I don't own anything. Bummer, eh?
Lycanthrope 2: The Prophecy
Chapter Twenty: Sudden Death
"She seems to have a natural talent."
"What else would you expect from a member of my pack?" Shinji asked as he watched the massive animal feed.
"Good point," Craven said as he took a drag on his cigarette. There was a particularly loud crunch that made them both wince. Finally Jen pulled away and slowly began to slip into her human form.
"Have fun?" Shinji asked.
"Duck."
"Huh?" Shinji asked glancing at the vampire. Something slammed into him hard and he found himself staring at the star filled sky.
"And you're a gunfighter?" Craven asked dryly.
"Oh shut up," Shinji growled.
"How'd I do?" Jen asked as she nuzzled his chest.
"You did fine," Shinji said as he managed to pull himself to his feet with the woman still attached to him. "Let go." He tried to pry her off, but in the end had to settle for her being attached to his arm instead of his chest.
"For a man who doesn't bathe very often you seem very popular with woman," Craven commented.
"Huh," Shinji grunted. "You'd think that scars and tattoos wouldn't help either."
"Plus you have the personality of a patient in the maximum security wing of a mental institute," Craven added.
"Alright already," Shinji said. "You get something to eat?"
"Uh huh. I ate while you were still playing with your food."
"Oh," Shinji said. He checked his watch. "We better hurry back. The sun will be up soon."
"We have time," Craven said. "I've been avoiding the sun long enough to have a pretty damn good internal clock."
"Oh," Shinji said. "I have an internal clock too."
"Happy hour?" Craven guessed.
"Bingo."
(:ii:)
"Where are we going?"
"To find Jake," Shinji said evenly. He glanced at Jen over his shoulder. "Aren't you a little tired of riding on my back?"
"Nope," she said as her legs tightened around his waist.
"You aren't exactly a feather," Shinji growled.
"What was that?" Jen demanded as her claws seized his scalp.
"Nothing," Shinji squeaked.
"Good boy."
"Now I know how Bob feels about disrespectful pups," Shinji growled.
"There you are Shinji." Shinji turned and smiled at the man walking towards him. "Why is there a girl on your back?"
"Because she uses her claws every time I try to remove her," Shinji said.
"You always could pick them," Jake said.
"More like I attract the nutcases," Shinji said. His eye twitched slightly as one of Jen's claws sank into his scalp again. "You have the information?"
"Of course," Jake said. "And where's the other you? You know, the vampire one?"
"He's around," Shinji said. "You finished his pistol already?"
"He's trying to save the world," Jake said with a shrug. "That kind of bumps people up on my list of important clients."
"Oh," Shinji said. "So where is it?"
"Here," Jake said holding up a highly polished chrome pistol. "This is the first time I've ever gotten to use this frame."
"It's big," Shinji said.
"The base model is a Springfield Long Slide .45," Jake continued. "The barrel has been stretched a whole inch. That gives it superior accuracy and. . ."
"Excuse me," Shinji interrupted. "I meant where is the information?"
"Oh," Jake said. "Right here." He pulled a thick envelope from his pocket and held it out. "Good luck."
"You want me to take that gun to Craven for you?" Shinji offered hopefully.
"I don't think so," Jake said. "It's not personal, but I don't trust you at all."
"Well you're a smart man."
(:ii:)
Shinji looked over the papers and yawned. "I'm tired."
"You whine too much," Craven said as he examined a particularly thick book of pages. "Now be a man and. . .put that down!"
"What?" Shinji asked as he flipped his lighter shut. "You told me to be a man."
"Funny," Craven said. "We should leave as soon as possible. It doesn't matter how accurate this is if they skip town before we get there."
"Okay," Shinji said. "We'll leave after I get drunk and take a nap."
"When this is all over I'm going to kill you," Craven said. "I'll be doing a service to humans, vampires, and lycans."
"No arguing here," Shinji said," about the last part I mean."
"You want to make some rules or something?" Craven asked. "Like no handguns or something like that?"
"How about yes to handguns and no to special bullets?" Shinji asked.
"I can still put a slug through your heart at fifty paces," Craven said.
"Well I could too," Shinji said. "I may not have your experience, but I'm still one of the best shots in the world."
"Not as good as me," Craven said.
"You can't hit what you can't see," Shinji growled.
"I've been killing lycans for many years," Craven said. "Compared to me you're still a pup."
"Just cause you're an old fart doesn't mean you can kick my ass," Shinji said. "I'm one of the strongest lycans in the world."
"Actually, you're the strongest," Craven said.
"Really?" Shinji asked. "I didn't know that."
"Vampires keep profiles on all people who could be a threat to the nation," Craven explained. "Lycans, Vatican agents, and the like."
"God damned Catholics," Shinji growled. "They're worse then the damn Americans."
"The Catholics have had more tine," Craven said. "Give the Americans a couple more decades."
"I'd prefer not to," Shinji muttered.
"Well you two seem to be having fun," a new voice said. Shinji glanced up and then looked back to his reports.
"Good. You can help us."
"Great," Touji said as he sat down.
"You coming along for the big final fight?" Craven asked.
"Yep," Touji said.
"You want a gun?" Craven asked.
"Not really," Touji said. "Those things make my wrists hurt."
"Are you sure it's the gun?" Shinji asked. He managed to keep a strait face for all of ten seconds.
"Funny," Touji said. "I heard you ran into a couple of. . .Tabrises? Trabriss? Maybe its one of those words that plural and multiple."
"Maybe," Shinji said. "They were soulless clones of him anyway."
"So puppets?" Touji asked.
"Yep," Shinji said. "I guess that means that they have a big tank of Tab. . .the gay one."
"Sounds that way," Touji said. "You think he'd still be pissed off that you let Asuka have him?"
"Absolutely not," Craven said sarcastically. "What do you think?"
"I've never held a grudge in my life."
"What about the creepy asshole?"
"Ikari?"
"Yeah."
"I've never had a grudge with a person who is still living," Shinji amended.
(:ii:)
"There you are." Shinji frowned and looked up from the shotgun he had 'burrowed' from the NERV armory.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"Well that's a fine hello," Bob said.
"Hello," Shinji said. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Let's just say that Angel and I received some disturbing news," Bob said. Shinji shrugged and tugged a cigar out of his pocket. "What on earth is that?"
"It's a cigar," Shinji said as he cut off the tip and hunted for his lighter.
"It's green," Bob said as he held out an old flip top lighter for him. Shinji leaned forward and took a deep draw on the long green cigar.
"It's an Iguana," he explained before he turned back to the shotgun. It was a Russian 4-gauge that had been modified to used a ten round box magazine. Shinji wasn't quite sure which psychotic NERV employee had modified it, but he was definitely considering hunting him down and turning him.
"I see," Bob said. "That's a big gun."
"Uh huh," Shinji said. "I think Jen will love it."
"You're giving a weapon like that to her?" Bob asked in surprise.
"The girl likes her big guns," Shinji said with a shrug. "So what do I need to do to get you out of my hair?"
"How are you really dealing with all this?" Bob asked.
"I'd honestly prefer that it was just me," Shinji said.
"So what did Yuki say?"
"What the fuck do you think she said?" Shinji asked as he pushed a magazine into the receiver of the shotgun.
"She doesn't want to die?" Bob guessed.
"Right," Shinji said. "I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that she lives."
"How do you think she'd feel if she was alive without you?" Bob asked.
"A lot worse then me," Shinji said. Bob sighed.
"You're an asshole."
"I know," Shinji said.
"Shinji!" He turned and smiled at the young woman walking into the armory. "So this is where you disappeared to. Are you done packing yet?"
"Not yet," Shinji said. "I found something for you though." He held up the shotgun and watched as Jen's eyes widened. She snatched up the shotgun and went over it carefully. "I already packed as many magazines as I could find."
"What kind of ammo?"
"Those are 23mm anti-personnel fragmentation rounds," Shinji said. "There are also a few eighty grain armor piercing rounds."
"Thank you!" the young woman squealed before hugging him and running out.
"She doesn't know?" Bob asked.
"Of course she doesn't know," Shinji growled in annoyance.
"What about Asuka?"
"She might suspect something if she was on her meds, but she isn't," Shinji said. "Right now I can't afford to have them try to save either of us. Yuki agrees with me. They'd only get in the way."
"That's cold," Bob commented.
"They get in the way and they die," Shinji said flatly. "This isn't the last stand of my pack."
"I know," Bob said. "I'm coming along too."
"You," Shinji said. "You look like you couldn't even hurt a fly." Bob grinned broadly and reached under his jacket. He drew a long silver pistol and held it out butt first.
"Where do you think you get it from. . .Pup?"
"This is a hardballer," Shinji said as he examined the pistol.
"It's the first hardballer your friend Jake ever made," Bob explained. "I got it mostly because I love the good old heavy metal."
"So you carry a hardballer," Shinji said as he handed the weapon back. "Big fucking deal."
"Before I met Angel I was very well know," Bob explained. "Robert the Vicious was a name that was feared across the globe. Fenrir was considered a god by one particular religion."
"You can come," Shinji said. "But don't expect me to be running around saving your ass."
"Of course not," Robert said. "Carl and I are leaving for Germany with a team of the vampire nation's best men. We'll meet you there."
"Alright." Shinji grinned. This might just turn out to be fun after all.
(:ii:)
"Here we are," Craven said as he pulled the Mustang to the curb. "This is where you all get out."
"See you in Germany," Shinji said as he climbed out.
"Count on it," Craven said. Shinji slung his bag over his shoulder and watched in amusement as Jen, Yuki, Mana, and Asuka extracted themselves from the car.
"Wipe that smirk off your face or I will," Mana growled. Shinji flashed her a broad grin.
"It's a good thing that Rei and Aggie decided to go with the vampires and Bob," Shinji said. "Now that would have been hilarious." Craven beeped and drove away. Shinji waved and turned back to the airport security doors. The rent-a-cops were staring at him rather nervously.
"Well let's go," Jen said, balancing her gun bag on her head. "I really like this bag."
"Good," Shinji said. He had gotten it for her for Christmas, but she had been unconscious and he had kept forgetting to give it to her. Shinji stepped through the main gates and looked around the massive terminal.
"The one in Hawaii has better decorations."
"Yeah," Yuki agreed. Shinji frowned and looked around as an old familiar feeling as dread and fear washed over him. He looked around again and saw a pair of crimson eyes staring at him.
"Hello Mister Ikari." Before Shinji could even respond Asuka pounced. He watched in horror as she collided with an orange octagon and was knocked sprawling to the floor.
"Asuka!"
"She's fine," Tabris said as he stepped forward. Shinji whipped around, drawing his hardballer, and bringing it to bear on the smirking man. They weapon jerked in his hand as he watched as the .45-caliber bullet was deflected. Tabris raised one hand and the hardballer exploded in Shinji's hand, slivers of metal embedding themselves in his palm. "I'm not here for her," Tabris said as he raised a large black pistol and fired. Shinji stared at the weapon and then down at the blood on his shirt.
"Shinji?"
"Oh shit." A pair of hands grabbed him and steadied him. Yuki's face came into view.
"Shinji!"
"I'm actually here for her," Tabris said. Shinji could only watch as the angel shifted his weapon and fired again.
(:ii:)
Tabris smirked and holstered his pistol. His orders were to kill the woman and leave the monster. He had absolutely no abjections about trying to destroy Shinji Fenrir's life. A few meters away the vampire and the dark-haired female lycan continued to fire. It was useless. Suddenly something flew past his face, leaving a burning trail across his cheek. "What the hell?" He reached up and felt warmth flow over his fingers. He stared at the two woman. They could not have gotten through his AT field. There was no way.
"We're not done." Tabris turned and saw Fenrir on his feet. His features were far too inhuman for the angel's liking.
"Fuck orders." Tabris drew his pistol and leveled it at the contorting form of the other man. The weapon jerked loudly and Tabris saw Fenrir's body jerk slightly as the high-caliber silver bullet hit him. There wasn't even an AT field to stop it. Something collided with Tabris's neck and he suddenly understood why. He turned and stared at the third female lycan and her massive rifle.Fenrir had been buying time for her.The male lycan's hand closed around Tabris's throat like a vice as lifted him into the air. "You canceled my AT field."
"Didn't know I could do that?" Fenrir hissed. His left hand pulled back, claws extended like railroad spikes.
"I'll be back to deal with the rest of them," Tabris hissed. A grin split Fenrir's face.
"Good. I'll take more time then." His left hand ripped across Tabris's stomach and the angel watched as his intestines fell to the ground. The grip on his neck released and he watched as Fenrir fell to the ground.
(:ii:)
"Shinji!" Asuka stood paralyzed as her sire fell to the ground. Beside her Jen dropped her rifle and sprinted to stand beside the man. Asuka was torn between going to check Yuki and going to check Shinji.
"He's alive!"
"What?" Asuka sprinted forward and kneeled beside Jen. "He can't be alive. Look at the wounds! He was shot with silver." Asuka watched as shock as Shinji suddenly arched off the ground. The skin of his chest bulged suddenly and two things exploded from his chest.
"What the fuck?" Jen managed as she fell over.
"It's an AT field," Asuka said. "He made an AT field in his body because the angel would have canceled it if he saw it."
"Those wounds are really bad," Mana said. "We need to get him somewhere for medical treatment. Even a lycan can't survive with injuries like that."
"What about Yuki?" Asuka demanded, turning to stare at the other woman.
"She's dead," Mana said. "There's nothing I can do for her." She kneeled as picked up one of the bullets that had been forced from Shinji's chest. "This is almost one hundred percent pure silver. Somebody call NERV!"
-End
(:ii:)
-Author's note. Kind of experimental for me. I don't think I've ever tried the 'character death' thing. Oh well. More chapters at the normal update time. This one kind of turned out really big and I mean big. It about fourteen pages I think and that's before I switched it to my internet format.
