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Vanessa had made a friend online, and they grew close quickly. Steel didn't think this was too strange, since a vampire couldn't really leave during the day, and most regular people would be turned off by the idea of a vampire for a friend. In any case, her friend started mentioning strange things happening around her town, a mining town of all places. Missing tools, moved equipment, strange glowing lights in the nearby woods, that sort of thing.

Vanessa hired Steel to investigate the incidents, believing that there is something wrong. Steel didn't find any evidence to the contrary, and decided to bring Liliy with him. She was no good with paperwork, but succubus' had charm that couldn't be matched. If it did turn out to be a prankster or just a troublemaker, she could find out in seconds. Liliy was upset that she had to wear constricting clothes however.

"Mining towns... how cliché for ghosts and things that act like ghosts. Well, hey! Liliy, stop messing with the belts." She was fiddling with the key locks Steel had affixed to her belts, to keep her from removing them naturally, "I swear... "

Liliy was wearing a form-fitting overcoat, as she refused to wear everyday clothing. At the very least, it covered what needed to be covered, and her natural camouflage made it easy to blend in, "Fine, fine, but I get a long kiss later." The two left his van with nothing but a slip of paper with a name, "Let's find her then."

As any good detective knows, the best place to find information is a bar. It is also the best place to drink, and Steel loved drinking. It was just past noon, so there weren't many people in the bar, "Excuse me, I'm looking for a... Jennifer? Young woman from what I've heard."

The bartender picked up a rag and wiped down the bar, "Yeah, Jim's girl. What you want her for?"

"Well, I'm a bit of an investigator, and she was talking with a friend of mine, who asked me to come down here. Something about strange things happening?" He whispered to Liliy, "Don't say anything about paranormal stuff."

"Ah, right. Blue house just to the right of the equipment shack, can't miss it." The two nodded and left.

The road was nothing but stones, understandable for a town in the middle of nowhere. Train tracks carried all mined materials to an unknown destination, and most homes didn't have any sort of transportation. Maybe four total cars among twenty homes. And of course, the blue house was just at the end, separated from the mine by the equipment shack, "That's a hangar... not a shack..."

Liliy knocked on the door, "Hello? Is anyone home?"

The door opened and a young woman, between the late teens and early twenties, answered, "Hello? May I help you?"

Steel nodded, "Vanessa sent us." Jennifer gestured for them to come inside, "So maybe you can give us some more details, like directions, colors, you know?"

"So are you really that good? You can figure this sort of thing out, right? It's messing with everyone's income. If we can't mine, we can't make money."

Liliy smiled, "Oh my yes, Steel is certainly the best at what he does. I'd give proof, but most people don't believe it."

Jennifer eyed Liliy carefully, "Well, whatever. Did you see a bunch of trees as you entered the town? The really thick and green ones? They weren't always like that you know. I tried to get inside, but there were some creepy voices, and I just ran. One of the miners tried to cut down a tree, but the axe wouldn't make a dent."

Steel nodded a few times, "This is gonna get ugly really fast. Listen, I can probably take care of the problem. I can't say definitely because... well... if I'm right, what's in there is stubborn. I promise I'll do my best." Steel left the house without any jokes, and Liliy was concerned, "This is not what I wanted to do today, but a paycheck is a paycheck."

He walked wordlessly to the edge of town and by the unnatural trees, "What's in there?"

"Just don't touch anything, and be careful where you step. We should get out alive."

The two bravely squeezed into the forest, where everything was a vibrant green. Whispers on the wind erupted from all directions, but it was hard to scare people who live with that sort of thing. A few minutes later, Steel came across what he feared.

A floor, frosty blue, with tiny needles of ice holding up perfectly round orbs of blue ice. It was beautiful and unnerving, "So pretty..."

"Don't. Touch. Anything. Fight off that urge and watch your step." he was careful to tiptoe around the orbs, lifting his overcoat so it wouldn't accidentally brush against any of them. He made it through a great deal of the traps, then turned to watch Liliy.

She did her best, lifting her tight coat and stepping carefully, but the clumsiness from the office followed her. She fell forward, and in slow motion saw one of the orbs fall. With a final last-ditch effort, she hit the ground, extended her arms, and caught it before it cracked, "Piece of cake!" She saw Steel slap his face.

The dense forest echoed, and her little outburst was enough to knock every single orb from their pedestals, "Brace yourself!"

Each of the orbs cracked, and from them countless blue fairies flew up and around the two. Steel swatted blindly through the air, knocking many of them down, "What the..." Liliy was admiring the fairies. They were very pretty, cuter than the animal picture site Sabrina kept bragging about, "Hello there."

The fairy in her hand waved back, and the two simply stared at each other, "Liliy, hurry up or you don't get a cut of the pay. I hate these annoying bugs." She stood up, still carrying the one fairy, and tackled through the wall of other fairies.

Steel stopped just before he went through two trees. Not just two, but three sets of identical trees, "Tests, to see their queen. Since they don't change their setups, I'm not going to bother." He ran through, stumbling after the second set, but making it into the opening in the distance. Liliy followed, wondering why she didn't feel anything strange, "You! Remove these curses, we need to talk."

Liliy peaked around Steel to see a fairy, larger than the others, in a crystal throne, "Oh, you're not some amateur. Say your peace and we might let you go."

Steel sighed, "Peace? You've done nothing but disturb the peace. You have to leave this town."

"And why oh why would we do that?"

Liliy nudged Steel, "Don't you usually try to make an arrangement? Like with me?"

"Fairies are closer to bugs than people. They're a pest that consume every bit of life from the area, then they move on. In this case, they're driving people out of the town and mines. If I had my bug swatter..." He pasued, "Hey, what if there was a new location, one where nobody would every bother you on purpose?"

The queen didn't seem amused, "Spit it out fleshy."

"There is this patch of forest, about a day from here, completely abandoned. Something about a mass murder there that had almost nothing to do with cultists or me. You could take up that spot."

"Alright, then tell me why I should leave? I'm comfy here."

Steel drew his revolver and aimed, "Because I have no trouble setting this entire forest on fire with you trapped inside. Now move or burn."

There was no more negotiating, the queen agreed to move and the two left the forest as quickly as possible. Jennifer was waiting outside, "Well? Did you do it?"

"Within a week the forest should be empty, and you can probably get everyone back in the mines now. If the problems persist, give me a call and I'll use my other method."

"Thank you so much! Please, come to my home, I can at least get you something to drink and eat." Steel and Liliy were practically dragged to the blue house. Jennifer brought out cups of soda and some cookies as the three sat in the living room, "Hey, I know this is odd, but... what is Vanessa like?"

"Stubborn as a mule, and tiny. Very tiny."

"I know that, I meant, well, she said you helped her, but she wouldn't say with what. Can you tell me?"

Liliy ate a cookie, "I'm sure it would be best if she told you. You are her only... normal friend."

Steel nodded, "Indeed. Her other friends are as weird as they come."

Jennifer sighed, "Would it be possible... to see her in person?"

Steel wasn't sure what to say, "Possible? Yes. Can't say you'll be very happy about it, or maybe that's her... anywho, I'm not a taxi, and I demand payment up front for trips."

"I can pay. She just seems so lonely sometimes, I think it would be better to actually see her face to face than just quick chatting at night."

"Women are going to be the death of me, I just know it. Tell everyone what you need to then meet at my van. Going to be a long trip."

And a long trip it was. Jennifer kept asking questions, and Liliy did her best to answer without giving away too much. Steel said that he needed to concentrate on the road, and for some reason, that excuse worked. He made a mental note to remember.

A few long hours later, and they arrived at the vampire's house beside the prison. Luckily it was already dark, "Let's get this over with. I have more angry women to appease." They left the van and Steel knocked on the front door of the home, "Hey, it's me. Open up."

The elder vampire opened the door, "Ah, Steel. Liliy. Who is this?"

"Friend of Vanessa. She wanted to visit, and I guess this is the best course of action. Just have to see how it goes." They entered the dark house, lit only by some candles, and before long Vanessa skipped into the room.

Silence.

Vanessa stared at Jennifer, who stared back, "Uh... hello." Vanessa ran over and hugged her.

"I'm sorry... I haven't had a good friend before."

"Uh... I just went and wiped out a nest of fairies for a third of my normal rate... doesn't that make me a good friend?" Steel sulked, "Women are evil."

"He said... something like it would be better for me to learn in person on the trip up."

Vanessa turned shy in a single moment, then slowly lifted her lip, "I'm a vampire..."

"So what? You're my friend, that's what's important, right?" Jennifer was very calm.

"Ha ha, closure. Well, I assume it's not going to be a deal breaker if she spends the night here. I'm a bit sleepy. No biting you two." Steel dragged Liliy out of the house as the two young ladies started telling stories to each other about their lives, "One bullet dodged."

Back at the office, there was another bullet waiting, "Oh, that's so cute!" A fair peaked out from under Liliy's coat. It seemed to be in a happy daze, "What's her name?"

"You know what? No. Just no. Tell Cleopatra to deal with the insect, I have other things to do." He saw a letter on his desk and quickly opened it, "In fact, I'm going out again. I'll be back when I'm back."

Steel enjoyed the quiet drive to a shed behind a business district. As the letter said, he knocked in the appropriate pattern, "Took you long enough."

The Grim Reaper stood behind a chair. On the chair was a tied up man, missing a few extremities, "I see you found another. That's two for you, one for me. He know anything?"

"He's a screamer, and he insists that he doesn't know anything, but I think he's lying. Care to take a whack at him?" She offered a wooden bat, which Steel took.

"So mister cultist, care to talk?" He shook his head, coughing up more spit and tears, "Fine." Steel brought the bat down onto his knee, "How about now?"

The Grim Reaper smiled, "I hope he realizes that he can't die until I let him. Well, I think it's a good way to release frustration, right Steel?"

"Righto." The man was in intense pain, "Your little cult wants to bring an end to the world, and kill me. First part? Not a big deal. But I like being alive more than I like being dead, so start talking or this will be a long night for you."

The sun came up many hours later, and Steel followed the Grim Reaper out of the shed, both covered in blood, "Seems like he knew a little. A meeting in the same library where I was shot. How stupid."

"Let's go prepared this time, no prisoners."

Steel stretched his arms, "I agree. So... breakfast?"