"Up north?" Yagari asked. 

"Yes." Kaien stated.

"There have been numerous reports of Level E sightings, more than we saw attack the Academy four years ago," replied one of the Association's council members.

The dozen or so hunters in the room breathed in the tense air. With things at a somewhat calm standstill with the vampires, this brought new doubts and new hatred. 

"The other Association President was sick, breeding their own Level E's. Is this a work of a copy cat, or of another Pureblood vampire?" Asked another. 

"Whoever it is, they are turning copious amounts of innocent people into mindless beasts. We've even had hunters in a northern division become victims."

Maya was sitting between her master and Kaien, silently sitting in a pool of rising unease and trepidation. She had no idea where it was coming from, focusing on taking deep, even breaths. She recognized this feeling, it having been the same that she'd experienced before her 'awakening', thanks to Kaname. A churning began in her stomach causing her to swallow hard. Closing her eyes, she tried to focus on something else, but it soon became to much after another few minutes. 

Jumping out of her seat, she ran for the door, hoping to make it down the hallway and outside. Ignoring Yagari's inquiry of what she was doing, Maya only made it to the trashcan in the corner, upheaving everything in her stomach into the tall bin. Black spots appeared on the edge of her vision as she used an arm to lean on the wall. There was a faint voice asking if she was alright as her hearing began to muffle. As her legs gave out, the last thing she remembered was dropping straight to the floor.

Kaname made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat, causing Amara to look up from placing items into her saddle-bag. 

"What is it, Kaname?"

"Where is he?" Her younger brother turned, his cloak floating about him as he gazed at the barren surroundings.

"I don't know. It does make me worry. You know how he is, even Father disapproved of his methodology." Amara finished packing, attaching the sack to her horses saddle-bag. "I'll have a talk with him when we meet up with him."

"He can't disapprove of Raiden anymore because it was Raiden who murdered our father. As far as I'm concerned, our brother will kill anyone who disproves of his ideals, and that includes family. We already know how he feels about you and Taro" -when Kaname turned back around to focus back on her, Amara could see the concern in his sienna eyes- "he doesn't like the idea of a hybrid child. It ruins his ideology. I don't want you getting anywhere near him, Amara."

Amara already knew. Naomi, Kaname, and her husband Taro were already truly terrified of  their eldest brother. Raiden was ruthless, bloodthirsty, and wanted to create a world overflowing with vampire kind. Her  thirteen-year-old child that he mentioned was safe at home with Naomi and Taro, two pureblood vampires with powers that Amara did not possess. He was much safer with those two than her alone. 

She approached him, placing a hand on his cheek. "You're so brave, Kaname. Please, don't stress over  this too much. The longer he is gone, the more time we have to fix the issue at hand. I've already spoken to Naomi about the furnace, as much as it pained me too. It may take longer to create, given the circumstances, but it will happen, and we will have a chance to fix Raiden's mistake, and give the humans a chance to defend themselves."

A sad smile appeared on his face, and he gently removed her hand, pulling her in for a short hug. Amara pulled away, crossing her arms under her own cloak.

"We should get going. I don't want to stare at this desolate place anymore, not that its escapable by any means." Amara got on her horse, watching Kaname follow suit. 

They rode back the way they had come, traveling at a walking gait, a silence between them as they listened to the wind. The sand stirred at their horses feet, kicking up into the air and drifting away. Amara's mind was filled to the brim with worries, and she alternated between each thought just to occupy herself. 

"Perhaps if we accomplish what needs to be done, the world will look a lot different. It can turn into something beautiful." Kaname said. 

Amara glanced at him. "I hope so too. We will need to rid ourselves of certain obstacles to accomplish that. There is no success without the hardship of failure. Our biggest hardship will be our brother. I hate to admit my thoughts out loud, but he needs to be stopped, even if I do love and care for him. We can't have that recklessness around for the rest of our lives. He needs to be dead and buried."

"Even if he were to die, we would need to keep him hidden from anyone else. There are those who crave the power of purebloods, and to have him be resurrected later on would surely cost our kin dearly."

"Agreed." The house at the top of the hill where her family resided came into view once they went over the last hill. The village bellow was lively, sand giving away to dirt and grass. There were a few buildings off in the distance that had long been abandoned, but acted as a cocoon of protection against any harsh winds. "Let's leave the discussion alone for today, and talk to the others tomorrow about a decision. I have a feeling it will be mutual."

She looked over her shoulder to get Kaname's reaction, only to have found him stopped on his horse, staring at a lone figure a little further on down the hill. "Kaname?" She called over a gust of wind. Turning her horse around, she came to stand in front of her brother, the two of them now looking at the figure.

"It's Raiden." He stated.

"Why is he here?" She mumbled. 

"I'll speak with him. Please go back to the house."

"I'm not going anywhere and leaving you alone in his presence, Kaname." - she watched him walk off anyway toward their brother- "Kaname!"

"KANAME!"

Maya shot up into a sitting position, hand outstretched reaching for him. She found herself in the Association's hospital wing, fully clothed and tucked in under a couple layers of sheets. Lowering her hand, she covered her face, physically shaking. What the hell had happened, an why had she seen that part of Amara's memories? It wasn't abnormal to her, having had dreams of Amara's life when she was awakened by Kaname, and over the course of the last few years when she slept. 

Amara was her after all, well a part of her at least. Maya had come to accept it, knowing that there was no way to reverse it. Amara and Kaname had such a sweet sibling relationship, filled with love and trust; just as a family should be. It contradicted Maya and Kaname's relationship drastically. But Maya was not Amara, and Kaname knew that all too well. He put up with the pain of knowing his siblings were long gone. 

Why? That dream she just experienced, was one of the more vivid memories Maya had experienced. It was unsettling, and nerve-wracking. 

"Maya?"

Maya flinched, head jerking upright to see Kaien standing at the foot of the bed, hands resting on the metal bars.

"You scared me. Are you feeling alright?" He asked, brown eyes full of concern.

Maya tossed the covers to the side, and slid off the bed.

"You shouldn't move around too much. You've been out for a couple of hours."

She disregarded him. "I need to be alone for a while. I need space and time to think about what we need to do about what we were discussing in the meeting."

"Maya-"

"Leave me alone."

Maya needed space, and she wasn't going to find it here. 

Maya walked out of the Association, finding the sun had already begun to set. She grabbed her helmet off of her motorcycle, and started the engine, driving up and away from the city and to the country side. It took about twenty minutes before Maya turned off the main road onto a long, paved driveway that had since been weathered and broken by years of un-use.

Her house, which had been unoccupied for the last decade, still stood. After her parents had passed, Kaito and her had retained ownership of the house. But, since neither of them had the capacity to pay and take care of the house, it had been left to rot. Turning off her bike, she slid off her helmet and set it on the seat and approached the house. Hundreds of memories were resurfacing as she gently turned the handle of the front door and gave a little shove. 

All the furniture was long gone. Bare rooms were all that greeted her eyes. A bittersweet feeling filled her heart as she slowly walked down the hall, fingertips running along the walls and doorframes. 

She barely had time to draw her gun as a Level E descended from the stair railing above, falling down on her with full force. The floor gave way beneath her, causing both of them to be cast into darkness. She shot the Level E straight through the heart, turning the ex-human to dust long before she hit the ground. Maya let out a small yell of pain when she landed the stone floor, shielding her eyes when she was covered in the dust of the now dead vampire. Looking up, she could see the ceiling of the main floor of her home, including the broken floorboards which hung down toward her. 

Standing, she put her gun away and brushed off the dust, disgruntled at her lack of nimbleness, but the narrow hallway hadn't been too forgiving. Maya took in her surroundings, her wolf eyes adjusting automatically to the darkness. She had landed in a stony hallway, with a room just ahead of her. Entering the room, she looked at a small narrow bookshelf. Running her hand along the books, she pulled one out and opened it. Her father's handwriting was neat and precise. As she read it, she realized it was a journal, but not from him. Closing the book, she read the title. It was a journal. 

As she stepped to the side, her foot hit a small chest. Bending down, she clicked open a latch and held up the lid, waving away dust. The books were made from leather and parchment. Reaching in, she carefully picked on up and opened it, seeing scratchy script that was barely legible, but looked like a journal entry. 

Her father must have been transcribing old journal entries, possibly from her ancestors and family members as generations passed. Upon inspection of her father's writing, and reading a few pages, it seemed to be the case. It made Maya curious as to why these were kept down here, and not part of the Archives at the Association. This was historical information about her family and her ancestral line. So why was it all here?