Bleeding Hurts

Fight

Bloody sucked in a breath and put a hand on Maria's chest, pushing him behind himself. "Get everyone out of here, I'll fight them off."

Maria looked around wildly for the source of the disturbance and caught sight of an unfamiliar vampire. He grabbed Bloody's hand and pulled him down, ducking behind an overturned table. "I can take care of myself now, remember?" he said, motioning to his activated rosary. "But you're right, drink some blood and get out there. I'll deal with the guests."

"If I drink your blood won't you be weaker?" Bloody hesitated.

"No time, we need you at full strength and I can't remember the last time you actually fed." Without waiting for a response, Maria pulled Bloody into himself, pressing the vampire's mouth against his neck.

With a sign of resignation, Bloody bit down, trying to ignore Maria's grunt of pain. Within seconds he felt the power of Maria's blood flowing through him, filling him with strength and energy.

He sat back on his heels and wiped his mouth, "Alright, I'm good. Now go and don't get hurt."

Maria smiled, "Promise," he said before jumping up from behind the table.

"Everyone! The exit is this way! Follow me!" He waved his rosary over his head, gathering the attention of the wedding guests. Unfortunately, this also drew the attention of one of the invading vampires.

The intruder spun around to look at him, a maniacal grin on his face. "Di Maria," he hissed, baring his fangs.

"Not so fast," Bloody yelled, tackling the vampire with arms outstretched. The two went down in a tangle of limbs and Maria had to fight the urge to rush in there and help.

Instead, he continued herding the panicked guests towards the nearest exit. "Keep moving!" he yelled.

"Ichiro," Shinobu ran up to Maria, slightly out of breath. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, clearly anxious, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Get these people somewhere safe and don't move until Mary and I come get you," Maria said, breathing a sigh of relief. Someone he could count on to keep a level head, this was good. "And stay safe."

Shinobu nodded, "You too. I can't lose another friend like this."

Maria shook his head, "Don't worry about me." Once he was certain Shinobu was doing as he was told, Maria ran off to join Bloody who had dispatched the vampire he was fighting previously and had moved on to another.

Before he could reach him however, Maria was knocked to the ground. A sharp pain shot through him as for the second time that day, a pair of fangs sank into his neck.

In a panic, Maria swung his rosary above him, dislodging the vampire who wiped her mouth with a snarl.

"Don't be so selfish," she hissed, "Keeping all that delicious blood to yourself."

She leapt forward again but this time, Maria was ready. He jumped to his feet and swung his rosary to meet her.

Her momentum impaled herself on the sharpened metal, driving it through her heart. She flailed for a bit before going still and Maria let her drop to the ground.

He put his hand up to his neck and it came away slick with blood. He winced, this had to end quickly or he was going to be in danger of bleeding out. He cast around frantically for Bloody and finally spotted him across the room, backed into a corner and fighting off two vampires at the same time.

Hurriedly, Maria ran towards him again but was cut off by yet again by another vampire.

Maria tried to jump back out of the way but was just a second too slow as his attacker sank his claws into his leg, tearing his pant leg open to reveal a fresh wound. Maria hissed in pain as blood flowed down his leg but managed to dodge the next attack.

This isn't good, he thought, I'm going to need some answers.

Gathering up his strength, Maria ducked under the vampire's swinging fist and knocked him off balance with his rosary. In a series of quick motions, Maria had the vampire pinned up against a wall, the tip of the rosary pressing into his chest.

"Talk," Maria snapped, glancing nervously behind himself. "Why are you here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" the vampire managed through gritted teeth, "We're here to kill you and the freak."

Maria pressed the rosary harder into the vampire's chest, "But. Why?" he said slowly.

"You don't scare me, exorcist," the vampire grinned, "But it's not a secret. Bloody's only dangerous when he's with you. We thought we'd come put and end to that."

Maria narrowed his eyes grimly, "Oh yeah? Well you're a little too late. Cause now I'm dangerous too."

Before the vampire could say another word, Maria pushed his rosary fully into his heart. In a flash of white light, the vampire was dead.

In an instant, Maria was running again, sliding himself in between Bloody and another vampire.

During his talk with the vampire, Bloody had managed to get himself out of the corner. But now with his back exposed, one of the vampires had nearly managed to sneak up behind him. Maria knocked her aside while Bloody slashed at his own target.

"We need to talk," Maria said, his back to Bloody. He held out his rosary and disintegrated another one of the vampires, who were starting to catch onto the fact that Maria quite wasn't the same as he was before.

"I thought we were done with this after you killed Hydra," Bloody panted, his suit covered in blood splatters from the injured and murdered vampires around him.

"Me too," Maria said. As he and Bloody joined forces in full, the vampires around them began to fall back. "Unfortunately, it would seem we're something of celebrities."

Bloody chanced a glance behind himself and bit his lip when he caught sight of Maria. "You're hurt."

"Not too badly," Maria lied, already feeling dizzy. "Just focus."

As the last of the vampires were either destroyed or fled, Bloody and Maria collapsed together in the middle of the wreckage that was meant to be their wedding.