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CHAPTER 1

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White flakes fell from the sky as another warm puff of air was exhaled. A soft smile came to John Myers face as he looked around at the beautiful scenery around him. The park just screamed winter wonderland, with people building snowmen, having snowball fights and just enjoying their loved ones company.

"Here you go sir." A voice broke him out of his wanderings and into the present situation. The lady behind the booth was holding out the steaming cup of hot chocolate that John had purchased a few moments ago. He flashed her a smile as he took the hot beverage in between his gloved hands.

"Thank you, and have a great day." Myers said and she nodded.

"You too sir." With that he moved away from the booth opening so that the next person in line behind him could order what they wanted. John slowly sipped at his drink as he walked through the snow, his boots making hardly any noise as they compacted the powder that he walked upon.

John wandered over to the outdoor ice-skating rink and leaned up against the outer railing, just watching the people skate by. He loved to watch other people, and try to determine what they were like by their actions. Most of the time he watched Abe and Red, and it was almost amusing to see the stark contrasts between the two of them.

While Abe was soft spoken, and fluid in his movements; Red was brash, loud-mouthed and head-strong. He would rather just run into a battle shooting first and just skipping the 'ask questions' part. John chuckled to himself at the mental picture of Hellboy in a cowboy getup, telling all of the random demons to 'Reach for the Sky.'

"Find something amusing out there?" A deep voice asked Myers and he turned to his left to see who his new companion was. He was greeted with a man at least five inches taller then him and built to boot. Dirty blond bangs fell out of the black cap on the man's head and blue eyes that seemed to be reflecting the ice on the ground.

All too soon John realized that he hadn't answered the man.

"No, not out there sir. My mind was just wandering for a moment." He answered and the man nodded.

"That happens to me all the time." He turned to John. "Dominic…Dominic Spencer." The man said as he held out his hand. John smiled and shook it.

"John Myers, nice to meet you." With their brief introductions in order, John and Dominic turned back to the people on the ice.

"Do you skate?" Dominic asked suddenly and John shook his head.

"Never really tried. I'm not that great on my feet…I'm clumsy at times and I fall almost every time I try to go either up or down a staircase…" John trailed off as Dominic laughed.

"At least you're honest." John rubbed the side of his head self-consciously, chuckling softly.

"I've been told that before."

"Well…would you like to try?" Dominic asked and John paused.

"…try what? Ice skating?" He coughed nervously as he looked over the ice. "That sounds great…but I don't feel like dying today." His statement caused Dominic to smirk.

"Oh yeah, I can see it now. 'Unknown man dies from falling one too many times in children's ice-rink.'" John pouted when he realized the man was teasing him. "Oh come on. I happen to be a great skater, and I promise that I won't let you fall." John paused looking at him curiously.

"Why would you want to do that? We don't even know each-other." John asked and Dominic shrugged.

"You just seem like a nice guy, one that I wouldn't mind knowing." John relaxed a little after that statement and smiled.

"I think that it would be nice to-"John was cut off suddenly when an obnoxious ringing sound reached his ears. He gave Dominic an apologetic look as he pulled out his cell phone and opened it. "Myers." He said into it.

"Boy-scout." The all too familiar voice of his charge echoed in his ears.

"Yes?"

"Need you to come down here fast. We have a new beastie out on the loose and Manning said that I can't go kill it until you get here." John paused.

"…since when do you care what Manning says?" He asked slowly and he heard Hellboy growl.

"He's got me under house arrest until your skinny ass shows up to baby-sit me. Now get over here NOW!" The click of the dial tone rang in his ears and he sighed. Today was supposed to be his day off…oh well, nothing that he could do about it now. He turned to Dominic.

"I'm sorry, my work just called and I have to go in. Maybe we'll see each other again and you can try to pull me on some form of frozen water another day…" He offered and Dominic smiled.

"Maybe John. See you around." With that John turned around and left the arena. Dominic's blue eyes turned frigid as he watched the boy walk away. "I'll be seeing you real soon Mr. Myers. Just wait and see." With an unholy smirk, Dominic turned around and disappeared into the crowd of people.

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John repressed the urge to roll his eyes at Hellboy's unending lecture.

I wonder if he just likes to hear himself talk half of the time… John wondered.

"More than half." Abe answered suddenly and John flushed red as he realized that he had totally forgotten that Abe could read his mind. "Only surface thoughts John. I can't go very deep unless I truly tried. And you can rest assured that I have no intention of violating the sanctity of your mind unless absolutely necessary." The aquatic being stated softly and John nodded.

"Um…Thank you Abe…that means a lot to me." John stated and Abe nodded.

"My pleasure."

Hellboy, who completely missed the memo about what started a conversation about mind reading, growled when he realized that Myers probably hadn't listened to a word that he had said. That was important stuff that he should know! Was it so hard to ask for him to stay at Headquarters and be ready twenty-four seven to do anything that he needed? Who needed a social life? They were highly over-rated anyways.

"So what is it that we're trailing exactly?" John asked and Hellboy shrugged.

"Don't know. We only have rumors of a creature hiding in the woods over here." Hellboy pointed to the corresponding place on the map. "Could be anything, then again…it could be nothing. But who has anything better to do today anyways?"

Hellboy's remark caused John to bristle.

"Actually for your information Hellboy, I did have something that I was currently doing before your rude phone call…You could have at least said please!" John stated as he crossed his arms and glared at the door.

If looks could kill…that door would have been scrap-metal.

"And what could you have possibly been doing?" Hellboy asked and he paused when he noticed a small splash of pink on John's cheeks.

"…Ice-skating." John replied softly, a small smile crossing his face. Hellboy frowned, what was so special about falling around on frozen water? Unless…

"Can't imagine that would be much fun on your own Scout."

Take the bait…tell me what I want to know… Hellboy thought and silently cheered when he saw John spin around to glare directly at him!

"Do you honestly think so little of me that I wouldn't have had a partner out on the ice with me?!" John snapped and Hellboy smirked.

"Seeing you around the ladies, you're no Casanova."

"I'm surprised that you even know who Casanova is." John replied tersely and Hellboy paused and glared back when the normally shy agent insulted him.

"You didn't say who you were with." He growled and John huffed.

"His name was Dominic; he was going to teach me how before you interrupted us." Hellboy paused.

"He? You were out with another guy!?" For some reason this ticked Hellboy off, but not for any obvious reason.

"Yes Red, another guy. It is possible for me to not only have friends, but to have both girls and guys." John stated, his voice showing fake amazement.

Abe, who had been watching the fight unfold, sighed to himself. These two, they were like bickering children at times. Red needed to learn that John was not some…thing that was just there for his own purposes and amusement; and John needed to learn that despite all of Hellboy's teasing, there was underlining concern that seemed to fly right over the agents head.

…this was going to be a long day.

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CHAPTER 2

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Hellboy let out a small grunt when another tree branch slipped from his hand and smacked him across the face. That had to be the tenth time that had happened and it was seriously starting to get on his last nerve, nothing could make the fact that he was getting beat up by trees any worse…

A smothered chuckle was heard to his left, and he cast a quick glance only to see Myers covering his mouth trying to hide his non-discrete amusement. A twitch formed in Hellboy's eye.

Never mind…it could get worse.

John smiled to himself as he saw Hellboy try to maintain some form of dignity…only to have it backfire and hit him once again… literally. A smoldering glare from the said demon had John coughing into his hand and attempting to put on a straight face…attempting, and failing miserably.

"Watch it boy scout…" Hellboy growled angrily, although truth be told he didn't really mind that John was laughing, oh no. It was just the fact that he was laughing at HIM! No one laughed at Hellboy and lived to tell the tale about it!

SMACK!

Hellboy paused as John burst out laughing at his current situation. No amount of glaring was going to shut the kid up. He was having too much fun with this. "Keep it up, I'm warning you." He snapped and John shot him a quick glance filled with amusement and mischievousness.

"Warning me? What for?" He asked innocently and Red growled.

"Keep laughing and I'll use you as my personal shield for the rest of the journey…"

"Admitting to the fact that you need protection from trees Red?" John laughed and 'eeped' suddenly when Hellboy grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him off of the ground easily, pulling them face to face.

"Now Red put Myers down. It's not his fault that your weakness just happens to be lifeless shrubbery." Abe said softly and Hellboy groaned.

"Not you too Blue!" Hellboy said frustrated as he turned to look at the Sapien. Abe didn't say anything, but it was obvious that he was enjoying this little nature walk. John and Hellboy might not have realized it yet, but they were very amusing to have around. Hellboy acting all tough until John found his tiny flaws then prodded him until he 'exploded' and would threaten bodily harm to the small agent, but then Abe would step in and 'save' him from the potentially dangerous demon. Red would never hurt the boy intentionally, but it was still fun to watch.

"AWOOOO!"

A loud unearthly howl echoed in the forest as soon as the last moments of daylight shone over the horizon. Red quickly lowered Myers as he reached for the Samaritan. All three of them where suddenly on the alert, looking for whatever creature had just awoken to the world.

"Blue?" Hellboy asked as Abe gently took off his glove and felt around the area, searching for the things signature.

"It's new…fresh. A type of wolf…fledgling though, it's been separated from its pack. Odd…" Abe paused and both John and Hellboy looked at him. "It seems as if this creature…is human."

"Wait, you just said wolf…" Hellboy started and John blinked.

"You mean…like a werewolf?" He asked disbelievingly. This time, all attention was turned to him.

"A what, Scout?" Red asked and Abe cocked his head to the side.

"Werewolf Red, human mythology. Shapeshifter. Supposed to only appear under the light of a full moon, it is said that if bitten by the next full moon you too shall be cursed." Abe supplied and Hellboy sighed.

"Great…how do I kill it?"

"According to lore one could destroy a lycan by shooting it with a silver bullet in the heart…or head."

Hellboy nodded and took out some silver bullets to place in his gun.

"Blue, take the kid back to the truck. Wait for me there." Hellboy ordered and started to walk away…

"Wait one minute! I'm going with you!" John snapped and Hellboy sighed.

"No, you're not."

"And why not? And don't tell me that it's because you like to hunt these things alone because frankly, that's a stupid answer. Everyone needs help sometime Red and I intend to be there for you when you realize that little fact." John stated as he crossed his arms, a sign that Hellboy knew all too well as the sign that no matter what he said- John was coming.

"Look Scout, if this thing truly is a were-whatever, then I don't want to take the risk of you being attacked by it." He tried and John huffed.

"You could be attacked too, actually more likely than either Abe or I because of the fact that you'll probably be the one that fires the most shots at it and it will want to kill you first." John said and Hellboy looked to Abe pleadingly.

"A little help here Blue." He asked and Abe nodded.

"What Hellboy is trying to say John is that we are not human, therefore the bite of a lycan is less likely to have an effect on us. However, if it were to set its eyes on you we might not be able to get to you in time." Abe explained and a sort of crest-fallen look overcame John's eyes.

"Oh…I see. Um, it's okay. Abe you can go with Hellboy, I'll go straight to the truck and stay there…I promise." John said as he plastered a fake smile on his face.

They think that they have to protect me…I guess they're right, I mean I am the weak link in this group…I should just stand back and let them take care of it… John thought to himself as he turned and disappeared, heading back to the truck.

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Hellboy nodded as he turned, preparing to head after this werewolf, when he noticed that Abe wasn't following him. He was just standing there, staring off in the direction that John had gone in.

"Hey Blue, let's go." Hellboy stated, effectively bringing Abe out of his thoughts. Abe turned and gave Hellboy a strange look.

"Perhaps you were too…quick to tell him to go back to the truck Red." Abe said somewhat distantly and Hellboy frowned. The one time that he actually managed to get Myers to listen to him and go wait where it was safe and Abe was trying to tell him that he had made a mistake?

"Puff, why?" Hellboy asked and Abe seemed to debate telling him something…something about John he was sure of it. "Blue, spill; we don't have all day."

"It is just…John has been…doubting his position here at the agency. Being a 'newbie' as some of the more senior agents have taken to calling him, he thinks that he's a weakness and that sometimes it might be better if he weren't even here…at all."

Hellboy froze, feeling as if a bucket of ice-cold water had been poured down his back. He slowly turned around and an unreadable look was on his face.

"What?" The question was asked in a dangerous tone of voice. One that Abe rarely heard came from Hellboy's mouth unless his buttons had been seriously pushed one too many times. "What ever gave him that idea?" Abe paused, not knowing if he should tell Hellboy the whole story, since he didn't want to be the cause of several deaths. No matter how well earned they were.

"Pressure Red, lots and lots of pressure." Abe concluded, deciding not to name names. Hellboy wasn't stupid; he knew exactly what was going on. He had watched from afar as some of the others targeted John for their own personal scapegoat, and he hadn't actually considered that what they had said to the runt had actually had an effect. Every time he watched John would handle himself well and seem unaffected, which was the only reason that Hellboy had let that sort of abuse slide. He thought that they would stop, but now he realized that they had done some serious damage, and if John left…He would personally kill each and every one of those bullies and then drag Myers back kicking and screaming if he had too.

Abe nodded as he followed along with what Red was thinking. He too had known about the others, but John always came to him afterwards and very subtly Abe had erased those fears from his mind with comforting words. He looked up at Hellboy and let out a gentle sigh.

"Perhaps we should try to make this up to him…" He said slowly and Hellboy's fist clenched.

"We shouldn't have too; he's stupid if he believes a word that any of them say." Red growled, but mentally he agreed. John might have been one of the strongest humans that he had ever seen, but he was like a small child at times. The simplest of things got to him like no other. "…Pizza and a movie?" He offered and Abe nodded.

"Pepperoni is his favorite, along with anything dealing with a good mystery." Hellboy nodded and sighed.

"Very well. Let's kill us a mutt and deal with Scout as soon as possible." Hellboy looked around the surrounding area. "Where is it now Blue?" He asked and Abe 'felt' around the area, a frown coming to his face as he realized that he couldn't find it. He slowly turned around, before he caught onto it-and he gasped.

"Oh no." Hellboy knew something was wrong instantly.

"What? What is it?"

"It's over there…it's after John!" Abe said and both of them quickly took off in the direction of the youngest member of their group.

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John had his hands stuck inside his pockets as his feet shuffled on the ground. He didn't really want to believe that he was useless to Abe and Hellboy, but all evidence pointed differently. Even his first time with Hellboy- he had gotten clipped by a car and if Red hadn't had come to his aid, he wouldn't even be walking amongst the living today. He sighed, despair slowly creeping in. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he resigned. Then Abe and Hellboy could get a new agent, one who was fit to stand by their sides.

John looked up to see the truck only a few feet away. He'd wait till he got back to the Bureau then he'd talk to the proper people to do what had to be done. A shiver wracked his body. He didn't really know what he would do after he left…

A twig snapping somewhere in the area around him caught his attention. John's head snapped up and worried brown eyes searched the surroundings.

It must have been my imagination…that or it's Red trying to pull a prank on me. John thought, but even in his own mind, he didn't believe it.

"Red? Is that you?" He asked softly as he slowly pulled out his gun, trying to find the source of the disturbance. A deep, rumbling growl met his question and every hair stood on end. Before the towering creature even stepped out of the cover of darkness, John knew that he was in serious trouble.

Oh no! Please, Red come barging out of those trees any second and help me! He cried out in his mind as he saw those glowing yellow eyes focus on him, and the saliva dripping from the slightly open muzzle after the beast licked its lips. John took an involuntary step back when it stepped forward and a chuckle could be heard coming from the creature. It thought that this was funny! What part about the fact that he was about to die was amusing to that twisted dog?

…oh yeah, the part where he turned into doggie kibble after it did the deed.

John shivered and his grip on the pistol tightened as he swore he saw the thing smirk. Normally John would have started shooting already and just prayed to the wind, but he didn't have silver bullets, and shooting this thing with anything else would probably only serve to piss it off and make it kill him slower.

Far too quickly, and far too soon; it attacked.

John jumped and rolled out of the way and spun around firing at it before dodging the second and third claw swipes. This thing was fast and most likely- if help didn't arrive soon- he wouldn't last very long. John bit his lip when one of his movements backfired and the werewolf swung backwards, connecting with his side and throwing him up against a tree. All of the wind was knocked out of his lungs and he rolled painfully to the side to avoid it again.

A loud howl echoed in his eardrums and he cried out when the weight of the thing jumping down on him alerted him to the fact that he was trapped. The werewolf howled again and John felt himself roughly turned over onto his back, making it to where he had to stare up at the thing straddling him. It had a self satisfied smirk on its face before it lifted up a paw, and brought it down upon John's side.

John screamed in pain, twisting around trying to stop it and to just get away from the barrage of scratches he was getting. This thing was amused with his pain, he noticed that right away. It liked to hear him scream and attempt to fight back, although they both knew that he had no chance of getting out of this.

John arched away from it when it slowly started to press its blood covered claws into his abdomen, his screams no longer making much sound but still portraying how much pain that he was in. He watched through drooping eyes in disgust as it took its claws out and slowly licked the blood from them. As if it were merely tasting a delectable treat. It made him sick, and he realized now how true the others had been.

He was going to die, because he was unfit for this position. Now Abe and Red didn't have to worry about him. They could move on, because he would no longer be a part of the picture…he wouldn't exist anymore.

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CHAPTER 3

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Hellboy didn't even mind the branches smacking him in the face anymore. He didn't care that he was making a lot of noise in the process of trying to get to the truck. He didn't care about much actually. He just wanted to be sure that he got to John before that creature did.

Abe was doing a very good job of keeping up with him, especially considering that his main element was water and not land. He himself was worried for the boy, and was starting to wonder how they had managed to wander this far from the truck in the first place, and why they had let Myers walk back all of this distance all by himself.

Shots were heard in the distance suddenly and Hellboy's heart jumped in fear. That was John, he was sure of it, and if he was shooting at something, then that only meant one thing- the werewolf had found him. Red tried to pick up his pace, but he had already been running as fast as he could over the uneven terrain.

They were getting closer…when they heard John scream in pain. It echoed over the land and deafened Hellboy as he came upon the clearing. He prayed that he wasn't too late to save him; he had to be on time. He had already lost his father, he lost Liz, and he would not lose John too.

Hellboy ran into the open clearing…he felt his blood run cold, and considering that he was a fire entity- that was quite an achievement. It took a total of three seconds for him to take in the entire scene. There was the blasted creature, its arms and mouth covered in blood, and underneath it was the still, bloody form of John. From his vantage point, Hellboy knew that if John wasn't already dead- he would be in the next few minutes. Blood was everywhere, and his vest looked like someone had run it through a shredding machine. He could only imagine what the flesh underneath those rags looked like.

The creature turned to assess the new arrivals. It didn't seem frightened by them, just annoyed that they had ruined its fun. It sized them up, and then let out a low growl. Warning them that if they even thought of coming closer to its kill, it wouldn't hesitate to attack them too. Red, who had been standing still for that time, staring down at John, slowly let his eyes travel up to the werewolf. His normally somewhat calm eyes had gained an unearthly glow to them, like embers straight out of a fire. His look spelled death for the unfortunate soul who had dared to challenge his wrath.

Abe watched fearfully as Hellboy latched the Samaritan and placed it back in its holster, before cracking his knuckles and approaching the beast. Fury was in every movement that he made, well contained under the surface, but it had been called upon. And it would not leave until justice had been dealt.

It wouldn't leave until this thing was in agony, for it had dared to touch one of his.

With a snarl, Hellboy launched himself at the werewolf; only to have it meet him halfway. Hellboy kept trying to grab it, but the blasted thing was too damn nimble and fast! It kept avoiding capture and using its claws to scratch at Red. All too soon it realized that its new targets skin was thicker then the other one and its claws weren't doing much damage. With that in mind, it grabbed a hold of Hellboy's arm- and bit.

Amongst the commotion of the two fighting. Abe had rushed to John's side. The agent was unconscious as Abe quickly took a tally of his injuries. After a few seconds he let out a small sigh of relief. John's vest had taken almost all of the damage, leaving only red scratches in their wake. The main problem was the puncture wounds on his side, which was where most of the blood was coming from. Other then that- the creature had missed anything vital. Although Myers would need medical attention, he would survive to tell the tale.

Red paused as he felt the creatures teeth close in on his right arm. A small self-satisfied smirk crossed his face as he cocked an eyebrow to the beast's attempts. A chuckle tore itself from his throat as it tried to tear into his arm.

"Hey ugly…" Hellboy started, grabbing the Samaritan with his left hand and putting it up against the werewolf's chest. "Wrong arm." He said as he pulled the trigger and the thing let out a high-pitched scream as it was thrown backwards by the momentum of the pullet tearing through its heart. Hellboy quickly returned his gun back to its holster and rushed to Abe and Myers side.

"He should be fine Red, but we need to get him back to B.P.R.D." Hellboy nodded and reached down, picking Myers up and caring him back to the truck. Abe opened the door for him and he climbed in, supporting Myers head. He didn't even need to tell the driver to go before he felt the truck start off in its preordained direction.

As the truck took off from its original parking place, none of the occupants noticed the snapping of twigs or the glowing yellow eyes as a bulky figure stepped from the shadows and went to its fallen comrade's side. It paused, calling to the other and turned away; waiting for the other to get up and follow it.

It seemed confused when the other werewolf just kept laying there. Why wasn't it answering it? Slowly approaching its side its nose twitched as it smelt blood…the others blood. Cooing softly to the other it nudged it with its muzzle, trying to get the other to wake up and follow it, the nudging becoming more forceful and needy when the other made no signs of getting up.

A strangled cry erupted from its throat as it realized that its companion was dead. Tears running down its face as it cuddled next to its fallen friend, trying to protect the body from the cold of the night. Slowly, a new sent rose to its nose and it paused, looking for the cause of it. Blood…unknown blood, demon blood. The blood of he who had killed his lover.

A snarl rose to its lips as it tilted its head back and howled into the night. Whoever killed his mate would suffer, they would die-and so would anyone close to them. He would teach them the meaning of pain, before he drained them dry and gained restitution for his dead lover. Oh yes, they would pay…He would bring more to their cause, and destroy them.

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Red sighed as he looked down at the smaller form in his arms. He wanted nothing more then for those doe brown eyes to open up and for Myers to say that he was fine and that Red didn't give him enough credit. Hellboy shook his head mentally, amber eyes gazing intently at the agents face. John didn't realize how much credit he did give him.

-He was tougher then nails where it came to dealing with him, and most of the time when other agents went scurrying, John had held his ground.

-He was a fricken conundrum. Often making many wonder how someone with such a pure heart untainted by the trials of this world could face up to evil after evil and still wake up with a smile on his face.

-He had an excellent sense of humor hidden behind layers of shyness that Hellboy was slowly breaking him out of, and he took everything he said in stride.

-He was the most beautiful thing to watch on the battlefield that Hellboy had ever laid eyes on…

Wait… Hellboy paused. Since when do I think of John as beautiful? I mean he's almost as graceful as Abe sometimes, and when he just comes out of the swimming pool…oh stop that train of thought! Darnet Red, get a hold of yourself!

Now that Red truly though about it…John was beautiful. Not in the way that Liz was, or any of the female kind- but a softer kind of beauty. His face was smooth and lacked the roughness that was his birthright as a son of Adam. His brown eyes mirrored his soul and showed what it truly meant to 'wear one's heart on their shoulder'.

The sudden lurching of the vehicle told Hellboy that they were back at headquarters. He barely gave Abe enough time to open the first two doors before he grew impatient and just started kicking the doors open.

He'd get Myers help now…

Then he'd deal with these new thoughts and feelings later.

As long as Myers was there to bring him his breakfast and fight next to him in battle, as long as he continued to come to work smiling; as long as he was safe and happy…Red was content to watch him from afar.