Daddy Issues [closed]

Hearing Hieta’s voice, Jake turned around but was already too late. The ghost boy had already disappeared and now he was left alone in an elevator with no clue as to what to do. Tapping his foot on the floor in an impatient way, Jake was starting to get an uneasy feeling that he’d be discovered. All it took was someone walking to the elevator and all this work might be for nothing. And what about the sisters? They couldn’t leave them behind and at this point, Jake wouldn’t let that be an option no matter what happened. He'd kill every last bastard in this building if he had to, no questions asked. Him and his partner had a job to do and he would make sure that they got it done.

Looking down to the buttons, he wondered why there were three basements. Maybe they're just for storage since this was such a big building? Or maybe something worse? Just the thought of people like Maria and Freya kept locked away in the basements made him shiver. How could people live with that guilt? Well, he assumed that is was as simple as some people were just freaking crazy.

Snapping his head around at the sound of Hieta arriving, he was so glad to actually be able to see the demon boy. It was always nice to know the location of Hieta was, or anyone for that matter, ‘cause when Hieta disappeared, he felt alone, although he’d never share that with anyone. Listening to the ghost boy who was now visible, praise be, he relaxed. Good, now at least they knew the general vicinity of where they were going. Unfortunately for him, those de-stressed feelings turned into stress when the boy wrapped his hands around Jake’s waist and they started plummeting down. Caught by surprise, the tall student wanted to scream but as if something was lodged in his throat, nothing came out and he gasped for air. All he could hear was the overwhelming sound of wind and the smashing of metal, in which he assumed was some part of the elevator. His heart felt as if it were about to fly out of his chest and this was the reason that he hated roller coasters. Craning his neck to look towards Hieta who seemed pretty calm about this predicament, Jake could only think one thing - was he crazy?!

Soon enough, the ride of impending doom was over and the two landed softly, although Jake fell to his hands and knees, clutching his chest. "L-let’s never do that again," he stuttered, forcing himself to stand up. Trying to regain his thoughts that were all jumbled up, he looked around. The two had landed in long and dark hallway that was lined with cement, and although he hated to admit it, it was pretty chilly. For anyone with claustrophobia, this would’ve been their worst nightmare. No windows, no way to escape, just artificial light, stale air, and creepy noises.

Taking a single step forward, a ceiling light clicked on, then another and another, until the hallway was lit with dim lights as far as the eye could see. Geez, how big is this building? There were no cameras, no guards, just a spooky hallway that looked like it never ended. Great.

Leaving the elevator which was half destroyed, Jake started walking down the hallway, still a bit shaky from their little "joyride." Lining the hall were identical doors every few yards and now came the real task; figuring out which door to go into. How in the world were they supposed to know? The map only gave them the general vicinity of the place, not the exact location. Letting out a sigh, he decided that they’d better start looking before they ran out of time or some crazy shit happened.

Walking slowly and making sure to stay light on his feet, Jake was about to reach the first door when he heard the sound of doorknob and a door clicking open. The hair on the back on his neck stood up in fear and slowly turning his head to the right, two men stood a little ways away from them. They didn’t look like normal guards and to be exact, they looked like genuine business men. Both wore a black suit, black pants, a tie, fancy polished black shoes, and their hair was slicked back neatly. They looked like they were around 20, and both of them held devilish sneers on their faces, although one looked more crazy than the other.

Well, the crazy shit had arrived.

Without warning, one of the guys sprinted down the hallway towards and for a second, Jake thought he was going to have a heart attack. First, he fell down an elevator and now, a random guy was sprinting towards him full force and his face still held that stupid grin as if he were saying “time to die.” Right before his eyes, the man morphed into a monster that looked kind of like a bat, but kind of like a wolf. The beast was around the same height as Jake, but was much more bulky and ugly. It ran on two legs like a man, but now it had fur, ears, a tail, vicious claws on its hands and deadly fangs. It let out a vicious snarl and before Jake was able to transform, the monster had reached him and swung a huge, furry fist at Jake's head. Ducking just in time, the creature’s hand smashed into the wall, making the walls around them tremble and sent cement dust falling from the ceiling.

That was close, a bit too close.

As the werewolf thing tried to find where Jake had gone under his bulky figure, the Autumn knew this was his chance to take a crack at it. The boy’s hand transformed into metal and scooting out from under the beast, he stood up and punched its jaw. Letting out a howl of rage, the wolf-man grabbed his jaw and stumbled backwards. Shit! Shaking his hand from slight pain, he didn’t think they monster would be that tough. Hitting that thing was like punching a brick wall and even though his arm was metal, it hurt like crazy.

Although the hallway was small and fighting this thing wasn’t easy, it had just enough space to put up a good fight. Not waiting for the werewolf to get up, Jake's other arm into a robot arm and jumping up, he clasped both fits together and brought them crashing down onto the beast's head, sending it to smack into the ground. For a few moments, the monster laid there but with a grunt, got up again, fire burning in his eyes as he looked turned around to look at who’d attacked him. Growling, he walked towards the boy, popping his neck and scraping his claws along the wall.

Great, just great. Not only had they not even located the sisters yet, but now they had to fight these lugs? What else? A zombie apocalypse was going to suddenly break out?

Behind the current battle, a the other guy still stood where he was. Shifting was the most comfortable thing to do, and in fact it was quite painful but he had no choice. Morphing into the same werewolf like creature and sniffing the air, he knew there was someone else down here and was determined to exterminate who ever it was. He'd could never let those girls leave this place, even if he had to bring the roof down. Besides, father would have his head if he let these guys get away and he'd been created for this single purpose, so might as well put this new ability to good use.

”We will have to do it again when we go back up,” Hieta pointedly replied, only shrugging off the supposedly horrifying ride that Jake had experienced. He certainly wasn’t the best at flying, probably to the point where Devin may be much better than him, but he wasn’t exactly awful at it either. At least, that’s what he thought. Was never a fact that he confirmed or not one that he would bother to in the future, leaving only Jake’s word to be his only opinion on the matter. Ah, whatever. The other boy seemed to be over-exaggerating how bad it was - he wasn’t even the one actually flying, being only a passenger, and he looked more tired out than he should be. Jake’s knees had buckled, he was panting, completely out of breath, and he looked rather pale, as though he had finished some strenuous exercise without taking into account his own stamina, even in the scarce amount of light provided down in the basement. Speaking of the lights…

… They all seemed to be off, save for the bare minimum shining down from previous floors through the now-broken elevator shaft. That wasn’t the most unusual situation that they could be in, considering how the basements probably weren’t visited very often, and if they were, the workers wouldn’t be awake or doing their jobs this late at night. What was suspicious was how they all started turning on in dramatic succession of one another once Jake had stepped forward by not much more than a few centimeters, as though they were stepping onto the platform of a famous fashion runway, like the ones in Broadway. He held his hand out in a defensive position, keeping his fingers clamped around his scythe, eyes narrowing. This had to be a trap of some sort. No wonder the upper floors were so empty, so devoid of people. It was an attempt to trick them into a false sense of security and that the mission would be easier than originally anticipated, to get them to drop their guard. Though Hieta had found himself suspicious of the entire endeavor, he knew better than to let such an old trick in the book get to him, and he could only believe that Jake was the same way.

And it was than that footsteps registered in his ears, their uniform clip-clop! shattering the string of silence brought from the time they had arrived until then, scarcely rivaling the deafening thunder of equestrian races. While he had little incentive to take a fight seriously, should one break out, he could use his own abilities to turn the tables should Jake have any trouble. Some of the staff had been gifted, from what he could remember, but he never managed to find out what their powers actually were; logically, a company as large as this, especially one in league with the People of Black, would have access to those who could easily overpower them - however, judging from the impression they gave with how ‘poorly’ guarded the area was, there could only be the case that they believed two students would be quick and easy work.

Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be the case. Younger and still being in school didn’t mean they should be underestimated in the slightest. The Rylen corporation had made a huge mistake, and it was even worse that they had only sent two footmen to do the job. They had this sort of strange way of walking, as though they seemed to be in a drunken state, despite the lunatic and spiteful expressions on their faces and the attire they wore. Before either could catch a glimpse of him, Hieta immediately transitioned away from his demonic form and disappeared from the visible eye, and absorbed the information presented to him.

Three men, all around the same height as Jake, but undoubtedly older than the two students. Hair slicked back with a hefty amount of gel, and dark black business suits that were most definitely not the best combat attire that could be offered. Most definitely gifted, possibly psychopaths, and were going to go all-out if necessary, which it would be. As his mind tried to comprehend as to why they would wear such stiff and restraining clothing to a battle field they knew would be taking place, everything regarding that was thrown out the window once they turned into werewolf-like creatures, and their clothes had been torn to shreds upon the transformation. Well, that made things different. He had been expecting something more intricate as a gift. Transformations weren’t amazing if that was all they could turn into.

The more unstable of the three had already rushed towards Jake, viciously swinging his arm at the boy. Above, cement and dust wrung out from the corners of the room upon impact, and the vicinity shook a miniscule amount; not anything that would be game-breaking, currently. He shouldn’t interfere with the cyborg-like student’s fight - that would be disrespecting his abilities and not trusting him enough to hold his own in his fight. Jake would be fine. If all else failed, Hieta could interfere if necessary.

Still where he had been standing at first, the other man had turned into the same grotesque-looking creature, the lycanthrope with dark fur, drool dripping from his muzzle with a wet nose as he breathed as though he were hyperventilating. He didn’t seem to be too used to his transformation. Adjusting his footing, he used the wall as a spring, leaving his scythe on the ground where he and Jake had originally landed. A draft whirled at his ears, and immediately, once he managed to get enough air, an ebony blast shot from his hand, scarcely missing from the creature’s legs as the beast sensed it just in time and dodged, fur slightly singed from the tiny impact it had created. Throughout the entire time, the man managed to keep dodging over and over again, always by a little bit, while trying to figure out where the attacks were coming from.

Claws had whipped out, slashing forward when they managed to find where Hieta was, but seeing as it would be wise not to let an attacks affect him, all the werewolf managed to grasp was thin air. He must be getting frustrated, being pummeled with a number of projectiles without being able to stop them or find out where they were coming from. Better safe than sorry, unfortunately. That was the thing - he wasn’t going to take any unnecessary risks if he didn’t have to. Hieta knew that his combat capabilities weren’t the best and that he may fail in keeping control of himself if he over-abused his own powers. Had to keep the worst in mind if he wanted to win.

Changing up his strategy, pits and holes filled the general vicinity of their fight, and quick flicks of his wrist led to a black substance erupting from the ground, the arm-like limbs reaching out and shooting around as though they were trying to pull the opponent down into the depths of hell itself. Probably could, but that wasn’t anything he was capable of doing with his false link to demons. Like black suns, they would explode and burst into flares before their shells cracked open and hands and fingers formed. Like vines, they tried to entangle the man hidden in wolf’s fur, who persistently kept darting around and sprinting in hopes of staying alive.

Every once in awhile, Hieta found his projectiles ramming into the walls or supports holding the roof above them up, and cursed himself for his carelessness. Even if he didn’t care about whether or not they had the roof fall on them to kill these guys, there was still the fact that there were hostages they were supposed to be rescuing and that it would be entirely moot if a little accident killed them first.

Keep firing, keep firing, keep firing. The shapeshifter couldn’t keep running forever; his stamina would eventually wear down. Force him to waste his energy on useless things, force him to do whatever was possible to exhaust himself. That was the only way to approach this fight if he wanted to be in top condition himself for the latter part of the mission. After all, having to rescue the girls and possibly carry them out while fending off several gifted at once would be a much more intensive task.

This?

This was child’s play. They couldn’t take forever on this.

Quickly making calculations in his head as he grew more and more accustomed with the victim’s dodging patterns, his attacks began to burst with sheer force, hitting more accurately. A howl like those to the moon whimpered in pain as a leg was hit, crippling the opponent without much to do. Now that he was stumbling around aimlessly, trying to dodge the minefield of demonic bombs, there was no way he could win. Blood was pooling around the area. In a last ditch effort, the man had started in the direction of Hieta’s scythe, which had been lying on the ground the entire time.

The werewolf grasped onto it tightly, panting heavily. He probably didn’t know how to use it properly, but having a weapon instead of being forced into melee the entire time must’ve brought some sort of comfort to him. And that was where Hieta chose to end it. Reappearing as a demon, his red eyes and black scleras burned into the man’s back as he stole back what was rightfully his. A hidden pit from below blossomed, entrapping the opponent inside, and all he could do was bark in desperation and attempt to plea for mercy… neither of which Hieta was willing to give.

One clean and swift slash, and off with the head.

His gaze turned towards Jake. If that boy didn’t finish quickly, Hieta wouldn’t give the other one so much mercy. Five minutes. He had five minutes to finish.

The countdown began and he vanished from thin air, always watching.

Crash!

The monster’s fist smashed into the wall, just barely missing Jake’s head, again. Knowing how sly the boy could be, the beast wasted no time in regaining his bearings and swiveled around, hitting the robot kid straight in the gut and sending him flying to the wall across the hall.

With the wind knocked out of him, Jake slumped the floor, one arm clenching his stomach and the other ready to transform. Squinting an eye from the pain, he looked to his right, in which Hieta had just chopped one of the monster’s head off and disappeared into thin air. Damn, what was with that guy? Couldn’t he ever stick around? Or was Jake’s fight too boring for the demon boy to even show his support? Well then, he’d just have to make this fight more interesting. With a new rush of adrenaline, Jake’s stomach was soon coated with a thick layer metal, just in case the wolf guy tried to take another blow there, he’d get a nasty surprise instead.

By now, the beast stood in front of him, its breath smelt like death and drool dripping down its fangs. It had a crooked smile on its muzzle, but Jake wasn’t about to give the monster the satisfaction it wanted. The hand that was resting on the ground turned into a club sort of weapon, and lifting it up, the Autumn took a swing. Having a metal arm was always nice, for it gave him extra support and power, so hitting something of this size was more painful than a regular punch. His swing hit the werewolf’s side with a horrible crashing sound and it let out a howl of rage, crazily thrashing its paws around and trying to hit something, although it was obvious that the pain was too much for it.

Jake’s blood boiled with his usual willingness to fight and his heat felt as if it was going to pump out of his chest, but he knew that it was time to finish things up. Giving a vicious snarl, the creature ran towards Jake, claws extended, but Jake was ready. Well, at least he hoped he was. This was it, he’d finally get to try transforming to full metal and prayed that he had enough strength and focus to stay that way till the fight was over. Within a couple seconds, Jake’s body was coated with a layer of thick metal. Yes! It’d worked!

The monster through his fist at the boy’s face but was stopped as Jake grabbed the furry fist in his palm. With a sneer across his face, he clenched down on the hand and squeezed. His foe let out a whine of pain and tried to use his free paw to take a blow, but the boy was more prepared than he’d thought. Grabbing the other hand in the palm of his hand, Jake stood up with a new sense of power. In the beginning, learning something like this had seemed like just a dream, but now it was actually happening and Jake felt like kicking some wolf ass.

Enraged that the boy wouldn’t let go, the werewolf lurched towards the kid’s neck and bit down between the next and the shoulder, the best spot for killing. Unfortunately, the coating on the boy’s skin was tougher than he’d imagined and as he bit down, shards of metal dug into his gums.

Looking down to the beast, Jake’s face held no emotion. Yeah, the wolf biting down into his neck was starting to hurt, but he couldn’t show weakness. Not here, not now. Both of their eyes met and without a word, he headbutted the monster, sending him falling backwards and onto his rump. This fight it over. Jake’s hand turned into a blaster cannon/gun thing and aiming it to the ceiling above, he fired. The whole hallway shuddered and before the weird wolf thing was able to get out of the way, cement rubble came crashing down on top of him. With one last bark of anger and fear, all went silent. Below the pile of cement, a pool of dark red blood oozed out from under the rocks and Jake turned around. Well, that was fun. He may have blocked their path, but shrugging it off, he knew they’d be able to find another way out.

Looking around for Hieta, his gaze fell on the headless monster that laid in a bloody heap on the floor. Damn, demon boy sure did a number on that guy. He was about to move on when it hit him and he noticed something was missing. Wasn’t there another guy? Where did he go? Peering down the hall, there was not a single soul except the stale air and dust that had come from the fight. Hm, that was weird, Jake could’ve sworn there had been another guy. Eh, whatever. If someone tried to ambush them he’d kick their asses, no biggy.

Realizing that Hieta was most likely floating around him or checking something else out, the tall student decided to move on since they were crunched for time. He started making his way towards one of the doors but a sharp pain stung his neck and lifting a hand to see what it was and remembered that just moments ago there were a dozen sharp fangs dug into his shoulder and hearing metal clank together, he realized that he was still in his full metal form. A sudden feeling of pride and happiness took over his sense of urgency when he realized that this was the longest that he’d ever stayed full metal. Doing good Jake, doing good. he reassured himself with a prideful smile. Unfortunately for him, as strong as he thought he was, he still didn’t have this transformation totally down and his muscles started to ache. Well, at least he’d made it this long. Within a few seconds, Jake was back to his flesh and blood form.

Still unsure of where his partner or the other mysterious guy were, he soon stood in front of one of the many steel doors. This was it. There were endless possibilities of what could be behind this door and as he placed his hand on the knob, Jake’s heartbeat felt so loud he could’ve sworn the people on floors above them could’ve heard it. The sisters, other captured victims, or more monsters, he had no idea what to expect. Turning the knob, he braced himself for whatever was to come.

~~~

Hearing strange howls and sounds outside where they were being kept, Maria turned her head painfully towards the door. What in the world…

Crash!

Well, someone was definitely here, but who? She wanted have faith that it might be someone coming to her rescue but every thought gave her a headache and if it didn’t, nothing made sense and was all foggy. There were some parts of her body that had gone numb from the pain and she felt like mush. She was pretty sure that the wound in her leg was infected and although she’d learned to get somewhat used to it, the stench of the flesh from her and Freya was still unbearable. Oh yeah, Freya.

Turning her head to her younger her sister that laid in the other cell, there wasn’t any movement. She still looked as miserable and sad as before and Maria wasn’t able to see the place where her eyes used to be but she assumed it wasn’t good. "F-freya," she croaked in nothing more that a mumble, since was parched and her throat hurt like hell. She wasn’t even sure that Freya was able to hear her but when the younger girl didn’t show any sign of being alive, a lump got stuck in her throat. Was she dead? Maria wanted to scream her sister’s name but nothing came out except tears that stung her cheeks like fire. No, she couldn’t be dead, no, not like this. Yeah, she despised her sister at times, but she never actually wanted her dead and this wasn’t how it was supposed to end!

Soon, everything went quiet outside the room and silently crying and slumped against the back wall of the cell, Maria sat alone, afraid, and desperate for someone; anyone to come save her.

~~~

Opening the door, Jake peered in, transforming his hand into a gun just in case. Walking in, there was no sign of the sisters, but just a bunch of wooden crates stacked on top of each other. Great, a dead end. Part of him was curious to see what was in the mysterious crates, but he had a mission and needed to set his priorities straight. Making his way out of the dark room, he closed the door and gave a small sigh. The dark haired student peered down the hallway couldn’t help feeling bit hopeless. The rooms seemed to go on forever as if it was an illusion meant to keep them from getting anywhere, and Jake didn’t know if they’d even complete their mission at this point.

After some depressing time of checking quite a few rooms that either had stacks of crates or some sort of torture equipment, he reached a room near the middle of the never ending hall. He still had no idea where that other mysterious guy had gone off too and was surprised that he hadn’t run into the bastard by now. He’s probably waiting to strike when we least expect it, he reminded himself.

Although he’d done this a thousand times before, Jake kept his hand transformed into a gun, in case the worst happened to be in through this door. Turning the knob, he had an unsettling feeling about this one, even though it was probably just the same crates that were in every other room.

Walking into the dark space, there was an overwhelming clammy feeling that made his stomach turn and part of him was scared to find out what  Near the center of his chest, a small metal plate appeared with a flashlight in the center of it and the light clicked on, lighting up the pitch black room. For some reason this room was different and soon enough, he figured out why. To the left and right of him where jail cells with splotches of rust coating the bars. A blood stain covered the wall of an empty cell and he could only imagine what might have happened there and the dank air sent a shiver running down his spine. The room didn’t seem to have a light switch anywhere and made it look like some sort of horror movie where crazy psycho people jumped out and banged against the bars.

Cautiously making his way forward, he knew had to be the place where the sisters were being held captive, he was positive. No other room that he’d checked had been like this one, unless he’d missed something, in which he couldn’t even imagine going back through and double checking all of them. Hearing something rustle behind him, Jake turned around to see none other than Maria Rylen and man did she look like shit.

Hair in a mess, blood all over herself and the floor, Jake was honestly shocked to see her in such a malnourished state. Wasn’t their father running the place? What kind of person would let his daughters be like this? What a despicable man. Aiming his gun hand at the lock, Jake wasted no time in getting to her and shot the lock with a loud ring and swung open the door, rushing over to her. Through all the shit that she’d been through, a small smile grew on her blood covered face, probably in a hysterical sort of way. "Hey, you’re safe now, we’re here to take you home," he said softly, although he didn’t know why he mentioned home when neither him or Maria would ever call the school their "home."

"J-Jake," the girl muttered in disbelief, looking up to the tall student who knealed next to her. Was she really being rescued? Was this actually happening? Choking up some blood onto her lap, she honestly didn’t know how to react. Would they actually be able to save her and Freya or was this another test? Tests… those Goddamn tests had messed with her mind so much that she didn’t know what to believe anymore. Looking into Jake’s eyes with hers that shown nothing but a dull and broken soul, she was able to relax. The calming scent of his cologne and the rare, reassuring smile that he held on his face told her that this was much more than a dream. Yeah, most of the time Jake was a total douche, but she knew that deep down he had a heart, even if he never showed it. Tearing up, all she wanted was to be in his arms; all she wanted was to get out of here.

Thinking this much had started to give her a headache and she didn’t know how much longer she’d be able to stay awake. Freya… as if a voice was reminding her about her sister, she needed to tell Jake. Stuttering, she tried to say something but in the end she just coughed up some more blood, and turned her gaze to where her sister laid.

When she tried to say something and looked towards the next little chamber, Jake’s eyes rested upon a beaten and bloodied body. Laying on the floor with her back against the cold cement wall was Freya and his heart dropped. There was no movement, not even a signal to show she’d acknowledged that the boy had entered the room. "Hey, Freya?" the tall student mumbled although he doubted that he’d get a response from her. Looking back to Maria, the usually full of life girl had closed her eyes and stopped moving, most likely unconscious. Shit, they needed help and fast.

Stroking his hand gently against Maria’s bruised face, Jake stood up. Clenching his fists, he walked out of where Maria was being held and stood in front of the next "cage". Whoever was responsible for doing this to them, they’d pay for their transgressions. Maybe not today, but he’d make sure they paid the price. Pounding his fists onto the bars of the cell with a loud bang, he’d seen enough. Grabbing onto two of the rusted, metal bars, he gritted his teeth. Him and Hieta were assigned to this mission and he vowed to complete his task. With anger fueling his thoughts and emotions, the student turned full metal and gripped the bars of the cell. "Those bastards!" he yelled in rage. Taking a step back, he pulled back with all his might and as if he hadn’t broken a sweat, snapped the door off of it’s hinges. Dropping it to the ground with a loud bang, the robot boy ran to the unconscious girl and turned her over to get a surprise.

Holding his hand over his mouth to hold in the vomit, he stared at Freya who was now eyeless. The stench of rotting flesh and the sight of maggots in her sockets was too much and although he thought that he was pretty tough when it came to gore, this was nothing like he’d seen before. Almost choking on puke that had made its way to his mouth, he swallowed and lifted her up and over his shoulders, carrying her limp body firemen style. She looked as bad as Maria, probably worse, and her breathing was so shallow he wondered if she was even alive.

Stepping out of the cell and standing in front of where Maria was being held, Jake looked around, still unsure of where Hieta was. Well, he better have been close by, ‘cause Jake wouldn’t be able to carry bother girl’s out on his own. "Can you-" before he was able to finish his sentence, a wolf monster like the ones that they’d just fought crashed through the wall of a cell that was a little ways away from them and stepped out into the small isle in which they stood. The beast let out a howl of rage and scraped his claws against the cement leaving vicious claw marks.

Panicking, he looked around for Hieta. Come on… they needed to get out of here before the werewolf man caught them or the power turned back on and looking to Maria, he was still fearful of leaving her. No. He had to have faith in demon boy and trust that he’d grab Maria after he kicked this other guy’s furry ass. Wincing at the thought of leaving the other sister behind, he ran down the mini hall and out the door, taking a sharp left. As if having Freya on his shoulders wasn’t enough, Jake remembered that he’d have to improvise and find a different way out since the way they came was blocked by rubble. Please let there be another elevator.

Not daring to look behind him, he ran as fast as his legs could carry him. The tall student knew that he could’ve helped Hieta, but Freya was holding on by a thread and she needed to get out of this horror house before there was nothing left but a lifeless body. Good luck, Jake wished his partner as he sprinted down the hallway.

~~~

The mutant creature was going to run after the boy that took the eyeless girl when another scent hit his nose. There was still someone here and he needed to dispose of this pest first. No one was getting out of here with those girls, he’d make sure of that. Whether it meant ripping them apart limb from limb or smashing those brats into mush, he wasn’t going to let father down. He promised to uphold his newfound responsibilities and that included keeping Maria and Freya here no matter what. They’d never leave his sight again, not now, not ever.

apologies again that this took me forever @_@

Jake certainly was taking a lot longer than he had expected with his fight, and unfortunately for him, Hieta wasn't willing to stick around and wait for him to finish. Okay, sure, maybe it wasn't a terrible idea to make sure he didn't get killed in the process of fending off some random employees, but the objective was about saving the Rylens; the Headmaster would probably get mad if his partner died in the process, though that didn't matter too much if they cleared what they had to do. There wasn't anything outlining what would happen if a fellow student was offed, and Mr. Wright was reasonable enough to realize that pairing someone who was dead and couldn't be perceived by the living - never mind a certain white-haired necromancer - would be a poor choice in more ways than one. A box of bolts couldn't do much, regardless of whatever upgrades they put on themselves, if the mission calls for a partner, and they couldn't actually cooperate with said partner in several manners. But they were on a time limit - he just couldn't sit there and wait for the guy to finish his fight, and it was blatantly obvious that Jake wouldn't be fond of someone barging into his fight.

It would be best to secure a route for Jake to safely escape - if he survived, that was - and get at least one of the girls out at the same time. There wasn't much he could do, but considering the fact that the area was a maze, leaving several marks of different signals to guide Jake out from the cells to the nearest elevator would be best. Slipping right through the steel doors, his crimson eyes scanned the vicinity. Not many guards were around, if any, for some strange reason. That wasn't right at all... This should have been the most densely covered area unless they had expected that the people sent on this mission wouldn't have made it past the first wave of enemies. The possibility that they may have set up low security on purpose to lower their guards and then secure an easy victory at the exit was high. Whatever it was, it wouldn't work.

Honestly, if he could simply phase through the walls, he would. Made things so much simpler, and he wouldn't have to deal with the fact that the entire area was practically a labyrinth. Unfortunately, he did need to take into account the fact that the academy's vice president was a living and breathing human and not a ghost who could take shortcuts and the like to cheat their way through an unruly complex layout sent from what seemed to be hell itself. No, that was ridiculous. He couldn't be making those kinds of comparisons when he was also a demon, and demons themselves were considered hell-ish creatures. The Rylen corporation's building couldn't equate to that, not at all. Strolling around the area without so much as a care as a world, Hieta found himself having to rely on the very marks he left for Jake to keep himself from getting lost, and that in itself was frustrating. He would have to speak with the headmaster in the future about pairing him with students who could actually be someone he was compatible with and not some random boy who was part machine; in fact, never going on one of these sort of chores seemed rather compelling.

He didn't have to bother with saving the lives of people he didn't know nor did he have any reason to actually be helping the three students involved in this entire predicament.

... At the same time, it was outlined specifically that rescuing them was of utmost important and failure to accomplish said task would most likely mean the headmaster would reprimand him. The faculty was probably already rather irritated that he kept trespassing into other students' dorms to observe their everyday lives without them knowing. Guess he couldn't just disobey or try and break the rules again, especially considering how strictly he enforced them in the past.

Another mark.

Following the patches of white that he had created, Hieta made certain that the pathway ultimately led to an elevator escape and that Jake could get out with whoever he had chosen to carry. Not like he would be able to run and carry both girls at once, after all. That should do it. It had taken awhile, but that was definitely the fastest route out that he could figure out from the limited time he had set for himself. Once that was done, he evaded one of those other men that seemed to be hired, his furry and wet muzzle sniffing the air for a being that it couldn't ever detect. So Jake had finished his fight then. Maybe he hadn't put enough faith in his partner to get the job done. No matter, that was the least of his concern right now. He had to go help with saving the Rylen sisters; in an approximation off the top of his head, Jake should be heading over there. Having little reason to walk the rest of the way, he immediately slipped through the walls, cheating his way through a level at one of the highest difficulties possible. It was like using the hack in Pokemon to walk through everything to catch legendaries that were locked behind event codes that pretty much everyone missed. The comparison made him jot down a mental note to pick up one of the games once he got back.

By the time he made it there, Jake had slipped past without noticing him - obviously -, and was already rushing to leave. Oh, so he was pretty fast after all, all things considered. To be able to make it there before him was actually... a rather impressive feat. He hadn't exactly been playing fair when he began his participation throughout the mission, and while it helped here and there, especially when it came to gathering information on the base they were raiding, it wasn't quite the way anyone would have really expected this to go. The footsteps of the other boy sounded, resonating as they hurried away, a girl secured cautiously. How Jake was going to fight in that condition if it came down to it, Hieta wasn't sure, but at this point, it was all-or-nothing. The appearance of one of those canine-man hybrids, the howl echoing through the halls, only solidified that fact.

Hastily, he swapped into his demon counterpart, his only form that could interact with the physical world like any normal human, the wings sprouting from behind him and the horns protruding from his head. The door was still open from when Jake swung it and destroyed the lock, so he wasted no time in entering and wrapping his arms around Maria's waist. He found himself wincing at the fact that he could actually feel the bruises all across her body and the possibility that some of her bones may have been jutting out of place. To say that it was worse than the few times he took a mere glance at the two sisters when he infiltrated the area may not be too far off from the truth - he wasn't sure. For a few seconds, he had opted to keep his mouth shut, but instead, he spoke, a warning edge in his tone: "Save your energy. Do not try to speak."

The appendages on his back furled and unfurled before he whirred out of the cell with the mutant creature on his tail. Hieta wasn't necessarily the quickest or safest flier ever, but he should've known that, even on foot, wolf-man might have been able to keep up with his pace. He really would have to surpass his limits here if he wanted to not sacrifice a few limbs or one of his wings. Tch. Carrying all of the extra weight Maria had, not to say that she was heavy and considering the state she was in, she was actually emaciated, was dragging him down, and he couldn't accelerate past his current speed. His concentration was centered on leaving; he shouldn't fight and risk injuring the already wounded. If he took the stairway, there was the chance that his pursuer would call reinforcements, and he'd have difficulty leaving in a bullet rain that could take out his wings. Rushing to the elevator was possible, but it would lead them straight to Jake.

...

. . .

.  .  .

Keeping the enemy forces split would be better. With a sharp turn, he darted straight up the stairs, the hound still following. If the trek up stairways tired out the wolf, that would be ideal, but the likeliness of that was rather low. These weren't normal people they were dealing with - people with gifts and hired by a big, rich corporation were nowhere close to the ordinary. Not to mention that they had experience on their side, their human forms looking older than a couple of teenagers. Hieta didn't try to look back. He didn't have to - the heavy steps of a predator could easily be heard. Keep going, keep going, keep going. Don't look back. Just focus. No matter how many times he repeated it in his head, all he could hear echoing in the back of his mind was that it was easier said than done. Inhaling sharply, he kept flying and dodging whenever he sensed that claws were trying to snatch his wings and pluck them from the air.

He really never wanted to participate in this kind of thing ever again. It was much more of a hassle, and he was already a downer most of the time. All of the pressure with this sort of thing only brought negative thoughts. His head was already overflowing with those, and anymore, he might have to consider talking to Destiny about freeing him from being a ghost before he ended up going on a rampage by accident. Just a bit more, and then the exit would be in sight. Maybe it was a lucky break that no reinforcements showed up. Maybe it wasn't, and Jake was being screwed over while he was in his moments of deliberation and flying. One of the two, and unfortunately, Hieta found himself leaning towards the latter.

The distinctive sounds of a chopper could be heard, very faintly, but it was there. So the academy was picking them up like that, huh? Not bad. He wouldn't mind that too much, though it would've been just peachy if they intervened earlier. Great school this was, endangering all of the students on missions like these. It didn't matter so much to Hieta, but everyone else was young, just starting to live their lives, and they could easily be killed in these tasks that the faculty put on a bulletin board like an announcement for a school dance. Whatever...

That sort of thing didn't matter to him. Hieta wasn't sure whether or not Jake was already in the helicopter or not, though he carefully set Maria down on the seats before vanishing from sight. He didn't think he could get killer headaches like the one he was currently having, but apparently holding that form for too long resulted in it. Closing his eyes, he shoved his hands into his pockets, glancing outside towards the view. Funny enough, he could think about another large corporation that held dark secrets behind it. But that wasn't something he wanted to bother with thinking about at the moment.

What was done was done. He finished his part, and he didn't want to repeat the experience, despite the amount he learned from it. It wasn't pleasant or energizing enough for that.

Running through the seemingly endless halls, Jake kept running and didn’t dare look back. Wincing as Freya’s bony ribs dug into his shoulder and blood seeped onto his shirt, he knew he had no right in complaining, knowing that she was probably going through or had gone through more pain than he could’ve imagined. The poor girl. He’d never really known her as much as he did Maria, but from what her older sister had told him, they weren't in the best relationship when it came to sisterhood. Maria was more outgoing and cocky and being the more stoic and calm of the two, he assumed it was hard for Freya to get along with the Autumn, being almost polar opposites. Well, then again, who could possibly be in a good sisterly relationship with Maria? But who knows, maybe this tragic event would bring them closer together? Nah, that was crazy talk.

Relieved that the angry bellows and howls of the wolf men slowly started to die out the farther he ran, the Autumn couldn’t help but get the feeling that he was extremely lost now. It wasn’t as if his sense of direction was horrible, though more rather that whomever built this building was either crazy or ingenious. Every hallway looked the same and every single time he took a turn it felt like he was going in a giant circle. Some had lights, others not so much. Most had tons of doors, others had barely any. No matter how hard he tried to spot the differences as if it was a game, he never could and it started to scare him. Being buff was nice and all but he still couldn’t continue sprinting on forever and sometime or another another wolf man was most likely going jump out at him.

Taking a sharp turn around a corner and almost tripping over his own feet, Jake kept running, his muscles sore and his lungs screaming for him to stop. Sweat dripped down his face from the exercise and the warm temperature of the halls and if he stayed here much longed he was sure that he’d go crazy. Looking around for anything that could give him even a drop of hope, there was nothing. Still the same walls, still the same doors, it was all the freaking same!

”Dammit!” he yelled, slowling down to a jog and then to a stop, placing a hand on the wall to support him and lifted a shoulder so Freya didn’t fall off. Although his legs were wobbly from the additional weight on his back and it being difficult to breathe, Jake knew he had to go on, but how? How in the world was he supposed to get Freya to safety with no clue as to where he was going? Now that he thought about it, this whole mission was practically suicide! What the hell was the school thinking when they sent two teenagers to one of the most notorious and largest companies on the planet to rescue two sisters? It was madness!

Just as he was about to give up, something caught his eye. As if someone had attempted to slice the wall with a sword, a small dent in the wall rested a few feet ahead of him. That was odd, what in the world was a gash in the wall doing here when the rest of the cement was perfectly paved? Deciding to check it out, the lifted his hand and han it along the cut in the wall. Weird…

A little ways away there was another slice in the wall, and then another. Well, it was a far fetched idea but maybe these were like cookie crumbs for him to follow to safety, or maybe even his death. Either way, it was better than something and as he started to pick up speed, he assumed this was the work of Hieta himself.

Jake had to admit, demon people were pretty great.

Though it was never something he thought he’d have to admit, he loved Hieta. If Mr. Mysterious demon boy hadn’t given him some sort of guide to follow, Jake would have been totally screwed. And if he was screwed then Freya was screwed, and he’d never forgive himself, nor would Maria if she made it out alive to hear about her sister dying in this hell hole.

Once again, Jake sprinted down the halls with Freya on his shoulders. So far everything had been pretty quiet and following the markings, he turned what felt like the hundredth corner. A left, keep going straight, another left, and a right. Before he knew it, he was running towards what looked like an elevator and a straight shot to victory. Silently thanking Hieta over and over, he ran to the elevator like he’d never run before.

Upon reaching it, he slammed his fist onto the button, tapping his foot while waiting. They were almost there, just a little farther. Ding. Jumping into the small room with flickering lights, Jake turned to look at the buttons. Oh right, this was a corporation with a hundred floors. Well, they didn’t have time to sit and wait as it stopped at every other floor to pick up people and they needed to get out of this place, and fast. Not caring the damage that he did, Jake’s arm turned robotic and he slammed it into a small metal power box. Prying open the thin metal door, he ripped out every wire that was visible and with a cringe worthy shutter, the elevator shot up, slowly picking up speed.

They were finally leaving this horrid place!

Bracing himself against the force that pushed him down to the floor, Jake watched as the floor buttons lit up one by one after they past that floor and it was evident that the metal box was going extremely fast, maybe a little too fast. Unfortunately, this wasn’t Willy Wonka’s glass elevator that could just smash through the roof without a scratch, it was in fact a metal box that would crush them into a pulp of blood and guts. Although it took them no time to near the top of the building, he was starting to get a bit worried as they started passing through the seventies. Shit, they were almost there.

With an unconscious girl on his shoulders and trapped in an elevator of death, Jake needed to put his thinking cap on, even under the pressure. Okay, okay, what should he do? More like what could he do. Looking down to the metal box on the elevator wall that had some smoke coming out of it, he assumed he’d need to repair it, his specialty.

Setting Freya down so that she laid on her side, Jake kneeled down to take a look at the box, one of his hands turning into a wire clipper. Here goes nothing...

Floor 91.

Floor 93.

Come on…

Floor 95.

Almost there…

After a few moments of clipping and melding wires back together in a panicky sort of way, it was as if brakes were put on the elevator and it screeched to a halt at floor 98. Falling to the ground from the force of it suddenly stopping, Jake fell to the floor of the little room but quickly got up and grabbed the limp body, carrying her bridal style. The door of the elevator opened and he sprinted out of it and to the stairs. Along the way there were some nice looking workers in suits that screamed and had to jump out of the way but he didn’t care. Soon, he’d be gone and he didn’t give a damn about who any of these people were, whether they were in on what had happened to the Rylens or just your average, everyday business men and women.

Running down a hall lined with windows, Jake reached the end and slammed open the doors that led to the stairwell. Running up the flight, he was starting to get a bit light headed from the crazy running and adrenaline, plus his lack of hydration.

Opening the door that lead to the rooftop, Jake could hear the sound of a chopper. Thank the lord! Or whatever people believed in these days. Not wasting any time, he sprinted to the aircraft and jumped in, trying to catch his balance so he didn’t fall out the side. Holy crap, what an adventure.

Seeing that Maria was alright and already in a seat, though passed out cold, he placed Freya down in the one next to her sister and buckled her in, not needing anyone falling to their death on the way home. Sitting down in a chair across from the emancipated and eyeless girl, he couldn’t bare to look at her any longer. Shuffling around in a First Aid kit that was strapped into the side of his seat, Jake found some bandages and leaning forward, he wrapped it around her head, just enough to cover her eyes. He wondered if she was awake or knew what was going on but the fact that she didn’t move an inch told him she was still unconscious. Good, it was probably better that she not endure all this crap going on.

Before sitting back in his chair, he put his hand on her neck, checking for a pulse. For a second or two, he felt his heart almost stop but soon relaxed when there was a faint but steady beat to the girl.

Letting his muscles go limp like a pile of mush, Jake slumped onto his chair, breathing heavily. From the empty seat next to him he assumed Hieta was in the seat next to him and simply sighed of relief and let out all that adrenaline that had built up inside of him while running for his life. They’d done it, they’d completed the mission without any casualties. Him and demon boy saved the day. Through corporation security to crazy wolf-men, they’d done it.

Accomplishment, what a wonderful notion.

~~~~~

Watching as Jake left with Freya, Maria’s face stung as tears trickled down it, making their way into her cuts. Was this it? Was she going to be left behind? Forgotten?

Weak, unfed, injured, and hopeless, she sat against the wall, silently crying, assuming this was the end for her. All that she’d done, all that she’d worked for, it was all for nothing. Her school status, Gossip Girl, Jake… all she could wonder at this point although it gave her a massive headache was, why? Why did it have to end like this? But better yet, why did it have to start like this? All her life all she’d done was please her father and his ill minded ideals. Yeah, there were times where she chose herself over him, but even so, he’d raised her for battle, for protection against his enemies. Now, she sat at the very bottom of the Rylen Corporation building, breathing her last breaths and wondering why he’d do this to her and Freya.

A great lesson from Parenting 101. If your kids disobey you because you’re an asshole, torture them to death.

Hearing someone enter the cell where she sat with a pool of dried blood around her, Maria looked up to see a guy who looked like a demon, wings and horns and all. Was this really the end? Did Satan himself send one of his demons to bring her down to Hell? Although she’d rather not go down to the pit of eternal suffering, she knew darn well that she deserved it. But to her surprise, the guy lifted her up and at this point she was too exhausted to complain. He could’ve taken her to Heaven or Hell, she wouldn’t have cared. All that mattered now was that she was being taken to someplace other than this cell and in hindsight, anything was better than this wretched place.

She could’ve sworn she heard him say something to her about not speaking, like she was going to break out in reading a 12 page monolog.
With the world turning fuzzy, Maria was just barely able to catch a glimpse of some werewolf thing that started chasing after them. What the hell was that? Being held in the devil kid’s arms, she had to admit that the ride was a bit bumpy and embarrassing, considering she’d never thought that she’d need to be saved like a damsel in distress. Well, there was a first time for everything and this was apparently her first time.

After reaching the stairs and feeling the two of them take flight, it was the last thing Maria saw before her world was engulfed in darkness from falling unconscious. At least her, Freya, and their rescuers made it to safety, one way or another. All of the crappy events that had happened hadn’t happened for a specific reason, but even so, something would come out of it, for better or for worse...

~~~~~

No! He wasn’t going to lose them!

Racing after the boy who’d grabbed the injured girl, the wolf-man lumbered through the halls, barking and yowling as they got farther and farther away from his claws. Stupid wolf body! It was so much harder to run than a regular human! Slamming open the door that lead to the stair, he started up them as fast as he could manage. The winged boy was climbing higher and higher and at this point, he doubted that he’d ever be able to catch up to them.

After what seemed like ages of climbing stairs, he broke through the door that went to the roof and stumbled onto the rooftop, watching as the chopper flew away. He was too late, he’d failed!

Letting out a furious howl, he watched with narrowed eyes as they got away. Father was going to have his head for this, he was sure of it. He had been created for a sole purpose: keep them at the corporation and he’d screwed up. There was no excuse that could ever amount to his failure and for that, he’d never forgive himself. But no. He tried his hardest, he really did. If it weren't for that ghost kid, he would have clobbered Mr. Tall Guy, no doubt about it. Besides, father was always giving him the hard tasks, the ones that were always impossible to complete successfully. In fast, what in the world did he think he was capable of? Sending a boy to do a man’s job, they were stupid! No matter how hard he tried, nothing was ever good enough, nothing.

But this time, he would make sure to finish the job once and for all. He would never let them go, never! He would find them, bring them back. This wasn’t the last time they would see him. Family was supposed to stick together and that's exactly what Silas planned to do with his sisters.