Of Monsters and Men. ((Private/Mature.))

Nasuko did what she could to keep herself in check all the while the Demon fixated his attention into coaxing her into anger. She clutched her hands into tightly strung fists until her knuckles burned white; chomping down on her bottom lip until she could taste the unfamiliar tang of her own blood; and then there were the sideways glares she would cast him the moment his eyes left her. Surely he knew just what she was doing though it didn't stop her. She set her narrowed eyes on the back of his head, wishing desperately that something would come crashing down on that over inflated noggin and knock him out cold.

Even with this heated feeling of roused anger, Nasuko did catch something particularly interesting in the words the Demon spoke. It didn't sit right with her. The way the Demon said 'Uncle'. Who would be an Uncle to such an obnoxious demon like him? She didn't want to think it but her mind automatically shuffled through mentally stored imagines of Mephistopheles.

The stairs were of little interest to the Vampiress who began to climb without hesitation. She considered, for a passing moment, simply jumping up and over the railings; over and over again until she reached the top, but if Gilgamesh were truly waiting for her, she didn't mind the idea of making him wait.

With a soft clap of her bare feet against the cold and most certainly solid flooring in the stairway, Nasuko marveled at just how many stairs she had simply walked up. They had felt never-ending just moments ago. Gilgamesh stood before her, all play and little work it seemed. The way he held himself or walked with the slightest saunter; she wondered if he would be like this if a full out war occurred. The mind faded when she absently answered herself with a 'without a doubt.'

Her back stiffened while her blue eyes took in the marvelous sight before her. Creatures of all kinds were there before the building; all demon, all sorts she could easily pick out if one had simply asked her to. These were nothing in comparison to what Nasuko had conjured up during her silent ascent up the stairs however. No dogs of war; the Hell Hounds Mephistopheles had a tendency to use simply for show. A fear tactic that seemed to amuse him. Nor were there the eardrum shattering shrills of imps that took to the skies in battle. Lance liked them only because he could throw rocks at them or tear a wing when they swooped too close to him on accident. None of this made sense. This was not the workings of her Mephistopheles.

Something inside Nasuko fell away at this realization. As if she had been holding her breath, but for what she did not know. Her body began to relax while the sounds of battle became a soothing reminder of her true nature. An ache to fight replaced the hole of disappointment. She did not need to be rescued and damned if she would allow it. It wouldn't have taken her very long to settle the score with Douchemesh and Blondie and then simply saunter out the front doors. Should the Heroine always need a Knight in Shining armor? With a smirk, Nasuko's fangs began to reveal themselves as the sharp scent of blood hit her. This heroine certainly did not.

"Suit yourself, Reject." Nasuko spat and took off into the heat of battle.

Even if she did not wear shoes or proper protection or even suitable clothing for that matter, there was little damage to be had when you moved as gracefully as Nasuko did. With all the grace of a dancer on the great stage Nasuko twirled and dove, crouched and jumped as if this were all just a game. While tangling herself in the depths of the horde, Nasuko snagged a small poisoned dagger from a demons belt, knowing the damnable thing probably forget the blade even existed considering he was clawing at whatever moved before him. With a flick of a wrist, blood blossomed like a thick red rose in the center of the Vampiress palm. She was always pleasantly surprised to feel the liquid that made up her blood. True she was cold by nature as most vampires were, her blood always felt...warm. As if the air around her had bothered to heat the substance for unknown reasons. She pressed her fingertips into the blood and watched with devotion as the blood sprang into action in her fist.

Small tendrils of the crimson liquid formed on the outside of Nasuko's hand, seeping at first but then began to gather itself. Like metal to a magnet the blood began to collect until it was no longer contained in her hand and yet it still grew in size. In seconds a pole roughly the same height of Nasuko formed in her grasp; blood now hooking and curving at the very top until it made the familiar sight of a scythe. The liquid solidified instantly; the weapon looking as if it had been forged of red crystals. With weapon in hand, the familiar feel of something that physically belonging to her a comfort, Nasuko began to wield the blade with surprising grace.

Great men have fought and died for their land. For their kingdom and for their children. But yet Nasuko, who fought only for the sake of fighting or in the name of Mephistopheles on occasion, was having little trouble hacking away the horde. Her small body light and agile, easily decapitating nearby enemies as she simply twirled on her tip toes; silver hair fanning around her making a crescent moon amongst bloodshed. Seconds ticked away before Nasuko stood amongst dissolving corpses, soaked in filthy black blood. She jumped away, diving and rolling gracefully into another thick cluster of demons. With a slash as she rose to her feet Nasuko chopped away many legs, reducing the size of many of them before neatly severing their spine as they fell. She twisted around, swinging with an arch in her back before coming up short against something solid. Something familiar and warm. It had knocked her out of her concentration.

Nasuko sneered, angered by the interruption only to have her face fall away into surprise. She had waltzed right into Greyson's chest.

"Well, that's rather sexist. Lemme guess; you can't so much as hardboil an egg? Good lord; God must have accidentally forgotten to give you a penis, what with your lady of ladylike qualities~"

Another hearty laugh and Gilgamesh stopped walking; his sudden loss of motion yanking Nasuko back since she thought they were still moving. The moment she went to insult him, his free hand's index finger, pressed against her lips and his eyes were directed upward.

"...Mmm. Nope. Those aren't Uncle's boys~

Certainly isn't Big M's style to send a horde~"

Gilgamesh apparently could see something Nasuko couldn't beyond the tile of the ceiling; his finger slipping from her mouth as he let go of her and stepped forward. Now he'd fallen silent; leading the way until they reached what appeared to be a stairwell. 

A very long, very intimidating stairwell.

"...I'll see you at the top~"

Gilgamesh inexplicably vanished with that statement, leaving Nasuko to endure the crushing effort of so many stairs. 

What a prick.

----

At the top Nasuko would find Gilgamesh leaning just outside the entrance to the stairs and the entire above-ground floor of the building covered in colorful corpses. Many of them were demon dregs; low class demons who were without will or higher intelligence. Like dogs; if they were ten times as stupid and homicidal. Near the actual exit to the building was a young man in priest robes; chanting something and literally burning away stragglers with the wrath of God. Gilgamesh gestured for her to move, "There. Go on~

Run~

There's just a horde surrounding the building. Maybe you'll find Grey again~

Just don't do something stupid; or I may have to throw you back in that French 'No-no touch' chamber~"

OOC: Grey's shooting stuff outside. I figured I'd let you animate Nasuko's fighting if any; or Dani~

Not only was this Demon bothering the dickens out of Nasuko, but he had managed to make Nasuko feel uncomfortable as he so easily closed the distance between them simply by letting his arm rest over her shoulders. The nerve of some people. Thinking he had the right to touch her so casually; in such a familiar way. It made her eyes bright with a flare of anger that only dissolved when she came to the realization she was, in fact, stuck with this fool.

With a sneer, looking as awkward as she felt, Nasuko looked away from Gilgamesh. "Go back to yer kitchen zen, woman. I can 'andle finding ze exit for myself." She was doing her best to ignore further insults of her weightless chest. For years she had been criticized about them and had learned to endure such comments. But it was difficult, considering Gilgamesh was already under her skin. She wanted nothing more than to flee from this puppet and into the embrace of her rescuers. A bit too vividly for her own liking, she briefly imagined Lance waiting outside for her with open arms. That would never happen.

"'The men she worked so hard to please'? If that isn't an double entendre, I don't know what is~"

Gilgamesh uttered under his breath with a sigh as he paused his movements, since the vampiress wasn't actually following him. Gilgamesh turned and tilted his head slightly at her comment, an eyebrow raised.

"Oh? Of course they do; it's part of a woman's deadly arsenal. How else are you going to bend the lesser examples of humanity to your will? Magic? Don't be a knob~"

Gilgamesh made a waving hand gesture as he spoke, delighting in annoying the young woman at the moment. It was one of his favorite pass-times, annoying the living hell out of anything with a mind that he didn't care about that much. 

"And the name, neck-nibbler, is Gilgamesh. I trust you were turned before your brain started to decay? Yes?

Wonderful~

Now, can you pick up the pace? Babysitting is thrilling and all; but I have a souffle in the oven and I really must make it back in time~"

The instant she blinked Gilgamesh vanished, only to appear beside her and drape his arm over her shoulder, forcing her to walk with him. As they trotted/were dragged through this section of the base; things were oddly quiet. They were still in the lower sections and thus this was probably an evacuated floor. Judging by the things they passed, it was a combination residential/laboratory floor; though more modern and less cruel than the castle Nasuko escaped from. There were computers, forensic equipment, occasionally the odd supernatural artifact; the norm.

"...Now Miss Mini-Melons; care to explain the excursion up above? You know; the people who know and or care about you?

I'd like some descriptions so I don't accidentally eviscerate a sibling or something. It would be a shame if you cried and your tears dropped; woefully missing your lack of cleavage and hitting the ground~"

Nasuko never saw the Demon approaching behind her. Nor did she sense the unusual aura he gave off until it was much too late. With a hard thump and ringing in her ears, Nasuko was pinned to the ground; feeling much like a cockroach caught beneath someones boot. That wasn't too far off either. While the Vampiress hissed and struggled against the weight, she tried to tilt her head just enough to see who had dared to capture her in such a humiliating manner.

A familiar man stood upon her; literally standing on her back as if she had melted entirely into the hallway floor. The man was only familiar, at first glance, because he had been the one to end her spat with Greyson in the woods. She had only caught a glimpse of him before he gave her a good old fashion knock to the head. But she wasn't about to forget his face. This just becoming more of a reason to detest the man.

"Get off me!" Nasuko growled while the man rambled in his superior tone. She wished she had knocked him unconscious now rather than Greyson. At least the boy wasn't condescending. Soon she was released from the floor and Nasuko didn't hesitate to scramble to her feet. For a second time that evening she brushed away dirt from her borrowed clothing, glaring darkly at the man before her.

"Moi's breasts 'ave not'ing to do wit' zis, imposter." Nasuko hissed, suddenly aware of what she had called him. An imposter. Why? His aura. It was remarkably similar to one she had felt before. Or rather, two, that she had felt before. It sent a shiver down her spine when she recognized it entirely. How dare someone have the nerve to try and capture the darkness of her masters. The men she worked so hard to please.

Indeed; for now her only guide would prove to be the most irritating person imaginable. Even worse than a pregnant succubus. 

As she walked down the hallway, two large dress-shoes hit her back with alarming force. As she tumbled forward onto the front of her body, the two shoes stayed perfectly parallel to her back until they and their occupant were standing on the 'young' woman. Above her in a neat black suit was a man with slightly long black hair and a tad bit of stubble, staring down at her as she tried to push herself up in vain. Even her vampiric strength was useless against the weight atop her; though it wasn't crushing her either. It was like a hand holding her against the floor. Even her aura, which reacted defensively, was being smothered like a flame beneath a blanket. 

"Tsk; kids shouldn't be in the big-girl areas without an escort~

Shame you left him behind. Now you'll have to deal with me doll~"

An upbeat and jolly voice rang out as the figure stepped forward, deliberately stepping on Nasuko's head as he got off of her and finally touched actual ground. The man turned as Nasuko got up, a gentle smile on his face while everything about his aura screamed that he was like Meph; or worse. 

The young man chuckled, "Oh my; I suppose doll isn't accurate? Perhaps action figure? Ahh; but those need a sense of definite strength while you... Lack it.

Hmm, perhaps I'm overthinking it. Regardless, seems I'm to lead Uncle's little neck-nibbler back to her gracious blonde host.

...Or are you going to be difficult? Would be a shame to kick such a nice ass~"

Gilgamesh laughed again as he turned his back on her, confident she'd guess she was caught in his expansive web.

"...Though, you've barely enough breast to fill a fillet~"

With that, he began to move forward and whistle in a carefree manner, his hands slipping into his blazer pockets as he moved.

It had only briefly crossed Nasuko's mind that a rescue party might be sent out for her. Surely Nyx, the stupid Valkyrie spirit she had been sent to capture before this entire mess, had reached Mephistopheles after abandoning Nasuko in the woods. Or perhaps Lance and Raziel stumbled across the spirit while they were waiting to rendezvous with Nasuko in Spain. These were just idle thoughts to pass the time away during both her recent captures but now with such a strong presence forming around the building, Nasuko had high hopes. She didn't think of the scolding Mephistopheles would give her or the insults Raziel would throw at her. She just imagined her makeshift family coming to her rescue like a princess in a fairytale.

Nasuko's silky blue eyes regarded Grey in a bored manner while they waited together in the hissing artificial lights of the elevator. "Perhaps." She said cryptically as possible. Slowly she crawled to her knees and climbed to her feet from there. A quick dusting of her clothes and she was standing beside him, fingertips brushing lightly against the cold metal that trapped them both. "Do yu believe moi to be alone? Even I 'ave my companions, zough I am more zan certain yu would dislike zem." Her lips pulled into a half smile. She wanted more than anything now to escape from here and see for herself who had come to sweep this silver haired princess away. She dreamed it would be Lance but her heart knew better than to assume such fancies. Lance was completely and utterly doey eyed for Danielle Starfire after all. 

The vampire, still smiling, grabbed Greyson suddenly and sharply; her small hand around the thinning of his throat. With little effort she lifted him until his feet could only kick. She needed to be quick with this. Greyson had those damnable Runes that hindered every move she made; not to mention she was still thirsty. With her free hand, Nasuko quickly and accurately pin-pointed a certain spot at the slope of Greyson's neck and pinched. It was a light pinch, just enough to render him unconscious for the next sixty seconds. "Goodnight, love." Nasuko whispered before his eyes drooped shut.

+ + +

When he woke, Greyson would find himself in the elevator alone and the ceiling torn away to expose crude machinery. Nasuko had left him in a crumpled heap on the floor in the corner, trying her best to make it look like he had simply fallen asleep. But more than that had truly happened. Small purple blossoms were forming along the insides of Greyson's wrists. Bruises where her lips had touched his skin. They dotted his wrists and he would later discover, they lingered on the slope of his neck too. But not once had the vampire taken a drink of the boy. That was too obvious for her.

Nasuko roamed the hallway of some random floor she had chosen to pry the elevator doors open to. She was searching for a window; any way to look out into the night. So far she had found nothing useful. Windows facing the wrong direction or too obscured to see correctly. She sighed as she passed room after room with out direction. Maybe she shouldn't have abandoned that kid after all. He was her only guide.

"...The vampires in this region steal children. Forgive them for being a bit biased, yeah?"

Grey spoke sternly in response to her words; not being too keen on that strain of vampire himself. In this region, Nasuko's race evolved and adapted into more closely resembling horrific bat-like monstrosities. They were bigger, tougher, and could fly at will once the sun came down. All in all, a huge pain in the ass. Most of them had been driven deep underground, but the majority of the Syndicate workers at this base had something or someone taken from them by these monsters. As such, they harbored a deep hatred for Vampires of all kinds; but Grey knew it was unfair and as such kept Nasuko from essentially becoming a lab rat. Again. 

This was going to become a habit if they didn't stop meeting like this.

"...Well, I don't eat people. Or burn in the sun. Or keep farms of humans. 

That's just me though, yeah?"

Grey mumbled after just barely catching the last words that came out of her mouth. However, before he could feel bad about it the elevator came to a stop and the lights flickered somewhat. His own eyes narrowed and he instinctively reached for his holsters... Which weren't there. He'd left his guns in his quarters. 

"...God-fucking-damn-"

Before he could finish his swear, the elevator suddenly moved as if the line had been cut. Nasuko fell back against him as they fell, his arm coming around her stomach and holding her against him like he was trying to protect her. A heroic instinct that was a bit wasted since she could probably survive impact while he'd be a gooey mess. Either way, the metal deathtrap caught itself as the brakes slammed on and caused Grey to lose his own balance. They both fell backward and down into a sitting position, with Nasuko landing on Grey's lap. The lights flickered back on after a few moments and Grey blinked a few times to clear his head.

"What in the.... Huh!?" Grey noticed Nasuo sitting on him and suddenly pushed her off to the side, clambering to his feet and moving toward the door to hide his blushing face. The blond scratched the back of his neck, glancing up to see the floor indicator was offline. They fell a ways though, which meant they were either in the thirties or early fortieth floor. The blonde sighed and knocked his finger against the metal, calculating the odds of what was happening. 

Eventually he turned back to Nasuko and folded his arms. 

"...Do you know something about this?"

Sadly, in the elevator they were unable to hear any indication of an alarm; which meant Grey had no idea of the type of enemy they may have been facing.

Greyson surprised Nasuko when he had moved forward, as if to grab her for some reason. Their eyes met in that moment, his golden topaz hues staring down into her midnight blues. She wondered, if only briefly, if she had ever seen such eyes before during her long, lonely life. Such a vivid, melted gold color was surely uncommon amongst humans. Matched with his messy blonde hair, Greyson was surprisingly beautiful in his own way. If she had ever seen anyone with such a look before, surely she would have remembered it.

Together they proceeded into the elevator after that small dispute over blood. If he was such an unusual human, she couldn't help but to ponder how unusual his blood would taste. Would it be bitter or sweet? Would it be reminiscent of honey? But that question, she thought a bit disappointingly, would never be answered in her life time. Greyson didn't come off as entirely willing to be a vampires blood donor.

With a small hiss the elevator doors slid shut behind them. Greyson brought his finger up to jab at a button, then silence befell them. What could all those other floors possibly be for? Nasuko watched the floors decrease in number as they descended. Mephistopheles, her employer of sorts, worked out of his mansion in England. Many eventful things occurred there. Elegant parties where men and women dressed in Victorian fashion and wore beautiful decorated masks; Halloween parties that were hosted for the Vampires and Werewolves under his control. Halloween parties were the least of Nasuko's favorites. It involved humans on the main dish. If you catch them. You eat them. Then there were the large meetings he held there with ambassadors of the undead realm of Hell. So much happened in just one mansion. Yet this Syndicate needed hundreds of floors in a building. Nasuko wondered who was more efficient before Greyson spoke up.

Her eyes drifted over the small distance between them, eying the boy as his voice echoed in the contained room. "For clarification, shonen, people 'ere do not see moi as a 'public threat' but as a 'threat' in general. Ze men from before made it clear zat zey would rat'er moi be dead zan sitting in a prison cell before zem." Nasuko, with a stern look on her otherwise laid back features, quickly looked away and forward. She knew what people thought of her. Of her kind. Parasites. Monsters that frighten children into behaving for their parents. The vampiress lifted her hands and stared at the creases in her palms a bit sadly. She angled herself so Greyson wouldn't see the irritated and sad expression lingering on her features. "Are we really so different...?" She mused.

The light suddenly flickered inside the elevator. The machine itself came to a gentle, gliding halt somewhere between the twenty-seventh floor and twenty-sixth. Nasuko looked up with eyes that began to narrow; a small smile on her lips. "It seems we 'ave guests--" Before the vampire could finish, the elevator jerked and began to drop at an alarming speed. Nasuko was thrown off balance at first, finding herself with her back against Greyson's chest once she got her bearings. A screeching din pierced through from the elevator shaft; the machine trying to catch itself and succeeding.

"Oh, I'm sure you have. Probably got you all hot 'n' bothered too; but I try not to mix business and pleasure, yeah? Sorry to let you down."

Grey shot that back at her with little hesitation, already used to her prods and banter from their extended stay in the castle. He turned to face the 'young' woman once more as she looked at the computer screens, which showed various scientific and technical data about her from some preliminary tests these people ran on her. When she began to speak again, Grey listened with some caution to her words. When their eyes met, he realized just what she was getting at. Grey folded his arms as she got closer, taking note she wasn't even making eye contact anymore which lead to him shaking his head lightly. She wasn't the first to wanna taste of him and other vampiress' have tried much harder to get at his fleshy bits. 

Grey suddenly leaned forward, his face an inch from hers as her eyes snapped back to his. He stared into her hues for a few moments before straightening out again.

"...Nope. Still prisoner until further notice. Don't worry, we have blood backs for that situation elsewhere. Gonna have to deal with post-heated plasma, yeah?"

Grey flat out refused, snapping his fingers so the rune on the door could dissolve in a small shower of sparks. With that, he moved to the side and gestured for her to be the first one out, knowing better than to turn his back to a famished vampire. He caught his eyes lowering to her rear and closed them quickly, scolding himself for allowing that to slip. How troublesome this was.

When she exited the room followed by Grey, she'd come to a sterile white hall like a hospital. He directed her down a few more identical halls with more doors, most likely other cells like hers, until they came to what appeared to be an elevator. He allowed her to press the button and step inside before following, with the panel on the inside having around fifty floors. Grey pressed the button labeled twenty four, while a light above them indicated they were at level forty five. As the numbers ticked away, Grey cleared his throat.

"...For clarification, the people here think you're a... Lets say, public threat. So stay close to me if possible and try not to cause trouble. Even I only got so much pull, yeah?"

"...Tch. Then why don't you have a pale, sparkly asshole around?"

Grey mumbled as he left the chamber and followed the tiny hallway back to the observation section. He took care to keep his back to the mirror, facing the door with a grim look. Oh boy, he couldn't wait for his dad to punch him square in the face for this. He wasn't exactly fond of vampires or their ilk; mercilessly punishing any he caught in his grasp. His dad could conduct massive amounts of electricity from his body; which meant burning to a crisp if one were undead. Grey shuddered, that was an unpleasant thought. 

When he heard her speak to him, Grey called out to her in reply.

"Yeah; because most female prisoners don't get pampered."

Her next question caused him to sigh lightly and shake his head.

"...Well, because they're idiotic and suspicious. I asked them to put you in a high-profile cells, but instead they throw you in here like you just bombed a city. Christ. Pisses me off sometimes."

Grey threw his arms up, glancing back only to see Nasuko's bare shoulder-blades before averting his eyes once more and shaking his head. 

"Oi! Time for modesty is a bit late; they put that slip on you, remember? Or do you wanna stay in there for shits 'n' giggles? Jeeze, women and their clothes, yeah?"