Rido held me close to him as he kissed me deeply and passionately. I could feel the anguish he poured into our kiss and I knew he was afraid Alek would kill me. I'd never seen him so pained or vulnerable before and I felt an acute pain in my heart. He held me tightly as we kissed, making sure nothing could rip me away from him or steal this moment from us. When he pulled back he looked deeply into my eyes, speaking to me in a pained whisper 

"Y/N... I know I cannot stop you from this.. But please be careful. For me." 

I smiled slightly at him as I responded,  

"Of course. I'll be careful Rido. I promise I'll be okay." 

Rido smiled faintly, but I could tell he still worried about me and feared I wouldn't return. I stepped back slightly and faced him, 

"I have make sure Zero will help with the plan. We will need him on this." 

Rido nodded in understanding before responding, 

"Alright. Do you think he will?"  

 I nodded slightly, 

"Yes, I just want to speak to him about it. I know he's worried as well and I want to put him at ease if I can." 

I explained as Rido smiled,

"You have such a good heart. Better than any vampire here. Don't let Alek take it from you. As for me, I'm going to go and talk with Cross and tell him I want to help."

He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze before heading to the balcony and jumping off of it. I close the glass doors and quietly slipped out of the Moon Dorm. Oddly enough, I was able to sneak away easily. An uneasy feeling bubbled up inside me as I headed to the Sun Dorm. I wasn't sure if Zero would be back from patrol yet, but I wanted make sure he was alright with all of this and reassure him if I can. When I arrived at the Sun Dorm, I immediately went to Zero's room. I hesitated for a moment before knocking on the door, 

"Zero? It's Y/N. We need to talk. It's very important." 

I heard shuffling from inside, then the door opened to reveal a tired Zero in the doorway. He must've just gotten back. I felt slightly guilty for bothering him, but knew I had to speak with him sooner rather than later. He blinked a few times before speaking to me,  

"Y/N? what is it?"  

He asked in confusion as I smiled slightly at him,

"I need to talk to you. Is it okay if I come in?"

I asked him, to which he nodded and stepped aside so I could enter his room. I heard te soft click of the door closing behind me and turned to Zero, who was making his way to sit down on his bed. He looked up at me once he sat down,

"What did you want to talk about?"

He asked curiously. I glanced down for a moment before responding,

"Okay You know about everything that's going on right? Like the whole story." 

He nodded in confirmation,  

"Good. I'm here to make sure you're on board with all of this. I saw you in Cross's office, you looked worried." 

I said as I moved to sit on the bed next to him. He didn't look at me as he responded,

"Cross said I have to help."

He said stoically. I looked at his profile as I responded,

"But do you want to?"  

I questioned the vampire next to me. He hesitated for a few moments before responding,  

"I do.. But I also don't want to watch you die. This plan is very risky and if we make even one mistake, one miscalculation, you could die. We could all die. I know this needs to be done, but I'm worried this may go bad." 

I smiled in understanding,

"You're not the only one. Zero, I understand your concern. Honestly, I'm terrified this won't work and we'll all die. But I'm willing to take that chance if it means stopping my brother and saving everyone." 

Zero nodded his head slowly in understanding at my statement before responding, 

"Alright. If you're willing to take that chance, then I'll protect you." 

I smiled in relief, glad to know he was more on board with this,  

"Thank you, Zero."

I said kindly to him, to which he smiled in response,  

"Welcome-ah!"

Zero grabbed his chest and cried out in pain as he slumped off the bed and onto the floor, 

"Zero!" 

I quickly slid off the bed and joined him on the floor. When I saw his red eyes I frowned slightly,  

"You're hungry." 

I stated bluntly as I pulled my hair back from my neck,

"Please do it, Zero. You need it." 

I said, knowing full well what he was thinking. He hesitated for a second before pulling me close to him and sinking his fangs into my neck. I held him gently as he drank from my,

"Zero..." 

I whispered softly as my vision started to get spotty from blood loss. I knew he was taking too much, but I wasn't strong enough to push him off, 

"Zero." 

I said a bit more forcefully as I tried to shove him off. He held me tighter and I began to panic slightly and lose consciousness. Zero must've sensed he was taking too much, because in the next moment he pulled away and pressed a cloth to my neck to stop the bleeding, 

"I'm so sorry, Y/N. Please be okay." 

He whispered frantically as he held me in his arms. I nodded weakly and smiled at him,  

"I'm alright, Zero. Don't worry about me." 

He held me close to him. I could tell he wanted to keep feeding off of me, but was afraid of hurting me. I called out to him softly, 

"Zero?" 

"Go." 

"What?" 

I asked in confusion. He let go of me and backed away, 

"I don't want to hurt you. So please leave before I lose control." 

He said, his voice strained and his eyes desperate. I didn't want to leave him, but the look in his eyes told me not to argue. I nodded and hurried out the door back to the  Moon Dorm and didn't stop until I had reached my room and locked the door. I sighed and sat down on my bed, 

"I guess he took more than I thought. I'm so tired." 

I got into bed and stared up at the ceiling, wondering if this really is a good idea, if this will really work. I hoped it would, I desperately wanted my friends to go back to who they really are. I sighed again and closed my eyes as I laid back on my bed. Right before I fell asleep, I could've sworn I heard the door open. As the footsteps came closer, I felt the bed dip slightly as someone pushed a stray hair from my face. Then I heard them speak softly, 

"Don't worry, Y/N. I won't let anything happen to you. I'm not as I appear to the others." 

Sleep overtook me before I could react, but one thing remained in my mind that I was sure of: that was Kaname's voice.