A/N: Hello again! So here is chapter 2! I feel as if I'm just kind of dumping a lot of exposition in these first couple chapters, but I hope I'm not overloading anyone. Things will chill as soon as we get back to B.P.R.D and some better times can start to happen, wink wink.
I've just used a LOTR elven translator for Phyrra's language, I wanted her to start disoriented enough to revert to her old language and it was the simplest way I could make that happen but I won't use too much of it.
Also, for those wondering, I wrote down Phyrra into a text to speech and the way her name sounded to me was Pier-Rah, I know with phonetics PH makes the F sound, so saying it like Fear-rah, I think could also be correct. Lol
Anyway, hope you enjoy this one, I won't keep with the idea of one chapter from Phyrra POV, one from Hellboy, it was just for the time before they meet.
Disclaimer: Hellboy belongs to Dark Horse Comics/Mike Mignola, I don't own anything except the AU and my OC's.
Meanwhile, in a corridor not far away…
Running full tilt down this damp, dark and fucking horrible smelling hallway, Hellboy could think of at least ten other things he wanted to be doing right now instead. He ran around the corner, stood at the end, and waited for the big bastard who was chasing him to come around it.
He had no one to blame but himself, for the situation he was in; the creature stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of his target, giving Hellboy the proper momentum to swing his stone hand into the stomach of an ogre.
When dear ol' dad had said in his usually chastising tone: "This isn't some simple run and gun mission Hellboy! Our operatives have intelligence that says this ring holds over hundreds of different species and creatures!" He hated when his father looked at him like that, the disapproving glint in his eyes. "We have no idea what you could find in there, this requires a lighter touch than you're used to."
The argument had ended the usual way they did, Hellboy stomping away petulantly, ignoring the protects from Ben about his father being right, as always, blah blah blah. Sometimes he wished they never recruited the Major, sure he had chilled out considerably since the whole Nimue debacle, he even accompanied Hellboy and Alice to the local bars on occasion; he never joined in the karaoke, but he gave Hellboy a run for his money in a round of pool.
"You're gonna die today demon!" The ogre gloated, grabbing Hellboy by his jacket. Hellboy grimaced at the stench of its breath, being thrown against the wall was preferable. He crumpled to the floor, shaking off a daze. Charging towards him, Hellboy saw his advantage and swept the creature's legs, bringing it to the ground. Hellboy stood up and brought his arm down on the Ogre's head, rendering it immobile with efficiency.
It wasn't that he didn't agree with his dad, Hellboy thought, shaking the goop left behind. He knew he dealt better in the aggressive tactics used by B.P.R.D, there was a reason the times they needed to attend some charity function or government-funded mixer, Alice accompanied the Professor. She had turned into quite the little agent his Alice Monaghan and Hellboy didn't care for any of that bureaucratic shit anyways. And since the incident, he had been trying his best to see his father's side of things more often.
Hellboy didn't want to admit to anyone he was scared.
He was still had nightmares about it, the sight of his father lying dead had been a shock to his system. For too long he had held so much anger towards the Professor, it came to a head at the knowledge Lady Hatton had given him. It sucked to find out your purpose in life was to bring about the apocalypse, and Hellboy was still dealing with the news being somewhat what he had feared for so long. Meanwhile, that wasn't even the worse bit.
Baba Yaga's curse still loomed on his shoulders. He didn't know the details of the curse, he sure as shit didn't want to go back there and ask the witch.
Professor Trevor Bruttenholm was pronounced dead, for 12 whole minutes.
Hellboy thought it was morbid when the agents that rushed in brought a defibrillator, ripping the shirt off of his father's body, placing the charges on his chest. Hellboy protested greatly, being held back in a surprisingly strong embrace by Ben. So when his father's eyes popped open, to say Hellboy was surprised was a great understatement.
Now things were back to normal, well as normal as there dynamic had been before. Dad always there with a less than kind word with nothing but good intentions towards his 'son'.
The presence of Alice and Ben on the team had cooled them both down considerably, the workload now sectioned off between the four of them, and someone was always there to get in the middle of them and be the voice of reason.
It wasn't like they held interviews for the kind of team that they were, it just kind of happened. Alice was insistent on sticking around with her newfound abilities, wishing to hone them. Be able to research in the vast codex of ancient knowledge B.P.R.D possessed. Hellboy knew that what Alice wanted more than anything was somewhere to belong again, and she did at the B.P.R.D.
Major Ben Daimo, after being caught with his curse of the Were-Jaguar, simply realized he was with a much better company than M11.
Hellboy, having wiped his arm clean of the gore, took about three steps down the hallway when a "Stop!" Made him growl in exasperation. He turned and was just as surprised when they arrived at this giant fortress-like building.
This place just kept getting fucking weirder.
Hellboy had never seen a centaur before. He could check this off the list. The half-man half... Ram or Bison if the horns and curly, sheepish backside was of any indications.
Hellboy was being charged at again, this time by a much quicker adversary. Hellboy was at a disadvantage of only having two legs as he turned tail, pun intended and ran once again from a foe.
These were some The Shining level of creepiness hallways, Hellboy deduced, being chased by the centaur. He called for backup but they had all conveniently split up in the warehouse, but it was hard to hear oneself think in that veritable zoo of mythical creatures. Father was not lying, this warlock was bad news bears.
The centaur was rapidly gaining on Hellboy, it was inevitable when he felt himself being lifted by his tail, rude pal and tossed him into the air. Hellboy hated being thrown around like some ragdoll, it didn't help that the centaur had more weight to his throw than the ogre, and Hellboy was left staring at the twinkling lights above him. He was gonna hurt in the morning.
Rhys huffed, adrenaline breaking out into his coat in a thick sheen of sweat. He picked up the currently incapacitated creature and examined him. It seemed to be some sort of demon or other. Rhys was disgusted at the creature to see his shaved forehead where horns should be. Rhys prided himself on his own and considered any creature that would try and hide his features like that weak and embarrassed at his lineage.
He threw the impostor creature onto his back and took off in hurried clomps to Elias's office, needing to let his master know about this invasion. Where did this thing come from? Rhys called for Mordecai begrudgingly but was left with a true silence that meant he was not hiding in some corner somewhere. He was most definitely already with Elias.
His suspicions were correct as he entered the master's domain, seeing the two figures speaking in a quick, long-dead language Rhys didn't understand. He hated when the two of them did that, he knew he was out of the loop for a lot of things, but it wasn't like they had to rub his face in it. He was a powerful being, stronger physically than both of them combined. He couldn't think like that though, even in his darkest thoughts; he was owned by Elias for the rest of his life, nothing could be done to change that.
What was worse was that Elias didn't even acknowledge Rhys had stepped in the room, or that he had dropped an intruder at the front of his desk. Almost as if he already knew.
"There is someone in our home Rhys. Go with Mordecai to holdings and deal with them accordingly, leave this with me."
Those were the only words spoken to him, Rhys nodded gravely trotting out the door, knowing at once he had messed up allowing whoever these people were to break so easily into the property.
Elias's eyes trailed down to the pathetic looking creature at his feet. He was having the most awful deja vu. Taking in the tail, shaven horns, red skin. Elias knew who was breaking into his home. B.P.R.D. This had to be the cambion known as Hellboy.
Elias growled this meant serious trouble. How did he have such rotten luck, his dejected attitude continued as the beast stirred on his floor. He had to get ahold of this situation.
Hellboy regained consciousness quickly, one minute he was in a haze of pain, the next he flew up from the floor so quickly he thought he might blackout. Hissing in a deep breath, Hellboy touched his stomach gingerly, diagnosing himself a cracked rib.
Standing in front of another mythical nutcase no doubt, Hellboy took in the room.
This dude was seriously fucked in the head. He thought the Osiris Club was bad enough mounting giant heads on their walls, but this room had that one beat clean. Wall to wall the heads of creatures were hung, along with various ferocious animals were on proud display. Dead fairies and pixies beside butterflies and beetles pinned in glass coffins. He realized he was standing on the fur of a Cerberus, Hellboy gasped, stepping ungracefully away from the awful sight. Hellboy glanced at a bowl filled with what looked like mints and gagged to see that they were teeth.
"Goblin teeth. A little hobby of mine. As you can see, I am an extensive collector." Hellboy hated him already. The smooth, calm voice, the power he emanated even behind the desk, this was the warlock, no doubt. The owner of this little auction house.
"A demon, how quaint." Elias scoffed most condescendingly, looking the epitome of ease, fiddling with the golden staff adorned with amethyst from the dwarven royalty. A present for dealing with their little dragon problem so long ago, when species of all kinds were allowed to walk on earth. A time he sorely missed.
"Half-demon, buddy. Get your facts right." Raising his arm to bust the desk, Hellboy was unsuspecting of the staff is more than just for show, he was proven quite mistaken.
A blast of magic so focused hit him, Hellboy was thrown out the room. The magic was a tidal wave of white-hot wind that blasted multiple doors opened in the hallway, tearing wallpaper from the walls. Hellboy was stopped only by the brick at the end of the hallway. Living an indent of his body, Hellboy groaned and peeling himself off the wall. He was bleeding from his head, he realized swiping at the blood that dripped into his eye. Probably concussed.
At the door to his office stood Elias, arms crossed with the staff perched on his shoulder, he didn't have a care in the world. This demon was nothing compared to a being of magic such as himself, and it was laughable the demon got back up as if he had a chance from this distance.
"Are you as dumb as you are strong, demon? My name is Elias, this is my home and you have most aggressively broken into it. I plan on taking the necessary steps to protect my property."
Hellboy collapsed in half-real agony, gritting his teeth, listen to this asshole posture on like some sort of movie villain. Hellboy tried to shake the pain, biting his cheek to focus himself, distracting the warlock enough to grab for his weapon. He took a deep breath and with a reserve of strength he had, pulled and shot off all six rounds in the chamber. A special design by the eggheads in the labs, with barbed edges that exploded on contact, shredding the flesh of whatever unfortunate being was on the receiving end of his little gift.
One bullet would have incapacitated him, maybe all six of them was overkill if the gruesome sight of the warlock gasping wetly from a pile of guts. Better safe than sorry Hellboy always said. Elias attempted to speak, choking on the mess in his mouth, and his eyes slipped closed. An odd, peaceful aura enveloped the area around him, the half-demon went to investigate.
He heard the sound of agents arriving on the scene, their voices calling for him from afar. Obviously brought by the sound of the blast and his gun going off.
Hellboy just seemed to keep getting distracting in this place, however, for no sooner had he begun to walk towards the body when a lump on the floor of one of the rooms caught Hellboy's attention.
It was a girl. With a towel haphazardly wrapped around her. Hellboy turned away sharply as his eyes automatically glanced at the slight curve of her breasts peeking from the top with her slow breathing. He didn't mean to do that, it just happened, but Hellboy was left surprisingly winded. Embarrassed.
"Uh... Alice? You out there?" He called desperately out to the woman in the hallway, distracting himself by looking at the room. It was simple, compared to the rest of the place; stone walls and wooden furniture, a large four-poster bed with white sheets. Nothing caught his eye of any interest, and he felt his eyes pulling towards the girl on the floor.
Aw crap. He felt bad if she was injured to just keep her in this position. Hellboy gave one last attempt at an "Alice!" Before he turned completely back to the girl.
She was young, that was his first thought. She was petite but not a little girl. Her body, small but obvious curves were his indication. Hellboy felt his stomach clench in horror as the towel slipped further as he came forward as if it had a mind of its own, torturing him for looking. Awkwardly one-handed, he knotted the front of the towel more securely as carefully as he could.
If his knuckles brushed her skin, he didn't think about it.
Finally finished his difficult task, Hellboy glanced at her head, noticing the long upward slopes of the tips of her ears peeking out from her hair. An elf. She also had some of the strangest markings Hellboy had ever seen, gold swirl like tattoos covered her body, on her face to the tips of her fingers and toes, in an intricate, almost tribal fashion.
Hellboy glanced up to see a large robe hanging from a hook and shot up like a rocket, grabbing for it grateful for his find; he felt very guilty for continuing to just crouch here and look at her. He felt like a real pervert.
It also occurred to him he never even tried to wake her up. Well he had to deal with the towel falling off, he reasoned with himself, he knew in her position he would be very unhappy to wake up like that. It was much easier to get the robe on her, the distraction of the towel dealt with, and Hellboy felt a kind of accomplishment tying the sash at her waist; He had never had to play caretaker to someone. The whole time she did not awaken, left in some sort of unconscious state. Hellboy gently gathered her up in his arms easily and checked the back of the head, pulling the long flaxen strands apart. Vaguely thinking about their softness, but mostly looking for blood.
Jostling her caused the elf to groan, Hellboy was taken aback when he pushed her away to see her eyes opened. They were very pretty, Hellboy thought stupidly as she glanced around blind in his clutch, before locking her gaze on the one who held her up.
"Cin're hi na rad-nin?" Her voice was a light questioning tone, her breaths quick and pained. Hellboy didn't know how to reply to her, he was struck dumber by her being awake than when he could move about her without that icy gaze focused on him it seemed.
"Uhh...Whatever you say, sweetheart." Hellboy realized the endearment he mumbled out but didn't give it much thought, after all, it seemed they were speaking two different languages, literally. He needed to get her out of here, if not to get her checked for a possible concussion but just because this room was creeping him out, it was too clean, to… Much like a prison cell if he was being honest with himself.
"Mui mellon Binx?" At least she wasn't freaking out in his hold. 'Cause she's still weak from the blast, he chided himself. He stood up and was about to cross the threshold with the elf in his arms, she kept saying something: blinks? When he heard Alice down the hall, her voice getting rapidly closer.
"Were you callin' me HB? I thought I could hear-Oh!" Hellboy felt flustered as the medium appeared in the doorway. The elf quicker than Hellboy could react to, jumped out of his arms, only to cower behind him. Further placing Hellboy in one of the most awkward situations he could recall.
She was hurt, however, as no sooner had she hid behind Hellboy that her clutch had weakened and Hellboy could see her going down again, barely managing to catch her by her waist. Again thanking his thinking in getting her into the robe as he pulled her once again into his arms.
Alice watched the whole interaction with a little surprise and much glee, tickled positively pink by Hellboy playing prince charming it seemed, saving this damsel. Alice thanked her internal romantically inclined side, one that she rarely showed. It was hard being the only female on the team at times. She tried to have a friendship with some of the agents, but the women in the B.P.R.D were professionals through and through, not a whole lot of interest in the fun times she could get into with HB. Sometimes even Ben. Or Major Stick up his Arse, as Alice sometimes called him, always with affection.
"Who's this then?"
"I don't know. I was dealing with Stinky, Hairy and Moe out there and then I just found her. She's an elf." He finished lamely,
Swift as a hummingbird, a creature the same size flew into the room. The ball of light honed onto Hellboy's face, making contact with his cheek. Hellboy stumbled back and looked at the attacker. A pixie?
Between the ogre, the centaur and the warlock, he was grateful for the size of this adversary. The thing was speaking a quick lilting pixie speak that Hellboy never understood, they had a textbook of Fae languages back at headquarters, he just never got around to reading it.
The pixie seemed to know the elf, she slowly took stock of the girl before pillowing herself on the chest of the unconscious girl, glaring up at Hellboy in a wary gaze.
"I found the little thing down the hall, think she knows her?" Alice chuckled.
"Let's get her to the helicopter. None of the others were put into rooms like this, she must be important." Alice was already at the doorway when she turned around, a typical cheeky Alice expression on her face. "You handle carrying her hero?"
Hellboy snorted derisively at the comment, turning away from Alice with her intense gaze. He ignored the curious gaze of the Agents and met up with Ben in the hallway, the Major raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Don't ask," Hellboy said simply, not wishing to explain the whole crazy turn of events that transpired since they arrived here.
"You guys get that warehouse cleared out?"
"Yes, they're loaded into the trucks, on their way to headquarters. It's gonna take weeks to catalogue all these species. I hope you're ready for some paperwork." Hellboy knew Ben was pleased, even though to an outsider, it seemed like no humour was coming from the man. You just had to know him enough.
"How dare you touch her!" Hellboy jumped at the screech that came from the puddle that was Elias, positioned on the floor of his office. He thought for sure he had died. "Unhand her demon, she is not yours!"
Hellboy didn't scare easily, but he would be lying if he said the way Elias was looking at him wasn't causing goosebumps to break out on his arm. It was half-crazed, violent. Very different from the cool, assured master he was not ten minutes ago.
"Phyrra wake up!" That must of been her name, Phyrra. It suited her, sweet, gentle and exotic. Her name sounded like the purr of a cat. Hellboy always liked cats. He didn't like the way Elias was saying it though, the ownership plain like he was commanding her to wake up.
"So I guess I was right, eh? She important to you? Well, you won't mind if we just take her for a while do ya? Thanks, mate," Alice took the warlock's sudden submissive state as an opportunity to tease.
Phyrra also took the moment as a great opportunity to wake back up. As if even in her injured state, she was conditioned to listen to Elias's demands. She glanced around in even more confusion than the first time Hellboy watched her wake up. The warlock brightened at the sight of Phyrra awake, his voice quickly turning into butter. Hellboy cringed.
"Phyrra, pet. Come and help me." She seemed to understand her name if nothing else. She fixed her gaze on Elias confused like she didn't know him from any other stranger currently in the room. Everyone seemed to be waiting for her to make some kind of decision, why they were doing so none of them could gather. They didn't have to wait long for a response.
Phyrra didn't listen. What she did instead was wrap her arms around Hellboy's neck and bury herself in the crook of where his neck met shoulder, refusing to look at anything else; Hellboy was left with an elven woman clinging to him. The Pixie flew displeased at losing the perch on her elf.
"Tul-nin awaui o hi near." Hellboy involuntarily shivered at the obvious plea was whispered delicately in his ear. He didn't know what she was saying, but he wanted nothing more than to get her away from Elias's fiery gaze, which was getting darker by the second.
"Binx! Don't you let them take her! I'll rip your fucking wings off myself!" Everyone looked on as the pixie flew over to the warlock, and Hellboy couldn't stop the bark of laughter at the tiny creature, now Hellboy realized what Phyrra had been saying back in her room. Binx threw herself into Elias's forehead, grunting at the contact, then glared at the tiny thing spitting no doubt terrible insults in its language.
Elias gasped in hysteria as Hellboy began to walk away from him. Getting out a last: "You're going to regret this, you devil!" Before Ben did him a service of tasing him, silencing the man before his head popped clean off in his fury. Major Daimo looked at Alice and Hellboy.
"What the bloody hell is happening?"
At that moment, Rhys and about a group of 20 creatures: goblins and ogres mostly, appeared, crowding into the small space, some climbing over the backs of others to fit into the room.
Chaos broke. Fires were shot from the various machines carried by the agents, tearing through the creatures scrambling to reach them.
"HB, the window!" The gazes of the three main team members individually sought out the broken window to their left. Alice shooting off a quick round from her pistol, cleaning the rest of the glass from the opening, before jumping off confidently. Even at the moment, Hellboy recognized later he would have to tell her how badass she'd been at that moment. Before jumping himself out of the four-story window.
He broke his fall with his body, hoping this was the last time he was going to hit a hard surface today, he didn't know if he could take another one. Hellboy quickly checked to make sure he also broke Phyrra fall, it would be a shame to go through all this to end up squishing her himself. The trio ran towards the helicopter, the blades whorling, signalling its readiness for take-off.
Ben was clipping off the goblins crawling out of the window they just vacated as Alice and Hellboy dealt with the new cargo. Ben jumped in the last minute, yelled to the pilot to get them the fuck out of there and into the air they ascended.
Safely in the chopper, Hellboy's arms felt rather empty after Phyrra was placed carefully into the seat beside him, Alice taking over and strapping the girl in as her head lolled in delirium, she seemed to be coming to again, but only got those glacier depths of her eyes opened before they slumped again. Alice sandwiched her in between the two of them, placing Phyrra's head against Hellboy's arm and he looked at his friend in question.
"What? You won't mind watching to make sure her head doesn't move too much, would you?"
Alice snickered in delight at the cautioned way HB looked at her at the moment, as if begging her to stop teasing him so, which only spurred her on, even more, he had to realize.
They didn't know anything about this girl, but Hellboy was taken with her.
Alice had been with the B.P.R.D for almost a year now, she'd never seen Hellboy act this way before. Hellboy was a badass motherfucker, he drank hard and fought even harder. It wasn't irony one of his arms was made out of stone, he was tough, inside and out.
That didn't mean Alice wasn't aware of his sensitive side, he saved her as a baby, she owed HB her life. The fact he was a trustworthy friend was just a bonus. He loved the Professor, Alice could see that plain as day. They were father and son to her, actual parentage didn't matter. Even then, he wasn't exactly the kind of friend you had long soul searching conversations with, except those times one of them got too into their feelings, and too into a bottle of tequila.
So Alice knew HB could love, that she was certain. But as far as she knew, Hellboy had never even attempted to go out on a date before. She saw how the female agents of B.P.R.D looked at him, he was a pure specimen of a man. Muscle and stoicism, half-demon be damned.
Alice had asked Lloyd one night, who had been working there for ten years if Hellboy ever dated anyone or anything, she wasn't gonna discriminate. Agent Reese had asked her in reply if they were an item, on their date of all times! Alice was annoyed and had answered the same way she always did to the inept question. Disgusting! Like if I wanted to fuck my brother! Which was correct, but she didn't think she'd see Lloyd again. Lately, she had her eye on Agent Colter, she liked men of all shapes and sizes, but it was the blonde Viking types that made her weak, which Colter fit to a tee.
Alice tried to slow the matchmaker in her head, immediately writing their names together in the notebook of her mind. First, the girl had to wake up.
Elias opened his eyes slowly, feeling the pain immediately. His body was twisted in a most uncomfortable position and as he looked down he realized in a daze his leg was broken. On instinct, he called out for Phyrra before the recent events came back to the front of his memory.
She left him. He did nothing but care for her, dress her in the finest things, held her to the highest standard above his advisors and this was how she thanked him?
First Lazarus sends him some would-be assassin, and now to have lost his most precious trophy? His Phyrra? Elias felt helpless, something he hadn't felt for many centuries, it was maddening. It simply would not do.
So in his awful, disoriented thoughts, he didn't take notice of the vampire and the centaur stepping towards him, one expression of dispassion, one of concern.
"Master, drink from me." Elias wild eyes swung to the undead man, not for the first time Elias was grateful towards Mordecai, his oldest companion. He sucked in the old blood in thick gulps, feeling it buzz through his system, he will heal much quicker than normal, although his old friend's blood did speed his recovery, it was Phyrra who had the most wonderful touch for mending wounds and broken bones. What to do about Phyrra? It was quite simple Elias didn't have to think for a second about it.
He would get her back.
She will learn, he would teach her, as he always did, the hard lesson he had himself long ago been made perfectly aware of, that she was born to be his pet. That her life before him, the loss, the pain, the agonizing loneliness he knew she felt was because his story began the same. He was meant to teach her everything there was to know about life, about love.
Distracted, he heard Mordecai explain the loss of his inventory, but Elias heard none of it.
Elias instead, felt himself seeth at the memory of her in the demon's arm. He would take great pleasure in harming it, peeling the skin from its body for even daring to touch his Phyrra, he wouldn't stop till he got to bone. Yes, the demon, the whole B.P.R.D, was going to pay greatly for playing with him.
A/N: Phew, wow I always forget how hard action is to write, lol however I could talk about feelings for a whole chapter. Anyways here we are folks, Elias is a drama queen and Hellboy is reluctant hero, what could the Professor possible have to say about this?
Translations:
1)"Cin're hi na rad-nin?" (you're here to find me?)
2)"Mui mellon Binx?" (My friend Binx?)
3) "Tul-nin awaui o hi near." (Bring me away from this place)
