"My lady, we just lost number 97," a sickly looking Spanish human reported to me, his voice slightly quivering. Oh my, this must be the dragon lady Jose told me about, if I say something wrong she'll eat me alive! He thought. Dragon lady…what the hell, that's the hundredth nickname I've heard in the whole day, these new humans are certainly bored to death.

"Another one?" I snapped, and he flinched. "He's the seventeenth one we've lost this week!"

"It's not my…sorry ma'am. But…" he stammered.

"Don't call me ma'am or 'm Lady unless you want to be drank dried and stuffed with garlic!" I roared, and he actually jumped backwards. "I am General Panzer…on second thought, as long as you don't call me ma'am or dragon lady, lady Selene is okay too."

"Yes ma'…General Panzer," he whimpered, before scurrying away as fast as he can.

"You sure have a way of scaring them out of their pants," Gannen chuckled.

"They are so different…I've never have known that we've started out as them," I told him distastefully. Gannen roared with laughter, spraying everything within ten inches with spit. Thankfully, I've learned to keep my distance from him. I always did, his unusually high ego and eternal garlic breath always kept me a well foot away from him. I sincerely wish that garlic really is lethal to vampires, because then we will win for sure. Gannen's stink travels at least ten miles per minute, with that rate; we'd have dominated the world in a week.

"I still have trouble sometimes thinking that you are still one of them bloodsuckers," Gannen laughed, shaking. I glared at him; if looks can kill, he'd be dead in a nanosecond. The main thing that gets me real mad is when people mention the point that I am not of vampaneze blood, but of vampire.

"Perhaps so, but my mind and spirit's of a vampaneze's," I said quietly, which shut him up, "as for blood, we are all still slightly human…even you, Harst, so you can't talk."

"Selene, really,"
Gannen complained, knowing what I was going to say next. As Gannen is pretty much the person who questions my blood most often, he already knows my whole speech by heart. Never less, I presented my speech in a rapid, fast-paced voice.

"You see, my dear Gannen, (Gannen slaps his forehead and groans impatiently) blood type does not really matter that much," I reported matter-of-factly, "Your human cells were all transformed into vampaneze cells, or so you think. But perhaps, some might have hidden, or perhaps they might have survived. The vampaneze cells might not have killed off all of them, right? They just keep…duplicating, and getting killed, so yeah!"

"Are you done yet, or will I have to cut your tongue off?" Gannen grumbled. "Oh wait, perhaps the silver oxide from your blade will interact with your vampire cells and let you grow two tongues…"

"Shut it, you…" I replied. Now can you see why he is my least favorite vampaneze?

"Did you just tell me to shut it?" Gannen asked, faking surprise, "I thought that kids nowadays are taught to…"

"Stop it," I growled, "You know perfectly well that I am a legal adult now, at least in human rules."

"In that case, I thought all of you need to respect your elders. You might be second in command, but you are merely twenty three years old while I am two hundred years old," Gannen chuckled, before walking away, knowing that he'd got my nerves.

"Whatever, grandpa!" I called behind his back, grinning pleasantly at the way he cringed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"SELENE!" Steve roared from his office, waking me from my slumber. Lately, he's become a nervous wreck, always suddenly screaming from his sleep, or staying up all night for weeks. Of course, now we are all prepared. For example, I've grew accustomed to wearing work clothes to sleep, and to ignore the frightened whispers of the newbies.

"Coming," I shouted back, pulling on a random pair of black Doctor Marten sixteen holes while running a hand through my grimy hair. I sighed, I'd been wishing that he won't call me today, to give me a chance so that I can wash my hair. I glanced around my tiny room, amazed by how it had changed so much. Before, it was a dusty but clean, newly painted white room with a good door, glass in the windows, and a good sized bed. Now, the paint is chipped and faded, the glass broken, the wooden door rotted so much that I can see through it, and the bed took away to be made into extra cloth.

"SELENE PANZER YOU COME HERE THIS INSTANT!" Steve shouted again, and I hurried out to his office.

"Ok, I'm here," I announced grouchily, kicking the door open, leaving a visible mark on the white wood.

"STOP KICKING EVERYTHING IN YOUR WAY AND SIT, NOW!" Steve spat, even though I am just a few inches away from him. Beside the desk, I saw Gannen and R.V sitting in the remaining chairs and cowering. Okay…this is not a good sign, it is not everyday that Steve is this mad.

"I am only a few inches away, you have no need to shout," I mumbled, but took the nearest vacant seat after the venomous glance he shot me.

"Finally you are all here," Steve growled, "Things are not going very good, and the army needs at least another year before we can actually send them out but we don't have the time!"

"We lost number 97 today, Steve," the words just came out of my mouth. As soon as I said that, I regretted it.

"SHUT UP, SELENE! I KNOW THAT WE LOST A LOT OF PEOPLE ALREADY! HECK, I EVEN KNOW THE TOTAL NUMBER! WE LOST TWENTY FIVE PEOPLE ALREADY!" Steve bellowed in my face, before collapsing back into his chair, as if merely shouting at me had wasted all his energy. "What can we do, this is not working at all…if we carry on this way, the vampire bloodsuckers will win…"

"And it is all her fault," R.V. snarled, glancing menacingly at my way through slit eyes. I cannot believe my ears. All this is my fault? MY fault? Yes, I came up with the idea, but I wasn't the one who trained them, was I, and he is blaming me? I got ready to pounce, but a firm hand held me back: Gannen.

"Cut out the action, Selene," He said warily, "And R.V., it is none of our fault…things just got…out of control."

"Out of control your head!" R.V. said bitterly, "Cut out the optimistic speech, man, it is not cool. I am telling you, this is all her fault…"

"R.V., I will not allow you to insult any of us anymore. And to tell you, by the way, Selene is second in command to Steve, you better pay some respect to her," Gannen replied. Today must be some sort of special day: Gannen stood up for me, R.V. called everything my fault without a bit of guilt, and Steve buried his head in his arms for the whole conversation.

"…I am telling you Gannen, it's that witch's entire fault! It's the female's fault…she's a bad omen!" R.V. was pleading, while slashing at Gannen with his hooks. Female? Anger boiled in me again, insulting me directly is bad enough, but making 'female' jokes is something I really cannot stand. But all of that dissolved, as it gave me a great idea…another great idea, one that only comes on special days and will save us all. Of course, none of them would really like it…but hey, I AM second in command.

"I have an idea that will possibly give us some time," I announced primly, causing Steve to look up and Gannen and R.V. to cease fighting.

"What is it; please don't tell me that it is any one of those lame excuse things…" Gannen muttered.

"With Steve's permission, I will personally train a group of female humans and lead them around the world to kill vampires. Not enough to really damage them, but not little enough to not let them notice," I told them, " There's a big possibility that we would lose many of them, but it would buy us at least a year of time."

"That is a good idea…" Gannen deemed, and R.V. nodded in approval. I felt proud that they liked this plan, but very deep inside I was a little disgusted. If I was offering to train some male humans, they would say no for sure, but since its females they don't bat an eye.

"And in the mean time, I have transferred Miss Hemlock to this public academy named Mahler's," Steve suddenly said, as if only remembering it, "I will order some vampaneze to wreck havoc there, enough to draw Creepy Crepsley and Darren back to that town."

"So…it's settled?" R.V. asked, surprised that the meeting had be over after just a few minutes.

"Yes, you may all leave now," Steve said carelessly, pulling out some paperwork. Gannen and R.V. left the scene as fast as possible, with me following close behind, but just as I was about to leave Steve said: "No, not you Selene…I have to discuss the plans with you." With an obedient nod, I closed the door and resumed back to my original seat.

"Who will you take?" he asked carefully. "Be careful who you choose…you don't want them to betray any of us."

"D'uh," I snorted, even though I knew that he didn't really like slang terms. "I will personally hand-pick them out of the people we are training right now. Perhaps I'll set up a life or death test, and I'll take the survivors with me."

"Maybe you should take only twelve with you…I remember that your favorite book back in sixth grade was Eragon. Wasn't there this group of Forsworn that were twelve people lead by Morzan that went around sabotaging the villages under the command of Galbatorix?" Steve commented, "Yes, I think that you should take only a dozen with you…and you should leave in a few months after…"

"No, I am going to leave in three weeks," I said firmly, "That's all I'll need to train them dolls into warriors, mark my words."

"Three weeks? But…you can't possibly…very well," Steve sighed. Everyone's learned that if I wanted something, I won't stop until I get it so no one really argues with me now.

"I will go now, if you permit," I said softly to him, "You know, controlling someone's fate must be really useful…I must use this chance the best I can."

"You can go now," Steve mumbled, bending over his papers again. I pushed the door open and walked out, but then I poked my head in again.

"Oh, and Steve? I don't think you'd like to be Galbatorix, he's bald." And with that, I closed the door upon Steve's horrified look.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

-Three days later, again in Steve's office

"I have chosen," I told them. This time, there were more of us: Steve, me, Gannen, R.V. and Morgan James. We sat in a semi circle, so that we can see each other clearly.

"Who have you chosen, General Panzer?" Morgan asked politely. Although he already knows that I am not the vampaneze lady, he still pays me a lot of respect unlike Gannen and R.V.

"Only a dozen," I replied, "I chose them: Tanya, Kaitlin, Clarissa, Ophelia, Lilith, Genieve, Raven, Rowena, Francesca, Amore, Zelda and Marissa." Morgan nodded, until I got to the name Marissa.

"You can't have her, I am very sorry, but you can't." he said, trembling lightly.

"Why not? It sounds like a good plan to me," Steve asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow."

"Because…she is my daughter."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I know that I shouldn't laugh, but it is such a funny thought that Mr. grumpy-face-don't-call-me-James is actually married and has children, so I burst out laughing while the rest of them stared at me as if I was crazy. It wasn't everyday that I cracked a smile, not to mention actually laugh.

"What is so funny, my lady?" Morgan asked sourly. He knows that he cannot prevent us from taking Marissa, so now he's all sour.

"I don't…I never…who's your wife?" I managed to ask between laughs, "Is she Wilma Johnson? Marissa looks slightly like her, you know, like her hair color."

"My wife is Pansy Gregorovitch," Morgan said quietly, "She was killed in a protest, and while Wilma shares Marissa's hair color, Marissa's hair is like silk while Wilma's is like corn husk."

"Enough beauty tips and family history," Gannen said impatiently, "So where are you going to take them? Tell us your plans"

"I plan on taking them, the Forsworn, to California," I said importantly to their shocked faces.

"Why Cali? It's real sunny there…no vampires will go there!" R.V. gasped.

"You are wrong. The American vampires all group there even if it is sunny…I don't know why they just do. And we will go their because it is my mission and I know California as well as I know the back of my hand," I snapped, "I lived there when I was a mortal." As no one could disagree with that fact, they merely nodded (Morgan James with clenched teeth) their heads in approval.

"What we will be doing when she is gone, sire?" R.V. asked Steve. Unlike talking to me, that fat thing pays dear respect to Steve. Someday, I certainly will give him a piece of my mind but right now he is Steve's property and I cannot harm a single hair on his head.

"We will go to Creepy Crepsley's hometown, where we will wreck havoc to lure them here. We will build tunnels underground to ensure an escape route, and we will find out every trap and turn in that town until we know it as well as you know yourself," Steve said promptly, "Miss Hemlock is already working at Mahler's, now all we have to do when we are done is to fake some certificates and things to make Darren enrolled in Mahler's once he is there. I will make friends with Darren until they trust me, then someone will lure them into the tunnel where we will take Miss Hemlock away and leave them there. Surely, Darren will come after his pretty little bird, and then we will kill them."

"So, that's it then?" Gannen asked, "We won't have to go on a wild goose chase?????"

"No, after Selene leaves, we will start going to our destination point."

"We won't have to train them that hard anymore, nor do we need to cramp them up so tightly," I announced, "we won't want to lose that much of them again, they are harder to come by nowadays."

"How will you get passports and tickets to go to California, you're not expecting me to pay for all that are you?" Morgan asked hurriedly.

"Of course not," I snorted, "We will sneak aboard…then, when we are landing we will sabotage the plane and kill everyone aboard. After we're landed, we'll just be the survivors of an assault."

"How will you land then?" R.V. asked, "None of them had ever been pilots before and neither did you."

"We'll wait until we land before we kill the pilot," I shrugged matter-of-factly.

"Fine…" Gannen muttered absentmindedly, and Morgan nodded stiffly.

"Then, we leave tomorrow," I told them, and the meeting ended with that.