Zara, where did you go for two weeks?

Let me explain.

I have six siblings. Four sisters, two brothers. Some are biological, others are step siblings. However, though we were born years apart, our birthdays fall into a week or two of one another somehow. Therefore, we were busy in a rush of parties and annoying family visits.

For the record, the older you are, the less important birthdays become. For example: My birthday, hit, and I was all "…Oh. Neat. Okay then," and went on about my day.

Or maybe that's just my family.

Either way, I'm back now.

:3

This chapter is quite a bit of filler and not all that great. But it is here. So here we go.

Mia-Teresa-Davenport: "She'll get over it."

AllAmericanSlurp: Yep. Amphetamines.

Drugs are bad, kids.

ShyMusic: Actually, the bandwagons usually encourage themselves. In Hunter, everyone hated Leo for trying to get his brother back. Oddly, no one hated Adam for doing the exact same thing. And, in Hazy, Sandra was the target. This one is very tame.

DarkestKing: War and death and bloodshed are coming. But we do request patience.

So, since you've waited long enough, here we go! Douglas?

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

"Long ago, I went to war to fight the scourge of Christendom. I held aloft my blessed sword and said, 'By God, let them come!' They said their eyes are red as flame. I heard it told from Hell they came! Their breath is fire. Their tongue are forked. Thus are the beasts of Dragon's Gate!..."

Voltaire, "Crusade"

Chase

The Hunters were stunningly organized. Thanks to the meticulous notes Douglas took and the key that treacherous bitch Kevin forked over, we knew the inner workings of the group now. Long into the night, we located bases and marked them on a small map, marking images of homes or along streets on a computerized map. The scale on which they operated was staggering. Not only were they active in Mission Creek, but several other towns, too. It was spreading to become nationwide. It would be within a few years, if my calculations were correct.

Ha. I'm me. They're always correct.

It was as we were learning this that I saw a strange, hate-filled glint I didn't like appear in Douglas' eyes. It was unnerving, and I honestly didn't know why. I would've guessed that it was his protective side coming out, but I'd seen that before. It wasn't alarming to me. The look he had now was. Oddly, it seemed familiar, but I couldn't place it.

After a few hours, though, I stopped worrying about Douglas's problem and started working on a plan. The thing was, though, that I hadn't expected anything more than a group or two existing. To think that an actual army existed just to destroy Summoners and demons was just so...

Terrifying. Disturbing.

Overwhelming.

I didn't know how to fight an army. Hell, the last time I had been near Hunters, they had somehow filled me with so much fear that I was frozen. The other demons weren't any better off than I had been, either. I didn't know how the Hunters had done it, but they had rendered us almost helpless. Not to mention all that silver they had to protect themselves. How could we possibly fight something we couldn't even get near or touch?

It was in the middle of this discouragement that weariness started to set in. I glanced at Douglas' alarm clock - 2:34 am - and rubbed my eyes, trying to wake myself up. Numbers started to blur on pages, melding together into an indecipherable mess between random bouts of darkness when I actually did fall asleep for a moment and nearly fell over, jerking awake. Douglas finally had me sit on his bed instead of the chair I had been perched on earlier. Something about knocking the papers everywhere if I hit them or whatever he had been bitching about. Honestly, I think it had more to do with the corner of the desk that I nearly crashed my head into more than once in my half-asleep leaning. Whatever his reasoning, I was a bit glad for it. I could lay down while reading the papers, giving Douglas a few more addresses before the writing faded from my view. It took me a moment before I realized that I had closed my eyes. Of course, by then, I was too far gone to wake up again and finally gave in, letting sleep carry me away from my troubles for a while.

"...The Fates were kind. They let me in the dragon's lair, the den of sin. I placed my sword upon its heart and with a prayer I thrust it in. The dragon fell upon the ground. 'Twas then I heard a whimpering sound. A dragonling to his father clung, who only fought to protect his young..."

Voltaire, "Crusade"

Douglas

The second that Chase let out a soft snore, Douglas sighed. He was going to be sleeping somewhere else for the night. However, it did free him up to start sending names to Kevin through text message, demanding information. Wherever their relationship stood at the moment didn't matter. Douglas needed to know who the code kept listing and why they mattered. They were obviously important to the group. So what were their roles?

After the names were sent, Douglas stood up and pulled the blankets over Chase. He didn't feel like throwing out his back just to carry the kid back to his own room. Besides, it was getting late, so he should turn in, too. Chances were that Kevin wouldn't tell them anything until he woke up in the morning, anyways. So Douglas just grabbed his phone and scooped up Oly from beside Chase so that she wouldn't bother him. She growled indignantly, but otherwise didn't protest much as Douglas carried her to a guest room. He slipped under the blankets, setting Oly on the pillow beside him and the phone on the nightstand. He was out in seconds, his dreams filled with images of people shooting one of the kids, Kevin even driving a knife into Chase's back at one point.

When Douglas woke up, it was only six in the morning, a thunderstorm had rolled in, and he regretted not shooting Kevin for a moment. Lightning flashed and thunder roared, the windswept trees creating shadows that were menacing to behold. Douglas couldn't help but see people in them, chasing small creatures across the walls before the lightning faded, plunging the room into darkness. He tried not to imagine Kevin as one of them, but it was hard.

However, in the end, he rubbed his eyes and sighed. He wouldn't shoot Kevin. He couldn't. Not when he was just a pawn in the Hunter's game. Besides, Kevin was a sweetheart at any other time.

Life was just too damn complicated.

Douglas' phone buzzed, lighting up the darkness up suddenly. He shushed an annoyed huff from Oly and picked up the phone, noting that Kevin had finally responded to him. He opened the message, eager for information.

And information he got. Addresses, their roles in the group, how they got messages to the numbers station and where the money came from to fund them. A couple were involved in politics, for Christ's sake! And they were funneling money discreetly into the organization, allowing them to afford silver weapons. More importantly, they all seemed to have strange abilities when it came to demons. Two more could see planes, one could hear magic like Sam, and one, Jason, who somehow had a natural resistance against magical attacks and appeared to be the overall commander of the group.

At the end of the message, however, was some information that made Douglas think twice about hating the Hunters absolutely.

Several of these people just hate demons unconditionally or for religious reasons. A few of them, though, have lost loved ones to accidents with the creatures. Hell, Jason lost his daughter to an afrit when demons destroyed downtown a few months ago. She was five years old.

I know you don't like them. I don't, either. And I wish they'd stop massacring every demon everywhere. I don't support them, but I understand why some of them fight.

Just remember that before you go to shoot them all in the face, okay?

Love you.

Douglas set his jaw. The fact that some were fighting for vengeance or to stop their fate from happening to others was something he hadn't thought of. This made things annoyingly harder.

The Hunters were still going down. But maybe it wasn't as black and white as he thought it was originally. He understood a bit of what they were going through, though. They were threatening his kid, and he wanted them gone.

Great. Just great. Both sides felt justified. Damn it.

Damn it.

Damn it.

Damn it.

Why couldn't life be easier? He just wanted to blow up some houses and move on. Did Kevin really have to humanize the enemy? Now, Douglas couldn't set the bombs off if he wanted to.

Damn Kevin. That sexy bastard was making him soft.

Douglas sighed. He'd have to get the information to Chase and hope that he and the other demons figured something else out.

Shitty ending, but here we are.

Some Hunters have reasons to hunt demons? Who knew?

I knew. :3

Anywho, what's next? What will Hellcat do now that Douglas doesn't want to go berserk anymore? What's his plan?

We'll find out next time. :3

So, until then, feel free to review. Or not. Meh.

And enjoy.

*Bows and exits*