Shaun and I have gone ahead and written Tash's discovery by Darian, and the events from there until the rest of the White Hats arrive. I'm not sure whether the best way to go from here would be to try to organise a mega-multi-collab, or to try for a round-robin approach. Either way, here's the lead in.
*****
Wednesday, 25th July 2007 – 1:12am
At an otherwise deserted bus stop, two lovers were locked in an intimate embrace. The sounds and movements issuing from the pair indicated intense passion, and it looked for all the world like they were, if not in love, at least very much in lust. Looks, however, can be deceiving. After a few minutes the woman drew back, licked her lips, licked the wound on the boy’s neck, and settled his pale, drained body into the corner of the shelter.
Her skin flushed with the new warmth coursing through her, Tash stood with no more thought of the man she’d just killed than a Texan thinks of the cow that died for his steak. She gestured, and a pair of vampires who had been keeping watch while she fed stepped out of the shadows to flank her.
“Come, we have work to do.”
Nodding, they followed her back out into the night.
The trio had not made it too far from their last meal when their heightened senses picked up the sound of soft padding. Pausing, the group scanned the area; Tash knew that in LA a vampire could never be too careful about hunters, especially the White Hats.
“Look, it’s only a dog,” one of the lackeys said, catching sight of a large canine that had rounded the corner and was now sitting on his haunches just staring at them.
“That’s one hell of a dog,” the other added, her voice more cautious. “If we weren’t in the middle of the city, I would swear it was a wolf.”
Tash stared at the wolf. It stared back at her with deep purple eyes. Darian’s aura swirled about its head.
“That’s no wolf,” she said quietly. “We’re in trouble, especially if he’s brought his friends with him.” In response to the pair’s puzzled stares, she pointed her chin at the beast. “That’s Darian, the half-fae. One of the White Hats.”
Tash hawked and spat on the pavement. She’d been worried about a time like this; had known it was inevitable. Having spent the past two days sleeping at Youth Hostile and her nights prowling around the general vicinity on her recruiting drive, she had wondered how long it would take before one of the witches tracked her down. Secretly she had wished it would be a few more days yet. Still, she let no hint of her anxiety show.
Raising her voice, she addressed the wolf. “Hello Darian. Find any good fire hydrants today?”
Her two companions took a step back in surprise as the large beast stood upright on his back legs. A second later, the fur covering the wolf vanished and his snout retracted as his face returned to normal.
There was a silent, hurt look on the man’s eternally youthful face; deep down, he had not wanted to be the one to find her first. But unfortunately the wheel of fate had landed on him and now he had to do what was needed of him.
“You two either leave now, or end up a pile of dust,” he said icily to Tash’s two companions. “I’m here for her and that’s it.”
Tash gestured behind her back for her escort to keep their distance. They stepped away, but not too far. Tash smiled. “Ah, Darian. Always the gallant. I suppose Daye’s been telling you all sorts of terrible lies about me. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it might have something to do with that. I also heard you’ve been hanging out with my ‘brother’. Didn’t think you were a fan of his, but I guess things change, eh?” Darian replied, trying his best to remember this wasn’t his friend, this wasn’t really Tash.
“Well, you know after that business with Kronor and all, maybe I found something to connect to with him. As you say, things can change. Loki’s not the same evil bastard that tried to kill you two years ago.”
Tash looked hurt and betrayed. “Besides, since Daye tried to kill me I had to confide in someone. I know she’s turned all of you against me.” She changed the look to one of desperation and hope. “But you won’t hurt me, will you Darian? How many times have I saved your life?”
“Tash has saved my life. You, you’re just a demon.” Finally, the man took a determined step forward towards the trio. “I’ve already radioed the other White Hats. Within a few minutes all of them will be here. You’ve got nowhere to go. It ends here.”
A flicker of anger flared in Tash’s brown eyes, casting a faint yellow gleam in them for a moment. Then it was gone and she looked small, alone and forlorn. “But Darian, it is me. Remember our talks in the cave on G’rnatha? Remember how we faced down the Brotherhood together? Why would you listen to the lies of a crazy woman who would kill her own fiancée and blame her friend for it? Darian, you have to believe me.”
Tash put all her energy into that final command, using all the tricks she had learned during her time infected with Hyde. She pushed as hard as she dared against Darian’s mind, trying to force this reality upon him.
The fae winced as his head suddenly began to feel woozy. Why was he here again? To fight Tash – but why? Tash was his friend. Suddenly, things didn’t make as much sense as they had just a minute ago. Daye is the evil one? Yes, that made more sense. She did try and turn Cole evil and taught him all those dark magics. Wait, no; Tash was a vampire, wasn’t she?
Tash felt the moment when her attempt began to fail; time to switch to plan B. With a nod from their mistress, the two sidekicks jumped into action, taking the distracted faery by surprise. Powerful blows landed on his face and gut, causing Darian to keel over in pain. *Yep, definitely a vampire,* he thought, as the sudden pain dragged him out of the psychic attack.
Darian took a defensive stance, but it was no use; the two anticipated all his moves and worked quickly to move past his guard. It was not long before the two vampires were each holding onto one of the helpless man’s arms, keeping him restrained for their mistress to deal with.
Tash sized up her quarry. In her mind’s eye she saw what would happen next. She would advance on Darian slowly, watching the fear in his eyes as she licked her lips in anticipation of the meal to come. What did fae blood taste like? She would softly, almost lovingly, sweep the hair from his neck and bend to drink… Yeah, and then he would free himself and snap her neck in a second. No, the traditional methods would not work here.
With vampire swiftness she reached beneath her jacket, drew her gun and fired in one smooth motion, the bullet whizzing straight for Darian’s head.
It was only because of his superhuman reflexes that Darian manage to avoid the fatal shot. In the blink of an eye his body buzzed with electricity as he fried his two would-be captors with magical lightning and veered to the right. Although the bullet missed its target, the sick splatter of blood jetting from his left shoulder indicated that Tash did hit something.
With a cry of pain, Darian hit the ground. Putting pressure on the wound he could feel his warm blood flowing from where the bullet struck. *Bloody smart move,* he cursed.
With the fae down, Tash was tempted to move in and finish him off. But a glance at the matching piles of dust on the pavement gave her pause for thought. That and the knowledge that at any moment the cavalry would be arriving for Darian. Taking only the time to holster her gun, Tash turned and sprinted down an alleyway, making sure her path took her away from YH. Maybe it was time to rethink the ‘staying in LA’ strategy.
The fae gritted his teeth as he scrambled to get to his feet. They had several nights of failed attempts at finding Tash behind them and he was damned if he was going to let her escape now that he had finally found her. The hair on the back of his neck began to stand on end as he conjured another storm. Magically, his reserves had been somewhat depleted in incinerating the two vamps, but he still had enough juice left in him to have some effect.
“Not so fast, Tash!” he called out as a boom of thunder heralded the bolt that escaped his fingers.
Tash’s skin tingled and she smelled the sharp tang of ozone. She leapt and rolled, attempting to evade Darian’s shaft of lightning. Then it was upon her and for several moments she was transfixed, every nerve-end afire as the energy washed over her. She didn’t know whether it was the range or that he had used up much of his reserves already in frying her two guards, but whatever the cause, there wasn’t enough juice to do more than slow her down.
That was enough, however. As she found herself able to function again she could feel Darian’s presence close by. She tried to resume her course, but a powerful hand gripped her shoulder and spun her around. Still dealing with the after-effects of his magical attack, Tash could do little more than throw up a basic defence as she and Darian faced each other.
“So now what?” she asked bitterly. “You’re going to keep me here until Daye and Kate and the rest arrive and do what? Are they planning to kill me slowly or quickly, Darian? Is it going to give you satisfaction to murder one of your friends?”
“Shut up, vampire!” he spat as his right hand shot out clasping firmly on her neck. Tash’s yellow eyes bulged as Darian began to squeeze tightly, lifting her easily from the ground. “You murdered my friend and now I’m going to return the favour!”
The vampire moved quickly before the furious fae could pop her head straight off her shoulders. Her true demonic features burst forth and like a savage, cornered beast Tash dug her nails into the bullet wound in his shoulder, scraping and tearing at all the flesh she could get her hands on. Roaring like an enraged lion, in a mixture of anguish and fury Darian tossed Tash away as though she were little more than a rag doll.
Furious now, Tash glared up, ready to leap at Darian and tear him limb from limb. The snarl froze on her lips, though, when she saw what was behind him. Who was behind him. “Oh, shit.”
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Dusting Tash - round robin??
"G'day!" Reah stood not five paces short of Darian, arms crossed firmly beneath a face carved of stone. Emotionless eyes locked on the creature. She'd mourned for Tash already, and seeing this beast now in its true form was only a strong reminder of how long gone her old friend was.
In one swift motion, Reah had drawn her Ares Preditor and was aiming it steadily between the demon's eyes. "Back away from the fae. Now!" She paused, thoughtfully tilting her head. "And no offence, Tash, but you need to rethink the eye makeup. It's just not you."
Dusting Tash - round robin??
Tash barely glanced at the barrel of the enormous gun pointed at her. Behind Reah was Nikolai, the light catching off the edges of a double-bladed sword he wielded. Alessa and Ellis appeared around the corner just behind him, and Tash could clearly hear more footsteps approaching.
“Sure, no problem, Reah. I’ll back away.”
Tash edged back from Darian, forcing her face to resume its more human shape. The demon within her battled to rise to the surface but she kept it under wraps as she backed deeper into the alleyway. With an inhuman effort, she catapulted herself into the air, grabbing the edge of a windowsill to swing herself ever higher. Reah’s gunshot echoed off the walls, the bullet passing within a hair of her body, but Tash had one goal in mind – get the hell away from the White Hats. There was no way she could fight this many of them.
Tash pulled herself onto the roof of the building and rolled away from the edge until she bumped into something on the roof. Looking up she saw Oz staring down at her. Oz grabbed her and hurled her back over the edge of the building and down into the alleyway. She grabbed the edge of a fire escape and slammed hard into the steel bars. She had one foot on the rail when the angel reappeared and shoved her - hard - so that she lost her balance and fell a dozen feet to the pavement.
She screamed at Oz as he faded away during her descent, “BASTARD!”
Nikolai closed his eyes momentarily, feeling the nervousness of his companions. It was a moment they had been waiting for, but he knew that part of each of them had secretly hoped that Tash had already absconded from LA and disappeared. Now that they had found her, he wondered if anyone would actually go through with it.
“Please, don’t make this any more difficult than it already is,” he said as Tash bounded back to her feet with inhuman speed. His hands gripped the hilt in the middle of his sword.
Tash quirked an eyebrow at the weapon. “You’ve been watching the Star Wars marathons again, haven’t you?” Her eyes darted from one face to the other. Faces this body knew very well, faces associated with lots of memories, both good and bad. But none of them meant a damn thing to her anymore except danger.
“I don’t plan on making this difficult at all, Kolya,” she said. “You want to murder me; nothing could be simpler. My only problem is I’m not ready to go yet. How does L’Than feel about that? Consigning someone to oblivion against their will?”
“Don’t listen to a thing she says Nik,” Darian cut in, taking a step closer to the vampiress, all the while grabbing his wounded shoulder. Much blood had flowed out already, and even with his supernatural constitution he was beginning to feel very dizzy.
“You can try and use that silver tongue Tash,” the fae paused as jolts of electricity flashed in his purple eyes, “but it’s not going to work. Like I said before, you’re not leaving here alive.”
Nikolai shook his head. Somehow, Darian's reply didn't seem to be quite enough. Tash no doubt expected to play off the former halves of his selves. “Death comes to all things, Tasha, and you are already dead. Being turned into dust will be a relief for you.”
Alessa moved forward a couple of steps. The situation was eerily familiar, and she wasn’t going to try and talk with that thing. Tash had been smart enough not to vamp out yet, and if you just tried a little she could have been the old friend. But she wasn’t. And all of them knew it. She didn’t see the need to chat or explain anything.
From the corner of her eye she saw Ellis edging closer to the vampiress and she started to do the same. At least Tash seemed distracted… until you noticed her slowly backing away. Alessa smiled; that looked more like the old huntress. Her nails grew into claws and she flexed her fingers.
The walking corpse that had been Natasha Brookes glanced from side to side and each exit route she could see was guarded by wings and a halo. She realised that there was no way out and no way through.
Dusting Tash - round robin??
"Sorry, demon, but it's the end of the line." Reah somberly intoned, claws springing from their clenched fist by her side. Her Ares Preditor Smartlink locked on target with an ominous 'blip'. "Get the fuck out of our friends body."
____
Ok, YAY! I managed to input not only one, but TWO things :mrgreen: hurrah. They're Amanda originals, hehe. But yes, given the liklihood of being able to do this again, i'm perfectly happy with peoples adlibbing ability with her fighting. So if i continue to miss out again... at least i got to do something and am happy :)
This post makes me sad :cry:
Dusting Tash - round robin??
Wheee! I was thrilled to see the first bit - certainly didn't expect to see a second. :) I'm really glad Ally, Adam, Shaun, Dave and I managed to have a bit of a mini-collab last night, then, so you could fit in an extra bit.
Now I'm waiting to see if I can nab any combination of the others to do some more mini-collabing with different people (the 'footsteps around the corner') and get some more of this on the go. Of course, I'm working so my time options are limited. :(
Dusting Tash - round robin??
I don't know if I'll get to meet up with anyone (shame cos it would have been fun to face off with vamp tash) but I don't think I will since my back has started acting up again and i'm in alot of pain (too much to sit around at the comp for hours). Anyway, I wrote this little bit in case I can't get on for collabs, feel free to put it anywhere in the main doc.
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“They’re going to do it,” said Galen quietly as he observed the fight from the roof of one of the surrounding buildings. He held Kate gently in his arms, loosening that hold as she turned to watch Darian, Nikolai, Reah and the others closing in on the demon Tash, ready for the kill.
Numb tears froze in Kate’s eyes. It was one thing to track her down; it was something else to watch the friend that she knew and loved be turned to nothing more than dust and ashes. Tash who had been her first real companion in the city, who had helped rescue her from Serapis and nursed her broken heart after Emma’s death.
Kate squeezed Galen’s strong hand tightly as they continued to watch the scene with as much dispassion as they could muster. It had been a last minute decision to come here, the place where they had located Tash. Although Kate knew that nothing remained of the brave and valiant woman that she had loved, she’d had to see for herself, to know that things were entirely hopeless – even if she couldn’t bring herself to be a part of the hunt.
“You were unhappy for so long…” Kate whispered to T ash softly, her voice almost lost in the folds of Galen’s overcoat where she rested her head. “Maybe now you can finally rest in peace…”
“Come on, let’s go,” said Galen, holding his wife even closer as he directed her away from the edge of the building. “I don’t want to see anymore.”
Dusting Tash - round robin??
If you're going to try for a little mini collab thing and happen to organise it sometime after 6:30pm (London time) thurs to sat, I might be able to put aside some money to jump on for a couple of hours :wink: Although, Saturday might have to be after 7 even.... I can't remember when i'm working then :? whoops.
But yes! I'll tryyyyy-try-try-try tryyyyyyyyy to get on if i can. Unfortunately I cannot garauntee anything :( Would love to though
Dusting Tash - round robin??
Drawing herself up tall, Tash stood steadfastly in the alleyway, determination on her features as she faced the friends of her host. If not for that thrice-damned angel, she might already be well away. Still, she had known that this confrontation was likely and had made contingency plans.
The moment stretched out in silence. Watching the faces that ringed her, seeing the hesitation in some eyes, Tash counted her blessings that none of the witches had appeared. There was no sign of Kate or Daye, or - worst possibility of all - Marcus. Maybe she could just about pull this off after all.
"My old friends," she began, edging away from the group as she spoke, "I think it's time you met some of my new friends." Lifting her chin, Tash loosed a piercing whistle, then dove to one side even as Reah fired once more, sending up a spray of bitumen fragments from the road where Tash had been standing.
Then those footsteps they'd been hearing resolved into the figures of half a dozen of the new Black Veins, rounding the corner behind the White Hats. More vampires appeared from the alleyway behind Tash, and she grinned broadly. "Say hi, everyone."
Dusting Tash - round robin??
Ack! I SOOO expected this to be finished by the time I got home! Anyway, since it isn't I think I might rewrite my section so I can get some ass kicking in :D
Dusting Tash - round robin??
Okay, ignore the first thing I wrote! :D I got an idea and rattled this off relatively quickly. I've adlibbed for a few characters (particularly Tash) since I didn't want to have to wait possibly days to get together for a collab so what ever you want to change Heather, just go ahead. Also I included Marcus and Daye in here too, I don't know if either is going to be at the fight so it might need editing in that respect too.
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"Hi yourself," said Kate suddenly as she, Daye and Marcus emerged from the darkness of the night, the faint haze of an invisibility spell dropping from them like a discarded cloak. The three mages fairly glowed with an aura of power, so strong that several of the weaker vampires had to shield their eyes.
"Well, well, look who decided to join the party," muttered Tash, her face crinkling slightly with a mixture of surprise and disgust at the appearance of the necromancer and the two witches.
"Just a little contingency of our own," said Kate as she took a step forward from her companions, "you forget how well we know you. Natasha Brookes would never attempt to face us without back-up, just like she would want us to hunt her down if she was ever turned."
Kate took another step forward, her dark blue eyes locked with Tash’s cold unfeeling ones. She searched her face, hoping that she would be able to see something that still remained of the beloved friend she had once known. But there was nothing except the bloodthirsty, cruelty of evil.
“What’s wrong Tash?” asked Kate blankly, her voice devoid of all emotion except the hate she felt for the creature that had killed her dear friend and turned her into this... thing. "Not pleased to see us?"
Tash paused for a moment, shifting her weight ever so slightly as she sized up the three mages. "Oh I'm pleased to see you alright," she turned her dark eyes on Daye, gazing at the semi-healed scar tissue on her throat.
"We have some unfinished business after all and Daye here gave me a real taste for Wicca blood. I have to admit, Kate," Tash added with a purr, "I've been dreaming about how it'll feel when I sink my fangs into that tender flesh of yours."
Kate’s fingers twitched slightly by her side, crackles of blue electricity darting between her fingertips. "Then maybe you'll finally have a chance to find out."
With a sudden swiftness, Kate leapt into the air. Her body twisted and turned momentarily, as though folding in on itself before breaking up into dust and whipping through the night skies like a swarm of angry hornets.
Tash's eyes followed the swarm warily, the muscles in her lithe body flexing diminutively as she readied herself for the wicca’s oncoming attack. Feeling a light breeze upon her skin, Tash whirled around just in time to see Kate reshape and take form and the flash of metal as a katana soared through the air.
“Shit.” With an angry snarl, Tash ducked out of the path of the long, thin blade intent on severing her head. Instead, the sword sliced into the meaty flesh of her shoulder, sending a shower of blood fanning outwards.
Tash clutched her arm, glaring at Kate with yellowed eyes as her smooth features contorted into those of the vampire. The witch hesitated, raising the edge of her katana with uncertainty.
“You’re gonna regret that,” sneered Tash viciously, baring the sharp points of her fangs. "Kill them!" she roared to her minions. "Kill them all!!"
Dusting Tash - round robin??
A whispered curse fell from Darian’s lips as the army of bloodsuckers began advancing on the White Hats. Normally, being this badly outnumbered wouldn’t have worried him, but tonight was not a normal night. Spirits were all ready extremely low within his friends, and no one seemed prepared to deal with a fight of this magnitude; himself least of all thanks to the bullet wound in his shoulder.
And then, like a starter pistol at some sporting event, Reah’s Ares Predators shot out into the night announcing the start of the big rumble.
Like sharks smelling blood, four of the vampires advanced on Darian, there eyes bulging with anticipation as they eyed the rich crimson blood dripping generously from his shoulder.
“I’m afraid the kitchen is closed,” the fae spat as he let loose a bolt of lightening. The charge lacked any real power however, and the vampire who it stuck merely seemed to shake it off.
“Wow is that all you got? Pretty pathetic if you asked me.” With that, the four leapt into action.
Darian would have broken a major sweat in perfect condition, but now, after sustaining that injury, breaking a sweat would have been much preferable to the beating he was receiving. The new Black Veins worked well together each doing his own part to block and counter Darian’s moves as the others continued the assault.
Between blows, Darian spared a glance out to his friends hoping someone was free to help him, but his eyes were only met with disappointment. All the White Hats were engrossed in their own battles; there would be no help on the way.
Determined to get through this, Darian roared as he pushed himself on fighting with all that was left. He almost seemed hopeful when he managed to knock down two of the vamps until suddenly all optimism vanished from his being. The pain in his shoulder was nothing compared to that now coming from his torso. He had barely time to register the cold pointy metal slide into his back before the blade pushed through the soft skin of his stomach protruding ever so slightly out. His eyes widened with terrifying realization as a gurgle of blood fell from his mouth.
All remaining strength drained from his body as Darian fell to his knees, the world around wobbling in and out of darkness.
“Looks like the buffets back in business boys,” one of the vamps cheered as his grabbed Darian’s arms and hoisted him back to his feet.
The fae’s body shuddered slightly as another retracted the sword (non to gently) that had impaled him.
“Magically delicious,” he laughed, licking the blood from the blade.
The vamp holding him slid one of his hands from Darian’s arm up to his face so he could better angle the dying man’s head. “You know, Natasha told us about you. How you have all this power, but you’re just too weak to use it properly.”
A wad of blood splashed against the vamp’s cheek. It was the fae’s last move of defiance. He was so tired of people calling him weak and useless. Tired of people seeing his compassion and good nature as a fault rather than a virtue. Rage and hatred bubbled deep within him. If he just had the chance, he would make them all see that he was capable of many other things than just compassion and kindness.
“Does the truth hurt little man?” the leach taunted as he brought his lips close to Darian’s neck, only to linger a moment enjoying the anticipation. “We heard all about how you managed to let what was it, 2, 3 of your friends die?” he purred in Darian’s ear, relishing every minute of this encounter. “You really are pathetic.”
All the pain and sadness of recent events had started him down a path, most recently with Tash’s death, and this was finally the straw that broke the camels back. He just couldn’t take it anymore!
Tilting the fae’s head sideways, the vampire eagerly moved closer until surprisingly, his prey began to giggle.
“What’s wrong with him?” another asked, moving closer to inspect as the man’s cackling grew louder.
“What the fuck is your problem Happy Meal?” the one holding him hissed as he turned Darian’s head once again so he could look his prey square in the eyes. The vampire let out a tiny gasp of shock. The man’s face was twisted into some sinister, unnatural grin and the vampire was sure that somehow his features suddenly seemed sharper. Before he could react, his three surrounding companions were tossed into the air, as if thrown by some invisible force.
“Whatsss the matter little vampire, no longer have an appetite,” the man giggled eerily. The vampire tried to retract, but it was now Darian who was holding him close.
“How strange it most feel,” the fae whispered, drawing his face close to the vampire’s ear, “to be on the other end of this little encounter.”
“What the…fu…”
“Haassnnaaaaiii”
As the word fell from the fae’s lips, a thin, wispy blue smoke accompanied it. From Darian’s mouth into the vampire’s ear it traveled slowly, until it all had disappeared into the blood sucker. The vampire’s body began to shake and shiver, as his pale white skin turned a sickly blue. Icicles began to form at the tip of his nose and frost accumulated in his hair and eyebrows. Within a moment he was nothing more than a glorified ice statue.
“Shit, look what happened!” another of the three vampires called out, as they recovered and began advancing on Darian once more.
Turning his sights on them, the faery laughed as he wiggled his fingers at his wounds. The hole in his stomach sealed up, and the bullet in his shoulder slowly floated outwards before it too healed instantly.
“RRRrrrrrr!” the one with the sword screamed as it foolishly charged forwards.
Darian smiled wickedly as he held the bullet in the palm of his hand and then blew on it. The metal exploded into a cloud of black locust which covered the vampire. Within seconds the insects disappeared and all that was left was a few grains of dust in the wind and the clanking of the sword tumbling to the ground.
“Silllly little vampiressss. You walk this plane asss if you were godsss, when really you falssse immortalsss are barely above humansss.”
To the vampires’ horror, a sword appeared in the man’s hands as he stalked forwards, its ebony blade glistening in the pale moonlight.
“Don’t cower little night-stalkerssss, it wont take too long,” Darian cackled softly.
Dusting Tash - round robin??
Though caught up in the midst of battle, Kate’s eye couldn’t help but be caught by the events unfolding not far from where she stood.
“Incendiaries!” she shouted angrily, directing the palm of her hand towards the vampire whom she had been fighting. A rippling line of heat sliced through the air before engulfing her opponent in searing fire.
Paying little attention to the vampire’s unholy screams as his charred flesh curled and dropped from his bones like confetti, Kate fought and pushed her way through the crowds to where Darian was laughing maniacally while slashing through several vamps with a long blackened blade.
“Darian!” she shouted in a combination of shock and alarm as she reached his side, she couldn’t tell what was going on but the Fae seemed to be surrounded with dark sinister magicks.
*Maldición, maldición, maldición* Alessa muttered as she danced around the alley. Again, as when hunting with Kyle, she elated in her new power. If the circumstances were other, she’d be enjoying herself immensely. Being in touch with her demon side gave her a huge kick , she thought, as she jumped and clawed her way into a vampire’s chest, gripping its heart and feeling it turn to dust in her hand. She hadn’t noticed before how tender vampire’s flesh was, her nails could get into it like a hot knife on butter, or maybe she was stronger - who cared? It was making her job easier.
Her eyes watering as always, she advanced through the dust and watched around. Her friends were all fighting around her, and her eyes rested for a second on Ellis’ form, artfully handling a long sword. She should stop worrying about him, only human or not, he could hold his ground. Then her sight was attracted by lightning.
“Guess who else got a kick…” she whispered, when she saw where all the lightning was coming from.
Arriving late to the party, Kyle threw himself into the combat, hauling a vampire facing the wrong way around. He brought his knee up into the vampire's stomach, then upper-cut the creature of the night. When the vampire came up in pain Kyle introduced him to his fist. The next thing it knew was Kyle's stake.
New bodies were suddenly running past him, slamming into the Black Veins left and right. Big bodies. Big purple bodies.
Kyle had arrived late, but he arrived in style.
"You were right, this will be fun!" Zax roared, high-fiving Kyle has he dashed past, yanking a vampire's head off his shoulders in his massive, powerful arms. And there were others like him. His brother Grons and his cousin Lars and nearly a dozen Norsh demons. Unprepared for this sudden, brutal attack - which was something akin to a purple bulldozer slamming into a house - the vampires simply crumbled. Fully half of them had been torn apart in a matter of seconds.
Kyle watched the devastation with a grin. I knew bringing Zax along would be a good idea. "Hey, save some for me!" He yelled, diving in the Norsh demon's large wake.
As lightening burst force from the tip of his blade, frying another vamp, Darian laughed even louder, his voice ghostly and unworldly. “Darian!”
The faery froze as Kate’s voice grew closer. As quickly as it came over him, the rage departed, creeping back into his soul as if afraid of the woman drawing nearer. The black blade faded out of existence and the smile he wore lingered no longer.
“Kate?” Darian said dizzily, not quite sure of what was going on?
“Darian,” said Kate again as she reached the fae, grabbing hold of him under the arm as he staggered around uneasily. He looked disorientated, almost bewildered as though he had no recollection of what had just happened.
*Could it have been Evexus?* she wondered vaguely, Kate had never been in the presence of the evil fae that had once taken control of Darian’s body but she’d heard all about it at the White Hat meeting. However now was definitely not the time to sit and ponder the situation, *there’ll be a time for that later.*
“Are you okay?” she asked firmly, accepting Darian’s reluctant nod as an affirmation. Kate’s eyes surveyed the battle that was taking place within the alley, White Hats fighting vampires and in the midst of everything stood Tash.
“This is getting out of hand,” she stated anxiously, “we need to get to Tash and fast, as soon as we’ve… dealt, with her this little army of hers will fold like laundry.”
Darian raised a speculative eyebrow, as they launched themselves back into the fray. “Laundry?” he retorted incredulously, “Kate, promise me if we survive this we’ll have a little chat about your social life, I think I need to get you out more.”
Dusting Tash - round robin??
Ok, so we've added alot. Now we are waiting for Heather on this one. We thought maybe instead of us waiting and all dileberating on who will kill Tash, you could just write it. Pick one of the White Hats and write for them. Like that we will all be surprised as to which one kills her. Also it will finally put and end to this, and hopefully start of Season 5!!! (which is long over due IMHO)
Dusting Tash - round robin??
Well, this is part of a mini collab with Matt. He's going to help her, so dont add to that. I just posted it so you knew what Alessa, and probably Kyle or Zax, were doing.
***
“What the hell?” Ellis exclaimed when he bumped onto a big purple wall. *Norshs!* his eyes grew in fear until he noticed they were fighting the vampires too. *Cool,* he thought and turned to the matter at hand again, but not before throwing Alessa a glance. She was still in her human form, but darker - a sheen of perspiration glowed on her black skin and her hands looked strange, with long curving claws growing from her fingers. He smiled, demonesses, he surely had a soft spot for them.
Alessa saw Ellis watching her and smiled too, then she turned and looked up to where Tash was still standing. The vampiress was watching the scene with a feral frown on her face, she surely hadn’t counted the purple brigade in her schemes. *Good Kyle… and Zax.* Staring fiercely up at her former friend, Alessa saluted her. She saw Tash hiss in anger. Jumping lithely, she grabbed the lower portion of the building’s escape stairs and started to climb with strong, swift leaps.
“Are you going somewhere, darling?” Alessa cursed as a big vampire slammed his fist on her face, making her lose her balance. She had been too intent on getting to the roof and not paid attention… The strength of the blow, alongside with the vampire’s body pushing hers made her lose her grip too.
She hit the ground hard, a high fall, breathless, cushioning the vampire over her. Before she could react several other vampires added their weight to their companion, pushing her down. She cried when something, probably a blade, went through her shoulder. Teeth too, searching for her neck. Frantically, she morphed, but she couldn’t unseat the vampires, her head was viciously pushed against the ground, and her mouth filled with dust mingled with her own blood. The blade went through her again, this time her arm, and she cried again. And again.
Dusting Tash - round robin??
Okay, I finally got around to reading this lot tonight. I've been flat out and have hardly had time to scratch over the past couple of days. I can probably work with this to finish it off, taking Shaun's suggestion to just write Tash's demise myself. :wink:
Though I must say, you guys made it tough with the fight. :P Tash is going to have to have some serious words with her vampires for completely forgetting the WH-fighting tactics she's been teaching them.
Dusting Tash - round robin??
A ferocious roar slammed into Alessa's eardrums, blotting out her cries of pain. A vampire was bodily hauled off her and thrown aside. An instant later, vampire dust washed over her. Another vampire was picked up and chucked aside, and again it too was soon dust.
Zax roared again as he yanked another vampire off the ground and hurled them away. Moving swiftly around the vampire's preying over Alessa's fallen form like moths to a flame, Kyle was grabbing the vampire's Zax was throwing. In demon mode he was catching and burning them. It was like a twisted game of catch, except - for the both of them - a hell of a lot more enjoyable.
Zax's roar - which anybody who spoke Norsh would know to be 'catch!' - signalled another approaching vampire. Kyle missed it this time and it hit the floor, probably breaking its neck on impact by the looks of it. The Kaoshian demon immidiately leapt on it as it tried to rise and held on tightly, despite the vampire's pained shrieking as it slowly caught alight and burned. In a few seconds, there was nothing left. He turned to see Alessa had been cleared of the bloodsuckers but was bleeding heavily.
"Zax, purple wall!" Kyle yelled. The big Norsh demon turned towards the remaining vampire's, planted his feet on the ground and flexed his muscles, leaving no question that anyone trying to get to Alessa would have to go through him, and that nobody would get through him.
The Kaoshian demon fell to the floor next to Alessa and looked her over in a rare moment of honest concern. He could see at least three bloody wounds across her body. "Alessa, you ok? You hear me?"
Dusting Tash - round robin??
“Don’t shout, or I’ll think you care…” Alessa managed to say, spitting blood and dust. “Vampiros de mierda!”
She felt numb, and her eyes wouldn’t focus. She brought her paw to her shoulder, and hissed in pain. Her fur felt sticky so she quickly morphed back to human, it wasn’t so messy that way. She looked up at the Kaoshian and tried to smile, despite the pain. "I'm fine, I'll be okay," she said, but Kyle didn’t look too convinced. She tried to raise herself but nausea overcame her, making her slump to the ground again.
“Wow! Easy now,” Kyle said. “You’ve lost a lot of blood.” He added, looking at the wide-open gash at her neck, where she must have been bitten. If she were human she’d be dead by now, he thought.
Kyle looked around, the battle continued and his hands prickled in excitement, but that could wait. He hauled her against a wall, a safer spot, and helped her into a sitting position. Alessa fought a wave of dizziness back and rested her head on the wall; she was breathing shallowly and could feel blood flowing freely from her wounds.
“Yeah, I guess the party’s over for me.” She managed a weak smile, catching his worried eyes. She smiled again, knowing she had just caught a glimpse of the real Kyle beneath his hard façade.
“Hey! A little help over here!” Kyle yelled and saw Ellis hear his cry. “And a cigarette!” He quickly added.
Alessa chuckled. “I’ll be ok. Go fight. And gracias.”
With a wink, the Kaoshian rose, but didn’t leave till Ellis crouched next to Alessa.
Dusting Tash - round robin??
High above the carnage, a lone figure sat, his legs dangling casually from the edge of the shadowy roof top. It had occurred to him to perhaps join in, but when it came down to it, he was perfectly content to be a spectator. The witches had arrived, and Darian seemed to be on some sort of steroids so even with his presence he doubted Tash would live to see the daylight….figuratively speaking of course.
Instead, he sat, adding his commentary to the battle.
“Ohhh ladies and gentlemen, we thought the game was looking somewhat even, but the purple Barney demons seemed to have made it alittle one sided. Ouuuu things are really beginning to heat up in the left corner,” he added as Kate conjured another wave of fire far below.
The man continued his theatrical monologue seemingly unaware of the vampire who had found its way up to the rooftop.
“I’m afraid this is the VIP booth, and I don’t see your ticket anywhere..” the man said out of no where, catching the vampire completely off guard. Turning around, he moved his attention from the fight to the annoying disturbance who was trying to creep up behind him.
“You’re funny human,” the vampire hissed, not realizing what he was getting himself into. “I saw you spying on us from up here. Thought you could avoid fighting with your friends? Don’t blame you, I wouldn’t want to fight the Black Veins either.”
“Ohhh nooo a vampire has found me, whatever shall I do?! I’m so helpless and at your mercy,” he said, not even paying attention to the vampire anymore as he occupied himself with cart wheeling and pirouetting along the edge of the building. “Now shoouuu, I’m missing the best part.”
“WHAT?!” the vampire roared as it charged forwards; never would he let a human insult him so.
Like a flash of lighting, the man bounced from a handstand, smashing his feet into the vampires face.
“Didn’t you know, it’s very rude to talk during the movie!” he lectured as he pummeled the creature repeatedly before backing off for a moment.
As the vampire struggled to regain his composure, the man retracted a small nail file from his pocket and began manicuring his already perfect nails.
The vampire began backing away slowly, finally understanding that his enemy was no mere human. “You’re crazy…”
With a flick of his wrist, the nail file flew straight into the vampire’s heart. POOF.
Loki smiled as he turned back to his seat as if nothing had happened. “And to think, he almost made me miss the climax of the whole show….the nerve of some people.”
Dusting Tash - round robin??
Okay, Dave and I sat down today and finished off this beastie. I'm repasting the whole thing here, because I have spliced some of the bits here and there to break up some of the larger chunks.
I have removed Lou's references to Daye and Marcus being there, since nobody wrote anything for them and it was getting big and complicated enough without me trying to write for an extra two characters as well. So they are either off watching from a distance, or didn't get Darian's inital call, or something else came up that prevented them from being there, or whatever.
I'm pasting this in here before putting it on the game board purely so that if anyone objects to anything I've had their character say or do they can say something before it goes public. I'm not soliciting any more additions to this - it's huge enough already, thanks. :)
If anyone has any changes they would like made, just make a post to that effect and I'll replace the appropriate bits in my master copy.
Post to follow.
Dusting Tash - round robin??
Wednesday, 25th July 2007 – 1:25am
“G’day!” Reah stood not five paces short of Darian, arms crossed firmly beneath a face carved of stone. Emotionless eyes locked on the creature. She’d mourned for Tash already, and seeing this beast now in its true form was only a strong reminder of how long gone her old friend was.
In one swift motion, Reah had drawn her Ares Predator and was aiming it steadily between the demon’s eyes. “Back away from the fae. Now!” She paused, thoughtfully tilting her head. “And no offence, Tash, but you need to rethink the eye makeup. It’s just not you.”
Tash barely glanced at the barrel of the enormous gun pointed at her. Behind Reah was Nikolai, the light catching off the edges of a double-bladed sword he wielded. Alessa and Ellis appeared around the corner just behind him, and Tash could clearly hear more footsteps approaching.
“Sure, no problem, Reah. I’ll back away.”
Tash edged back from Darian, forcing her face to resume its more human shape. The demon within her battled to rise to the surface but she kept it under wraps as she backed deeper into the alleyway. With an inhuman effort, she catapulted herself into the air, grabbing the edge of a windowsill to swing herself ever higher. Reah’s gunshot echoed off the walls, the bullet passing within a hair of her body, but Tash had one goal in mind – get the hell away from the White Hats. There was no way she could fight this many of them.
Tash pulled herself onto the roof of the building and rolled away from the edge until she bumped into something on the roof. Looking up she saw Oz staring down at her. Oz grabbed her and hurled her back over the edge of the building and down into the alleyway. She grabbed the edge of a fire escape and slammed hard into the steel bars. She had one foot on the rail when the angel reappeared and shoved her - hard - so that she lost her balance and fell a dozen feet to the pavement.
She screamed at Oz as he faded away during her descent, “BASTARD!”
Nikolai closed his eyes momentarily, feeling the nervousness of his companions. It was a moment they had been waiting for, but he knew that part of each of them had secretly hoped that Tash had already absconded from LA and disappeared. Now that they had found her, he wondered if anyone would actually go through with it.
“Please, don’t make this any more difficult than it already is,” he said as Tash bounded back to her feet with inhuman speed. His hands gripped the hilt in the middle of his sword.
Tash quirked an eyebrow at the weapon. “You’ve been watching the Star Wars marathons again, haven’t you?” Her eyes darted from one face to the other. Faces this body knew very well, faces associated with lots of memories, both good and bad. But none of them meant a damn thing to her anymore except danger.
“I don’t plan on making this difficult at all, Kolya,” she said. “You want to murder me; nothing could be simpler. My only problem is I’m not ready to go yet. How does L’Than feel about that? Consigning someone to oblivion against their will?”
“Don’t listen to a thing she says Nik,” Darian cut in, taking a step closer to the vampiress, all the while grabbing his wounded shoulder. Much blood had flowed out already, and even with his supernatural constitution he was beginning to feel very dizzy.
“You can try and use that silver tongue Tash,” the fae paused as jolts of electricity flashed in his purple eyes, “but it’s not going to work. Like I said before, you’re not leaving here alive.”
Nikolai shook his head. Somehow, Darian's reply didn't seem to be quite enough. Tash no doubt expected to play off the former halves of his selves. “Death comes to all things, Tasha, and you are already dead. Being turned into dust will be a relief for you.”
Alessa moved forward a couple of steps. The situation was eerily familiar, and she wasn’t going to try and talk with that thing. Tash had been smart enough not to vamp out, and if you just tried a little she could have been the old friend. But she wasn’t. And all of them knew it. She didn’t see the need to chat or explain anything.
From the corner of her eye she saw Ellis edging closer to the vampiress and she started to do the same. At least Tash seemed distracted… until you noticed her slowly backing away. Alessa smiled; that looked more like the old huntress. Her nails grew into claws and she flexed her fingers.
From the rooftop Oz looked down invisibly. “Looks like it won’t be long, now,” he said to his equally invisible companion who lurked in the shadows.
The companion said, “Don't bet on it. She won't go down easily nor cleanly. This is just the opening moves of the game.”
The walking corpse that had been Natasha Brookes glanced from side to side and each exit route she could see was guarded by wings and a halo. She realised that there was no way out and no way through.
“Sorry, demon, but it’s the end of the line,” Reah sombrely intoned, claws springing from the clenched fist by her side. Her Ares Predator Smartlink locked on target with an ominous ‘blip’. “Get the fuck out of our friend’s body.”
Drawing herself up tall, Tash stood steadfastly in the alleyway, determination on her features as she faced the friends of her host. If not for that thrice-damned angel, she might already be well away. Still, she had known that this confrontation was likely and had made contingency plans.
The moment stretched out in silence. Watching the faces that ringed her, seeing the hesitation in some eyes, Tash counted her blessings that none of the witches had appeared. There was no sign of Kate or Daye, or – worst possibility of all – Marcus. Maybe she could just about pull this off after all.
“My old friends,” she began, edging away from the group as she spoke, “I think it’s time you met some of my new friends.” Lifting her chin, Tash loosed a piercing whistle, then dove to one side even as Reah fired once more, sending up a spray of bitumen fragments from the road where Tash had been standing.
Then those footsteps they’d been hearing resolved into the figures of half a dozen of the new Black Veins, rounding the corner behind the White Hats. More vampires appeared from the alleyway behind Tash, and she grinned broadly. “Say hi, everyone.”
The heads of the White Hats turned to face the glowing yellow eyes of the reinforcements under prominent brows. Toothy smiles with bright-red tongues licking pale lips filled a silent moment as the attackers became defenders.
“Hi yourself,” said Kate suddenly as she emerged from the darkness of the night, the faint haze of an invisibility spell dropping from her like a discarded cloak. The mage fairly glowed with an aura of power, so strong that several of the weaker vampires had to shield their eyes.
The invisible observers on the roof had an overview of the battle that included seeing forces both in and arriving at the melee. “Good ol’ Kate, I knew she’d pick a suitably dramatic entrance,” said the shadowy observer with a grin.
“I notice she came alone. Where are Marcus and Daye?” asked Oz.
“Marcus and Daye have their own problems, but Kate has always had time for Tash,” said the observer, “Even when it wasn’t convenient. She will have to care for her other lost lambs after this, I suppose.”
“Well, well, look who decided to join the party,” muttered Tash, her face crinkling slightly with a mixture of surprise and disgust at the appearance of the witch.
“Just a little contingency of our own,” said Kate as she took a step forward. “You forget how well we know you. Natasha Brookes would never attempt to face us without backup, just like she would want us to hunt her down if she was ever turned.”
Kate took another step forward, her dark blue eyes locked with Tash’s cold unfeeling ones. She searched her face, hoping that she would be able to see something that still remained of the beloved friend she had once known. But there was nothing except the bloodthirsty cruelty of evil.
“What’s wrong Tash?” asked Kate blankly, her voice devoid of all emotion except the hate she felt for the creature that had killed her dear friend and turned her into this... thing. “Not pleased to see us?”
Tash paused for a moment, shifting her weight ever so slightly as she sized up the mage. “Oh I’m pleased to see you all right. We have some unfinished business after all, and Daye gave me a real taste for Wicca blood. I have to admit, Kate,” Tash added with a purr, “I’ve been dreaming about how it’ll feel when I sink my fangs into that tender flesh of yours.”
Kate’s fingers twitched slightly by her side, crackles of blue electricity darting between her fingertips. “Then maybe you’ll finally have a chance to find out.”
With a sudden swiftness, Kate leapt into the air. Her body twisted and turned momentarily, as though folding in on itself before breaking up into dust and whipping through the night skies like a swarm of angry hornets.
Tash’s eyes followed the swarm warily, the muscles in her lithe body flexing diminutively as she readied herself for the Wicca’s oncoming attack. Feeling a light breeze upon her skin, Tash whirled around just in time to see Kate reshape and take form and the flash of metal as a katana soared through the air.
“Shit.” With an angry snarl, Tash ducked out of the path of the long, thin blade intent on severing her head. Instead, the sword sliced into the meaty flesh of her shoulder, sending a shower of blood fanning outwards.
Tash clutched her arm, glaring at Kate with yellowed eyes as her smooth features contorted into those of the vampire. The witch hesitated, raising the edge of her katana with uncertainty.
“You’re gonna regret that,” sneered Tash viciously, baring the sharp points of her fangs. “Kill them!” she roared to her minions. “Kill them all!!”
A whispered curse fell from Darian’s lips as the army of bloodsuckers began advancing on the White Hats. Normally, being this badly outnumbered wouldn’t have worried him, but tonight was not a normal night. Spirits were already extremely low within his friends, and no one seemed prepared to deal with a fight of this magnitude; himself least of all thanks to the bullet wound in his shoulder.
And then, like a starter pistol at some sporting event, Reah’s Ares Predators shot out into the night announcing the start of the big rumble.
Like sharks smelling blood, four of the vampires advanced on Darian, their eyes bulging with anticipation as they sniffed the rich crimson blood dripping generously from his shoulder.
“I’m afraid the kitchen is closed,” the fae spat as he let loose a bolt of lightning. The charge lacked any real power however, and the vampire it struck merely seemed to shake it off.
“Wow, is that all you got? Pretty pathetic if you ask me.” With that, the four leapt into action.
Darian might have broken a major sweat had he been in perfect condition but, after sustaining that injury, breaking a sweat would have been preferable to the beating he received. The new Black Veins worked well together, each doing his own part to block and counter Darian’s moves as the others continued the assault.
Between blows, Darian spared a glance out to his friends hoping someone was free to help him, but his eyes were only met with disappointment. All the White Hats were engrossed in their own battles; there would be no help on the way.
Determined to get through this, Darian roared as he pushed himself on fighting with all that was left. He almost seemed hopeful when he managed to knock down two of the vamps until suddenly all optimism vanished from his being. The pain in his shoulder was nothing compared to that now coming from his torso. He had barely time to register the cold pointy metal slide into his back before the blade pushed through the soft skin of his stomach, protruding ever so slightly. His eyes widened with terrifying realisation as a gurgle of blood fell from his mouth.
All remaining strength drained from his body as Darian fell to his knees, the world around him wobbling in and out of darkness.
“Looks like the buffet’s back in business boys,” one of the vamps cheered as his grabbed Darian’s arms and hoisted him back to his feet.
The fae’s body shuddered slightly as another, none too gently, retracted the sword that had impaled him. “Magically delicious,” he laughed, licking the blood from the blade.
The vamp holding him slid one of his hands from Darian’s arm up to his face so he could better angle the dying man’s head. “You know, Natasha told us about you. How you have all this power, but you’re just too weak to use it properly.”
A gobbet of blood splashed against the vamp’s cheek. It was the fae’s last move of defiance. He was so tired of people calling him weak and useless. Tired of people seeing his compassion and good nature as a fault rather than a virtue. Rage and hatred bubbled deep within him. If he just had the chance, he would make them all see that he was capable of many other things than just compassion and kindness.
“Does the truth hurt, little man?” the leech taunted as he brought his lips close to Darian’s neck, only to linger a moment enjoying the anticipation. “We heard all about how you managed to let – what was it – two, three of your friends die?” he purred in Darian’s ear, relishing every minute of this encounter. “You really are pathetic.”
All the pain and sadness of recent events had started him down a path, most recently with Tash’s death, and this was finally the straw that broke the camel’s back. He just couldn’t take it anymore!
The rooftop observer frowned, “He’s going to do something desperate. Poor Darian, he has the biggest heart and the least self-control. It will get him dead one day.”
Oz looked down at the fae. “I could step in and help, but without an escort you might get lost. It is up to you.”
“No, he’s already let the black cat out of his bag,” the observer said.
Tilting the fae’s head sideways, the vampire eagerly moved closer until surprisingly, his prey began to giggle.
“What’s wrong with him?” another asked, moving closer to inspect as the man’s cackling grew louder.
“What the fuck is your problem Happy Meal?” the one holding him hissed as he turned Darian’s head once again so he could look his prey square in the eyes. The vampire let out a tiny gasp of shock. The man’s face was twisted into some sinister, unnatural grin and the vampire was sure that somehow his features suddenly seemed sharper. Before he could react, his three surrounding companions were tossed into the air, as if thrown by some invisible force.
“What’sss the matter little vampire, no longer have an appetite?” the man giggled eerily. The vampire tried to retreat, but it was now Darian who was holding him close. “How strange it must feel,” the fae whispered, drawing his face close to the vampire’s ear, “to be on the other end of this little encounter.”
“What the…fu…”
“Haassnnaaaaiii.”
As the word fell from the fae’s lips, a thin, wispy blue smoke accompanied it. From Darian’s mouth into the vampire’s ear it travelled slowly, until it had all disappeared into the blood sucker. The vampire’s body began to shake and shiver as his pale white skin turned a sickly blue. Icicles began to form at the tip of his nose and frost accumulated in his hair and eyebrows. Within a moment he was nothing more than a glorified ice statue.
“Shit, look what happened!” another of the three vampires called out, as they recovered and began advancing on Darian once more.
Turning his sights on them, the faery laughed as he wiggled his fingers at his wounds. The hole in his stomach sealed up, and the bullet in his shoulder slowly floated outwards before it too healed instantly.
“RRRrrrrrr!” the one with the sword screamed as it foolishly charged forwards.
Darian smiled wickedly as he held the bullet in the palm of his hand and then blew on it. The metal exploded into a cloud of black locusts that covered the vampire. Within seconds the insects disappeared and all that was left was a few grains of dust in the wind and the clanking of the sword tumbling to the ground.
“Silllly little vampiressss. You walk this plane asss if you were godsss, when really you falssse immortalsss are barely above humansss.”
To the vampires’ horror, a sword appeared in the man’s hands as he stalked forwards, its ebony blade glistening in the pale moonlight.
“Don’t cower little night-stalkerssss, it wont take too long,” Darian cackled softly.
Though caught up in the midst of battle, Kate’s eye couldn’t help but be caught by the events unfolding not far from where she stood.
“Incendiaries!” she shouted angrily, directing the palm of her hand towards the vampire whom she had been fighting. A rippling line of heat sliced through the air before engulfing her opponent in searing fire.
Paying little attention to the vampire’s unholy screams as his charred flesh curled and dropped from his bones like confetti, Kate fought and pushed her way through the crowds to where Darian was laughing maniacally while slashing through several vamps with a long blackened blade.
“Darian!” she shouted in a combination of shock and alarm as she reached his side. She couldn’t tell what was going on but the fae seemed to be surrounded with dark sinister magics.
“Maldición, maldición, maldición,” Alessa muttered as she danced around the alley. Again, as when hunting with Kyle, she elated in her new power. If the circumstances were other, she’d be enjoying herself immensely. Being in touch with her demon side gave her a huge kick , she thought, as she jumped and clawed her way into a vampire’s chest, gripping its heart and feeling it turn to dust in her hand. She hadn’t noticed before how tender vampire flesh was; her nails could get into it like a hot knife on butter, or maybe she was stronger – who cared? It was making her job easier.
Her eyes watering as always, she advanced through the dust and watched around. Her friends were all fighting around her, and her eyes rested for a second on Ellis’ form, artfully handling a long sword. She should stop worrying about him; only human or not, he could hold his ground. Then her sight was attracted by lightning.
“Guess who else got a kick…” she whispered, when she saw where all the lightning was coming from.
As lightning burst force from the tip of his blade, frying another vamp, Darian laughed even louder, his voice ghostly and unworldly. “Darian!”
The faery froze as Kate’s voice grew closer. As quickly as it came over him, the rage departed, creeping back into his soul as if afraid of the woman drawing nearer. The black blade faded out of existence and the smile he wore lingered no longer.
“Kate?” Darian said dizzily, not quite sure of what was going on.
“Darian,” said Kate again as she reached the fae, grabbing hold of him under the arm as he staggered around uneasily. He looked disoriented, almost bewildered as though he had no recollection of what had just happened.
*Could it have been Evexus?* she wondered vaguely. Kate had never been in the presence of the evil fae that had once taken control of Darian’s body but she’d heard all about it at the White Hat meetings. However now was definitely not the time to sit and ponder the situation. *There’ll be a time for that later.*
“Are you okay?” she asked firmly, accepting Darian’s reluctant nod as an affirmation. Kate’s eyes surveyed the battle that was taking place within the alley, White Hats fighting vampires and in the midst of everything stood Tash.
“This is getting out of hand,” she stated anxiously. “We need to get to Tash and fast. As soon as we’ve… dealt with her, this little army of hers will fold like laundry.”
Darian raised a speculative eyebrow, as they launched themselves back into the fray. “Laundry?” he retorted incredulously. “Kate, promise me if we survive this we’ll have a little chat about your social life. I think I need to get you out more.”
Tash surveyed the fight with growing disgust at her supposed ‘army’. Had none of them listened when she’d described the tactics they would need to use against each of the White Hats? Here they were, falling back onto their old patterns of rushing in and grappling with the enemy in hand-to-hand combat. The fools! She shook her head as yet more vampires fell beneath the defences of her old friends.
“Fall back, you morons! Take up the positions I told you!” she screamed futilely into the chaos, but it was too late. Her first wave had committed itself and now there was nothing for it but to hope that some of them at least got in a few good hits before being ignominiously dusted. Quickly, lest she give them away, she glanced upward to where Walt and Julia waited to perform their part of this fight, but with the other vampires now closely engaged that plan probably wouldn’t work. She fingered the pellets in her pocket and wondered if one set would be enough.
From the corner of her eye she saw Nikolai’s double-bladed sword twirling and ducked in time for it to whistle harmlessly over her head. She flipped into a handstand, Capoeira-style, and kicked the Russian in the face, knocking him to the ground. Instincts drove her to follow up the attack, but instead she melted back into the shadows and waited for the second phase to begin.
“Look there! This battle is about to get bigger,” said Oz pointing.
“Of course it is,” said the shadowy observer, “This is a showdown for her as well as for them. She has to be taken out or they will never survive. It really is them or her. Without this battle there will never be any closure for any of them.”
Oz gaped, “This is about closure? What about good vs. evil?”
The observer didn’t even look down from the roof. “What is good here? What is evil here? This is about burying the dead.”
“Hell of a funeral,” Oz said.
“When you’ve buried as many friends as they have, Oz, you get a little tired of meeting at a memorial tree – again – to pray and weep. Believe me, this is better.”
Dusting Tash - round robin??
Arriving late to the party, Kyle threw himself into the combat, hauling around a vampire who was facing the wrong way. He brought his knee up into the vampire's stomach, then upper-cut the creature of the night. When the vampire came up in pain Kyle introduced him to his fist. The next thing it knew was Kyle's stake.
New bodies were suddenly running past him, slamming into the Black Veins left and right. Big bodies. Big purple bodies.
Kyle had arrived late, but he arrived in style.
“You were right, this will be fun!” Zax roared, high-fiving Kyle has he dashed past, yanking a vampire's head off his shoulders in his massive, powerful arms. And there were others like him; his brother Grons and his cousin Lars and nearly a dozen Norsh demons. Unprepared for this sudden, brutal attack – which was something akin to a purple bulldozer slamming into a house – the vampires simply crumbled. Fully half of them had been torn apart in a matter of seconds.
Kyle watched the devastation with a grin. *I knew bringing Zax along would be a good idea.* “Hey, save some for me!” he yelled, diving in the Norsh demon's large wake.
“What the hell?” Ellis exclaimed when he bumped into a big purple wall. *Norshs!* his eyes grew in fear until he noticed they were fighting the vampires too. *Cool,* he thought and turned to the matter at hand again, but not before throwing Alessa a glance. She was still in her human form, but darker – a sheen of perspiration glowed on her black skin and her hands looked strange with long curving claws growing from her fingers. He smiled. Demonesses: he surely had a soft spot for them.
Alessa saw Ellis watching her and smiled too, then she turned and looked up to where Tash was still standing. The vampiress was watching the scene with a feral frown on her face – she surely hadn’t counted the purple brigade in her schemes. *Good Kyle, and Zax.* Staring fiercely up at her former friend, Alessa saluted her. She saw Tash hiss in anger. Jumping lithely, she grabbed the lower portion of the building’s escape stairs and started to climb with strong, swift leaps.
“Are you going somewhere, darling?” Alessa cursed as a big vampire slammed his fist on her face, making her lose her balance. She had been too intent on getting to the roof and not paid attention. The strength of the blow along with the vampire’s body pushing hers made her lose her grip too.
She hit the ground hard, a high fall, breathless, cushioning the vampire that fell atop her. Before she could react several other vampires added their weight to their companion’s, pushing her down. She cried when something, probably a blade, went through her shoulder. Teeth too, searching for her neck. Frantically she morphed, but she couldn’t unseat the vampires. Her head was viciously pushed against the ground and her mouth filled with dust mingled with her own blood. The blade went through her again, this time her arm, and she cried again. And again.
A ferocious roar slammed into Alessa’s eardrums, blotting out her cries of pain. A vampire was bodily hauled off her and thrown aside. An instant later, vampire dust washed over her. Another vampire was picked up and chucked aside, and again it too was soon dust.
Zax roared again as he yanked another vampire off the ground and hurled it away. Moving swiftly around the vampires preying over Alessa’s fallen form like moths to a flame, Kyle was grabbing the vampires that Zax was throwing. In demon mode he was catching and burning them. It was like a twisted game of catch, except – for the both of them – a hell of a lot more enjoyable.
Zax’s roar – which anybody who spoke Norsh would know to be ‘catch!’ – signalled another approaching vampire. Kyle missed it this time and it hit the floor, probably breaking its neck on impact by the looks of it. The Kaoshian demon immediately leapt on it as it tried to rise and held on tightly, despite the vampire’s pained shrieking as it slowly caught alight and burned. In a few seconds, there was nothing left. He turned to see Alessa had been cleared of the bloodsuckers but was bleeding heavily.
“Zax, purple wall!” Kyle yelled. The big Norsh demon turned towards the remaining vampires, planted his feet on the ground and flexed his muscles, leaving no question that anyone trying to get to Alessa would have to go through him, and that nobody would get through him.
The Kaoshian demon fell to the floor next to Alessa and looked her over in a rare moment of honest concern. He could see at least three bloody wounds across her body. “Alessa, you ok? You hear me?”
“She’ll be fine,” the rooftop observer said to nobody in particular with the sound of someone trying to convince themselves.
“Pretty sure she will be,” said Oz, “She’s got Ellis, Kyle, and the others to watch out for her. She’s been in worse straits and they brought her back,”
“Oh, I know, but it is never certain until it is over. Anything can happen,” the observer said wistfully.
“Like the battle below? Demons and humans fighting side-by-side against vampires. Who’d have believed it?”
“They do – their belief makes it reality. See? She’s going to be fine.” It was said this time with far more certainty.
“Don’t shout, or I’ll think you care,” Alessa managed to say to Kyle, spitting blood and dust. “Vampiros de mierda!”
She felt numb, and her eyes wouldn’t focus. She brought her paw to her shoulder, and hissed in pain. Her fur felt sticky so she quickly morphed back to human, it wasn’t so messy that way. She looked up at the Kaoshian and tried to smile, despite the pain. “I’m fine, I’ll be okay,” she said, but Kyle didn’t look too convinced. She tried to raise herself but nausea overcame her, making her slump to the ground again.
“Wow! Easy now,” Kyle said. “You’ve lost a lot of blood,” he added, looking at the wide-open gash at her neck, where she must have been bitten. If she were human she’d be dead by now, he thought.
Kyle looked around. The battle continued and his hands prickled in excitement, but that could wait. He hauled her against a wall, a safer spot, and helped her into a sitting position. Alessa fought a wave of dizziness back and rested her head on the wall; she was breathing shallowly and could feel blood flowing freely from her wounds.
“Yeah, I guess the party’s over for me.” She managed a weak smile, catching his worried eyes. She smiled again, knowing she had just caught a glimpse of the real Kyle beneath his hard façade.
“Hey! A little help over here!” Kyle yelled and saw Ellis hear his cry. “And a cigarette!” he quickly added.
Alessa chuckled. “I’ll be ok. Go fight. And gracias.”
With a wink, the Kaoshian rose, but didn’t leave till Ellis crouched next to Alessa.
High above the carnage sat a lone figure, his legs dangling casually from the edge of the shadowy roof top. It had occurred to him to perhaps join in, but when it came down to it he was perfectly content to be a spectator. A witch had arrived and Darian seemed to be on some sort of steroids, so even with his presence he doubted Tash would live to see the daylight – figuratively speaking, of course.
Instead he sat, adding his commentary to the battle.
“Ohhh ladies and gentlemen, we thought the game was looking somewhat even, but the purple Barney demons seemed to have made it a little one sided. Ouuuu things are really beginning to heat up in the left corner,” he added as Kate conjured another wave of fire far below.
The man continued his theatrical monologue, seemingly unaware of the vampire who had found its way up to the rooftop.
“I’m afraid this is the VIP booth, and I don’t see your ticket anywhere,” the man said out of nowhere, catching the vampire completely off guard. Turning around, he moved his attention from the fight to the annoying disturbance who was trying to creep up behind him.
“You’re funny, human,” the vampire hissed, not realising what he was getting himself into. “I saw you spying on us from up here. Thought you could avoid fighting with your friends? Don’t blame you, I wouldn’t want to fight the Black Veins either.”
“Ohhh nooo a vampire has found me, whatever shall I do?! I’m so helpless and at your mercy,” he said, not even paying attention to the vampire anymore as he occupied himself with cart wheeling and pirouetting along the edge of the building. “Now shoo, I’m missing the best part.”
“WHAT?!” the vampire roared as it charged forwards; never would he let a human insult him so.
Like a flash of lighting, the man bounced from a handstand, smashing his feet into the vampire’s face.
“Didn’t you know, it’s very rude to talk during the movie!” he lectured as he pummelled the creature repeatedly before backing off for a moment.
As the vampire struggled to regain his composure, the man retracted a small nail file from his pocket and began manicuring his already perfect nails.
The vampire began backing away slowly, finally understanding that his enemy was no mere human. “You’re crazy…”
With a flick of his wrist, the nail file flew straight into the vampire’s heart. POOF.
Loki smiled as he turned back to his seat as if nothing had happened. “And to think, he almost made me miss the climax of the whole show. The nerve of some people.”
On the opposite rooftop a conversation between another group of less invisible observers was taking place. “Weren’t we supposed to do something with this barrel of goo? I mean we hauled it all the way up here, we should do something with it, right?”
“We were supposed to drop it on the mages. Remember, Walt? She told us to dump it on ‘anyone with red hair and fire flying from their fingertips’.”
“Yeah, I remember that part, but wasn’t there supposed to be a signal? Something like-” Walt waved his arms in a complex pattern.
Julia looked at him blankly. Walt shrugged then muscled the barrel to the ledge at the edge of the building above the red-haired mage below.
“Good thing we have all this super strength. Not sure I coulda lifted this thing before.”
“Could you lift a keg before?” Julia asked.
“Nah, just drink them,” Walt said, lining up his aim.
From her vantage point on a window ledge a couple of storeys up, Tash pondered her situation. Thoughts of escape were hampered by those ever-present impressions of wings and halo, but more than that; if she didn’t manage to reduce the White Hats in numbers at least a little, she’d never be safe in this city. Then she finally saw the sign she’d been waiting for.
Her first wave of relatively inexperienced vampires had failed miserably in their task. They had waded into the fight when they were meant to simply box in the White Hats and let Walt and Julia do their thing. But her second wave… yes, these were the specialists she’d been approaching over the past few days, for just such an occasion as this. Most of them were more than willing to work with vampires if it meant the destruction of the White Hats.
And now they were here.
Engrossed as they were with dusting the remnants of the vampires, even those in the alleyway below had to take note at what approached. Huge. Black. Lumbering. These were the words that first sprang into Reah’s mind when she saw it. The next two words were Predator. Both of them. She finished off the last vampire in front of her and whirled to take aim at the hulking brute. Shots sped from the muzzles, only to bury themselves in the thing’s torso with little apparent effect. It continued to lumber onwards, straight for her now.
Behind it came something that was more normal sized, but covered with a tough chitin. It struggled through a couple of Norsh that stood in its path, making a beeline for the strongest magical aura in the group. Kate watched it approach and mustered up a devastating fireball to engulf it. The fire slid and skittered across its body, the spell running off the demon like water off a duck’s back.
Ellis squeezed Alessa’s hand in apology. “I have to-”
“I’ll be fine. Don’t wait on me – go help.” Alessa smiled bravely at Ellis, and with a nod he rose.
He and Nikolai met up as they raced towards the demon advancing on Kate. She was firing spell after spell at it, trying every effect she knew, but nothing seemed to work. Before they could intercept it, however, they were beset by a horde of tiny demons. No more than a couple of inches high, they latched onto ankles and legs.
Nikolai glanced down. “What the… Ouch! Zaebis!” he swore.
Dozens of the small creatures poured into the melee. Their sharp bites and claws were proving to be a major distraction. The creatures swarmed across the alleyway and unerringly stopped at each of the humans in the battle to gnaw, chew, and generally bite. Ellis, Reah, Darian, Nikolai and Kate each stopped everything to swat at the annoying pests.
Kyle and the Norsh were not immune either; the beasties used their sharp claws to scale the enormous purple mounds. The Norsh barely felt the tiny claws as the critters climbed, but once they saw what happened when they reached a Norsh head, they became very concerned.
Gron’s cousin Lars’ mouth was forcibly opened by sharp claws jabbing into sensitive gums. The tiny demon worked his way into Lars’ mouth then punched a bony probe through the roof of the mouth and into Lars’ brain. Lars wobbled a second then began to reach for Ellis.
Gron grabbed and squeezed one of the tiny terrors until it made an audible pop. Zax began helping the other Norsh to clear the mind-controlling creatures away from their mouths. Soon, none of the Norsh were defending anyone and the few remaining vampires could ignore them in favour of more strategic targets.
Lars grabbed Ellis by the head and lowered its mouth over his shoulder. The omnivorous Norsh’s teeth bit deep punctures into Ellis’ flesh but it was the razor-sharp demon within Lars’ mouth that hurt worse. A loud explosion made Ellis flinch as Lars collapsed limply away. Ellis’ legs refused to support him and he toppled to the street.
He could see Lars with a smoking hole through his head and the dangling remains of whatever horror had been inside him. A shotgun-wielding Alessa tossed the gun aside to check on her man.
“Jesus, fucken…” Reah cursed as the huge golem shambling towards her refused to let a little thing like twin-linked Ares Predator rounds slow him down. Holstering the weapons, she crouched, her claws extending as she leapt to meet it head-on. Her hand sank into the thing’s body as though it were made of soft butter. Whatever this was made of, it wasn’t flesh. It was something sticky. With her other hand she clawed at its face, but when she tried to pull back to have another try, the fist embedded in its side refused to budge.
“What the..? Crap!” Reah ducked her head as the creature made a clumsy swipe at her. At least it was slow, but if she didn’t get her hands free soon… She curled her body up and planted her feet on the golem’s thighs, trying to get some leverage. But soon she found that her feet were just as stuck, and sinking in.
Then there was the final indignity. “You know,” she muttered to nobody in particular, “this is bad enough. I admit it, I look like a total prat. But here I am, hanging here with my hands and feet stuck in this thing, and I’ve got a couple of fucken miniature demons with sharp teeth hanging off my arse!”
“Hey! Someone wanna give me a hand here?” She sniffed and wrinkled up her nose. This close to it, it really stank. “You wanna take a bath sometime, mate. You stink like, like… like hot bitumen. Fresh-laid…”
“Hang on, I’m coming, Reah,” Kyle called, as he fired up and crisped the last couple of demons trying to crawl into his mouth.
Reah craned her neck around and goggled at him. “No bloody way! This thing’s flammable. You keep your bloody distance.”
Tash watched with undisguised joy as Waringa closed in on Kate. It hadn’t been easy to convince the magic-null demon to join her ranks, but the chance to entrap one or two of the most powerful witches in the city was an offer he couldn’t resist. Tash lowered herself carefully to the ground, smirking at the antics of Nikolai, Ellis, Kyle and the Norsh demons as they tried to deal with the tiny Odeli creatures swarming over them. The smirk turned to a chuckle when she flicked her gaze over to where Reah was losing ground to the golem.
The smile fell from Tash’s face as quickly as it came and she became all business. She planted herself before Kate. The Wicca was straining against Waringa’s grip, but he held her fast.
“Well, well. Looks like you’re in a bit of a sticky situation here. Though,” Tash inclined her head towards Reah, now on the ground with the golem, “not at sticky as some. But I can fix that.”
Tash glanced upwards and gestured. Nothing happened. Growling low in her throat, she gesticulated again, more violently. After a moment something showered down, drenching Tash, Kate, and the demon who held her.
“Great, you got us all wet. Big deal.” Kate tried once more to twist out of the demon’s grasp, but he kept a tight grip on her.
In reply, Tash pulled from her pocket a small Ziploc bag full of small, dark tablets. With one swift motion she opened the bag and hurled the pellets at Kate, where they stuck to the liquid covering her. They immediately fizzed in reaction, and in moments Kate was completely encased in a hard shell-like covering.
Tash nodded at Waringa, who let go of the Wicca, leaving hand-sized holes in the shell at her throat and waist. Waringa turned as a lightning bolt from Darian skittered harmlessly off his chitin. He concentrated on cornering the fae, leaving the black vampire lady to do whatever she planned with the witch.
Nikolai was using his sword for a most unglamorous purpose, stabbing the tip at as many of the biting horrors as he could reach. Hearing Reah’s calls for help, he stumbled towards her. She was on the ground, struggling with something large and black. It was obviously not undead, but Nikolai could sense nothing from it. What was it? Magical construct? If so…
There. Over beside a dumpster, Nikolai could see a small figure staring intently at the rapidly disappearing Reah, fiddling with something in its hands. He started towards the figure, but it was clear that Kyle was much closer.
“Kyle!” Nikolai yelled. The Kaoshian looked across at him and Nikolai jerked his head to the dumpster, then back at Reah. Nodding his understanding, Kyle went to take care of it.
He loped towards it, fire streaming behind him, prepared to let loose a devastating line of fire at whoever it was. The little girl looked up, her eyes wide and her mouth in an ‘o’ of shock. She dropped the remote control device and took to her heels. Kyle screeched to a halt, the pent up flame bursting from him.
It scorched the remote control, the dumpster, half the alleyway, and a couple of vampires who had decided it was time to leave the fight. Plastic rubbish dripped down the side of the dumpster, which began to glow on one side. Finally the fire was spent and Kyle turned, puffing.
Kate’s wide eyes stared out through the prison that held her immobile. Tash cocked her head and leant in close to murmur, “Still feeling weak? That’s not surprising. Waringa there, you may have noticed, isn’t affected by magic. Anything he touches, if it’s magical, is affected too. Oh, your powers will come back fairly soon, but not soon enough. And none of your friends seem to be free to help you right now, sweetie. So I guess you’re all mine. I told you I was keen to taste you.”
The fear coming from Kate was sweet ambrosia to Tash. She could swear she almost heard the woman screaming. But there was no time to savour this dish. She bent her face towards Kate’s exposed throat, her teeth puncturing the soft, white flesh there. That first taste of Wicca blood coursed into Tash and she groaned in delight.
Sending up a silent prayer to the goddess, Kate could not even close her eyes. Feeling sick to her stomach, she resigned herself to her fate. She could hear the sounds of battle still raging around her, and if she turned her gaze as far as could manage she could see that on the whole it was not going well for the White Hats. Reah was still down, though the thing atop her now seemed still. Several of the Norsh had fallen. Kyle and Darian and the remaining Norsh were still dealing with the tiny demons and there was no sign of Alessa, Nikolai or Ellis, though she could hear more fighting behind her. Tash was right, nobody was free to help her.
Tash prepared for a larger gulp, but her smile of satisfaction turned to surprise. A glance down showed her something penetrating from her chest, and she looked up, eyes wide, to stare into Kate’s tear-streaked face. Then she felt herself dissolving. Her flesh desiccated and her bones crumbled. “Who?” she whispered, then opened her mouth wider and screamed as the pain finally hit her. Then she was gone, no more than a pile of dust drifting down the alley.
Still trapped in the shell, unable to move or speak, or even blink, Kate stared through the settling dust to the one who had finally put an end to this horror.
He dropped the stake to the ground and blinked back at the frozen Kate. “You’re welcome, Katya,” whispered Nikolai.
On the rooftop Oz said, “It’s over now,” to his unseen companion.
“Thanks, I couldn’t watch right there at the end. It was too close.”
“Now what? You can go now, there’s nothing left for you here.”
Tash’s spirit stepped out from the shadows that had covered her for so long. “I have a place already,” she said, “And I have been there so I know the way.”
Oz looked confused.
Tash smiled radiantly. “G’rnatha,” she explained, looking over her shoulder. “I can hear him calling me. Goodbye Oz. Be sure to … well … do what you can for them.”
He nodded as she faded from his view.
Dusting Tash - round robin??
LOL! I loved what you did for Reah. I was in the internet cafe barely supressing my laughter, my god, lol! Hehehe
Dusting Tash - round robin??
Oh good, glad you liked it. :) I was hoping I'd caught enough of her personality to make it sound like genuine Reah.