"Uh...Andy?" Ryusei's voice spoke in her head.
"Hmm?"
"There's a situation at the school.."
"What kind of situation?"
"A really pissed off white wolf is tearing through campus.. No idea who or why."
"Be right there." She went to find Tet or Kiba.
"What's wrong?" They were breathing heavy, emerging from the gym.
"Ryusei says there's a wolf on campus.."
"Not unusual. Half the students are shifters." Kiba wiped his face with a towel.
"It's apparently tearing through campus. Are there any good ways to catch a wolf?"
"Alive?" Tet frowned for a minute. "There's traps or tranquilizers with silver nitrate. But there aren't any that result in a healthy wolf."
"I just don't want to go killing a student if it is a shifter, you know?"
"The tranqs won't kill, just sedate and leave them nauseous as hell for a few hours." Kiba grimaced. "Probably safer than a trap. Those can go wrong fast." He showed Andy a set of scars on one leg.
"Alright, we'll take the tranqs. You guys coming with me?"
"Would we let you face a pissed off wolf alone? Of course we're coming." Tet rolled his eyes.
"Just hope I don't have to fight them." Kiba sighed, tossing his towel in the laundry basket.
"ANDY! Where are-" The question cut off with a cry.
"Ryusei's in trouble, let's hurry." She went and grabbed the tranquilizers before teleporting them to the school.
A huge wolf, its muzzle bloodstained, growled menacingly at them from where it stood over a prone Ryusei. It let out a howl of anger, then prepared to jump for Andy's throat.
Andy shifted quickly into panther form, preparing to strike if it did jump. "Shoot him with the tranq."
Tet and Kiba fired in unison, cursing as the wolf stayed on its feet. They reloaded, firing just as the wolf began flying at her.
It jerked, four darts in its chest. Slowly it collapsed onto Andy and lay still.
"You okay?" The men ran over worriedly as the wolf began to revert.
"I'm fine," she answered as she pulled herself out to look at him.
Loose red hair obscured the man's face, but the shirt advertising a familiar DJ made her freeze.
She brushed his hair from his face and worked on removing the darts.
"Is that -?" Tet went pale as Kiba cursed explosively.
"Since when is he a wolf? What the fuck is going on?"
"He might have been given another shift at some point and not known it.. I wouldn't have known about my other two if I hadn't read the Branch reports."
Kiba's eyes moved to Ryusei. "Oh god.."
Andy took a deep breath, lifting Ryon before moving to Ryusei. She teleported them all back to base, arriving in the infirmary. She got the two men into beds before starting to work on cleaning up Ryusei.
Tet paced. "He's going to freak when he wakes. Attacking Ryusei will screw him up."
"Maybe he won't remember?"
"If it wasn't a conscious shift, there's a good chance he won't. Hopefully anyway." Kiba frowned as he leaned against the wall.
Ryon groaned, holding his head as his eyes blinked open. "What am I doing here?"
Tet grimaced as Kiba shrugged.
"How are you feeling?" Andy asked softly.
"Like I ate bad Chinese.." He looked miserable. He glanced over, seeing Ryusei for the first time. "What happened to him?"
"He'll be fine," Andy answered quietly.
He lay back, slightly green looking.
Andy went and grabbed a bucket in case he threw up.
Kiba sighed, motioning her over. "I'm going to get the security footage. See what if anything triggered this. Can you keep him here?"
"I'll try, but I'm going to have to tell him what happened."
"Just say they got in the way of someone's shift. Don't tell him everything until we can figure out what the hell happened." Tet looked at her.
"I can't just lie to him," Andy growled. "Figure it out before he feels better, okay?"
"It's not technically lying.. And I intend to." The two men headed for the door.
"What are you hiding from me?" Ryon gave her a look.
"I promise we'll talk about it when you're feeling better. Just rest for now, okay?"
"You're starting to sound like Kei when I woke up in the hospital after.." He sighed and dropped his eyes. "Betting I won't like this anymore than I did that."
"Want to tell me what happened?" She said gently as she wrapped her arms around him, "Don't worry, okay?"
"When we were eight, we were coming to visit Kei at his base with our parents. A semi crossed the yellow line.. I woke up three days later."
"That must have been really rough," she said softly.
"Yeah, especially since the doctors weren't sure Yamae would survive. After that, Kei took care of us until he disappeared when we were starting high school." Ryon leaned into her hug. "So much has happened lately.. Did I pass out at school?"
"I promise you I'll tell you everything that happened, but the guys are working on getting more details right now. Everyone is fine though so don't worry right now," she ran a hand through his hair.
"Alright.." He nodded sleepily, his eyes blinking slowly.
"Get some rest," Andy laid him back and tucked the blanket around him before kissing his forehead.
He gave a soft chuckle, drifting off.
"Andy?" Tet was back, a grim look on his face.
"What did you find?"
"Footage shows he received a phone call seconds before he shifted. I think someone programmed an unconscious shift when certain words are spoken. Also, there were other minor injuries, but it looks like he purposefully went after Ryusei.."
Andy nodded. "Keep an eye on him for a few, I'll be back." She went and scanned through her books for any information on helping control shifts. She then went to Kei to see if he knew of any.
He looked thoughtful. "Shifts are usually deliberate, though they tend to happen when one of them is wounded or stressed. What you've described is like a subliminal switch, something programmed to happen in certain situations." He flipped through the spellbook, then nodded.
He pulled out a charm necklace and handed it to her. "This should block the effects."
"So basically he has to always wear it or he could be forced to shift again.."
"If you can find the person who did it, their control can be broken permanently. But for now.."
"Thank you. I'll see if I can come up with anything else to help," Andy gave a small smile.
"I should be the one saying thank you."
Andy shook her head, "I'm going to go see if he's awake yet." She headed to the infirmary.
The door opened into chaos. Kiba and Tet were trying to hold down a frantic Ryon as he tried to escape.
"Hey, what's going on?" Andy wondered. She moved in to where Ryon was and hugged him, "It's okay."
"I almost killed him!"
Kiba growled, explaining "We stepped out for five to talk to Boss. He apparently woke up and accessed the security footage on his phone. Came back to find him attempting to run." He glared at the redhead.
Andy took a deep breath, "Ryon, remember when I was under Branch's control and I killed Yamae? You guys never blamed me for that, just like we don't blame you for this. Someone triggered this shift and caused you to go a bit crazy. It's not your fault." She ran a hand through his hair trying to calm him. She slipped the necklace on him, "Until we find a better solution, this will help prevent them from triggering it again."
He stilled, his eyes teary. "I remember being so angry, like when Branch tried to bribe us to release you.. I saw nothing but an enemy to destroy.."
"It's alright. They caused this, not you. We are going to find them and end this. It just might take us a bit of time. But I promise we'll fix this and you'll control your shift, if you even want to use it."
He chuckled ruefully. "Always wanted a fur coat.. Scales aren't the warmest thing in the winter."
Andy gave him a small smile, "You are right about that." She gave him a final squeeze before pulling away, "You know I'm always here if you want to talk, so please if you need to talk about this more, we can."
He nodded, then tensed as Ryusei muttered "When I get my hands on that wolf, I'm going to kick its ass…"
Andy looked at Ryon, "He doesn't know yet. You know he won't blame you once he knows." She approached Ryusei, "We need to talk about that.."
He cocked his head. "Don't tell me. It was one of the underclassmen jilted by his girlfriend?"
"It's someone who was forced to shift by a subliminal trigger..." She then quietly added, "It was Ryon."
Ryusei stared at Ryon, who shrank back nervously. "Sonofabitch… Those bastards.."
"We're working on finding who exactly did this, but we have something that should prevent him from getting triggered again."
"Start by looking for this bastard." He pulled up a photo on his phone. "Branch whiz kid. Gaelian McRae, specialized in hypnotic and subliminal messaging. Disappeared three years ago."
"That's one of the guys I was investigating when I got framed." Tet scowled.
Andy gave a small smirk, "Know what he looks like so I can find him. Now we just need a plan unless you want to go with my usual teleport and start shooting."
"That's the most direct route. I vote yes." Kiba shrugged as the door opened.
"Anyone talk to our Frenchie in the last 24 hours?" Yoshi looked annoyed.
Andy frowned, "Now that you mention it I don't think he showed up for breakfast."
"He's not answering his cell and his bike was found abandoned a mile from base. Cops called me because they were going to impound it until they ran the plate."
Andy took a deep breath, "Okay, first mission: take out this asshole. Second mission: find or rescue Kenji."
"Let's quit talking then." Tet cocked his pistol, then holstered it and looked at Kiba. "You stay here. This is Branch related, so Boss needs to know and security needs to be strengthened. I'll go with her and step on this cockroach."
Andy checked her pistol before grabbing Tet's arm. "Be back soon." She focused on the man's face and said the teleportation spell.
They appeared outside a warehouse.
"Did you enjoy my demonstration?" A voice asked mockingly.
"What was your point?" Andy growled.
"To show you that you aren't as safe as you think. Just because the higher ups are gone doesn't mean we are." A tall black haired man grinned at her as he appeared in the doorway.
Andy grabbed her gun and pointed it at him, "We'll take all of you out if we have to." She fully aimed and got ready to shoot him.
He laughed. "Take your best shot.."
Andy fired quickly.
He fell backwards. But almost as quickly he was back on his feet. "Nice.."
Andy growled and started muttering a killing spell as she shot at him again.
Suddenly she felt her throat close as he laughed again, then snapped his fingers.
Kenji jerkily walked toward them, his eyes blank. Blood was visible on his t-shirt.
Tet gasped "What the hell did you do?"
McRae shrugged. "Merely made him a puppet. Just like you." He muttered a string of words, then cockily watched Andy's reaction.
Tet turned, his eyes glittering as he began to shift. He snarled, baring his fangs as claws aimed at Andy's chest.
Andy growled, shifting into panther form so she could better fight him. "Snap out of this."
Tet lunged at her, teeth snapping at her neck.
She managed to push him away, managing to avoid most of the claws.
He let out a roar, his body preparing to charge.
Andy prepared to jump at him as she tried to figure out what she could do.
She was suddenly flipped onto her back, Kenji's blank face above her as he held her still.
Tet stalked toward her, licking his fangs as he roared again.
Andy pushed up, knocking Kenji over. She moved quickly, trying to bite gently to get enough blood from him to knock him out.
He stiffened for a moment, then slumped to the ground as McRae let out an angry yell.
Andy quickly turned back toward Tet, pouncing at him.
He growled, slashing at her rapidly as he tried to regain his feet.
She winced as claws made contact. She tried to push him onto his back so she could bite him like she had Kenji.
He fought desperately, roaring in rage.
She knew getting to his neck would put him in range of hers, but she finally pushed him back, biting into him.
The roars slowly turned into whimpers, then stopped completely. He lay still, his fur blowing in the breeze.
McRae's voice was impressed. "Even better than the tests reported."
Andy turned toward him as she growled.
"Now, why don't you shift back so we can discuss terms."
She pounced at him quickly, trying to rip him apart with her claws.
He scowled, then backhanded her. "Do I have to do it the hard way? It will be much worse for you and those other escaped subjects." He produced a cell phone, thumb on the number pad.
Andy growled again before shifting into a snake, slithering up and wrapping herself around his neck.
He shrugged, pushing one of the numbers and the send key. Then he began to pull her off. "You still haven't gotten it yet. I'm you. Only stronger."
Andy hissed at him, trying to bite him.
He began to laugh until her fangs made contact. He knocked her away as his face contorted in fear.
Andy slithered back onto him, trying to get a good place to bite.
He tried to push her away, growing more panicked.
She managed to get on top of him, then shifted into panther form and knocked him over.
He screamed in fury then began to mutter quickly.
Andy bit into him, trying to drain him before he could finish his words.
He thrashed violently, then began to slow as his eyes glazed.
Andy finally moved off of him, reverting back to human form. She noticed the scratches from Tet were bleeding through her uniform. Shaking her head, she moved Kenji and Tet before teleporting them to the infirmary.
"What the fuck! Andy, what the hell happened?" Akasa was frantic.
"They got controlled so they fought me. They both need transfusions because I had to bite them..."
"Yoshi, get me the eta of that blood truck! We need it now!" The nurse was bloodstained, his face haggard as he yelled into the radio.
"What happened here?" Andy asked.
"My question for you. Ryon and Yamae were talking, then they both started hemorrhaging. Five seconds later, half the team is bleeding out. Not sure how many are past saving yet."
Andy growled, "That bastard."
Yoshi raced in, two coolers in his hands. "It's here." He handed them over, his face pale. As Akasa took them and disappeared, he swayed. A slow trickle of blood escaped his lips as he winced.
"Are you alright?" Andy asked softly.
"Feel like someone's using my heart as a squeeze ball.." He coughed, more blood spattering his hand.
Andy went to him and said a couple spells to try to help before she went about setting up transfusions for Tet and Kenji.
Akasa returned, his face downcast. He threw the radio across the room in a fit of rage.
"What's wrong?"
"What good am I? I haven't been able to save anyone.." He sat down, his head in his hands.
Andy crouched to his level, groaning lightly when it moved her wounds. "You help save us all the time. This is a difficult case, so it's understandable that you can't save everyone, but I know you can do it. I'll finish trying to heal what I can before I start reviving people. You just take a few minutes to get yourself back in gear."
He took a deep breath, then nodded.
Andy spent the next while working on trying to heal up the hemorrhaging issues, giving them transfusions as needed. Finally, she took a moment to check on Tet and Kenji to see how they were doing before she was going to start reviving those who needed it.
Kenji's eyes were still blank, staring up at the ceiling. Everything else checked out, his wounds healed. He didn't respond to questions, remaining motionless.
Tet was unconscious, but otherwise fine.
Andy tried to use the spell that broke vampires control to see if it would work on fixing Kenji.
Nothing happened.
She tried to think of other things to help, finally deciding to try using her revival power to heal him like she'd done once or twice in the past. She hoped pushing the energy into him might help with whatever the problem was. She focused her energy and a light surrounded him.
His eyes cleared, blinking rapidly in terror.
"Hey, it's alright. You're safe now."
"He-He said he was going to use me to kill you.. He stabbed me and I could feel myself disappearing.." The Frenchman was on the brink of a panic attack.
"Take slow deep breaths, okay? He's gone now."
"Did I hurt anyone?"
"We had a slight fight but then I bit you to knock you out.."
"Thank god." He lost consciousness.
Andy took a deep breath, looking down and noticing her uniform was now fully soaked in blood but she was unsure how much of it was hers and how much was from the others. She went and started reviving the others one by one.
Akasa approached her, looking concerned. "You're hurt. You need to let me look at you."
A small explosion shook the lab next door and he face palmed. "I am not healing him again."
Andy raised an eyebrow.
"Kei's working on one of his potions. This is the fifth time something's exploded. Had to heal him yesterday when half the test tubes shattered in his face."
Andy rolled her eyes, "I thought potion making was his specialty? Shouldn't things not explode if he knows what he's doing?" She sighed, "Let me finish reviving everyone then you can look me over, okay?"
Akasa chuckled. "I asked him the same question. He said this was a tricky potion to enspell. Something about being a trump card for you if something happened."
Andy raised an eyebrow again, "Wonder what it is." She sighed before going back to reviving. By the time she was done, she was shaking.
"Dammit, Andy." Akasa helped her to a bed, starting to mutter spells.
She laid back, closing her eyes for a moment as she started to slightly relax.
When he was done muttering, he gently cleaned her up. He handed her a fresh uniform when he finished. He began to sit down, but another explosion rattled the chair. "Maybe I should knock him out before he blows us all up.."
Andy chuckled softly before saying, "Thank you for healing me."
He gave her a smile. "Just doing my job. Thank you for helping me not lose it completely."
Andy gave a small smile, "Our jobs are hard enough as is, adding magic to it adds a lot more stress."
"Huh..didn't notice.." He snarked tiredly.
Andy went and changed before sitting in the chair next to Tet. She curled up and started dozing off.
The next morning, a grief stricken voice roused her.
"You said she revived him! What happened?"
"Quiet, Yamae..you're going to wake calm down." Kei's voice was soft and tired.
Akasa sounded just as tired. "I watched her. She made sure you both were breathing before I had to patch her up. She needs to rest."
"Go to hell." A tinkle of bells sounded, then silence.
Andy stretched out and pushed herself out of the chair, "What's wrong?"
Akasa's shoulders slumped as he faced her. "Ryon died sometime during the night. No physical reason. He was stable and sleeping at three am when I last checked. This morning…"
Andy frowned. She went to Ryon's side and tried reviving him, pushing energy into him as the gold light appeared.
The light died away, his face staying pale.
Andy frowned, trying to think of a way to bring him back. She remembered Tet almost dying because he gave up, so she wondered if this was also some kind of psychological issue. She focused on him, trying to bring him back to talk to her like she had her father.
A shimmery form materialized in front of her, the face taking on Ryon's. "Andy?"
"Yeah it's me."
"Why am I here?"
"You tell me. Why are you not wanting to revive?"
He sighed, lowering his eyes. "I hurt people. I'm too dangerous."
"You only hurt people because they made you. He's gone now, he can't do that to you again."
"What if I lose control on my own? What if next time I kill someone? What if I kill you? I won't risk it.." The form began to dissipate.
Andy focused, strengthening his form again, "Don't go, I'm not done with you yet." She took a deep breath, "If you're too afraid of your power, you're more likely to lose control. You need to practice and shift on your own terms. I promise to be there for you to help you if you lose control." She sighed, "When I found out everything Branch had done to me, I tried to give up shifting and drinking blood. I wanted to be nothing they made me to be. But it was pointed out that if I didn't use those powers, I could be putting others at risk. Using my shifts has saved a lot of people. What if your shift is meant to save someone but you aren't there to do it?"
He frowned, his eyes lifting to hers. "Why are you trying so hard? I'm just a single person. I don't make much difference."
"You make a difference to us. We all care about you. Even if you were to do nothing but be you, we would want you back. We all love you, Ryon. We're a family."
"Are you really willing to leave us? You know how hard Yamae takes things. Are you okay with doing this to him?" Kei asked, holding back tears. "I just found you.. I can't lose you again."
Ryon's lips trembled. "I don't want to hurt you guys…"
"I don't think you'll hurt us, but we'd rather live with the risk of you hurting us than living without you," Andy answered.
Ryon took a deep breath, then nodded. "Help me?"
"Of course." Andy looked back at his body and focused, gold light appearing once more.
The shimmering form vanished as Ryon's eyes blinked open.
Kei whispered 'thank you' to her before going to his side.
Andy went back over to the chair by Tet, curling back up in it and watching him sleep.
His eyes flew open and he shot up, eyes frantically scanning the room.
"It's alright, everyone's okay."
"I attacked you…" He curled into a ball as he began to shake.
"It's okay, you weren't in control. And I'm alright."
He shook his head. "What I was afraid of…"
"Tet, look at me. I'm fine. It's not a big deal."
He refused to meet her eyes, burying his head in the pillow.
Andy ran a hand through his hair, "I love you, I don't blame you, and you have nothing to worry about. That guy's been taken care of so he can't control you again."
He clasped her hand. "Still sorry."
A rush of air heralded Kai, his hand wrapped around Yamae's neck. "Someone want to explain why this idiot tried to jump off the top of Headquarters?"
Andy sighed, "Long story.."
"Let me go, damn you!" Yamae twisted in an attempt to get free. His eyes were puffy and tears streaked his cheeks.
"Yamae, Ryon is fine. Please calm down," she said gently.
He froze, his eyes locked on her. "He's not..?"
"You aggravating moron.. I'm going to have Kei freeze you so I can smack you until I get tired." Ryon sat up with an annoyed look.
Yamae tore away from Kai with a cry, racing to his twin's side and hugging him.
Andy watched with a smile.
Kai glanced at her. "Seen Boss? I'm requesting a damn transfer to somewhere peaceful."
Andy gave a small chuckle, "If you find anywhere peaceful, let me know."
He gazed around the room with a smile. "This is the most peaceful place I know."
Andy yawned, "If we were on a day off maybe, but if not it's exhausting." She smiled softly.
"There's no backstabbing or trying to ruin reputations to get ahead here." He scowled. "I hate headquarters. Wasn't kidding about the transfer."
"Well, we're always open to more people," Andy grinned.
"Sweet talk Boss?" His grey eyes twinkled.
"I'm sure he won't say no if you ask him," Andy chuckled.
"I'm still not sure why he sent me there anyway.."
"You were my quick getaway." Tsukasa snarked as he entered. "But if you hate it that much, you can come back."
Kai grinned and vanished, reappearing seconds later with his duffle.
"Find a place to bunk. We've gotten a few new people."
The porter nodded and stuck his tongue out at Yamae before leaving.
"How's everything?" Tsukasa watched her carefully.
She nodded, "Alright. Everyone's alive so that's good."
"I won't ask about mental status cause we're all crazy to be in this outfit."
"I take offense to that. I'm perfectly sane." Akasa said solemnly. He held the look for about five seconds, then cracked up laughing.
Andy smiled before looking back at Tet, "Want to go nap in my room? I'm still tired."
He gave her a wan smile. "I guess.."
She held her hand out to him.
He took it silently, his face pensive.
She kissed his cheek, "Smile. We're all alive."
His lips quirked upwards and he squeezed her hand.
They got to her room and she quickly climbed into bed, stretching out before settling in.
He sat beside her, running a hand through her hair with a sad smile.
"I love you. Promise you aren't going to leave or do something stupid?"
"I promise. Go to sleep." He chuckled softly.
She soon drifted off.