Chapter 35

When Charity decided to design and craft custom body armor for Karrin and I, it was a surprise I was more than happy to receive. Karrin looked like a teenager cosplaying as an action movie hero in the pitch black armor with her blonde hair tied back in a bun. The scars on her face were nearly gone, and she'd armed herself with her boxy submachine gun (a gift from Kincaid years ago) and a short-sword from Charity at Pyrrha's insistence.

I wore a vest under my duster and she had a fresh set of pants lined with more kevlar waiting for me. Add in the dozens of enchantments on my coat, and the comforting weight of my Smith & Wesson revolver, and I felt ready to take on the world. And, I don't mean to brag, but the three of us together in our fancy armor looked like a trio of badasses that would make any dimensional invader pause.

It's a shame the effect was ruined by the Carpenter's minivan. The Blue Beetle Mk. II, bless its soul, was in no shape to ferry us around the city anymore, the Nevermore had made sure of that. Michael promised to tow the poor girl to my old mechanic Mike, who I was convinced had a magical talent of his own when it came to machines. The original Blue Beetle had been brought back from the brink several times thanks to Mike. I'm sure he would be thrilled to see that times hadn't changed.

But, until my faithful steed could be returned, we were forced to borrow the Carpenters silver minivan instead. I've seen many strange things in my life, but I've seen very few things as contradictory as a heavily armored near-seven-foot-tall wizard, a tiny spec-ops blonde, and a fiery red-haired amazon in battle armor hitching a ride in the soccer-mom-mobile. If ever there were a way to kill the mood, that was it.

It was one of those newer cars, the ones with the built in camera's to cover blind spots and a fancy GPS system and satellite radio. It lasted a mile before my wizardly talents caused the GPS to sputter and die in a shower of sparks. I awkwardly reached out and tapped the radio's power button, and the bowels of hell shrieked at me in impotent rage, before dying in an impressive display of smoke.

I tried to ignore the disapproving look Karrin was sending my way, and glanced in the rearview mirror at Pyrrha in the back seat. She had her weird, transforming gunblade in her hand, in gun form, with its clip out, and all eight rounds laying on her lap. The bullets and their casings were… equally weird. I could tell the bullets themselves were made of normal metal, but the casing almost seemed to radiate an energy of its own. It was probably more of that Dust that Pyrrha had mentioned.

She noticed me looking at her, and gathered the rounds in her hands. In several quick, fluid motions, she had reloaded the clip and locked it firmly into the rifle with a soft click. It shrank back into its sword form, that she gently set on her lap.

"I was counting how many rounds I have left," she explained. "Without Dust, I've been hampered in what I can do in combat."

I thought back to the insane blur of red and green I'd seen tearing through Grimm, and felt several day old bruises flare up in response to her explanation. "I have a hard time believing that."

Pyrrha smiled, "My range is greatly reduced without Dust, so I'll be limited to melee combat."

"Again, not seeing the problem here," I replied.

"Cinder's greatest strength is in ranged combat," Pyrrha's smile faded, and I saw her unconsciously scratch at the center of her chest..

The car grew silent as we rolled to a stop at a traffic light. I took the opportunity to turn around and face Pyrrha, "You sure you're up for this Pyrrha? After everything that happened, if you wanted to wait as backup, I'd understand."

It's one thing facing someone who's tried to kill you; it's another thing entirely to face the person who actually managed to do it. If Molly was to be believed, Cinder had toyed with Pyrrha before she tired of the game and finished it.. I could understand if that was more than a little discouraging.

Pyrrha fixed me with those bright green eyes, and I saw that familiar fire flickering from within. "Do you remember, Harry, what you told me when we first met?"

"Put some pants on?"

"No, before that."

"You sound nuttier than a fruit bar?"

She sighed, "After that."

I thought back to our conversation with a little more effort, and recalled what she might be referring to. "Something about Destiny, right?"

"Yes," she nodded. The light turned green and we started moving. Pyrrha leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees as she continued speaking, "You told me you believed that our Destiny isn't set in stone, that we carve our own path. Back at Beacon, I believed that it was my Destiny to stop Cinder and take up the Mantle of the Fall Maiden. But now I understand that no one can tell me what my Destiny is. This is my life to live and I know how I'm going to live it."

Karrin and I exchanged a concerned look. That was pretty definitive, world-view changing stuff she was talking about. While Karrin believed Pyrrha was back at one-hundred percent, I was a bit more cautious about letting her back into the field after everything she'd been through. So I kept my next question simple.

"And how are you going to live it?"

Pyrrha's smile returned, "I'm going to help my friends protect their world."

We arrived at the Chicago Alliance Headquarters half-an-hour later. I recognized Will and Georgia's van immediately, and saw the Alphas and Butters seated on the front steps when I pulled up on the curb; they stood to meet us when we piled out of the minivan. Will and I shook hands, and I smiled.

"Glad to see you're all still in one piece, Will." I admitted.

"We got a good night's sleep." he replied, then added, "I heard your apartment blew up."

I forced a smile, "Technically, a really big bird just knocked the wall down."

"Of course it did," Georgia said after she and Karrin exchanged a hug. "You three don't seem any worse for wear though."

Karrin grinned, "Honestly, I feel better than I have in a long time."

It was only a matter of time before people started questioning Karrin's little makeover, so I opened my mouth to catch everyone up on what happened, when two more cars pulled up on the curb. One was Thomas' big white Hummer, the other was a white Rolls Royce Silver Wraith, circa WWII. Both cars rumbled to a stop, and Thomas hopped out of his ego boosting male accessory.

My brother looked like he'd stepped out of a magazine - okay, he always looked like he'd stepped out of a magazine. But this time, instead of a modeling magazine, he'd stepped out of the latest edition of Guns and Ammo. I never saw anyone in the White Court wear actual body armor, but today Thomas was wearing a heavy white jacket that was clearly lined with some sort of padding, and a light kevlar vest underneath. His long black hair was tied back in a sort of warrior-style ponytail, and he wore a pair of heavy combat boots under white cargo pants. I didn't see any bulges of weaponry in his clothes like usual, which was likely because of the duffel bag he had swung under one arm. As usual, he managed to make the entire ensemble look glamorous. Georgia, Andi, and Karrin noticeably paused when he stepped out of the truck. Pyrrha glowered.

"Harry," Thomas greeted me with a nod. "I heard your apartment blew up."

I sighed, "Glad to see you too, Thomas. You sure you got enough firepower in there?"

He gave the duffel bag a shake, and grinned, "We run into a rogue gorilla again, I think I'm gonna go hunting, and I wanted to be prepared."

"As is often the case, you prefer to go loud and explosive, instead of subtle and controlled. Men certainly love their phallic symbolism." a sensual voice purred.

Now it was time for the males to stare. All eyes swiveled to the source of the voice. Lara Raith emerged from her Rolls Royce like Aphrodite had emerged from the ocean. Her full lips were quirked to one side and her large grey eyes sparkled with amusement. Unlike Thomas, she wore what could only be described as a catsuit straight out of James Bond. Shiny white leather, that hugged her hips and breasts just tight enough to leave very little to the imagination and covered every inch of her creamy skin. Her long black hair was hanging free, rolling in rivers down her back and shoulders. I'd say she belonged in a sex dungeon instead of walking in public, were it not for the tactical straps wrapped around her legs and hips that made her pistols and daggers plain for all to see. Her outfit, like Lara herself, was both sensual and very clearly dangerous, in more ways than one.

Lara stepped onto the sidewalk, a movement that sent captivating motions rolling across her body. The driver offered a kevlar vest, but she dismissed him with a wave of one elegant hand, and zeroed her gaze in on me. I heard Karrin make a noise, but I couldn't tell if it was one of annoyance or disgust. Probably both.

The White Court Queen strolled across the sidewalk, hips rolling with every step, and stopped a foot away, with one hand on her hip. "I must admit, wizard mine, you were exceptionally vague in your message. I most certainly expect you to… enlighten me on why you summoned me here."

"I told you why, Lara," I replied. I made a conscious effort to focus on a part of her body that didn't send blood rushing south. It was harder than it should've been.

Lara waved her hand through the air, "You said, and I quote 'I know who's behind the attacks, come to Chicago Alliance HQ, and be ready for a fight'. Even for you, that is frustratingly sparse on information."

Her eyes flicked from me to Pyrrha, and I saw a flicker of a smile, "Though I imagine it's possibly related to this lovely little treat you've brought with you perhaps?"

I didn't get a chance to say anything. Pyrrha stepped forward and stared into Lara's eyes with one of the most venomous glares I'd seen from her.

"Knock it off. Now. Or I will break both of your legs, right here, right now."

We all fell silent, and I felt my jaw drop. I knew that Pyrrha hadn't had the best introduction to a White Court Vampire, but I hadn't expected that from her of all people. I made a note to keep Pyrrha as far from Lara as I could in the future.

The woman broke into a dainty laugh, "Oh my, how fiery. You certainly are never short of strong-willed women, are you wizard mine?"

"To be fair, she found me." I replied. "And I'm pretty sure she's not kidding."

Lara turned casually to the side, amusement on her face, "Oh I can tell. I look forward to seeing you in action, little lamb. It's bound to be exciting."

Pyrrha just glared a hole into the side of her head, even as Lara turned back to me and said, "In all seriousness Dresden, why am I here?"

"That is a good question," I said, "And when everyone's here, I'll tell you. I think you can agree that if I had to repeat myself a few times, it would get old fast."

Lara folded her arms, but said nothing to that. I was taking more than a small risk mouthing off like I was, but that had hardly stopped me before. Besides, if I had timed this right, then the everyone else would be arriving at any moment.

"Harry," Butters asked. "Who else is showing up?"

I smiled in response, but didn't say anything. Karrin flung her hands into the air with a sigh and found a seat on the steps where Pyrrha joined her. I will not deny that I was enjoying this more than I should, but us wizards have to get our amusement from somewhere.

Luckily for everyone, we didn't have to wait long for the next party to arrive. They were heralded by a convoy of white vans, four in total, that parked on the already crowded street. I couldn't hide my grin as everyone moved forward with curiosity, save Lara. The side doors slid open with a rhythmic 'bang bang!', and I watched as men and women clad in body armor, armed with swords and staffs, and dressed in long grey cloaks came filing out of the vans. Even though the vehicles had been filled to capacity, it only took a solid minute for them to organize themselves into neat rows.

"Empty Night…" I heard Thomas breathe, and I grinned at him.

"For once, everything is in our favor," I said.

My friends and my brother looked stunned and for very good reason. When I turned back to the group of grey-clad wizards, I was approached by a familiar 'young' woman. She looked to be in her late twenties, but I knew she was actually far older and that her current appearance was the result of a body-swapping necromancer. She had long, curly brown hair, a sweet pretty face with adorable dimples, and wore an expression of dead seriousness.

Warden Commander Anastasia Luccio, accompanied by Carlos Ramirez, bowed her head to me briefly, and said, "Regional Commander Harry Dresden, the Wardens of the White Council are at your disposal."

My grin faded into a softer smile, "That's the best news I've heard all day, Commander. Glad to see you back in the field again."

She nodded, "It's good to be back."

I raised a fist to Ramirez, and he rapped his knuckles against mine, "Told ya not to start the party without me, Dresden." Ramirez said.

"It's not a party until you show up anyway, Ramirez," I chuckled. It was good seeing them both there, and having this many Wardens was an immense relief. While they hadn't dealt with any Grimm yet, the Council had just survived a brutal magical war with the Red Court. Not one of the men and women standing before me had survived that without a respectable level of combat experience. It had also left most of them very young for their occupation. Anastasia Luccio might be one of the few exceptions, but the new body had come with a reduced capacity for magic. It was also the reason that most of my fellow Wardens, like myself, lacked one of the specially forged swords that our ranks customarily carried. She had lost the ability to create them along with her body.

I glanced over the crowd and frowned, "I was hoping for someone from the Senior Council. No dice?"

Luccio imitated my frown, "The Senior Council is… preoccupied for the moment. Fomor activity has increased drastically. Ancient Mai and the Merlin are coordinating several operations, and Ebenezar McCoy is leading one of them. The Gatekeeper has vanished, and Wizard Listens-to-Wind is on standby for medical treatment."

I mentally cursed. The Wardens would make a huge difference, but members of the Senior Council were a league all their own. If we had even one member on our side, it could turn what I knew was going to be a hard battle into a curbstomp. Of course, that was also why I had one more ace up my sleeve.

Lara tapped her foot impatiently, and watched the Wardens with equal parts caution and disdain, which they happily returned. "Wizard, will you finally explain what this is about?"

"We've got one more person," I replied without looking at her. "Then I'll tell you everything you want to know."

Ramirez frowned, "You're not talking about who I think you're talking about, are you Harry?"

"That depends on who you're thinking he's talking about." Molly said from beside him.

Everyone yelped, and thirty Wardens raised their weapons at her. Molly smiled innocently at them and folded her arms until they lowered their weapons.

"Dios mio…" Luccio cursed under her breath.

"Damn it Molly, you nearly gave me a heart attack." Will cursed, taking a few steps back away from her.

Molly shrugged. She was the only one not fancied up for what was to come. Given that she was a Faerie Queen, she could probably change her outfit with a wave of her hand, so I didn't comment on it.

I instead turned to Lara and said, "Now I can explain everything… inside."

She glared at me.

I smiled again.

"If you are all quite finished, may we handle the matter at hand?" someone said from the stairs. All eyes moved up the stairs were Johnny Marcone stood with his hands folded behind his back, flanked by Gard and Hendricks.

My smile turned into a sneer, "Hey John, how's your security holding up?"

Marcone regarded me with those faded green eyes like a child, and said, "Currently under re-evaluation. How Torchwick escaped is currently under intense investigation."

"Oh, that's a relief," Karrin muttered.

That got a sigh out of the crime boss, "Miss Murphy, Dresden, we could spend all day sniping at one another, but I do believe there are greater issues at hand, are there not?"

I hate it when he's right. Even though Torchwick escaping is entirely Marcone's fault, I can't really blame him entirely. People from Pyrrha's world were just full of surprises, so Torchwick finding a way out wasn't entirely impossible. I was still going to give Marcone shit over it though.

"Alright, everyone inside," I said. "We've got a lot of things to catch you up on, and very little time to do it, so let's go!"

For once in my life, people listened.

And that was how I knew that it was the end of the world.

There was no way we were going to cram forty people into the building's conference room, so we met in the gym instead. Once I had everyone settled down, I gave them the best summary I could of what had happened the past few days and what we knew. To my immense relief, I wasn't interrupted once, and was able to finish in half-an-hour. When I did, the room remained silent.

Given how unnerving it is having forty blank faces staring at you, I coughed into my hand and asked, "So… does anyone have any questions?"

Luccio spoke up,"These Grimm creatures, exactly how many variants could we be dealing with?"

I looked to Pyrrha for the answer. "No one knows how many variations of Grimm exist. While climate and geography can limit what species one might encounter, it's not unheard of for new species of Grimm to simply spring into existence."

"Like those… Terror Birds you mentioned," Ramirez said.

Pyrrha nodded, "Yes. And from my personal experience, Cinder has some control over the Grimm, augmenting her already dangerous abilities."

"Which brings me to my second questions," Luccio said. "How powerful is this Cinder? What is she capable of?"

Again, I left this one to Pyrrha to explain. In fact, I took a seat and let her stand at the center of attention. She knew more about what we'd be charging into than I would, so better let her handle it instead of let me talk out of my ass.

"Cinder is stronger than any Huntsman I've fought before. With the power of the Fall Maiden, her Aura is supercharged. She is incredibly fast, durable and strong with its power. But it also gives her the ability to freely generate fire hot enough to melt steel, attain flight, and if the legends are true, manipulate the weather. I never saw her use it when we fought, but I saw plenty of the rest."

"But you survived it," Ramirez pointed out.

Pyrrha scratched at her head, "Er, no. Were it not for outside intervention, I would be dead. I might be able to match Cinder when it comes to skill, but that can only take you so far against that much raw power."

"Which is where I'd come in." Molly interrupted. She got a few dirty looks from the Wardens, but Luccio was not one of them.

In fact, she seemed intrigued by her statement, "That is true. The Winter Lady does possess tremendous power, so if this Cinder enters the battlefield, it would be best to let Miss Carpenter engage her."

Molly almost looked disappointed by Luccio's reasonable attitude. She held no love towards the Wardens, and I was pretty sure she was enjoying the fact that she was outside their jurisdiction now. I made a mental note to talk with her about that later. Just because she was hands-off now didn't mean it was a great idea to go picking a fight, deserved or not - especially not now.

"Of course, that is assuming Cinder enters the battlefield at all," Marcone said. "According to Dresden, she's not at the peak of her health right now. She may simply send her underlings to deal with us."

"Right," Pyrrha agreed, a fact that made her look noticeably sick. "Which is why I'm here. I know more about the Grimm than anyone here. Though as a word of warning, this may take a while."

I exchanged a look with Karrin. Pyrrha had educated us before on what kind of Grimm we might run into. How bad could this be?

Forty-five minutes later and my head felt like it had been dunked in a bucket of ice-water. Pyrrha definitely knew a lot about the Grimm, but her presentation was interrupted here and there when someone didn't understand a term, or wanted more detail. For instance, some of the names were clear enough in context. Beowolf meant wolf-man, Ursa meant bear, but Death-stalker and Beringel had to be filled in. Occasionally she would turn to me for the closest Earth comparison, then continue on her merry way.

Hearing about so many different variations was what some might call 'demoralizing'. And they'd be right. The only saving grace of that detail though, was the fact that Pyrrha made it clear that most of the variants she mentioned weren't exceptionally common. This made them more dangerous, but our chances of running into them were less likely. Small comfort, but in this business you take what you can get.

It was obvious when Pyrrha finished that there were still dozens of questions from everyone, but we didn't have time to answer them all. We'd spent enough time catching them up to speed, it was time to move onto planning. That lead to a slew of problems all it's own.

Most supernatural factions have reputations or relationships with other factions that make any form of unified direction as difficult to achieve as herding a pack of cats. Even though I only had to deal with the Wardens and White Court as the big supernatural factor, they still proved difficult to work with.

The Wardens were adamant in accompanying Lara's forces wherever they went for damage control at the very least, and Lara was rather annoyed at the idea of being babysat by them. Plus, we couldn't have two powerful forces overlapping like that anyway, it would leave everyone else weaker for it.

Karrin managed to smooth that problem out though. She, Butters, and the Alphas would go with Lara to the Chicago graveyard. That way, a human presence known by the Council could keep an eye on the White Court and reasonably be expected to keep them on a leash. Molly meanwhile, was going to the Velvet Room on her own and received no complaints on that front. Which left the Wardens and Marcone's forces for the airport.

That was the one thing we all decided on, to let Marcone's people handle that particular area. He had the resources to evacuate it, temporarily, and the manpower to push into whatever Grimm infestation might be there. With the Wardens augmenting him with magical knowhow and power, handling the Grimm would be that much easier. Throw in Pyrrha and I, and we felt pretty good about our chances. I'd considered letting Pyrrha go with Molly instead, but the airport was practically built for the redhead, a literal metal jungle for her to go nuts in, and she didn't protest the decision.

Deciding on who would go where was the easiest part of that whole damn meeting if I'm honest. But I'm nothing if not persistent, and almost four hours after Ivy had arrived and told us about the next attack, the Chicago Alliance and Winter Court were on the move. Karrin left with the Alphas in Will and Georgia's van, trailing behind Thomas and Lara's pale convoy. Molly vanished when we weren't looking, off to gather members of the Winter Court. That left the Wardens and Marcone's hired muscle.

Gentleman Johnny Marcone was a man who seemed prepared for every contingency, though given his position as a crime boss, I should've been less than surprised that he had several armored vans ready to go. There was more than enough room for everyone, with spare change. It's not every day you see Einherjar and Wardens hitching a ride together, let alone in heavily armored black vans. I'll be the first to admit it was a damned surreal sight.

Pyrrha and I were seated in the lead van, along with Marcone himself, Luccio, and Ramirez. Gard was up front driving with Hendricks in the passenger seat, and several more of Marcone's employees filled the vacant seats in the back with us.

I leaned back against the hard metal wall, feeling every crack and pothole that caused the van to sway. Before a big fight, I always took pains to take a few minutes to clear my mind. A cluttered mind and magic went together as well as water and lightning, with far more explosive results. This whole mess had flung me all over Chicago like a battered rag doll, destroyed my new home, and put one of my friends and my daughter at risk; there was a lot on my mind.

Across from me, Pyrrha sat leaning forward, eyes closed and quiet. Her left hand opened in close in time with the jostling of the truck. Ramirez drummed his fingers against his leg, and Luccio kept scanning the truck with her steely commander's gaze. Only Marcone, who sat with his back facing the front of the truck, looked truly relaxed though, in his own unique way.

I don't know how he managed to get the Chicago airport cleared out, or clearing us into that mess, but the implications disturbed me. I always knew Marcone's reach was far, but just how wide was the spider's web? There was a lot I'd missed in my year long absence from the world. When this was over, it would be time to play catch-up again. To hell with the consequences of stepping on his Signatory status, and double-to-hell with the fact that I helped put him there.

But that was for another day.

There was a loud pounding from the front of the truck, and that little slide that separated the cab and the rear slid open. Marcone glanced at Hendricks and the two exchanged quiet words before he slid the window closed again. When he turned back, he found four sets of curious eyes on him.

"The first team has arrived at O'Hare, and is sweeping through the interior." he informed us.

It hadn't taken a lot of convincing to keep us walking structural hazards from joining the team on the inside sweep. There was doubt that the portal would be located inside the airport, but it was better to be safe than sorry. There were five teams total, and they would sweep through each terminal and report back immediately if they came across any Grimm activity. That would be passed back to the mobile command station at the rear of our convoy and relayed to Marcone, who would then tell me or Luccio if I was busy.

More than a small part of me prayed that the Grimm wouldn't be inside the terminal. If I had the choice between fighting them in cramped quarters or on the twenty miles of tarmac that made up most of O'Hare airport, I'd go with the latter. Fighting the Beringel had shown me that Grimm thrived when their opponents couldn't maneuver, and they didn't need any more advantages.

Hendricks reported the same news to Marcone four more times along our drive, then fell silent. If the sweep was completed without issue, they'd report back, otherwise they were to maintain radio silence. I squirmed in my seat; thinking in all of this military jargon was weird. Most of my battle strategy consisted of 'fight the hilariously more powerful dude, get butt kicked, drag sorry self home, prepare for round two and pray you survive'. Going in with the deck stacked in my favor was enough to set my nerves on edge.

That's why, when the truck began to slow, I immediately sat up and tightened my grip on my staff. The others saw my motion and sent me a look, save for Marcone, who smirked at me. The jerk.

"We are in fact, arriving, Dresden." he confirmed.

Double-jerk.

Ramirez turned to the door, "Alright then, just drop us off in the white zone and we'll start unloading."

"Ramirez, you unload in the red zone, not the white zone." I reminded him.

He grinned, "No, you unload in the white zone, red zone is for pick up only."

"The red zone has always been for loading and unloading of passengers. There's never stopping in a white zone."

"Now, don't you tell me which zone is for loading and which zone is for stopping." Ramirez replied, trying not to laugh.

Pyrrha looked between us both then looked at Luccio and asked, "Do you have any idea what's going on between them?"

"They're quoting a movie at each other." Luccio said dryly.

The girl pinched the bridge of her nose, "At a time like this? Surely you can't be serious."

There's a once in a lifetime opportunity, where the stars align, the weather is perfect, and the Blue Moon rises, that a straight line like that is gift wrapped in dropped in someone's lap. There was no telling when I would get another chance like this, I had to take it now. I opened my mouth, and...

"I am serious," Luccio said, then added, "And don't call me Shirley."

I froze, with my mouth wide open. Ramirez snorted and started chuckling, a smirk appeared on Marcone's face, and I'm pretty sure the scary bodyguards in faceless masks were shaking violently from barely contained laughter, or simultaneous seizures.

Luccio smiled at me innocently, and Pyrrha just looked baffled. I slumped into my seat, content to pout for the rest of the drive. It was at this moment of course, that the truck finally rumbled to a stop. The rear doors swung open a moment later, letting in pale filtered light.

I was the first out, jumping out onto the tarmac. The storm clouds were gathering again, though there was no sign of rain yet. We'd parked somewhere between Terminal Five and Terminal Three, I wasn't sure. As a wizard, I always avoided air travel. In a car, if it shut down, you were just stuck on the side of the road. In a plane, if it shut down, you were shit out of luck. On the single flight I've taken, we had to make an emergency landing, and I swore off attempting it ever again.

That hadn't saved O'Hare from my wrath before, and I had a feeling the old airport was going to be seeing a lot more of it today. Thankfully, whatever Marcone had done to get it evacuated had worked. The entire complex was a ghost town: Even the large passenger jets sat at their terminals, silent and unused. There were about eight of the armored vans, six arranged in a half circle with two larger ones forming a V in the center. Wardens and Einherjar were already moving, the former preparing magical instruments while the latter prepared gun emplacements. Some of the magical warriors hauled open the doors on the trucks forming the V, unveiling Marcone's personal weapon for the horde of Grimm we might be facing.

Two heavy miniguns, armed and ready. I saw Gard already manning one of them, with Hendricks preparing boxes of ammunition. I couldn't help but grin at the sheer firepower we had at our disposal, and was more than a bit giddy just thinking about seeing the Grimm run into it.

Pyrrha appeared beside me, her facial features a mask of calm. "Do you think it'll be enough?" she asked.

I tapped my staff on the concrete, "If we were stuck with one or the other, no. But when you're able to bring Magic and Technology together, there's not a lot that can stand in its way. I'm liking our odds."

She didn't reply to that, looking off toward the far side of the terminal. Her lips pressed into a thin line and she said, "They're here. They're coming."

I didn't have time to question her on it. Once the words left her mouth, the ground began to shake. It was a low rumbling sound that reverberated through the earth and up my feet. If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought it was an earthquake, but I'd seen what a horde of monsters can do if it was large enough. This was no exception.

The Grimm came in a wave of black fur, pale bone, and scarlet eyes, crashing over anything unfortunate enough to get in their way. They clambered over the larger jets and buildings, but I saw a smaller passenger jet get knocked across the field and get promptly buried under the weight of Ursai and those new Beowolfs.

"Dios mio…" I heard Ramirez whisper in awe. I don't know how the Grimm managed to keep themselves hidden from the public, or how long they'd managed it, but here they were in full force, larger than what we'd faced at the UC. Four, five, maybe six hundred of them came charging towards us. It was so much more than what we had faced before.

But this time, we were ready for them.

If Luccio was put-off by the rampaging sea of tooth and claw sprinting towards us, she showed no further sign of it. She and several Wardens approached the edge of the 'battle-line' the maximum distance before friendly fire ceased being relevant. She barked several rapid orders in smooth latin, and the Wardens went to work.

I sensed more than I felt the magic at work, and recognized it for what it was. I was no slouch at Terramancy, Earth Magic, but when it came to invocation-based magic, Pyromancy (and more recently, Cryomancy) was where I was strongest. But those who excelled at it were a force to be reckoned with, and several of them working in sync, well..

The mobile wall of horror was a thousand feet away, when the ground before them simply opened like a giant mouth and swallowed the first line whole. The rest pressed on, faster, stronger, howling with barely contained rage and excitement. Ripples of concrete began slamming into them in cresting waves, knocking out ten or fifteen Grimm at a time. I watched a pillar explode from the ground, and fall into the crowd, flattening dozens of Creeps and a few Ursai under its massive weight. The very earth itself shuddered and groaned with each attack, bucking under our feet. Yet the black mass surged onward as if it were nothing.

Pyrrha shifted nervously from foot to foot, and I could tell she was itching to go charging in. But she trusted me enough to know what I was doing, to let me handle this my way first. And when it came to my way, there was only one way.

Sheer, overwhelming, firepower.

The Terramancers' final spell, at five hundred feet distance, was a doozy. Instead of swallowing more Grimm, they forced the concrete to compress itself and rise… and rise… and rise.

A hill of stone, several hundred feet across and fifty feet high. I heard more Grimm crash into the new hill, but if the initial attack didn't slow them, then neither did this. Their work done, the Wardens retreated behind the Einherjar.

Gard grinned like a madwoman, and began revving her minigun. It began to whir softly, an ominous warning to the hell it was about to unleash. The first Grimm crested the hill, a dozen, three dozen, fifty. When the first hundred had crested, Gard and her partner let loose.

For those curious, a minigun firing isn't like how it is in the movies, a solid 'whump whump whump' that sounds intimidating but isn't that fast. No, they only sound like that if you fire and rev them at the same time. Gard had been revving hers the moment we knew the Grimm were coming. So instead of a heavy staccato thunderclap, it was an ear-splitting whine. I covered my ears, as did Pyrrha, but couldn't tear my eyes away from the spectacle.

The first few Grimm simply… vanished. One moment, they were charging downhill, eyes blazing like pits to hell, and the next they were bits of black tar in the wind. It was pretty clear that the more powerful a Grimm, the more damage it could take and you would need higher and higher levels of firepower to injure one. That's why that damn Beringel could take a full shot from my blasting rod and get back up, but a Creep disintegrated under a few high powered bullets.

The Beowolfs fared no better, being chewed to pieces under a second of sustained fire. The Ursai managed to last a little longer, but these were low level monsters, the expendable troops. Like an army of fanatics, they charged straight on into the enemy fire, dying in droves for every inch they managed to get down hill. But they did inch down the hill, slowly but surely.

The bodies that didn't disintegrate under raw firepower quickly evaporated on their own. The Grimm didn't have to waste time clawing over the deceased, they could just keep coming. I watched three rounds rip a Creep to pieces, and cripple a Beowolf behind it. An Ursa barreled through it, killing it in the process before Gard reduced it to chunks.

That was the disturbing mentality behind the Grimm I realized. We could hurt them, kill them, even slow them down, but they would never stop coming. Wave after wave, body after body. We could kill a hundred of them and two hundred more would be waiting. That was the fate awaiting Earth, if we failed.

It was one hell of a motivator, that's for sure.

I suddenly realized something had changed though, and it took me a minute to realize why, through the ringing in my ears. The gunfire had stopped. And so had the Grimm. I watched a single Beowolf stumble down the hill, its body a glowing Picasso of bullet holes, before it too collapsed and died. Then, it was silent.

"... Well I don't know about you, but that was very exciting!" Gard yelled. I noticed she wasn't wearing any headphones, the madwoman.

Marcone appeared besides me, and said, "Indeed. If you are done gawking Dresden, I believe we should move forward, before more arrive, correct?"

I rubbed my ear vigorously in an effort to clear the ringing out. "Right! Let's move people!"

We didn't waste time lowering the hill the Wardens had raised; there would be time for that later. It wasn't a steep climb, but the concrete had been reduced to a grainy sand by the sheer firepower unleashed on it. The Grimm certainly lacked any stopping power, that was for sure. Pyrrha scaled the hill easier than any one of us, pulling ahead ten, fifteen feet easy. She reached the summit before any of us.

And right when an explosion, like a sonic boom, cracked through the stormy sky. But it wasn't thunder or lightning, this was close, and much lower. Pyrrha turned to me, a grave expression on her face.

"Go!" I shouted, "See what happened, but wait for us before you charge in!"

She nodded and disappeared down the hill. I could feel Marcone drilling a glare into the back of my skull, but ignored it. Pyrrha wasn't a kid, and despite being a bit headstrong, had more than proved herself. I trusted her to wait for us if she saw something she couldn't handle.

We crested the hill and half slid half stumbled down it and after Pyrrha. It didn't take long to catch up to her. She had paused under one of the jets waiting for us. I raised a questioning brow when we finally caught up.

"I saw him," she explained. "I saw Cowl."

Oh.

Hell's Bells.

If he was here, than that meant that this was going to be a very ugly fight, even with Wardens. I had beaten Cowl once before, but that had been when he was vulnerable. If it were just me, I'm not so sure I'd win. But now, the odds were on my side, and we didn't have any time to waste. I turned to Luccio and Ramirez. They nodded and we moved.

All of the Wardens followed, while Marcone held back, waiting to see how things unfolded. Getting in the way of a wizarding brawl was a good way to get fried, and no one with sense wanted any part of that. Hell's Bells, I didn't want any, but if wanting was having, I'd be at home with my feet up and a munchkin nestled under my chin, not trying to stop a damned ocean of monsters. Pyrrha lead us under the jet and around the terminal overhead. There was a garage under the upper floor of O'Hare, the perfect place to set up shop for some dark rituals. There was no way that Cowl wouldn't have heard the fighting, he had to be expecting us. Or at least, armed men and women. I was also pretty sure he wasn't expecting the White Council either.

Just as we approached the garage door, it exploded into a ball of fire. On instinct, I raised my shield, protecting myself from the blast of heat and pressure rolling towards me. The other Wardens did the same, deflecting fire and debris, but unable to do anything about the flash of light.

I blinked my eyes clear, and ignored the renewed ringing in my ears. The first thing I saw, was the fire raging before us, not a natural fire. It had to stand ten feet high easily, and burned white hot. I stepped back, noting the other Wardens following my lead, and cautiously lowered my shield. The heat, even from a dozen feet away, felt like standing before a vast furnace. I immediately broke out into a sweat and let out a noise of disgust.

"Looks like things are heating up." I muttered, and glanced to Pyrrha.

That was when I noticed the second change brought on by the explosion. Pyrrha was gone.

"Pyrrha!?" I yelled, whipping my head about for a sign of the red-head, and found nothing. The burning fire twisted my worry into a hot fear. On instinct, I roused the Winter Mantle, feeling the chill settle over my body, seeping into my arms and legs and coating the runes of my staff in frost.

Infriga forzare!

I thrust my staff at the flames before me, using my will to redirect a small part of the fire. I pushed and pulled the heat into the air, leaving an icy void in its place. It didn't last long, and only created a hole two or three feet wide for me to see through. What I saw though, sent another chill down my spine.

The Blackstones had been arranged in a five-pointed star, surrounded by a circle, a pentacle. Hovering above it, was a doorway a dozen feet across and equally as high, dripping black ooze onto the floor while scarlet lines of fire raced through the concrete in intricate symbols. Beyond the doorway, was a hellish landscape of bloody crags and violet diamonds that rose like skyscrapers into an angry sky.

All of this though, was just window dressing for the person standing at the foot of the portal.

She'd ditched the modest attire I'd seen her in last, replacing it with a long slinky red dress that showed that she was far more mature than I had assumed. One side had a slit down one side, exposing a tight covered leg. The shoulders were lined with golden stitching and her right one was left bare. A black glove covered her right arm while a long sleeve covered the other. Her hair was still cut short, and the scarring visible on her face. But the shame and anger I had seen before was gone, replaced with bemusement.

Cinder Fall had arrived on Earth in all her terrible power and glory.

And Pyrrha was charging right at her.

A/N: Ho-boy, now ya'll see why I needed a week for this damn chapter. Its a long one and for good reason. I expected it to be shorter, but it just kept growing and growing and growing...

Anyway, next post won't be for two weeks at least, because I am working on the ENTIRE climax will be, at minimum, three chapter, but more likely four or five. There's a LOT of shit about to go down, and we're finally at the entire reason I wrote this fic in the first place. Pyrrha vs Cinder, Round 2!

Until then though, I'll see you all in about two weeks! Ciao!