ʏᴇʟʟᴏᴡ ∆ ᴄᴀᴇsᴀʀ ᴢᴇᴘᴘᴇʟɪ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ∆

∆ғᴏʀᴛʏ-ᴛᴡᴏ∆

“Tomorrow?”

I looked at the vampire with shock, my eyes widening at their proposal. I could see everyone was just as surprised as I was, taken aback by Vex’s words.

“Well, when else do you plan to do it, Princess?” They scoffed, leaning against the wall. “Next year?”

“Vex please,” Speedwagon sighed, placing his hand on the table. “I understand everyone wants this to be finished, but tomorrow is too soon.”

“If we wait any longer, one of you will die,” They said, raising their eyebrows. “Do you want that?”

“But everyone is still recovering,” Joseph said. “Not everyone can heal as you can--and how are you even alive anyways? You had...like...seven stakes impaled through you.”

“I’m immortal,” They replied. “And I suggest the two of you pull it together, or you’re getting left behind. We fight tomorrow, or we don’t fight at all.”

“The sun sets at eight o’clock and rises at six,” I said. “That only gives us a little less than eleven hours. Can we do it between then?”

“That sounds like more than enough time,” Daniel said, looking at me from across the table. “We could do it, couldn’t we?”

“There are other factors we have to take into account,” I replied, taking the pencil and pad from the table as I began to scribble things down. “Traffic, crime, resources, location; all of them affect when we move.”

“You and Vex can only go outside when the sun has completely set,” Caesar said, looking towards my brother. “If Aaron is further upstate, then it’ll take a few hours to get there. Then there’s how many people he has.”

“We have no idea how many people he’s turned and put in his forces,” Speedwagon said. “Though it’s likely we’ll be greatly outnumbered.”

“There’s no doubt,” Vex sighed, rubbing a hand over their face. “But there is a way for Daniel to go outside.”

“Huh?” This gained everyone’s attention, making us turn to Vex.

“He’s not fully turned, but he still has the blood in him,” They said. “He could walk outside now, and still receive damage from the sun, but it wouldn’t be fatal. It’d be the equivalent of a pale person getting severe sunburn. But with his healing abilities, as soon as he’s out of the sun, he’d recover immediately.”

“But what about you?” Joseph asked.

“I’m faster than any of you,” They replied, flashing behind the brunette. “I know all of your scents, what your blood smells like, the weight of your steps. It would be easy for me to find you.”

“So are you saying we’ll leave before you, and then you’ll catch up with us when the sun sets?” I asked.

“What other choice do we have?” Caesar asked.

“There has to be a different way,” I mumbled. “I’m going to do some research.”

“Research? About what?” Daniel asked.

“Aaron,” I replied. “The best way to find him is to follow his in his footsteps.”

“How do you plan on doing that?” Joseph asked.

“I knew him longer and better than all of you. If I can backtrace the places he mostly was at, I think we could easily find him,” I shrugged. “We’ll rest for the day, then I’ll leave in the morning.”

“I’ll go with you,” Daniel said.

“You two will go alone then,” Vex said, pushing off the wall. “The rest of us will stay here and get everything ready.”

…

“This makes me look stupid,” Daniel hissed, hunching his shoulders as he walked beside me. I reached up and adjusted the face mask over his mouth and nose.

“It’s so you don’t burn your skin off,” I sighed, zipping up his jacket.

“It’s hot! I don’t need all these damn clothes!” He growled in aggravation.

“Yeah well, you’re keeping them on,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“Tch,” Daniel grabbed the door to the complex and opened it. “I’ll make sure to kill that bastard a little more when I see him.”

“Quit bitchin’,” I said, stepping into the elevator. Daniel sighed in relief and tugged the mask down, dramatically breathing in as he pushed his sunglasses up. He unzipped his jacket and pulled the sleeves up.

“Damn, all that and I still got a little red,” He mumbled, making me glance at his arm.

“It’s already healing though,” I said, watching it return to a slightly paler tone than his normal skin color.

“Yeah, but-”

Daniel’s words were cut off by the elevator jerking in place, making both of us grab the rail in surprise. The lights flickered above our head, making Daniel and I looked at each other simultaneously. I leaned forward and hit the up button but nothing happened.

“Press the button,” Daniel said.

“I did.”

“Press it again!”

“I did!”

“Hit it!”

“I DID!”

“Press it gently!”

“I DID THAT TOO!” I yelled, looking back at him as I repeatedly hit the button to the fourth floor, then the open doors button. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

I grabbed the rail as Daniel started shaking the car up and down, rattling it. I could hear it creaking and groaning, and hit him in fear. “Stop! The cables are going to sn-”

At the sound of a loud pop, Daniel froze in place before looking over at me with wide eyes.

“Shit!”

“Daniel!” I screamed as the elevator shifted down.

“Stop, stop, don’t move,” He said. “I’ll get us out.”

“You better!” I hissed. “You’re the one who did this!”

“Shut up, Y/n,” He said, pushing open the top door.

“Don’t tell me to shut up, you little shit!” I snapped back, gripping the railing with white knuckles. “I’m going to kick your ass after this!”

“Can it and give me your hand,” Daniel said, crouching back down as he extended his arm to me. I reached up to grab his hand but felt my eyes widen as I did.

My fingertips tingled, as I briefly saw golden sparks flickers across my fingers. Daniel hissed in pain, naturally retracting his hand from the sudden shock. I gasped and fell back, causing the cable to finally break. Daniel called out my name, but the car had fallen too quick for either of us to grab hands.

I felt my vision go black as soon as the car hit the ground floor.