"Who dares enter my lair?" The old, beautiful voice hissed in the minds of Hellboy and the agents he was with. Instantly they pressed their hands to their ears tightly, in an attempt to block out the searing pain that ripped through their skulls. A few men collapsed to down onto their knees, others yelled in agony and shock when blood poured from their noses. Red's brain was screaming to, but he stood still, watching the seemingly upset dragon with little interest. He pulled his gun up so it was level with the beasts head, then took a few steps forward.

"Hey, cut it out," he ordered, flicking his weapon. She shifted her liquid gold gaze to him, curling her lips to show off her ivory white teeth and dark black gums. Her throaty growl shook the earth,

"The gun you hold bears no threat to me, mortal. I will kill all those who stand here before your finger has chance to even twitch," flaring her nostrils, she gave him a disinterested look.

"It does if you want it to," Red cooed back. Her eyes shot to him, then narrowed.

"You know of my curse?" The men that had been rolling on the ground in agony now slowly stumbled back onto their shaky feet, confusion plane on their faces. The pain that had consumed them slowly ebbed as the dragon became interested in wheat the demon had to say. Red placed his gun back in its holster, satisfied that she had realised he meant her no harm.

"Yeah, you guys are causing a bit of a fuss," Hellboy removed the buckle that held her jaws closed. He had never really liked that fact Abe could read his mind, but this dragon could talk to him with hers and he hated the idea of her probing around in his brain. At first the mighty animal looked slightly shocked that someone was even risking coming so close to her, let alone realising her most deadly weapon. When Hellboy had taken a few steps away from her she razed he huge head and stretched her jaws with a satisfied grunt.

"Thank you, Demon," she said, now using her mouth to speak instead of her mind, "I have no will over what has happened here, you must know that," the agents gave her sceptical glances, all staying as far away from the dragon as possible. Whereas Hellboy was now quite used to being singed by angry women, they were not. Red nodded and lit a cigar,

"We know, but d'you have any idea how much trouble humans would be in if Golem let his freak show loose?" The animal chuckled slightly,

"I thought after all of these years, mankind might have learned to defend itself," if dragons could smile, that's what she did, "Every time we mythical creatures try to help, we only make things worse," silently, Hellboy seemed to agree. He had been helping humans for as long as he could remember, but so far, hardly any of them have showed him the slightest bit of thanks. It was difficult sometimes, when he thought about the fact he had dedicated his life to protecting something that didn't want protecting. Every time he considered giving up and leaving behind this hectic life he had created for himself, he remembered his father. He was just a man...if only all humans could appreciate freaks like he had done.

"You should kill me," the Dragons sure words sliced through Red's thoughts. He looked up to her in near disbelief and she held his stare for a very long moment. Hellboy was the one that looked away, but only to see the things that bound her. He understood suddenly how much pain the beautiful creature must have been in. Bothe her wings were pinned violently to the cold earth. Another huge nail held her powerful tail to the ground and her everlasting blood supply was still staining the ground from every laceration on her body. He noticed a few of her scarlet scales had been ripped away from her skin. Then he saw for the first time...the absence of life in her serious eyes. He swallowed.

"There is no hope for me," she continued, "I have served my time here and have come to terms with the monster I once was," Her expression saddened and she struggled for words, "You are a stranger to me, but I must ask you one thing before I leave this world. My last child, take my egg and keep him safe."

Red seemed to be lost for words, but he understood what he was supposed to do...what he needed to do.

"Where is he?" he questioned. With a terrible cry of pain she tore her wing away from its bonds, ripping the thin layer of flesh as she did so. Arching the now tattered limb, she reviled a large, cream white egg that was tucked into her side. She gave the shell a loving look. Throughout years of torment, she had remained the most dedicated mother any being could ever wish for, she wasn't going to let her son die now.

"He will hatch soon after I have died, watch over him, he is the last," Red moved forward, signalling with a flick of his hand that he wanted the agents to remove the egg. The man shared a few unsertine looks before shuffling forward and lifting the egg up and out of the passage they had come from. The mother watched as they went, gold tears fraiming her eyes. When they were out of sight she clenched her jaw shut and faced Hellboy. "Please, take care of the hatchling, he is my everything..." Red nodded,

"No problem, I'll keep the little guy safe,"

"Then make it swift, stranger," The Demon raised his gun, aiming it at her head once again. He hesitated for a few moments, thoughts of how he might be able to help swimming through his brain. But, he knew none of those thoughts would help the animal in the slightest. He pulled the trigger and the dragon fell to the ground, head lying flat against the earth in the most peaceful silence she had experienced in all her years of captivity. Her ches continued to rise and fall for a few uneasy seconds, but soon she was gone, thankful for her now everlasting freedom.

"Tell me, Demon...Does the plague creep at your heels? For each time we have meat, one beast has fallen," Chryses gracefully prowled in a neat circle around Hellboy, who didn't even bother to move. Though her old voice was calm, something like frustration escaped her lips. The claws at her feet already flexed in anticipation, scratching the cold rocks. She had failed her Master and she was unsure of how he would react to another loss. She was not afraid of the man, but she knew what he was capable of.

"Yeah, don't worry, you're not the first woman to tell me I've screwed up her plans..." Hellboy shot at the sphinx. Chryses smiled.

Somewhere, about a mile deeper into the cave, Abe and the agents were fighting for their lives. He was surrounded by chaos from the moment they had wandered into the lab. Everything had happened very quickly, he had spotted the pail man, who had not looked surprised to see him at all. The man had twisted his fingers and razed his hand. Abe didn't quite understand this action, and at the time it seemed to be harmless. He had never been more wrong.

The shadows of the agents had churned at their feet, swelling from the earth like a pit of bubbling tar. They had risen slowly, like they had all the time in the world to do their masters bidding. In the confusion and shock, no one seemed to move...or even breathe. The first noise to cut through the air was a slight cry of confusion, as one as the night back shadows latched itself onto its owners leg and slide its way up his body. Soon this was happening to all of the men, and everyone had been thrown into their own individual fights.

Abe was struggling with his own fight when he noticed Soultar, staring at him with something that looked like curiosity. The man was so close, just another step would take him eye to eye with him. Blue pulled fist full's of the black slime away from him, but the creature still advanced onwards, up towards his head. Then, as quickly as the being had started attacking, it stopped. For a few seconds Abe was once again lost in panic and confusion, but a crisp voice sliced through his thoughts,

"You," began Golem, twitching his lips in a smile, "Are interesting, very interesting indeed," Blue reached for his gun when the man lurched forwards, but as he did so, the air around him seemed to thicken so every move he made was slowed. Magic, thought Abe and despite his dire situation, he found himself wanting to know more. This word was never really used for any of the powers the freaks had, even though a lot of the abilities seemed very close. A theory was that humans have simply forgotten how to used magic, losing the ability as they wandered further away from nature and the 'basic' things so to say. Mankind had replaced sorcery with technology.

Blue didn't say a word, Soultar's intentions very unclear to him. His brain was now automatically trying to read the man's mind, searching for answers and information. Golem grinned again. "I wouldn't," he said, "it's not going to work," Abe cocked his head to one side and his mouth opened as if to say something, but only silence breathed through his lips. He then suddenly noticed that it was only him that had been speared the fight and the other agents were still battling with their shadows. He dared a glance around, seeing that two of the six had already fallen, the black ooze spilling out from their nose, eyes and mouth. The sight was horrible and Abe could hardly bring himself to hold his gaze on his dead companions.

"Don't worry," continued Soultar, drawing his sword and bringing it to Blues hand, that was still aching for a hold on his gun, "The magic eats their brains, quickly, so they won't feel much pain," the evil glint in his eyes would have sent shivers down his spine if he wasn't so close to being completely paralyzed.

"Stop hurting them, what is that going to accomplish? You think that more won't come when they have been killed? You think we're going to let you get away with what you're trying to do here?" Abe, though many people wouldn't believe so, was a brave man and these words were just proof of that. He wasn't going to let these people be hurt, not if there was anything he could do to stop it.

Golem didn't reply, simply chuckled quietly to himself. He then drew his gaze to Abes belt and frowned slightly. It was only then the Fish-Man saw the little red light flashing on his communicator.

"What does that mean?" Soultar questioned, now pointing his sword to the devise. Abe blinked a few times.

"It means someones trying to talk to me," he said, trying to press the small butten that let the communication come through. Soultar relised his magical hold on Blue's limbs for a second, listening intently to whatever the transmitter had to say.

"Hey Blue," it was Red's gruff voice that met their ears. Abe mad eye contact with Soultar, silently wondering if that man was going to stap him of he tryed to reply. The only message he got from the pail man's look was one that said: Watch your toung. Hellboy continued without pause, "We just bagged ourselves a kitty, you know that sphinx that chased you and Taya last time?"

"Yes," answered Blue, his eyes never leaving Golem's own stare.

"Were taking her in for questioning, you might as well get out of there," before he could say another word, Soultar snached the walkie-talkie away from Abe,

"On the contrary, your fishy friend won't be leaving for quite some time," he hissed, slight pankic in his voice, "You will fetch Chryses back, or Blue here will be skewered,"

"Is this the creepy dude I spoke to last time?" Asked Red, sounding more frustrated than anything else. Golem actually looked like he was going to comment on Red's choice of words, but he composed himself.

"Yes, but that doesn't matter, the only thing that does is the fact I have your companion and you have mine," he stopped, "No, that doesn't matter either. You can keep Chryses. I want you," Abe opened his mouth to tell Red not to listen, but the demon spoke first.

"What makes you think I want to trade? I can just come over there and take him,"

"You try anything like that and I'll kill him without hesitation,"

"Then I'll kill you without hesitation,"

"I'll disappear before you have the chance,"

"I'm fast."

"So am I."

Abe took a moment to think, drowning out the sound of the demon and Golem arguing over who could kill who first. He could probably try to escape on his own, but that didn't have a very high chance of going well. He wondered what Soultar could want with Hellboy, but realised quickly that the question of if he was immortal or now was still floating around. That's why Golem wanted him.

"Hellboy," said Abe quickly, knowing he had to stop the demon from trying to resque him, at least until they had real plan thrown together. "It doesn't matter, get out of here!"

"Silence you half breed!" screeched Soultar, pressing his sword to Abe's belly. Blue ignored the threat and continued,

"If he gets you, it could mean the deaths of even more innocent people, get out!"

"Abe, I got to-"

"Now!"

"Right ok, but I'm gonna get you out of here buddy!" With that the communication was cut, leaving Soultar in an angry silence. At first he wanted to cut Abe down, there and then, but he knew the fish man would be a valuable bargaining tool with the BPRD. Instead he would just have to wait until the next opportunity arose. He removed the scowl from his face and slipped his sword back into its scabbard.

"I trust they will treat my friend well?" He asked with a forced cheeriness in his voice. Abe swallowed,

"Of course," he answered, nodding slightly. At his words Soultar began to laugh hysterically, walking away from him and towards one of the many chains that hung from the ceiling. He took hold of it gently, almost admiring it.

"It's a shame I can't show you the same hospitality."

Liz was more than bored. She had done everything she could think of to keep herself occupied, but nothing was working. At first she tried to watch TV, but she just got annoyed at the adverts. Then she got up and started to clean, in fact she spent three hours doing it and now her and Hellboy's home was practically spotless. Then, she roamed around the flat looking for Izzles, the cat. She wasn't sure why she was doing this, but it distracted her for long enough.

She had resived the news of Abe's capture a while ago, so that just made it worse. She started to blame herself, thinking that if she could have been there, maybe she could have helped, then she realised that she wouldn't have been able to and got even more upset. She wasn't too worried, but she hadn't got the whole story yet. For some time she waited by the phone, anciouse and praying for news.

With a sigh she heaved herself up from the couch and headed towards the door. Izzles, who had been snuggled up by her side for quite some time, followed her. She strolled down the corridors, trying to spark up a convocation with anybody who walked past, but was having little luck in doing so. Then she spotted an agent, running around the corner towards her. The man, who she recognised to be Ed, almost banged straight into her. He muttered his apologies and tried to squeeze past, but she blocked his way.

"And where would you be going in such a rush?"She asked, razing a dark eyebrow at him. The small grey cat at her feet hissed when he stood on her tail. He yelped and jumped back.

"I'm w-working on the w-werecat case..." he stuttered never taking his eyes away from the feline he had just stood on. It took a good few moments for Liz to realise what he was talking about.

"You mean Taya's disappearance right?"

"Y-yes," he managed. Liz rolled her eyes and gritted her teeth in frustration.

"So what you got then?"

"I don't think I should be discussing it with you," he answered, trying to sound assertive. Liz gave him a dangerous grin.

"Oh, I'm sure I can change your mind on that," she allowed her hand to set alight, flexing her fingers slowly. Of course she would never hurt him, but she knew he was a bit of a sissy. Holding back laughter, she saw the fear in his eyes ad chanced a step closer.

"Ok, ok I'll tell you," he straightened his tie with a shaky hand and swallowed. "I think I know where she is," Liz's face brightened up instantly, then darkened again. She knew that if Manning got a wiff of her trail, he wouldn't rest until she was locked up again. "A few people have seen sightings of what they want to call a 'Cat-Woman' in a wood not that far from here. But it doesn't look like she stays there... In fact, I think she lives somewhere in the city still."

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, a lot of things. For one she knows it well, where to hide and where to avoid, but the biggest clue yet was a resent strain of robberies,"

"Robberies? What does that have to do with Taya?"

"Butcher shops. Let's face it, there's not a lot to 'hunt' around here is there?"

"Makes sense I suppose..."

"Wanna know what the best part is?" he asked, almost excitedly. Liz didn't bother replying. "It's all happening in one area, hopefully we can lure her in or something...I just need to go tell Manning my findings-"

"No," she cut him off, "You won't e telling Manning a damn thing. Me and you are going to find her,"

"Me and you? But you're...Your-"

"Fat, I know," with that she dragged him with her down the corridor, determined to find her missing friend.

A/N: Don't kill me!!!!! I'm so sorry it's been so long! I have had a terrible few weeks... I've been ill, my pet bird died... followed closely by my pet rat): I didn't want to write for a while, and I'm sorry this chapter sucks, but next one will be very long and have a lot of mushiness in it, just for you guys! I also have someone new to add to my thankyou list: PhoenixCrystal, you have commented on every single one of my chapters!!!! Thank you so much! And StormyChild95, your comments are really encouraging! I'm not forgetting about everyone else, big hugs to you all!

Ohh, and I was thinking... Maybe when I get a little further into the story, how far do you think Taya and Abe should go... if you get what I mean? It's just Abe's so sweet and innocent, I don't know if I could write something like that convincingly for him!! Haha, poor guy, love you Blue!(: