I'm back with Chapter Seven! Weeeeeeeeeeee!

I don't know if this is a filler or not, because of…. Well, you'll see.

But I'm not too pleased with it. It just didn't come out perfect to me.

I did, however, have fun writing about Adam and Yahn. You'll see that, too. :)

Thanks for all the reviews and random shout-outs. :) Or just showing up. That, too.

Shinxshinx1595: Patience, Deary. Patience.

Moonlit: If it's any consolation, Azazel was killed and I've never seen Supernatural.

AllAmericanSlurp: Erm…you sure you want this chapter? Methinks all of you will want the next one. *hint hint*

Guest: *Slams down fist* Love it. Sadly, it's not looking too likely to happen just because of how they'll run into each other, but I'll see what I can do.

Vampire Girl: "Funeral Mishaps is hilarious! Watch it. Watch it now. Oh, I'm not going to call you, though. Need to keep a low profile. Never know who to trust, with all the feds around. I don't want the fuzz sniffing around my place. ;)"

All right! Let's get on with it! Anyone?

"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."

No cocky statement, Donald? All righty, then.

"The annoying thing about someone breaking your heart is the fact that you still love them."

Anmol Andore

"Thoughts are the shadows of our feelings – always darker, emptier and simpler."

Friedrich Nietzsche

Chapter Seven – Strangers and the Hunter

Leo

Pop quizzes on a Monday.

Bullies that target random people because they could.

Anyone or anything threatening his family.

The idea that his siblings were gone for good.

Douglas. Period. Always.

Of the list of things that bothered Leo, he found that one more thing to add that was right at the top: The idea that Chase would voluntarily stay with Douglas for any length of time. It was disturbing how casually the little gargoyle demon - Yahn? He could barely keep track of them - was describing Chase. Something about cat ears? And a tail? And sharp teeth, strange eyes? And wings? Not possible, Leo kept telling himself. This isn't possible.

From his seat at his mission specialist desk, Leo glanced at the other three demons, who were locked in Chase's old capsule, occasionally adding commentary like the freaking peanut gallery. Adam - who was currently sitting at the cyber desk with Yahn perched casually on his shoulder - had insisted on keeping Yahn out, citing some strange reason about geckos and cruelty until Mr. Davenport had relented. Bree had taken to standing near the entrance of the Lab, looking ready to bolt. She had been silent the whole time: A troubling sign, since she usually had something to say.

Mr. Davenport, however, was busy prodding the charred portal. "So, Chase is half demon now?" he asked over his shoulder for the tenth time, at least. "And he just ran to Douglas because of it?"

"Master summoned him," Yahn corrected. It turned out that the little demon was inclined to help anybody with anything. It made playing twenty questions about Chase much easier.

"Probably wasn't hard to summon a half-breed whelp," snickered Vilar, who had decided to look like a cobra again. "You'll be eaten by something that would likely be defeated if a pebble fell on his head!" The other two - who were now laughing as well - looked a little less menacing: Mesth had taken the form of an owl while Carth - no doubt to disturb them - was the exact replica of Mr. Davenport, sitting with crossed legs, the other two in his lap.

"Vânăto' is stronger than us!" Yahn snapped at them.

The three went from blatant skepticism to reverent murmuring in an instant. "Master wouldn't let Vânăto' eat us all for letting the spy go, would he?" Carth asked slowly, pointing at Yahn. "Because that was all you..." The other two began to nod vigorously.

"Who's Vânăto'?" Leo found himself asking. To say that the sudden change in attitude didn't make him curious would be a lie.

"Chase," Yahn answered.

"Why did you call him Vânăto'?" Mr. Davenport asked. "And how was he even summoned?"

"Candles, incense, circles; it was fairly standard for someone of his caliber," Yahn explained like it was nothing. "As soon as Master figured out the half-breed's name -Vânăto'- he could summon him."

"Doesn't Douglas already know Chase's name?" Adam asked now.

"Other name," Mesth said.

"Is Vânăto' short for something?" Mr. Davenport had turned around fully at look at Yahn now, his eyes filled with concern for Chase's wellbeing and curiosity at this strange development.

"I'm not telling you his whole name," Yahn sniffed, crossing his arms. "Master would be angry if you summoned the half-breed out from under him."

"Hold up." Leo threw a hand up in the air. "Let me just sum this up: Chase touched the portal, was turned into a half-demon hybrid, and fled. He was then 'summoned' by Douglas using a second name that none of us knew. Then Douglas sent you-" he pointed at Yahn - "and your friend to guard us when Chase found a spy demon following us, and then sent you three-" he gestured broadly towards Carth, Mesth and Vilar in the capsule - "to help Yahn guard us when you caught the actual spy. Now Chase, Douglas, and the other demon -"

"Oly," Yahn interrupted helpfully. "Her name is Oly."

"Fine, then. Chase, Douglas and Oly are doing who-knows-what as a second step in this process, and - this is important - Douglas, Chase and any demon he sends our way are actually on our side. Am I right?"

The demons nodded while Adam, Bree and Mr. Davenport gave what seemed to be a collective frown.

Leo proceeded to clap his hands together once before throwing them straight up in the air, standing up. "That's it," he declared, making his way towards the tunnel. "I'm getting off this crazy train."

"What's a 'crazy train'?" Carth asked, drawing air quotations with his fingers.

"My life," Bree sighed, finally finding her voice. She caught Leo by the arm before he entered the tunnel, causing him to stop and shoot her a look. Sticking around wasn't something he really wanted to do. He wanted to decide how he felt about the whole situation in peace.

However, Bree had other ideas. She pointed at Yahn. "You: Were you sent to hurt us?"

Yahn shook his head. "We couldn't hurt you on purpose if we tried. Master said we couldn't, and we can't disobey."

"Why not?" Mr. Davenport asked, wrinkling his nose.

"Summoned demons have bound wills," Mesth explained.

"We're forced to do what Master says," Vilar added. "We have no choice."

Leo furrowed his brow. "Isn't that kind of like slavery? And, since he was supposedly summoned, would Chase have to do what Douglas ordered?"

"Sounds like a lot of effort when the Triton App thingy would do the same thing," Adam remarked, surprisingly observant for once as he started to scratch underneath Yahn's chin, causing said demon to close his eyes and smile. Leo wasn't sure of the strength of the bond, but he did have to acknowledge that no stranger love could exist than between a boy and his somehow-recently-aquired demon friend.

"So Chase is being controlled by Douglas?" Mr. Davenport asked slowly, crossing his arms and leaning back against the table that held the broken portal, his expression laced with anxiety. "We have to get him out of there."

"Master gave the half-breed his free will," Yahn said boredly as Adam scratched behind his ear. "He can't order Chase to do anything."

"The half-breed gets his free will, but we don't?!" Mesth cried, obviously outraged.

"Where's the justice in that?!" Viral snapped, earning loud agreements from the other two occupying the capsule.

Mr. Davenport ignored them. He looked like a ten-pound weight had been lifted from his shoulders at this revelation, only to have been replaced by another equally heavy at the thought that Chase was staying with Douglas because he wanted to. It sure as hell caused a conflict in Leo's mind. It was good that Chase had free will, but to join Douglas of his own accord...

It certainly induced a headache, if not a mix of relief, anger and depression at being left behind so easily for some psycho who was comfortable calling up demonic entities. Unless Chase was more comfortable in an environment like that. Would he be more inclined to stay around demons and one who could call them at will? Moreover, was Chase still his old self, or had his transformation drawn him more towards a path of violence and dark indulgence?

"We still need to find him," Mr. Davenport said firmly. "Douglas can't be trusted."

"But what if Chase is evil now?" Leo blurted out. "We can't just invite a demon we know nothing about into the house!" Leo knew that he was sounding extremely harsh, but he met everyone's stares boldly, daring anyone to challenge him. If Chase was on Douglas' side – and a half-breed demon – then Leo, as much as he wanted to see his brother again, couldn't bring himself to trust Chase. He felt that he couldn't afford it. He'd already lost one sibling; he wasn't about to lose everyone else by rushing into anything.

"He's not a random demon," Bree countered. "He's Chase. And you know as well as I do that he isn't evil, whether or not he's part demon." She looked at everyone, her eyes lingering over the three demons in the capsule and Yahn. "Douglas isn't someone I want to deal with. He's too back-and-forth when it comes to us; sometimes evil, sometimes good. But I do know that Chase wouldn't be with Douglas right now if he was trying to hurt us." She shrugged. "If they keep sending guards and finding spies, then maybe they know something that we don't? Something we should look into? Because we all know that this wouldn't be happening for no reason."

Her speech was met with silence as everyone thought this over, nodding a bit to themselves as if agreeing. Leo had to admit: The girl's logic was pretty sound. He even felt a bit of guilt at having thought of Chase as evil, despite the fact that he still didn't quite have the conviction Bree seemed to.

"This one is clever," Carth complimented, breaking the silence and pointing at Bree. It was the first thing he had said that wasn't born of anger since he had been locked up with his companions.

Bree inclined her head slightly, but didn't respond.

Finally, Adam sighed. "I don't know what's going on with Chase, but I want to find out," he announced, pursing his lips.

"Then we need to find Douglas," Mr. Davenport responded before he pushed away from the table and walked to a nearby weapons case, retrieving his thermal blaster in the event that everything went to hell.

Leo resisted the urge to argue with them, comforting himself a tad by noting that, if everything went wrong, he could always rub it in their faces later. But, since they wanted to find Chase, Leo decided to play along. To be honest, he wanted to see Chase again, too. He just didn't know what he would do if Chase had changed.

One thing at a time, he reminded himself before gesturing at the demons. "Don't you guys know where Douglas is?"

Yahn nodded vigorously, actually grinning. The other three sighed and mumbled confirmations.

"Can you take us there?" Adam asked, looking up at Yahn.

"Great," Mesth huffed. "Now we have to be guide dogs for these idiots."

"You know, we don't have to be," Vilar pointed out, coiling around herself. "We weren't ordered to listen to them."

"Then stay in there," Mr. Davenport answered. "Not a problem for us." He gestured at Adam and Bree. "Suit up, guys," he said before leaving the Lab to change into his own mission suit.

Yahn jumped off of Adam's shoulder as he stood and stretched before following Bree towards the capsules and stepping in with ease before the door closed behind them. Within seconds of them going still, a flash of color showed them changed from street clothing into their black, armored mission suits. Once they were out of their capsules again – Yahn taking his former place on Adam's shoulder – Carth decided to speak up. "I kind of want to go, too. Just to get out of…." He glanced around the capsule before placing his palms flat on the glass. "Whatever this is." The other two, although quiet, nodded their agreement.

Bree pointed at them all, raising her eyebrow. "No tricks," she warned before leaning over the cyber desk and pressing a button that caused the capsule door to unlock and swing open.

The three demons seemed to pile out in relief, shifting to their original forms and sighing with relief for some reason. Leo could live with Mesth – green bobcats with two heads; why not? – and Carth – cat people were a common theme in some of his video games – but Vilar still bothered him. Something about blue, scaly dogs just made his skin crawl. "You're not seriously going out there looking like that, are you?" Leo asked, wrinkling his nose.

With many overly-dramatic sighs and some eye rolling, three black Labradors appeared in their place while a parrot replaced Yahn, still perched contentedly on Adam's shoulder. "Happy?" Mesth growled sarcastically.

Leo had many responses for that – some more appropriate than others – but he swallowed them as Mr. Davenport entered the Lab again, clad in the same mission suit that Adam and Bree wore. He tightened the small blaster around his wrist and nodded at Leo. "You know that you're staying here, right?"

"But I want to come," Leo whined. He never got to do anything cool. It would be nice to go on a seemingly harmless mission for once in his life.

"It's three in the morning and your mother would kill us both," Mr. Davenport responded casually.

Three in the morning?! That much time had passed since the demons showed up? Leo sighed, trying to shove down the weariness that, upon knowing the time, was making sure its presence was not felt. Besides, Mr. Davenport was right: Tasha would kill them both if Leo went out this late with a pack of demonic tour guides. "Fine," he mumbled.

"Good," Davenport responded. He pointed at the dogs. "Lead the way. And remember: We're watching you."

Amid a bit of indignant muttering, the three trotted to the entrance and into the tunnel, not even bothering to check if they were being followed. Mr. Davenport and Bree were on their heels in an instant, but Adam hesitated. He looked at Leo sympathetically and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Everything will be fine," he promised quietly before he, too, followed the tracking party.

Leo watched until Adam and Yahn disappeared around the turn before he buried he sank into the chair at the cyber desk and buried his head in his hands, letting out a frustrated groan. He couldn't help but think that something big was about to go down.

And it wouldn't be a good thing.

"It's a brand new day, and the sun is high. All the angels sing because you're gonna die!"

Dr. Horrible (Neil Patrick Harris), "Brand New Day"

"A victory without danger is a triumph without glory."

Pierre Corneille

Jasper

Master had been most displeased.

It wasn't anything Jasper could have done something about; his master had be showing off his "pet afrit" to some new summoners and had left the home unguarded, thinking that a single trap would suffice. Jasper knew otherwise, but hadn't said anything at the time, having learned long ago that trying to tell Master anything was similar to yelling in a deaf man's ear. Of course, when Master saw that the trap had been set off, yet Azazel's Bane was missing due to some very competent thieves, it was suddenly all Jasper's fault. Wasn't that always the case? It's fine; just blame the demon.

Jasper shifted from his crouched position, growling a bit.

Of course, it wasn't enough that Jasper had apparently caused the whole ordeal. He had been ordered to fix it. He honestly had no leads, though, so what the hell was he supposed to do?

Luckily, Lovett's spy – a puny little imp called Senles – had information that proved most useful, starting with who was protecting that stupid family that Master was supposed to dispose of: One Douglas Davenport. It didn't take long for Jasper to connect the break-in to the same man. Who else would it be? Azazel's Bane had been an extremely well-kept secret, known only to Master and Master's master, if one didn't count demons.

The breakthrough in that case was what had Jasper at his current location: Hiding behind some bushes, watching as some human prodded at a half-breed's side for some reason, some gargoyle imp sitting nearby, sullenly holding the half-breed's hand. Jasper hadn't been expecting anything stronger than an imp, to be honest, but the half-breed would be easy enough to eliminate. Jasper was confident that he was the stronger of the two, especially since his opponent was still half of a scrawny mortal.

He shifted his weight again, checking the planes he could see. This Douglas had some nerve for a man so ill-prepared. Jasper noted no shield, no traps, no anything to protect the house. Jasper almost laughed at the summoner's lack of foresight, since the man was now in possession of one of the most powerful artifacts ever created.

Jasper wasn't going to complain, though. It would make his orders easy. He could feel them tugging at him like an imp pulling on his tail.

Take out anyone in the way.

Retrieve Azazel's Bane.

And kill Douglas.

Easy enough. And just vague enough to allow Jasper to have a little fun while executing them.

He gave a wicked smile as he watched the group inside, all three oblivious to what was about to hit. Let the games begin, Davenport.

Let the games begin.

Holy shit-fit, no Chase again!?

I assure you that, while there is no Chase in this chapter, it was necessary for the next chapter to occur. Who doesn't like a little suspense, right? I had to set it up somehow, and I just couldn't do that through Chase's point of view. Let it be said, however, that both Chase and Douglas are mentally preparing for what's about to go down.

I still didn't like how the chapter turned out, but meh.

Review. Or don't. :D I still don't care what you do.

And tune in for next week's episode of "The Adventures of Demon Chase!"

Enjoy.

*Bows and exits*