Bat Country

"Miranda, Zacky, Jimmy, Johnny...they almost ate me alive. Brian killed me. The only one who has done nothing to me is Isabel. But have I ever retaliated against anyone?" Alexis said, her eyebrows raised, but her eyes distant and lost in thought. "No." Alexis said with a smile at Matt. "I love them even though they have harmed me in ways I never thought possible." Her eyes fell again. "You ripped me open. Not with your teeth or your hands. But from the sheer force of your fucking lust. Then came the teeth and the hands. You broke my bones, which healed quickly, but hurt nonetheless. You bit me so often that I was literally covered in my own blood. You fed from me. You had more of my blood in your body than I had in mine. You bruised me everywhere. It was the worst pain I've ever felt. Brian killing me hurt so much less it was pleasurable by comparison, as was your blood changing mine when you made me one of you...yet..." Alexis sighed. "How could you ever ask me to do this to you?" Alexis said firmly. She walked away from Matt and placed the flogger back into the case and took her gloves off. "Someone get him off the table." She said as she left the room.

Jimmy immediately released Matt from the table and Matt flew after Alexis, finally catching her on her way out of one of the several hatches.

"Leave me alone!" Alexis barked. She could smell the others scrambling to catch up and see what was going on.

"Alexis look at me." Matt begged.

"No! I don't want to look at you. Hurting you doesn't make me feel better about what you did to me. It just doesn't and if you think it does then I'm sorry, but those things still happened and you almost died. You almost left me with nothing! Just go away!" Alexis cried in frustration.

But Matt did not stop.

"Alexis, I did not mean to offend you. Just stop and listen to me." He pleaded. Everyone else kept their distance, but remained focused on listening. Their footsteps were faint compared to Alexis's quick ones. She was trying to outrun Matt.

"Why should I?" Alexis finally stopped and whipped around. "Why should I listen to you? You let Thor starve me. You let him let them," Alexis's eyes looked over to her nestmates "try to kill me. Then you did your own damage and now you want to traumatize me further by letting me feel your suffering as I cause it? No!"

"Alexis!" Matt said sharply, grabbing Alexis by the shoulders. "You will stop yelling, you will relax and you will listen to me. That's an order."

Alexis looked almost offended but even if she wanted to speak she knew no words would come out.

"Relax." Matt told her again and her shoulders dropped and she took a deep breath. "Do you see how I have commanded you to do these things and you have no choice but to do them? I made you and I have that power over you." Matt said in a low, rumbling voice. "Thor made me starve you. He commanded that. It was not a choice I had, and I never knew he was going to let them attack you and if I could have stopped it, I would have. There was literally nothing I could do to stop him. So please try not to blame me for that even though I completely understand why you would."

Alexis stared blankly at him for awhile. If she could not speak, she was going to be positive that she'd say what she could without opening her mouth. Finally when Matt sighed, Alexis took it as her sign to go. Glancing to Brian for a moment she turned to continue leaving when Matt pulled her back. Brian immediately knew what was coming since she had shown she was becoming capable of controlling her power, and backed away.

But to the surprise of everyone else Alexis whipped around and out of Matt's grip before he could even react, making everyone else inhale sharply. She was recently fed and he was still weak. Eyes followed their movements, but since Matt was so much older and Alexis was original, it was still a blur. Alexis would pin Matt and he would use the size difference to his advantage, even though it wasn't much, and pin her in return after pushing her back up. Alexis grabbed his throat and slammed him to the ground but he got up so quickly and had his large arms around her hoping to stop her, but she was more powerful than he understood and she quickly burst forth from his grip and while everyone panicked she managed to throw him over head and into the wall before jumping onto him, her legs around his waist, one arm around his shoulders and the other making clamped to his face making sure he didn't budge.

Matt caught that hypnotic stare of hers and while he made her and could fight her power to an extent, he still was almost powerless to stop her if she hooked him any deeper with the same powers he was struggling to fight.

Brian sighed and watched Alexis for a moment, her teeth bared and her eyes with that luminescence that made them shine like moons in the dark room. She was growling and deep in Matt's mind, judging from the look on his face. She was making her message to Matt very clear.

"Do something!" Isabel whispered at Brian, tapping on his arm and tapping him with the back of her hand.

Brian eyeballed her for awhile, irritated before uncrossing his arms and walking up to Alexis and grabbing her around the waist and physically prying her off Matt's body.

This act confused everybody, most of all was Matt once he had been released as Alexis's eyes turned back to normal.

"What..." Was all Matt managed to force out.

Brian looked back at him with a look that told him to leave Alexis be, even though Alexis's own face said as much. It was contorted into a scowl, one lip raised and showing her fangs.

"Alexis calm down. We're leaving." Brian told her and put her down.

Alexis stared at Matt for awhile before straightening her shirt out by tugging on the bottom and then running her hands over it.

Showing her true speed, she was gone before the hatch finished closing, leaving Brian to exchange looks with a confused Matt.

"How did you stop her?" Matt asked, still stunned.

Brian's expression didn't change. "She trusts me." Shrugging his eyebrows, Brian left.

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"I don't know what gives him the right to do that!" Alexis hissed. She was pacing back and forth in her dressing room as Brian sat on the new bed that he had Isabel and Jimmy bring in for her. He was leaning back and watching Alexis, semi-amused with his eyebrows raised and a slight smile on his face. "For him to think that anything is going to make me forgive him right away! And this isn't funny, Brian!" She said, stamping her feet.

"I didn't say it was, although it kind of is." He replied.

"How is it funny then!?"

"You overpowered your maker for one. Which I did not believe was possible. I have never heard of a case of that happening. Either he is still very weak or you are getting way stronger than he thought. Two, you're this powerful vampire throwing quite a human tantrum."

"I can throw whatever kind of tant--" Alexis growled and pursed her lips tightly before putting her hands to the side of her head. "What doesn't he get?"

"Is he honestly calling you right now?" Brian asked, sitting up.

"Yes. I'm not going to go." Alexis said firmly, turning to Brian and sitting on the bed.

"Alexis..." He said, turning to her slowly. "Have you...ever not responded to his call?"

"No, I always have." She said, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees and her hands propping her head up.

"Fighting it doesn't...end well..." He told her, slightly grimacing.

"What do you mean?" Alexis asked, leaning back up, her brows furrowed in confusion. When Alexis's face blanched even more than usual, Brian knew she was getting the idea.

"You still want to fight it?" Brian asked.

"Yes." Alexis croaked, the nausea creeping through her entire body.

And fight she did. Alexis fought Matt's call for hours until she was vomiting blood heavily.

Crawling towards the door, Alexis was clearly struggling to stand up. Brian sighed and stood up and opened the door, leaning down and helping Alexis to her feet.

Blood dripped down her chin and she began to cry, a sense of doom covering her in a blanket. She could never escape Matt if he really wanted her to come.

Brian walked with her until she hobbled to the door of Matt's room. Grabbing the knob she stopped and turned and steadied herself on the wall until she fell into Brian's arms.

"If I get out of here, may I sleep in your bed tonight?" Alexis whispered shakily into Brian's ear.

Brian hesitated. "That's dangerous."

Alexis clung to him and he hugged her tightly.

"My door will be unsilvered. If you come make sure to silver it behind you." He whispered slowly before kissing Alexis's ear gently. He stepped back from her and she kept her arms out as he departed, still reaching for him. She knew why he had to go, but she still didn't want him to.

When he was gone, she turned back to Matt's door and opened it and swung the door open before stepping in it.