Blood and Rust

Lana felt her breath catch in her throat when she heard his laugh. That wasn't Balo...no, it wasn't. And the ring of fire only made her stiffen up even more. Whoever this was, he was intending to kill her too! She had to snap him out of it.

"Balo! Snap out of it!" She shouted, releasing Fujita and running to the edge of the flames. "It's me, Lana! Get a hold of yourself!"

The voice sounded surprised. "So you are the famous Lana Black. Balo talks about you all the time. Heard nothing but positive things. Well, it will be a pain if I kill you since I would have to deal with Balo after. Don't worry. The won't burn you. It only burns what I want it to."

"Like them for example..."

"Oh don't bother trying to talk through to Balo. He is currently indisposed."

"Indisposed...?" Lana grit her teeth and snatched up her dagger. Despite being told about the flames, she made a giant leap and landed in front of "Balo". "It doesn't take a genius to figure out that you're not Balo Fry. Who and what are you?"

"Hahahaha. Now what would you do if I told you? Cut me? Stab me?......Kill me? I wouldn't do that if I were you. Remember this is still his body."

"Damn it..." Lana muttered, knowing that he was right. She wouldn't even dare to put a scratch on his body, at least not while he was like this. Sheathing her dagger, Lana glared at him and crossed her arms. "Just answer the question already. Who are you, and what are you doing in my friend's body?"

"I go by many names but one seems to really stick with most people once they here it. If you haven't heard of me then you should be ashamed of yourself as a vampire. Wanna take a guess? Be careful though. Too many wrong guesses and something bad will happen."

"Well excuse me, Nameless." Lana huffed indignantly. "I haven't exactly been a vampire that long, so forgive me if I don't know what the names of other hell spawns are. Just say it since I don't really feel like playing guessing games right now."

"Fine party pooper." 'Balo' took a step back and took a bow. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dracula. Count Dracula. You may call me Count for short."

"How about I just call you 'Drake'? Sounds much better than Count or Dracula." Lana said as she began circling "Drake", never taking her eyes off of him. "Question one, down. Now what about the next; what are you doing in Balo's body?"

"What do you mean what am I doing in here? Didn't he tell you about it?"

"So much for you knowing Balo so well." Lana said, a bit sarcastically. "My friend doesn't exactly tell me about these sorts of things, so I sort of missed the 'there can be other people in my body' conversation. Though it sounds rather interesting. Do tell."

"Truth is, he should be the one to tell you. He has to be the one to tell you. If I tell you, there is going to be major consequences. Balo will tell you himself when the time is right. Don't bother him about it. I will explain it to him once I come out again."

"Aww, where's the fun in that?" Lana pouted cutely and sat down on the burnt body of Chita--or was it Fujita?--and crossed her arms and legs. "I can get pretty impatient..."

"I've noticed." Dracula laughed to himself. "Well, I think it's time for me to leave you, my dear. Seems as if this body can't sustain my physical form for too long." Count took a bow of departure. "I will leave with this piece of information. He will always protect you even till his death. In a quote, 'He will be your knight in shinning armor and I will be his blade soiled with the blood of thousands.' Always remember that. In time you yourself will uncover its meaning. Goodbye... for now." With a sinister smile, the Count prepared to leave.

Balo's body went up in flames again.

As soon as the flames subsided, Lana dashed from her position and caught Balo before he hit the ground, setting him down gently. "Balo?" She whispered, shaking him ever so gently, afraid that she might break him as though he was made of porcelain. "It's me, Lana. Wake up, please..."

Parts of Balo's body had turned black. Must be some side effect to prolonged exposure to the black fire. Balo was passed out from exhaustion. His eyes still partially red around the outside of the eye and his breathing was irregular. His temperature was also rising and his skin was cold and clammy. He was going to need help and fast.

This was bad. Lana wasn't even sure how to help him out with this. High temperature and clammy skin, definitely not good; black body parts, possibly burnt, not good; irregular breathing and unconciousness...was there even a need to say it? She had to do something, but she couldn't just take him to a nearby hospital; nobody in Eshta Fer cared for or even liked Balo. That meant that she would have to do this herself.

"Alright, Balo, just try to hold on for me," Lana whispered and gathered him in her arms, dashing back to the motel room. As she set him down on the bed, she ran into the bathroom and damped a washcloth with warm water. Cold water would only make his temperature go higher. Setting it on his forehead, she ran her fingers gently over the blackened flesh. This was going to take a lot of healing and energy, but she would do it anyway. Balo was her friend and she wasn't going to let this happen to him. Placing her hands firmly on the wounds, she got to work.

Balo was very much alive and he was trying to communicate that to Lana but his voice had left him. She didn't need to worry. He was going to be fine but....

'I guess I can milk this for what it's got.' Balo was laughing to himself in his mind.

"Come on..." Lana said through grit teeth, sending her chilly healing power into Balo's wounds. She was almost done and her body felt like it was going to collapse at any moment. As soon as she was done she grasped the edge of the bed for support, suddenly seeing double. Whoa, now that was draining...

"No more. I don't need it. Trust me and save your energy. I was just tired. Sleeping will help me and do wonders on these wounds." Balo sat up in the bed.

"...You're just tired?!" Lana said sweatdropping, still shaking heavily. "Then why the hell didn't you tell me to stop healing you?!"

Balo knew he was caught. "Ummmm....... because......... there was an itch in the middle of my back that I couldn't get?"

"That...is the lamest excuse I have ever heard, Balo..." Lana said, her rage building up. Just as she was about to lunge for his neck her legs gave out on her, and she ended up falling to the floor. "I'm seriously...going to hurt you so bad when I can move again..." She panted, limbs feeling like noodles.

Balo picked her up off the floor and cradled her onto the bed in his place. He may be tired but she was feeling worse than he was. "Until then, I will take care of you. Don't worry. I won't run out like last time." Balo just looked at Lana. "Hey I had good reason to run."

"You burned my only pair of boots...but then you replaced them. That's a good enough reason for me not to wring your neck." Lana mumbled. She sighed when her body still wouldn't move. "I just need a bit of rest and then we can head out. That healing took quite a bit out of me...and you didn't even need it..."