(Haha! Well, I only missed it for 2 weeks this time :3 Getting better. Anyways, we're just getting darker as we go along folks, you're going to be in for quite a ride. This is probably my favorite chapter, for a few reasons you may or may not understand once you read. Comments and Concrit welcome! Cheers!)

If Perry was going to be mad at JD for being late, then he only had himself to blame. It wasn't like JD didn't have enough on his plate that day. Another extra hour of Dr. Cox's paperwork meant he left the hospital at quarter past seven, and he had barely enough time to rush home, shower, and throw on a shirt and jeans before he was out the door, Sasha flying down the streets.

Bob, weave, and oh shit watch out for the eighteen wheeler! God, Dr. Cox was going to get him killed one of these days. Well it's not like he was driving the truck. Ah, but it was the thought that counted.

He wondered if the neighbors suspected something with how many times he'd seemed to show up here lately. Well considering the show Perry put on at the hospital today, who could blame them?

Actually, JD was expecting Dr. Cox to chalk up the incident as a crazy drunken (at eight thirty in the morning?) mistake. His brain had calmed down after about an hour of yelling 'DR. COX MADE OUT WITH ME' and he'd started coming up with more realistic theories besides the idea that Perry had suddenly decided to fall head over heels in love with him. Okay, maybe all the ideas weren't more realistic (there was one with a unicorn and bobble heads… ah, he wished that was the case), but still, there had to be a reasonable explanation.

Right?

Ah, sweet, there was a parking space open out front! Now he wouldn't have to have a fifteen minute argument with Dr. Cox about come down and buzzing him into the parking garage.

Oh if I were a meter maid, a meter maid, a meter maid! If I were a meter maid, I'd tow you all away!

Hrm, note to self, cut down on the musical soundtracks.

A hop, skip and jump later (okay, more like fifty hyper-reactive steps), and he was in the elevator, whistling a tune while being lifted four floors. The doors opened to dead air; he stepped forwards, and is Dr. Cox's door open?

Cautiously, he moved forwards, poking his head in. More dead air.

"Hello? Anybody here?"

"DEEEEEEJAAAAAAAAAAY!"

Oh shi-THWOOMP. There was a mini-Perry in his lap.

"Hey Jack." Ow, he'd landed hard on his ass. And since when did Jack ever show this much affection? And since when had he ever seen the kid cry?

It was true. The boy was latched to his stomach, face buried in JD's shirt and soaking it with salty tears. What's gotten into him?

"Deejay, someting ate Daddy!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

He pointed away, and now JD noticed a sound coming from the door leading towards the bedroom. He stood, clutching Jack in his arms (the kid would just not let go), and gave a shout.

"Hey, Dr. Cox, are you in there?" He wouldn't leave his kid home alone, right? Perry wasn't stupid; it didn't seem like him to do that, especially with how much he seemed to adore his son.

Thump.

What was that sound? "Jack, you said something ate Perry?"

"Deejay has to call him Doctow Cox!" God, even the kid was giving him lip. "And Daddy went in dere, and someting bad came out."

Woah, Jack was shivering. What had happened?

Thump.

"Dr… Cox?"

Thump.

"P-Perry?" The door swung open.

Oh my shit.

Whatever that thing was, it did NOT belong in the twenty first century. It had a humanoid form, but was hunched over, with an elongated, white face, and fangs as long as its jaw. Shredded bat wings with a transparent peach membrane and pasty, ivory bone structure hung from its back. It had the chest of a bodybuilder covered in reddish fur. White yeti arms, legs and hands were covered in fur as well. A sickly scaled dragon tail with spikes longer than its fangs thrust from its hindquarters.

JD saw all this, took it in with horror. Oh god, it was like a reject spawn of the devil; something out of a child's nightmares. But the worst thing was the fact that the chest-length hair hanging from its skull was tinged a familiar shade of orange, and its eyes were not devil red, but ice blue.

This thing hadn't eaten Perry. Somehow, he knew that this thing WAS Perry.

>>

Oh god, JD, please, run! Take Jack, just GET OUT OF HERE! Please, I can't control this thing; it's going to kill you!

He can't hear you Perry. Only I can.

Please, for the love of everything holy, don't hurt them! I'll do anything, just leave them alone!

Don't be such a party pooper. The fun is just beginning.

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?

>>

"Dr. Cox? Can you hear me?"

What the fuck was he doing? He had a screaming kid buried in his shirt, something out of a fantasy novel staring him down, and now he was trying to fucking talk to it! RUN, YOU IDIOT, RUN!

"Perry?"

Where was Chocolate Bear to smack him upside the head when he needed him?

It was just… standing there, breathing; wheezing was the better word for it. Every rush of air sounded like a death howl, and the room was so cold, so horribly cold; JD's breath was crystallizing in the air.

And suddenly it roared, howling up to the ceiling, and JD wanted to collapse, settling for plugging his ears with his hands as Jack grasped his neck for support. Oh god, it sounded like millions of people screaming in pain. The sound swept through him, and he thought he would never be happy again. So much anguish, so much horror… god, is this what you're feeling too Perry?

Finally, his body listened to him, and he turned, shooting out the entryway like a bat out of hell, the door slamming shut behind him. He glanced at the elevator, before deciding that he'd have a better chance on the stairs.

A flight down and he heard glass breaking. It went out the window. Oh god, I'm fucked.

Jack was still screaming. JD didn't blame him; he'd be screaming too if he could comprehend what was happening.

Two flights, and he heard a rush of wings. He didn't dare chance a glance out a window. Even a precious second wasted could mean death for them.

Three flights. The whooshing of air was louder, closer every second. Faster, faster, he needed to go faster. Keep running, don't ever stop. Stopping meant death.

He made it to the lobby as the creature began smashing against the glass pane doors in front of him, trying to gain entrance. Apparently its hands were too large and clumsy to grasp handles, so it would take a more destructive means to get inside. Jack was pointing at it, flailing in fear in JD's arms. Oh god, they were trapped; they were going to die.

The parking garage!

Hallelujah.

Two steps, and he burst through the metal door to his right, hearing it fall shut behind him with a click. Down a long, winding hallway; glass smashed behind him. It's inside. He kept running, even as the first slam against the steel door echoed down to him.

Another door, swinging shut just as he heard the first one give way. He was in the garage now. Jack wouldn't shut up; it was driving him crazy. He was already crazy; this was a nightmare; that was all. He'd wake up, and he'd be dozing in his apartment or in the break room, or maybe in the bed of a hot girl he'd gone home with…

Slam. It was at the last door.

He was running through the parking garage now, feet pounding on the concrete, past Hummers and SUVs. There was Perry's Porsche. The man would never be able to fit into it now. A dry, grim laugh escaped JD's lips as he ran.

There had to be some place to hide, somewhere, anywhere! But the entire damned complex was a giant open square; dimly lit by forty watt bulbs and held up by concrete pillars that couldn't hide an anorexic model behind them.

Another slam and JD stopped, bending slightly to catch his breath. In front of him lay nothing but a wall, probably six inches deep with dirt behind it. He'd reached the end of the garage, and there was no exit in sight.

Then he heard the door give way, and knew he was fucked.

He turned, clutching Jack like a lifeline, and watched helplessly as the creature lumbered through the doorway, tossing the door aside like a rag doll. It swooped over the railing of the short stairway leading from the door to the ground, and turned to face him. Ice blue eyes gleamed in victory.

JD's back pressed against the cold, damp wall of the garage. Every breath hesitating as the creature stalked closer, moving slowly as if to play with him. If you're going to kill me, get over here and DO IT already, you BASTARD! His mouth wouldn't speak. The only sounds were of breathing and water dripping from the pipes above; Jack had finally stopped screaming.

And then it was in front of him, one arm poised to strike. JD shrunk down against the floor, turning away to shield Jack with his body.

Whispered words. "Jack, you have to stay really quiet and don't move, no matter what, okay?"

A whimper. "Deejay?"

JD closed his eyes and prayed.

>>

No, oh please no. Oh god Jack, no; please don't kill him! No, JD, run! Please, please, god please!

Please…

>>

The next sound he heard should've been death shrieking to claim him. Instead there was a roar, and he felt wind brushing past. Something clipped the back of his head and he fell forwards, twisting his body so that he didn't land on top of Jack.

Ow. He didn't know what was worse; landing on the concrete or the sound of Jack crying again. Slowly, he opened his eyes and sat up, finding his face peering directly into someone's crotch.

The fuck?

Jack clambered back into his lap as he looked upward, squinting against the light that cast a shadow against the person standing before him. Finally, his eyes refocused, and he could see.

It was a woman. She wore a tight, red shirt and blue jeans; not those mom jeans either, despite the fact that she looked old enough for them; at least in her early forties. Her blond hair was shoulder cropped and framed a face that held deep brown eyes. A small brown cowgirl hat topped her head, matching the color of the small bags strapped to her belt, as well as her flat-soled army boots.

"Need a hand there, hun?" New York, Jersey accent?

"Who are-"

"No time to explain." She helped him to his feet. "Let me take care of this business first, and then I'll explain what's going on."

She reached behind her, and oh my god is that a shotgun? A chuckle escaped her lips as he stumbled back.

"Not going to use this on you, sweetie."

Then who- oh, crap.

All of this had been so sudden that he'd forgotten about the creature. It was against the far wall, trapped inside a glowing golden net (where the fuck did that come from?), and looking to be knocked out cold. But if that really was Perry, and she shot him…

"Wait!"

"Shut up, you're ruining my concentration."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm destroying it, what the hell does it look like?"

"You can't! That's Perry!"

"Who?"

JD pointed at the creature. "Perry Cox."

"So you've named the damn thing? Kid, you picked the wrong demon for a pet."

"What? No! That's not a demon, that's Perry!" His hand motioned back and forth between Jack and Perry. "The kid's father."

Oh crap, now she was pointing the gun at him! "That kid is demon-spawn? Shit, get away from it you idiot! It'll kill you!"

"No!" JD clutched Jack to his chest protectively. "Jack isn't whatever Perry's been turned into. He's human, just like Perry used to be."

"Hum-Son of a bitch!"

Wow. She'd put quite a dent in the concrete from slamming the gun into the ground. JD made a note to keep a ten foot distance between them at all times, just incase she felt like slamming anything else into the ground, including him.

"That fucking coward! That jackass priest – he lied to me, the evil little fuck!"

He watched her continued to rant. What the hell, did she have steel-toed boots or something? How could anyone slam their foot that hard into a pillar and not be screaming in pain?

"Uh, what's going on?" Apparently, those were the magic words, as she stopped hitting things and turned to face him. Her expression fell and she sighed, running a hand over her face.

"Kid, look, here's the gist of things. Your… Perry, has been possessed by a decently experienced demon that is draining his body and soul to power itself. I'm here to dispose of it, and Perry's going to be going 'bye bye' along with it."

"What! You can't do that! You can't kill him!"

"Well, if that asshole of a priest who called me had told me in the first place that this demon possessed a human, I would've brought backup. But I didn't, so the best course of action is for me to destroy it. And that means Perry along with it."

"No! I won't let you!" He moved, standing between woman and demon. Yeah, as if that would actually prevent her from doing what she wanted. She snorted at him.

"You've got no idea what this involves, and you're not calling the shots. Believe me, I think the kid would rather his dad be dead than off massacring the town."

No, this can't be happening. There's got to be something… He watched as she picked up the shotgun and brushed past him, taking aim. No, she can't kill him. God no, please…

"Please!"

She turned to look back at him, eyes hard and expressionless.

"Please, isn't there a way to save him? Anything?" She held her stance. "There's got to be a way! I… I don't want Jack to lose his father!"

"What is Perry to you, kid?"

Mentor? No, that's too impersonal anymore. "He's my… friend."

She quirked an eyebrow and stared at him for a long while. Why was she looking at him like that? It was creeping him out.

Finally, she sighed and lowered the gun.

"You really mean it?"

"I'll do anything. Please, just don't kill him!"

She sighed again. "Don't say anything, kid. You don't know the price yet."