The final chapter of Episode 7. Let's get to it.
Greg charged to the dining area in the back where he saw Sphinx standing next to Connie with the tip of his knife pressed against the left side of her neck.
"Just in time, old friend," Andrew said, "this young lady here was just about to answer my last riddle."
"Then you're going to let her go out of the kindness of your heart?" Greg asked sarcastically
"No, I never had any intentions of letting her go."
"Then why put her through this ordeal?"
"Simple, I want to know if she's worthy enough for me to eat."
"I thought you only ate people that failed."
"I did years ago, but I found the taste of a superior mind way more satisfying."
Something at that moment crossed Greg's mind.
"Did Cassidy answer your riddles correctly?" Greg inquired
"Yes, you're little Swan did, that made devouring her so rewarding."
Greg fired his gun and placed four rounds into Sphinx's body, which flopped to the floor.
"Burn in hell." Greg said before running up to Connie
He knelt next to her and began untying her restraints only for something to throw him back. Quickly recovering, Greg was shocked to see Sphinx standing above him. Greg could see blood oozing from the wounds inflicted by his bullets which meant that he wasn't wearing a bullet proof vest, this meant only one thing.
"You're a monster," Greg said as he lifted himself off the ground, "not just morally speaking, but in the supernatural sense."
"Excellent use of your skills, Detective," Andrew complimented, "although its pretty obvious what type of monster I am."
"Funny, I thought the sphinx from Greek mythology was a female."
"That's true about that one, and boy was she a sore loser, killing herself because some guy got lucky and answered her first riddle correctly."
"So, I assume Dallas wasn't your first killing spree?"
"Once again, Mr. Stokes, excellent deduction, my first spree was in London during the 1880s. "
"You were Jack the Ripper!?" Connie shouted
Andrew turned his head and smiled.
"I'm really looking forward to eating your brain, Miss Souphanousinphone."
Greg had managed to get himself on his feet when suddenly Andrew pinned him to a nearby table and placed his knife against Greg's neck. A struggle began as Greg tried to push the madman away from him, but the Sphinx's strength was making it a difficult task to accomplish. That's when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.
"I have a riddle for you." Greg said as he struggled
"Really, go ahead." an intrigued Andrew granted permission
"What has claws, fur, fangs, and about to throw you on your ass?"
Andrew didn't get a chance to answer when Bobby grabbed him and tossed him across the room. He then helped Greg off the table.
"You okay, Mr. Stokes?"
"I'm good, what about Connie?"
Bobby motioned for Greg to gaze over where he saw the three masked teenagers escorting Connie out of the room. Suddenly they heard a growl; they turned to see Andrew who was now sporting not only claws, but lion like fangs, and avian wings.
"Seriously," Bobby groaned, "he couldn't be a normal serial killing cannibal."
"Riddle me this, what man and monster are my next meal?" Andrew bellowed before charging
Bobby mimicked Sphinx's action and the two collided in the middle of the room. Greg drew his gun and aimed it hoping to get a good shot. Bobby's strength may increase while in his wolf form, but Andrew was stronger, allowing him to easily grab Bobby and throw him through a wall that led outside. He went to continue his fight when he felt four more bullets enter his back. Andrew roared, he turned around and saw that Greg had ran out the door. Turning his focus back to Bobby, he exited through the newly created hole to the parking lot outside. There he saw not only Bobby, but the others who all had weapons in their hands.
"Eber failed to mention that you had sidekicks." Andrew said
"Who's Eber?" Jade who was wielding her katana asked
"He's the person that hired me to kill you."
"Hopefully he didn't pay upfront." Berry joked while keeping a tight grip on his mace
"The flesh of Cassidy Swan was payment enough." Andrew stated
"I don't have anything to add." Cameron said before firing an arrow from her bow
Andrew groaned when the arrow pierced his right wing.
"Good shot," Jade cheered, "those lessons I've been giving you are paying off."
"Thanks, but I was actually aiming for his head."
"Still a good shot."
Andrew grunted in pain as he removed the arrow from his wing before taking flight. Cameron raised her bow and arrow to take another shot, but her target was moving to quickly for her.
"He's all over the place." She said
Jade sheathe her katana and went to grab the bow from Cameron. She was a step away when Andrew swooped down and grabbed her. Jade screamed as she was lifted higher away from the ground.
"LET HER GO!" Bobby roared
Andrew chuckled as he loosened his grip on Jade causing her to plummet towards the ground. Luckily Bobby was fast enough which allowed him to easily catch her.
"You alright?" He asked clearly concerned about her
"Yeah, I've been in worst situations." Jade weakly joked
He lowered her to her feet; he then gazed up towards the sky where he saw the sphinx circling them like a bird of prey.
"The bastards toying with us," Bobby said, "there has to be a way to kill him."
"Sphinx's have limited durability," Jade pointed out, "it's takes more than an arrow and several bullets to bring one down."
"I'm opened to any ideas."
"Give him the Icarus treatment." Greg suggested as he approached
"Where's Connie?" Cameron asked
"In my car," Greg answered, "by now she should've called the police."
"They won't be able to stop him." Berry said as he pointed up to Andrew
"I know that, that's why we need to end this before they get here."
"What did you mean by the Icarus treatment?" Cameron wondered
"Icarus is a guy from Greek mythology that stole his father's wax wings," Bobby explained, "but he flew to close to the sun which melted the wax and causing him to fall to his death."
"Impressive." Jade complimented Bobby's surprising knowledge of the myth
"What; I do read things besides comics."
Greg tasked Cameron and Berry to go back into the restaurant to gather as much of the grease or oil they could from the kitchen. As soon as the duo entered the restaurant; Greg lifted his rifle that he had kept in his trunk and then aimed it at the flying monster. When the beast was in sight, Greg pulled the trigger, the bullet grazed the sphinx's torso getting his attention.
"I take all you love, and in the end, I claim you, what am I?" Andrew screamed as he swooped in for another attack
Jade waited, and when the sphinx was in striking range, she slashed his chest with her sword. Andrew shrieked as the surge of pain caused him to hit the ground. Bobby took this chance and pounced. However, the sphinx reacted quickly and used it's right wing to swat Bobby away. He then noticed Greg had his rifle aimed at him and quickly took off right as the gun fired. Andrew was in the air as the bullet missed and struck the spot he was at just second ago.
"We've got it." Berry announced as he and Cameron returned with a jug of oil
"Perfect." Greg said
He opened the jug and then instructed Jade to dip two of her arrows into it. Jade followed his instructions and then loaded the bow with one of the oil-soaked arrows. Greg took out a lighter and ignited the arrow. Everyone watched as Jade quickly aimed then fired the arrow which like before pierced the monster's right wing. Andrew screamed as the fire spread and consumed his wing. A reaction that was quickly repeated when the same thing happened to his left wing. He tried flapping his wings hoping to shake the fire off, but the flames only spread to the rest of his body. A smile of relief and satisfaction appeared on Greg's face as the once great Sphinx crashed to the ground. Greg loaded once last round into his rifle before he approached the blazing beast. He watched as Andrew suffered, then lifted his rifle and aimed it at his head.
"Death." Greg said coldly before ending the Sphinx's suffering
No words were said as the corpse of sphinx burned on the ground. Greg lowered his gun and dropped it to the ground. Cassidy had been avenged, he knew it wouldn't bring her back, but knowing that this monster wouldn't hurt another soul was just as rewarding.
"The police will be here soon," Greg said without looking at them, "so I suggest the four of you get home before Bobby's, Cameron's, and Jade's parents do."
The sirens of the police cars prevented the Wolf Pack from asking any questions. Instead they heeded his advice and quickly left the scene. Detective Benson and the Arlen Police arrived on the scene a minute after they left. They were surprised to see Greg standing in front of a burning body.
"Stokes, what happened?" Benson asked
"Connie Souphanousinphone is in my car in the front parking lot." Greg informed ignoring Benson's question
Benson order some of the officers to retrieve Connie while he walked up to Greg.
"I assume the body is The Sphinx's?"
"Yeah, good riddance, don't you think?"
"I doesn't matter what I think," Benson replied, "it whether the people think this is an act of a hero or a vigilatne."
"Mayor Min will spin it once he learns that the Arlen Werewolf was involved."
(Hill Residence: Three Days Later)
Bobby was watching the news on TV in the living room with his dad, Cameron, and Allison. Nancy Gribble was on TV standing in front of Connie's hospital bed asking her questions about her kidnapping.
"The idea of a cannibal wanting to eat me is crazy by itself," Connie said, "but saying a werewolf helped save me is absurd."
"You said you saw it throw the killer away from Greg Stokes." Nancy reminded Connie of a previous comment
"I only saw it from the back before some ninjas escorted me out of the building."
"So, it's possible that the Arlen Werewolf and the man known as The Sphinx were working together."
Kahn; who was standing next to her bed interrupted the interview.
"Kahn Jr is smart enough to know that there is no such thing as the Arlen Werewolf," He commented, "it's just a hoax that this town's mayor had created, a fact which I'll bring up next week at Ted Wasonasong's trial."
"There have been numerous sightings of the creature." Nancy pointed out
"Paid actor in costume."
Hank changed the channel seeing that the interview was over. Bobby got up and headed to his room. He sat down at his desk and reached into a drawer he pulled out a picture. In the picture was a younger Bobby along with Connie and Joseph with his arm wrapped around the former. While he was glad that they were able to save Connie, he couldn't help but feel guilty about another of his old friends getting dragged into his conflict with Mayor Min. He only assumed Eber was a false name that Min had given the sphinx in order to throw them off his trail. If not, then there was someone else out there that wanted him dead. He stared at the picture for a few more minutes before returning it to the drawer. He turned and looked out through his window and noticed Jade sitting at her desk in her room talking to someone. Normally he would respect her privacy, but the way she was acting he decided to use his supernatural hearing and eavesdrop.
"I'm growing tired of your excuses, Joan," Jade's boss stated using her codename, "as a highly trained Crusader you should've slain the Arlen Werewolf, but somehow it continues to not only elude you, but the public attention its gaining is spiraling out of control."
"What's a lousy werewolf compared to not only killing a sphinx but discovering an exploitable weakness in demons?"
"A sphinx is nothing, but that weakness on the other hand I admit was marvelous," her boss said, "we have successfully captured three demons thanks to your intel."
"Hopefully we discover away to kill them for good." Jade commented
"Leave that to us, meanwhile I've grown impatient and have decided to send someone to assist you in hunting down the Arlen Werewolf."
"Who?"
"An old friend of mine." Which was the last thing her boss said before the screen went black
Jade stood up from her desk; she sat down on her bed and when she looked up, she saw Bobby staring at her.
"We need to talk." Jade suggested knowing that Bobby could hear her
Bobby climbed through her window less than a minute later where even with his supernatural athletics, fell to the ground. Jade chuckled softly before getting off the bed and helped him up. She sat him down in her desk chair as she returned to her spot on the bed.
"How much of that did you hear?" She right out asked
"All of it, I'm sorry." Bobby confessed
"It's okay, I'm glad you did, now you know exactly what kind of situation we're in."
"I wish your boss would've waited until we dealt with Mayor Min before sending another Crusader after me."
"Don't forget that there's this Eber guy now in the mix."
Bobby stood from the desk and began pacing around the room.
"That's a lot of pieces we need to sort out," Bobby said, "hopefully Connie doesn't get caught in the middle again."
"You care about her, don't you?" Jade asked
Bobby stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. He could tell that she was nervous about how he was going to answer her question. Something then over came him as he spoke up.
"Aside from you, she's the only other girl I saw a future with."
The first part of his comment caught Jade off guard.
"Back up, what did you just say?"
"That I saw a future with her." Bobby repeated
Jade stood up; "That first part."
It took Bobby a moment to realized what he said. They both stared at each other; both taking a moment to process what Bobby just revealed. Bobby then close his eyes and hung his head in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said…."
Bobby yelped when Jade hugged him. While she had hugged him a few times in the past; this time however the hug felt different.
"I love you." Jade confessed with a tear in her eye
Bobby smiled as he wrapped his arms around her.
"I love you too."
"I know," Jade confessed, "you told me after I learned you were a werewolf, I thought you only said that hoping I wouldn't be mad at you, I should've known you really felt that way."
"I recall you were going to say it first."
Jade didn't reply as the two of them held their embrace.
"You realize this makes your situation worse?" Bobby stated
"My boss can go to hell." Jade said
Bobby smiled before breaking off the hug and pushing Jade away. This caught her off guard long enough for Bobby to kiss her on the lips. The kiss lasted a few seconds which left them both speechless; Jade eventually responded by wrapping her arms around him and returning the kiss.
(The Apartment of Greg Stokes)
Greg sat on his couch with a video of his honeymoon in England with Cassidy played on TV. His bags were packed as he was going back to Dallas for her funeral. She had been cremated upon the request of her family, explaining to them what happened to her wasn't going to be easy. He took a sip of his beer when someone knocked on his door. He got up, walked to the door and opened it where a man with reddish brown hair stood.
"Mr. Stokes, I presume?" the man guessed
"Who wants to know?"
The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a card.
"Eber Hogarth, I'll be representing Vergil Min in the trial next week."
"I hope they find Wasonasong guilty after what he did to Allison Garfield."
"That's why I'm here," Eber revealed, "Mr. Min would appreciate it if you were to testify on his behalf."
"Why?"
"You've been in town long enough to know what's going on, and the fact that you have no connections to either Vergil Min or Ted Wasonasong, makes you an unbiased witness."
"Look, I'm going back to Dallas for a while, so I can't…."
"I'm afraid you have no choice, Mr. Stokes," Eber stated, "however I understand and will allow you to attend Ms. Swan's funeral on the condition you return the day after it's over."
Greg stared at Eber, he felt that there was something off about him, but if him testifying means that Ted Wasonasong will rot in jail then he had no other choice.
"I'll be there."
Eber smiled.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Stokes," Eber said, "I'll be in touch."
Greg watched as Eber walked down the hall and around the corner before closing the door.
Like I said a lot happened in this episode. In case you were wondering about Eber, he is in fact the same man from Episode 5. On a more important note; Bobby and Jade are finally a couple. I was going to hold that off until the season finale, but with how much of this season I've rewritten it just happened sooner. Of course this will create problems later on. So stay tuned for Episode 8.