Primal Crusade #4 - The Demon Attack

"So, what's the verdict?" Asia asked when Topher eventually returned.
Ender didn't say anything as Topher returned to the group, but stood up off the roller-bed and shrugged his shoulders back. Time to start warming up, just in case.

Mickey pushed forward from the work table he'd been leaning against and stepped forward, almost like a soldier awaiting commands.
Topher came back to them, a conflicted look on his face. He paused, cleared his throat and slipped the phone away. "Uh, alright. Here's the scoop. There are two out there: A Seeker and a weaker Harpy that seems to be bound to the other. The Harpy is sitting on the rooftop of the building across the way, the Seeker on the power lines on the street." He paused here, took a breath, and then continued a little reluctantly. "She said that air and darkness are the magical elements we're dealing with and that we'll need to combat them on a front of strength. She said, no matter what, stay in the light as much as possible and stay on solid ground. She's going to send her Terras, Taves, to help us. He should be waiting outside in about 8 minutes or so." He glanced at his watch, then pointedly at Ender. "What's the plan?"
Asia looked to Ender as well. "We got our intel, and reinforcements right? Now, any idea how to take out two Demons with just the four of us plus whatever Meredith is sending?" She had no idea what it was Meredith was sending, but hoped it was good. She didn't like the fact that there was not just one Demon, but two out there gunning for their asses. She stood up and started stretching out her muscles, testing her ribs and her capacity for breathing. Breathing was the key to effective fighting and if she couldn't take a deep breath, she'd have to make do with smaller ones. Here's where Dorian's training would come in handy. Provided she remembered enough of it.
Well, I figure if we send out one of us as bait, the good ol' scent of a Were will draw their attention, if we get one or both of you," Here he indicated to Topher and Asia, "to exit out another way, we can bring Mickey in from a blind spot, as they won't be able to pick up on him quite so easily - not until he's too close for it to really matter... Are you hearing this?" Ender asked, trailing off as the sound of a pair of engines cut louder above the standard nighttime traffic and pulled up outside the warehouse. One cut out, and then the other, lights dimming as the vehicles were turned off. Ender had a stunned look on his face. Was this reinforcements for the Demons’ side or theirs?
Topher looked up, arms unfolding immediately. There was a momentary grin on his face. "Seth..." He began by way of explanation, then his face fell and he looked at Ender, alarmed. "There's your decoy - Seth's walking right into something...and if the Demons don't make their move on him, they're going to think we're up to something and we've lost our chance. Plan? Quickly?"
Asia was just as distracted by the deep rumble of engines as well. "Seth!?" she had been surprised when he wasn't here earlier, but now here he came at pretty much the perfect time. But there were two distinct engine sounds. If it was indeed Seth, who was with him? She fought the urge to check and turned to Ender. "If that is Seth, who's with him? We need to warn them before the Demons jump them!"
Morgan had a heck of a time following Seth. That bike handled better than he initially gave it credit. Not to mention it cornered like it was on rails. His truck just didn't stack up to it, but somehow (likely Seth taking pity on him) he managed to follow it to Mickey's. He parked beside Seth and turned the tunes and the engine off. Pulling himself from the truck he frowned at Seth. "Thanks for showing me the way. You almost lost me a few times. That is one heck of a ride you have."

Seth grinned up at him, prying the goggles from his eyes, the helmet straps never done up in the first place. "Yeah, my Gunner Baby, she never lets me down." He paused, still smiling, "Who knows, I could outfit you with one if you could pry yourself from that lug..." He nodded over Morgan's shoulder and his face suddenly fell.

"Shit." There was a pair of eyes, beady and glowing, staring at him from the dark recesses of the building across the way. Already the stench was permeating his nostrils, that hackles-raising smell of a Demon. He scrambled up from the bike and put his back up against the wall as fast as he could. "Morgan, get your ass away from the truck!" He growled under his breath, eyes riveted on the murky shape.

If only it would come out into the light, he could get a better look at it, figure out what it was... He recognized this smell from somewhere...but couldn't quite pick it out. Please don't be a Dealer...please don't be a Dealer... He prayed silently to himself. Let it be something big n' stupid I can smash...
The Harpy shifted forwards, curious by this sudden movement. He'd been getting restless, bored and hungry just sitting here. But Vaius had said stay put until the Weres came out of the building.

Well, he cocked his shaggy head to one side; these weren't coming out of the building, per say... SNIFF...

But they were definitely Weres. Vaius had said to attack the Weres... He licked his black lips with an equally black tongue and hunched his wings. Yes, he was definitely hungry.

And then the little one turned, looked right at him. Angry, fiery little eyes, silly helmet on, silly goggles, like he would fly. He smiled; he couldn't fly, not like Rekjald could... He stretched his mouth open, nice and wide, tasting the air, and clawed his way to the edge of the rooftop, wings outstretched, ready to swoop. He was nearly laughing now, oh, it would be fun, it would be...delicious...

Meanwhile, Vaius perched, dainty and shimmering in the glow of the streetlamp, masked to Human eyes, watching the business entrance with keen eyes - the eye on her right hand aimed towards Rekjald at his post, her central eye aimed up at the sky to keep watch above, her left-hand eye aimed down the street.

Two vehicles - poorly matched, from the looks of things - swung up the street and drew to a stop in the parking lot. "What in the Hells..." She murmured, staring hard at the vehicles, picking out the forms of the Weres from the layers of machinery, sensing the engines stop before the sound died down. Had the ones inside somehow summoned help without her knowing it? Did one of them have Gaea's Blood that could do that? That would be a bad thing... But no, only two had come. And they seemed casual enough... Perhaps Rekjald had not been--

"Damn it!" She hissed, watching the Coyote hunch back towards the building. Rekjald, that imbecile! Oh, at times she hated Harpies...

She swiftly lifted herself off the telephone pole, her muscle bands flaring as she soared gracefully over to the roof of the warehouse and ran silently along its edge to get closer to the inevitable fight about to start. This was not how it was meant to be done.
It didn't take Seth's reaction to tell Morgan something bad was here. Not just here, but behind him as well. He could smell the Demon and immediately his heart sank. So much for a casual meet of Seth's friends and crew. Now some heavy stuff was going to go down. He was suddenly very happy he brought his little hammer. He pulled the sledge from the truck and swung around, backing up until he was side by side with Seth. His eyes quickly scanned around and it didn't take much to spot the pair of eyes staring back. His grip tightened on the sledge as he prepared himself to crush whatever that thing was.

"This is not what I had in mind, Seth..." he murmured to his sudden partner. He could see the thing ahead of them move and he knew it was coming. He didn't know what it was yet, but he knew it wasn't friendly. "No second date for you if we die here."
"I can't take a chance in dying, I might end up down where that's from!" Seth shot back, the mirth gone from his voice, replaced by a wire-sharp hardness. He didn’t have any of his weapons with him, which meant he had only one thing on him with which to do any damage...

But before that, he'd be taking it old school, and see if he came out from this in once piece. He dropped his leather gloves and let the claws extend from his fingertips, his muzzle elongating, his helmet and goggled popping off the back of his head as he shifted. He didn't bother for something subtle -- there wasn't anything around that mattered seeing, right now. He rose up into his Anthro form, standing a good 6 inches taller, but still wiry and long, muzzle full of sharp, gleaming teeth. He pulled his lips back in a snarl and let out a yip-yip of warning at this coward lurking in the shadows. He hunched down and started side stepping, flanking the thing if he could, instincts primed.
Morgan had realized the time for joking around was passed, but he hadn't been able to resist the little quip. It was out of his system now. He kept his eyes on the thing in the shadows. He heard, more than saw, Seth shift. He heard the popping of bones, the shifting of muscle, the sharp teeth pushed through the gums and he smelled the coyote take shape next to him. He was half tempted to follow Seth's lead and go Anthro as well, but the hefty hammer in his mitts was begging to be used and since his hands were more hoof-like in Anthro form, he had to compromise a little. His tendons popped and reset as thick fur pushed its way through his flesh, his muscles all through his arms growing denser, stronger. His fingers started to fuse together, but he stopped them before they hardened. His wide forehead grew wider and a pair of thick horns pushed forth. His face lengthened, but remained marginally human. His whole body grew in size and mass, giving him a slight hunch but great strength. He Channelled the Bison and raised the twenty pound sledge to the Demon. He grunted at it, taunting the abomination to come get some.
Rekjald saw them shift and felt his mouth salivate. Yummy, yummy Weres, a nice little appetizer, and then a full course... Well, there was enough, he could be generous... Vaius could have some when he was done with the main part of the carcasses...

Then he launched himself off the edge of the roof, feather and flesh wings snapping and cracking in that distinct Harpy sound as he swooped down, long talons outstretched to them. He was aiming for the big one first, it seemed to have something heaving in its clumsy hands. Rekjald didn't like the looks of it, best to just claw out the eyes first, and then the aim wouldn't be so good... Yessss....

He screeched, a ear-shattering sound, like a rodent being crushed and a pterodactyl mating all rolled into one. Mouth gaping, tongue lolling out, he slashed at the Bison's face, and flapped himself upwards, keeping airborne, keeping above them, rising into the night.


Vaius watched from behind them, sitting on the edge of the roof, watching Seth with one hand, Morgan with the other, her third eye on Rekjald, and main unfocussed, picking up on the peripheral and the motion that much better. The light was skewed here. Shadows cast from the street lamp clashing with the bulbs set up on the underside of the roof, near the door, inside the shuttered windows.

She cursed silently. Stupid Harpy. He was making too much noise, surely the ones they were supposed to be targeting would hear, there was only a wall between them after all. She thought through explanations. After all, the boss wasn't going to like this at all. A huge setback waiting to happen... Still, if she stayed in the shadows...let Rekjald take a beating from a bunch of Weres, maybe, just maybe the bird-brain would learn his banished lesson. To the Circles with him! She hunkered down to watch, all five eyes primed, muscle flares flexing and settling by turns...
Morgan was watching that thing come, and he knew it would come at him first. After all, he was bigger and armed which made him the best target to deal with first. He was used to being targeted first however. As the Harpy came for him, he ducked and weaved, using the haft of the sledge to defend the sharp talons lashing at his face. Not a one found flesh. As it started to lift from range, he lashed out with the heavy hammer, using the head as a ram instead of making a huge clumsy swing as most would expect. If it connected with anything, it was a glancing blow at best. He reset his defense doing his best to stay in the lighted areas and keep an eye on that thing.

"The damned thing had to fly, didn't it?" he cursed more to himself than to Seth. "I hate f&@#^ flyers!"
Asia had leapt from where she was sitting and ran towards the door in an attempt to warn Seth and whoever was with him, but by the sounds of things, she was too late. She stopped short of the door, a look of distress and concern on her face. Turning over her shoulder, she looked at Topher, Mickey and finally Ender. The set of her jaw told them all she wanted to get out there and fight, but she was looking for back-up. Then her lip curled with a slight smile.

"This is exactly the distraction we needed. Right?" She spoke to Ender. "How much longer until What’s-Her-Face's magical minion gets here? ‘Cuz if we can flank whatever is out there now..."
Topher glanced at his watch, then looked up. "Two minutes before the Dryad's here." he said, mouth tight. He gave a nervous glance at Mickey, then at Asia. He really wasn't wanting to put his latest bout of training into practice so soon, he still hadn't managed to really control the strength his Anthro form had, and he didn't want to accidentally hurt his own if things got tangled - and by the sound of it, the parking lot was going to get small pretty fast with five Weres, a human and two demons flinging themselves at each other. Still, Seth was out there, and with another, likely a friendly party by the gait of the motor's engines... He had to do what he could.

Topher stripped off his watch, quickly unlaced his boots, stripped his belt and took his blackberry out of his pocket. "Two minutes is enough. We can hold out 'til then."
Ender started prepping the moment Asia moved for the door. He took off his shoes and socks, his chains and watch, but left his earrings in, finally stripped off the tight T-shirt he was wearing and let the Channelled hands he'd already had out spread up his arms further, loosening his pants for his tail to sprout out over top and put his night eyes back on. With a roll of his shoulders he took a step towards the door. "New plan, we go out, try to keep it contained. Mickey, go out a back entrance with Asia, Asia, you keep low. You're our smallest, I need you to be our stealth. If you can catch either of the Demons by surprise, do it. When the Dryad shows, give the fight all you got, and lets try to end this as quickly as possible." He paused, letting his muzzle come out a little, the black band striping his eyes. "Don't so anything stupid." He added, then motioned for Topher to join him at the door.
Asia looked at Topher and Ender as they stripped off certain items and put them aside. It seemed reasonable to do so. Heck, she was going broke replacing her watch strap, shoes and a few other things she usually wore. With a shrug she kicked off her shoes and dropped her jacket to the chair. She pulled all of her jewellery that might inhibit her off and put it in the pockets of the coat, withdrawing her batons. Then she contorted her face and shrugged. "Well, since we're ditching things that might inhibit movement or get damaged..." She reached up her shirt and fiddled a bit, pulling her hands out and dropping her bra onto the chair too. She chuckled slightly if anyone looked at her oddly, but she knew she was small busted enough that it wasn't necessary anyways.

"So, Mickey and I go out the back when you two join the fray. Stay stealthy and kick as much ass as possible? Do I have that correct?" She looked at Mickey and nodded, stretching her sore ribs.
Topher turned back to Asia, a serious and earnest expression on his face. "If I may add one more stipulation...Don't die." He stripped off his t-shirt and shook out his hair, a little mussed from the undressing and tied the arms of his coveralls around his waist as he'd often seen Seth do in moments like this.

"I'm ready when you are, Ender."


Mickey had listened carefully, first to the motors, then to the plan, then to the shrieks coming from outside, then to the new plan. "You got it." was all he said. He slipped the licorice stick into a cigarette case in his pocket, and then turned to Asia. "Lil' Lady, if you'll follow me, I'll show you our stage entrance." He gave a loose salute to Ender. "See you in the fray, m'man. Fight well, everyone."
Ender didn't say anything as Topher added on his proviso. He'd hunted more demons than any one else here, and that meant he knew Topher's request was not one that could be promised. Still, no point in going into a fight with dour morale...

"Let's go, people. They need us out there." He returned Mickey's salute, gave a nod and a brotherly grin to Asia and motioned for Topher to stick with him. Then, with a deep breath and a flexing of his claws he kicked the door open, letting out a good ol' human roar. Sure, not as impressive as a lion or anything, but better than a pissed off Raccoon's chitter.
"I'll see what I can do about that, Topher. Both of you, take care of yourselves and let's kick some Demon ass!" She tried to make it sound like she wasn't scared. Like she was comfortable going in to this fight in her less than normal condition. But the truth of the matter was that she was scared, sore and knew this could possibly be the last fight she ever had. She had no idea what was out there waiting for them, or how strong they were. The fight with the Reeler had been bad enough, but now a fight with two more demons that same night? This was a problem.

"Okay Mickey, lead on." As they headed for their escape point, the short fur had already started to appear along her bare skin. Her body elongated in the torso as the ferret musculature took over. Her muzzle formed and she knew now that speech was going to be next to impossible, but the time for talk was over anyways. She clicked the short claws at her finger tips and then drew the batons. Using them in her Anthro form was still possible, since she retained much of her manual dexterity. She'd even trained with them in this form, learning what was and wasn't possible. With the boost to strength and speed associated with her Anthro form, combined with her Kali skills and batons, she could be quite lethal, injured already or not. After all, injured animals often fight harder and more ferociously.

She nodded to Mickey when she was ready.
Mickey could hear the sounds of Asia shifting behind him as he led her through the recesses of the warehouse, past a few cars in the process of being mended, through a store room of spare and ordered parts and tools, then into a side closet. There were a few buckets, grease cutter, WD-40, a mop, cleaners and detergents, a bad sink and a shitty, bare light bulb. He stepped in and punched a panel up in the ceiling.

He turned grinning, "Ready to be a little assault guy, climbing through the vents?" He put out his hands to her, to brace her arms and lift her up into the shaft. It was the first time he'd seen her shift, and was a little surprised by how her body had transformed. Ferret-girl, okay. "I'll boost you up, then you'll need to go forward about 12 feet, there's a side vent there, so just wait for me to pass you and I can lead the way out, alright?"
Asia nodded her mostly ferret-featured head at Mickey, indicating she understood. Now it made more sense when Ender pointed out that she was the smallest of the Weres here. She doubted Topher could wriggle through the ducts even though he was slender. Ender likely wouldn't have been able to either. But her Anthro form would have absolutely no problems. She saw Mickey get ready to boost her up and cocked her head to the side with something resembling a smile, then crouched and jumped up into the vent on her own. Her increased strength and agility in this form was more than enough to handle the leap. Once in the vent, she kept repeating Mickey's directions in her mind over and over again, trying to keep from being distracted. After what she guessed was the twelve feet, especially since the side vent was there, she waited for Mickey.

The Harpy in mid-air, Seth sprang up to meet him there. Wiry, lithe as a coyote was, Seth didn't seem to coil up for the leap; he just shot into motion and bodily collided with the Demon. Rekjald let out a screech as the Were came flying at him and, trying to pull up too late, became an entangled ball of limbs as the two veered off towards a wall, the Harpy's flight pattern disrupted.
From the main doors of the garage, the door burst open and an already half-shifted Bear and Raccoon burst out into the night. Ender's eyes reflected the streetlights, glowing like a hell-cat's. Both men had claws out and teeth bared as they caught a glimpse of the tangle of Harpy and Coyote. Ender swiveled his glance around to try and see where another assailant might be hiding. Topher charged forward, a hulking mass of muscle, fur and weighty paws. He swung out an arm and arced it skyward, claws extended, trying to rake at the flapping wings of the Harpy.
Morgan didn't even pause to contemplate the two Weres that suddenly emerged from the garage, furry and angry. When fighting a Demon, the manimal's were almost always on your side. Seth had sprung onto the Harpy, which meant Morgan couldn't risk swinging his hammer without possibly hitting Seth as well. So instead he choked his grip up on it, his two fused fingers and thumb gripping just below the weighty head of it. He chased after the Demon that Seth was entangled with and when the opportunity arose, punched out with the hammer head to whatever vital area opened up.

In the vents the Anthro Ferret form of Asia paused at the point Mickey had told her about. He had said to wait here for him to lead the rest of the way to the outside, but she could smell the outside air. It took some self control on her part, something she did not always have an abundance of, to wait for the garage owner to catch up. When he came within sight, she motioned for him to lead on. Her communication skills in this form lacking, she was relying on simple gestures to convey her intent.
Mickey kept up a good pace, being an ex-military man, but he was not nearly as fast or agile as the Ferret and he caught up to her grinning and shaking his head at himself. "Alright, let's go, lass." he indicated the way and taking the lead, readied his pocket screwdriver in one hand as he crawled forward. When he reached the outer cover, he swiftly began unscrewing the bolts that held it in place, and then flipped the vent-grate out and down on a set of new hinges he'd installed only a few months before. The view from the aperture was onto the back parking-lot, where a couple of vehicles were parked, and where a fence and low wall of concrete blocked off the area.

Seth had his long-canines buried in a section of flesh that at these close quarters he couldn't identify, other than to say it tasted terrible and dirty. He was growling low in his throat, his vision spinning and unable to focus as the world keened madly, the feeling of being on an amusement park ride mixed with the very real terror of fighting a Demon. Below, Topher managed to hack into one of the Harpy's wings and the beast went spinning madly through the air, one bleeding wing flapping erratically to try to keep steady, which really only pitched the Harpy towards where Morgan hulked ready in wait with a massive hammer in both fists. Meanwhile, Ender took to the wall, skittering up over the surface and crawling up to the lights, the wires, running at times on seemingly nothing as he followed the scent of another Demon, faint and slick like oil, but there, under the normal city smells.
As the erratic flight of the Harpy brought it towards him. Morgan focused his big, brown bison-like eyes and waited for an opening. He sidestepped at the last moment and drove the head of the hammer into what looked like it might be a hip of the Harpy. He threw the majority of his weight and strength into the blow and felt it connect. The sound that issued forth was sickening, though it was hard to hear over the low throaty growls emanating from Seth as he fought with every fiber of his being.