Everyone looked over with similarly alarmed or horrified expressions. Ivy was still lying on the floor where she'd tackled the vampire. Then Fred reappeared, kneeling beside Pythia and wrapping some kind of material around her neck in an attempt to slow the bleeding.

'Right. Is there anyone else in this city who does healing magic?' he said sharply, but neither Armin nor Ivy nor Rex had an answer. They all just looked helpless, not knowing what to turn to.

Pugna: "She doesn't /need/ a healer. She just needs to concentrate."

{Jerry just looked stunned and horrified. Dianne's expression of horror quickly turned to grieving rage. The vampire appeared once again behind Armin, trying to stab Dianne, but Barnabas blinked right with him, grabbing his arm and stabbing him in the back. Dianne was quick to punch him with a decay laced, straight armed punch to the face. He was once again forced to blink to safety.}

Vampire: //A ghoul? That's no fair...//

'Concentrate? What the heII is /that/ supposed to mean?' Ivy snapped, clearly horrified that she was seeing another person dying in front of her.

Armin put Dianne down, close to the couch, so he had his arms free to fight back if the vampire blinked back in. //That as.shole thinks he can just jump in and out whenever he likes?//

{Pythia spits up some blood, then gasps for air. Pulling away the cloth, it is revealed that she healed herself, and was no longer bleeding out. She did, however, seem rather traumatized by the ordeal.}

Pugna: "/That's/ what I mean. What, you thought she couldn't heal herself?"

{Dianne leaned against the couch, looking around for their assailant. He reappeared, tossing a knife right at Dianne, then blinked right back out.}

Fred stood up, taking a step back from Pythia and looking surprised. 'No, I don't believe any of us knew she could do that. Are you alright?' he added, bending slightly to look down at her. He reached out as if intending to put a hand on her shoulder, but didn't quite touch it.

With quick reflexes, Armin reached up and tried to catch the knife, but misjudged his grab due to it being thrown from so close. The blade went straight through the palm of his hand and stuck there. He gasped with pain, but otherwise ignored it, being too focused on watching out for the vampire. //He's too quick for any of us...//

{Pythia offered only a frightened whimper as a reply, pulling herself into a ball. Everyone watched for the vampire intently. Barnabas runs into a bedroom and returns with Witchslayer, handing it to Armin.}

Barnabas: "Here. Stay close to Dianne, I'll be right back. I know how to end this fight."

{As Barnabas disappears, the vampire reappears, kicking Dianne's legs out from under her and attempting to stab her. She's forced to become a smoke-like mass in order to escape being injured.}

Frederick stayed close to Pythia, doubting that she could defend herself in her current state.

Armin accepted the sword, holding it firmly with his uninjured hand. After Dianne evaded the vampire's attack, he lunged past the smoke-like mass, aiming a fast stabbing blow towards the vampire's torso.

{The vampire twisted to the side, so Armin's lunge merely glanced him rather than impaling him. He punches Armin in the face before blinking away once again. Dianne rematerialized on the other side of the room, back against the wall.}

Dianne: "Damn, that's annoying..."

Armin reeled back a little from the punch, then jumped backwards across the room, putting himself closer to Dianne once again. 'This is like trying to swat a mosquito,' he grumbled, looking around tensely as he waited for the vampire to reappear.

{The vampire reappeared, but this time, in the bedroom. He lunges at Esme, grabbing her by the tail and letting her dangle by it as he walks into the living room.}

Vampire: "Ok, I'm sick of playing games. Dianne is coming with me, or this brat gets it, capiche?"

Dianne: "Esme! NO!!"

{Dianne steps forward, but stops when the vampire puts his blade to her throat.}

Vampire: "I want a getaway vehicle, clear passage out of the city, and a million dollars in unmarked bills! Heh, that last one was a joke, but l'm serious about the other two!"

(Esme could literally just fireball him. XD)

(Yes, she could. But he doesn't know that. He thinks she's just a scared kid.)

Esme screeched, flapping her wings. Clearly, being held up by just her tail was quite uncomfortable. Armin froze, his gaze flicking back and forth between Esme and Dianne.

'Oh, you're having it now,' he said menacingly. 'There's no way you're getting out of here alive after threatening her. You're making a mistake.'

Vampire: "Yeah? Well I...I..."

{He stops to notice Dianne's agressive posture. Her features are locked into a hateful snarl, and she's eminating a sickening atmosphere.}

Vampire: "S-stay back! I'll do it!"

Esme didn't quite understand what was going on, but she could read the tense, panicked atmosphere. Opening her jaws, still hanging upside-down, she spat a fist-sized fireball at the vampire's face. Ivy, who was watching as well, flinched at the suddenness of it.

{The vampire stumbled backawards at that, raising his blade to stab Esme. Barnabas then appeared behind him, throwing a rat in his face.}

Barnabas: "EAT RAT, FOOL!"

Vampire: "AAAAHHH!!! GET IT OFF!! BLACK DEATH!! UNCLEAN!!"

{The vampire dropped Esme, trying frantically to get the rat off his face. Pugna threw his blade, cutting off the vampire's blade arm at the shoulder, the katana planting itself into the wall. Jerry shot him with his 44 twice, before Dianne lunged forward, punching right through his chest. She then lifted him up and proceeded to tear him in half.}

Esme scurried off amid the chaos, unharmed. She promptly hid behind Armin's legs, blinking as they tore into the vampire. Ivy edged backwards, while Rex, who had emerged from the kitchen during the fight, was perched on top of the TV in raven form, watching. Fred still stood by Pythia, looking discomfited at the mess they were making of his living-room.

{After Dianne murdered the vampire, she stood there for a moment, breathing heavily, before falling into a sitting position. She then looks over at Esme, to see if she was hurt. After determining that she was fine, she just tiredly hangs her head and sits there.}

Dianne: "...Sorry for the mess..."

{Pythia then shakily stands up, having finally recovered from the shock.}

Pythia: "Is....Is everyone ok?"

Ivy and Rex nodded in response, neither being hurt.

Fred's eye twitched. He telepathically summoned a few non-humans to come and clean up the tattered remains of the vampire's body before he bled on the floor too much.

Armin looked Dianne over, to check she wasn't injured. He then slumped against the wall beside her, grimacing as he examined his hand. The knife he'd blocked for her had gone right through his palm. He gripped the handle as if about to pull it out, then let go, looking faintly queasy. //C'mon, this isn't even the most gruesome injury you've had...//

Barnabas: "Ok...you don't like messes....Noted...."

Dianne: "....I need to wash up....I'm covered in entrails...."

Pythia: "A-Armin...give me your hand."

{Pythia approaches Armin, looking quite rattled. Her dress was still stained with her own blood.}

'Yes, I think you should,' said Fred quietly in response to Dianne. The three non-humans he'd summoned were busy dragging the vampire's body out. When they were done, they started cleaning the floor.
Armin eyed Pythia, then gingerly extended his hand. The adrenaline was almost gone by then, so it was starting to hurt a lot.

{Pythia shakily took his hand and healed him. She then went to help Diann up and support her to the bath.}

Jerry: "Well....that sucked...."

(Kinda surprised that Dianne didn't even react to Armin being hurt.)

Ivy just stood in the corner, watching the non-humans clean up the mess with a dull expression. 'Yeah.'

Fred shrugged slightly. 'We survived, isn't that the important thing?'

Armin examined his hand, then let it fall to his side. //Paxton's dead. Surely they'll leave us alone when the bounty's gone.// Rex shifted to human form and approached him, sharing a bit of private telepathy.

(I completely forgot to write that. XD It was supposed to be there, but I got distracted. I'll have to address that in a minute.)

Jerry: "Yeah....I suppose that is the most important...."

Pugna: "....Da.mn.....Dianne totally stole my kill...."

Armin gave Pugna an unimpressed look. 'She probably deserved the kill more than you. He was threatening Esme. Also, despite all your big talk about how you're 'unbeatable' and 'nobody can get past you', you keep letting hunters get past and nearly kill us.'

Pugna: "Hey, he was teleporting. I can't reach into his pathway dimension and pull him out, you know. And a few weaklings got past, but I destroyed the bulk of their force. That's more than you could do."

Jerry: "Can we like, not fight about this? It's over, we won"

Armin complied, not saying any more. He pulled Rex into a brief hug, then started to walk out of the room. 'I'm going up to bed. Wake me up if anything else happens.' He then went into Fred's room and flopped onto the bed, gazing distantly at the ceiling as he waited for Dianne to come back from her bath.

Esme hung back in the living-room, gazing around, still uncertain of what had happened.

{Dianne walked out of the bath, helped by a still shaken Pythia. Dianne calls Esme over before sitting on the bed. The first thing she does is reach For Armin's hand.}

Dianne: "Are you ok? How's your hand?"

Esme jumped onto the end of the bed, settling down. She'd been afraid of the vampire coming back to grab her again, but seemed more at ease with Dianne and Armin around.

Armin blinked, turning his head to look at her. He opened his hand to show that it was unmarked. 'Didn't even think you noticed that. But it's fine now.'

Dianne: "Of course I noticed. You took that knife for me."

{She proceeds to kiss his hand and lie down on the bed, facing him. As Pythia was shuffling out, Dianne spoke up.}

Dianne: "Pythia, are you going to be ok?"

Pythia: ".....I'll be ok...."

Dianne: "I'm sorry that happened to you..."

Fred was outside the room, waiting for Pythia to emerge. 'While I don't doubt that that was an unnerving experience, you survived, and you're physically unharmed. Most people don't have the ability to heal themselves like that. You're very fortunate,' he said matter-of-factly.

Armin rolled onto his front, looking at Dianne. 'Of course I did. I have to watch you get hurt way too often. I don't want it to happen, but most of the time, I don't seem to be able to prevent it...'

Dianne: "Well, tonight....you did stop it. I only wish we could have killed him before you, or Pythia could have gotten hurt....Jeeze......I'm just a liability to you all, aren't I?"

Pythia: "...I know....I sure don't feel fortunate....."

{Starting to cry, she hastily retreats to her room.}

'I don't really think of it that way... Of course I care about everyone else, but I don't think of you as a liability. You do help protect us, too.'

With a grunt, he shifted himself closer and snuggled against her.

'...Can we try not to have any repeats of what happened yesterday? That scared me half to death...'

Frederick watched Pythia go, standing stock-still with a puzzled expression. //Did I say something wrong? ...Oh well...//

(Lmao, poor Fred. Pythia's just sensitive.)

Dianne: "I'm sorry....I didn't see him coming....I didn't mean to scare you....I didn't want any of this...."

{She hugs him tightly, quietly crying over his shoulder.}

Armin burrowed into her embrace, trying to get as close to her as possible, as if to reassure himself that she was there and alive. With a shuddering breath, he wrapped an arm around her and soothingly rubbed her back.

'It'll be over soon,' he murmured. 'We just have to hang on a little bit longer.'

Dianne: "I hope so....I just want this to be done already..."

{With a deep breath, she settles in, falling asleep quite quickly.}

Armin lay there awake for a bit longer, trying to relax. It was hard when they might have enemies who could teleport into the room and kill them in their sleep. Eventually, he managed to settle down.

(Feel free to skip to morning, I guess.)

(Ok.)

{Early the next morning, Pythia was awake. She couldn't sleep on account of her traumatic experience. She quietly sipped tea as she sat in the living room. Jerry was asleep on the couch, his revolver in arm's reach. Pugna had moved back outside, standing guard.}

Ivy was asleep in a pile of blankets in the corner of the living room. Rex was in his raven form, roosting on top of the curtain rail. After the incident last night, Fred had placed a handful of guns on a shelf in the living room, so they'd have access to weapons if anything happened again. Fred himself was alone out in the hallway, sleeping on the floor in dog form.

After a while, Rex opened his eyes to survey the room. //...Rough night?// he said gloomily to Pythia.

{Pythia looks at Rex with equal gloom.}

Pythia: "...Yeah..."

{She says quietly.}

Pythia: "I couldn't sleep, not when I couldn't forget the feeling of having a knife lodged in my throat....."

//Quite understandable. The memory of it will dim over time... Probably,// said Rex, adding the last part as an afterthought. //You never entirely forget. Sometimes the bad things are more easily remembered than the good.//

Pythia: "I know.....it was just so scary.....I wish I could just forget it ever happened...."

{Sighing, she looks back to her tea.}

Pythia: "I hope this all ends soon..."

//Maybe it will. Maybe it won't. I have doubts. They killed Paxton, apparently, but that wasn't enough to stop this. At this rate, we'll all be dead before the dam.n bounty is revoked,// he said, pessimistic.

{At that, Pythia just looks even more sad, slumping down and lip quivering.}

Pythia: ".....That's not a pleasant thing to think about...."

(Hmm, I think Rex is not the sort of person Pythia should be talking to. XD
He too pessimistic)

Rex shrugged, as best as a bird could shrug. //Of course it's not. I suppose, at least, none of us have died YET. That's something to be happy about. But there have been some very close calls.//

(Probably not. XD)

{Pythia just rests her head, face first on her arms, too tired to stay upright, but too scared to sleep. Just then, there was a knock on the door.}

Pugna: "Oh, Lucci, you're back. I secured the light weapon, as you requested."

Lucci: "Very good. I'll deal with that later."

{Lucci had materialized at the door, so the other guards didn't see him.}

Rex cocked his head at the conversation, but didn't seem particularly interested in what they were saying. Ivy stirred in her blanket pile, but didn't wake.

{Barnabas appears as Lucci keeps knocking.}

Barnabas: "Someone going to get that?"

{Sighing, Pythia gets up and shuffles to the door. Opening it, she's greeted by Lucci.}

Lucci: "Hello, dear. it's been a rough night, I know, but I come with good news."

{He walks in, looking at everyone sleeping.}

Lucci: "I'll just wait for them to wake up...."

Rex stared blankly down at Lucci from the top of the curtain. //Good news? Really?// he said, sounding like he had a hard time believing it. //We've spent the last week nearly dying one by one. It had better be.//

Lucci: "I am aware of the prior events. I'm here to tell you, that the bounty has been legally rescinded. It's over now."

//Well, I'm sure Armin - and Dianne - will be pleased to hear that,// said Rex.

Just then, Fred walked into the room, now in human form. He looked like he'd just woken up, his clothes and hair ruffled, and was trying to conceal the fact that he was half-asleep.

'Did I hear that correctly, Lucci?' he said. 'You finally managed it, did you?'

Lucci: "Yup. Took a lot of work, bribing, and disappearing people, but I did it. You should all be safe now. Pugna will stay for a little longer, just to make sure there are no...surprise..."

//Surprises?// said Rex.

Fred gave Lucci a suspicious look. 'You can see the future. If you're asking Pugna to stay even now, then it means you know something is going to happen.'

Across the room, Ivy had woken up a few moments ago and was blearily listening to the conversation.

Lucci: "I see potential futures. Something might happen, something might not. I can't say for sure. But, the majority of the danger is behind you now. "

(Posting new room)