He had known there had been something wrong about Lee the moment Gackt had laid eyes on him, but the other vampire had been a guest of the Serpent clan, so he had ignored his instincts. He should have known better. Korea was one of the few places in the world where the hunting and killing of humans was not outlawed by the vampire ruling body. Over a millennium and a half ago a warlord leader had risen among the vampires and his legacy was a far less civilised society than most other places in the world. Strength was everything in Korean vampire society and keeping humans and weaker vampires as slaves was common.

Gackt had hoped that Lee's presence in Taiwan was a signal that, at last, the Korean's intended joining the majority of the rest of the vampire world in the twenty first century. Breaking the laws of his hosts' was an almost insane thing to do and Gackt could only assume that Lee believed his diplomatic status would save him.

It had taken the law givers more than two hours to track down where they believed Lee was hiding. Gackt was praying that Hyde was still alive. He could only imagine what Lee had planned for his friend and he was out of the car before it stopped completely as they pulled up outside the old house. He dimly heard someone calling to him as he ran across the road, up through the front door without stopping to bother to open it. He cared about only one thing and that was Hyde.

The moment he entered the building he could smell blood and it was an all too familiar scent that came with it; Hyde was here, and he was hurt. The smell of sex hit him hard as he ran for the stairs, but he did not slow down and the door behind which he knew he would find Hyde almost slammed off its hinges as he charged it.

Other vampires had followed him into the house, and he felt them enter the room behind him, but he could see nothing except what was in front of him. Hyde was sprawled naked on a low bed among silken cushions. The small singer's skin was ghostly pale and the bite mark on Hyde's neck was obvious as were the semen stains on the sheets, but what had Gackt's complete attention was the blood on Hyde's lips.

It made him feel ill as he took in the signs of struggle and he realised he was too late to save Hyde. He had no doubt that his friend had been raped and then forcibly turned; he'd seen it before and dealt with the perpetrators then as well. A fiery anger began to curl around his belly. When Hyde whimpered quietly as if dreaming, he almost snapped and lost all composure.

"He was worth all the effort," Lee said, from where he was lounging on the bed not more than half a metre away from Hyde, seemingly without a care in the world; "there's fire in this one and I've made it mine."

Gackt growled as rage lanced through every fibre of his being and he moved before he even thought about it. He grabbed Lee by the hair and literally threw the other vampire across the room. That animal had no right to be anywhere near Hyde. He felt such guilt and pain as he slowly sank to his knees next to his friend. He could fix this; he had to.

~*~

He could not move; his body and mind seemed to be still, and he could not force them into motion. He could feel hands touching him and arms holding him, but it meant very little to him as his mind seemed to exist at each moment in time without past of future. There was the taste of blood in his mouth and it consumed him, taking all his awareness from anything else in his reality.

Suddenly he felt something else as different hands connected to him, shattering his catatonia in one terrifying touch. He screamed as fear and knowledge swamped him with painful clarity. His little bubble of nothing was broken and he was thrown back into the hell of reality that he did not want to face. He would have tried to escape the arms holding him, but there was no strength left in his body with which to fight. He was helpless.

"Hyde-kun," a gentle voice called to him and it was a voice he had been praying for, but he did not believe Gackt had really come for him.

Lee had played with his mind too much for him to just accept that voice.

"I've got you, Hyde-kun," the image of Gackt said as Hyde stared upwards, not really seeing.

"He's mine now, Gackt," Lee's voice made him tremble, but it also brought him the faintest glimmer of hope as he realised this might not be another trick; "that is my blood on his lips, and he is already turning. Nothing you can do will change that."

Hyde felt cold all over even as he sensed the fires in his blood. With the last of his strength, he grasped at Gackt in desperation. What he had heard could not be true and he whimpered in his need.

"Ssh, Hyde-kun," Gackt said, stroking his face gently as if he was nothing more than a child, "I will save you."

And looking into his friend's eyes, Hyde believed. Even as Gackt began to lower him onto the silk sheet and cushions that had been his prison he did not panic. He fixed his eyes on Gackt and he put all his faith in his friend as Gackt moved back and slowly stood.

"You have desecrated what is mine," Gackt said, voice icy and dangerously low, "I demand retribution and I invoke the right of challenge."

There were gasps from around the room, but Hyde kept his eyes only on Gackt.

"You are far from home, Little Dragon," Lee said, voice disparaging, "by the time this dispute is arbitrated the Little Angel will be mine anyway or he will be dead; withdraw so I don't have to bother to kill you."

The smile on Gackt's face would have filled most hearts with fear, but it filled Hyde with hope.

"You are mistaken, foolish barbarian," Gackt's voice was tinged with power and even as his friend spoke, Hyde watched Gackt begin to change, "I am High Dragon of Kyoto and I will see you dead."

Gackt's eyes paled to glowing gold, the pupils becoming vertical and slit like and the vampire's skin paled to complete white as his hair changed to black, growing and shaking free the extensions at the back until Gackt had a mane of waist length glossy hair that moved as if it had a mind of its own. Now Gackt looked every inch the supernatural creature that he claimed to be. Hyde found his mind completely captivated as Gackt snarled at his enemy.

With long talon-tipped fingers, Gackt took hold of his shirt and calmly split it in two, revealing the most magnificent, iridescent dragon tattoo all over his upper body. At that moment Hyde had no doubt that Gackt was the leader of his clan. Power radiated off his friend in waves that held him completely spellbound. He could barely remember to breathe.

As Gackt held out his hand, someone placed a sword in his palm and there was the sound of metal singing in the air as Gackt cut an arc in front of him.

"Put some clothes on, barbarian," Gackt said, baring his fangs in a snarl of challenge, "and come and meet your end."

"I didn't know," Lee's voice was desperate and Hyde felt just a moment of satisfaction, but his focus was completely on Gackt.

"Too late, despoiler," Gackt's voice was icy and his expression held no mercy, "you have tried to take what is mine and now I will take your blood to reclaim him. Vermin like you must be destroyed."

"You have no authority here," Lee sounded like he was terrified.

"We recognise the authority of the High Dragon," Hyde thought it was Sato's voice, but he was far too far gone to remember properly.

There was silence for a moment and for just a second Hyde felt terror, but not his own, and he pushed it away ruthlessly.

"Will you die on your knees," Gackt asked, holding the sword out straight, "or will you at least die as a warrior?"

"I will kill you and send your head back to your civilised clan," Lee hissed, desperation replaced by fury, "and then I shall use your little whore to my heart's content."

Gackt did not even so much as twitch at that statement, he just stood perfectly still as Hyde watched him. The sound of material moving, and another blade being drawn tried to tempt Hyde's eyes away from Gackt in curiosity, but he kept his gaze rooted on his saviour. There was no doubt in his mind that Gackt would carry through on his threat against Lee and he just waited.

When Gackt finally moved it was the most graceful thing Hyde had ever seen. Lee's first attack was forced away with almost effortless ease. The clang of metal on metal rang in his ears as he watched Lee move forward and Gackt sidestep, after which it became a sort of dance. His mind was not fast enough to follow every move as vampire fought vampire, but the sound of the blades was almost like music.

It wasn't until Gackt drew first blood that it became real in his mind. As the scent hit him, something alien inside him stirred, Hyde knew that this was reality. This was not a movie where all the red was just cleverly placed blood packs; this was real life and as Gackt took a second slice out of Lee, Hyde felt it all too clearly. All at once it terrified him as everything that had happened that night tried to come back to him at the same time. His eyes followed the battle before him, but he cringed away. Even as Gackt threw his sword aside and almost insultingly slowly stepped towards Lee, catching the other vampire's sword arm in one hand and snapping it in a ridiculously casual manner, he dreaded what was about to happen.

When Gackt brought Lee towards himself and savagely bit at the other vampire's neck, Hyde wanted to scream, but the sound seemed lodged in his throat. This was too much; it was too horrific for his shattered mind. He closed his eyes, begging everything to go away.

There was the smell of blood everywhere. Hyde curled in on himself, trying to block it out. It hurt as his senses were overwhelmed. He wanted to return to his protective bubble where nothing mattered, but Gackt's presence would not let him. He could feel Gackt's power so clearly. It held him even though he could no longer see his friend. When hands touched him again and an arm snaked under him, he could not stop a mew of fear and pain.

"I have you, Hyde-kun," Gackt's voice was quiet and gentle, but Hyde was far too traumatised to be soothed, "no one will hurt you now. You must drink and then I will take you somewhere safe."

Hyde remembered another voice telling him to drink and he whimpered as terror rose up again, but he could not escape as something warm and wet was forced against his mouth. He tasted blood and was repelled, but something in him already craved it and he drank despite himself as the liquid dripped into his throat. It burned all the way down and he knew the moment it hit his system for real because it was like an inferno sparking inside him. He screamed writhing in the arms that held him as the blood seemed to attack him.

"I'm sorry," Gackt's voice spoke to him through the tumult, giving him the smallest of lifelines to hang on to, "it will be over soon. You will be free of Lee's corruption."

The purifying fire tried to take away his mind, but Gackt held him in reality until finally it began to fade. He sagged in the embrace of his vampire friend and finally he was allowed to slip away. No enchantment held him in consciousness any longer and it was empty blackness that welcomed him rather than some construct of his mind. With the smallest sigh, he passed into unconsciousness.