This is the eighth chapter (of nine) in my answer to the challenge for a Moonlight Crossover story, challenge 140. Originally, this was supposed to be a relatively short story, but the muse cackled wickedly and off we went. For me the challenge (initially) was getting inside the head of a character I wasn't overly sympathetic (Mary Ann McGarrett) with and change that perception.
A/N 1 - It should be noted that several of the characters in this story periodically fell victim to the muse's warped sense of humor, Danny Williams in particular. In this chapter, the muse even poked fun at herself
A/N 2- Part of this story involves the tattoos that we see on Steve McGarrett's shoulders, but were hidden from view when Alex played Mick St. John. I don't have a flaming clue what those ornate designs mean (if anything), but that's never stopped the muse before.
A/N3 - If you want to see what one of the tats really means, see http://www.moonlightaholics.com/viewtopic.php?f=346&t=10015&start=45 and thank Kath40 for finding it. The muse couldn't have been any further from the truth.
I hope you enjoy.
The usual disclaimers apply. I mean no copyright infringement on any of the characters described herein. This is all for fun, nothing more.
The Long Journey Home
Chapter 8
“Detective Williams? Can you hear me? Your friend will be here shortly.”
At Masami’s encouraging, Danny slowly opened his eyes, finding himself in a chair, his hands cuffed behind him.
Probably my own damn cuffs…how sick is that?
Gone was the pleasant parlor. Danny’s sight was a bit blurry, but good enough to see they were in a cold, dimly lit building.
What is it with these people? They're like bats, with all the cold and dark places.
Masami stood a few feet away, but Danny sensed someone standing behind him. Turning his head revealed only a brief glimpse of the man before he was backhanded.
Masami spun around, furious with her henchman. “Teishi suru! (Stop!) Forgive me, Detective, that will not happen again.”
Danny shook his head; while painful, the blow had cleared the cobwebs a bit. As his eyes adjusted to the dusky conditions, he tried to take in more of his surroundings. He couldn’t see any more of Masami’s men, but they were likely out of sight in the loft above, remaining hidden until needed.
Shit! Steve doesn’t stand a chance. It’s too dark in here, too many places to hide. If he shows up, we’re both dead.
“OK, lady, now what?”
“Now we wait. Your friend should be arriving just about…” Masami paused as Mick, dressed in Steve’s cargo pants and golf shirt, sauntered in. “Now.”
Danny became fully alert at the sight of his friend. “Steve!! Get the hell out of here!! She’s going to kill you!!”
Mick held out his hands, showing he was unarmed. “Danno, it’s OK. You gotta trust me, man. Stay cool.”
“Like I have a choice…”
Masami pointed at Mick, then ordered. “Watashi no kizashi o misete (show me the signs)!”
Mick hoped to hell she was asking to see the tattoos, so he took off his shirt, turning so that Masami could see them.
The woman seemed puzzled. “Commander McGarrett. I was unaware that you had ….changed. When did this occur and who is your sire?”
With every passing minute, Danny felt more and more like Alice, only this was no Wonderland.
Changed? Sire? What the hell is this crazy bitch talking about?
“I’m not a fool, Masami. To defeat a blood demon, I had to become one.”
“You would do this to save the life of your friend? Impressive. A pity you will fail.” The blood demon paused. “But you have not answered me fully – who is your sire?”
“Akiro Takaro.” Mick glanced back over his shoulder as Takaro walked in. “Maybe you know him.”
Masami’s eyes grew wide. “Akiro san, no!” Turning to her henchman, she gestured and a knife was immediately put to Danny’s throat. “Akiro san, please, do not involve yourself in this!”
“I am already involved, Masami san. Did you love Hikaru so much that you would dishonor us all? Was he worth starting a war and spilling the blood of our own kind?”
Masami took the knife from her henchman, keeping it tight against Danny’s throat. “For me, this was never about starting a war, Akiro san. I seek only to end my loneliness. Because of McGarrett, Hikaru was destroyed, and with him my happiness. By spilling the blood of one loved by McGarrett, my life is forfeit. Let the avenger seek his justice and reunite me with Hikaru!!”
As Masami raised the knife, a single gunshot rang out, felling her henchman. Startled, Masami hesitated long enough for Akiro to stay her hand. At the same time, Mick snapped Danny’s cuffs and whisked him out of danger.
Gun in hand, Steve dropped from the loft and rushed over to his partner, who was being shielded by Mick. “Danny!! Danny!! You OK, man?”
“I’m not sure…why are there two of you?”
Steve smiled, relieved that his friend seemed unharmed. “There aren’t. Mick decided he’d go for a sexy new look.”
Mick snorted, but joined in the fun at the detective’s expense. “Hey, that’s St. John. I’m Steve.”
Danny looked from one man to the other. “Sick bastards. Both of you, give me your hands. Come on, come on, just do it.”
Both men complied and Danny found that one was ice cold, while the other was blessedly warm. “You, Mr. Freeze, are Mick St. John, Private Dick extraordinaire. You, Mr. 98.6, are Steven, and need to tell me WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!!”
While Steve seemed nonplussed, Mick visibly flinched at Danny’s outburst. “Does he do this often?”
“Constantly. You think this is bad, try riding around in a car with him all day. No escape.”
“I’ll pass. By the way, the gunshot…”
“Special ammo. I came prepared.”
“Good thing.”
Danny’s head was starting to hurt. “Would the two of you just stop, please, stop? Steve in stereo is a hell no one deserves. Besides, I’m cold, tired, hungry and could really use a shower. Maybe even a few beers.”
Before either Mick or Steve could reply, Takaro motioned to McGarrett then to Masami, who was kneeling at his feet, completely docile.
Steve sighed. “There’s just no way around this…Danny, I’m sorry man, but…” Steve cold cocked his friend, knocking him out. Turning to Mick, he explained. “He can’t see this.”
Both men walked over to where Takaro was standing over Masami. From his coat, Takaro withdrew a short sword, one Steve recognized as kai gunto, a weapon once carried by Japanese Naval officers. Bowing slightly, he offered it to Steve, who shook his head. “I don’t want to do this. I can’t.”
“It is your right to refuse, McGarret san. But our laws must be obeyed; Masami san harmed one who is protected, so she must be destroyed.” Takaro then knelt down and whispered something to the woman who nodded and whispered back.
Steve was horrified and grabbed Takaro’s arm. “Wait!! She’s your sister?!!”
“Hai. We were born to the same parents and turned by the same sire. It was Hikaru, though, who turned her heart against us all.”
“I can’t let you do this.”
“You can and you will. Had my sister succeeded in her plan, you would have lost your own. As her brother, it is my responsibility to destroy her, to atone for her crime. It is also my responsibility to end the pain and loneliness which I have caused her by killing Hikaru.”
Takaro gently removed McGarrett’s hand from his arm, then pushed him aside. When Masami bowed her head, Mick sensed the human’s pain. “Steve, go. Take care of Danny. You don’t have to watch this.”
As Takaro raised the sword, Steve saw himself mirrored in Mick’s hazel eyes. “Yeah. I do.”
************************************************************************************
Beth sipped her wine, admiring the beautiful starlit night from their balcony. “How long do you think they’re going to be at it?”
Mick cocked his head. “Maybe they’re done….nope, still at it. Steve wasn’t kidding when he said we didn’t want to be around when his partner exploded.”
“I understand why Danny is angry, but eventually, he’s going to have to let this go.”
“Apparently ‘letting go’ isn’t one of Danny’s strong points. Me, I’m just glad we’re finally out of the car.”
Beth wrinkled her nose. “Danny was a little ripe. I can only imagine what he smelled like to you. Is that why you put the top down?”
“No, the smell I could handle. The whining was getting on my nerves.”
“I don’t see…”
Mick grinned. “Distraction. With the top down, he was more concerned about his hair than complaining.”
Beth grew serious. “Do you think Masami was really going to kill him? Maybe she just wanted to push Steve to the brink…make him think she was going to kill Danny ”
Mick shook his head. “No, if we hadn’t stopped Masami, Danny was a dead man. Same thing with Mary. She wasn’t supposed to get out of that alley alive.”
“OK, I can understand why Masami wanted to be re-united with her mate, but why not just destroy herself? Why all this drama?”
“I wondered the same thing myself. Apparently, blood demons consider self-destruction cowardly, yet during World War II, suicide was considered an honorable death for Japanese soldiers. Today, humans frown on suicide, while most vampires see it as a release when eternity gets too lonely.” Mick gazed out into the starlit sky. “God knows there were times I thought about it.”
Beth shuddered at the thought and her husband drew her close. “Hey, that’s in the past. I’ve got you now. I’ve got every reason to live.”
What happens when I die, Mick? What will it take for you to see that turning me is the only way for us to be together forever?
Beth refrained from voicing her fear; now was not the time to bring up the topic of her turning. Mick may be stubborn, but eventually he’d come around, at least that’s what Josef said. She wondered if Masami’s fate would influence Mick at all; the blood demon had chosen destruction rather than eternity without the one she loved. Still, the mental image of the lonely woman’s last moments chilled her. “I have to say I’m surprised Steve stayed to witness Masami’s destruction.”
“Believe me, he didn’t enjoy it. None of us did.”
“Then why stay?”
Mick thought for a moment. “Maybe he felt responsible somehow. By leaving, he’d be denying that responsibility.”
“How can he feel responsible? Hikaru attacked him, not the other way around. I hate to say this, but I agree with Danny. I don’t understand how Steve could watch another man kill his sister, knowing how close he came to losing his own.”
“I don’t know. Maybe it gave him a reason to not lose touch with Mary again. Josef was right, though. Steve would make one helluva vampire.”
Beth laid her hand on her husband’s chest. “Because he has a heart, just like you.” Reaching up, Beth pulled her husband’s head lower, gracing him with a kiss. “Do me a favor, Mick. Let your hair grow back out. I enjoy running my fingers through it.”
“Not as much as I do.” The kiss was returned. “What about the tats?”
“While they’re…. interesting, they belong on someone else.” Another kiss, deeper still. “Any you’re the only man I’ll ever want in my bed. Besides, I’m looking forward to washing them off” Another kiss “in the shower” and another “just the two of us.”
The vampire within growled in anticipation. “I think it’s time we invite our guests to leave.”
When Mick and Beth re-entered their apartment, Steve was on the floor, his nose bleeding profusely. “Danny, you have no idea how stupid that was!”
“Then tell me, god dammit!!! Just give me some god damned answers!!!!”
Beth handed Steve some tissues, and as Mick helped him up, Steve apologized. “Sorry, man. I know this isn’t good.”
Mick sighed; that shower was going to have to wait a bit. “No problem. I’ll keep your partner entertained while Beth helps you clean up.”
Danny wasn’t amused. “O, so you’re going to entertain me, are you? Well let me tell you something, Mr. Tall, Dark and Freaky, I’m done being entertained. I want some god-damned answers!! And don’t give me any of this ‘national security – don’t have a need to know- sacred trust’ shit. Who was that crazy bitch? What happened to her? What’s her beef with Steve? And what the HELL is a blood demon?”
“I don’t think you can handle the answers, Detective. You’re better off not knowing.”
“Wait – you don’t think I can handle the answers? You don’t think….listen dickhead, I can handle anything you throw at me. I ride around with Steve all day. I get shot at when I least expect it. My own partner tries to blow people up without giving me any warning. Trust me, I can handle it.”
In the kitchen, Steve flinched. “Did Danny just call Mick….”
“Yes, he did.”
“Your husband has remarkable control.”
“O, he’s dealt with far worse than Danny. You should see Josef when he gets angry.”
Steve held up the bloody tissue. “I mean this. I thought the blood might be a problem. As for seeing Kostan angry, I’ll pass.”
“Smart man. Anyway, Mick doesn’t feed from humans. He drinks morgue blood and occasionally, bottled blood from Josef’s freshies.”
“Freshies?”
“Sorry. Those are people who willingly feed vampires. Some do it for money, some do it out of love while others do it for the euphoric feeling it gives them. Believe me, the bite can be extremely pleasurable.”
“Uh, Beth…. ”
“Too much information?”
“Kinda. I’d like to leave here alive and I’m pretty sure Mick can hear us.”
Beth smiled wickedly. “I’m counting on it.”
“Think we should go rescue him?”
“Mick or Danny?”
Steve chuckled. “Not sure, but I think Danny may have met his match.”
When Beth and Steve returned to the great room, Danny was glaring at Mick. “I’m waiting and even if I freeze to death in this meat locker, I am not leaving until you answer my questions!”
Mick glanced at Steve, who shrugged and said “Your call.”
Turning back to Danny, Mick replied. “OK. I’ll answer your questions. Have a seat.”
“I’ll stand, thank you very much.”
“Alright. That ‘crazy bitch’ was a blood demon and now she’s dead. Her beef with Steve? He happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time a few years ago when her ma.. lover was killed. She held him responsible.”
“So Masami wanted revenge? That’s it? That’s what all this…this…shit, I don’t even know what to call this…was about?”
“No. Masami wanted to be re-united with her lover. By killing you, she’d hurt Steve just as she’d been hurt. She was counting on Steve killing her in revenge and she’d get her wish.”
Danny grew somber as he approached his friend. Before Steve knocked him out, the last thing he saw was Masami kneeling in surrender at Takaro’s feet. Danny knew his friend had a dark side, but killing Masami would have been nothing short of an execution.
Killing Masami would have been cold-blooded murder.
“Tell me you didn’t kill her. Please tell me that.”
“I didn’t. I couldn’t.”
Danny sighed in relief. “Then who did?”
“Takaro. The blood demons have strict rules, and Takaro, as a blood demon, was obligated to dispense Masami’s punishment.”
“Sick son-of-a-bitch. He felt some stupid gang ‘rules’ allowed him to slaughter….”
“No, Danny. Blood demons aren’t just some gang and Takaro is an honorable man. He didn’t kill Masami out of some twisted sense of justice. He killed her to end her pain, just as she wished.”
“That doesn’t make it right….”
“Danny, Masami was Takaro’s sister. He loved her. You and I may not understand or agree with his actions….”
“Understand? I’ll tell you what I understand, you sick bastard. You stood by and watched a man kill his sister in cold blood and did nothing to stop it. How the hell can you live with yourself?”
“Danno….”
“Don’t…Just get away from me…I’m done with you.”
Mick saw and felt Steve’s misery. This man had suffered so much loss and Danny’s disgusted rejection was nearly more than he could bear. “Steve, how much do you trust your partner?”
The answer came without hesitation. “With my life.”
“Good. I hope I can trust him with mine.” Turning his attention to Danny, Mick decided it was time for a lesson in humanity. “Hey. You wanted answers, you got them. I knew you couldn’t handle it.”
“Fuck off, Frosty.”
“Watch your language, tough guy. There’s a lady present. Show some respect.”
“Or what?”
“Or you’ll regret it.”
“Add it to the list, babe.”
Babe??
Mick snarled; the urge to drop kick this guy off the balcony was getting stronger by the minute. “Some friend you are. I wonder why Steve risked his skin to save yours, huh? Why didn’t he just go home when he found out the blood demons had laid a trap for him? They nearly killed him once. Why risk it a second time? For what? You?”
Danny didn’t answer, but shot a quick glance at Steve.
Why didn’t you tell me they tried to kill you? Don’t you trust me?
“I’ll tell you why he risked it. The blood demons were behind Mary’s attack. They were going to kill her to lure Steve into a trap. When that failed and you showed up, you became the bait. You’re not of Steve’s blood, but he came anyway. Masami had to die, Danny, otherwise you, Mary and anyone else Steve cares about would be in danger.”
Ohana
The word echoed in Danny’s head as he spun on Mick. “You think you’re making this any easier? Blood or not, Steve is like family. I’ve already lost one brother. I don’t want to lose another.”
“Then don’t.”
“You don’t get it, do you? I’m a cop. Not the judge, not the jury, and sure as hell not the executioner. We don’t kill people because we think they deserve if or even if they want it. Masami was entitled to be tried by a jury of her peers…”
“She was. Takaro is a blood demon as well.” Mick grasped Danny by the shoulders, holding him firmly in place. “And so am I. You want to know what a blood demon is, tough guy? Take a good, hard look.”
ETA: I dropped the word "he" in the sentence after Ohana
Question is can he handle what he's about to be shown??? He sure pushed Mick to the edge there, bet he won't be calling him a dickhead when he sees the blood demon's face up close. Thanks DSR, only one more chapter to go right? I'm sorry to see this story come to and end. 
I'm looking forward to seeing Danny's reaction to vamped-out "Frosty" ( 
Who, me? Leave you with Danny in Mick's grasp? 
Nah, I wouldn't do that....the final chapter will be up tomorrow. And let's just say Danny gets the lesson of a lifetime 
