side, rising swiftly.

He adorned fresh clothing and carefully opened the oak door of his room. Pausing to listen just over the threshold he smirked to himself and progressed down the hallway.

He had always been an early riser, walking the Earth as soon as the poisonous sun disappeared below the horizon. However, today that habit would be especially fortuitous. Noin had been left in charge (ridiculous to leave a human in charge Heero thought) and his ears were telling him that the rest of his' species compatriots were still slumbering in their coffins.

Noin wasn't present in the room he was heading to either, none of the humans were, and his nose, which could pick up the foul scent of humans so easily, was telling his that they hadn't walked the hallways in some time. Nor did he sense Duo, Mina, or Trowa in his immediate vicinity.

It was all the better for him, he made his way to the human girl's, Serena's, room uninterrupted.

The expensively wallpapered walls made no impression on him as he sought the room of his goal. Slipping inside wasn't a problem, and he was beside her bed before she could even sense him. She was slumbering, still seemingly somewhat feverish, but he knew she wouldn't remain that way for long. She was always able to wake when necessary.

She didn't disappoint him, either.

A few moments later, maybe half a minute or more, the feeling of Heero's vampiric aura must have slipped through the cracks of her feverish dreams, because her eyelids began to climb skywards. It took a moment of bleary confusion, but finally she realized who was at her bedside.

"What are you doing here?" she bemoaned aloud, shifting and attempting to roll further away from the prussian eyed vampire. She huffed indignantly when she realized that she was still weaker than she wanted to be, and couldn't move away from him as she wished.

"Checking up on you," Heero rolled his eyes, delighting in the flush that spread on the human's cheeks "Obviously."

"Fine, Mr. High and Mighty," Serena muttered to herself, pulling the luxurious down comforter higher up on her frame "I'm going back to sleep, you know, because I got hurt in the fight with your psycho stalker's toy wolfs."

"Such petulance," grinned Heero "Just like a child."

"Least I'm not an old pervert who haunts the Earth to get his kicks in," Serena muttered.

Heero just grinned wider.

"Does the little child feel weak?" he asked, with as delighted of a tone as Heero Yuy could have "Does she feel like the child she is."

"The odd somewhat second person point of view gets old fast," Serena sighed, sitting up now that she had given up hope on Heero leaving any time soon.

"I had an idea," Heero told her.

"What a revelation," Serena sneered tiredly.

Heero didn't react to her interruption, he only continued on his own thought "You will be of no assistance in the upcoming battles as weak as you are."

Serena bristled instantly "I'll be just fine!"

"No you won't," countered Heero, snorting "Don't lie."

"I exist to maintain the balance between the Unnaturals and the humans," Serena exclaimed as loudly as she could. Her voice was hoarse with weariness. "I'll die if I have to."

"Hn," said Heero "I have a better way."

Serena stubbornly set her jaw, refusing to hear his words.

Heero circled the low bed "You will drink of me, and in that you will be healed and become marginally stronger as well."

"I'm not going to be turned!" Serena exclaimed, stunned.

"Did Silver Alliance teach you nothing of Vampire ways?" Heero scoffed "I'm not going to turn you; we're not going to exchange blood. You're only going to take mine."

Serena nodded solely, gulping. She did understand that, but everything around her, including her past training, was fuzzy in her pain. "How much?" she asked quietly, not quite trusting that she was acquiescing to taking vampire blood.

"Half a mouthful at most," replied Heero solidly.

Serena breathed in deeply through her nose, trying to get her uncooperative brain to process what was happening around her. Could she really accept what Heero was offering?

"It's heinous to take the blood of an undead creature into my body," Serena replied at last. She didn't meet Heero's gaze.

"Your Silver Alliance brainwashing speaks those words for you," Heero replied, his voice seemingly uncaring. "But you can take a while to decide," he grinned "After all I'm not the one wasting time in bed."

"You want me to choose to go against everything that I've ever been taught?" demanded Serena "To betray those that taught me?"

Heero smirked "Isn't that what you've already done?"

X-_X-_X

"Do you miss Silver Alliance?" Mina asked quietly, sitting at Serena's bedside and gripping her hand harder than the human would have preferred.

Serena winced "Sometimes."

Mina sighed "I do too, sometimes, Lita, Amy, Raye, I miss them all."

"I wonder what would happen if we ran across them now," Serena mused, entertaining her mind with the possibilities for a moment. It would be great to see their friends—but there was a strong possibility that it would be a violent encounter if it happened.

"They'd hate me," Mina's voice quivered. "I don't think it's even really set in yet, in my mind, that I really am an Unnatural."

"Mina," Serena used her thumb to stroke Mina's knuckle "After years of being your friends and allies if they couldn't overcome mere genetics and remain your friends, than they wouldn't be worth having."

Mina didn't respond immediately, and she didn't look comforted my Serena's assertion.

"At any rate," Serena said, throwing a piece of her long blond hair over her shoulder "It's not likely we'll ever see them again."

"Oh, Serena," Mina began crying, the large crystalline tears running down her cheeks "It's my fault that you can't be a part of Silver Alliance anymore, my fault that you had to leave our friends, my fault that you're in this conflict now, and all the others too."

"Don't say that Mina!" Serena insisted vehemently "If I didn't want to be here than I wouldn't, and if I wanted to go back, crawling to Silver Alliance, and beg for my life I would."

Mina sniffed, the sobbing not abating.

"The others aren't being left out in the cold either," Serena tried reaching forward to rest a hand on Mina's arm but found she was still too weak. "You know that they can go back and say that they were caught up in this, and that they were doing their duty by sorting this conflict out."

Mina did seem to brighten some at the idea that Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus wouldn't have to abandon all that they'd known as well.

"Can you forgive me, Sere?" asked Mina, leaning forward, nearly lying in the bed beside Serena.

"Of course, Mina!" Serena's middle toned voice rose, tears coming to her own eyes as well "You're my only family. I love you."

"Thank you," Mina said, fresh tears running down her face. She felt more at peace than she had in a long time "Thank you."

X-_X-_X

Heero slipped through Serena's door not ten minutes after Mina left, and Serena was left with the distinct impression that he'd been watching her visitors, and waiting for an opportunity to force his presence on her again.

"What do you want?" demanded Serena as soon as she saw his darkly clad form slip through the door, closing it securely behind him.

"Hn," Heero waited until he stood by her bedside, his amazingly startling eyes peering into her own "I told you that you still had time to accept my offer. That time is now."

Serena pursed her lips, clenching her fists in the blanket that covered her.

Heero smirked "I guess I know your answer."

Serena glared up at him "The only reason I'm accepting is so that I can get stronger. I need to protect those that I love, and those that need my protection."

"You can stop being righteous," Heero said "I think I prefer your cynicism better."

"I don't think you should prefer anything about me."

The corners of Heero's mouth tipped up and he held out a forearm to Serena "What's in my veins will be in yours."

"Don't get excited," Serena warned. She eyed the nearly translucent skin of the vampire, the greyish veins underneath them throbbed with evidence of the vampire's excited state.

Serena turned her cerulean eyes on Heero, a clear threat in them "I was born Serena Tsukino, and I was born human."

"Hn."

Serena grabbed the forearm in front of her "And I will die a human as well, don't think that you will ever have the opportunity to turn me."

Heero smirked, he used a quick movement to make a deep line in his skin, the scent of blood filling the air "Go ahead and suck my blood already."

As Serena did Heero laughed a long, hard bark of merriment, a sound Serena had never heard.

"My blood," Heero said, staring down at Serena's blond head as she filled her mouth with drop after drop of liquid "Your blood."

X-_X-_X

Another chapter of ReVengeful heart completed. I thank all that read, and I think that soon enough I'm going to start wrapping this up. This has been an ongoing story for quite some time.