Like before, I don’t own so please don’t sue ^_^ This is an altar time line. And, this has Vampires, cuss words, yaoi, and Kami knows what else. Read at your own discretion.

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Goten walked down a long path to the middle of the woods. He didn’t recognize his surroundings, but he knew where to go. When he arrived at the middle of the woods he saw the form of his old friend Sara. He saw her as she had been the day before she was kidnapped and never seen again. She held a book in her lap and was reading to herself. The book was black and looked like it was made of leather. Goten walked up further as Sara, who appeared no older than twelve, began to read aloud.

“Quiet! Hear the raven cry! The stillness of the wind rising hot on the street the towers hide the darkness of the day. When Lasombra’s dreams come true on the day when the moon runs as blood and the sun rises black in the sky, that is the day of the Damned, when Caine’s children will rise again.

“And the world will turn cold and unclean things will boil up from the ground, and great storms will roll, lightening will light fires, animals will fester and their bodies, twisted, will fall. So, too, our Grandsires will rise from the ground. They will break their fast on the first part of us. They will consume us whole. Goten, you must stop it! Your sister and niece are damned to be pawns in this. You mustn’t…”

Goten sat up in bed and looked around the room. His breath was heavy and hung in his lungs. He heard the sound of crying in the room next to his and stood up. He stretched out and listened as his back popped. Bran was already two, the terrible twos, it seemed like only yesterday she had been born. Goten shook his head as he made his way to Bran’s room and picked her up out of her crib.

“What’s up kiddo?”

“Bad dream…” Bran rubbed her eyes with a chubby hand and sniffled. Goten bounced her up and down like he had when she wasn’t even one yet. She leaned her head against his shoulder and giggled in his ear. Goten walked away from the crib towards his room. He walked into his room and sat down on the bed. He lay Bran down first and then lay down himself. The little girl snuggled right up to him and fell asleep. Goten stayed up half the night petting her head and thinking about the dream. He’d been dreaming about Sara ever since he’d found the letter and picture tucked under his pillow. Sara had written it the day she went missing and the picture had been taken in a photo booth two days before. It was of the two of them and Trunks. Goten shook his head slightly as he remembered something Marron had taught him. She told him that it would calm him to get a good night’s rest.

“Hail fair moon, ruler of the night; guard me and mine until the light.” Goten’s eyes slid close pitching his mind into serene silence and blackness.

***

Trunks woke up and carefully stretched. Bra was curled up against his chest with her thumb in her mouth. He smiled as he gently climbed out of bed. He walked over to his closet and got out his clothes for the day. He looked at Bra again as he lay his clothes on a chair and walked into his bathroom. He hurriedly undressed, turned on the water, and took his shower. He was supposed to go stay the weekend in his family’s cabin with Goten. They were going to get away from everything and so they could have some time to talk about what was going on with their dreams and such.

“Alone in a cabin with Goten from today until Sunday night. This is perfect. We get there, spend today having fun, spend Saturday talking about what’s been going on, and take Sunday as a day to get things off my chest.” Trunks turned the water to the shower off and stepped out of the shower. He wrapped a towel around his waist and walked out of the bathroom. Bra had woken while he was taking his shower and had already gone downstairs for breakfast. Trunks grinned as he got dressed and ran downstairs for a quick bite before Goten got there.

“Morning Tousan.”

“Hn.” Trunks watched as Vegeta took a sip of his coffee and continued reading the book Bulma had given him. Vegeta had read it several times, but it wasn’t to remember Bulma. It didn’t really seem like something that the great genius would give her lover. It was a black book that had a covering almost like leather. On the front, in silver, was a witch’s foot (1) made with skulls and the words ‘The Book of Nod’ printed on it.

“What’s that book about dad?”

“Vampires. It’s been in your mother’s family for a while…”

“My family has one too. Only, my mother never liked me reading it.” Goten smiled at Trunks as he walked into the kitchen. He sat down between Trunks and Bra, and in front of Vegeta. Vegeta nodded as he marked his place and closed the book. Goten reached across the table to pick the book up and pulled back a sore hand.

“If you weren’t allowed to touch it when your Kaasan was alive, why should you be allowed to now? Brat, where is the cabin at?”

“Near the lake. Why?”

“Stay away from any person you see in the woods. Do not separate from Goten at any time. I had another dream last night. This was of a girl reading from this book. The first words were…”

“Quiet! Hear the raven’s cry! The stillness of the wind rising hot on the street the towers hide the darkness of the day… You had the same dream I had.” Goten picked up a piece of toast off of Trunks’ plate and took a bite. He stood up, pulling Trunks along, and walked towards the front door. Trunks picked up his bag and hollered goodbye to his father. The two walked out of the house and took off for the cabin.

***

The trees seemed to part out of the way as Marron ran down the path through the woods. She fell and skinned her knee on a few rocks. She swore under her breath and clasped her hand over the wound. She closed her eyes and pressed firmly down on the wound.

“Hail to the guardians of the watchtowers of the North and Earth; of fertility, stability, and gravity - I evoke thee - Earth, air, fire, water, spirit, earth, air, fire, water, spirit… Stop the flow of blood from this wound, keep it hidden deep inside. Pain cease, senses increase. By the power of Earth, the womb of mankind, I beg of thee to heal this wound, for my life depends on my blood staying in my body.” Marron took her hand off her knee and looked down. All the blood had gone back into the cut and the skin had grown back over. She jumped up and began running again. A teenage boy appeared in front of her, causing her to scream. She turned to run the other way but came face to face with another teenager.

“What’s wrong Marron, don’t you want to play?”

“An it harm none, love, and do what thou wilt. Seventh charm of Isa Laguz and Nauthiz; cast my spell and do it well!” Marron pulled two runes from her pocket and threw them on the ground. Fire set ablaze giving her a chance to run. The teens laughed as they walked through the fire and stopped Marron again. Two held her back whilst a girl with long, scraggly, brown hair stepped forward.

“Fire and sun no longer hurt our bodies. A path we have walked has led us to a place of eternity. In any fire and any sun we shall live. But now dear Marron, your part in our prophecy you’ll play. Come child, it’s time to give us what rightfully is ours, it’s time to pay.” The girl reached out to grab Marron. As her hand touched Marron’s wrist her palm began to burn. Marron pulled her hand back and dropped to her knees on the ground. She laughed as she drew a circle around her and began to chant.

“A circle spell, how clever. But what is this burn?”

“I am protected by your dark mother. Only one of high power can touch me.”

“That would be me. I’m sorry Marron-chan. Believe me if I could I’d destroy them all. I am stronger than them all for I am full blood. I was that path they walked, my blood made them like me. Marron, forgive me but you must come with us.” A girl reached out from a large black cloak and touched Marron’s forehead. Marron’s eyes opened wide as she screamed out. Dark energy rushed around the cloaked girl and Marron and suddenly collided with Marron’s body. It forced its’ self inside her and made her sleep. The others picked Marron up and carried her off.

***

The next day…

Trunks smiled as he finished cutting Goten’s hair. Goten watched in the mirror as Trunks applied gel and mousse to his hair and spiked it. Goten smiled and nodded, he liked the look a lot. Trunks pulled Goten up and handed him his shirt. The two remained silent as they left the bathroom and walked towards the kitchen. There was a knock at the cabin’s front door, causing both to turn in alarm. Trunks pushed his power level down to zilch as he walked over to the door. Goten followed suit, quietly creeping behind Trunks. The two made it to the door and Trunks opened it quickly.

“Hi, my name is Maxwell Duo. I wanted to know if you’d seen any strange rocks laying around in the yard. A few of my friends were here a few weeks ago and forgot their rock collection. They sent me to see if they were still here.” The teen had long brunet hair that was pulled back into a braid. He had large blue/violet eyes and wore all black. His complexion was extremely pale and his cheeks looked hallow. Trunks noticed the boy’s eyes on Goten and pushed the younger Sayain behind him. Duo adverted his eyes to Trunks and almost glared at him. Trunks shook his head no, as he bit his bottom lip.

“Sorry, I haven’t seen any. Have you Goten?” Trunks slightly looked over his shoulder. Goten shook his head no and then took a step forward. Goten lay his head on Trunks’ shoulder, closing his eyes, and sighed, as Trunks looked Duo in the eyes.

“Nope, only stones I’ve seen look like they were taken from a driveway. Trunks-kun, I’m getting kind of hungry. Ready to eat?”

“Yeah… If I find any, I’ll put them up for you. How can I get in touch with you to let you know if I found them?”

“There is no way. I’ll know, trust me. Ja ne…” Duo turned around and started walking down the dirt path that led to the lake. Suddenly a blond joined his side. The two walked for a few moments when three more teens joined them. They soon vanished from sight and Trunks and Goten turned to go to the kitchen. When they got to the kitchen, Goten sat down and Trunks started cooking their food.

“That was weird Trunks… I could have sworn I’ve seen that guy before… He seemed so familiar. Know what I mean?”

“Goten… Do you have the photos we got from the security camera the day Sara was almost kidnapped at the…”

“Yeah… In my bag. I carry them with me everywhere.”

“Go get them.” Trunks continued cooking as Goten went back to his room. He grabbed the pictures out of the bag and then grabbed the letter and picture he had been holding when his mother died. He bit his lips as he walked back into the kitchen and handed the small stack of photos and the letter to Trunks. Trunks put Goten’s food on the table and then put his own food down. They both sat down and began going trough the pictures.

“The guy that came to get Sara that day is Duo… Shit… Goten do you…. Goten?” Trunks watched as Goten fell backwards in the chair. He hit the ground with a loud thud, but his eyes remained closed. Trunks jumped up and ran over to his friend. Trunks carefully picked Goten up and carried him to his room.

***

“They are in the cabin Sire.” Duo looked up at his Sire while the others gathered to hear their talk.

“Yes Sire in the cabin. Duo found them there.”

“In the cabin is where Duo found them. As Quatre said, Duo found them there.”

“You babbling idiots, the Sire heard you the first time! Now, Heero and Trowa, have you anything fresh to say?” Sara looked at the two silent ones as they nodded their heads yes. They walked over to their alter and tore the covers from it, laying on the table was Marron, bound han and foot.

“We brought our Sire the path. The others seek the souls.”

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^.^ chapter two is done. Yay for me!

(1) A witch’s foot is basically a peace sign. The only thing with a witch’s foot is that the line down the middle splits in two and the line doesn’t go all the way down. It ends where the two lines diverge from the one.