For the people following developments here: The next Hybrid chapter will be long, but it's new. There's a detail in this chapter that ties back to it.

PMs are open on a trial basis. Please bear in mind that my attention is split between here and other places, so it might take me a while to answer anything.

I don't own shit.


"Courage is found in unlikely places."

J.R.R. Tolkien


Chase

So, we had to walk back to Mission Creek. No car or anything. The sun was going down, we had no real plan, a scared kid in tow, and half of the party was injured. What could possibly go wrong?

We had a few logistic problems that I hadn't thought of on the way out here, not the least of which was Leo holding my will. One of those was that I had a hard time adjusting back to Earth logic after a year and a half, so I kinda forgot that we couldn't just snag water and food out of thin air here. We would either have to go back, or forge on and pray something came up. We were out in the more residential homes that sprawled from Los Angeles, so I was all set, but my guess was that the rest of them weren't going to agree to dumpster diving. Hey, it wasn't my favorite, but it would be the fastest thing, and I wasn't exactly picky after my bout of homelessness. My favorite food was "free." Theirs wasn't.

That lead to the next issue: keeping this Trevor kid snowed about our bionics.

The easiest thing for us would be for Bree to zip back into town, snag something, then speed back, but that would give us away. The next easiest thing to do would be for Bree to speed ahead, find Mr. Davenport and Adam, and find a place for us to rendezvous. Neither option was on the table without Trevor catching on. He was maybe eight years old – I didn't ask for a lot of details - but he had a certain curiosity in his eyes that spoke of intelligence. We couldn't risk anything like that until the kid was asleep.

That was also going to be a problem.

Bree and I had no problems sleeping right next to each other to share heat. A sibling cuddle pile, if you will. Leo was probably okay with the idea. At the very least, he would see the necessity. Trevor, though-

Well, he wasn't about to cuddle with a djinni and a Summoner. Not after demons tore his family to pieces. The only one that stood a chance here was Bree, and she would be leaving the second he fell asleep. If he woke up and found himself alone with Leo and I, he would panic. Let me tell you, screaming children and bionic ears didn't mix, so I wanted to avoid that.

Eat the kid. He's dead weight.

I laid my ears back, rubbing my temples. Beside me, Bree cocked her head and furrowed her brow. "You okay?"

I nodded. "He's just talking again."

Bree's expression shifted. She fidgeted, scooting away a few feet. Trevor scooted away on her other side, looking at me like I would eat him. I sighed, closing my eyes. I didn't blame Bree, considering what she just went through. That was all a few hours ago, after all. The only thing that would help this was exactly Douglas did when I moved in with him at first: give her space and time to adjust. When I opened my eyes again and looked up, Leo had sat across from us and was watching us with a frown. "Who's talking?"

Oh, right. I waved the question away. "Turns out the voice in my head isn't me. It's a different demon." The corner of my mouth twitched. "He's in Otherworld, so he's not a threat here."

Bree played with the bracelet that bore her sword. "What's he saying?"

"Nothing important." I wasn't about to admit that Apollyon wanted me to eat Trevor. That would go over well. "Just his usual shi-" I stopped myself, glancing sideways at Trevor. "Stuff." I straightened my spine, crossing my arms. "Don't worry. He can't do anything to me outside of Otherworld."

Leo's eyes widened at that. "What-"

"Later," I growled, pinning my ears. This conversation could wait until everybody was safe and sound. "Right now, we have bigger problems."

Leo's wide eyes darted between Bree and Chase, but he nodded at length. "Right. We have to catch up to everybody and get them back to Los Angeles. How are we going to do it?"
I couldn't stop myself from glancing at Bree, but shrugged. "We either go back and get supplies, push forward, or wait the night out here."

"We can't go all the way to Mission Creek without supplies," Leo informed us. "There's nothing left there, except for the Hunter caches."

My ears perked up at that. "Hunter caches?"

"Kevin said that Hunters had caches all over the city," Leo said, waving towards Mission Creek. "He said they were underground, hidden in the sewers. The problem is that if Hunters are still in Mission Creek-"

"They'll all be there," Bree muttered. She shifted her weight, raising her voice. "I think we should go back for tonight." She patted Trevor's back, causing the kid to jump. "We can't bring him back to Mission Creek."

I gestured at Trevor. "Who are we going to leave him with?"

Bree pressed her lips into a tight line. She hadn't thought that far ahead. "I'm betting that's why Leo-"

Leo threw his hands up at that. "I was left to watch him and you." He dropped his hands. "Look, I know more about what's going on in Mission Creek than you two do. You need me."

"I could just ask Mr. Davenport and Adam when we catch them," I pointed out. "Or Douglas and Tasha."

"I want to go."

All of us focused on Trevor, who flinched back under the scrutiny. He hunched his shoulders up as he repeated himself. "I want to go."

I pinned my ears. "Not a chance." There was a difference between letting him follow us to find Mr. Davenport and dragging him back to Mission Creek.

"I don't want to go back to waiting by myself." Trevor looked up at us finally. "I don't know the people who brought me here. I don't want to find them again. I want to find Douglas." He dug some dirt out from under his fingernails.

I lowered my ears now. I knew the feeling of not wanting to be alone in a big, scary world. I couldn't imagine it at such a young age.

Leo looked Trevor over, then focused on me. "Listen, I doubt Big D and Adam made it to Mission Creek. If we catch up with them, we can split up. More of us can stay with Trevor, and some of us can go get Mom and Douglas."

I frowned, but Bree pointed at him. "That's the best plan, I think." She looked at me, shrugging. "If we move fast enough, we can probably catch them tonight."

I looked towards Mission Creek, then frowned. In the twilight, I could swear I saw-

"Who's that?" I pointed down the highway, squinting. Two shadows were coming towards us in the distance, but I couldn't make out who they were.

Everyone looked at the shadows now. "Hopefully nobody dangerous," Leo said.

"It's just two people. We can handle that," Bree said, frowning. She raised her chin in an attempt to make out details. "Chase, can you-"

I shook my head. "Not enough light." I didn't have night vision. My eyes were better than theirs to a point, but seeing in the dark? Only a little bit. Not enough to tell who it was out there. I sighed, shifting my tail away to stand up. The motion aggravated more than one injury, but I sucked in a breath and brushed off my shirt. "I'll get closer."

Leo hopped up with more grace than I managed, holding a hand out towards me. "What if that's Mr. Davenport and Adam? What if they had to turn back, too?"

Bree was standing now, watching me with that whole 'I'm-your-older-sister-and-concerned-for-your-health' look she perfected years ago. Like, raised eyebrow and crossed arms and everything. "You're not going anywhere right now."

I rolled my eyes at that. "But what if it is Mr. Davenport?"

"Then they'll come to us. They're coming this way, anyways."

Leo took a step back, looking between us. This was an argument he had no context on, but was observant enough to stay out of. Trevor hid behind Bree, watching the figures in the distance. Bree, meanwhile, was staring me down. I pinned my ears, my tail tip twitching in the air.

I knew what her problem was. I remembered most of the walk to Apollyon's den. I remembered the sense of urgency that drove me onwards, like we would both die if we didn't get there as soon as possible. I remembered how much it hurt, walking for a day straight. The burning lungs, the stabbing pull in my calf. I remembered the bone-crushing exhaustion that wanted to trip me every few seconds. I remembered Bree finally putting her foot down, snapping Apollyon's control for just long enough that we could stop.

I could see her remembering all of that, too.

Leo broke the stalemate. "Chase, sit down. We'll wait."

The order felt like claws down my spine, digging in and tugging me to the ground. I hissed through my teeth, sitting again. "Leo-"

"Look, we don't need to hunt them down," Leo explained. "They're coming for us. We can wait for them to get here." He looked down at me. "Even if it's someone else, we have to go back into town, anyways." When I let out a growl, he gestured ahead. "Look, I get it. You want everyone safe and together as fast as possible. Me, too. But where's that Mission Leader sense of yours?"

I sucked in a breath to let out another growl, but blew it through my teeth. He was right. A year and a half without using my training had dulled my senses, it seemed. I laid my ears back, but nodded. "Okay. Okay, you win. We'll wait."

Bree let out a sigh of relief, sinking back down to sit. Trevor looked between her and Leo, then sat down on her far side. Leo nodded, sitting himself. "Just…one more thing." When Bree and I looked at him, Leo continued, glancing towards the shadows headed our way. "If that is them, try not to stare. Especially at Adam."

Wait, what? I sat up straighter. "Why? What happened to Adam?"


"We all come from different paths in life but we can find common ground."

Nanette Mathews


Tasha

She had never dealt with a stab wound before. She could barely handle scrapes and bruises. How Douglas was still conscious was a miracle to her.

Their ruse was up now, that was for sure. The Hunters pinning Douglas to the ground figured out that Tasha and Douglas didn't hate each other the second James drew that knife and she tried to warn Douglas. Tasha was holding a piece of shirt one of their captors cut around the knife in Douglas' back, her eyes closed. Between the blood oozing up around her fingers, the blade in his back, and the Hunter rolling on the ground nearby, groaning in pain, she didn't think she could see anything without breaking down. She didn't know where Oly went, but it hardly mattered now. The imp probably fled when she saw things going downhill.

In the distance, she heard James raise his voice, but couldn't make out the words. He had dragged Sam away by the back of her neck, grinding his teeth. Tasha hoped James wouldn't kill Sam for initiating that attack.

Douglas hissed between his teeth, shifting. "Get off me."

One of the guards bore down on his shoulder harder. "Stop moving, moron. We're trying to help you."

Douglas squirmed again. "Like hell you are!"

"I am." Tasha pressed harder on Douglas' back, finally opening her eyes. He was lucky they hadn't shot him when he attacked James. Maybe he was right. Maybe they did need him alive. "Hold still."

She couldn't see Douglas' face, but she could hear the eyeroll in his tone. "Oh, sure, just hang out with the enemy."

"You're the enemy," the second guard corrected. "You and your demons attacked Mission Creek."

"They're not all my –"

"You have some. You and that council."

"I have three, and none of them are in Mission Creek. Even if they weren't, they wouldn't-

Tasha scowled when both guards opened their mouths to protest. It was like watching children squabble. "Everyone, stop."

Both guards looked at her, their eyes wide for a second. Douglas couldn't look at her, but he rested his chin on the ground now. Tasha took a deep breath, holding the cloth as still as she could against Douglas' injury. Then, she looked at the two guards holding Douglas down. "What are your names?"

They exchanged a look, frowning. After a second, one looked at her again. "Jason."

The other glanced between Tasha and Jason, but sighed. "Chris."

Tasha nodded, sitting fully. Her knees were starting to hurt. "Okay. What exactly do you guys think the Summoners did?"

Douglas lifted his head. "Tasha-"

"Douglas."

Douglas let his head drop down again.

"They called that Soad thing," Chris answered at length. "And all those demons running around. They have to be controlling them, right?"

"I mean, they can't do anything without their Summoners making them, right?" Jason was speculating now. He pressed down on Douglas' shoulder. "Summoners had to tell them to take over."

"That's not how demons work," Douglas interjected. "You saw my imp, right? She ran off without me telling her to. She just did it. I can tell her what to do, but she can decide to do things on her own, too."

Chris wrinkled his nose. "So who's in charge of Soad, then? Why isn't he stopping that thing from destroying Mission Creek?"

"Soad doesn't have a Master." Douglas shifted his weight, more to get comfortable than to fight now. "It's a really long story, but he doesn't answer to anyone on Earth. It's why he can rampage around. Even if he did have a Master, there's no guarantee he wouldn't be able to do this on his own."

Jason and Chris frowned, brows furrowing. This was news to them, it seemed. Jason glanced back towards Mission Creek. "How is he even here if he wasn't Summoned?"

"Like I said, long story," Douglas muttered. "Something involving humans inviting demons inside of themselves. I tried killing him, but I guess it didn't work."

Chris snorted. "Tried to kill him. Sure."

"Hey, I did." Douglas wiggled his fingers. "This hand is fake. I burned it off." He shifted a bit to show it off better. "Seriously, tug on it a bit."

Chris hesitated, but shifted so his knee was resting on Douglas' shoulder. When he reached down to touch Douglas' hand, his fingers flinched back. "God, it's cold."

"That's because it's metal," Tasha supplied, trying to help. She couldn't begin to understand how Douglas' false arm worked. Donald tried to explain it to her, but she didn't have enough of a grasp on technology to follow.

Douglas huffed out a sigh. "Thanks for your input, Tasha."

Tasha pressed down harder on his injury for a split second, drawing a hiss from him as Chris twisted the arm. When it came loose, his eyes widened. "Whoa." He held it up so Jason could look it over as he shifted his weight slightly off Douglas. "This thing's fake?"

Jason leaned forward, squinting at it. "It looks real."

Douglas raised his chin again, looking over his shoulder with a smile. "It's supposed to. I made it that way."

Tasha rolled her eyes. "Anyways, the last time demons attacked Mission Creek, he's the one who stopped it before they got too far." She nodded towards Douglas.

That got their attention more than anything. They hesitated before releasing Douglas, shifting away from him so he wasn't pinned down anymore. Tasha breathed a sigh of relief. They had formed a tentative truce. Douglas groaned, pulling his elbows up under himself to get up only to wince. He'd apparently forgotten there was still a pocket knife buried in his back. Hissing between his teeth, he settled back down again to rest his chin on his forearm. "Can I at least have my hand back?"

Chris set the mechanical arm down in front of Douglas, who reached for it and attached it to his arm again, giving his fingers a testing wiggle. Jason, meanwhile, crossed his legs and sat fully back, his gun resting across his lap. "You stopped Soad the first time?"

"Yeah," Douglas said, resting his chin on his arms again.

"Can you do it again?"

Chris shifted closer to Tasha, leaning in to look at the injury dyeing her fingertips red. "Kevin keeps claiming he knows how to do it. Did you tell him how?"

Douglas' head shot up again. He looked over his shoulder as best he could at the two men. "Kevin claimed what?"

Tasha frowned, too. Kevin didn't know how to fight something like Soad either, last she checked. He had been as helpless as the rest of them down in that Lab.

"He wouldn't tell us how," Jason said. "Was he lying?"

Douglas narrowed his eyes, thinking his next words through. "I don't think he was. He wouldn't lie about something that big." He drummed his fingers on the ground. "The only thing I can think of would be to have someone Summon Soad and send him away, but-"

"But what?" Chris fidgeted with the safety on his gun, flicking it on and off. "You're a Summoner, right? If that works, then do it."

Douglas' cheeks flushed. "I…can't."

Everyone frowned now, Tasha included. It wasn't like Douglas to admit he couldn't do something. She adjusted her hold when Chris set his gun to the side and reached forward to help her hold pressure to the wound. Jason, meanwhile, was watching Douglas. "What do you mean, you can't? Just draw your Circle thing and call him."

"That's not how Summoning works, genius." Douglas sighed, laying his chin on his forearms and closing his eyes. "Demons don't just show up when you call their names. It's like…." He rubbed his eyes, choosing his words again. "It's like fishing, in a sense. You kind of hook their essence and reel them in. It takes a lot of willpower and stamina. The rest of it is just to make a barrier strong enough to keep them in that Circle and away from you. The bigger the demon, the harder it is to pull it across the void and keep it contained. That's why you rarely see anything stronger than an afrit."

Jason scowled. "So you're not strong enough to call Soad?"

Douglas kept his eyes closed, his cheeks coloring again. "I've only been doing this for a couple of years. I'm doing good to have two imps and a djinni around. It strains sometimes. The guy that Summoned Soad to begin with could have three or four afrits around on top of imps and djinn."

This was all news to Tasha. She didn't know that having Oly and Yahn around all the time was draining. "I never saw you have a problem before."

"It depends on which one is throwing a tantrum. If the djinni decides he wants to fight me, it gets a lot harder than if the imps do."

It was hard to imagine Chase as that djinni Douglas was talking about instead of a kid. Nobody ever referred to Chase in the context of demons. If it caused problems for Douglas to Summon Chase, it was little wonder that he only ever had the two imps over an extended period. She couldn't imagine how Perry was keeping Xaranthi around before she went missing.

"So find a powerful Summoner to Dismiss Soad," Chris muttered. "Someone had to be able to do it."

Douglas winced. "I think I know one, but it's complicated again."

Tasha arched an eyebrow. If this plan worked, then they needed to do it. "Complicated how?"

Douglas was avoiding her eyes now. "It's…I don't think he'll be able to do it for a few more years. He's kind of new to this whole Summoning thing, but he managed to Summon a mid-level djinni after a week. I couldn't do that for months. It's promising. That's all I have to base that on."

Tasha had a bad feeling about where this was going. Chris and Jason wore twin scowls at his explanation. "We don't have years. He has to try now."

Douglas ground his teeth. "I really don't want him to."

Tasha, though, was stuck on one detail. She watched Douglas even as he avoided her eyes still. He couldn't be serious. "You don't mean Leo, do you?"

Douglas squeezed his eyes shut, but nodded. "I do."