"Get us out of here!" Kurumu screamed as she held onto the side door and seat with fright. The back window of the SUV cracked severely as gunfire echoed out, the vehicle swerving as the side mirrors were shot right off while the windows cracked from the bullets flying at them.
"What do you think I'm trying to do?" Sandra yelled back as she tried to keep the vehicle steady, racing down a road right behind two HDA trucks that were coming under heavy fire.
"This is crazy, they're sending the entire army after us," Rason said looking back out the window, seeing a large task force of helicopters and humvees chasing after them.
"We need to get to the monster world right away!" Moka cried out as she held onto her seat with fear.
"I don't think we're going to make it like this," Gabriel said before a bullet shot through the roof of the truck and pierced through the front windshield, the glass cracking as Sandra screamed in terror. She tried to keep driving steady while following behind the other HDA trucks ahead of her. Inside one of the trucks Razico was looking out his window with frustration as bullets struck at the truck from behind, the occupants looking around worriedly as sparks and dents lit up along the ceiling.
"Hurry up! They're right behind us!" Yukari cried out as she gripped her hat with fright.
"There's so many out there, we can't outrun them all!" Ruby cried out as she saw helicopters and humvees chasing after the group, before her mirror was shot right off the truck. One of the vehicle's rear tires was shot off, the truck swerving as the warlock tried to keep it steady.
"We're all going to die!" Ran cried out as she held Ahakon out of fear, with half of the boy's face being pushed into her chest as he thrashed around. The siren screamed as a bullet tore through the chassis and struck past her, jumping back with fright as the group saw the smoking hole in the rear of the truck.
"This thing isn't entirely bulletproof, do something!" Gin shouted out.
"I'm trying, not much else I can do besides floor it here!" Razico shouted back.
"Well that's not working, think of something else quick!" Kokoa cried out as another bullet pierced through the chassis and struck into the ground between the seats. Fang Fang looked at the hole with wide eyes then towards the rear of the truck where he saw the smoking hole from the bullet's entry.
In the truck ahead of them Leon was driving as fast as he could, gripping the steering wheel tightly while Astreal was holding onto her seat with fright. In the back Dark was holding onto Mizore from around her upper chest while he was knelt down beside her, sitting next to Ceal as he was working his magic to restore the snow maiden's body.
"Keep it steady, I need her to remain still during this," Ceal called up.
"You tell that to them!" Leon yelled back. Apoch held onto Arial worriedly as she looked around at the interior of the truck, hearing the bullets striking the outside repeatedly, all while the snow angel was out cold in her arms still. Complica trembled and looked around nervously while Render was watching Mizore worriedly.
"Please tell us she's almost good to go man, this ride's about to get really bumpy really quick," he said urgently.
"Afraid not, I still need more time to finish with this, her circulatory system isn't a simple thing you know," Ceal said shaking his head.
"Sorry but I sort of slept through biology class a lot, not really my thing. But c'mon man, isn't there a faster way of doing this?" Render said before he saw a bullet strike through the ceiling and pierce the side of the truck. Sun looked at the bullet hole with wide eyes while Complica turned pale with fear.
"If there was don't you think I would have done so?" Ceal said flatly.
"Just hang on Mizore," Dark said looking around as the truck swerved a bit on the road. Mizore held onto his arm tightly while watching Ceal slowly move his hands around her stomach and lower body.
"We're going to die. We're going to die and I'm going to be gone forever and Arial will be gone forever and we'll be gone and you'll all be dead and no no NO!" Complica cried out shaking her head. Sun held her worriedly as she looked around, holding the chronofly angel close with one arm while using her other to hold onto her seat.
"We're not going to die Ms. Complica; we're going to get you out of here. Just try to remain calm," Apoch said while holding Arial in her arms, the snow girl's hair swaying gently behind her as the truck swerved a bit on the road.
"Get us out of here; we need to get out of their sight!" Dark called out.
"You think this is easy buddy? You want to try this?" Leon shouted back. Dark looked to the front then to Mizore, the snow girl nodding in agreement for him. Dark nodded then got up and ran towards the front of the truck, grabbing Leon and yanking him out of the seat. Astreal watched as Dark sat in the seat and took the wheel, the demon then looking back to Leon.
"Keep my Mizore still back there. Now!" he ordered out.
"Wha… just who the hell do you think you are anyway?" Leon snapped with discontent.
"Just do it!" Apoch cried out. Leon glanced back to the snow maiden then to Dark, then back to Mizore. The boy then ran over and tried to help keep her steady by holding her by the shoulders while Dark looked around ahead of him at the city streets.
"There's nowhere for us to go, we're going to be shot to pieces," Astreal said nervously. Dark growled then looked ahead to seeing the road coming to a T-intersection, with a large mall in front of them while people were running away screaming in the streets.
"You can't make that turn at this speed," Astreal warned shaking her head. She watched as Dark was still driving towards the end of the street at high speed, the demon narrowing his eyes as he kept a firm grip on the wheel. Dark looked ahead then glanced to Astreal, the witch looking ahead with nervous eyes.
"Um… Mr. Dark?" she asked glancing to him. Render looked ahead and slowly shook his head.
"Don't tell me he's going to…" he said worriedly.
"He's going to," Apoch said as she grabbed her seat firmly while holding Arial close. Leon and Ceal looked ahead then down to Mizore as Leon held her shoulders securely. Render knelt down next to Ceal and held the snow maiden's legs down while Sun held Complica close to her. Astreal gripped her seat and the dashboard ahead of her as she shook her head.
"Is this really a better way?" she asked.
"It's the only way. We need to get off the streets now," Dark said as the vehicle raced towards the mall, the front of the building having glass doors as well as large panes of glass above them showing the three story galleria with its open atrium. Dark floored the gas and the truck roared down the road towards the mall, with the following vehicles watching with surprise.
"What's Leon doing?" Razico said shaking his head.
"What's going on out there?" Gin called out.
"Um… looks like we're taking a detour!" Ruby cried out as she gripped the seat, watching as the truck ahead of them drove through the front of the mall with a crash. Glass and steel blasted away as the truck raced into the galleria, with people inside screaming and running to the sides of the building. Razico floored it and followed after while Sandra watched with wide eyes, as did the rest of her passengers.
"Are they insane?" Gabriel cried out. Kurumu looked back to see several rockets firing from the helicopters, the missiles flying towards them at high speed.
"Just go! NOW!" she screamed as she held onto her seat. Sandra yelled with fright as she drove into the building after the two trucks, with the rockets flying down and blasting apart the entrance and shattering all the glass above it right behind them. The explosions demolished the panes of glass and front of the building as people were thrown back from the blast. Two HDA humvees raced through the flames and smoke into the building as the rest of the ground forces swerved and turned down the other roads. The choppers flew up over the building while people all around the area were screaming and pointing to the chaos.
Inside the building the three escaping vehicles floored it through the ground level of the mall, with people screaming and diving out of the way as the trucks crashed through a few stands and carts. People on the upper levels looked down to seeing the vehicles plowing their way through the ground level with surprise as smoke and debris flew around at the front of the building.
"I don't think we're supposed to be driving in here!" Astreal cried out as she held onto her seat for dear life, seeing plaster and cardboard blasting apart in front of the truck as the vehicle raced through the building. The tires from the trucks squealed loudly while people screamed and ran off to the sides as fast as they could.
"I didn't think Leon was this brave to do this," Razico said as he kept close behind the other HDA truck.
"I'm sorry, brave? More like suicidal!" Ruby cried out as she held onto her seat, watching as people and stores along the walls of the building flew by her window in a blur. Yukari looked ahead out the front window and just stared with wide eyes.
"Are we inside a human mall?" she asked in disbelief.
"Now isn't the time to go shopping!" Gin shouted out.
Behind them Sandra was driving through the mall with fearful eyes while her passengers were looking around curiously.
"I've… never been in a human mall before," Gabriel said weakly.
"This isn't how it's normally done," Rason said shaking his head.
"Is this really any better than being outside?" Moka asked worriedly.
"At least they're not firing rockets at us in here," Kurumu said while breathing out in relief. The rear window shattered as a bullet struck through it, the group looking back to seeing two humvees chasing after them. Atop each vehicle a solider was holding a heavy assault rifle while standing up through the roof, firing at the escaping group while people screamed and ran off from the scene.
"Get down!" Moka cried out grabbing Rason and Kurumu, the three ducking down as Sandra swerved the truck around a bit. Gabriel held onto the seat as he looked back to seeing the HDA men firing at them, the bullets striking the hood and rear of the truck as a few shot past them. A round shot off the rearview mirror, another struck the rear tire causing the vehicle to skid and tremble, another cracked the front windshield.
And another shot through Sandra's head.
"No!" Gabriel yelled out as the human jerked forward onto the wheel as blood splattered onto the front windshield. Moka and the others looked over and gasped as Sandra was hunched over on the wheel, the girl's eyes wide while a hole was through her head.
"Sandra!" Moka cried out. Gabriel stared with wide eyes as he saw the girl shot dead right before him, her eyes no longer focusing as her hands dropped to her sides.
"Oh god, she's dead!" Kurumu cried out. Gabriel looked at the girl with a stunned expression then ahead as the SUV continued to drive with the fallen girl's foot on the gas pedal.
Dark looked around quickly as he continued to race through the human mall, then ahead to seeing them approaching a large courtyard in the atrium. In the center of the area was a large pyramid made of steel and glass, the centerpiece to the rounded courtyard lighting up with a soft glow of different colors. The courtyard had tables and chairs set up around it while branching off in four directions into the mall. People looked to seeing vehicles racing towards them, then screamed and scattered away from the area. Dark gripped the wheel tightly and looked back to the others.
"Everybody hang on!" he called out as he turned the wheel, the truck's tires squealing as he tried to turn the large vehicle. Razico watched the truck ahead of him start to turn then followed after, the two sliding a bit as they started to drive around the large pyramid that glowed with a green and blue light. The two trucks swerved a bit and slid sideways as they tried to keep steady, their wheels squealing as they drifted around the large centerpiece. The passengers held onto their seats while Render and Leon tried to keep Mizore still, the snow girl looking around worriedly while Ceal concentrated on finishing up her body's reconstruction. The two front drivers then watched as an HDA SUV raced into the courtyard and struck into the pyramid, the vehicle going up at an angle as the glass cracked and shattered while the steel bent and twisted under the weight.
"No!" Astreal cried out as the SUV spiraled off the edge of the pyramid and soared through the air.
"Is that… no!" Ruby cried out as the SUV crashed into the ground on its side and skidded across the courtyard. Dark and Razico slammed on their brakes causing the two trucks to swerve and skid through several tables and chairs while people ran off screaming. Humans on the upper levels watched with wide eyes and open mouths as the SUV slammed into a clothing department store, crashing through the front glass and into the department while people inside ran towards the back screaming.
"What happened?" Apoch called out as the truck came to a halt.
"Ms. Moka's vehicle crashed!" Astreal said as she saw the downed SUV inside the clothing store. Sun and Complica stood up as Mizore watched with worried eyes.
"Oh no, Sandra!" Complica cried out.
"Oh god, they're down!" Ruby said as she and the warlock watched with surprise.
"Who's down?" Ahakon called up as the passengers in back regained themselves. They stood up and looked out the front window to seeing the SUV smoking from inside the clothing store.
"Big sis!" Kokoa cried out.
Inside the SUV that was on its side Moka, Kurumu, and Rason were slowly regaining their senses, the three lying on top of each other on the broken side window. Gabriel shook his head to clear his vision then looked with dismay at seeing Sandra hanging above him, the girl buckled in still with her seatbelt while one of her arms was broken and twisted over the steering wheel. Her head was hung low while blood trickled down from her bullet wound.
"I'm sorry girl… I'm so sorry," Gabriel said softly as the others looked to her. They all screamed as bullets started to shoot around them, the group looking out the back window to seeing the two humvees pulling to a quick stop out in the courtyard. One of the gunners opened fired on the SUV while the other fired off to the side at something else. Moka and her group ducked behind the seats the best they could as bullets tore through the chassis and shattered the windows.
"We're trapped!" Kurumu cried out.
"Now what do we do?" Gabriel called out as he ducked behind the seat while another bullet shot through Sandra's body above him.
Astreal screamed as she and Dark ducked down, the two avoiding gunfire as the windshield and windows shattered from bullets flying through. The two darted into the back of the truck as bullets struck the side of the vehicle repeatedly.
"We need to get to them, fast!" Render said as he and Leon heard the gunfire strike all along the side of the truck. The group looked over to seeing a grenade flying through the front window and dropping down onto the seat then the floor, the round device rolling a bit as everybody stared at it. Apoch screamed and held out a hand, manifesting a barrier between the group and the front of the truck. The grenade detonated and blasted the front of the truck into fiery pieces, the debris and flaming shrapnel flying off as the group braced from the explosion.
"This can't possibly get any worse," Astreal said worriedly as they saw smoke and flames billowing around outside of Apoch's shield.
"Dark…" Arial said softly, the group looking to the snow angel as she slowly opened her eyes a bit.
"Oh yes it can," Leon said quietly as Mizore stared with wide eyes at Arial, the snow maiden still unable to move and in very close proximity to the angel that clearly didn't like her very much.
"No!" Ruby cried out as she and her group saw the truck ahead of them blast apart in the front, the witch and warlock then ducking down as gunfire struck their windows and shattered them. The two scrambled back into the truck with the others as the front of the vehicle was pelted with gunfire along with the side.
"We need to help them!" Ahakon called out.
"Help them? Who's going to help us?" Ran yelled as a bullet tore through the side and just missed her head, the girl screaming as the spark from the round flashed on the wall behind her.
Arial stirred a bit then slowly sat up, looking around slowly while Apoch held her nervously.
"Wha… where am I?" Arial asked softly as her vision slowly focused. She blinked then saw Dark looking at her with wonder.
"Dark!" she said happily as she leapt out of the witch's arms and embraced him in a hug. He held her with one hand as he looked down at the snow angel.
"Arial, you're ok," he said with relief. The angel looked up at him with bright eyes and held him closely around the waist. She then looked around quickly as she heard all the gunfire echoing out.
"What's going on Dark? Where are-" she said before she saw Mizore, the snow maiden looking at her with worry while Ceal had his hands on her stomach still. Render and Leon glanced to Mizore then to Arial as Apoch and Astreal backed up a bit.
"You," Arial said as she bared her teeth slightly and glared at Mizore.
"…hey," Mizore said softly.
"You're still alive?" Arial growled out. Mizore slowly glanced to Ceal as the catalyst mage didn't even bother to look over to the snow angel. Dark looked at Arial with wonder before a bullet shot through the wall with a spark and a bang, striking the wall above Mizore as the group watched with surprise.
"Can we have this conversation later you guys? We have a bit of a problem here," Render said as he saw the flames and smoke die down to show the mangled front engine and seats of the truck. Dark looked towards the front of the truck then down to Arial.
"Stay here with Mizore, I'll be right back," he said gently. Arial looked to him curiously while Mizore stared at him with wide eyes, the snow maiden not liking that suggestion at all. Dark glanced to Apoch then to Astreal.
"You two, with me," he said as his eyes turned pitch black and looked back out toward the front of the truck. Arial watched him with a dreamy expression and wavered a bit, captivated by the dark aura of the demon. As Arial tuned the world out around her the witch sisters glanced to Mizore, the snow maiden shaking her head worriedly.
"What exactly are you going to do? And why are you taking them with you?" Leon asked cautiously as Apoch and Astreal slowly walked over to Dark. He grabbed their hands and glanced back to them.
"We're going to kill them," he said before they vanished into a black wisp. Sun and Complica watched with wonder as the three seemed to vanish right before their eyes while Leon and Render peered around for any sight of their girls.
"Wow… handy trick," Render said with a nod.
"He'd better bring them back alive," Leon said with concern. The group then looked to Arial as she was still staring out to where Dark and the witches had left. After a pause she slowly looked back to Mizore. The snow angel growled as her hair froze over, turning to face Mizore as her hands formed into ice claws. Before she could take a step closer to the snow maiden Complica jumped in front of her and shook her head.
"Please don't Arial, don't hurt her," she pleaded. She then looked around with surprise as the interior of the truck started to freeze over, with frost and ice appearing on the ground and walls around the snow angel. Sun looked around worriedly as Ceal kept working on restoring Mizore's body.
"You think you can take my Dark from me?" Arial demanded as her eyes grew colder.
Outside in the courtyard the two heavy gunners were firing at the vehicles with a focused glare as the humvees were parked by the destroyed pyramid display. One of them was shooting up a downed SUV while the other was pelting the truck that had its front engine blown off. Standing outside on both sides of the humvees were HDA soldiers firing their rifles at the trucks as well, all eight of them trying to gun down the escaping monsters while people all around were running away screaming. They shot out all the wheels and windows, all while trying to pierce through the armored chassis to take down the monsters within.
"Keep firing, don't let those things escape!" a soldier called out. Another grabbed his radio as he ducked back inside one of the humvees.
"We have them pinned down in the galleria, we need backup here!" he yelled out into the device before reloading his rifle.
Suddenly a bolt of red light shot out of thin air and struck through one of the top gunners, the man jerking back as the light pierced through his head. As he fell down into the vehicle a soldier by the front door was slashed down his chest by an invisible blade, the man crying out as he dropped down. The other soldiers watched with surprise as another blast of red light flew out of thin air and struck down the other heavy gunner.
"What the hell is that?" a soldier yelled out looking around franticly. He looked down to seeing the pin from his grenade being pulled off, then being punched back into the vehicle next to him. The grenade blasted the humvee into a fireball as the other soldiers stumbled back.
"Where are they? I don't see them!" a soldier called out before he was sliced down the middle by an invisible blade. Another was shot down by a bright red light and flew back into the side of the other humvee. Soldiers looked around quickly before another was slashed down and one more was shot by the bright red projectile.
"Dammit, get us some damned backup now!" a soldier yelled into his radio. His hand twisted around as the pin popped off of his grenade, the man then being thrown into the humvee as his other comrade was shot pointblank in the head by a bright red light. The vehicle blasted apart as Dark, Apoch, and Astreal reappeared away from it, the trio looking at the downed HDA soldiers with discontent.
"Apoch, check on Moka and her group. Astreal, make sure Ruby and hers are alright," Dark ordered glancing to the sisters.
"Right," they said as they ran towards the vehicles. Dark ran back towards where Mizore and Arial were, looking around quickly to seeing people screaming and pointing at them.
"This isn't going to end well," he said dryly.
Apoch ran up to the overturned SUV and looked around worriedly.
"Ms. Moka? Ms. Kurumu? Hey, are you ok?" she called out. She saw Moka, Kurumu, and Rason slowly crawling out the back window while Gabriel climbed out the front window. The witch hurried over and helped Moka stand up, then helped Kurumu crawl out.
"Are you all alright?" Apoch asked worriedly as she helped the succubus stand up. Moka looked back to the SUV with remorse.
"Not all of us," she said softly. Apoch looked in and saw Sandra buckled in still, motionless while blood dripped from her head.
"Oh dear, the poor girl," she said with remorse. Gabriel looked back in at the fallen human then down with closed eyes.
Astreal ran over to the other truck and hopped up onto the side door, looking in worriedly to seeing the front dashboard and seats torn apart.
"Hey, are you guys alright?" she called out.
"Astreal? What's going on out there?" Yukari said as the group looked to her from the back of the truck.
"Is everybody ok?" Astreal asked worriedly.
"I believe we are, yes," Fang Fang said looking around at the group who was keeping their distance from the front of the truck.
"C'mon, we need to get out of here right now," Astreal said before jumping off the truck. The others quickly bolted out the back door and followed after while Apoch and Moka's group ran towards the other truck. Dark ran up to the vehicle quickly but before he could climb back inside Arial and Render tumbled out of the front, the boy trying to hold the arms of the snow angel who was yelling out furiously.
"LET ME GO!" Arial yelled out as the ground around her flash froze in an instant. Render shivered as his arms frosted over while he tried to hold the raging snow angel back, holding onto her arms as she thrashed around in his grip.
"Calm down kid, you need to chill out!" Render said as he struggled to keep the snow angel down. He was then yanked back and swung around into the side of the truck, being held against it as Dark held onto his throat tightly.
"How DARE you touch Arial like that!" Dark roared out as the ground around him darkened. Render grabbed the demon's arms and tried to free himself while his legs kicked around under him. Arial looked over to Dark with loving eyes, the girl's hands and hair returning to normal as she was captivated by her demon once again.
'My husband…'
Dark growled then tightened his grip around Render's neck.
"Nobody touches Arial," he said coldly.
"Hey… c'mon man… I was just trying to help," Render coughed out.
"Dark, please don't hurt him!" Apoch cried out as she and Moka's group ran over to the scene. Leon, Complica, and Sun jumped out of the back of the truck and looked over with surprise as well, with Leon then running over towards them.
"Put him down!" he yelled as he grabbed the demon's arm and tried to release his friend.
"Please Dark! I'm begging you, don't hurt my boyfriend!" Apoch cried out. Dark glanced over to her as Moka's group looked to her curiously.
"Boyfriend? This guy's your boyfriend?" Kurumu asked looking to Render. The boy smiled weakly and nodded as Dark glared back at him.
"Hey… nice… to meet you… by the way. Heard… a lot of… good things about you. So… could you please… let me go?" he coughed out weakly. Dark growled loudly then threw him over into Leon, the two tumbling down next to the truck as the demon glared at them.
"If you ever touch Arial again, I will kill you where you stand," he threatened with a cold tone. Arial smiled bashfully then ran over to him, hugging him at the side and smiling arrogantly at Render. Leon and his friend slowly got up as Render caught his breath, with Apoch running over to him worriedly.
"Are you ok?" she asked as she helped him regain his balance. He breathed in and nodded a bit.
"Yeah, so… that's your old boyfriend huh? He seems… nice," he said with a small smile. Apoch smiled a bit then looked back towards Dark, the demon looking down at Arial with a gentle gaze as he had one hand holding her gently. The girl was nuzzling her head against his side, her wings fluttering a bit as she was held by her demon.
"Are you guys alright? We saw you crash pretty badly there," Razico said looking to Moka. The vampire nodded then looked down.
"We're fine, but…" she said glancing back to the SUV. Complica looked around curiously then to Moka.
"Where's Sandra?" she asked. Sun looked around quickly then to Moka, the vampire slowly shaking her head and looking to the chronofly angel.
"I'm sorry Complica…" she said softly. Arial looked over to her then to the SUV that was crashed into the clothing store nearby. Sun shook her head nervously then ran over to it.
"Oh no…" Complica said quietly looking over to the siren. Sun ran over and looked inside, then covered her mouth as she stared with wide eyes at something.
"Sandra," Arial said softly. Sun started crying quietly, shaking her head as she saw her friend's body in the SUV.
"The poor girl, this wasn't her fight. She didn't deserve that," Gabriel said with remorse. Gin ran over to Sun as she was holding her hands to her face, the girl making quiet whimpering sounds as she shook her head. He looked into the SUV and saw Sandra's body still in the driver's seat.
"Sun… I'm sorry," Gin said softly as he looked back to her. The siren looked to him then quickly hugged the boy close, burying her face into his chest as he held her. Kokoa growled as she saw the girl hugging her boyfriend then ran towards them.
"Hey! Let go of my-"
"Kokoa stop!" Gin yelled out at her, the vampire stopping instantly and looking at him with surprise.
"Not now, don't make this worse for her," Gin said sternly. Kokoa looked at the boy worriedly then to Sun, the siren holding onto Gin as she cried into his chest. The human may have been rude before in the past, but she did have a good heart and even tried to come to the siren's rescue despite the overwhelming odds. Slowly Kokoa looked down and away as Gin started walking the siren back towards the group.
"She's dead?" Arial asked softly.
"Yes, she died trying to save us," Moka said looking down. Complica whimpered and wiped a tear away, then looked towards Arial. The snow angel looked down with closed eyes, hoping the human would be taken to heaven for her noble efforts.
"We'll pay our respects to her for what she did later, but right now we need to get out of here," Razico said looking around at the mall. Sun nodded and wiped a tear away as Gin let her go, glancing to him with watery eyes while Kokoa watched her closely. The group then looked over to see Mizore slowly climbing out of the truck, the snow girl standing on her own and looking towards them with a curious glance.
"Mizore, you're alright," Moka said with relief. Dark ran over to the snow girl as Arial blinked then saw her demon wasn't holding her anymore. She then looked over towards Mizore with anger as the snow girl was being held by Dark.
"Are you alright now?" he asked as he held her close. Mizore looked over his shoulder and saw Arial glaring at her, the group watching her as she shook with anger. Mizore held onto Dark worriedly as the demon was still looking ahead, the boy not seeing the murderous look in Arial's eyes.
"She'll be fine demon," Ceal said as he hopped out the back of the truck. The group looked to him as he glanced around the mall carefully.
"Her body is as good as new again. However that will be the last time I do such a service for you," he said glancing to the demon. Dark looked at him carefully then nodded.
"I see. Thank you for helping her," he said as he held his girl close. Mizore glanced back to Ceal then to Arial again, holding onto her fiancé closely as she saw fury in Arial's eyes. Ceal merely looked away without saying a word as Dark leaned back from his embrace and looked at his girl carefully.
"I was worried about you, are you sure you're feeling better?" he asked as he held his girl close to him. Mizore glanced to him and slowly nodded.
"Yeah… I feel much better now. Just a little warm is all," she said softly. Sun walked over to Mizore and held out a mint colored lollipop, the snow girl looking at it curiously then to Sun. She slowly took the candy and looked at it as Dark glanced to Sun cautiously.
"Wait… this is…" Mizore said looking at the candy carefully. She put it in her mouth then looked to Sun curiously as it started to help her body keep cool.
"It's chilled… but how did you…" she asked in wonder. Sun glanced to Arial then back to Mizore, the snow girl looking to the angel worriedly as she was growling through bared teeth with a lollipop stick being seen in her mouth. Sun wrote down something on her pad and showed Mizore.
I know all about snow women and their need to stay cool, I brought these along for Arial.
Mizore and Dark read the pad then looked at Sun curiously.
"Just who are you anyway?" Mizore asked as Dark let his embrace go, the demon looking at the siren carefully.
"I'd like an answer to that myself," Kokoa growled with annoyance.
"Again, we'll play Q and A later guys, right now we need to go," Razico said as they heard engine roars and yelling coming from where they had raced through the galleria.
"They're sending more of them in here after us, we gotta get out of here now," Render said looking around.
"Well we're not driving in those things anymore," Ruby said looking to the two trucks that were smoking and had all their tires shot out.
"What are we going to do, just walk out of here?" Ahakon said shaking his head.
"Actually, yes," Dark said glancing out into the mall. The group looked at him curiously as Arial ran over to him and held him around the waist again, the snow angel shooting Mizore a glare before looking up at Dark with timid eyes. He smiled down at her as Mizore looked between the two with worry.
"Let's go, we need to disappear," he said as he lifted Arial up into his arms. The snow angel smiled timidly and nuzzled against his chest, holding onto his shirt as he glanced back to the others.
"Disappear?" Moka asked curiously. Dark nodded and looked ahead while Mizore watched Dark with concern as he held his guardian angel in his arms.
"Follow me," he said, and then started running into the mall. The group quickly chased after him, with Mizore watching her fiancé worriedly as he was carrying the snow angel that clearly had it out for her. And it was clear to everybody that Dark would protect Arial, and wouldn't let anything harm her as her soul was exposed and vulnerable down here on earth. As they ran out of the damaged courtyard Sun glanced over to the crashed SUV, showing a remorseful expression then following after the others.
'Sandra… thank you for coming after me. Please, rest in peace my friend.'
On the second floor of the mall people were running out of stores and towards the exits with haste as some watched HDA trucks drive into the mall and park near the other vehicles that were heavily damaged. Soldiers started to jump out and run around the area, with some urging people to evacuate the building immediately while others searched the empty vehicles. As the armed men started to sweep the area for the escaped monsters police officials and HDA soldiers were guarding the exits, with armed men watching the people being quickly evacuated.
"Oh man, we're surrounded here," Render said looking down over the railing, dressed in blue jeans and a white t-shirt. He put a baseball cap on looked over to Leon, the mage watching the people running around in a panic down below while he was dressed in blue jean shorts and a button-down gray shirt.
"C'mon, we need to get the others and get out of here," he said as they ran back into the nearby clothing store. The place was nearly empty as the staff and customers had fled during the shootout, however it wasn't deserted.
"Hurry up guys, they're going to be coming through here soon," Render called out as they ran down the aisles of racks filled with human clothing. They raced over to the dressing rooms as a few others of their group were waiting there still. Moka and Kurumu had already changed out of their school uniforms, with the vampire wearing light gray jeans with a gray sweater, having the hood pulled up with her hair tucked back inside. Kurumu was wearing a purple miniskirt, a black low-cut t-shirt that seemed to be a size too small as her assets were very noticeable, and white tennis shoes. Ruby was wearing a long black skirt and a white dress shirt, and glancing to Kurumu with a raised eyebrow.
"We're supposed to be keeping a low profile," she said dryly. Kurumu smirked and looked at her amusingly.
"I am, what's wrong with this outfit?" she asked as she struck a pose with one hand at her hip and the other behind her head, the girl's breasts bouncing a bit as Moka sighed and glanced away.
"Oh yeah, all the men out there won't notice her at all. Very inconspicuous," Leon said flatly. Render shook his head then looked around.
"Whatever, where are the others? We need to get out of here now," he said urgently.
"We're all set," Apoch and Astreal said from behind. The boys looked over to seeing the twins running up to them, both girls wearing white jeans with Apoch wearing a gray hoodie while Astreal wore a light blue one.
"Do we look alright like this?" Astreal asked looking down at her clothing.
"This is a common appearance, yes?" Apoch questioned.
"You look great," Render and Leon said with smiles at the girls. The twins looked to them and smiled a bit as the boys stared at them with gentle smiles.
"Thank you," the girls said in unison.
"Hey, we all ready?" Yukari called out as she ran over to the group with Ahakon. The young witch was dressed in a white miniskirt with a light brown t-shirt, having a gray backpack behind her. Ahakon was wearing dark blue jeans, a gray t-shirt, and a black baseball cap.
"Almost, just waiting on the others," Moka said looking back to the dressing room doors.
"You still have my wand with you?" Ruby asked curiously. Yukari nodded and waved her backpack a bit.
"Yep, got our wands right here," she said assuredly.
"Where's Ran?" Ahakon asked looking around.
"She was still getting changed I think," Astreal said looking back from where they came from.
"We'll go check on her," Apoch said, the twins then running back to where they changed as Render and Leon watched with slight smiles, the boys seeing the girls running with their hips swaying a bit. Render chuckled and crossed his arms before him.
"Told ya man," he said confidently.
"And I'm telling you they look exactly the same," Leon said glancing to him. Render shook his head and glanced to his friend.
"Nope, Apoch's got more of a wiggle to her. Don't get me wrong, your girlfriend is alright, I'm just saying is all," he said with a smirk and shrug.
"Wait, you're Astreal's boyfriend?" Moka asked looking to Leon.
"Wiggle?" Ruby asked with an amused smile and a raised eyebrow. Leon nodded and glanced back to the girls.
"Yeah, is there a problem with that?" he asked. Moka looked at the boys curiously then shook her head.
"No, I'm glad they found somebody in the human world. Really," she said with a small smile.
"Ok, we're ready," Gin said as he and Kokoa ran over to the group. The wolf was wearing blue jeans, a white dress shirt and a long sleeve green shirt over it left undone. Kokoa was wearing a red miniskirt, a white t-shirt with a small pink jacket over it and had her hair up in pigtails again with red bows. Kou was again perched on her shoulder as he looked around at the group's new outfits. Gin glanced around the store as Kokoa looked at Kurumu curiously.
"What's this? We're trying to be discrete here," she said shaking her head. Kurumu scoffed at that and looked away arrogantly.
"There's nothing wrong with how I'm dressed," she stated firmly.
"Why is Kurumu wearing that?" Razico asked tiredly as he walked over to the group, dressed in black jeans, a gray t-shirt with a black and red sports jacket over it. Kurumu growled and glared at the warlock.
"What's wrong with me wearing this?" she yelled out.
"It may be a bit… flashy my dear," Rason said from behind. The group looked to see Rason and Gabriel walking up to them, with Rason wearing his blue jeans, white shirt and a yellow long sleeve shirt over it that was unbuttoned, while Gabriel was wearing his ripped jeans still along with a white shirt and green jacket over it. Kurumu smiled brightly then raced over to her boyfriend in a blur.
"I knew you'd like it Rason, I just knew you would love your girl wearing something like this! You are a man after all, my man! And don't you worry, I'm only showing off what's yours, nobody else could ever have this girl! Never in a million years!" she cheered out as she hugged her boyfriend tightly.
"Um, Kurumu?" Gabriel said worriedly. The others just watched as after a moment's pause Kurumu cried out and started shaking her dazed boyfriend with fright.
"Poor angel," Yukari said shaking her head.
"You'd think he'd see it coming by now," Ruby questioned while raising an eyebrow at the couple. As Rason slowly came to again with Kurumu franticly apologizing another boy walked up to the group. Ceal was wearing his same outfit of black jeans and t-shirt as well as wearing a black leather glove over his reptilian hand.
"Always with black," Razico said shaking his head.
"You're one to talk hunter," Ceal quipped with a glance to him.
"How come you guys didn't change into different clothes? We're trying to avoid being seen by the HDA, remember?" Yukari asked looking at the catalyst mage then to the angels. Ceal merely glanced to her and raised an eyebrow.
"I imagine the demon only suggested this for your school uniforms and obvious monster apparel, the rest of us didn't have to change," he said simply. Render and Leon blinked then looked down to their clothes.
"Oh, really? We didn't need to change as well?" Render asked.
"I guess our normal clothes would have been fine in the human world still, we already looked like average humans anyway," Leon reasoned with a shrug. Ceal rolled his eyes and looked away.
"Idiots," he said flatly.
"Hey! Don't call them idiots!" Apoch and Astreal shouted out from behind. The group looked to see the witch sisters glaring at Ceal while Ran stood next to them, the siren wearing black shoes with long white socks, a blue and green miniskirt, a light green t-shirt and a blue bracelet over her left wrist. She had her glasses on still along with the ribbon in her hair. She looked at Ahakon with timid eyes then glanced away.
"Um, is this alright?" she asked softly. Ahakon smiled at the girl and nodded.
"Yeah, you look great Ran," he said reassuringly. Ran looked to him with a timid smile while Apoch and Astreal walked up towards their boyfriends.
"Stop calling them idiots, we couldn't have saved our friends without their help," Apoch said sternly.
"Yes, besides they look great in these clothes anyway. They do have good taste in clothing, unlike somebody," Astreal said firmly. Render and Leon glanced to each other then back towards the clothing racks.
"Be right back," Render said before he headed towards the clothing aisles, with Apoch looking to him with surprise.
"We'll be back in a minute, don't mind us," Leon said before he followed after his friend, with Astreal blinking then watching the boys run off.
"What? Hey, wait," Apoch said as she somewhat reached out after Render.
"You don't need to change again, really," Astreal pleaded worriedly. The sisters glanced to each other then back to Ceal, the boy merely raising an eyebrow at them.
"Good taste in clothing huh?" he said flatly. The sisters gave him dull glares then looked away with a scoff.
"I must say, today's been quite the rollercoaster," Fang Fang said walking up to the group, dressed in brown dress pants, a white undershirt with a gray dress shirt over it that was buttoned up halfway. His long braided hair waved a bit behind him as he walked up to the others.
"You can say that again," Kokoa said looking down with discontent, feeling frustrated about Gin's old friend showing up like this still. The group looked over to the dressing room doors as one opened and Complica ran out, still dressed the same but now having a pink jacket over her wings. She looked around at the others while holding her baseball bat.
"Are you ok Complica?" Kurumu asked gently. The chronofly looked at her curiously then tilted her head.
"Why are you dressed like that?" she asked. Kurumu twitched a bit then forced a smile to hide her scowl.
"I'm just dressed casually like all of you," she said with a simple nod. Complica showed a concerned expression then pointed her bat at something.
"I think you forgot your… bra," she said softly. The group looked to Kurumu as the girl tried to hide her scowl with a forced smile, the girl laughing weakly as Rason glanced down to the girl's bust with a slight blush.
"My old one was ripped and there weren't any in this store that could fit me. Besides I'm ok like this, really," she reasoned through bared teeth. Rason blushed more as Moka and Ruby rolled their eyes. Complica looked at the succubus with concern then glanced to Gabriel.
"Isn't she going to attract attention walking out there like that?" she asked.
"I'm not attracting attention! This is a normal human appearance!" Kurumu yelled out.
"It is if you're working the corner," Ceal said flatly while still looking away. Kurumu growled then glared at the boy.
"Hey, watch it buddy!" she yelled out.
"Don't mind him Kurumu, he's always like that," Razico said shaking his head. Kurumu grunted then looked away with a scoff.
"I think I look good, and so does my angel. So the rest of you can just deal with it," she said firmly. She looked over and saw Sun slowly walking towards the group, the siren looking down as she was dressed the same while having a sun hat on. She walked up to the group then glanced to them, having a slightly saddened expression still.
"I'm sorry about your friend," Moka said softly. Sun glanced to her and slowly nodded, then looked down again.
"I'm sure she got into heaven, right Gabriel?" Complica said looking to the redheaded angel. The boy nodded and looked at Sun with a bit of remorse.
"I'm sure she did," he said gently. Kokoa glanced to the siren with discontent then away, choosing not to verbally attack the girl since she just lost somebody close to her. The group then looked over to a dressing room door as Mizore walked out of it, heading towards the group while glancing behind her at another door. She was her usual outfit again with a new sweater and undershirt, only this time her skirt was white and black striped instead of the Yokai Academy colors. She held Render's jacket in one hand as she walked over to the group, then handed it to Apoch. The witch took it with a small smile as Mizore looked back to the changing rooms.
"Are you really ok now Mizore? You were torn up something fierce back there," Kokoa asked worriedly. The snow maiden nodded and glanced to Ceal.
"Yeah, I feel as good as new again," she said softly. Ceal glanced to her then looked away again without saying anything. Mizore then looked to Kurumu and raised an eyebrow.
"What are you wearing?" she asked.
"For crying out loud, there is nothing wrong with me dressing like this!" Kurumu yelled out with frustration. Mizore merely looked at her with a blank expression then over to the dressing room doors.
"So… what are we going to do about… her?" Ruby asked looking to the doors as well.
"We need to get her and Complica back into heaven before anything happens to them," Gabriel said looking up with growing concern.
"What about Mizore? I don't think Arial is just going to let her be near Dark again," Moka asked looking to Mizore, the snow girl having a worried expression on her face. Before anybody could say anything regarding how Arial would likely kill Mizore the second she got the chance Render and Leon walked back to the group, the two boys dressed again in their usual attire.
"Much better," Render said looking down at his outfit, the boy then looking to Apoch as the witch smiled a bit while holding out his jacket to him. He smiled and took it then looked to Mizore as he slipped it on.
"Hope it wasn't too warm for you," he mused with a chuckle. Mizore smiled a bit and shook her head.
"No, and thank you for that," she said softly. Render nodded as he zipped up his jacket, and then shivered a bit as the fabric was chilled from the snow girl.
"No problem, ha, I think you got it plenty cool for me," he said with a weak smile. Mizore shrugged with a small smile then looked back to the dressing room doors with concern as Apoch smiled amusingly at her boyfriend. Astreal smiled gently at Leon, both witch sisters feeling drawn to their new boyfriends even with the boys' unique clothing style.
"So now that we're all in casual human clothing, what's next? Where do we go?" Leon asked.
"Well hopefully like this we can sneak out of here with the crowds and get away from this city," Moka said looking down at her outfit.
"We need to get to the nearest gateway into the monster world. We're not safe here in this world anymore, and we need to bring you guys back before anything else goes wrong," Ruby said worriedly.
"Just what else has gone wrong besides the humans trying to kill us all and these two souls being trapped down here?" Rason asked glancing to Gabriel. The redheaded angel looked down and shook his head.
"A lot my friend, a lot," he said with remorse.
"Today sucks, just gonna put that out there," Gin said shaking his head. Kokoa nodded in agreement to that as Kou squeaked a bit. The group looked over to the side as Dark walked towards them, dressed in new clothing that looked the same as his older set. He glanced to the dressing room door then to Mizore.
"Did she find something to cover her wings?" he asked.
"I'm not sure," she said glancing to the doors. She had more or less grabbed a new pair of clothing and darted into the dressing room before Arial found out which one she went into, in a rush to change into new clothing and to remain out of Arial's sight while Dark wasn't near.
"Once she's ready we need to go, the HDA will be sweeping through here soon," Render said as he looked around the clothing department.
"Are you KIDDING ME?" Arial's voice yelled out. The group looked to the dressing rooms as the snow angel screamed with frustration. Dark ran over to the door as the group glanced to each other with concern.
"Arial? What's wrong?" Dark asked urgently. The door opened and Arial walked out, still dressed in her same outfit with her frosted wings behind her. She looked up at Dark with saddened eyes and held up a black jacket, the clothing having been reduced to tatters.
"My wings keep cutting up anything I put on over them, I can't hide them," she whined bouncing up and down. Dark looked at the torn up jacket then to the girl's wings. Like Rason and Gabriel the two monster angels couldn't retract their wings in all the way, since their natural form was with them out. Complica's wings could retract slightly and fold to be concealed under a jacket like Rason's could, but Arial's were too ridged and jagged, the frozen feathers ripping apart anything she tried to put over them. She couldn't even retract the wings a little bit, the girl's frozen angelic extensions being the same size as always.
"I can't hide them, what do I do Dark?" she asked worriedly.
"This is a problem, there's no way the HDA or any human within eyeshot of her is going to miss those wings," Fang Fang said scratching his head.
"She can't retract them or conceal them with any clothing, what are we going to do?" Moka asked. Dark smirked and held Arial's hand, the girl looking at him with wonder.
"Just stay close to me and hold my hand, you'll be fine," he said as the girl vanished into a black wisp. Arial looked around as she saw her body shrouded slightly with a black shadow then to Dark with a curious smile.
"Of course, Dark can just cloak her. Keeping one monster concealed won't be a problem for him," Yukari said with a smile.
"You're the greatest Dark," Arial's voice said bashfully. Mizore showed a bit of concern, worried that not only could she not keep Arial in her sights but now the snow angel would have to remain close to Dark one way or another. The demon smirked then looked around the group.
"Alright, we need to get out of here. Just keep with the crowds of humans and don't act out of the ordinary. As far as they're concerned we're just scared humans as well," he said in a commanding tone. He then looked to Moka and Kokoa.
"And you two need to keep your mouths shut," he ordered. The vampire sisters looked at him bewilderedly.
"Hey, I wasn't going to say anything to the HDA, are you serious?" Kokoa snapped with annoyance. Dark glanced to her and raised an eyebrow.
"I meant keep your mouth shut so they can't see your fangs," he said dryly. Moka and Kokoa blinked then glanced to each other, then smiled weakly and nodded.
"Right, that's why," Kokoa said with a bit of embarrassment.
"Your bat should probably hide as well, humans don't normally walk around with them perched on their shoulders," Render mentioned looking to Kou. The bat squeaked then dove down into Kokoa's jacket pocket, the girl smilingly confidently.
"Easily done," she said with a shrug.
"C'mon, we need to get out with the crowds while they're still inside. If we leave on our own it may be more suspicious," Leon said looking towards the exit of the store.
"Where are we going to go once we're outside? We're in the middle of a human city," Ran asked worriedly.
"We need to get some transportation, and fast," Render said looking down in thought. Ceal rolled his eyes then glanced towards the exit.
"There's bound to be a parking structure next to the galleria if this place is so large, we'll go there and get new vehicles," he reasoned casually.
"Anything would beat walking the streets," Leon said in agreement. Apoch and Astreal pulled up their hoods from their sweaters and glanced to each other as Complica ran over to Ceal, the girl grabbing onto his hand. He glanced down to her as she had a worried expression on her face then looked ahead as he didn't make an effort to free his hand from her grip.
"Let's get going then," he said as he and the chronofly started walking out. The group followed after, with Arial holding onto Dark's hand and remaining invisible to the naked eye. Even though she couldn't be seen Mizore was sure the snow angel was glaring at her, and was also sure that going near Dark right now might provoke the temperamental snow angel.
The group headed out of the clothing store then ran quickly down the mall as a few other humans were busy running out as well. They raced down the escalators then towards one of the exits of the large building, where a crowd of people were gathered as they slowly moved through an HDA checkpoint. Several armed soldiers and policemen were motioning the crowd to leave through a few of the doors of the building while looking around carefully for anything suspicious.
"Ok, remember, act normal," Moka said worriedly.
The group gathered together as the crowd ahead of them gradually passed by the soldiers, the armed men examining them carefully then waving them through while the people were screaming and trying to push through. As the group got closer the HDA soldiers eyed them closely while holding their rifles cautiously.
"They're watching us," Ran said nervously as she tried to keep looking ahead.
"Don't look at them, just keep moving forward," Ruby said quietly.
They approached the exit before two HDA soldiers walked in front of the group and held out their hands.
"Hold it," one of them ordered. The group glanced to each other then back to the men as two more HDA soldiers walked over as well. They started whispering to each other as they eyed the group carefully.
"That one looks familiar," a soldier said pointing to Kurumu. The group looked to her as she gulped and smiled nervously.
"Yeah… she does…" another soldier said with a keen eye.
"Kurumu…" Ruby growled quietly. The succubus twitched a bit and glanced around at the group worriedly.
"We told you that outfit was too flashy," Yukari whispered sternly.
"C'mon, it's not that flashy… is it?" Kurumu said quietly.
"Goddammit Ms. Kurumu," Astreal said looking away with closed eyes.
"Now what?" Gabriel asked quietly. After a pause Ceal stepped forward while holding Complica's hand.
"What are you stopping us for? Can't you see my little sister is scared out of her mind? Let us through at once!" he demanded sternly as Complica looked at the soldiers with watery eyes. The soldiers glanced to him then to Complica as she held onto the boy's hand tightly. Ahakon glanced to the mage then walked forward with an expression of fright.
"Please let us out of here, there's monsters back there!" he cried out, trembling with fear as the soldiers glanced to him.
"Get me out of here now!" Yukari cried out, crying a bit as the men glanced to each other.
"Somebody save us!" Apoch and Astreal cried out together while trembling. The soldiers looked to each other then back to the group.
"I thought the HDA was supposed to prevent this sort of thing from happening, why are there monsters in the goddamned mall?" Gin yelled out at the soldiers. The men looked at him worriedly as the group glared at them.
"Do your damned job and kill those things already!" Ruby yelled out.
"Well… um…" one of the soldiers said nervously.
"This is crazy, what are we paying you guys for anyway?" Razico yelled out at the men with anger.
"It's just… um…" one of the armed men said slowly. They looked to Kurumu and smiled a bit.
"Aren't you… Roxetta Rola?" one of them asked. The group looked to Kurumu who just blinked with a puzzled expression.
"Um… who?" she asked.
"It's just, you look just like the teen idol Roxetta Rola, we thought you were her," one of the men said with a shrug and a smirk. Kurumu glanced around then back to the soldiers, and then smiled slightly.
"Um… no, sorry boys," she said shaking her head.
"Amazing, she looks just like her," one of the men said with an impressed smile. Kurumu laughed a bit and fluffed her hair as she looked away smugly.
"Well, I do get that a lot. I've been told I look pretty good in this outfit," she boasted with a shrug. Rason glanced to her with an amused smirk while the group just looked at her with dull expressions.
"Wait a minute, you mean the only reason you're stopping us is because you think she's a teen idol?" Ruby asked with a puzzled expression as she looked back to the HDA soldier. The men jumped a bit then looked around at the group with somewhat focused expressions.
"We were just making sure is all, now please… leave this area at once," one said hastily as he waved the group towards the exits. The group glanced to each other then quickly ran past the soldiers as the men watched Kurumu curiously. One of them whistled and looked back towards the mall as the group left the building.
"What I wouldn't give to get a hottie like that," he said with a laugh.
"Yeah right, you'd have better luck getting a monster into bed with you," another said with a chuckle.
The large group of monsters ran out of the mall and down the sidewalk, running with other people as HDA and police cars and trucks were parked all around the street. The group followed the crowd as they were quickly waved towards the side of the road by policemen.
"C'mon, all of you need to get out of here now! Let's go!" a policeman yelled out as he waved the crowd past him. The group ran with the crowd past the blockade of soldiers and armed forces then darted off into the nearby parking structure across the street. Inside the multistory concrete building people were rushing to get to their cars as some were driving out quickly. A few crashed into each other while others raced down into the street and drove off as fast as they could.
"So now what do we do?" Yukari asked.
"For starters you can say you're sorry for doubting my taste in fashion. After all, I was complimented for my perfect looks by armed soldiers," Kurumu said arrogantly as she looked up while crossing her arms. Yukari blinked then reached back into her backpack. A moment later a golden washtub dropped onto Kurumu's head, the girl dropping down with a thud as Yukari looked around again.
"So, now what?" she asked again.
"What… just happened?" Render asked looking down at Kurumu.
"Where did that come from?" Leon asked pointing to the spinning golden basin next to the dazed succubus. Sun and Complica looked at the washtub curiously as well then up and around at the ceiling. Kurumu jumped back up and tried to charge the young witch as Rason held her back with a tired smile.
"Please, can we just get a ride out of here?" Ran pleaded while looking around. Outside more HDA trucks and police cars were driving around while helicopter rotors were heard above. Ceal started walking over towards the side of the structure where a few cars were parked, looking around at them carefully while Complica held onto his hand still.
"If you're trying to pick a color, why not black?" Razico said flatly as the group followed after him. Ceal glanced to him then to a nearby car… that was black. He held his gloved hand to the driver side window and a soft black hue glowed around it. Complica watched inside the car as a dark tentacle came through the seat from a rift, the long appendage swaying over and unlocking the door.
"Wow…" she said softly as Ceal opened the door from the outside, the boy then walking over to another car nearby as his magic faded from inside the vehicle.
"What's wrong? Not the shade of black you're looking for?" Ruby asked with a raised eyebrow. Dark walked over to the opened car and let go of Arial's hand, the snow angel coming into view and watching him as he lied down on the seat and broke open the paneling under the steering wheel.
"I'm merely providing you all with a ride, problem with that?" Ceal asked glancing back to Ruby. The witch blinked then looked over to see Dark digging around inside the car's paneling. The group watched as after a moment the demon hotwired the car and started it up. He sat up in the seat and smirked at Arial.
"You're riding with me," he said. The girl eagerly nodded then ran around to the front passenger door, jumping in and looking at Dark with loving eyes. The demon smiled at her then looked to Mizore.
"Let's go my little snow bunny," he said calmly. Arial glared at Mizore with fury as her hair froze over slightly, the group looking at the snow angel then to Mizore as she had a worried expression. She slowly glanced to Moka and grabbed her hand, tugging her over slightly. Moka smiled nervously and nodded then the two got into the backseat of the car. Dark closed his door and looked around in front of him while Arial glared back at Mizore, the snow girl and vampire looking at her nervously as they leaned back in their seats.
Ceal unlocked another car and started walking towards a nearby SUV, holding onto Complica's hand still as the chronofly watched him use his magic with wonder.
"I got this one," Leon said running over to the car. Astreal smiled a bit and followed after him.
"Shotgun," she called out. Apoch and Render glanced to each other then followed after them as Leon started to hotwire the car. Astreal watched him curiously as the boy started up the car, the mage glancing to her with a wink.
"Where did you learn to do this?" Astreal asked before she walked around and got in the car. Apoch and Render got in the back seat as Leon sat in the driver's seat.
"We were on the road a lot with our work, it helped to have a set of wheels wherever we might go," he reasoned with a shrug. Apoch looked at him curiously then to Render.
"Do you know how to do that as well?" she asked. The boy smiled weakly and shook his head.
"No, Leon's been the driver of the group. I've just been the muscle," he said with a shrug. Apoch smiled timidly and held onto his arm, the boy looking at her with a curious smile as Leon glanced back to them.
"I'll say," she said softly as she remembered his fighting form.
"You two start making out back there and I'm kicking you out," Leon said as he looked ahead again.
"You're just no fun man," Render said with a chuckle. Apoch merely giggled as Astreal rolled her eyes.
Ceal unlocked the door to the SUV then started walking towards another car while Razico and Ruby walked up to the vehicle. The warlock got into the driver's seat and started to hotwire it as Ruby watched him curiously.
"Do all treasure hunters know how to hotwire cars?" she asked playfully. He chuckled and shrugged.
"Not sure, it's not a requirement. But it does help," he said casually. Yukari, Ahakon, and Ran walked up to them as Razico started the truck. He sat up and smiled confidently at them.
"Let's go home," he said, with them nodding then quickly getting into the truck. Ruby sat in the front passenger seat as Ran sat in the back seat next to Ahakon and Yukari, the boy between the two as the girls were holding his hands tightly. He glanced from one to the other then ahead with a worried expression.
Ceal walked over to another car and unlocked it with his necro magic, then glanced to Fang Fang.
"Can you drive?" he asked. The yasha smiled nervously and nodded.
"Well, I do know how to drive a bit, yes," he said somewhat confidently.
"Then you're not completely worthless. You can drive this one," Ceal said simply as he started walking towards another SUV. Fang Fang smiled weakly then jumped a bit.
"Um… but I don't know how to hotwire these things," he said looking to Ceal. The catalyst mage looked back to him with a cold stare.
"Then you are worthless to us," he said as black tentacles started to form around the yasha. Complica looked at Ceal worriedly then to Fang Fang, holding onto Ceal's normal hand tightly. Fang Fang waved his hands around nervously and shook his head.
"Please, I'll gladly drive your friends to your destination, if somebody could start it for me," he pleaded. Gin looked at the yasha for a moment then to Dark with a wave.
"Think you can start this thing before we see this kid get mutilated?" he asked dryly. Dark rolled his eyes and opened his door, then glanced to Arial.
"I'll be right back, stay here," he said. Arial nodded while staring at him with dreamy eyes. The demon got out and closed the door then walked towards the other car as Fang Fang smiled nervously at him.
"Thank you good sir, I do appreciate-"
"Stop talking," Dark said as he walked past him towards the car. Fang Fang hesitated for a moment then smiled weakly. Ceal just looked at the yasha for a moment then started walking towards another SUV with Complica following with him.
Arial watched Dark get into the other car and start to hotwire it then looked back to Mizore with a cold glare. Mizore and Moka smiled nervously at the snow angel as the temperature started to drop in the vehicle.
"Arial… easy now… you don't want to do anything rash here," Moka said cautiously.
"How the hell are you still alive?" Arial demanded with anger. Mizore glanced to Ceal then back to Arial.
"Um… lucky break?" she said softly. Arial gripped the seat tightly, her hand freezing into an ice claw that the two other girls stared at with worry. The snow angel growled loudly as Mizore glanced to seeing Dark still working on starting the other car.
"Calm down Arial, if you attack her again Dark will find out… he won't be happy," Moka said shaking her head.
"She has no right to be with my demon, Dark is mine. Forever!" Arial yelled out. Moka and Mizore glanced to each other then looked back to Arial as the snow angel continued to glare with fire in her eyes at the one that was taking her demon away from her.
"But Arial, Dark loves Mizore, he even marked her to be his wife. She's the one he wants to be with," Moka reasoned nervously. Arial glanced to her then to Mizore.
"Marked?" she asked slowly. Mizore nodded quickly and glanced down to her chest.
"My heart has his mark on it, it means he chose me to be his wife," she said softly. Arial glanced to her chest then glared at the girl.
"Then I'll guess I'll have to get rid of that mark, won't I?" she said through bared teeth as her eyes flickered white. Her hair froze over as Mizore's eyes widened, the girl glancing to Dark out in the other car then back to Arial. The snow angel geared back with her ice claw then looked over to the side as the car Dark was at started up. The demon got up out of the car and started walking back as Fang Fang got into the started vehicle along with Rason, Kurumu, and Gabriel. Arial growled and slowly lowered her claw, the ice and frost then vanishing as she glared back at Mizore.
"I'm the only one that's going to be his wife, and I'm the only one that's going to have his mark," she hissed before looking back ahead. Dark got into the car and buckled up as Mizore and Moka stared at the snow angel with wide eyes. The boy glanced to them in the rearview mirror then looked back to them.
"What's wrong Mizore?" he asked. The snow maiden blinked then smiled nervously.
"Nothing, just… eager to get back," she said softly. Dark smiled a bit and nodded then looked ahead as Arial glanced back to Mizore with narrowed eyes. Moka and Mizore exchanged glances then looked back to Arial with growing concern, fearful when the temperamental snow angel would try to 'get rid' of Mizore's mark.
Ceal walked over to an SUV and used his magic to unlock it, then opened the door and glanced to Complica.
"You're riding with me, get in," he said simply. Complica nodded then quickly ran around the truck and got into the front passenger seat. Ceal then looked back to Sun with narrowed eyes.
"You too, get in," he ordered. The siren looked at him worriedly as Gin and Kokoa glanced to him. Sun looked to Gin then quickly held onto his arm, the boy watching her with a bit of surprise as Kokoa growled loudly.
"Let him go now or I'll tear your arm right off!" the vampire yelled out as Kou popped out of her pocket and landed back on her shoulder, the bat glaring at the siren as well. Sun looked at her worriedly then down as black tentacles were forming around her feet.
"You and I need to have a long talk still, and we will once we're out of here. Now, get in or else I'll make you," Ceal said sternly.
"Easy man, she's not our enemy here," Gin said defensively.
"She's not exactly on my good list right now," Kokoa snapped with a glare. Ceal glanced to them then motioned towards the SUV where Complica was watching with worried eyes.
"Then either she gets in on her own, or I'll throw what's left of her in there," he said coldly. Sun glanced to Gin as he looked at her worriedly.
"C'mon, we'll ride with you," he said gently. Sun nodded eagerly as Kokoa looked at him with a cautious eye. She then glared at Sun and pointed to the SUV.
"Get in, now!" she yelled out. Sun started walking towards the SUV as Kokoa turned back to Gin with discontent.
"You and I are going to have a long talk as well," she said sternly. The boy smiled nervously and nodded, then watched as his girlfriend walked after the siren. He then walked after and got in the backseat, with Sun by the door and Kokoa between them. The vampire had her arms crossed as she was glaring at Sun, the siren looking at her nervously then to Gin. Ceal got into the truck and closed the door, then glanced to Sun in the rearview mirror.
"Either you give me a good answer later as to why a dragon came here after you, or else I'll let that vampire use you as her own punching bag," he said coldly. Sun glanced to Kokoa as the vampire cracked her knuckles then to Gin with worried eyes, the boy showing a concerned expression.
Razico took off in his SUV with Dark and Leon following after. Fang Fang followed behind them as Ceal drove right after, the five groups then driving out of the parking structure and into the city streets. As they drove, at the speed limit to avoid any problems of course, they saw more HDA trucks and humvees driving around as well as helicopters flying in the sky. The night sky had a few stars that could be seen however the lights of the human city cast the sky into a soft glow while the five groups made their way through the area. As they drove everybody was looking out the windows at the human city, at the people walking in the streets and driving by, at the world that now saw them as enemies of mankind once more. They had managed to escape captivity and execution, however only barely and with a casualty in the process.
"This is a nightmare. The human monster war is going to start up all over again," Ruby said looking down with despair.
"We'll get this sorted out, there must be some way of making the humans see that we're not all bad monsters," Razico said glancing out at the sky above.
"That was too close," Render said breathing out in relief. Apoch nodded and looked at him with a gentle expression.
"Thank you, both of you, for helping us," she said softly.
"Yes, we couldn't have done it without you," Astreal said looking to Leon as the sisters removed their hoods. Leon nodded and looked ahead with a distant gaze.
"Don't thank us yet, something tells me the hard part is coming up still," he said reluctantly, the other three nodding in agreement before looking out the windows at the passing human city.
"Poor Sandra," Complica said softly as she looked down at the floor. Ceal glanced to her then back to Sun in the rearview mirror.
"I will say this; your human friend did not die in vain. She helped your friends escape this place. That's twice today I've seen a human prove themselves as a step up from the rest of their race," he said before looking ahead.
"Twice today?" Complica asked curiously.
"Yes, another human girl killed a monster with a baseball bat," Ceal said simply. He then glanced to Complica with a slight smirk.
"Something you two have in common I suppose," he mused with a small shrug. Complica smiled softly then looked down to her bat in her hands. Sun looked at Ceal curiously then to Gin, the boy nodding with a slight smile.
"Yeah, we'll tell you later, after you meet her," he said with a shrug. Sun looked at the boy curiously then down in thought, trying to picture a human taking on a monster with nothing but a baseball bat and winning.
"I wonder what father is doing about all this, I'm sure he and the other dark lords must know about it," Moka said softly while looking up at the sky, taking off her hood while showing a worried expression.
"I'm not sure, but we're going to find out," Dark said while still looking ahead. Arial looked at the demon with loving eyes and smiled softly, keeping him in her sight as she gently rolled her lollipop around in her mouth. Mizore looked at the snow angel worriedly then to Dark.
'This is crazy, how can this be the girl that freed my Dark? Every time he spoke about her he always treated her with the utmost respect, she was his guardian angel. He always talked about her like she was perfect and a real angel. But she's out of her mind; she's more obsessed with him than I was with Tsukune.'
"Gabriel, when we get back I want to know just what the hell is going on here," Rason said sternly looking to his friend, the redheaded angel sitting in the front seat and nodding with a troubled expression. Kurumu looked at Gabriel and shook her head.
"You'd better have a good excuse for letting Arial and Complica come down here like this. Otherwise I'm not sure who's going to kill you faster, Luna and Falla or Dark," she said with discontent. Gabriel cringed a bit as he thought about Luna being captured; knowing that piece of news was likely going to cause quite the uproar with the group.
"I'll… tell you all everything Rason. I promise," he said looking ahead, worried about his own personal safety, but not as much as he was about Luna's. Fang Fang glanced to him then looked back ahead with concern as he continued to drive.
The five vehicles drove out of the busy center of the city towards a tunnel in a small mountainside near the sea, the group seeing the sparkling water stretching out with the night sky in the horizon to their left.
"I wonder if we'll ever be able to come back to this world again," Moka said softly as she looked out at the blue sea.
'Tsukune… I'm sorry. We tried to stop this from falling apart… but…'
'We need to fix this; we can't let our mate come out of Paradise into this war.'
The five vehicles drove into the tunnel that was a gateway into the monster world, watching as the view of the seaside and night sky vanished behind the darkened tunnel walls.
"At least we can go back and rest a bit. Today's been a real nightmare," Yukari said looking down with relief. Ahakon nodded then glanced to Ran, the siren looking down with closed eyes.
"Are you alright Ran?" he asked. The girl glanced to him and smiled slightly.
"Yeah… just… how do you keep so calm during all this?" she asked. Yukari and Ahakon looked at her as she leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes.
"I was scared all day today with you guys, but you… you managed to keep your head and keep pushing forward, all of you even. How do you do it?" she asked. Yukari smiled a bit and looked down.
"I suppose we've gotten used to it. We've been through so much together, I guess we've changed a lot during all of it," she reasoned softly. Ruby looked down and nodded, knowing she was far more battle experienced than before after everything the group had been through. They had all fought in wars and fights to the death, and have all even killed when needed to in order to survive and protect the innocent. Ahakon smiled a bit and patted the siren's hand gently.
"You did great out there Ran, really. And we were all scared too, it's not like this was a piece of cake for us either," he said gently. The siren smiled at him then glanced away with timid eyes.
"Thank you Ahakon," she said softly as she felt her heart beating a bit faster from his words. Yukari smiled amusingly at the siren's reaction to her hero complimenting her then leaned back in her seat.
"I'm just glad we're at least going back home," she said softly.
"Um… about that," Razico said looking around. The group looked to him then around, all of them noticing something that everybody else was as well.
"Wait… you guys?" Kurumu asked worriedly.
"This… isn't right," Leon said shaking his head.
"What's going on?" Gin asked looking around.
The five vehicles exited the tunnel and screeched to a stop in the middle of the road, the group looking around as they all noticed the same thing. There were no flashing streaks of light in the tunnel, no strange sights, and they still saw the blue sea and night sky off to the side after exiting the tunnel.
"We're… still here?" Moka said with surprise.
"But how?" Mizore asked looking around. Dark and Arial looked around as well, both of them seeing that the group was still in the human world.
"Wait, did we go through the wrong tunnel?" Gin asked looking back to the darkened tunnel behind them.
"I could have sworn that was the right one," Kokoa said looking around curiously. Ceal looked around slowly then shook his head a bit.
"The dark lords…" he said solemnly. The group looked to him as he slowly glanced to Complica.
"They sealed off the gateways."