(Author's note: This was an idea that wouldn't go away after I saw the last episode of the English version of the anime. I hope that you enjoy reading this. Thank you to that-fan for all of his help concerning Diva and her chevaliers. Dove Silverstein is my character, but I own nothing else but the plot. Feedback is welcome!)

The sound of her footsteps echoed throughout the all but deserted mansion, but despite this Diva was not afraid. She had only her own voice and the cocoons of her unborn daughters for company. Nathan and Amshel, her only remaining chevaliers, were off doing something regaurding her upcoming performance. Singing as she carefully carried the basket that contained her babies, the younger chiropteran queen was doing some serious thinking.

Contrary to what others thought, Diva honestly did not hate her older sister. After all, how could she hate the one person who had actually set her free from her lifelong imprisionment from the tower? Amshel, as much as he claimed to have loved her, hadn't been the one who'd let her see the world… No, Diva truly loved her older sister, but why Saya was so deadset on revenging that awful old man who had kept her younger sister locked up in a tower for so long was beyond Diva's understanding. Didn't blood count for anything?

The lady doctor had disappeared... what was her name...? Diva couldn't remember, but the very memory brought a frown to her face. She thought it was very very rude, but then again, what could you expect from a human? Still, she wished that the lady doctor hadn't taken her new favorite playmate away when she had left.

Dove may have looked odd, but she had always been very polite, even to her servants. It still puzzled Diva that her playmate walked funny with the aid of two metal sticks, crutches, Dove had called them. Nathan and Amshel hadn't cared for Dove being around Diva, but it was her wish, and her wish was law.

Still frowning, Diva made her way outside and sat under a tree, remembering her playmate before she left...

"So Diva, have you thought about names for your daughters?" The redhead asked, wanting a distraction from the pain that shot up her feet as they walked. Her light blue eyes holding a look of concentration as they walked. Dove didn't like asking for breaks, not that she expected them.

"Mmm," Diva gave a non-committal sound and tilted her head in thought. It was obvious she was heedless of her companion's plight. "Of course I have." Then she giggled, a sound filled with both mirth and hint of maliciousness. "I'm going to name one of my babies after dear sister Saya."

Dove nodded. "You must admire her very much to want to name one of them after Saya." She said, only half her mind on the conversation. All the while, Dove was really hoping that Diva would remember to go slowly down the stairs this time...

As it turned out, Dove didn't have to worry, for they never so much as reached the stairs. Diva stopped abruptly at her words, her hands falling to her sides. The thoughtful expression had not left her face. If anything it had intensified. After several seconds of silence, Diva gently laid a hand on her own stomach. "I just wish I could find as wonderful a name for her sister. I don't want to pick favorites now do I? I'm not human after all."

"Names are very important, and should never be chosen lightly. At least, that's what I think." Dove said quietly. "A name shapes who you are, and the kind of person that you'll become."

Diva blinked and the almost dazed look that had been on her face vanished in an instant. Now she was staring Dove in the eye very intensely. It was difficult to tell what was going on behind her eyes, but that was always the way it was with Diva; the predatory gaze and innocent face that gave nothing away. "Saya was the one who gave me my name." She whispered, almost too softly for Dove to hear. "The humans never gave me one. I was nothing. I was their nothing. Saya gave me the name of Diva and that's what I have become. They are now my playthings." In a flash Diva's face contorted in anger and more than a little hurt. "And now she plays with them to try and kill me." Yet just as quickly as the outburst occurred she smiled again and the mask returned over her face. "But I won't let her. I won't let her kill my babies or allow the humans to toy with them. My children will grow up to become more than nothing."

Now Dove's eyes looked deeply saddened. "To harm a child, any child, is a crime that should never be forgiven." It was as though Diva wasn't there, and Dove was speaking for herself. A minute later, the redhead seemed to recall herself. "Humans matter too Diva, we aren't all bad people."

Diva burst out laughing. It was a pleasant and yet unpleasant sound at the same time. Both statements had tickled her funny bone. Dove had no idea how ridiculous either sounded to the chiropteran queen. The very form Diva wore was proof enough of her crimes against the young. Raping Riku was, after all, how she conceived her wonderful twin daughters. Then there was the use her blood was put to in Vietnam, an event she cared little about. The only children she had any care for were her own. The others could rot for all she cared.

The sad look in Dove's eyes suddenly flashed hot with anger. Her lips tightened slightly in pain as well as hurt. "It wasn't funny." She snapped sharply, the cracking sound her knee made seemed to underscore her words as Dove took a slow dragging step to continue on her way.

Diva's laughter stopped abruptly and gave Dove a look that very much mirrored her own. "You sound like Saya." She said simply.

"Remember, I am a human too Diva." As a clear sign of anger, she didn't bother to turn to look at Diva as she spoke. "I treasure life, and I don't like it when people laugh at the thought of hurting others."

"I could laugh at you too," Diva hissed, and Dove felt hands over her own and tightened her grip on her crutches. "I'm stronger than you. I could play with you like a toy, like an unnamed nothing." Indeed she knew she was by far much stronger than Dove, much less any human out there. In this position it would only take a fraction of her strength to tear away Dove's support and knock her to the floor. Then she could once again take considerable amusement in the suffering of another being.

She'd done so before at their first meeting. At first she'd been curious about the 'sticks' Dove had had to walk with, but after Dove had engaged her in conversation and agreed to 'play' with her Diva found them annoying. They really slowed the girl up and Diva, as selfish as always, cared not about the girl's plight and stripped them from her.

To her surprise, Dove hadn't cried. She was tougher than that. Nor did she beg like a child for Diva to return what was hers. Instead she acted much like she was doing now that Diva had once again offended her sense of morals. She'd been determined, dignified in her helplessness, pushing through the pain Diva's roughhousing had put her through.

For some reason Diva had not been able to laugh then. Seeing the girl fight so hard with everything she had for what seemed like nothing at all to Diva hadn't amused the chiropteran queen in the slightest, and when she had asked in a steely, pained voice for the crutches back Diva found herself giving in. The voice cut through her, somehow. Truthfully the girl cut through her. The way she acted towards Diva, both before that event and even after it, despite the cruelty; was like nothing the girl had ever experienced. As Nathan had said there were only those that bowed to her and those that fought her, but this girl was neither and she took pleasure in that fact for some reason.

Diva didn't want to see the girl without her support again. She didn't want to see the enigma in pain, even if she was human. But she did not let go of the girl's hands.

Dove didn't move or even flinch, the only sign Dove gave of her increasing dicomfort were the pain lines that etched themselves on her face, and her sky-blue eyes didn't waver. "Yes you could, but it wouldn't change anything. It is people who can laugh at another person's pain that did those horrible things to you. If anything, you make yourself no better than them because you don't care, the same way they didn't care when you were in pain Diva." She was breathing hard almost panting in pain, and her legs shook with the need for a rest, but she knew she had to stand her ground or risk loosing what little ground she had gained so far. "You can hurt me, you could kill me, but you will never own me."

"I am better already. I'm not human." Diva hissed into her ear. "I could make you mine if I wanted to." The chiropteran felt the smaller girl trembling in her arms and she could feel the weight being put on the crutches. Dove was in pain. Dove was straining. "But you're hurting now." She let go with one of her hands and put it around the girl's waist. "Let go." She whispered softly. "Drop the sticks."

After thrity seconds of internal debate, Dove reluctantly relaxed her wrists and let the crutches fall with a pair of soft muffled thunks on the carpet while reaching up to put one hand on Diva's shoulder to steady herself. Even defenseless, Dove still tried to assert her independance. "It's harder for me to stand still than it is to move." She managed to get out, wondering if her pain-filled eyes were playing tricks on her, as Diva had now reverted to her original form.

"Hm, then why don't we move then." The girl gave a soft, childish giggle and tossed her head, making her hair fan out behind her. Then she grinned. She knew full well Dove had what the humans called pride, something she'd seen more than enough of in varying degrees and forms amid her chevaliers. It would be an interesting game to see how she would react to this. Diva always loved games. Being as strong as she was, despite her size, Diva easily reached down with her other arm and hefted Dove into her arms almost in a type of bridal style, although she wasn't sure what part of the body to support considering she didn't know what would hurt the girl. Of course hurting someone else was never Diva's chief worry. In fact this action was carried out rather thoughtlessly.

Dove's breath hitched in pained surprise, even as her body automatically adjusted itself and she wrapped her left arm around Diva's neck to support herself, "Thanks."

"Diva," a deep, almost gravelly voice called from down the hall. The echoing sound that it made was even more ominous. Dove jumped slightly in Diva's arms for she hadn't even known there was anyone else in the hallway. Amshel was a big man, well dressed as he normally was with his hair slicked smartly back. The most distinctive feature of his face was not the finely cut gotee, but his cold blue eyes. While Diva's gleamed with childish maliciousness Amshel's were more calculating. "It is time to go."

"Awww, already?" Diva whined cutely in response, turning a little abruptly for Dove's tastes. She was still in Diva's arms and the sudden movement had made her stomach lurch.

"We are finished here." Was the only reply Amshel gave.

The redhead swallowed, hoping that Amshel wouldn't look her way even as her head swam from being moved too quickly. As much as Dove hated stairs, she was starting to feel that maybe accepting Diva's help wasn't the smartest thing she's ever done. Gathering her courage, she addressed Amshel anyway. "Is Julia still in the lab, or was she coming out too?"

"She is busy." Amshel answered the question, his eyes moving to the girl in Diva's arms. Truth be told he felt it was almost beneath him to speak to such a person. Part of him was vaguely annoyed at someone virtually useless to him knowing anything at all about his precious Diva and being handed information it had taken him years of study to learn for nothing. At its most basic level he hated sharing her at all with anyone, especially when he had nothing to gain from it. But that was all the girl was to him, an annoyance, and he had long since learned he hide how he felt about others being given Diva's attention. Ever since Saya had released her he'd had to share her with others, something he would not do if given the chance to change things.

Dove nodded, the movement somehow looking regal dispite the situation. "Thank you very much Amshel, I am sorry to have bothered you." The redhead had always been very careful when speaking to one of Diva's chevaliers. Now she turned her attention back to Diva. "Thank you for helping me Diva." Dove said, expecting to be dropped like a toy.

"Mm, okay." Diva said with a shrug and started to walk forward towards Amshel, girl still in hand. Then she stopped. "Guess I should leave you here so we can play next time." Diva said, almost to herself, then turned around. Dove's fears weren't unfounded. Dropped whatever she was finished with was indeed the normal MO for Diva. But instead she carried her back to where the crutches lay almost forlornly on the floor. Then she gently lowered Dove's legs to the floor. But instead of letting her go, she kept one arm around her waist, holding her up.

Letting out the breath that she didn't know she'd been holding, Dove slowly knelt down to retrieve her crutches one at a time. Slipping her wrists into the holders, Dove smiled at Diva when she felt steady. "Thank you Diva. Now I better go get Julia, she promised me I could get my hair cut." She shook her head to get her hair out of her eyes. Her hair style was similar to Saya's, so this attempt didn't work very well.

Diva still didn't let go. With one hand she reached up and gently brushed the hair out of her 'toy's' eyes. Unlike Dove she proved successful. Then she let go and stepped back. In an instant Diva's hair was again short as she took the form she'd stolen from Riku and skipped over to Amshel. With one arm she reached around Amshel's waist, ran a half circle around him and hugged him there, peeking out from behind his back at Dove. "Goodbye." She called out. Her voice was muffled since most of her face was pressed into Amshel. Her piercing blue eyes were still visible though. Then as quickly as she'd hugged him she let go and pranced her way out. Amshel took one last glance down his nose at the girl, then followed Diva.

Dove kept her smile until Diva was out of sight then moved her body as fast at she could for the nearest bathroom. At the moment, she was just grateful that Diva hadn't pitched a fit about getting a haircut!

Oddly enough, once out of sight of Dove, Diva's manner changed too. Her speed slowed thoughfully until Amshel caught up with her and then she stopped altogher. Of course her chevalier did the same and turned to regard her.

"Why does she use those toys?" Diva asked, looking up at him.

At first Amshel wasn't sure what Diva was referring to. After all, Diva had expressed an interest in many of the devices Julia had used while working with her, but considering Diva's attention span the man guessed she meant Dove's crutches. "She suffers from a condition called cerebral palsy." He explained, his deep voice showing neither care or pity. It was just a term, there was no person behind it, at least not one he cared about. Diva however looked at him blankly. "Damage to her cerebellum has impaired her motor fuctions. Whether this damage occured during birth, pregnancy, or early life I do not know." Nor did he he care. Still Diva stared at him. There were a lot of big words in there that confused her.

"Is she sick?" Diva asked, trying to understand. She knew about the concept of sickness even though she never suffered from it. With both Solomon and Amshel being well educated men in the medical fields she'd heard enough for her mind to wrap around the idea. Still she'd never suffered from a disease, so was that why she could walk and Dove could not?

"No, it is a disability; a condition. She is not sick." Amshel decided to put it in terms Diva could understand, although he wasn't sure why she even cared to ask. It was rather unlike her. Maybe it was just her curiosity. "Her nervous system and/or brain, what helps her move and think, has been hurt in some way and cannot heal." The simplistic explanation hurt Amshel's pride to give, but anything for Diva. Well, anything that didn't step on his own goals.

Diva nodded. Then she actually smiled. She understood that. Humans couldn't heal like them. "I wonder if she were one of us if she could walk." Then the black haired girl giggled. "Maybe she could even fly. She is a bird after all." Then, without warning, Diva threw out her arms almost like they were wings, turned, and ran down the hall towards the exit, laughing her head off. Amshel however stared after her coolly for a few seconds while his mind processed that statement and the posible implications…

A shadow that blocked the sunlight she'd been sitting in brought Diva out of her thoughts. "What is it Nathan?" The young chiropteran Queen asked wapishly, stroking one of the cocoons soothingly as she spoke.

"My, oh my." Nathan said in that strange coo of his. His mannerisms and voice seemed a mix of both the feminine and the masculine. "This mood will not do for your debut. What is the matter my queen?"

"Do you think she'll be there when I sing?" Diva asked intensely. "Big sister tends to be a bit smothering at times… and I want her to see my babies. I've only named one so far… maybe I'll name the other after her…" The smile on Diva's face was less than reassuring.

Nathan's eyes widened slightly before he pasted a smile on his face. "That's wonderful darling! Does this mean I can finally make her over? I can't believe she chropped off all of that beautiful hair! What a crime! Do you want me to go fetch her, or would you like Amshel to bring her to you?"

The look on Diva's face turned thoughtful. To give herself time to think, Diva gazed at her babies. "Go, bring her to me. Amshel doesn't like her, and I want to make sure that he doesn't hurt my Dove. If Saya hurts her…" Diva's fangs lengthened and her blue eyes glowed in a cold fury. "I want her, bring her back to me."

"It shall be as my Queen commands!" Nathan exclaimed with a florid bow, smiling as Diva giggled as he phased out at triple speed. However, he didn't phase out so fast that he didn't see the grin on Diva's face as the headed back to the mansion as fast as she could with her children so she could get her Dove's room ready.

As he moved, Nathan's face turned deadly serious to put himself in the proper mindset, after seeing that look of joy on Diva's face the nomally theatrical chevalier knew that failure was not an option this time. He didn't care what Amshel thought about this turn of events, Diva would have her Dove if that was what Diva wanted. It would be yet another interesting twist in this play, one that not even he had predictied.

When Nathan got to the building where Saya and the Red Shield had hidden themselves, he quickly found out that now was not the best time to go waltzing in there. The reason: A very heated catfight was taking place between Saya and the normally sweet-tempered Dove.

"Dove, we've been through this before, Diva has to die. You've met her, she can't change. Do you really think that I want to kill my own sister? However, for what she did to Riku there can be no forgiveness!" Saya sounded enraged, and it was clearly taking a lot of effort to keep her voice down.

"Saya think about it, put yourself in her place. She was locked up her entire life, she never learned right and wrong! Her chevaliers have only compounded the problem. Two of them treat her like a lapdog so they give her anything she wants, and of the three that actually gave a damn about her, two of them abandoned her because they were in love with you!" Dove answered back, her voice tight with anger and pain.

"It was still her choice! If she wanted a child so badly, then why didn't she go after Hagi instead of Riku?" Saya asked, turning on the redhead with eyes that blazed in anger.

"Think about it. Hagi is too well gaurded, he has full command of his powers as a chevalier. Plus, Hagi knows how to defend himself. Even though he wouldn't have been a match for Diva, it would have taken time she didn't have when the attack on the Red Shield took place to subdue him. On the other hand Riku was a newborn chevalier, protected only by your brother and a much easier option."

Dove's almost clinical explanation only seemed the further upset Saya, even though a nodding Hagi seemed to be silently agreeing with the redhead. "That doesn't mean she had to kill him!"

"No, it doesn't Saya. You are right. I don't know why she did that." The redhead admitted softly.

Saya seemed to master her rage, but the ruby eyed queen still had a hard look in her eyes as she looked at Dove. "Why are you so against my killing her Dove?"

Dove swallowed and suddenly looked as though she'd been trapped. She made to reach for her crutches, but Hagi put one hand on her shoulder to stop her attempt to flee.

"Please answer the question Dove. We need to know." He said quietly.

The redhead bowed her head and remained silent for several minutes, her lips moving soundlessly as though in prayer for forgiveness before Dove finally answered the question. "Because when I asked Diva what she wanted to name her daughters, her exact words were: 'I'm going to name one of my babies after dear sister Saya' and that 'I just wish I could find as wonderful a name for her sister'."

Upon hearing this unexpected reply, Saya reeled back as though she had been struck by Dove's fists, her ruby eyes bleeding from soul wounds that would never heal completely. Hagi seemed just as dumbfounded, as his hand slid from Dove's shoulder, which allowed her to get to her feet unhindered.

Dove's eyes softened and she appeared to pity Saya. "I know that you don't want to hear this Saya, but Diva does love you very much, even if she doesn't know how to show it." She took a step forward, then stopped and took a deep breath. "You are very lucky to have a family that loves you Saya, I only hope you'll realise that before you end up doing something that you'll regret for the rest of your life." Before Saya could answer, Dove had slung her bookbag across one shoulder and was already marching away as briskly as her body would allow.

From the shadows, Nathan watched the 'show' that had been taking place in front of him, he couldn't help the smile that was twitching his lips. 'A perfect exit... Amshel's going to have a handful now that this little spitfire has been added to the group...' Keeping an eye on the redhead he was now tailing, Nathan still wondered just what Diva had seen in this frail human and a female at that. An emotional replacement for one of his fallen brothers perhaps?

Shaking his head, he decided that it was futile to try and follow the thoughts behind the motives of his Queen's chosen daughter. All that mattered was that Diva wanted Dove brought back to her unharmed. With a smile, Nathan simply got ahead of her and let her bump into him.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, are you all—" the small redhead began to say until she looked up and saw to whom it was that she had been speaking to.

"Hi there sweetpea, nice to bump into you again." Nathan answered with a smile that was meant to be charming as he put both hands on her small shoulders to steady her so she wouldn't try to get away from him. "It appears that Diva has taken a liking to you. She wants to see you again."

In shock, the redhead said the first thing that popped into her head, hoping to stall for time. "I would have to tell Julia where I'd be." Dove answered innocently.

Chuckling, Nathan just shook his head and tsked her. "Now now, the queen musn't be kept waiting. Amshel will be more than happy to contact Julia and let her know that you are 'safe' with Diva." With another charming grin, Nathan took her crutches away and tucked her under his arm while holding her crutches in his hands. "Stay still, we can't have you fall, now can we?" He asked cheerfully as he phased out before Dove could answer or start to protest.

"Yoo hoo! We're back!" A cheerful Nathan called out as he finally returned to his mansion about an hour later, gently setting her on her feet and letting her lean against him while the redhead composed herself, amused at the unhealthy greenish tinge that was currently coloring Dove's cheeks.

A white streak all but flew across the lawn to greet them before the sound of Nathan's voice could have a chance to die away. Much to his amusement, Diva had put on her prettiest white dress in honor of the occasion. Amshel followed his treasured queen at a slower pace, having also dressed up at Diva's insistence.

Noting the green cast to their guest's face as well as the glazed over look in her eyes, Amshel looked at Nathan in askance. "You went too fast." He stated calmly in a detached manner

Diva giggled behind her glove covered hand, all the while watching Dove intently as the trembling redhead's coloring slowly turned to normal. Ignoring her chevaliers completely, Diva flowed to Dove's side to wrap one arm around her toy to support her, her eyes glowed a vivid blue with an unknown emotion when Dove turned her head to look at her.

"Welcome home." Was all that the queen of blue roses purred.