Azazel's POV:

I ran lithely across the rooftops, switching from smoke to solid to smoke again. Too bad I wasn't able to enjoy the rush.

As much of a pain as it was, it honestly wasn't surprising that ol' Alli had called in his favor by asking me for help. I have the biggest mental radar of any creature I know; some Demons exelled in combat, some exelled in strategy, but me?

I'm a Paranormal bloodhound.

I was going to help anyway, but the geezer had to ruin my fun and forbid me from torturing his prisoners. Due to clause... what was it? Section A in clause...

Ah, screw it. By House law I couldn't harm prisoners that belonged to him without his permission.

Fuck did I ever hate that.

Suddenly, I sensed a flash of a very familiar, very cute aura. There was only one Djinn with energy that disgustingly adorable. I grinned.

"Ready or not, princess, here I come..."

Felix's POV:

"God, slow down will you?!" I shouted to Marzia and the little putple puff of smoke ahead of me. Marzia rolled her eyes as she and Virgo stopped to let me catch up. The Djinn solidified, a concerned look on her face.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"Just give him a moment," Marzia said with a yawn. She hadn't even broken a sweat.

"Well excuse me! We haven't all been on an assassin's training regimen our entire freakin' lives, Marzia," I snapped irritably before turning to Virgo.

"And you! Aren't Djinn's supposed to be able to teleport? Virgil did it!"

She looked down sheepishly, scuffing the toe of her shoe against the ground.

"I'm, uhm... well, I'm not that talented..." she muttered. Well shit. Now I felt bad.

"Look, I just- can't we supernaturally hotwire a car or something?" I asked wearily. Marzia shook her head.

"Look around you, Felix; do you see any cars? All of the people are at home, frightened without knowing why. The only running car in a ghost town would attract attention," she explained.

"That's why we've been running through alleys and backways too," Virgo chimed in, "to stay out of sight."

"And how did that work out for you, princess?"

We drew our weapons and looked up at the source of the new voice. Virgo gasped and started shaking a little.

"L-Lord Azazel, I..." she started to squeak before her voice just disappeared altogether. The newcomer that was perched two stories above our heads smirked at her as he fiddled with his gun.

I stepped in front of her, hiding her trembling form from view.

"Calm down, get ahold of yourself. We've got you," I whispered without taking my eyes off of the prick she called 'Azazel.' She nodded and swallowed, composing herself. The guy jumped off the roof, cracking the concrete when his feet hit the ground and making us all wince.

"Do you have a weapon?" I asked urgently, training my guns on him as approached leisurely. She wordlessly held out a hand as a... whatever it was appeared out of thin air.

Her outfit changed too. One second she had a normal gothy teen look, and the next...

Wow.

We all took a second to stop and gawk at her. Even Azazel froze in his tracks.

I shook my head, letting out an incredulous huff.

"Jesus christ. You done, sailor moon?" I asked.

"Alright, I've had enough of this shit."

We tensed again as Azazel's aura flared, training our weapons on him.

"Last chance, Princess," he warned, his eyes turning black, "Either you come willingly, or I tear your friends multiple new ones. What's it gonna be, darlin'?"

He grinned wickedly as Virgo hesitated.

"Go ahead and say no, princess..."

He cocked his gun and aimed.

"...make my day."

"You know good and well this would end in a fight either way, even if she did say yes. There's no Goddamn way you'd willingly let us walk," I snarled. He paused before shrugging blandly.

"Hm. True."

BANG.

Atticus' POV:

BANG.

I shot to my feet at the noise, running to the window to look for the source. It was a gunshot, I was sure of it. But it sounded both near and far away all at once, like I was hearing it from two different ears. I began to feel emotions that didn't make sense; fear, adtenaline, anger. It was confusing and frightening. Antioch looked up from the needles he was sharpening with an eyebrow raised.

"What? Did you finally lose it?" He quipped. His smile dropped when he saw my face, which I'm sure was white as a sheet.

"Woah, easy kid. What is it, another episode?" He asked, heading towards the bags, "sit down, I'll get the anesthesia. Hopefully this shit'll pass like last time."

"NO!" I shouted, running behind Antioch to grab his arm. The last thing I needed was to sleep. He turned, surprised.

"What-"

"We have to go, Antioch," I cut in urgently.

"We have to go now."