Abe swam effortlessly through the murky, green water of the lake. It didn't take him to long to find the small passage way that lead back in the direction of the cave. Even for him, with his slim build and light body, it was a tight fit in places. He found that the tunnel seemed to go on forever, branching off every now and again to the left or right. For now, he thought to himself, it's probably best if I just go forwards. He moved with his hands on the dark grey rock, using them to push himself onwards. At every contact he made with the stone, he felt a vibration, like something above him was moving and pounding the earth. Something big.

Suddenly he found himself swimming up, bringing himself closer to the surface of a large pool. He hesitated in the water, hovering there as the presence of other life forms became apparent to him. Surrounding the rim of the small lake, dark shadows drank hungrily at the rancid water, taking in their fill of the liquid. It truly did taste disgusting and Abe wondered what creature could bring themselves to consume it. He observed them for a long time, contemplating risking a glance to see what he and his comrades were up against. With as little movement as possible he continued to swim up, only allowing his eyes and the top of his head to break through the water.

He swallowed. Before him stood monsters. They looked like they had been spliced together by some unholy force, created in such a rush they were left looking deformed and mutated. There was no sense to the animals at all – he had seen freaks, in truth, he was one of them – but they had all made sense. For instance, himself. He looked like a fish crossed with a man, but everything was in the right place, he had his arms and legs, fins and gills and they all had their functions and there purpose. But these...there were ones with lion like heads and lizard like body's, the wings of bats and the legs of toads all mangled and twisted like they had been churned up, then spat out. Some of them lumbered around on uneven limbs like they were in pain, their very existence was making them miserable.

He felt so sorry for them. They were not natural creations, someone had done this purposefully. The reason for creating such abominations was void to him...but it made him angry. There were hundreds of freaks that were born the way they were and they couldn't stand themselves. So these poor creatures, who had been made by someone who could have at least attempted to make them a little more...normal, had to deal with someone else's decision. How cruel.

He stifled a yell when he realised he was being stared at by a stag like creature whose horns made its head bow with the weight. It eyed him curiously and Abe made himself ready to dive back into the depths of the pool at any attack it might make. But, it didn't. Instead it snorted in his direction, then shoved its huge mussel back into the water, without a second glance at him. Not used to being ignored by monsters, Abe frowned.

"You have a flashlight Red?" whispered Taya, moving a little closer to Hellboy.

"You already got yours," he replied but grunted and tossed his in her general direction. She caught it with her left hand and switched it on in the same moment, smiling at how light it made the cave around her. Feeling a lot safer now, she took the time to absorb her surroundings. As she and Red ambled through the cave their footsteps echoed and bounced off the gray arched walls, making it sound like they were being followed. She watched as their long shadows danced beside them. Hers looked so small and pathetic compared to Hellboy's, so frail and weak. Which she was, compared to him anyway.

A slight breeze tickled her hair, sending a brisk chill all the way through her body. She pulled the jacket from around her waist and slipped it on. Like Hellboy, she didn't were the BPRD's logoed uniform. Instead she sported a light leather coat, a white strappy-top and black trousers. But now she started wishing she had given in to Manning's request, because the uniform did look a lot warmer than her flimsy clothing. The breeze hit again, this time stronger and carrying a warning sent. She stopped and sniffed the air, Hellboy followed suit.

"Eww," he stated, screwing up his nose, "That smells worse than Manning." Taya couldn't bring herself to laugh at this comment, even though she really wanted to. She had a far better sense of smell than Red and she picked up on a lot more. When she didn't move for a good minuet he coughed lightly to catch her attention, "what is it?" She silenced him with a wave of her hand, the concentration and concern on her face was plain. She wandered on, leaving him behind for a second. He got the impression that he wasn't meant to follow, so stayed put, until she returned.

"There is a lot...of something very close by. We should be careful Red, they don't smell right at all..." she spoke absentmindedly, like she was still in deep thought.

"You're telling me?" He gave a hearty chuckle, then pressed on through the cave. Taya's animal instincts were screaming at her not to follow him, but she ignored them as best as she could. Even though she knew that was the opposite of what she should be doing. She couldn't help but feel like they were walking into something big, something dangerous. She understood that Red had probably done this sort of thing hundreds of times before, but she had not. She wasn't scared, she was just wary, like any animal stepping into another's territory.

Then she started to hear things. Grunts and caws, far away, but they were defiantly there. She stopped Red with a hand on the shoulder, not daring to make a noise. If she could hear them, they could hear her.

He was about to speak but she brought a delicate finger to his lips, then gestured with her other hand in the direction of the noise. He listened.

Yes, there was something down there. Well, something's by the sound of it.

He removed his gun from its holster at his hip and with a click, he was ready to fire. She too had remover her considerably smaller gun and was holding it tightly, along with the two torches in her other hand. She really wasn't letting them go now. They advanced forwards, further and further into the dark unknown. They stayed close, more for safety than for reassurance and they soon found themselves lost in every noise the cave made, suddenly feeling like it was alive around them and watching.

Then she stopped, making Hellboy do the same. Something was up ahead of them, only meters away. Luckily they were hidden behind a large stalagmite and they hadn't been spotted yet.

"Turn your lights off," whispered Hellboy through clenched teeth. She looked down at them, knowing she had to but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Impatiently, red snatched them off her and did it himself, causing their world to fall into darkness. She closed her eyes tightly for a few short moments, then opened them. Waiting for her mind to adjust to the gloom. She wanted the lights back, but didn't dare take them from Hellboy – not because she was scared of him, but because she was scared to move. She thought she should be angry at him but remembered that he didn't know. Remembered that she didn't want him to know.

She stayed quiet.

"Right," he said quietly, popping his head around the corner, "I see three of them, if we hurry, we can take them out by suppri-"He had spoke to soon, Liz's voice filled the deadly quiet.

"Red, Abe's found something, he needs you to-"he switched off his walkie-talkie and said in his normal tone of voice, "never mind." Then he practically threw himself at the monsters that were waiting there, now fully aware of their presence. He fired bullets into them, making them howl with fury. Taya flinched at the sound, then followed Red into battle, knowing that she could fight real monsters now, instead of the ones in her head. A perfect distraction.

She shot a few bullets into a creature that looked like an overgrown scorpion with a man's face, then gave that up when she nearly shot Red. No, she was not the best of aims. Shoving her gun back into her utility belt, she flexed her claws at the animal that was now approaching her, scurrying towards her on eight misshapen legs. It opened its mouth in a hiss, spitting acidic saliva in all directions and reviling a grey, forked tong. It snapped a huge pincer at her face. She dodged it easily but barely avoided the stinger that pounded into the earth beside her. The adrenaline pulsing through her body aided her in moving like she did – elegant flips through the air, graceful, fluidic movements that were almost like some dangerous and deadly dance.

The scorpion was confused. At one moment the woman would be in front of him, the next behind him. This was exactly what she wanted. In frustration he drove all of his power into a powerful thrust of his stinger. But instead of finding it nestled in the warmth of a human belly, it was embedded into the stone ground. He couldn't get it loose, not matter how hard he tugged.

Acting quickly, Taya leaped onto the back of the beast. With no threat from the stinger, she only had to worry about the pincers. Holding on with her legs as the monster bucked and reared in an attempt to free itself, she searched for a soft spot in its hard black shell.

Just behind the neck.

Her silver claws extended and she lunged her hands deep into the animals flesh. It screamed in utter agony as she tore away at it, until it fell silent and collapsed with a dull thud onto the earth.

Taya was shaking. She had the hot blood of the beast on her hands and she could feel it running off her fingertips and colliding with the floor. The noise it made seemed to be magnified, like it was trying to remind her of what she had just done. What she had just killed.

It wasn't that, she thought to herself. It's how you killed it. Like an animal. And the animal enjoyed it, it was smiling as it ripped out fistful's of flesh from the beast back. It was enjoying the taste of the blood that had splattered over her lips.

She felt sick.

The chaos from behind her suddenly repapered in her mind. She spun around to see Red, two dead bodies lying at his feet. But now there were more creatures, apparently appearing out of nowhere and he was wrestling with what looked like a miss-shaped bear. She made a run to him, but he spotted her and shook his head,

"Go fined Abe, he'll need more help than me if he's bumped into this lot!"

"But I-"she began.

"Get lost!! I'll be fine!" She still hesitated, but with another stern look from Red, she turned on her heals and fled. She felt like a coward, but she knew Red was right, even though Abe was a brilliant marksman, sheer numbers would overwhelm him. Whilst she ran, (Down an unfamiliar tunnel she noted,) she switched her walkie-talkie back on and found Abe's channel.

"Blue?" she said, panic in her voice.

"I'm here, what's the matter?" Relief ran through her at the sound of his calm words.

"I need to find you – there are these monsters and they attacked me and Red-"

"Monsters? You mean chimeras?" he asked. She searched her memory for the meaning of the name, then remembered it from a story she once read. An animal, made up of other animals.

"Yeah, them," her breathing was becoming ragged with running as the adrenaline seemed to escape her. She really wanted to sleep. Or drink coffee.

"They didn't give me and hassle," he said thoughtfully.

"They tried to kill me." He went silent for a moment, then something occurred to him,

"Maybe it's because you look human."

"But they attacked Red to...?"

"Yes, but he was with you. I look more like them than like any other man. I think that may have mistaken me as one of their own." She almost choked on a laugh that managed to squeeze its way up her throat,

"Abe, give yourself a little credit, you're not that ugly...honestly," then there was silence, because she had realised how what she said could have sounded. Before she could comment, there was a bellow from behind her accompanied with the unmistakable pounding of feet. She was being chased.

"Abe where are you? "

"I'm not too sure, where are you?"

"About to get smushed by something big, that's were," she could feel herself panicking now. Still not scared of the monster though, just of herself. There was something animal inside of her...something that had tasted freedom and wanted more. She didn't want to fight again, in fear of what she might do. So, she ran faster.

"I'll find you," said Abe, sounding very sure of himself. "Tell me, are you alone?"

"Yeah, apart from the beast that's chasing me, but he's a while back yet," she panted.

"Well then, keep running and don't stop. I can feel that you're close..." he trailed off. Of course, he was psychic! She found herself wondering if while all her other senses were heightened, if that would be to. Concentrating hard, she tried to focus. There weren't that many emotions in the cave, considering how many things inhabited it. Most of what she felt was anger and pain. But there, amongst it all was confusion.

"What the hell are you confused about?" she asked, quite proud of herself for finding him at such a distance. He didn't reply at first and she could tell he was considering his words.

"There's a lot to be confused about when you're in a cave and two of your best friends are being attacked by monsters," he finally said. She could hear that he was running now to. Risking a glace behind her to check if she was in any immediate danger, she suddenly remembered her fear of the dark. Only thing was, it wasn't that dark anymore. There weren't any lights, it was just her. Usually her eyesight was terrible, but now...now she could see everything almost as well as if she was standing outside in the middle of the day. How...odd.

"Yeah, I suppose, just keep being confused, that's a nice easy emotion to pick up on," she smirked at his reply, even though she didn't really understand it,

"Well, that's never too difficult for me at the moment."

Seconds later, she was in his arms. Literally. Without realising they had walked straight into each other. Taya had almost swiped him across the face and he had almost shot her as they tried to register what was happening.

"I have never been so happy to see a fish in my life," she breathed, clutching onto one off his arms like he was going to run away again or something. "But please, put the gun away," he obliged to her request, then they stayed there for a long moment, staring at each other like they'd been apart for years.

"We should run," he suggested. The hollers from behind, that were all to close, made her agree instantly. The monsters caught up now and they were right on the couples heels, baying for their blood. Abe turned to the right quickly, dragging Taya with him. "I have an idea," he called back to her between breaths. "The tunnels under here are almost too small for me to fit through, so they have no chance of following us."

"You mean the underwater ones?" she asked, catching up so she was running beside him.

"Precisely," and, right on queue they were standing in front of a very small hole in the ground that was filled with water. Abe was already headed inside.

"Oh no," she said, shaking her head, "There's two things I don't do – the dark and water. I am a cat after all."

"Well, you seem to be doing quite well with your first fear," he told her gently. That was true. "And you said that you trusted me – so follow," with that he dived below the water, head first. Within moments she found herself doing the same.

It wasn't really swimming, she thought, it was more like crawling underwater because you had no room to move your limbs. Already she began to feel very...trapped. As she dragged herself along, she became aware of a vibration like sensation flowing through the water and the rocks around her.

"Can you feel that?" asked Abe, then remembered she couldn't speak underwater. "Never mind, I felt it before but it's stronger now." And it was still getting stronger, she thought and began to panic. She was right to do so.

Before her, a top section of the tunnel dislodged itself. Right on top of Abe. He wasn't crushed because the section hadn't fully fallen, but he was trapped, his black swim suit snagged on a sharp section of rock. To make it worse, her lungs began to scream for air. She struggled forwards to try and help him get loose. He was wriggling desperately, knowing by the look on her face that she needed to breathe. Whereas he could happily spend all day getting himself free, she could not. And she couldn't turn around because the tunnel was too narrow, even if she was flexible.

She began to feel light headed, the world around her blurring. She was vaguely aware of her hands on Abe's back, grasping numbly at the material in a sorry attempt to free him. She had heard once that drowning was supposed to be a very nice death, because the brain starts to hallucinate and the world turned into colours and...happy things. She smiled distantly, not realising that the sorry attempt to free him had worked and he had now flipped over onto his back and was dragging her by the arms...slowly...closer to him. They were very close really, as she lay on top of him, the narrow space allowing nothing more. And there was pain to because her back was scraping along the harsh, sharp rock. She smiled and closed her eyes. Closer still. Now she was at eye level with him, but she didn't know that because she was too busy...drifting. Then she felt his hand move to her head, his fingers tangled in her long, floating hair that flew around her. He was pushing it down. Towards him...towards his...lips. Then their lips touched, gently, both so cold like the water around them. He was kissing her.

No.

He was doing something far better. He was saving her life – giving her the thing that she needed. Oxygen. Her body took it from him greedily, desperately as it tried to keep itself awake. She was still not feeling right, but now, she knew what he was doing. When their lips parted, she opened her eyes, to find them staring into his deep blue ones.

He was trying to search for a reaction and he had found one. That little shine in her cyan eyes that told him, quite clearly, that she owed him a thousand thankyou's and a hug. Without saying anything he moved himself from below her and when he was clear of her body, he spun back onto his front and continued down the tunnel. He was very glad that she couldn't read minds like he could, because he couldn't stop thinking that the feel of her body so close to his...was nice. Right, in its own sense.

He was moving quickly now and so was she, in an attempt to get her out before she began to pass out again. She couldn't think about what he had done for her because it lead to far too many questions that her tired brain just couldn't answerer right now. So she ignored the pleasant taste on her lips and followed him through the dark water, blocking the thought from her mind...for now.

To her relief they were out pretty quickly. She pulled herself out with a hand from Abe, then collapsed onto the floor, coughing and spluttering. Then she fell quiet as she tried to steady the race of her heart, feeling Abe crouched beside her.

"I don't want you to worry now," he said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder, "But, we have company."

A/N: *Giggles Childishly* Sorry! I just couldn't resist the whole water/kiss of life type thing XD Corny I know....(: Bleh, I know the fight seen was bad, I shall try and improve for the next chapter! Hearts to all reviewers!!! Especially ones that are still following the story (: