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"So, any luck?"

Luna danced a moment as Shaper's sudden question nearly shocked the vial out of her hands. He lunged forward, catching her against him, and grabbing the vial out of the air.

"Uhm..." He grinned disarmingly at the woman pressed against his chest. "One Alchemical mixture, shaken, not stirred?"

Rosethorn took it away from him, and set it on a stand, then smacked his shoulder. "I see you're feeling better, shmuck."

Shaper sighed.

"I am not that much of a dick. I'm a fool, a buffoon, and a creep... but I am not a dick. I do NOT always think about sex. Just... most of the time," he chuckled. "Want me to fix us something to eat?"

"Want to let go of me?"

Shaper grinned. "Well I did say most of the time."

Luna laughed and shook her head.

"Providing you can cook, go ahead."

Shaper laughed.

"Sure I can cook. Just... Victor does it mostly. And Amy doesn't eat, and I'm lazy about it, so I mostly eat out." After a handful of minutes, a wonderful aroma of cooking chicken and other yummy delights wafted through the flat. The Alchemist kept working.

"I think I have it!"

"It's dinner!" Shaper called at the same time. "Wait, did you just say...?"

"I think I can wake him up."

"Uhm... should we eat first, or try and see if we can get him up again?" Shaper said, an apron wrapped around his waist and an oven mitt on one hand holding a frying pan, the other a spatula.

"It has to cool," she said, looking at the pale liquid. "No guarantee it'll work anyway."

"Oh."

* * *

"This is it, huh, the guild's last ditch effort to turn me into a good little killing machine."

:No, we just want to help you, and the world.:

"Pull the other one, it's got bells on," snorted Victor blowing smoke out of his nose.

:It doesn't matter, you see, since you can't get yourself out of this, we control it.:

"Yeah, and what about Shaper and Amy. What have you done to them?"

There was a dark silence.

"They may be idiots, but they're loyal, stubborn idiots." He hit himself on the forehead. "Why did I say that?"

:Exposition?:

"Naw, I think I just went too long with out bashing Shaper."

* * *

"I thought you said you could cook!"

"I can! I'm just out of practice..."

"Look, I can ball this chicken up and use it for a superball!"

"Now you're just hurting my feelings..."

"Then you eat it!"

"Not after you've bounced it along the floor!"

"You made this mess now eat it!"

"AHH! Gettoff me!"

"Hey what was that sound?"

Luna looked up towards the bedroom door where Victor lay. "I could have sworn I heard cloth ripping..."

"If you get off my chest, I'll go check it out."

"My hero." The alchemist moved her boot away from his ear and stood up. "I can handle it."

Then there was a thump - it really couldn't be mistaken for anything else.

"Shit!" Shaper swore.

"Yeah, it just occurred to me - We've never left him alone, Amy's always been with him - "

"Only now she's out hunting."

"SHIT!" They both scrambled towards the door. It wouldn't open.

"Back up, I'm gonna get medieval," Shaper growled, slapping his mask into place.

"What?"

The question was answered as Shaper ripped up a hunk of kitchen counter, and used it as a battering ram. The door broke, and then scrambled in - but the window was open, and Victor was gone.

"Oh... Shit," Shaper muttered.

"It's been said."

Shaper hissed, and turned to look at Luna.

"You stay here in case Amy comes back before dawn. I'm going after him." And then he turned, and leapt out the window, and went on search-mode to try and find his errant friend.

'Victor, so help me when I find you I'm going to kick yer arse and call you granny!'

* * *

Victor felt his stomach churn violently. It was a welcome change to the numbness.

"This isn't going to last much longer."

:It will last as long as we need it to.:

"If it would, you wouldn't be pressing, would you?" Victor demanded, feeling a sticky-slick sensation in the back of his mind, like someone had stuck an octopus there. "Get out of my head!"

:We need you. We are tired of waiting.:

"Fuck off."

* * *

Shaper pelted through the chill night, still grumbling to himself, following figures that were carrying what was either a rug, or Victor. He heard heels behind him, and half turned to see Rosethorn pelting behind him as fast as any mortal might.

"I thought I told you to stay there!"

"Bite me!" she snapped. "Just stall them." A glittering ball of glass danced across her fingertips. "It's ready."

"Man I don't want to be them when Victor wakes up and realizes he's naked." Shaper moved fast, and silently around to stand in front of the group carrying Victor. He could see a few wisps of hair now, wrapped in a blanket.

"Either put him down, and forget this ever happened, or you'll have to go THROUGH me to take my friend anyplace."

There was a soft breeze, and Amy touched down next to Shaper and hissed silently.

"Strike that... you'll have to go through US to take Victor anywhere."

"Enough with the dramatics, just jump 'em!" screeched Rosethorn. Used to taking Victor's commands, Amy and Shaper both leapt forcing the abductors to drop the coiled bundle, sending Victor's inert form across the cobblestones.

"Here's one in the eye of the guild," laughed Rosethorn, and smashed the crystal globe over the pale, scarred form. The strange gray world shattered, and Victor broke out into a cold night that was only as dark as it should have been.

"Sonnova BITCH!" he swore. This exclamation startled Amy, who turned her head aside, and thus was struck by a club upside the head. Fast as any vampire, Angel streaked across the intervening space and tore the throat out of Amy's attacker. With the same unusual speed, he broke first the wrists, then the neck of one of the two who were attacking Shaper, and the last Shaper dealt with himself.

"Damn," he muttered and wavered, before falling face first on the ground. That is, he would have, had Amy not half-caught him and lowered him down instead.

Shaper slipped out of his vinyl trench coat, and tugged Victor into it, then he and Amy looked silently at each other, their faces knowing without saying a word.

Shaper stood, picking Victor up with him.

Amy turned into an owl and moved to rest upon Shaper's shoulder.

The rizen turned and looked at Rosethorn.

"You never told us what your price was for helping us."

"Why your immortal soul of course," Rosethorn said brightly.

Shaper looked surprised, and distinctly uncomfortable.

"Joke, Sheesh. Tell you what, we'll get my aunt's son tucked into bed for some real sleep, and then you and I can discuss payment, hmm?" She offered the arm of her leather jacket to Amy. "Please don't pierce it, okay, I don't know when I'll have the money to replace it."

Amy looked from where she sat easily on the rizen's shoulder as he held Victor, then at the less crowded arm she was offered. With a soft gentle hop, she alighted upon Rosethorn's arm. Not even so much scuffing the leather.

"Home. Bed. That sounds damn good after that shit we just went through."

"Yeah, you could probably use some real sleep too," Luna muttered doing her best to hold her arm steady as they walked. "How about we discuss this in the morning, and just get back to the flat over my shop for now?" Shaper yawned, and nodded.

"Yeah. Good idea... they know to look for Victor at our place now, so maybe tomorrow we'll get our stuff and get ready to get outta here. No offense, but this place is creepy."

"So soon?" Luna asked, curiously. "You may want to ask your friend about that."

"Yeah... maybe. Or it might be my turn to be all strong and masterful and say 'Hell with that, we're leaving.'"

"Has that worked?"

"Never. But hope springs eternal in the hearts of the stupid."

The next morning Victor woke up, feeling as if he had one mother of a hangover. He stumbled across the room, to where he blearily saw a washstand, drank half the pitcher of water, and poured the rest over himself.

"Ugh," he muttered, shaking water from his hair, and finishing waking up. "Godamn, I need a clove," he growled to himself, and took better stock of his surroundings. He'd been put on what looked like a fold out couch. Amy was curled up on half of it, with a thick blanket over her. Well, he was pretty sure it was Amy. His saddle bags were flung just inside the door. After drying off with the towel that hung from the table, he got dressed, indigo blue jeans he hadn't worn out yet, since everyone expected black, black turtleneck. Where the hell were his boots?

The fact he seemed to be somewhere different from the inn room they'd rented, or the wood glade where he'd lost consciousness didn't really bother him as much as it might have, since he was sure there was a long period where he hadn't been aware of much. After verifying there wasn't anything flammable in the area, he lit a clove, and took a seat on an easy chair, halting his search for boots for a while.

A moment later, a young woman in a black and silver bathrobe, with gold and red streaked black hair came streaking out of one of the doors.

"What's burning?" she demanded.

"Keep your shirt on Luna," came Shaper's sleepy voice from the other room. "Victor's up, couldn't you hear him swearing?" He emerged with a sleepy grin from the next room, button the top button of his pants. "Good morning sunshine."

"Fuck off, Shaper, where are my boots?"

"In your other bag. We had to carry a bunch of stuff, okay?"

"Why is there a puddle in the middle of my floor?" demanded Rosethorn, securing the tie on her robe.

"Sorry," muttered Victor, extinguishing his clove at the alchemist's rather pointed look. "I'll clean it up."

"Damn right you will."

"As soon as you guys tell me what's been going on outside of my head." He stood up and stretched muscles that hadn't been used in days, properly.

"How about while?" asked the woman. Shaper gave her an admonishing look, and she looked away smiling softly. "Sorry, fire and water running amuck in a Alchemist's personal space is frequently a recipe for bad things happening." Shaper smirked at Luna. She smirked back, and Victor just caught the tail end of Shaper's blush. He knew what was going on here, but was being polite until later. Victor stood up.

"All right, you can talk to me while I clean this up then." Victor calmly mopped up the puddle while Shaper filled him in on what had been happening outside his head. Victor dropped the sponge into the bucket and held out his hand. Shaper blinked at it.

"My gun?"

"Oh yeah - one sec." Shaper darted back into the other room, and came back with the gun belt. Victor belted it on, and pulled a gray shirt out of his bag, before fishing for boots and thick wool socks.

"So?" Shaper asked.

"So what?" Victor replied. "I see you finally got laid. Are you going to stay here, or are you going to go to Vampirum with me and kick the Guild's butt?"

"I'm always welcome to come back... and for all that the guild has done to us... I wouldn't miss spitting in their eye for the world."

"Heh, thought you might."

"Say, Vic, did you know this Rosethorn chick seems to be related to you?"

Victor raised an eyebrow suspiciously, going through his bags.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, said you were her aunt's son."

"Heh," Victor snorted and started stacking boxes beside the bag. "Wonder what she meant by that."

"Well, she got you out of the mess you were in because she read a book. She said it was your mom's. And I helped get you better. I had to get myself poisoned to do it too. Remind me to never do it again."

"Hey, I can't tell you what to do." Victor grinned indolently. "I am interested in this book though. I wonder could you sweet talk Rosethorn into letting me see it?"

"Aw, don't you want to 'talk' to her yourself?"

"Disgusting innuendoes designed to get me jealous - which aren't working by the way - aside, no, not really. I just want to see this book."

Shaper sighed and nodded.

"I'll see what I can do. Amy really missed you while you were out... up until nearly the last night she didn't leave your side to do anything but sleep. You should go see her... even if she is asleep now."

"Did she dye her hair purple and puce stripes?"

"No..."

"Then I can see her from here." He stood up and brought the bucket to the kitchen.

"You're heartless!"

"No." Victor tuned and glared at Shaper with cold gray eyes. "I'm worried as all hell. When the fuck did the guild get so smart, and so fucking desperate?"

Shaper looked at Victor's face, and for the first time saw faint worry lines around his eyes. His friend was stressed.

Shaper sighed.

All right. Just take it easy for a bit... ok? I'll go see about that book for you."

"That's all right," Victor said calmly. "I want to talk with her about her aunt."

"Uhm..." Shaper said raising a hand. "All right, fine."

"Get dressed, weird boy," Victor shot over his shoulder, and walked into the kitchen.