For quite some time Taya just lay there, despite Abe's words of warning. She felt unbelievably cold and her limbs refused to obey her request for movement. She was incredibly happy though, considering what she had just been through and she was quite aware that that emotion was completely inappropriate for the current situation. Which made her smile to herself.

Both her clothing and her hair were plastered to her body and she was mildly concerned about the fact she was wearing a white top. Even in such perilous situations her mind had always been able to conger up the things that just didn't matter at all. This time, it seemed, was no exception. With a groan she pushed herself up using her shaking arms. Momentarily her head throbbed and she thought she was going to crash back on to the earth, but she managed to compose herself. She was up on her unsteady legs within the next movement, bringing a hand up to massage her aching temples.

"Interesting," mumbled Abe from somewhere behind her.

"Oh, it's nothing, my head just doesn't appreciate the whole drowning thing," she explained quietly to him.

"Not you," he replied quite frankly, leaving Taya slightly taken aback, "Her." That didn't help either, the thing that was more interesting than her being another woman. She spun around, regretting the action immediately as her vision was submerged in a cloud of red. It passed almost instantly though leaving her once again with a hand pressed against her throbbing temple. She winced as she opened her eyes, the movement itself bringing on a small wave of pain. She wasn't quite sure of what she saw before her, but it shocked her and she felt herself recoil ever so slightly.

It was a mass of...something, something that was alive and every now and again it would move, sending tremors through the earth. So that's what had almost killed her, she thought cagily. Embedded in what she could only describe as its fatty flesh, were hundreds of cables that disappeared off through the ceiling, hanging like metallic cobwebs above them. Where they met her skin, they were bolted in place by huge nail like objects. This had not been done with care it would seem, because the dried blood was still in place, trailing over the many folds of her being. She was at least the size of two of your average houses.

Abe was already very close to the giant, reaching out a tentative hand towards her. On contact he was instantly rewarded with more information than he could have ever asked for. It seemed that Aglaia – this was then name he had told him anyway – was not a willing participant in what happened with the power cut and Abe obviously was not surprised when he learned this. The poor woman was in so much pain, pain that had stepped beyond the safe boundary that death provided. Because, she couldn't die. She was one of the old immortals...she gave him a very small snippet of an old legend but her thoughts were racing so quickly even he couldn't keep up. But one thing was clear – she hadn't always looked like this, that fact was one thing she wanted to get across desperately. Her name means beauty in Greek, the language of her country. She was once one of the most elegant creatures on the planet. And now, she was reduced to this monster that was even unable to move.

Abe absorbed everything she wanted to tell him, until he broke his bond with her and stepped away. Taya watched him approach her, the look on his colourful face being something she had never seen before. From him, she sensed sadness...and from her, she sensed depression, mixed with a new emotion that she didn't know.

"She wants to die," Abe spoke softly, but still like he was talking about any other fact, "You haven't felt that before, have you?" he asked, not needing to read her thoughts to know what was swimming around in her head.

"No..." trailing off she stared at the woman again, though there was nothing 'woman' about her. It wasn't the nicest of feelings, knowing that someone truly wanted to end their lives. She had had friends that had said it to her in the past, but clearly, none of them had honestly meant it. "What's going on Abe?" she questioned, looking back at him.

"I want to show you something Taya?" it was more of a question than a request she realised, as he held out his hand to her. She swallowed, before laying her palm out on his out stretched one. With that simple gesture she understood everything. It was a legend...she had never heard of it, but that's what it was. Hundreds of years ago, creatures were granted with the gift of immortality, from a greater force that was even unknown to them. It spoke to them as they slept, coming to them in their dreams in the form of an old man. He said,

"For as long as the sun touches your faces and the moonlight bathes your bodies, you shall never die, never be harmed, never feel pain." The creatures agreed to these terms, but the old man watched as there new power made their kind soles greedy and they soon used the humans as slaves. A few smart men knew of the legend and thought to themselves,

"If the sun does not touch their faces and the moon does not bathe their bodies, they will no longer have the gift they share." So working together, these wise men trapped all of the seven immortals underground, where there powers were weekend. All of them had different means of being trapped – Aglaia for instants was bound to the bones of her dead lover. The details were very sketchy really, but Taya got the picture. The woman could still not be killed as such...not unless she wanted to be. So for years she clutched onto life, never able to leave the cave because of her bond with the dead, never able to kill herself because it had to be done by another. One who was doing it out of kindness, not out of fear, was another thing the wise men added when they trapped all of them, thinking that nothing in its right mind would do such a good thing for a heartless being. Let them suffer and bleed, but never die.

Then, one night, someone came to the cave with his monsters...and he bound her with wires and bolts and magic, leaving her unable to move or escape. He was going to use her body to absorb energy, knowing that she could never die. And he had. That's why she's so...fat. Thought Taya, all that unused energy. She cast her mind back to physics lessons in school...Energy can never be destroyed, only converted to another type of energy. That's what had happened to her, the energy had turned into stored energy. Fat. He intended to do this until she had taken all of the electricity in the area, leaving the humans in darkness so he could attack with the chimeras. She didn't know why though but she knew that the others were all around the world. Combined it would be easy to leave the entire planet in darkness for a good few days. Well enough time for him to attack and kill...millions. This time was only a test run. And the man knew the location of the others too...but she didn't know much more. Only that she was ready to die now...and was just waiting for someone kind enough...Abe.

She pulled away from him quickly, shaking her head in the disbelief that Abe was going to kill this woman without even trying to help her. He looked like he wanted to reach out to her and explain, but he knew it was pointless for she was far too headstrong and set in her own beliefs. Instead he lowered his eyes, not shamefully though, and reached for his gun. He pulled it out and with both hands aimed at the colossal woman, straight for where he sensed her heart to be. He would make it quick and painless, ending her suffering once and for all.

Just as his finger was about to click the trigger, Taya dived in front of the gun, arms out stretched in a clear gesture that was telling him to stop.

"We have to help her," she spoke, her now small voice pleading with him. He could have been mistaken, but there looked like there with tears in her eyes. He shook his head solemnly,

"I am helping her Taya," she moved closer to him now, so the barrel of the weapon was pressed against her chest. He lowered it slightly.

"No, we can unhook her...I'm sure we can...help her. Somehow."

"And how would we do that? She is trapped here by a bond, mutilated by a man and miserable. She has lived long enough and yearned for her death for hundreds of years. Nothing we can do can help her now. Except killing her," Abe almost winced when a stubborn tear fell down the side of her cheek,

"I thought death was the only way out for me too!" she cried, now cupping both her hands around Abe's that still held the gun and pressed it back against her chest, over her heart to emphasise the point. "But then I meat you and the guys and I got a home at the BPRD. Now I'd fight to survive, not curl up and accept what's coming to me. Can't we try and make her feel the same?"

Abe wanted to drop the gun and hold her, agree to what she was saying and let her have her own way. But, she didn't understand that none of that was possible.

"Not everyone in the world is as lucky as we are," he gently pulled the gun free of her, then took one step to the side, aiming once more straight at Aglaia's heart. Taya made no move to stop him, but gave him a look of near disgust. He fired.

With one clean shot the creature was dead, hardly a noise escaping from its lips. Abe stood there still, his chest heaving with the effort of going against Taya's wishes. He shouldn't feel guilty...but he did.

"Abe!" she yelled. He closed his eyes. Let her shout at me he thought.

"I will explain more if-"

"No Abe, look out!" But it was too late, the creature that had made its way behind him knocked him to the floor, sending his gun skidding away from him. He gave a cry of pain as she rushed towards him, already feeling that...animal make itself ready to fight. There were scratches in his back, nothing that would kill him she noted, just stop him from fighting for a while. Snarling she faced his attacker.

She was beautiful. Nothing like the chimeras, even though there was animal in her. Her body was like that of a centaur, except it was a tiger's frame instead of a horses. Her human torso was bare, her breasts covered by the long red hair that fell freely from her head. Her face was etched into perfection and the green eyes that shone there were much like Taya's. They sparkled with a dangerous mischief, like any cat's. Her ears were a lot more prominent than the cat-girls though and at the moment, they were pointed and listening. Expecting something.

"You shouldn't have killed Masters play thing," she said coldly, her voice giving away her true age. It was cracked like that of an old woman, but also healed ones kindness. "You will have to die because of this transgression." Emotionlessly she made her way towards them, her huge paws unsheathing their gleaming black talons. She advanced without a sound, despite the size of her body. She towered above the pair, her height being at least 10ft, though her figure was still quite slim. Her golden fur shone in the little light that there was, powerful mussels rippling with each twitch of movement and step she made.

Taya could feel the thing inside her, almost hear its voice telling her to let go of the power she had over it. I'll help, it promised her. But she didn't feel right letting it out, letting it do as it pleased. She was scared of everything that was happening to her body right now, the feel of fire in her stomach, the claws that ached to taste blood, sharp fangs that wanted nothing more that to tear away at warm flesh. She was lost in the haze of images and feelings and before she knew what was happening...the beast inside her escaped.

Abe watched, with a growing feel of dread in the pit of his stomach. Taya had fallen to her knees and was clutching her sides, hisses of pain escaping her clenched teeth. He tried to move towards her, but the sting in his back prevented him from doing so. The animal that had attacked him looked curious and was, as of yet, not making any move to harm either of them. He was glad of this because Taya seemed to be lost to the world, now on all fours. Her body was pulsing and contracting, like she was trying to vomit. Then, before his eyes, she began to change.

Dark brown fur sprouted all over her body, covering her within seconds. Her facial features morphed themselves into something that looked like that of a lion's, but her ears were longer and more dog like. Large white fangs hung from her top jaw and her already sharp claws extended and thickened. Her entire body was larger, muscles bulging and tearing away her clothes, leaving them in rags on the ground surrounding her. Snapping at all sorts of angles, her bone structure even changes. Whilst all this was happening, Taya didn't stop screaming, until that scream became more of an animal's blood thirst holler.

Then there was such a heavy silence, filled only with her panting.

Taya pounced at the tigress before she had time to react. She gave out a cry of alarm at the creature that was now clinging onto her torso, claws embedded in her skin and fangs already reaching for her throat. Struggling fiercely, she managed to tare her away, causing the razor sharp barbs to scrape through her flesh leaving deep, bleeding lacerations. Taya landed on her back, a paw crushing her chest and talons stabbing into her. With a roar of fury she bit into the leg that healed her down, making it recoil with pain. The animal swiped another at her and she dodged it quickly, getting to her feet. Throwing herself at the monster, she landed on its back, then fastened her jaws around its neck. She felt the blood pour into her mouth and down her own chest, the bitter taste giving the animal even more power, awakening it from its lifelong slumber. The Tigress reached behind her, grabbing hold of the cat and throwing it as hard as she could. Taya collided with a wall but the pain didn't registered to her. She pounded back towards her enemy, eyes alight with the urge to kill... but then she stopped. The creature was holding her neck, trying to stop the blood escaping her. Taya was already hurt, she knew that...knew that this body could deal with her injuries...but she was unsure if her human one could. Her green eyes saw Abe, he was staring at her and he looked...almost scared. She had to get him out of here and this was her chance.

She ran to him and he inched away ever so slightly. Unable to speak in this body, she bowed her head in a sign of submission and friendship. Carefully she lowered her muzzle to him, letting him reach out and touch her blood stained fur.

"I'll carry you," she told him with her mind, "Please, don't be afraid of me. I...I am still here...Trust me."

Then her animal eyes met his. They were more beautiful and more alive than he had ever seen them. And he saw the hope that lay there. Gently, with one arm she picked him up, taking one more glance at the creature that seemed to be recovering quickly. Then, she turned and ran, as fast as her legs could carry her. Abe clung to her body, both arms wrapped around her neck, sneering as pain jolted down his back with every move she made. Over her shoulder he could see the Tigeress. She was getting closer.

Hellboy was getting sick and tired of killing...and he never thought he'd be able to say that. He had ran out of bullets long ago and was now pounding the animals to death with his huge fist. At one point he had decided enough was enough and tried to find his way out, which only resulted in him getting completely lost. Tired, frustrated and up to his knees in blood and God knows what else, he came to the conclusion that trying to find the exit again was a good idea...until he came across a pair of doors. This seemed odd considering he was a few miles into a cave, surrounded by man eating monsters. He opened the doors and was even more confused by what he saw.

He had entered a lab of some sort and was surrounded by technical equipment, much like the BPRD's own control room. Except it was a little messier.

"Are you lost Mr Hellboy?" Called a sarcastic voice. Red looked up to a small balcony where a man stood, dangling a pocket- watch in his fingers idly. His hair was long and black, like it had been cut from the night itself, where as his face was as pail as winters iciest snow. His thin black lips were formed into a crooked smile as his silver eyes watched the trinket intently, as if it healed all the answers in the universe. Hellboy guessed he was tall, even though he was leaning on the metal railing.

"You know, actually I am. Are you the butler for this place, coz I'd like to be shown the door now. Your pets are a little uninviting," Red snorted and after closing the door to the creatures who had been chasing him, he lit a cigar.

"Butler?" he chuckled, "No, I am its king,"

"King huh? Is that official or are we all just playing dress up?" He walked further into the room. To his left there were screens that displayed things Red didn't quite understand...so he didn't try to. To his right was what looked like, well, a torture chamber come medical section. There was a bed, with straps to hold the 'Patient' down, objects that looked like they were made with the sole porous of hurting as much as possible on the table next to it and various chains hung from the ceiling and were scattered around the floor. As well as the chains, thick cables snacked around under his feet and off into the walls.

The man leaped from the balcony, landing easily on his feet. Whilst placing his watch into a pocket he strode towards Hellboy, face void of emotion. He stopped a few paces before him, then cracked his features into a wide grin, even Red thought it was kinda creepy.

"There are no games here, only illusions," he flipped his hand and a thin white object appeared between his fingers. He held it to his lips and blew.

The Tigress turned on her heals at the piercing noise that echoed through the caves...and disappeared into the darkness, without even a second glance at the two she was only moments ago trying to slaughter. Taya didn't stop though, instead she continued to follow the scent of fresh air...the scent of freedom. She never slowed down, though her body was now begging her so stop and collapse. Soon, she told it, begging it to just hold out for a few more minutes.

It didn't even have to wait that long. She stumbled out of the cave, happy to feel the crunching autumn leaves under her tired paws. The smell of the forest overwhelmed her senses, filling her with a new kind of hope. They were out now. They were going to be ok.

She laid Abe down next to a tree, then curled up next to him as her body made the painful transaction back into human form. She didn't feel it though...because she had passed out. Abe was left staring at her bruised and bleeding naked form, lying in the fetal position with her back turned to him, wondering what he should do. Being a gentleman, he tried his best not to look anywhere...inappropriate, or at her at all for that matter. But he did notice some interesting scars...

Red didn't have time to react to the Tigress that jumped straight over his head to stand by her Master. He took a few moments to marvel at the beast, then turned his attention back to the man. Somehow he had replaced his small white whistle with a metal box that had wires running through to the floor. The box had a button on it. Red instantly didn't think it was such a good idea to be in the cave anymore.

"I am Soultar Golem," he said calmly, "And this is Chryses, my sphinx. I thought I should at least tell you our names before we depart. I mean, I'd hate to be known as anything other than a gentleman."

"Depart? And where would you be going?" questioned Red, trying to back away towards the door discreetly.

"Oh, do not sound so disheartened my colourful friend. We may meet again...even if it is in a different life," then he disappeared, along with his pet, just after pressing that button. Which happened to be red.

"Ah, crap," Said Hellboy as the cave fell in around him with a burst of fire.

Twenty or so minutes later he had dug his way out, very thankful of the caves sort of thin ceiling. He was battered and bruised all over, but still managed to light another cigar. Stumbling through the woods, back to where the entrance had once been, he was rather relived to see a relatively unharmed pair of friends. He saw Taya lying next to Abe, who had spotted Hellboy and was trying to get up. Red raised his eyebrows,

"Wow Blue, you finally got some?" he asked playfully, referring to the still very naked Taya. Abe scowled at him.

"Don't be so preposterous Red!" he said, "Can't you see she's hurt? Give me your coat," he stretched his arms out in front of him, waiting for the clothing to be passed over.

"My coat?" he asked.

"To cover her up," explained Abe.

"Well, it's drenched in bad guy blood, but sure you can have it. Even though I can tell you rather like naked kitty," he grinned evilly but handed over his coat, Blue choosing to ignore Reds childish statement.

Gently he wrapped her in the brown material, it easily concealing her entire body. Hellboy was surprised when Abe insisted on carrying her back. He said something about her doing the same for him...but more to himself that to Red. The demon walked in front of the pair, feeling a little out of place.

On the way back to the chopper, Taya awoke once, to find her head nestled into a warm chest. She looked up to see Abe, who hadn't noticed her eyes open and was concentrating on the road ahead of him. She remembered that he had been hurt...and was momentarily concerned for his well being, but he seemed to be doing ok for now. Smiling, she went back into the darkness of her mind.

Both Red and Blue were very relieved to see the helicopter. Liz was standing at the entrance, with a look of anger on her face. Hellboy approached her carefully, arms ouch stretched ready to hug her. When he was close enough, she slapped him, ignoring Abe walk past with Taya in his arms.

"Why the hell didn't you answerer my calls!!" She yelled loudly, pointing an accusing finger at him "I was worried sick!"

This would defiantly take some explaining.

A/N: Sorry I got lazy on the whole legend thing and so on...I was getting tired XD All things about the plot will be explained in time. Ok I have a question ...well really I need someone's help. I want my bad guy Mr Golem, not just to be your average black and white evil villain. I want the readers to get to know him...So I though a good way to do this would to be for him to have someone he confides in. I was thinking lover or something...But I don't know. Any ideas? As always thanks so much for reading ^^ Reviews and questions are always replied to (: