"Tamsin!?" Bo yelled out, running down the stairs. She stopped when she saw Kenzi, phone in hand and a look of hopelessness on her face.
"She's not here, Bo." Kenzi gestured with her phone in hand. "Dyson's not—Lauren's not… they're not answering."
"Where the hell would she run off to?" Bo asked, running a frustrated hand through her hair.
"I don't know. This is all some very fucked up shit. Like monumentally fucked up!" She took a deep breath, continuing in a calmer tone. "How exactly did everything go to hell in the span of one day?"
"I've pretty much come to expect it," Bo stated as she began to approach Kenzi, "Stay here, just in case Tamsin—or anybody—comes back."
"I can help you—"
"I need someone here. Something might go wrong, and someone needs to know what's going on."
Kenzi nodded slowly. "What are you gonna do?" She asked solemnly.
"Go to the cop-shop, see if I can't get one of the boys over there to get me a trace on Tamsin's phone," Bo said, flashing a confident smile in Kenzi's direction as she strode over to the door.
"Be careful, Bo. When you find her—just be careful."
"I'm always careful," Bo said, opening the door and turning to face Kenzi one last time, "but I'll be extra careful this time. Don't worry, okay?"
"I never worry."
"Right." Bo walked out of the house, slowly closing the door behind her. "Shit, Tamsin…" She breathed once she was clear of the house.
"No talking!" Tamsin could hear the growl in his voice, the cracking of bone as he disappeared into a large, black shadow cast from one of the shelves to her right. She stumbled back, fearing what was to come next, losing her grip on the door and falling to the ground with a heavy thud.
She yelped as pain erupted in her body, slamming her eyes shut at the sight of a mess of fur accompanying Dyson's growls soared over her sprawled out frame. The wolf landed behind her and she struggled to climb to her feet, but something heavy stopped her. A metal-framed boot was pressed roughly against her shoulder, pushing her down into the dirt. She looked up only to meet the cold black eyes of a large, bearded brunette man, a deep red scar etched diagonally across his grim face. "Shit."
Tamsin brought her right arm around, a slim, sharp blade dramatically ripping through the leather of her jacket's sleeve and imbedding itself deep into the large brunette man's leg. He yelled out, releasing enough pressure on the valkyrie's shoulder for her to pull herself out from beneath him. With some effort, she managed to get to her knees, shoving herself up and onto her feet. She staggered backwards, weakly raising her fisted hands in a feeble attempt to keep up a strong exterior.
She was facing the large dirty-white wolf, watching somewhat awe-struck as it rose to its hind legs and its shoulders began to flex and roll, growing in size and width with the audible sound of cracking bone. Its ribs shook and trembled as they forced themselves outward, the fur seemingly melting into the peach coloured skin as it stretched into a shape suitable to encompass the entirety of the growing skeleton beneath it. The wolf's nose began to crumple back, the sound of the bone and cartilage breaking into its new form filling Tamsin's ears. Had she not heard it a thousand times before, she might've been inclined to look away, but she didn't. She watched the thick, pointed teeth of the wolf fill the mouth of a man she'd come to love in a brotherly sort of way. His jaw dropped as he bared his teeth and let out a heavy roaring snarl that echoed throughout the metal warehouse and reverberated through Tamsin's body.
"Dyson," she pleaded just as a great, heavy force met the side of her face, flinging her to the ground. Her vision blurred and there was a high pitched ringing in her ears that filled her mind with a numbing fog. Her body had been overcome with immense pain as her ribs came into contact with the hard ground and the fresh gash on her pale cheek splattered her thick, red blood across the sandy dirt surface that stretched out before her.
For what seemed an eternity over she couldn't move, but finally her body began to tremble as the feeling came rushing back to her, cleaving its way through the foggy mist in her mind and clearing her vision. But by then it was too late. Dyson reached down, lifting her up by the collar of her grey leather jacket and shoving her against the ridged metal wall of the warehouse exterior. She let out a short cry of pain as her shoulder blades made contact with the rough surface behind her, quickly forcing the pain aside so that she could face the wolf.
She wasn't sure if she looked afraid, pissed, or sorry… but Dyson's fist rose and lunged forward, only to stop mere inches away from her jaw as his eyes met hers. They seemed to be searching for something within her, so she remained still, fighting to keep her breath under control. After a long moment, he took the fist intended to inflict pain on her face and instead used it to add an extra grip to her collar, pushing her harder against the warehouse wall. His gaze was still locked onto hers and despite the pain, she dared not look away. Something about the growing gentleness in his eyes told her that his sense was returning.
"Speak," he snarled, his fists tightening around the stretching leather of her jacket collar.
"What?" She asked, raising her hands to grab hold of his wrists, supporting her own weight against them to release the pressure of her jacket on her arms.
"You said you wanted to talk, so talk."
"Dyson, I-I know you think I betrayed you, but—"
"You betrayed Bo, Tamsin."
"I know it's hard for you to see, but I didn't turn her in! I ignored the call… hence the broken ribs," She rasped, tightening her grip on his wrists, grimacing at the pain coursing through her body.
Dyson seemed to be searching again. Tamsin couldn't tell if he was trying to determine if she was telling the truth, or otherwise… but she didn't have much time to think about it, for in the short moment that it took for the thought to pass through her mind, Dyson had been tossed aside and his spot was quickly replaced by the towering brunette assassin. "Enough talking," he spoke in a deep, choked voice.
Bo glided over to where a young and naïve looking officer sat. She'd never seen him before, which made him the perfect target. Glancing around the office one last time to assure that Dyson wasn't around, she tapped the officer on the shoulder.
"May I—" he began, his words caught in his throat at the sight of Bo batting her eyes at him, "h-help you?"
"Actually, yes," Bo said, reaching down and beginning to run her thumb along the back of his hand. Gentle waves of heat passed from her hand to his. "I need you to trace a phone for me… think you can do that?"
"C-certainly," he stuttered, slowly and reluctantly turning to face the computer, "what's the number?"
She reached over his shoulder, flaunting a ripped strip of paper in front of his face. He took it, glanced it over, and then began to type the numbers as they were written on the paper.
"Alright," he said, "this should take a minute." He paused, scanning something over on the computer screen. "Seems like somebody else already put a trace on this number. If we just tap into that…"
"Can you tell who?" Bo asked, leaning closer to the computer screen.
"Detective Thornwood, ma'am."
"Dyson…" Bo glanced at him. "Ma'am?" She asked, an angry edge to her voice.
"Sorry… miss," he corrected, tensing slightly.
"Better, I suppose." She turned her attention back to the computer screen. "Anything yet?"
"Oh—yeah." He scrolled down on the screen and then enthusiastically pressed his finger atop a map that appeared on the screen. "That's out in the warehouse district…"
"Building…" Bo scanned the map over, a bit shocked at her extensive knowledge of the multiple sketchy districts in town, "thirteen."
"There you go!"
"Thanks—um…"
"Dave."
"Well, thanks Dave. It really means a lot—"
"Do you think we could, maybe—" he blurted out.
"Woah, stop right there. I'm…" she thought this over for a second before continuing with, "I'm taken."
"Oh…" His eyes dropped to the ground, his expression suddenly saddened.
"Sorry, Dave." Bo took one last glance at the map on the screen, patted Dave on the shoulder and then made her exit.
Kenzi jumped as the loud ringing of her phone filled her ears. She took the phone in hand, tapped the green 'answer' button, and lifted the phone up to her ear. "Bobo?" she asked, "Find anything out?"
"Actually, yeah. Turns out Dyson put a trace on Tamsin's phone earlier today… now she's out in the warehouse district."
"What the hell is she doing there?"
"Probably getting the shit kicked out of her injured ass—dammit! God she's so stubborn, sometimes!" Bo yelled. A loud screeching noise could be heard and Kenzi could tell Bo was panicking.
"Calm down, babe. Don't get yourself killed before you even get there, okay?"
Kenzi could hear a light laugh on the other end. "I promise."
"Good."
"I just called to tell you where everything would be going down… you know, in case something happens."
"Something like you kicking everyone's ass and dragging that valkyrie back home?"
"Yeah, something like that Kenz."
"Alright. Well, I know. Now hurry up. Save the day and come home—with our stubborn little valkyrie."
"Will do, babe. Bye. I love you."
"Love you, too." The line went dead, and Kenzi slowly lowered the phone from her ear. Though she had all the faith in the world that her friend would bring Tamsin back alive, she couldn't help but feel nervous for both of them.
Tamsin had been dropped to the ground once Dyson was dispatched. Struggling to keep her upright position, she looked up into the fae's eyes, deeply unsettled by the lack of emotion held there. That was her, once. The blackness that bound his soul had once held hers in the same suffocating grip… and she suddenly felt sympathy for the man who no-doubt intended to rip her heart out. But she knew there was no use pleading with him… he was lost to the world, a shell consumed by His darkness. With this thought in mind, Tamsin threw a weighty fist forward, hurtling it towards the thuggish looking assassin's face. She was disappointed, though not at all surprised, when he side stepped the blow and caught her jaw in an upper cut. She stumbled back into the wall, wiping at the blood that began to dribble down her chin from the meeting of her clenched teeth and her tongue.
"That all you got?" She taunted, stealing a quick glance over to where Dyson had been tossed. He was slowly rising to his feet, angrily shaking his head. Tamsin almost smiled at how dog-like Dyson was acting, but decided that the current moment was best spent defending herself. Turning her attention back to her opponent, she quickly ducked beneath his next blow, which seemed fueled by anger at her comment, but just as his fist passed over her head, his knee had risen into her chin. "Fuck, dude!" She yelled, yet again wiping away at the blood that trickled down her pale skin.
Rage beginning to gnaw at her, she threw herself at the assassin, tackling him to the ground. She straddled him, slipping a jagged-edged knife from the inside strap of her leather jacket and pressing it against his neck. "You have one chance," she spoke in a breathy, but commanding voice.
"And you have none." Before Tamsin could even register what had happened, the man's large hand took hold of her left side, tightening around her ribs. She cried out, dropping the blade as he switched their positions and pinned her to the ground. His hand was still pressed roughly against her ribcage, pain ripping through her shaking body. It was searing... consuming, and she was vaguely aware of the screams that tore from her throat, of her hands desperately and unconsciously clawing at the man's bearded face, but none of it was enough to pull her away from the pain. The colours in her vision began to blur together, the sounds of Dyson's far off screams growing ever-more distant with every second of burning pain that pulsed through her body. And then there was a loud, high pitched sound that overpowered the remaining sounds about it.
Tamsin couldn't tell what it was, where it had come from, or if it even existed, but a few seconds later, there was a yell of some sort, and the tight, piercing grip on her ribs was suddenly released with a forceful yank that sent another wave of agonizing pain through the valkyrie's spent body. She could feel herself shaking and trembling against the pain as she desperately tried to force it aside and push herself up onto her knees. She barely managed to roll onto her side when a she was pushed back down with a gentleness that she wasn't prepared for.
"Tamsin!" Came a loud, panicked yell that shattered through the groggily received noises in Tamsin's ears. "Open your damn eyes! C'mon!" The voice pleaded. Tamsin could feel strong hands pressed against her shoulders.
"B-Bo?" Tamsin croaked, her eyes gradually opening as the pain became more manageable.
"Thank God," Bo breathed, her body relaxing a bit.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"Saving your ass… obviously." Bo scanned Tamsin's body for fresh injuries, frowning at the state the valkyrie seemed to be in.
"I'm fine," Tamsin coughed, using Bo's arm to drag her body into a sitting position. She rolled her eyes as Bo placed a hand between the blonde's shoulder blades and supported her in the action.
"From the writhing and the screaming I witnessed thirty seconds ago, I'd have to disagree."
Tamsin knew Bo was right, she felt weak… tired. "What happened to captain ass-hole?" Tamsin asked, choosing to change the subject and glance around the warehouse's exterior.
"Crap," Bo answered, "forgot about him." She rose to her feet, assuring Tamsin could support her own mildly upright position beforehand, facing the large brunette assassin. Upon her arrival, she had literally tossed him aside with a strength she wasn't aware she had. At the time, the thought had been pushed aside, but now she was fully aware of the fact that it was both incredibly cool and means for a very pissed off fae assassin.
"Bo," Tamsin choked, feebly trying to push herself back onto her feet. She stopped, however, when Bo's disapproving gaze met hers, and let herself fall back down.
"I've got this," Bo stated, her eyes never leaving the assassin, "Just rest."
Tamsin wanted to reply, but before she could think of something to say, Bo was charging the large brunette man. She watched rather impressed as Bo sidestepped the assassin's first blow, reaching a quick hand out and gripping his messy long hair, which assisted in her bringing the man's head down to her knee. She released her grip on him and stepped backwards as he shook off the headache the succubus no doubt caused him.
"No interfering succubus," he commanded, straightening himself out.
"Oh, haven't you heard? Interfering is what I do." With that, Bo lunged a fist at the assassin's head. It missed, but it appeared that was what she expected, for the instant his body leaned forward to dodge the blow, he was slammed in the chin by an uppercut from her left hand. He quickly recovered though, chucking his own fist at her face. This she didn't expect, which was made obvious with her being hit squarely across the jaw and sent crashing to the ground. The assassin took this opportunity to assault her with a number of heavy blows, a few of which she managed to roll out of the way of, but one made contact with her face.
"Hey, jackass!" Came a sudden yell, calling the attention of both parties in the fight. "I'm over here. It's me you want dead."
A sly smile crossed his face as he, without taking his eyes off of his target—Tamsin, threw one more direct punch to Bo's face, knocking her into a light daze. He stepped away from Bo, slowly beginning his approach towards the weak valkyrie.
Tamsin used all of her remaining strength to push herself up onto her feet, having no support meant having to real upper hand. She had dispensed of all of her weapons, cursing the fact that she had only brought two blades. What the hell kind of backup plan was that? Ignoring her newfound sense of self hatred, she glanced over at where Dyson stood. He hadn't moved since she last saw him, though he had stopped shaking his head. Now he remained terrifyingly still, a far off look in his confused and fearful eyes. What was he doing? "Dyson!" Tamsin yelled, hoping against hope that he was over his wanting to kill her phase. Or rather, hoping that it was, in fact, a phase.
She began to stumble backwards, painfully aware of how little damage she was capable doing in her current state, and even more painfully aware of how much more damage her opponent could do to her. The assassin came at her with her own knife, which he had lifted from the ground on his way to meet her. She was barely able to dodge, feeling the air the knife had disturbed against the side of her neck as she stepped aside. The large man quickly didn't even bother to pause and recover, instead he brought his outstretched arm around, catching Tamsin on the side of her head with his forearm. The force was enough to send the valkyrie tumbling to the ground, where she yelled out in pain as she pushed herself up with her tired arms.
Out of the corner of her eye she just barely caught the sight of the silver tip of the blade gliding through the air, preparing to cleave through the flesh on her side. Quickly, from her position on her hands and knees, she yanked her own body out of the way of the blade, slamming her back hard against the ground. Again, she let out a sharp yell as pain filled her body, but there was no time to recover, as, again, the knife hovered momentarily above the assassin's head, and then took the plunge towards her gut. But she had nowhere to run. Immediately after she had rolled onto her back, the man stood above her, one foot on either side of her thing frame. She didn't have the strength or the speed to push herself out, so instead she reached up and wrapped her hands around his wrists, wrestling against his strength as he slowly pushed the knife closer to the lower part of her sternum.
One last try, she thought as she let out the most pathetic and pleading cry for help that she could muster. "Dyson!" The echoing scream seemed to settle a silence upon the scene, well, with exception of the struggle with the knife. The tip of the blade had just made contact with skin, easily breaking it and shakily delving deeper into her pale flesh. She wanted to scream, but she simply couldn't take her attention off of the battle at hand. Her arms were growing tired, her strength leaving her, and though she could hear Bo rising and yelling somewhere off in the distance, she wasn't certain that she'd be able to fight the assassin off for much longer.
The blade kept pushing, a broad smirk engulfing the struggling expression on the large man's face. Just as she could feel blood begin to trickle out of the small slit, just as the warm liquid began to stain a darker colour on the black cloth of the button up shirt that she wore, the force that she had been struggling against, the strength of the man who stood towering above her, suddenly vanished. With a heavy release of breath, she dropped both her arms and the knife, which roughly collapsed onto her chest, and clenched her eyes shut as she caught her breath.
After a few long seconds of simply breathing, Tamsin opened her eyes to meet the warm gaze of her partner, his claws slowly retracting back into his hands, and the tips of his fingers dripping with blood. She glanced down at the large body of the man who had been sent to kill her. He laid sprawled out on the cold, dirt covered floor, the light of the rising moon reflecting off of the dark and gushing pool of blood that spilled over the entirety of his back and formed a small puddle on the surface below him. Beside him was a still heart, presumably his own, which, according to the blood dripping down the wolf's hand, was ripped from his chest mere moments ago by Dyson. "Dyson…" she breathed, her eyes now locked onto his. He looked so sad, it almost made her want to leap up and pull him into a comforting embrace, but she doubted herself truly capable of that at the moment, and she wasn't quite sure if he had returned to his regular state of mind, if that at all remained.
"Dyson, what are you doing?" Bo asked, slowly approaching him from behind. She had watched the whole scene unfold, heard Tamsin's cry for help… seen him appear from seemingly nowhere and thrust his clawed hand into the assassin's chest. She wasn't going to deny that, in that instant, she was overcome with a feeling of happiness, but that was quickly pushed aside when she recalled how angry Dyson had been previously. Hadn't he called Tamsin here to kill her? What was he doing?
"Bo," he said breathily, his voice shaking a bit, "What have I done?" His eyes were still on Tamsin's. That was when realization hit her. That was when she understood everything. Things were a lot worse than she had originally expected, which was not something she thought to be possible.
"Shit."
A/N: Well, there's that. I felt like getting a bit more descriptive with this one, apparently. Stuff happens, and if you expect to complain about characteristics, hold it until like... next chapter. Yeah.