"What the hell?!" Celia landed hard on the metal floor, disoriented. The sudden shock of the alarm blaring through the room and interrupting the silent moment had basically knocked them apart.

"What does that mean?" She shouted to him as she scrambled to her feet; hands pressed against her ears.

"We have a visitor!" For as loudly as he was probably yelling, she could barely hear his words as he motioned upwards. "An unannounced visitor! Let's go!" Pivoting on his heel, he took off.

Understanding she should follow; she flung her bag onto her back and sprinted behind him out of the room. And she thought her blood was pumping before...

Was he going to kiss me back there?

They raced together through the darkened hallways flashing with emergency lighting, back to the control room. Though she had no problem keeping up with him, he was surprisingly fast for his stature. She was actually impressed. Red flashes sparked in the darkness in time with the siren, and once Karl tapped a large, orange button on the panel, the ear-splitting noise stopped. One by one, the harsh florescent lights blinked back to life. Celia could still feel the phantom vibrations of the sounds ringing through her head, colliding with her already frazzled thoughts. Was he going to kiss me?

He wasn't acting any differently. Maybe he was just messing with me.

He was a bit...quirky. Celia forced an uninterested look as her insides twisted. "Isn't this a little...much? I mean, all the lights and sirens."

From behind her, he slammed the door and threw the bolt. Not when you have a rat problem like mine." Karl dropped down into the black fabric desk chair and kicked back – gliding over to the flashing monitors. Swiveling around in the seat, he motioned her over to him to get a look. "Plus, it lets the haulers know we have an uninvited guest. They're brainless, but good for more than just manual labor."

"Who is it?" He was definitely going to kiss me.

"That's what the monitors are for sweetheart. I checked the locks this morning myself. Didn't think to pull the whole damn place into lockdown. Didn't think the bitch would be this bold." Karl scanned the monitors as he flicked on the switches marked "microphones" which must have been planted throughout the facility.

Celia leaned down beside him to see what he was pointing at on the screen. She was inches from him, and closed her eyes as she took in the smell of leather and smoke – the same scent she woke up to in his bed.

I should have kissed him.

She focused on the monitor. She couldn't believe how many there were.

"Wow. What should we do now?"

He swiveled in his chair, his knees lightly brushing her thighs as he gazed up at her. "Got your gun, killer?"

xx

He heard them before he saw them. Karl knew the instant the thick, dense hum of snarls thudded through the speakers. The Lycan's had gotten into the factory. What were they doing here? They knew better than to step foot where they didn't belong. And what fucking timing. He tried to shake off the fact that he nearly slammed his new friend up against a wall in the foundry to see how much hotter it could get in there. He was a different kind of hot and bothered now. While a man of action, he was also a man of reason – so that could wait. If he was being honest with himself, he was just as excited to see how she would handle herself out there in the bowels of the factory pitted against the Lycans as she would on top of him. He could see it when he looked into her eyes – behind the polite, put together persona beat the heart of a killer. He would know.

It made him wonder what she saw when she looked at him. She probably saw him as he was - a brutal, murderous monster not only in deeds but in the flesh Miranda had violated and remade for her own selfish ambitions. A vile monstrosity. Unredeemable. Evil. Yet her eyes still met his.

The screens in front of them flashed as they cycled through the timers. It wasn't looking good. On the monitors, he saw the rabid collective colliding with the haulers, biting and ripping into flesh. They watched the movement spider and spread throughout the screens in front of them, creating a waterfall effect as the Lycan's swarmed each sector. He could try to command them, but he knew it was useless. They were here with purpose; they would obey Miranda.

He didn't feel guilty, exactly, though he thought it a bit poetic - them turning on him like this. He had used so many of them as experiments – both as weapons and to test them. He knew as well as Miranda that these things weren't as brainless as they looked. Villagers, travelers, anyone Miranda could get her claws on. They clung to something resembling the humanity that they had shed...they could feel. And maybe now, they were feeling the burning provocation of revenge as they poured through the factory, tearing apart anything in sight. Who was he to begrudge them that?

As for the circumstance of their arrival, however, Karl couldn't decide what emotion was more powerful – rage or gratification. She was striking early; it wasn't even midday and she was showing her hand. Did she think that these things could take him out? If so, she had severely underestimated him. It would have offended him if he didn't find it so amusing. But he did have to give her credit – she had spared nothing in the sheer number of Lycan's crawling around his factory. Shit, she must have emptied out the entire stronghold. But he wasn't wholly unprepared. And he wasn't alone.

He turned to Celia, to find her loading a weapon. An assault rifle. He nodded in approval.

She caught him admiring it. "On layaway from the Duke. What's going on? Why are they coming after you?"

"Oh, I'm sure Miranda asked them to stop by. I think it's safe to say our date tonight has been cancelled."

"Are the flasks safe?"

"I'd say so. I'd be more worried about our asses at the moment."

He pulled his hammer up from the ground where it was left from the night before. His eyes flicked up to her as his powers guided the handle into his grasp. He could get used to the way she stared at him when he was exorcising his abilities, hell, it even turned him on. Grabbing his hat from the table and throwing the hammer over his shoulder, he gave her a wink.

It wouldn't be long before the Lycan's reached their area. "Let's go wake up the kids."

Xx

It took less than thirty seconds to get to the first row of docked Soldat's, but only thirty-five for the first of the Lycans to reach them.

"Watch yourself!" She was tough, but if these Soldat's got the wrong idea about her she didn't stand much of a chance.

"Eins!" Karl yelled down the hallway. Red reactors greeted him in return, his creations sparking and spurring to life. He yelled again, "Eins!" and pointed towards the beasts bearing down on them in the tight corridor. The first Soldat turned, eyes on Celia. "No." He instructed, throwing as much weight as he could behind the command, pointing again towards the Lycans. "There!"

With a spray of sparks, each ripped away from the wall and roared to life, ripping through rotting flesh and guts. Though they were effective, the corridor had a channeling effect; the Soldats were being overrun as they continued their onslaught. For every one they drilled down; three more leapt over them towards the pair. His hammer wasn't doing much good in these cramped spaces. He flung it at them, aiming straight towards their heads but their volumes blunted the blows, taking only one or two out at a time only for them to multiply around the fallen. It was then he saw the first crow, just above the second wave of Lycans. Goddamn her.

"It's no good, we're too close. We need more room!" Celia started firing, picking them off as they broke away from the massive pileup. He knew her bullets weren't infinite. They might run out of time like this.

"Damn it!" Karl had an idea. "Hold your fire!" His hand shot out, palm curled, as he willed every door in the corridor to fling open. The sounds of bodies slamming at full speed into the metal doors echoed around them as he grabbed her hand. "Let's go. Get to the elevator."

She nodded, letting him pull her down the twisted corridors and into the elevator car. They needed some backup. Sturm. He had to get to his room down by the generators. He had thought of this little surprise from Miranda only as an inconvenience to be dealt with. An annoyance. He hadn't counted on them being an actual challenge. For so long, maybe too long, he was in control. The predator. The hunter. He found he wasn't too comfortable on the other side. He heard the first few Lycan's hit the top of the elevator, they were flinging themselves down the shaft.

"Are they always this excited to see you?" Celia broke the silence, completely composed as another thud shook the elevator car. She eyed him with a smile as her eyes trailed upward.

"Hey, everything was fine until you showed up. You have this effect on most men?" He smirked at her.

She chuckled and rolled her eyes at him. "Cheesy, Heisenberg." The elevator slowed as it approached the basement. She motioned with her gun. "After you." He regretted not pulling her body close and finishing what he started in the foundry in the few seconds of reprieve they had...but it could wait. He could wait.

The door opened, and they moved quickly, together. He didn't have to tell her what to do. He liked that. Unbelievable sexual tension aside, he felt more powerful with her by his side. Not that he needed her. Not that he needed anyone.

They moved quickly. It would be only minutes until the Lycan's caught up with them. And there were undoubtedly some already stalking this floor. His mind flicked to the soldats upstairs. He hoped they had done some damage or at least thinned the herd.

He was pleasantly surprised to be taken head-on by only the occasional stray Lycan, which Celia dispatched quickly as they rounded the corner near Sturms room.

"Karl, they're here." He didn't need to turn around to know he didn't have time for pleasantries. He swept her behind him and as violently as he could, ripped the door off the hinges and sent it flying at them. "Sturm wake the fuck up! Come!" He heard the revving from somewhere in the room. Good thing he hadn't bothered to chain him up last time. The Lycan's barreled toward them and Celia's gunfire stopped. He saw her pull out her knife. Time was up.

"Move!" He commanded, pushing Celia further down the hall. Sturm would follow soon enough. He had to get her out of the line of fire so he could deal with the hoard. As they reached the last room at the end of the hall, he shoved her inside and slammed the door behind them, twisting the mechanism that threw the bolts of the lock on either side of the door. This was one of the most secure rooms in the factory - next to his quarters. The generator room. It was here he had his diesel generators on standby to supply backup power in case of emergency.

"Wha-" She was interrupted as he grabbed her arm and pulled over to the ladder leading up to the scaffolding

"Get up there. At the top, there's an entrance to the vents. Close the hatch behind you. You'll be safe in the vents while Sturm and I finish dealing with our friends."

"Are you crazy? There are a hundred of those things." He was about to argue with her when she interrupted him.

"Look." She pointed to the solid walls around them, and then up at the scaffolding. "This place is huge. Can you lure them into this room?"

It wasn't a terrible idea.

The slams of the Lycan's attempting to breach the metal door grew louder. He could easily deal with them by himself. He could bring the whole room down on them, even the walls were weapons to him.

They would be trapped like rats.

He heard Sturm outside the room. Time to go. "Sturm, COME!" That thing would make short work of the doors lock. He motioned towards her. "Move up!" Together they climbed as the doors blew off the hinges, Lycan's pouring around Sturms disoriented form. It wouldn't be long before the last of the Lycan's took the bait and he would seal off the exit, leaving Sturm to slice them to ribbons in the proverbial barrel below.

But first, they had to lure the collective up onto the scaffolding, so Karl and Celia climbed and the Lycan's followed like lemmings. They moved together, creating shields for their attacks and attempting to flank the pair. He could see Lycan's scaling the scaffolding and pipes. They were coming at them in all directions. He alternated pulling down platforms and ripping the pipes away from the wall, sending them down to meet Sturm.

Once they hit the highest walkway, they waited as the platforms loaded up with the weight of dozens of the monsters, hell bent on reaching them. Karl concentrated his energy; pulling the door from the ground and slamming it up against the opening, twisting it against the metal jambs. Once he was sure it looked secure he started pulling out the platforms, trying to avoid hitting Sturm as he flung them, one by one crashing to the ground. He needed enough force to create a ceiling drop effect – crushing the Lycans trapped beneath with the force and momentum. The ones that survived, Sturm could handle. He ripped the rescue ladder away from the wall, sending it flying into the fray. As the structure lost the support beneath them, the deck began to sway.

"Brace yourself sweetheart, this ride is gonna get a little wild!"

She nodded, wrapping herself her elbow and thigh around the side rail. The entire platform creaked and groaned as he forced another level down on them, crushing skulls and spraying bloody pulp on the walls and generators. She watched from above as he loosened the one directly below them. Only a few Lycan's were left. This was easier than he thought. The crows were nowhere in sight. He was starting to relax as Celia's voice pierced the air.

"Karl, 9 o clock!" She was racing toward him. Before he could raise his hammer, Celia collided with the charging Lycan, using her body to knock the thing off balance. He must have scaled the piping along the wall behind them, out of sight. He watched as she wrapped her slender fingers in his hair, and with the other hand, pitched the knife into the side of his skull. The thing arched and bucked but she stayed on top of him, knee jammed into his sternum and other planted firmly on the platform. Quickly she removed the blade and sunk it back in deep between his eyes. He saw her exhale heavily, watched her sheath the knife and to rejoin him.

Neither saw the other one coming. It was a split second between the thing lunching at her and his warning.

"Celia!" he thundered, putting as much energy as he could into his voice. The action yielded an unintended consequence, shattering and splintering his concentration. His power surged violently and haphazardly, flinging the discarded piping around the room and shredding through the last of the Lycans. The generator lifted off the floor as his arms outstretched to her. Too late. He felt the transformation start unbidden; felt his joints dislocate. The Lycan made contact first, grabbed her by the shoulders and drug her down as the platform finally pitched away from the restraint, sliding them both off the edge and to the cement ground below.

xx

Alcina liked to think herself a patient woman. She liked to believe that she was known for her even temperament, her grace, and her refinement. But she knew, in her heart, only one of those was true. She could hear the whispers from the cellar. She sat now in the cell closest to the stairs, cloaked in darkness and fuming. Though she strictly forbid her daughters from interacting with the man she had chained up down here, Daniela's voice rang off of the cavernous walls. Must the girl always try her patience?

"Mother will listen to me. You just need to be patient! And you need to trust me." There was a shuffling noise; a clinking of chains as they rubbed against the dirty floor. "Is the water helping?"

Alcina heard the man croak, "Yeah. Thanks."

She had thought to intimidate him, to get him to tell her all he had seen before coming into her custody. Perhaps cut off a finger or two...maybe something more interesting if he refused to cooperate. But here was her precious Daniela, undermining all her planning and hard work.

As enraged as she was, as hot as her claws burned to be let free, and as high as her bloodlust grew – she stilled her body as Daniela spoke again.

"Chris, why did you come here?"

Silence.

"I can't help you if you don't talk to me."

Again, the silence hung as thick as the musty smell of blood and death in the stale air. What a stupid girl. Have I failed her so miserably? She clenched her fists.

"Fine, if you don't want to talk to me." She paused. "Perhaps you would prefer the company of my sisters. Maybe I acted with too much haste when I tore them off you earlier."

Cassandra and Bela too? Those wicked girls! Despite her mild annoyance at their disobedience, she felt the corners of her mouth tick up.

"Daniela! Wait."

Her amusement mixed with mild surprise. He answered too quickly, too desperately. Her girls must have welcomed him with too much vigor. So like their mother.

The cell door creaked open again.

She sat back and listened as the man started to speak. Maybe Daniela wasn't so stupid, after all.