TK’s head throbbed as her eyes fluttered open.  Whatever Shizurei had done to make her go to sleep had left her in a raw mood.  Quickly trying to determine where she was, TK strained to clear the bleariness from her eyes.  She was lying on a dirt floor, and still felt the crime-scene tape wrapped around her body.  She screamed, however muffled the sound was, pulling and thrashing in her bonds, finding them no looser than they had been in the alleyway.  Finally stopping to breath furiously through her nose, TK saw that she was in some kind of run down building, massive and empty, like a warehouse or factory; the only light seemed to be coming from the broken skylights, and it looked to near sunset.

Managing to sit up, TK looked for Shizurei, finding an old, beat-up, and dirt-covered sedan parked nearby, its trunk standing wide open.  “Oh, so she must have thrown me in the trunk…how original…I am so going to give her the worst thrashing she has ever had!  This is ridiculous!  Kidnapped twice in as many days!  Damn it!  What’s the matter with you, TK?  Has your luck really become that horrible? Or is this just a bad week?”  

TK closed her eyes and focused, taking several deep breaths.  She visualized the bonds she felt wrapped around her body, and let herself relax.  Then, with sudden force, she put every bit of strength into her arms and legs.  She could swear that she felt the tape pressing back with just as much force, but then she felt it stretch, just slightly, around her legs and at her wrists.  But then, she had to stop, her breathing quickly through her nose, burning up with her exertion.  The tape was just too strong…for now.

Getting another idea, TK looked around her again, noticing that the light had faded dramatically already, night nearly fallen.  There were metal support beams not too far away that may be sharp enough to damage the tape.  There was also the car, and possibly something she could use inside of it.  So, with some amount of effort, TK first rolled to her knees, and then managed to hop up and balance on her feet, precariously at first, but she managed to balance herself before she fell.  Keeping herself steady, she hopped toward the open trunk, and winced when she misjudged her last jump, and banged her knee against the bumper.

Mumbling her frustration, TK peered into the trunk, seeing the spare tire and a gas can, but nothing else; the tire iron must have been underneath the tire.  Grimacing, she hopped around the side of the car, bracing against the door with her fingers.  Looking inside, she saw two big duffel bags in the backseat, both zipped up, of course, and a box full of glass jars in the floor.  “I could work with that…” she thought, hopping to the front window to peer inside.  There were books on the occult in the passenger seat, and a bottle of water in one of the cup holders.  She didn’t see anything else that might be useful, so she looked at the door locks, and, for a wonder of wonders, they were unlocked.  

Feeling hope in her heart, TK popped the rear door open and crouched down as low as she could.  With her hands crossed and secured at her waist, she was just a couple of inches short of reaching the box.  Not daring to stop just yet, she leaned onto the nearest duffle bag, nearly loosing her footing in the loose dirt, but snagging the edge of the box.  Another tense moment passed, and her fingers were finally able to lift one of the jars out.

Grinning as best she could with her mouth wrapped in crime-scene tape, TK eased back out of the car and dropped to the ground, looking all around, pausing to see if anyone had heard her.  She saw no movement on the catwalk above, heard nothing but her own breathing.  She looked at the jar, and with a quick, hard tap, shattered the jar against the car door.  Not waiting to see if anyone heard that, she grabbed frantically at the shards, taking the largest one in her fingers and sliding it over the tape at her wrists.  Within moments she felt the tape start to give, and then her hands popped free.  Grinning at her victory, TK went to cut at the rest of the tape, but it had already loosened and started to fall off of her, as though the magic that bound it had been canceled by a single cut.

Unwinding the tape from her muzzle, TK hopped to her feet, looking around frantically for Shizurei.  “Where are you?  Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a little payback…” TK said quietly, noticing that night seemed to have come fully; the place was really dark now.  Her ears twitched, a mechanical rumble coming from somewhere off to her right, through a pair of rusted double doors.  Moments later, she heard an electric hum, and something exploded at the far end of the cavernous room.  Then the few remaining lights along the ceiling winked on, sending down columns of dim light, each filled with particles of dust swirling in the air currents.
“Well, well, well…I wouldn’t have expected you to be awake already.  You are truly a resourceful person, TK.  Now why don’t you be a good kitty and just stay right there?  I wouldn’t want to have to bind you again.”

TK looked back to the double doors, narrowing her eyes toward Shizurei, hands already balling into fists.  “Shizurei…glad to see you haven’t ran off into hiding.  Did you come back just so I can pay you back for what happened in the alley?”
Shizurei stepped out into the light, a confident smirk on her face.  She casually removed her long coat, tossing it aside, revealing her black tank top and camouflage fatigues.  She cracked her knuckles, licking her lips.  “I’m ready for a rematch now, if you’re not too frightened; the bait can be unconscious, just as long as you’re still alive.  While you were sleeping, I took a look into your memories, and even borrowed a few for myself.  I think you’ll find us evenly matched now.”

“In your dreams, lady.  Even if you knew everything I do, I’d still never let myself lose to you.  I know I’m better than you!”  TK was ready for a fight now, her blood was pumping, and Shizurei’s attitude was just rubbing the big sore spot TK had against her.  “Come on, then!  If you think you can beat me, go ahead!  We’ll see who gets to be bait here!”

“I accept your challenge, TK.”  Shizurei stalked toward TK, a new confidence and fluidity in her steps that could only have come from someone who had perfected martial arts.

TK met her half-way, and the two tiger-women circled one another, growling as they sized one another up.  TK could see the differences in Shizurei immediately.  Everything about how she was handling herself was completely different from how she had been during their first fight inside the kidnapper’s building.  TK could have been staring at herself, albeit somewhat taller and more Asian with red fur.  But whatever sorcery Shizurei had used, TK could beat her; of that, she had no doubts.
Sensing each other’s movements simultaneously, both women screamed their battle cries and charged toward one another.  TK pushed off with her strong legs and leapt at Shizurei, aiming for her chest with her right foot.  Seeming to know what TK had planned, Shizurei spun, grabbing TK’s ankle and used her own momentum to throw her toward the ground.

TK managed to turn herself in midair, landing on her feet and sliding backward in the loose dirt.  As she looked up, Shizurei was already coming at her.  TK blocked her first punch with her forearm, but was too slow for the second, which landed against her stomach.  Gritting her teeth at the sudden loss of breath, though she had been hit harder plenty of times before, TK took hold of Shizurei’s forearm and pulled, dropping her own body to sweep with her legs.  “You may have my memories, witch, but you don’t have my body!” TK roared, launching Shizurei over her head.

TK was already moving before Shizurei hit the dirt, but her kidnapper was quick to recover, actually managing to roll aside as TK’s fist flew within an inch of her face, leaving her fist imprint in the dirt.  TK saw Shizurei spin around on her back, kicking out with both legs.  Though TK brought her arms up to block the kick, the force of it was enough to cause her to stagger back, allowing Shizurei time to get to her feet.
TK ran at Shizurei, trying to get her before she had recovered, but the woman was fast if nothing else.  Her captor sidestepped TK's kick, and tried to deliver an elbow to TK's face.  TK's lightning quick reflexes had her out of the way before she could be struck.  Thinking fast, TK grabbed Shizurei's elbow with one arm, bringing her other arm around Shizurei's neck.  She flexed her muscles, slipping a sleeper hold upon her captor, who was already trying to break her grip.  Shizurei growled, and closed her hand around TK's forearm, trying to remove it from her neck.

Not expecting Shizurei to quite be so fast, TK was ill-prepared for the sudden kick to her knee, followed immediately by a strong pull on her arms.  Shizurei's speed was amazing, compensating for TK's superior strength, and TK was flung over her, slamming onto her back on the ground.  She must have landed funny, since her breath was knocked out of her.  Momentarily dazed, TK was rattled by a quick punch to her face, and then had only just managed to try to move when her side exploded in pain, Shizurei's kick sent her rolling to her side, but gave her some momentum to work with as she gasped for air.

TK used the kick and kept rolling, out of the light and into the shadows, somehow regaining her breath.  As she tried to stand, TK looked up, seeing Shizurei waiting with an overly-confident smirk.

“Too slow.  Maybe you're getting too old for this?”  TK hissed, just as Shizurei's boot connected with her face, stars flashing in her eyes.  Shizurei was on her back in a moment, applying her own sleeper hold.

TK gritted her teeth as she sucked in the last bit of air she could manage, clawing at Shizurei's arms.  Shizurei grunted, and squeezed harder.  TK felt the red-furred hunter's mistake almost immediately when she shifted on TK's back, leaning backward for more leverage.  This put her in striking distance of TK's legs.  TK had been hogtied so many times before, she knew her legs were more than flexible enough.

Waiting just a few seconds longer, TK found her moment just as she was starting to notice her vision darkening.  Shizurei hauled back, attempting to put her out with a final, strong squeeze.  TK kicked, and felt it land solidly.  Shizurei cried out in a mixture of surprise and pain, her grip disappearing as she fell to the ground beside TK.  Fresh air filled her lungs when TK took a deep breath, but her body was already moving, hyped up on adrenaline.  She hopped to her feet and approached the downed Shizurei, who was already shaking her head and coming to all fours.  TK wasted no time, hauling off with a powerful kick to Shizurei's gut.

Impossibly quick, Shizurei leapt into the air, back-flipping to her feet out of reach of TK, narrowing her eyes.  “You are a strong opponent, TK.  Perhaps I have underestimated you, somewhat.”  Shizurei began moving with TK again, a slow, circular stalk.

“You're not too bad yourself, if any of that skill is yours at all.  I know that speed isn't all me, so you've got something going for you at least.”  TK's fur bristled and her muscles released their built up tension as both of the tigresses sprung at one another again, TK's knee meeting Shizurei's as they canceled one another's strikes.  Shizurei followed up with a punch toward TK's face, which TK deflected aside, trying to deliver her own quick jab toward Shizurei's throat.  Shizurei knocked her hand away with her own, grinning as they seemed to be in a stalemate.

TK hopped backward as Shizurei tried to sweep her legs from beneath her, then delivered two quick kicks toward Shizurei's legs and stomach.  Shizurei pulled her leg out of the way, and took a glancing blow on her side from TK's kick, though it seemed to do little to phase her.  She was moving faster by the moment it seemed, and TK was forced to go on the defensive.  It was all she could do just to keep her arms and legs up against Shizurei's viper-quick strikes, each one stinging TK's body as her stamina drained.

Shizurei spun and delivered a hard kick at TK, which she also blocked, but just barely, staggering from the force of the blow.  Shizurei followed up with a fast kick from her other leg, but was just a hair too slow.  Grabbing Shizurei’s ankle between her arms, TK roared triumphantly and delivered a firm kick to her kidnapper’s gut, watching as her blue eyes bulged.  TK wasted no more time, tossing Shizurei’s leg aside as she slipped behind the staggering tigress.  TK tensed her muscles and spun, delivering a hard, heavy kick to Shizurei’s back, sending her flying toward the sedan that TK had been close to being backed against.  Shizurei cried out in pain as she crashed head first into the car, leaving a sizable dent in the passenger door before she slumped face-down in the dirt.

TK hurried to Shizurei’s side, grabbing her by the scruff of her neck.  Shizurei mumbled incoherently, shaking her head and struggling feebly as TK dragged her toward the trunk.  “Let this be a lesson; just because you know everything I do about how to fight, if you don’t have a body that can handle it all, you’re going to fail.  Speed is one thing, but power is another!  I’m taking you to the police, Shizurei.  No hard feelings, right?”  TK grabbed her belt and hefted the woman into the trunk.

Shizurei started coming to her senses just as TK had her hands on the trunk lid.  “No!  Wait, you don’t understand-“TK had no desire to hear it, and slammed the trunk down hard, muffling Shizurei’s protests quite well.  TK stood back, and listened as Shizurei pounded ineffectively on the metal for a few moments, taking a long, deep breath as her adrenaline began to fade.  Shizurei must have gotten cocky, relying on untested skill in an area she knew herself to be weak in, instead of her strong magical talents.  TK glanced up, suddenly very worried as Shizurei stopped pounding.  Was she going to blast her way out of the trunk?

Turning toward where Shizurei tossed her jacket, TK hoped that the keys were inside and that Shizurei was still too dizzy to try to cast a spell.  Suddenly, TK’s ears twitched, and a cold shiver went down her spine.  She whirled around again, feeling someone staring at her from behind.  She saw only darkness beyond the columns of light, though after a moment, TK realized that it was considerably darker than it had been a few moments ago.  The air was considerably colder too, so much so that as the adrenaline started ebbing, TK could see her breath.

TK spun around again, peering into the darkness behind her when she felt more eyes back there.  “Whoever the hell you are, come on out and show yourself!  You'll only make it worse on yourself if you make me hunt you down.”  That sure was a brave statement, though TK felt a cold fear sliding up her spine that she couldn't explain.

Out of the corner of her eye, TK saw something moving in the shadows.  No, the shadows themselves were moving!  It looked like smoke being swirled by a breeze, but the shadows from the far end of the building were billowing.  Within moments, TK saw what looked like a boat passing through water, leaving the same kinds of ripples and waves in the shadows, though she could see nothing, and had no idea if something like that was even possible....”Then again, if Shizurei can make crime tape wrap me up and put me to sleep...”

TK could hear a breeze blowing all around her now, and the air was steadily growing colder; her breath was beginning to become visible.  “Why don't you come on out, already?  You afraid?  Or are you just trying to freak me out...Shizurei?”  TK hoped it was just Shizurei...

The wind died down as a mass of shadows separated itself from the rest, floating into the column of light TK stood in.  Despite herself, TK took a step back as the shadowy form coalesced into something humanoid, dark wisps of shadow swirling about it.   TK watched as a head took form, with long, shadowy tendrils stretching into the darkness behind as though wind were sweeping its hair.  Then, two bright, amber orbs appeared where the eyes should have been, sending a wave of cold fear through TK that she had never known before.  TK could have ran screaming for the hills, but something kept her feet rooted to the floor despite her quick breathing and full-body trembling.

The shadowy form moved closer to her, floating on the wind, it seemed, looking toward the car and back to TK.  Though the form had no mouth, TK swore she could see it smiling.  “Ahhhhh...TK...a pleasure indeed it is to meet you.”  The voice was carried on the wind, feminine, but TK couldn't make out the accent; it sounded, well, like none that she had heard before, maybe a mix of several.  The voice itself made her spine tingle and her breath catch in her throat.

The shadow shifted closer to her.  “You are very strong, of will and body, TK...just the sort of woman I am looking for.  I have been watching you for some time now; are you not happy that I made your most recent captor pay for what he did to you?  He deserved to meet his end in a most gruesome manner, yes?”

“You...you did that?  What the...what the hell are you?”  TK took another step back, her anger no match for the fear that rushed through her, from those amber orbs.
“I am your future, TK...you may call me Shizuru for now, but soon, you will call me...'Mistress.'  I have need of you, TK, and I will not accept any response other than total compliance.  Now, come here.”

TK swallowed on a dry throat, but shook her head stubbornly.  “Hell no!  If you want me, come and get me!”  TK brought her fists in front of her, but she knew she was hardly an intimidating opponent the way she was trembling.  It was a wonder she hadn't stuttered during her challenge.

The shadow chuckled.  “I love it when they play hard to get...”  The light around TK dimmed, and the shadow seemed to grow in size.  TK knew she was in over her head, but without warning, a new, brighter light erupted from the floor beneath her, as bright as the morning sun.  The shadow recoiled in pain, emitting a terrible shrieking hiss that forced TK to cover her ears.  As the shadowy form shrank, it tried to lunge at TK, but fell short, writhing on the ground.  By the sedan, TK saw Shizurei, hands held before, each glowing with the same light coming from the floor, brow furrowed in concentration.  How had she gotten out of the trunk?

“Hurry, TK!” Shizurei cried, her voice strained.  “I can't hold it for long...use the stakes!  She won't be paralyzed much longer!  The stakes!”

TK was about to ask just what Shizurei was talking about when something broke loose in her mind, a mental block Shizurei had placed on her.  That potion, right!  It was so that Shizuru couldn't know their plan, and to let Shizurei borrow TK's memories!  She remembered what she had to do, her fear vanishing in the blink of an eye, what they had planned earlier that day...

* * *

“…Wake up…Hey…time to…wake up…WAKE UP!”  TK kept hearing the voice, but she didn’t want to do what it said.  She was at peace, in her void; just her and nobody else, and she felt wonderful, floating.  Then she remembered the sound of the voice, that accent, and she felt immediate rage flowing through her, shattering her serenity.  As she awoke, she knew she was already growling, and as she opened her eyes, TK immediately spat out the name of her captor.  “Shizurei!”

“Right here, Miss TK.”

TK sat up, first surprised that she was not restrained, and again shocked that she was actually lying on a mattress.  After shaking her head to clear the last remnants of sleep, TK focused her attention on the direction of Shizurei’s voice, seeing that the room she was being held in was a storage room, with shelves along the walls, but nothing on them, and a single light bulb hanging from the center of the ceiling.  The door was solid metal, and had a barred window, behind which she saw Shizurei.  “Well, this is a surprise.  I figured you would’ve had me trussed up and ready for your friends.”  TK barely kept any civility in her voice at all, swinging her legs off the mattress and rising to her feet, stretching to work away some stiffness that had set into her muscles.

“That was my original plan; it may still be my course of action, however, depending on your responses.  I had no idea that you were the victim of that kidnapping, TK.  Had I known, I…perhaps…would have decided on a different tactic.”

“Yeah well…hey, how do you know my name?”

Shizurei chuckled.  “Research, of course.  It is one of the things I do best.  Did you know that you have quite the following on the Internet?  Why, there is even one site out there with all kinds of photos and drawings of you, even stories of your…misadventures.  They’re really quite entertaining to read; you should probably take a look sometime.”

TK’s fur rippled with a mix of embarrassment and anger.  There were places on the Internet about her?  With pictures and everything?  It wasn’t enough that she was always finding herself captured or in some kind of crazy life or death struggle, but now she had to deal with online stalkers?  She really had to find time to actually get on the Internet sometime…TK cleared her throat, getting back to the matter at hand.  “Well, that’s interesting…so, what are you going to do with me now?  Just keep me in here?”

Shizurei shrugged.  “If I have to, but I am hoping that we can come to an understanding.  Before I knew who you were, I could have cared less; I would have just left you asleep on the floor and let the police take care of you.  But now…now I must ask for your assistance.”

TK’s jaw dropped just a bit, but she was quick to recover.  She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at Shizurei.  “Wait, wait, wait…you get into a fight with me, almost get me arrested, assault a police officer, then kidnap me…and now you want my help?  Am I the only one who sees a problem with this picture?  Why should I help you?  I still owe you for wrapping me up.”

“You were seeking your kidnapper’s killer, yes?  I too want to find his killer.  If we can work together, maybe we will be able to succeed where others have failed.  There is more to this story than simply an extremely violent killer, TK, and I would discuss that with you...civilly of course, if you can keep yourself from beating me up?”

TK took a deep breath, turning her back to Shizurei and looked up to the ceiling.  “She does seem to be in a better mood now…but I really do want to pay her back…heck, I can do that later.  I suppose it couldn’t hurt to play nice, at least until I’ve heard her out.  If I don’t like it, we can fight it out then and I can take her to the cops afterward.  Why not?”  TK looked back to Shizurei.  “Yeah, I can control myself, as long as you don’t try to pull anything funny.  I’ll hear you out, at least, and make my decision after that.”

“Fair enough.”  Shizurei said, turning the lock and opening the door, hinges screeching from lack of lubrication.  She looked at TK again for a moment, then started walking out of view.

TK stepped out warily, seeing that this room was at the far end of a badly decayed hallway, bits of plaster and concrete lining the edges of the floor, the few lights still remaining in the ceiling flickering precariously.  Shizurei walked ahead of her and paused by another hall leading to the right, letting TK catch up before continuing.  Down this hall, the lights were still bad, and TK could see what looked to be empty offices on either side.  “This was once a factory, on the outskirts of town, but I have been using it for the last few days, since I arrived in town.”

“So, who is our mystery killer, anyway?”

“Her name is Shizuru,”  Shizurei replied, her voice turning cold.

“Shizuru…hey, wait a second here!”  TK came to a dead stop, readying herself to deliver a kick to the tiger-woman in front of her.

Shizurei stopped and turned, hands held up.  “I know, I know, but I swear to you there is no relation between us.  I do not even know if that is her real name; it is the only name I have discovered from my years of searching, and believe me, I do not want to discover a link between us.  Even if there were, it does not change the fact that I want to bring her the justice she deserves.”

TK let out the breath she had been holding, and lowered her guard, just slightly, thinking that Shizurei’s words seemed to be truthful.  “Okay…lead on…” TK said, her voice tight.  Shizurei continued ahead toward a pair of double doors, one propped open with an old tar bucket, but the tension in the air was thick.  Passing through the doors behind Shizurei, TK was rather surprised to see that they had entered the largest part of the factory.  It was mostly open space now that the equipment had been removed, and the light was coming through the skylights, still early morning from what TK could tell.  She saw a car parked near one of the garage doors, an older model four-door sedan, banged up pretty bad and coated with dirt and mud.  She also saw the strips of crime-scene tape piled on the ground near the trunk, causing her fur to ripple.

Shizurei went up a nearby set of metal stairs to the second level, and turned into an open door there.  Following, TK saw that it was another office, this one cleaned out somewhat, and furnished with a pair of collapsible camping chairs and a huge, wooden wire spool for a table.  There was an open laptop sitting atop the spool, and another table along the back wall, filled with several things that TK couldn’t make out due to the sheet covering them.  Shizurei motioned for TK to take a seat as she reached under the rear table and pulled a cooler out, bringing up two bottles of water, offering TK one of them as she too sat down.  “I promise, there is nothing in them but water.”

TK hesitated but finally took the bottle, popping the seal and taking a short sip, letting the water roll over her tongue.  It did taste like normal spring water.  She took another drink and sat the bottle down, giving it time to go through her.  “Okay, we’re here, what do you have to tell me.”

Shizurei turned the laptop toward TK and moved her finger over the touchpad, turning the screensaver off and revealing a photo viewer, currently displaying a picture of a scene very similar to the one TK had witnessed in her abductor’s basement, but this one was in a living room.  “Here’s her very first victim, that we know of, at least, an abusive father in Europe, forty-five years ago; his daughter was subsequently found to be missing two days later, and was never found.”  Shizurei opened another picture, a very similar scene, in a garage.  “Her second victim, a serial arsonist who targeted the homes of cat-folk exclusively, North America, thirty-seven years ago;  two surviving victims, a sister and a mother, went missing a week later and were never seen again…”  Shizurei continued through several more images, each a few years after the previous one, each with a similar story:  someone, most often a male, performs some wrong against members of the fairer sex, and is killed for it; their victims then disappear off the face of the earth.  And each time, in a different part of the world.

By the time Shizurei had finished her presentation, TK was sick to her stomach.  She took a long drink of the water, looking to Shizurei, who was just staring at the table, anger simmering in her sapphire eyes.  TK finally managed to find her voice.  “I…I don’t know what to make of that…this person, she’s a monster…And she’s been doing it for almost fifty years?  How could she still be at it after so long?  I just don’t understand…”

Shizurei looked to TK, absolutely serious.  “There are things in this world that are far from natural, TK.  You know that magic exists, you have seen me use it, and I’m sure you’ve encountered some forms of it at one time or another.  There are also monsters that exist in this world that most people consider to be myth.  Shizuru is one of those monsters, something that no longer has any sort of humanity left.  To put it simply, she is a vampire…your classic blood-sucking vampire.  But, unlike the classical myths, garlic and crosses and running water are useless against her.  Crosses don’t do anything to her kind either, unless you manage to stab them through the heart with it.  Her only real, true weakness is sunlight, which will utterly destroy her within seconds.”

TK knew her mouth was hanging open, and she felt as though somebody had just smacked her with a dead fish.  Vampires?  Serious as a heart-attack Shizurei was talking about vampires?  “How…how do you know all of this?”

Shizurei continued, still keeping her voice cool.  “I have always had an interest in the occult, and eventually found that I had a talent for magic.  And the one I eventually found to teach me further control happened to be a vampire hunter.  He had been tracking Shizuru for several years when I first met him, and nearly had her about five years ago.  But we were not prepared for her help…”  Shizurei’s voice wavered, a look of sadness passing over her features.  “She had transformed those that were abducted into her ghouls.  They were all there when we found her lair…and they were completely loyal to her.  They attacked like rabid animals, no traces of their humanity left at all.  We managed to capture one of the girls, but there was nothing we could do; she was too far gone.”

“I…I don’t know what to say, Shizurei…that’s just…God, it’s horrible…”  TK just shook her head.  She was too stunned to really comprehend what she was being told.

“My teacher and I were attacked that night by the remaining ghouls.  We dealt with them as best we could.  Then Shizuru showed up…”  Shizurei squeezed her eyes shut, taking a deep breath to steady herself.  “She is terror incarnate, TK.  When she arrived, I could feel her, everywhere, but all I saw was living shadow, and glowing yellow eyes.  She seemed to absorb the life force of her ghouls to make herself stronger…in our weakened state, we were no match.  I saw her do to my teacher what she did to your kidnapper…she goes inside of them like a mist and…then she…comes out in a solid form…”

Shizurei looked like she was on the verge of tears.  TK absorbed that information soberly, knowing for certain that Shizurei wasn’t deceiving her now.  She stood and put a hand on Shizurei’s shoulder, crouching down and putting her other hand on her knee.  “Hey, hey…it’s okay if you have to let it out.  Now that you’ve told me this…I just don’t know…how could something like Shizuru really exist?  I believe you, but I just can’t really understand it all…I mean, it’s so sudden…”

Shizurei laid her hand over TK’s, finally opening her eyes, now glistening with unshed tears.  “I don’t want anyone else to suffer because of her.  Shizuru is a blight on this world, and her reign of terror must end.  I have every intention of seeing her destroyed, and I hope that you will help me.  You are a much better hand to hand combatant than me, TK, and I think that’s why Shizuru has taken a liking to you.  She is still trying to refill her ranks now, and I think she’s decided to go for those who are most skilled, not those she feels some kind of twisted need to be a mother-figure to, even if those feelings are something she created with her mind-altering powers.”

“Look, Shizurei, I’ll help however I can if we can stop her and bring her to the authorities, but I really don’t-“

Shizurei’s shook her head.  “We’re not bringing her to the authorities, TK.  No authority in this world can hold her.  She has to be destroyed; there is no hope for someone like her.”

That just didn’t sit well with TK, not at all.  She stood and put her finger right into Shizurei’s face.  “I won’t help you kill someone, even if they’re a vampire.  I’ll help you subdue her, but nothing else.  And if you don’t like it, then I’m leaving, right now.  I’ll just have to do things my way, on my own.”

Shizurei brushed TK’s finger aside with her hand as she stood, a new fire in her eyes.  “You don’t know what you’re saying, or what you’re dealing with, TK.  You’ll be under her control before you even get close enough to realize you’re in too deep.  Within a few days, you won’t even remember your old life; you will be completely under her control, and will know nothing but her as your reason to exist.  At most…you will have a week before the changes are irreversible.”

“That still doesn’t change the fact that I won’t kill her!”  TK had to admit that the thought of losing her free will was very disconcerting.  She turned her back to Shizurei and crossed her arms, sighing as she looked over the empty factory below them.  “Look…I know you’re the expert on vampires and everything, but there has to be some other way, right?  I know you want revenge…I can understand the feeling; I know I’ve felt it plenty of times.  But I can’t let you kill someone, no matter what they are, who they are, or how much they deserve it.  I promise you this…If you try to kill her, I’ll stop you.  I’ll help you capture her, nothing more.”

Shizurei growled, slamming her fist into the table behind TK.  “Very well…we’ll try this your way, but if this backfires because of your compassion…well…I’m fairly certain neither of us will be able to regret it.  You’ll be her puppet and I’ll probably be hamburger.”  Shizurei blew out her breath.  “If we’re going this route, there are some things you should know.”

TK turned back to Shizurei, who looked calmer, but still angry, as shown by her twitching tail.  The hunter was by the table, and had pulled the cover away, revealing several items, first of which was a bundle of wooden stakes.  “You’ve heard the lore, I’m sure; stick a vampire in the heart with a stake, it’ll die…well, that’s sort of accurate.  It won’t die, but it will be rendered powerless until the stake is removed.  This probably offends your senses, but if you want to capture her, this is the best way to do it.  My plan was to try this and drag her into the sun, or just try to incinerate her in one spell blast.  The only problem is…she has evolved into something beyond the normal vampire.”

TK was nodding silently up to this point, no matter how revolting the idea was.  “I’m taking a guess here, but you’re talking about that shadow thing, right?”

“Exactly.  Your average vampire is just as solid as you or I; some develop a way to turn into mist for a time, after a few decades of existence.  Shizuru…we were never able to find out just how old she is, so when she revealed herself as a shadow form, with no mass to speak of, we were, for lack of a better word, screwed.  After we first encountered her, I made sure to try to find a way to counter her ability, and I am certain that I have it.  It is a spell that will temporarily weaken her, perhaps enough for us to stake her.  Since she should be coming for you, you’ll draw her attention while I gather my energies and cast the spell.”

Things just kept getting better and better, TK mused, learning that she was still going to be the bait.  “Wouldn’t it be better to have the spell ready to go when she shows up so that I won’t have to be the bait?  And what those mind control powers you were talking about?  If she’s so good at taking control, what can I do to prevent that?”

Shizurei shook her head.  “The spell takes time to gather the energy needed.  Shizuru needs to be distracted long enough for me to complete it; if she senses me holding that much power, she may attack me instead, before I’m ready.  Besides, when she’s distracted by the spell, you will have your chance to stake her.  It should just take you an instant, right through the heart.” Shizurei moved her hand to her breast to show the area.  “As for your mind, I have an enchantment that will protect us both from her mind control, at least for a few hours.”

TK shook her head, holding a hand to her temple.  “I don’t know…this all sounds too much like a bad movie, or some kind of Dungeons and Dragons game or something.”  Only, unless she was somehow still unconscious and this was all a really weird dream, this was happening in the real world.  “You’re not just screwing with me, right?  And I’m still not asleep?  This is serious?”

Shizurei nodded gravely.  “I assure you, you are not dreaming, and everything I have told you is true.  Believe it, TK, things are going to be dangerous from here on; until Shizuru is taken care of, neither of us is safe.  We have to end it now; we won’t have another chance.”

“Alright…”  TK extended her hand to Shizurei, who stared at it for a moment, then looked into TK’s eyes before taking it firmly.  “I’ll help you, and we’ll make it work so that she won’t have to be killed.”

“I hope that is the case…now, let us begin our preparations…”  Shizurei turned toward the table, motioning for TK to move beside her as she picked up some odd looking wooden charm.  “Okay…here is the plan I’ve been working on…”

After nearly an two hours of discussion and working with charms and potions that turned TK’s stomach with just whiff, Shizurei said her final incantation and handed a bubbling, reddish colored brew to TK.  “Everything is ready now for you.  Once you drink this, I will take care of the rest, and be ready for the fight after sunset.  I know she will not wait long to try and claim you.”

TK took the bottle, and grimaced at the mixture.  “So this won’t kill me, right?  It sure looks like it could…”  Her confidence fell another few points when one of the bubbles popped, sending a drop of the concoction onto the table, where it hissed and produced a puff of acrid smoke.

Shizurei grinned, showing her teeth.  “You are strong enough to handle it, I think.  I promise it only does that against non-living material; you will feel only warmth and some tingling, like strong liquor.  You may want to sit down; I don’t know how fast it will affect you.”

“Great…oh well…” TK said, still not happy as she looked again into the bubbling mix, and walked over to one of the chairs.  She took a seat and then a deep breath, which caused her to gag.  “You are so going to drink one of these after this is all finished up.”  TK and Shizurei shared a laugh, and without giving her mind time to think better of it, she downed the bottle, chugging every last drop.  She winced and grabbed at her stomach, grinding her teeth as the fire raced down her throat and exploded inside of her.  She felt dizzy and soon it felt as though her entire body was on fire.  She blinked several times, her vision blurry, unable to focus.  A red haze seemed to fill her brain, and she had trouble remembering where she was, who she was for that matter.  Then she was falling, the floor dropping from beneath her, back into the void...

* * *

TK looked again at the shadowy form of the vampire writhing on the floor, and glanced toward Shizurei one last time before running to the nearby support column.  Shoving a loose pile of dirt away with her hands, TK came back up with a pair of wooden stakes, arcane runes carved along them, part of their earlier preparations.  Wasting no more time, pushing down her revulsion at having to stab one of those stakes through someone's heart, TK made her move.  TK leaped atop the writhing shadow, straddling the surprisingly solid form.  She took a firm grip on one of the stakes and raised it over her head, gritting her teeth as she targeted the area of the heart as the shrieking died down, replaced by a chime-like tinkling from the magic circle.

The shadows dissipated a heartbeat later, spilling off the form and into the floor.  TK screamed as she plunged the stake downward.  The darkness was gone, as were the amber eyes.  TK saw white fur with black stripes covering a strong body, with reddish eyes...wait, that hair, that mohawk...NO!  Before she did something she would regret, TK altered the path of the stake, sending it into the ground.  She couldn't believe it...she just couldn't!  Her jaw went slack with disbelief.  “Sonya?!”

“TK, what are you doing?  Stab it into her heart!” Shizurei cried, desperation strong in her voice.

“I...I can't...it's not her!  It's someone I know!”

Sonya looked as though she was in a daze, though her eyes slowly rolled to stare at TK.  Her voice was low, almost as if she were high, and she was smiling.  “Ah, TK...Mistress told me you would join us soon...I was glad to help her, TK...you can't resist her, her power...she is too strong for even you.  But when you finally feel it...it's so...so good!  You can't get enough of her gift, TK!”

“Sonya!  What are you talking about?  Sonya?”  Sonya's eyes closed and she seemed be asleep, completely limp beneath TK.  TK looked to Shizurei, who was now leaning against the sedan, the magic circle fading as she let her concentration end.

“I...I didn't think she would have...done something like this...” Shizurei said, gasping for air as she spoke.  “We have to leave...fast!  TK, you drive...I'm too tired.”

TK stood, looking at the car, then back to Sonya.  As much as she hated her nemesis, now was no time to leave her behind.  “You get in, I just have to help Sonya; I'm not leaving her here.”

Before Shizurei could protest, darkness pooled around her and erupted, an ear-piercing shriek dropping TK to her knees, her head feeling as if it were going to explode.  She could barely make out Shizurei's scream as she was thrown against one of the support columns, the surging shadows holding her there, seeming to crush her.  TK tried to get to her feet, but the sound was too much.  The windows on the car shattered as Shizurei was dropped, crashing into the floor, unmoving.

The shadows snaked around the column and flowed at TK, but dissolved before it struck her.  The head-splitting sound ended as it took form in front of her, a feminine, feline form cloaked in shadow, amber orbs smoldering with anger.  Unlike how Sonya had looked, this one seemed...TK couldn't find the words.  It was a living shadow, not just something covering her.  TK could see Shizurei's unmoving form through it.  Defiantly, TK stood, however shakily.  “You...just made a big mistake, Shizuru.”

“I do not think so, TK,” it said, in the voice Sonya had spoken with.  “You are the next one I have chosen to be part of my family, and you will come with me.  Fight if you wish, it will not make any difference to me.”

TK couldn't let an offer like that go to waste.  Snarling, she lashed out with a kick toward Shizuru's chin, her foot passing harmlessly through the shadows.  Hoping that she could find a solid spot, TK moved as fast as she could, throwing kick after kick, punch after punch.  Shizuru didn't move, only watched TK's furious, if futile assault.  Soon TK was breathing hard, her moves slow, her body feeling heavy all over.  “You...haven't...won yet...”

Shizuru chuckled, extending a hand and catching TK's fist effortlessly.  “I think I have, TK.  Each time you struck me, I took a little of your energy.  The fact that your still standing now is a testament to your strength.  I chose well in making you one of my servants.  I offer you one more chance to come willingly.”

TK shook her head, wavering on her feet, fighting the sleep born of exhaustion.  “You...can go...right back to Hell...”

“Very well; I like it rough.”  Shizuru's form shifted subtly, the shadows that made her body turning darker, blocking out everything behind it.  Before TK could move, an icy hand clamped around her throat, lifting her off the ground, cutting off her air.  TK was too tired to struggle much, though she clawed at Shizuru's arm, trying to dislodge it.  “Oh, TK, you will make a most delightful addition!  I promise you that I treat my pets well.  You have not known pleasure until you have felt the embrace of a vampire such as myself.  You saw how your friend was, yes?  Just imagine feeling so wonderful for an eternity...”

TK tried to give a smart reply, but her vision was darkening, and her body was so tired she could barely feel it.  She managed to gurgle something, but she didn't even know what it was.  Within seconds TK saw the darkness close in around her, heard Shizuru's haughty laughter echoing as darkness fell around her, leaving TK with but a single thought.  “...Not again...”