She gently placed the body to the ground. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her hands reaching out to close his vacant eyes. She turned and walked away. She's been doing this for 200 years, but the guilt won't just leave her. All of her kind carries the guilt of killing in order to survive, well, the young ones anyways. But she carries an even greater burden of guilt than any. Her selfishness has caused all of this chaos. In exchange for her happiness, she sacrificed the future of the whole world.

At the corner of her eye, she saw a fledgling in hot pursuit of a blue-haired girl. She narrowed her eyes. The girl looked vaguely familiar. She followed them to a dark alley.

The fledgling had caught up with the girl, his arms wrapped around her in a deadly embrace, his fangs bared. But he suddenly stopped his attack and turned around. He saw a figure in white by the alley's entrance. The two locked gazes for a moment and with a nod of reverence, the fledging let the girl go and flew away.

Sighing her relief, the blue-haired girl stared at her rescuer with eerie fascination. She wanted to thank her but her voice was caught in her throat. She's breathtakingly beautiful. Her golden hair, heart-shaped face and porcelain skin combined with her white dress create the illusion that she's a goddess. As the lady approached her, she could see recognition in the lady's sky blue eyes.

"Hilde?" the lady asked.

Hilde looked at her questioningly. "How did you know my name?" The lady smiled. That smile, Hilde thought. I'm sure I've seen that smile before. "Have we met somewhere before?"

"Maybe," the lady answered mysteriously.

Hilde just shrugged. "By the way, thanks for saving me."

The lady smiled again. "You better go. It's not safe to be out here all alone."

Hilde nodded and started walking away. All of a sudden, a group of men blocked the entrance to the alley.

"Hilde!"

"Blair!" Hilde called out as she ran to one of the men. The man she called Blair hugged her protectively, his brown eyes flashing with relief.

"Thank God you're safe, Hilde," he said.

Hilde looked up at him. "One of then almost got me but a lady scared him away."

Blair cocked an eyebrow. "What lady?"

"That lady," she said as she turned around. "Huh?" she muttered when she saw that the alley way was empty.

Heero silently sat on his favorite chair, immersed in his thoughts. To his utter dismay and delight, the Prophecy has been fulfilled. For 200 years, they've been living in the Golden Age of Darkness. The vampires now truly rule the world. But with this power also comes great responsibility. As the King, he had to make sure that everything goes smoothly. Rules have to be established in order to ensure that this age will continue on forever. First of all, they have to control the siring of vampires. They don't want to have more vampires than there are humans to feed on right? And secondly, he has to see to it that no vampire will go to the extreme of gluttonously feasting on every human that walked on earth. Humans is a scarce natural resource, actually the most important of all resources for them so they have to utilize them wisely. That's why he released a decree stating that all vampires can do whatever they like during a hunt to satisfy themselves as long as they don't massacre whole towns or countries, or do anything that will rapidly deplete the human population. They need humans to continue breeding and to multiply. They don't want to totally wipe them off existence.

To be honest, he doesn't care about any of this. All that matters to him is that finally, he has his Queen by his side. He smiled as he touched the heart-shaped locket hanging form his neck. After 1100 years, he still wears it. It keeps him company whenever she leaves to hunt alone. At first, they always hunted together. Being young, only 200 years old, she needs to feed everynight. And after 50 years of accompanying her, he decided to let her hunt alone, knowing that she wanted to try doing things on her own. And he's certain that she's capable of taking care of herself. As young as she was, she's really very powerful, already as strong as his four advisors. His blood and her heritage as a white witch make a potent combination. And surely she'll grow even more powerful as the years progress, eventually surpassing his four advisors. She's the Queen afterall. But she'll never surpass him. No vampire in existence will ever surpass him. He's the last Vampire King, the most powerful of them all.

He felt their presence even before they even neared his study. He watched them enter unceremoniously. Duo plopped on the couch, Quatre sitting beside him. Wufei and Trowa on the other hand, opted to remain standing, leaning by the wall near the door. Heero didn't need to ask them nor to read their minds to know that the search didn't go well. He can clearly see the frustration on their faces. He felt guilty. While he's happy and contented having Relena with him, his four friends are still miserable.

"Maybe we should stop looking. Usually they were reborn every after 50 years but it's been 200 years and we still can't find them," Quatre quietly said.

"NO! We have the rest of eternity to look for them. We'll find them eventually," Duo yelled, though more at himself than at Quatre. He's starting to lose hope too.

"Maybe when the curse was broken, not only was the cycle of them dying stopped but also their being reborn again," Trowa voiced out.

"It's possible. But I have this distinct feeling that they're somewhere out there. That we'll find them again," Wufei told them.

"You all just need to be a little more patient," Heero told them. He's going to say more but he stopped and looked at the open window. After a few minutes, the other four turned their heads to the window too. They saw Relena enter the window, her hair and dress billowing in the night wind. She smiled at the four and went straight to Heero. Heero never took his eyes off her as she approached him and sat on his lap, her hands clasped around his neck. He gave her a quick kiss then said, "You're back early. Did you have any troubles with the Vampire Slayers?"

Wufei snorted. "Please. As if those slayers can touch the Queen or any of us. The only vampires that they could kill at night are the fledglings and the weak ones. And they are dishonorable, hunting us at day, looking for our lairs while we are asleep and helpless then setting us on fire or exposing us to the sun. They're not worthy of the name 'Vampire Slayers'."

"What other name should they use, Wufei? They slay vampires so they are called Vampire Slayers. Besides, they surely make this era more interesting for us. Without them, we won't have any excitement around here," Trowa countered.

"And they managed to kill many vampires over the years. There are only less than 70 of us left," Quatre added.

"70 is still plenty enough for me," Duo answered. He eyed Relena carefully, noticing her cheeks are glowing and her eyes are sparkling with joy. "You looked happy, Lena. Had a good hunt?"

Relena stood up and sat beside Duo and Quatre on the couch. "The hunt was fine. Ordinary. But I have good news for you," she said beaming at them. "I found Hilde."

Four pairs of eyes looked at her increduously. "Really?" Duo choked out.

"Yup. I just finished a kill when I saw a fledgling chasing a girl. She looked familiar so I followed them. The fledgling recognized me as the Queen so he left the girl alone when I asked him to. I confirmed that it's Hilde. And she somehow knew that we've met before."

Wufei said, "So if Hilde was reborn that means ---"

"All the other girls were reborn too," Trowa finished for him.

"Finally," Quatre said with relief and hope.

******************************

Sally went down the basement, 5 men trailing behind her. All they saw were crates and junk that usual basements have. But they weren't fooled. The men inspected each crate while Sally searched the floor, looking for a switch or a trap door. She smiled when she felt a trap door. The trap door gave way as she hit it with an axe, revealing a coffin. She signaled to the others. They opened the lid and found a vampire sleeping inside. They poured gas over him then lighted a match. They watched solemnly as the vampire burned into a cinder. Having found no other slumbering vampires there, they left the basement.

When they got back to the Slayers' building, Dorothy and her group were already waiting for them.

"How did it go?" Dorothy asked Sally.

"We only found one," Sally replied as she sat down beside her. "You?"

"Three."

"Do you think that one of those you destroyed was the King?" Sally wondered.

"I doubt it. He's supposed to be special, being the King and all," Dorothy replied.

"Yeah, you're right. No vampire slayer has known where the King or any of his advisors slumber. Nor did anyone ever laid eyes on them and survived."

"Do you think that we'll ever be able to find and destroy the King? What if the vampire we met last night was telling the truth?"

"Stop right there!" Sally yelled. A man with red hair and green eyes turned around to look at her, holding a 15-yr old girl in his hands.

"Vampire Slayer," the man hissed, baring his fangs. "How foolish of you. You're all alone, how can you stop me?"

"She's not," Dorothy answered. She and 20 men surrounded the vampire, all of them holding torches. "Release the girl," she ordered.

"And what will you do if I don't?"

"We'll barbecue you," Sally answered.

The vampire smiled. "Is that all?" he said as he plunged his fangs down the girl's neck. The slayers hold their torches at him, trying to burn him. But whenever a torch got near him, the flame dies out. When he dropped the girl's body to the ground, all the torches' flames were out. Grinning evilly, he vanished then reappeared at Sally's side, grabbing her by the neck. "Have you mistaken me for a fledgling, slayer? I can see that you've done your research. The fire and the sun are the only things that can kill us. But you forgot something, we have supernatural powers. You couldn't kill me that easily. I'm very old, even older than the King himself. And I can kill all of you in a blink of an eye, just like I put out the fire in your torches. But the King would be angry if I kill even if I already had my fill. It would be a waste of limited resource. Besides, slayers are fun to have around. You give us something to look forward to everynight."

Sally struggled to get free of his grip, the other slayers brandishing their swords, guns, crossbows, tranquilizer guns and crosses. The vampire shook his head and laughed at their foolishness. He raised a hand and the weapons all fell to the ground, while a crucifix flew to his hand. He held it against his cheek for a moment before throwing it to the ground.

Sally unfazed asked, "Where's the King?"

The vampire looked at her, amused. "So you think that destroying the King will destroy us all?" he asked, reading her thoughts. "That's where you're wrong. The Queen and his advisors were linked to him, they'll die if he dies but not the rest of us. You have to hunt us individually to kill us."

He vanished again then reappeared at Dorothy's side this time, wrapping her in an intimate embrace. "It's very foolish of you to think that you can destroy the King. You saw my power, but my power is nothing compared to the King. Even if you managed to find his lair, which is very impossible, you cannot kill him. Any mortal who gets near him while he's asleep dies by his own hands. It's like an innate security system. And aside from that, he's immortal. He wouldn't die, even if he himself like to. It's in the Prophecy, it's his destiny to rule forever. The Golden Age of Darkness will continue and there's nothing you can do about it."

He bared his fangs and let Dorothy feel them before pushing her away. They all stared at him, wide-eyed as he rose to the air. "Until next time, slayers," he called out, then flew away.

"Even if what he said is true, we still have to try. Do you want our children to live in such a dark, dreary place?" Sally asked her.

Dorothy shook her head. Sally's right. They just have to try. For the sake of the future generation.

Catherine knocked at the door. "Come in," the voice inside called out. She entered and saw the Mother Superior smiling at her.

"Ah, Sister Catherine. Welcome back. How's your mission in Africa?"

"It went well, Mother. Thanks for allowing me to go there," Catherine answered.

"The pleasure is all mine. Do you plan to go to another mission?"

"Maybe next year. I think I'm going to rest for a while. That last mission really drained me."

"You can rest as long as you want. Well then, I can see you're tired. You can unpack your things and change before lunch."

"Thanks, Mother," Catherine replied as she stood up and went out of the room.

******************************

Hilde walked in the living room and gasped. She saw a tall guy with a long braid standing by the door, his violet eyes regarding her intently. But the strange thing is, she couldn't feel any fear. It's like she could hear a voice at the back of her head assuring her that he wouldn't hurt her. She also has this queer feeling at the pit of her stomach. Somehow, everything seemed so familiar, so natural.

"Hilde," the guy said.

"Who are you?" she breathed. With a blink of an eye, the guy was beside her.

"I came for you, Hilde," he said, cupping her face. He leaned down and captured her lips. Hilde closed her eyes, drowning at the sensation and the images that flowed in her head. When they pulled apart, Hilde whispered, "Duo."

Duo smiled at her. "So you remember. It's time, Hilde. Come with me. We'll finally be together."

Hilde sadly looked at him and withdrew back. "I can't, Duo."

Duo couldn't believe what he just heard. Hilde, refusing to come with him? "Why?"

"My past may belong to you but not my present. Or my future."

Duo furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?"

As if on cue, the main door opened. "Sorry I'm late," the russet-haired man said. He then saw Duo in the living room. "Who's our visitor, Hilde?"

Hilde went to him and hooked her arm in his. "Blair, this is Duo, an old friend of mine. Duo, this is Blair, my husband."

Blair eyed Duo warily. There's something wrong about him, he just can't pinpoint what. He shrugged and offered a hand. "Hi. Nice to meet you, Duo. Maybe you could join us for dinner."

Duo ignored his hand and coolly answered, " Nah. I just ate. See ya around." He walked towards the door. But before going out, he turned and locked gazes with Hilde. I'll come back for you.

Catherine tossed and turned on her bed. In her dream, she can see herself die many times over, always by plunging a dagger at her heart. Also, a face kept on appearing in her dreams, a guy's face --- green eyes and brown hair that is combed to one side. He's always there. A name kept echoing in her mind. "Trowa," she mumbled in her sleep. When she opened her eyes, she saw him gazing at her tenderly. She blinked a few times. That guy in my dreamÖ When she confirmed that he's really there, sitting by the edge of her bed, she sat up. She studied him for a while. No use asking his name, she already knew who he is. But there are other questions that she could ask, that she needed to hear the answers to. Scrunching up the courage, she asked, "How did you get in here?"

Trowa's lips twitched up a bit. "I can go anywhere I please, Catherine. Anytime," he replied.

"What do you want from me?"

"I don't want anything from you. I want you . Are you ready to be with me forever, Catherine?"

Catherine shook her head. "You're mistaken. I already belong to someone else. I belong to God, married to him. I can't ever be with you."

Trowa's face remained expressionless. "Are you sure about that?" he breathed, his eyes flickering with emotion. He leaned towards her. Before she could stop herself, she closed her eyes and waited for his lips to brush hers. Passions flared between them. She never felt this wanton before as they continued exploring each other's mouths. But there's still something holding her back. She then pulled away. Trowa looked at her, giving her a small smile before standing up.

"I'll be back. I hope you'll be ready by then," he said then disappeared.

Catherine opened her eyes and jerked into a sitting position. "Just a dream," she said. But it felt so real. She touched her lips and gasped when she saw her fingers. "BloodÖ" She looked around her room and saw the window was open. She stood up and went to the window. Shutting it close she said, "So it's not just a dream afterall."

Sally and 10 of her comrades were patrolling the streets. The guys were in front while Sally brought up the rear. She saw something move towards the alley they just passed. "Guys, I saw something," she called out as she ran and followed it. She entered the alley and saw a Chinese guy waiting for her.

"Sally," the guy said. Sally stared at him. He looked very familiar.

When Sally's friends entered the alley, it was empty.

Dorothy led her 10 friends in patrolling the park. Everybody turned their heads to look back when they heard something from behind. Turning their attention back in front, they saw that Dorothy was gone.

Sally opened her eyes and found herself in a rooftop. She saw the Chinese guy she had seen earlier in the alley regarding her intently.

"Do I know you? How did you know my name? Why did you bring me here?"

"Why ask me all these questions when you already knew the answers?" the guy replied.

"I knew the answers?" Sally asked, baffled.

The guy slowly approached her, never breaking eye contact. "Yes. Remember, Sally. Remember me, remember everything," he whispered as his face came closer to hers, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss. Sally moaned. She cupped his face, his arms enveloping her waist. Something long buried deep within her is returning to the surface.

"Wufei," she mumbled against him. Her tongue eagerly explored his mouth. She sharply pulled back when she felt a sting in her tongue. She stared at him, wide-eyed. "You're a vampire."

Wufei didn't confirm nor deny her statement. Instead he said, "You don't know how long I've waited for this. It's time to come with me, Sally."

Sally stepped further back. Half of her wanted to desperately go with him but the other half is screaming at her, telling her to get the hell out of there, fast.

"I can't, Wufei. I'm a slayer. You're a vampire. We're enemies."

"Deep down you knew that we're not enemies. Deep down you knew that you belong to me."

"NO!"

"Yes," he calmly repeated.

"No," she said again, though half-heartedly this time. "It's impossible, Wufei. We can't. I can't."

Wufei studied her, his obsidian eyes full of longing. Turning his back, he said, "I'll be back for you, Sally. Remember that." He then flew away. Sally watched him for a moment, then heard her friends calling her name. She looked down and saw them looking for her.

When the hand clamped to her mouth was removed, Dorothy whirled around and saw a guy with blond hair and blue eyes staring at her with affection. She stared back, unafraid. I've seen him somewhere before, she told herself. But where? In my past life? In my dreams? Drowning in his beautiful eyes, a name rolled out from her tongue. "Quatre."

Quatre smiled at her. He enveloped her in his arms and kissed her gently, then more passionately. Images flashed through her mind as she saw her past. Then the images were replaced by those of Quatre killing humans, drinking blood. Dorothy abruptly pulled back, her gray eyes looking at him with shock.

"What you saw is true, Dorothy. I am a vampire. But does it matter? We've been given this chance. At long last, you and I are going to be together."

Dorothy slowly backed away. "You're asking me to come with you?"

"Yes. Why? Don't you want to be with me forever?"

Dorothy closed her eyes, fighting for control. After a moment, she opened them again. "In all the times I had lived, a certain part of me had always belonged to you. But this is different, Quatre. I would love to be with you but not like this. Not this way."

Quatre tried to approach her but she backed away again. "I don't get it, Dorothy."

"I don't want to be a vampire, Quatre. I'm a slayer. I kill vampires. It's my duty. It's my calling."

"Maybe the reason you're so obsessed in hunting vampires is that unconsciously, you're looking for me," Quatre quietly said.

"That's not true. I kill vampires because they're a menace. You're a menace."

Quatre sadly looked at her. "I don't believe that's entirely the reason. And I know that you don't believe yourself either." He turned his back at her. "Think about what I said, Dorothy. You can be sure that I'll return. Now that I finally found you, I wouldn't dream of letting you go." And with that he flew away.

Dorothy watched him took flight, something akin to pain gnawing at her heart. She turned around and saw her friends entering the clearing.

"There you are, Dorothy. You got us worried," Milo told her.

Sitting on the carpeted floor, Relena laid her head on Heero's lap. Heero sat back on his chair as he ran his fingers through her golden tresses.

"Why didn't you go out to hunt tonight, Relena?"

"I want to just stay here and keep you company all night."

"But you need to feed. You're still very young."

"I can hunt again tomorrow night. Besides, you of all people should know that even if I'm young, I could survive up to 3 nights without feeding. Thanks to your powerful blood."

Heero didn't reply. He continued on caressing her hair. After a few minutes of silence, Relena aked, "Heero, why don't you hunt anymore? If I can remember correctly, the last time you went out to hunt was 150 years ago. It was also the last time we hunted together."

"I'm very old, Relena. I don't need blood to survive anymore."

"I know that. But even if you don't need the blood you thrived in the kill. You always liked hunting. What changed you?"

Heero smiled. "Well, I've always liked destruction because it's the only way I could express the void inside my soul. I'm angry at everything and everyone for taking you away from me. But now that you're here with me, I'm at peace with myself and the whole world. I don't have to kill or to destroy anymore."

Relena lifted her head and gazed at his gorgeous Prussian blue eyes. Heero leaned down while she lifted her head to meet him halfway. Their heads were only inches apart when they abruptly turned their eyes toward the door. They saw Duo, Wufei, Trowa and Quatre entered the study. The four didn't sit down, they were too agitated to remain seated.

"What happened? Didn't you find them?" Relena asked, settling her head on Heero's lap again.

"We found them alright," Wufei answered as he paced back and forth.

"And?" Heero prompted.

"They rejected us," Quatre replied with a tinge of anger.

Relena jerked her head up when she heard Quatre's words. Heero's face remained blank though he was shocked too.

"Didn't they remember who you are?" Heero asked.

"They did," Trowa answered.

"So what's the problem? Why didn't they want to come with you?" Relena inquired.

"Oh, there's just something holding them back. In Hilde's case her HUSBAND!"

"Well, you got it easier, Duo. Sally is a slayer. Of all things, she has to be a GODDAMN SLAYER."

"Dorothy is a slayer too."

"Catherine is a nun."

Relena cannot believe this is happening. "I thought the curse was broken," she softly said.

"It is. It's not the curse that's causing this though," Wufei said.

Quatre shook his head bitterly. "After all those years of torment from the curse and 200 years of waiting and looking for them after the curse was finally broken, all we got is this. There's really someone up there who enjoys playing a cruel joke on us. I'm getting really pissed-off."

"So, are you just giving up?" Heero asked, almost like a challenge.

The four looked at each other. Simultaneously, their lips formed into sinister smiles.

"Who said about giving up? You should know us better than that, Heero," Duo said, his eyes twinkling evilly.

"They're ours to begin with. They'll be ours again, whether they like it or not," Trowa added in a dangerous voice.