A/N: This was so much fun to write! I wanted to practice writing fight scenes, so let me know what you thought of those!
The misty, dark streets of London looked straight out of a gothic horror novel. Although there wasn't a soul in sight at this time of night, one couldn't help but feel they were being watched; it was that kind of night. The kind of night where you could feel it in your bones that something dark and dangerous lurked around a corner. And you would be right, for this particular night was the night that they hunted. The beasts, the ghouls, the creatures of the dark. Every full moon people would shut their shutters and lock their doors and pray that they would not be next.
Ever since hell's gate had been opened, the streets had been painted red. And it wasn't just the dark beings that were the cause of the bloodshed, any that got in an angel's way was promptly obliterated; either by accident or by heresy. Every monster from every walk of life, or undead, seem to parade throughout the night underneath the moonlight.
However, amongst the chaos and screams of murder, a single cafe seemed to be open and its neon lit. Hogwarts. The cafe for monsters, people called it. The place was famous for catering to the beasts and the undead. It was a cute little shop that was run by an elderly old man, with a couple of waitstaff and a few loyal customers. In addition to the cakes and tea the place served, it was famous for it's mysterious "backroom" where, for a price, one's wishes could be granted by an elite team of monsters.
And this is where our story begins.
"Jude! Table seven's coffee is ready!" A tall bartender called out from behind the mixing counter. The man's muscles were quite large, as could be seen because he had his long sleeves pushed up to his elbows, and his hair was pulled into a loose, shaggy ponytail.
"Got it!" A small girl that looked to be around fifteen years old, rushed to the counter and loaded the coffee carefully onto a silver serving tray. She was wearing a plain black, long sleeve sweater, a black pleated skirt, and black tights. The only thing contrasting her black appearance was her white as snow skin and her electric green eyes.
With almost inhuman grace, the girl glided over to the table and set the coffee down.
"Enjoy." She said politely.
Returning to the mixing counter, the girl hopped up onto a stool and kicked her legs back and forth out of boredom. It was a slow night.
"Bored?" The mixer said with a chuckle.
"Mh…" Jude hummed absently. "I wonder when the others will get here."
"Am I too boring for the princess?" The man gave a mock look of pain.
Rolling her eyes she gave a huff.
"I see you almost everyday, idiot. I only seem them a couple times a month!" She gave a sigh.
"Awe, it almost seems like you care about them."
"Of course I care, they are a constant source of entertainment for me."
The man shook his head and chuckled while he cleaned a glass.
"I hope they get here soon, I'm so bored." Jude whined.
As if on cue, the front door opened with a chime. Spinning around on her chair, she lept out of it and looked professional.
"Welcome to Cafe Hogwarts." She replied, as if she had said it a hundred times. Her face lit up however once she saw who had walked through the door. "Ah, finally!"
A tall blonde girl with a large braid and a flowing blue blouse with tight, name brand jeans and black heels strolled into the cafe and, upon seeing Jude, gave a small wave. "Hello, Jude." She said pleasantly with a smile. Her voice was melodic and almost hypnotizing.
Behind the blonde was a girl with firey red hair, her eyes were black with blood-red irises. Wearing a bohemian style, almost like a mystical gyspy, the girl danced into the room; limbs as smooth as water. "Zack, Jude." She greeted the bartender and the smaller green-eyed girl.
Finally the third girl walking into the room, although she had messy, choppy hair and a slouched posture, somehow the girl oozed sex appeal. Sauntering towards the bar, she sat next to Jude and promptly ruffled the girl's hair. "Hiya, shorty."
"Hmph!" Jude responded with an angry pout.
The four of the gave a chuckle at the girl's reaction.
"So, you ladies in for a drink or we got work tonight?" Zack, the bartender, asked the ladies that had walked in.
"Drink." "Work" The choppy haired girl and the blonde replied at the same time.
"Hans, you always want a drink." Jude rolled her eyes.
"Ladies and alcohol, little Jude. Ladies and alcohol." The choppy haired girl grinned.
"We've got a job tonight, Hannah, no drinks till after." Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, the blonde cleared her throat. "The boss called us in for the usual dispatch."
"Boring, Sammy, borrriinnggg." The red hair and black eyed girl complained, flinging her arms around the blonde girl.
Zack grinned at the girl's antics.
"Excuse me, I'd like our check please." A customer's voice called out to the group.
"Duty calls." Jude said dryly, getting off the stool and giving the customer's her customary "professional smile". "Coming!" She strolled off to take care of the customers.
"Echo, work is work. No matter how boring it is." The blonde girl called Sam scolded the red head gently.
"But we've been on, how many of these raid's already? It never seems to end." Echo complained, letting go of Sam and stealing Jude's seat.
"Well, ever since the war business has been booming, so I can't really complain." Zack said diplomatically.
Echo threw Zack a look of over dramatic disdain.
"Not helping, Zack." The boy shrugged as the girl continued. "I want something exciting! Something new!" Her eyes glittered with hope.
"Hannah! I said no drinking!" Sam scolded the choppy haired girl who was sipping on a glass of alcohol.
"Awe come on, blondie. It's just a little bit." Hannah tried to grin innocently, but on her seductive face it came out a smolder.
"Don't use your succubus smolder on me, young lady." The blonde laughed and shook her finger at the girl.
"Hey, that's my chair." Jude put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at Echo, returning from dealing with a customer.
"Boss will want us in the back, now that we're all here." Zack put down the glass he had been meticulously cleaning and handed the smaller girl the "Sorry, now closed" sign to put in the window.
Grabbing the sign, she scowled at Echo as she walked by; to which the red head playfully stuck out her tongue at the girl.
After Jude had put the sign in the window, Zack dimmed the shop lights. The group of five all made their way to the back of the shop where they would meet with their boss, whom they all referred to simply as 'boss'. Entering the back of the shop, there was a comfortable lounge area with soft chairs and a large couch. Sitting at the head of the circle was an elderly man in a crisp, black business suit with a black button up shirt and a black, silk tie.
"Children, welcome." The boss spread his arms wide and welcomed the group.
Jude's eye twitched.
"Not a child…" She grumbled.
"Compared to a Death God, everyone is a child, my dear." The boss chuckled.
"Yes, boss." Jude replied dutifully as she took a seat in one of the chairs.
Zack, Echo and Hannah took to the couch while Sam elegantly sat in the remaining chair. Their boss, the Death God, pulled out a couple of folders from his black briefcase.
"Tonight's dispatch is going to be a little different than usual-"
"Thank the gods!" Echo interrupted.
She received a scolding glare from the boss, to which she sheepishly apologized.
"Instead of the usual targets, there has been word of a second group that has been interfering with the shipments. So, in addition to taking out the low level demons who have been running the illegal human slave trade, you will have to deal with this new group that have been swooping in stealing the 'goods'." The boss explained as he handed Zack and Sam the folders.
"So, do we know exactly what type of creatures this new group is comprised of?" Zack inquired as he flipped through the pages and pictures in the folder.
"All we know is they have claws, based on evidence left at the scene." The boss replied.
"Well, that's not vague at all." Hannah mused.
"It could be werewolves?" Echo suggested.
Zack scowled.
"I hate those beasts, no class at all."
"We can rule out vampires at least." Jude visibly relaxed. She hated battling her own kind, it always got complicated and messy.
"Ghouls perhaps? They could be stealing the goods and eating them. Is there evidence of half eaten corpses at the scene?" Echo inquired. Being a Ghoul herself, she knew what to look for.
"Nothing at the scene. They seem to have taken out the lower level demons and then stolen the humans, cages and all." The boss replied.
"So they'd have to be strong enough to take all that cargo plus the cages…" Zack mused out loud.
The group collectively sighed.
"Probably higher level demons then." Jude said reluctantly, giving Zack a concerned look. Because he was only a half demon, battling other demons was always emotionally taxing on the boy.
"My thoughts exactly." The boss nodded.
"I hope it's not at an abandoned warehouse this time, sooo cliche." Hannah grinned.
"It is." Sam read in the file.
Hannah rolled her eyes and muttered, 'I need a drink'.
"So, we go in, dispatch the lower lower level demon slave traders then wait for the higher level ones to show up and… what? Take them out too?" Sam inquired.
"I'd like you to capture one of them and interrogate them, find out if they are part of a larger organization and get the location of where they were taking the humans." The boss ordered.
"But the rest we can take out, right?" Echo cracked her knuckles with a grin, she loved a good fight.
"Indeed." The boss sighed.
Exiting the warm atmosphere of Cafe Hogwarts into the cold and desolate streets of London was chilling. People's windows were boarded up as the moonlight filled the empty streets. Full moons were always a time of terror for the humans. Sticking to the shadows, the dispatch squad made their way to the designated location of the slave trader's base.
Hearing voices inside the warehouse, Zack signaled everyone to get ready and be silent. Sam nodded and motioned for everyone to cover their ears. As she began her siren song, Zack promptly kicked down the door. Enemies in a daze from the song, they were helpless to the surprise attack from the group.
Halting her song, Echo and Zack rushed forward, both grinning wildly. As Echo's fingernails elongated and turned into claws, her red irises flashing, Zack pulled out his sword from the sheath on his back. Both ran forward at inhuman speeds, picking a target each they promptly decapitated them. Blood sprayed from their necks as the corpses dropped to the ground.
Dodging the spray of blood, keeping it off his leather jacket, Zack wielded his sword expertly as he locked on to his next target. By this time, the lower level demons had broken from their siren induced haze and began to fight back. As one of the slave traders lunged for Zack's heart, presumably to rip it out, the brown eyed, shaggy haired boy spun right and dodged the arm. Simultaneously twisting his sword to the blade's edge, he chopped off the offending limb. Pivoting on his heel, he pulled the sword back and rammed it into the demon's chest.
Meanwhile, Echo was having the time of her life with her claws. Slashing the lower level demons to pieces, creating ribbons of blood and flesh, she danced between two demons who were taking turns lunging at her. Side-stepping them, spinning this way and that, she moved fluidly like water. The bangles on her wrists jingled in a pleasant melody amongst the screams and howls of pain.
Hannah however fought with restraint, not needing to fight in a frenzy. Pushing her boobs up, the slave trader's eyes glazed over and shoulders relaxed. Taking the opportunity of his distraction, she pulled out a long knife and promptly gutted the poor demon. He didn't stand a chance against the succubus's charms.
Sam and Jude were busy doing their own duties. While the other three fought off the lower level demons expertly, the two were unlocking the cages that the humans had been kept in. Jude, with her inhuman strength from being a vampire, ripped off the locks with ease. Sam, with her beautiful and enticing siren voice, entranced the humans to follow them out the back of the warehouse and to safety. They worked like a team that had done this a dozen times.
Once all the humans were out of their cages and all the lower level demons were dispatched, the squad regrouped.
"Now we wait?" Jude questioned.
Sam nodded. "I suppose so."
Just as they were getting in position, they heard a slow clapping noise. Appearing in the doorway were three demons and two hellhounds. The demon in the front was wearing a pinstriped suit with a blood red button up shirt and slicked back hair; he appeared to be the leader since he was the one giving the slow, mocking applause.
"Well, well. That was impressive." The man grinned cheekily. Looking around at the empty cages, the man frowned and looked at the group with confusion. "You let the goods get away? How… interesting." He looked more annoyed than interested. "So you weren't here to steal the humans.. then why are you here?"
The man clearly liked the sound of his own voice.
"Don't tell me, you're human lovers?" He laughed outright. "How hilarious! A vampire, a ghoul,a demon, and whatever you two are, saving humans!"
Zack and Sam scowled, not liking that they had just been skipped over.
"We weren't saving them, it was just a job requirement." Jude spoke up.
Sam rolled her eyes. She knew that Jude held no love for the human race, but she could have held her tongue in front of the enemy.
"Job requirement? How peculiar." The man stepped forward, his crew following close behind him. "You work for the humans then?"
Jude was about to answer that she would never work for a human when Zack gestured for her to be quiet. Grumbling, she crossed her arms and angrily pouted.
"Hm, as much as I'd like to stay here and chat, figure out this little mystery, I have some escaped humans to catch so, if you'll excuse me." The man turned to walk away when a knife sailed through the air, the man catching it right out of the air.
"Sorry, but you're not going anywhere. We still have a job to finish." Sam ordered.
Sighing, the demon turned.
"Very well then." Snapping his fingers, the demons on either side of him released their hellhounds at the group.
Racing forward, Echo tackled one of the dogs. Rolling on the ground, snarling and growling, the two creatures fought in a battle of teeth and claws. Plunging her clawed hand into the dog's chest cavity, she crushed it's hard; blood spurted out of it's mouth and onto her cheek. Eyes flashing red, she grinned and lept off the dog. Diving straight into the next fight, she aimed for one of the secondary demons.
Zack, baring his large sword blade forward, charged at the head demon. Eyebrows raised and eyes wide, he observed the demon pulling out a specialized gun out of his pocket. The demon quickly fired two shots at Zack. dodging one of them with his super-human speed, he blocked the other with his sword. Getting closes into hand-to-hand combat range, he swung his longsword at the demon's head. Ducking, the demon took his gun and aimed it at Zack's heart. Quickly twisting to the side, he managed to dodge the bullet; though, just barely.
Meanwhile, Jude was working up her skill to take control of the other secondary demon's mind. Though, this art form took some time to prepare, so Sam was holding the other demon off with her commanding, siren voice. A simple "stop" command and the demon was frozen. Slipping into the demon's mind, Jude ordered him to snap his own neck. Frowning as the demon resisted, she looked to Sam to help give him a bit of… encouragement. Combining their powers they managed to take control of the demon and coerce him to snap his own neck.
During this, Hannah had been playing around with one of the hellhounds. Using her seductive powers, she had turned the raging beast into a sweet puppy. Taking out her long knife, she slit the beast's throat after a quick scolding from Sam.
Echo had been busy with the second demon, and she was, once again, having a great time. Although her cheek was stained from the hellhound's heart and there were numerous tears in her colorful skirt, she looked like a mess, her eyes glittered and she had a bright smile on her face. The demon, contrastingly, had a look of confusion and horror. No matter how many punches he threw and she took, the girl bounced right back. Panicking he lunged for her head to smash it into the ground, Echo took this opportunity to twirl around him and jump on his shoulders. Taking ahold of his neck and snapping it.
Zack however was having more trouble than his companions, though, he had picked the strongest target for himself; typical. Additionally, he had the task of subduing the demon rather than killing him. Finally, after many more gunshots and a couple of wounds later, Zack managed to disarm the demon and pin him to the ground.
The battlefield was covered in corpses, from their earlier and more recent battles. But the group didn't even bat an eyelash, they had all seen much worse. Finding a chair in the wreckage and some rope, they managed to tie the demon up. Jude drew a demon sealing circle around the chair, securing the demon in place.
"So, now that the party is over, time for a little chat." Zack said confidently.
"I'm not talking to a filthy halfbreed." The demon spat at Zack's feet.
Zack growled at the demon and took a step forward, only to be held back by a small hand on his arm. Looking down, he saw Jude looking up at him calmly.
"Demon circle, Zack. Use your head. You'll be trapped too, even if you are half demon." Jude explained.
Crossing his arms, he stood his ground and silently glared at the demon.
"Now, let's try that again." Sam said, gesturing for Hannah to stand by her side.
"Tell us your secrets." The said in unison, using their enticing powers to coax the demon into telling them what he knew.
Struggling, he shook his head, trying to clear the girl's voices out of his head. Frowning the two girls chanted the phrase again, with the same result.
Shaking their head, they stepped back.
"He's resisting the allures, he'd more powerful than our usual prey." Sam explained.
Jude stepped forward.
"I'll get him to talk." She clenched her fists and stood at the edge of the demon circle.
"Are you sure?" Sam asked in a quiet voice. "We can just bring him back to the boss and have him do it…"
Staring at the demon, Jude nodded.
"I can do it." She replied.
"Be careful, and pull out if you sense the slightest disturbance." Zack reminded the girl.
Nodding, the girl held her breath and stepped into the circle. Raising her hand, she aimed her telepathic mind reading powers at the higher level demon. Eyes glowing green, a strong wind blew through the circle around the two of them. Suddenly stiffening, the demon began to struggle violently, Jude concentrated harder. Searching his mind and tearing apart his memories was a violent act, soon blood began to spill from the demon's eyes, ears, and nose. As Jude dug deeper, her hand began to shake. Finally, what seemed like ages later, he hand fell and she nodded.
"Got it." She whispered, falling onto one knee completely out of breath.
Zack stepped forward to help her stand up, only to pause at the edge of the circle. He grit his teeth and took a step back. Entering the circle would only cause problems. Waiting for Sam to collect the girl, since Hannah couldn't enter the circle either, he looked on with a concerned expression.
Helping the girl up, Sam looked to Echo.
"Finish him off, we've got what we need." She ordered.
Nodding with a grin, Echo strutted into the circle and grabbed the demon's hair; stretching his neck out. Taking a long knife from her belt, she swiftly cut the demon's head clean off.
Handing Jude to Zack, he scooped the tired girl up in his arms and carried her. Leaving the warehouse full of bodies behind them, they all headed back to the cafe to report back to their boss.
"Finally! Now let's get that drink!" Hannah cheered.
The group rolled their eyes and agreed.
A/N: For clarification:
Sam: Siren
Hannah: Succubus
Zack: Half-demon
Echo: Ghoul
Jude: Vampire