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Shadowdancer

By Dracon

[Notice: The characters and events within are inspired by the "Gargoyles" TV Series and as such credit goes to the creators of said series. If any characters appear in the story from said series, those characters belong to their creators.

Should anyone wish to use the characters or events within in their own works, permission is hereby granted to do so. I just ask that you let me know if you are going to do so and provide credit in your work.

Underage viewers should not read this series, and all readers do so at their own risk.

The character of Shang Hua is a copyright of Wrensilverfox. Permission is not granted for use of this character. Contact his player for permission.]

"In Harm's Way"

----Chapter I----

10485 S Hoyne Ave, Chicago, Illinois

November 7th, 2027

4:16 P.M.

Footsteps echoed through the city's streets as a young man ran for his life. He moved with an easy gait, pacing himself to keep ahead of his pursuers without expending more energy than necessary. His shadow stretched out behind him as the sun's failing rays illuminated him.

More footsteps echoed behind him, the heavy boots of his pursuers thudding against the street. They shouted at him, but he ignored their commands.

Shang Hua glanced around as he ran, trying to find a safe place to hole up. It didn't help that he was only a visitor in town. He saw a street sign ahead, marking the roadway. West 103rd... why did that seem so familiar...

It hit him suddenly, and he remembered what he had read about this district. Supposedly, one of the most haunted places in the country was just a few blocks from here! He grinned, thinking it might make a good place to hide out.

He murmured under his breath, praying. "Please, Goddess, just let them be a little spooked by the spooks. I can't keep running like this all night..." He veered towards the apparent safety of the castle. The grunts continued after him, apparently unaware of the legends or just uncaring, though they pursued at a slower pace than before.

The building appeared slightly run-down, but it seemed solid enough to last as long as he would need it. He ran for the front door, hoping that it would be unlocked. To his surprise and pleasure, it was.

He looked around the archaic and frankly tacky-looking foyer, trying to find stairs so he could take the high ground. Oddly, while he had a certain sixth sense for spiritual activity, he could sense almost nothing here.

"Huh, not haunted. Strange." He muttered aloud, looking for any flashbulbs or other props.

Climbing the flight of stairs, he spotted a concealed security camera pointed towards the door. He sucked in a breath, waiting for an alarm to sound, but nothing seemed to happen. It seemed like it was deactivated... but what was it doing here in the first place? Last time he'd checked, watcheyes weren't common equipment in the Victorian era.

He felt his strength flagging, his breath becoming more ragged as he jogged up the stairs. He reached a balcony wrapped around the foyer, giving a clean view of the floor below. Taking turns nearly at random, he trusted in his instincts to lead him to a safe place where he could catch his breath.

He headed down a dead-end hallway, with a door on either side. Trying the left one first, he saw a small bathroom, not much larger than a closet. He dismissed it, figuring it would be a strategic blunder to hole up in a room that small against men with guns.

Turning, he tried the other door, closing it behind him cautiously. He was pleased to see that this room was much larger, with a window and a closet. It looked like a woman's study, though definitely a tech-savvy one, judging by the high-end computer system on her desk. It looked to be a custom job, but made with a care and skill that most lacked. That was hardly the point, though, and he looked for anything solid to use as cover.

There was a closet in the back, but the walls were paper-thin, limiting its value for his purposes. He had to whistle at the size of the wardrobe, though. That was definitely not original to the house, and it looked quite new. He hadn't been aware that anyone was living here. That changed things. He'd been hoping not to involve bystanders in his plight.

He went over to the window and slid it open silently. Poking his head out, he was dismayed to see that the walls outside were too smooth to climb. His didn't want to leave through the door, in case the troops had already entered.

He sighed, glancing at the drainpipe just to the side. It looked sturdy enough, but it was less than he'd hoped for. Slinging himself out of the window, Shang grabbed onto it and began to climb, kicking the window closed as he did so.

Finding himself on the roof of the so-called castle, he glanced around quickly, taking the scene in. Several lawn chairs, of all things, were placed around randomly. Scattered about the edge of the roof were several exceptionally well-detailed statues, which seemed quite fitting given the castle's architecture. He looked towards the ground, trying to find his pursuers, but couldn't see them.

Something had been bugging him since he had climbed up. He could feel a stronger spiritual presence here. It wasn't very strong, but it was much stronger than it had been in the house. However, the presence still didn't seem enough for all the ghost stories that had sprung up around the house.

Only a thin sliver of the sun showed over the horizon. He kept listening for the booted footsteps of the soldiers, but even his keen senses could only detect the omnipresent wind. He sat down with his back against the cool stone of one of the crenellated towers and tried to catch his breath.

He looked at the statues as he relaxed, admiring the sculptor's work. Unlike the traditional gargoyle statues of the French, which were distorted and misshapen like demons, providing a certain surrealistic style, these statues seemed very lifelike, with a great degree of detail chiseled into their granite-like forms, and he could almost make out the blood vessels in the delicately wrought wings they possessed.

He tried to calm himself as he watched the sunset, but his reverie was interrupted when he heard a faint, ultrasonic wail emit from the lower levels of the house. He began to stir, but stilled himself as he heard a faint crackling noise. It reminded him of radio static, and he rose, looking for a place to hide, figuring that his pursuers must be near.

The crackling became louder, more distinct, but to his surprise, it seemed to emanate from the rooftop, rather than the lower floors. His jaw dropped when he saw hairline fissures forming along the stony surfaces of the statues! Certain that he must be hallucinating, he blinked and rubbed at his eyes. The cracks stubbornly remained, expanding and growing deeper. Stifling a cry of surprise, he saw one of them move!

He crouched and tried to make himself as small and unnoticeable as possible, watching in surprise as one of the statues twitched, it's... his? lean body trembling with the effort, the action of its powerful physique sending shards of rock in all directions like shrapnel. Instinctively, the watching man closed his eyes, throwing his arms up to shield his face from any of the flying stone.

Lowering his arms, Shang looked at the creature again. The masculine figure stretched skywards, working the kinks out of his body. He lowered his arms and crouched, drawing his wings around him like a cloak, scanning the horizon for threats, his back to the hidden intruder.

Shang began to pray silently to Luna that the beast wouldn't turn and see him. His prayer seemed to have been answered, as the beast and another of his kin, a slender female, turned and walked down the stairway, not noticing the intruder. He observed a worried expression on the male's face as they passed.

He looked about the rooftop cautiously, watching to see if any of the other statues were going to come to life. One that looked almost like a werewolf shattered his stone bonds with an echoing crack. The canine's ears perked up as he heard the alarm, and he jumped off the roof like an Olympic diver, spreading his wings widely to keep from splattering against the ground.

The fourth and final statue, portraying a titanic woman, massively muscled, yet still feminine... extremely feminine, stirred from her stone sleep. A single gunshot rang out, startling the man, though he could tell that it had not come from inside the house.

Unfortunately, the immense woman heard it as well, and began to look around for the source. Unlike the other three, she did not immediately leap into action, taking time to examine the area around her.

Shang pressed closer to the stone wall, whispering to himself, "Oh... I am so fucked..." She glanced at the ground below her and shuddered slightly before turning to the stairway. He swallowed and began to hold his breath, intimidated by her size in relation to his own diminutive stature.

She walked towards the stairway, with a graceful, hip-swinging gait that belied her bulk, a concerned expression on her face. Then she saw the trespasser, glancing directly at him. He froze, becoming utterly still, as she strode towards him.

She knelt down out of arm's reach, held out her clawed hand, and called out to him, using the same tone of voice one would with a frightened child or stray animal, though the effect was undermined by the depth of her voice, "Come on out. I won't hurt you, I promise."

She chuckled under her breath, the low rumble rattling his chest, and muttered, "Branson'll be disappointed if you're what all the fuss is about."

He stepped out of the shadow, dwarfed by the massive being. Knowing that his own height wasn't much above five foot, he figured she had to be at least seven!

She cupped her hands to her mouth and begin to inhale, her chest swelling against its woven prison, but they both turned in surprise before she could shout, hearing a high-pitched whine from the lower levels of the house, followed shortly by a heavy thump.

He jumped back into the shadows, terror evident on his face. She looked at him, alarmed, and asked, "Friends of yours?"

He shook his head emphatically, and she frowned in response. "Great. Trent's going to have a field day. Well, come on. I want to keep an eye on you, and it's probably not safe up here, anyway."

As she turned towards the staircase, he took the opportunity to check her out. Her back was obscured by the long shock of white hair trailing down it, but he watched the rounded swells of her rump as she walked, appreciative of the motion of her body as it cut through the air.

Dismayed, he saw that she bore neither weapons nor armor, and the thugs that pursued him had been toting a good deal of firepower.

He slipped out of the shadows behind her, and asked, his voice flavored with a faint Hong Kong accent, "So this place isn't really haunted?"

The outsized woman turned back to look at him, her full lips pulled up in a knowing smile. "There is a spirit here... but it does not haunt the house."

Nodding, he replied, "I see."

She began to speak again, but was interrupted by a thin, high-pitched scream from below. "Come on, there'll be time for introductions later!"

She began running down the stairs, taking them two at a stride. Her tail waved furiously behind her, keeping her steady. Shang followed her down, pumping his legs furiously, and tried to keep up.

She skidded to a halt when she reached the balcony, holding an arm out to keep the smaller man from running into the railing or falling over, then pointed downward.

He saw the thugs that had followed him, trying to take aim against the immense woman's clanmates, a task made more difficult by their erratic motions. One of the thugs lay on the ground, unmoving. Shang hid behind her suddenly comforting bulk, not wanting to draw the grunts' attention again.

She growled, deep in her throat, and produced a bestial rumble as her face became set in determination. She spoke, sounding grave. "If you've got a gun or anything, this would be a good time to use it."

She unfurled her deceptively delicate wings, placed one hand on the railing, and hurled herself over the edge like a bunker buster, curling her hands into fists.

Shang pulled his knife from a concealed pocket and launched himself over the edge after her, figuring that he could do some damage while she had them distracted.

She landed with an earthshaking thump, striking out immediately at the nearest invader, ripping the gun from his hands as her new ally landed behind her, lashing out with his knife to hamstring another soldier.

The smooth-skinned male, carrying himself like a four-star general, smiled at them, but his face grew serious once more as he redoubled his efforts to drive out the intruders.

The towering female punted the thug toward the other bestial female, who laid him out with an oversized pipe wrench. Since all the smaller man had for a weapon was his knife, she hurled the confiscated rifle toward him, shouting, "Catch!"

He grabbed the rifle out of the air and swung wildly at the gut of the nearest soldier. The grunt doubled over, and he brought it down over his head in a powerful swing. Flipping it around, Shang took aim at another soldier, smiling as he sighted down the barrel, and pulled the trigger.

Surprisingly, his weapon emitted a reddish beam instead of the expected bullets, scorching the grunt's armor and flesh. Screaming, the soldier dropped to the floor and writhed as though hit with a lightning bolt.

Grinning, he turned to his next target, but his aim was spoiled as the apparent leader performed a flying tackle, knocking her against the wall and crushing the air from her lungs.

Shang took his finger off the trigger, looking for more targets, and saw one of the three remaining hostiles run towards the exit. Snapping off another shot, he struck the soldier in the leg, but the soldier kept running, bolstered by fear or some sort of pharmaceutical enhancement.

The towering female, who had seemed friendly enough earlier, held out a hand to warm him off and began chasing after the fleeing soldier. To his surprise, her eyes began to glow with an eerie red light as she dashed off, running on all fours. The diminutive man shuddered and lowered his rifle.

One of the two remaining soldiers shouted, "DON'T KILL ME," and threw his rifle to the ground. Before he could take cover, the other soldier adjusted her weapon, firing directly at him. The silvery beam tore a hole through his chest, killing him instantly.

The werewolf-like beast shouted incomprehensibly and charged toward the murderous thug, his sword drawn, and drove it through the soldier's gut, the canid's face showing no mercy or regret as she dropped to the floor with a gurgling gasp.

Since the area was apparently clear, Shang sat down and started examining the rifle. He saw a power indicator along the top, nearly empty, with only two graduated sections still lit. He also found the usual slew of controls: safety, trigger, ejector switch, and so on.

But where he would expect to find the selector switch, he only found a knob. Its two settings were labeled, in fine print, "Electrical" and "Kinetic", and he assumed Kinetic was that silvery beam he'd just witnessed.

He began to break it down, wanting to find out what made it tick, when he heard the sounds of muffled struggling, as the massive female carried her quarry in with a headlock.

He heard the sound of steel scraping against steel as the wolf-like beast sheathed his sword, and Shang noticed footsteps as the brown-skinned female stalked toward him, noticing him for the first time, raising her wrench in the air.

The larger female saw that her new friend was in danger, and shouted, "No! He's with me!"

The small man worked with tremendous focus, ignoring the threat against his life. The lean male spoke up and asked, "Who is he? Is he with the soldiers?"

Sighing, Shang replied as he continued to work on disassembling the rifle, "No. They were chasing me."

He thought he finally had the inner works figured out. From the labeling on the circuitry, it seemed to be a lightweight particle accelerator, with an electrical discharge system mounted on the front, like a taser on steroids. The power pack was a mystery, though. He couldn't fathom how a simple battery could possibly power such a device.

The outsized female handed her prisoner over to the canid male for 'handling', then turned to the apparent leader. "It's okay, Branson. I found him hiding out on the roof. He seems okay, and he did try to help us in the fight."

Shang nodded, reassembled the rifle, and began looking around for more weapons. He had noticed a high-pitched tone while he had worked, and assumed it was the alarm, but he began to notice was another tone that sounded off. It was modulated, rather than constant, and didn't sound like an alarm.

He shook his head, trying to track the second tone as he gathered up the other rifles. He asked, "What is that second tone? Not the alarm, the other one."

The one that his 'friend' referred to as Branson looked around, puzzled. "What do you mean? I just hear the alarm."

Neither of the women seemed to hear anything, either, but the canid looked around, agreeing. "Yeh... that's not one of mine, what is that?"

Shang tracked the sound outside the house, and discovered a small box attached to the electrical hookups. He realized as he got closer that the tone's modulation sounded very much like an old-fashioned modem, just higher pitched. The immense woman followed him like a hellish shadow, watching him closely.

The box's case was made of thermally sealed plastic. The only exposed metal was the connector. His heart skipped a beat as he noticed a faint pattern embossed into the case... the seal of the Department of Homeland Security!

Shang exclaimed, "By Luna... those scrags were DHS! What the hell do they want with me?"

His 'shadow' didn't recognize the device, either, but admitted that she wasn't very familiar with security tech. She shouted for 'Trent' to come out, adding that this was his specialty.

The canid walked out, asking what all the hubbub was about. Crouching next to the newcomer, Trent watched as he disconnected the device and began cutting open its case with his knife.

Trent muttered to himself as he examined the slivers of plastic. "That's not right... I don't think this has to do with your mates, lad. It looks too old, too weathered."

Shang shook his head as he continued disassembling the box. "I know, but what would DHS want with you?"

The newly revealed electronics were quite sophisticated, far beyond the simple modem he'd guessed it to be. He recognized the antenna module, though, having used that model himself. It had a range and power that was excessive for residential use, and transmitted on a section of rarely-used frequencies.

He growled, much less impressively than his shadow, but it still served to vent his frustration. "Hrmm... what have we here? I need my gear, too bad I was chased out of my frackin' hotel. I had to leave everything behind when those goons started chasing me."

His oversized watcher pondered why the DHS would have been spying on them... not to mention what they would do when they found out that the spybox had been disabled. Her mood brightened when she heard of his plight. "Hey, I've got some tools could use, uhh..."

She gestured toward the man, realizing that he hadn't given her his name.

He replied simply, "Shang Hua. Late of Hong Kong."

Trent grinned at him, saying, "Ahh, Hong Kong. Lovely town, yeah? Run afoul of the Triads, did yeh?"

Shang shook his head and said, "No, I just needed to run down some Kin on this side of the puddle."

The woman smiled, pleased that he had family over here. She held out her hand, saying, "I'm Jamie, late of... well, that's a long story. Pleasure's all mine."

Shang tensed as his 'spirit sense' began to go haywire, and he realized that something was tearing its way out of the Umbra.

His brought his knife up before him in a guard before realizing that it was nothing more threatening than a Medicine Bear spirit.

Relaxing, he sheathed his knife and began to carry the box inside, and overheard Jamie asking the spirit to search around for any other invaders. The spirit admonished her that would not fight for her, but agreed to look around.

The other woman had been dragging the bodies toward the door, their weight barely slowing her down when Shang entered. He noticed with relief that her war-wrench was safely secured on her back, well away from his fragile skull. He sat down and began to examine the box under the better light of the foyer.

She glanced at the rifles he carried, an avaricious light in her eyes. "Nice moves back there. Figured out whatcha got there, kid?"

He continued looking over the electronics as he replied, "Thanks. It's something you pick up when you have to deal with well... never mind. This looks like some sort of data transmitter, and these look like some form of particle weapon with the taser from hell attached."

She guessed that his lack of reaction to her unhuman form was an adrenaline reaction, and decided to pump him for information before he passed out. She nodded and said, "Good eye. I didn't think this was a hit squad, not with weapons like that... and kid, I don't think they were gunning for you. Not with those 'tasers from hell', anyway."

Shang growled, getting tired of being called kid really quickly, "Um, yeah, they were gunning for me. They chased me out of my hotel and halfway across the city to here."

Her eyes widened as she replied. "Neat. Well, I wonder what you did to get on their bad side. If these guys are who I think they are, they don't generally go to that kind of effort for humans."

Rolling his eyes, he replied, "That's because I'm not human."

She snorted, and his voice became grave. "Well, I'm not. I am Hengeyokai."

He drew himself up to his full five foot three inch height and declared. "I am Kitsune."

A resonant voice sounded as its owner entered the foyer. "He speaks truth, Elayne. I am certain that he is not human. Why lie about his nature if he admits that??"

Elayne narrowed her eyes, sighed and said, "Fine, whatever. Forget I said anything. Are there any more of those goons out there?"

The medicine bear shook his head, and she looked at the electronics Shang was examining. "So, what's in the box?"

He tossed the guts of the spybox toward her and said, "Look for yourself. It looks like a burst transmitter to me."

She caught it, lowered a pair of enhancement goggles over her eyes, and began turning the circuit board in her claws. "I'd put money on that. This from your buddies? Seems like a wicked bit of kit."

Meanwhile, Jessica had quietly 'palmed' one of the rifles and was looking it over carefully. "Huhn. This isn't Xanatos' tech, I thought he was the only one with toys like this."

Shang shook his head and replied to the slim woman, "I don't know. I can't think of a reason why Homeland Security would want me."

Elayne gasped, nearly dropping the circuit board. "You think these guys were Homeland? Ah shit, shit, shit."

Seeing the look of surprise on Shang's face, she explained, "You think we've got SoSecs or birth certificates? Homeland gets mad at us, we can just disappear."

He nodded, conceding the point. He noted that Jamie looked started, as if she hadn't made that connection herself, and filed that observation away for future use.

Elayne tossed the board back toward Shang and turned to Jamie. "C'mon, girl. We gotta get these boys outta here, stat."

Catching the board, he stashed it in a pocket, then moved over toward one of the bodies, asking, "I take it you guys aren't active during the day?"

Elayne grinned at him as she grabbed one of the trooper's boots, an expression that looked distinctly odd with the upper part of her face still obscured by her goggles. "Would you be, if you didn't have to? Night time's paaah-ty time, man!"

He rolled his eyes as he helped them carry the bodies to a nearby park. The Beverly Boys patrolled it during the day, and they had an agreement with the gargoyles. They'd plant hallucinogens on the sleeping grunts, maybe dose them up for good measure, and give them a good working over, making their stories much harder to believe, in exchange for free run of the park during the day. It was an ugly bargain, but necessity made for strange bedfellows.

Shang said that he'd keep a watch out for them during the day, if they'd put him up for a little while. Elayne started to shake her head, but was stilled by a glare from Jamie. "He fought for us, Elayne. It's the least we can do."

He looked over toward Elayne, his expression dour. "I can leave, if you want me to."

Elayne shrugged and said, "We'll go by consensus. Jamie has a point, after all."

When they returned to the Castle, Branson was sitting on a chair in the foyer, stripping the power packs from the rifles. "Good news, folks. These boys weren't Homeland after all, but our good friends at... "

He growled deep within his throat, and tore the mag from the rifle as anger flashed across his face. "...Gen-U-Tech, if we can believe Mr. Gregson, our new best friend."

Shang spoke softly, "I see..."

Branson looked harshly at him, staring directly into the man's eyes. "Something you ought to be tellin' us? Like why G-U-T wanted you, dead or alive?"

Shang shook his head, replying, "Not a clue. Unless they wanted to round up some shapeshifters..." He turned toward the exit and said, "I shouldn't have come here."

Jamie stood in his path, blocking it quite effectively, but she appeared sad, rather than angry with him. She looked over his head at Branson, frowning, "Branson, cut it out. Can't you see what kind of night this guy's had? You run a shelter, damnit! Don't be so harsh on him!"

She knelt down and smiled at Shang, saying, "Look, I don't know what everyone's problem is tonight, but you can stay in my room, if you'd like."

Branson began to argue, but she growled at him, her eyes flashing red for a moment. "Look, I know he's not one of us, but the least you can do is show a little compassion!"

Shang began to slide around Jamie's side, intoning, "I will not cause strife among you. If one doesn't want me, I won't stay. It's bad for the chi."

Jamie looked past him, staring directly into Branson's eyes, and Shang could sense the power struggle occurring between them, like wolves in a pack. "You took a human in once, I know that. Your best friend is one. I won't have you turn away someone in need, regardless of who or what he is."

Shang noticed Elayne very carefully staying out of the line-of-sight, not wanting any part of the power struggle.

Shaking his head, Branson capitulated. "Fine. You're right, I guess. Look, uhh... Hau was it? Mr. Hau, you're free to stay as long as Jamie will vouch for you. I guess I kinda forgot myself. Accept my apologies, please."

Shang bowed to Branson in the Oriental style, then looked around, not sure what to do.

Jamie placed an extremely heavy hand on his shoulder, and asked if he still wanted to check out that transmitter. He nodded, and she said, "Follow me. I'm not sure if my tools will be what you're used to, but I hope they'll help."

----Chapter II----

Givens Castle

10244 S. Longwood Dr.

6:22 P.M.

Shang struggled with the tools a little, since they were designed for larger hands, but finally managed to hook up the spybox's memory. It contained the last few seconds of the fight in the foyer. Everything else was purged, apparently by the transmission process, or because of being disconnected.

Jamie frowned as she watched him work. "I'm betting the chances of Homeland Security going after Gen-U-Tech for breaking and entering are pretty slim, right?"

Shang agreed, his voice grim. "I wouldn't put money against that."

With a sigh, she leaned against the windowsill, looking out at the city lights. "Well, there's probably nothing to be done about it. Do you think there's any more of those boxes hooked up?"

Thoughtfully, he replied, "I don't know. I only found this one because it was transmitting."

She turned to look at him, appraisingly. "How'd you figure that out, anyway?"

He manipulated the board, trying to tease more data out of it, and told her, "I could hear it transmitting. My range of hearing goes above that of a normal human's."

She nodded, considering his words. "Hmm, I guess that would make sense. You said you were a... what was it, yokie? Something like that."

He corrected her, "Hengeyokai. A kitsune, to be more specific."

She smiled at him, nodding. "Sounds Eastern. Isn't that some kind of trickster spirit, like a fox?"

She began to look off into space, and Shang sensed Kee's presence filter into the room, but the spirit didn't manifest this time. Waiting until her attention was back on him, he replied, "Well, that depends on what human myths you are listening to. I'm not a spirit, though. I am more like your western Werewolves than I am to, say, Kee."

She nodded, gazing at him intently. "That would explain why he was so confused about you. But you're not one of those Mutates, right?"

He shook his head, replying quickly. "No, I was born this way."

She chuckled, looking wistful. "Lucky you. I'm still getting used to being a Gargoyle."

Turning back to the circuit board, he replied, "Now that sounds like a long story."

She nodded, then gave him a brief, version of her story, emphasizing who she once was. "I guess that's why I stood up to Branson for you; you can't be any more of a threat than I am."

He thanked her, rubbing at his eyes as he did so. She noted the gesture, something that the others might not have. "You look like you could use some rest. My offer of the futon still stands."

Shang shook his head, determination cutting through his fatigue. "Not yet. I need to recover my stuff from the hotel, first."

She nodded understandingly, but concern showed on her face. "Do you need a hand? I'm still new to this, especially.... heh, flight. But I'll do my best, if you need me."

He stood and bowed to her, thanking her for the help. She asked him to give her a minute to prepare. She walked into the closet, and he heard the sound of a cabinet opening and closing a moment later.

He took a moment to relax himself, tapping into his innate Rage, calling forth his unhuman nature. His body began to change, shrinking and shifting into the shape of a small fox, the glint of intelligence showing in his eyes, distinctly unlike a mundane fox.

She came out of the closet, a unique-looking sword hanging at her hip, and looked around for Shang. She grinned widely when she saw the fox sitting on the ground, watching her. "Nice trick!"

The fox cleaned his whiskers proudly, giving her the foxy equivalent of a smile.

Jamie looked at him impishly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Think you can hang on tight enough, or should I go get my purse?"

To her surprise, the fox spoke, asking her to get a bag, the voice unmistakably Shang's, though it sounded different, higher pitched.

She went back into the closet and grabbed a large leather pouch, then set it down on the floor carefully, motioning to him to enter. It was no mere purse, either, and the elaborate beadwork on its front suggested a ritualistic nature. Regardless, it seemed sturdy enough to hold his much reduced weight, and he climbed into it.

Before leaving the room, she activated the intercom to tell Branson where they were going, and he wished them the best of luck.

Ascending to the rooftop, she told Shang, "If I tell you to jump, do it. I'm still... a little new at this, and I don't want to hurt you."

He braced himself, ready to jump, but said reassuringly, "I trust you."

She slipped the pouch's strap around her thick neck, holding it tightly with one hand, trying to steady it. Leaping into the air, she beat her wings with thunderous force at the apex, much more smoothly than her last attempt.

After gaining enough altitude, she locked into a holding pattern and asked, "So, where are you staying, anyway?"

He poked his head out of the bag, eyes going wide as he saw how high up they were. "The Hilton, East Monroe and South Slate. It's on the east side."

She nodded at him, then said, "Gotcha. Hang on tight!"

She leaned into a steep dive, picking speed at a frightening rate as she glided to the east. She watched in wonder as she flew over the city, seeing it in a way that she never had before.

Her breath caught in her throat as she closed on the hotel, her sharp vision picking up several thugs in the alleys around the hotel. She growled, and heard Shang ask what the problem was.

She pointed toward the goons out of habit, but then said, "I think we've got trouble, Shang. I'm seeing five more of those guys in the alleyway... if I can get you close to it, can you climb in through the window? I bet there's more inside."

He told her, "I could. I'm on the third floor, fourth from the right. There's a balcony."

Concentration evident in her expression, she came in swiftly, relying on the owl-like silence of her wings and her dark coloring to keep her unnoticed. She landed on the balcony with quiet footfalls, setting the pouch down quickly.

As the fox climbed out, Jamie noticed a problem with their plan. "Shang... I just had a thought. How are you going to carry your gear as a fox?"

The fox suddenly changed, expanding out to his human form quickly, and held a finger to his mouth. He drew the knife, holding it close to his chest, and pulled the door open a crack, sliding into it bonelessly.

The room seemed untouched at first glance, but he realized that it had been searched. They didn't ransack it, taking great pains to make it appear untouched, but Shang had a very specific way of organizing his gear, and they couldn't replicate it.

He looked around, noting several items that were missing, and quickly gathered up his remaining supplies, leaving his clothes and other mundane things behind, and carried them out in his arms. He carefully stashed them in Jamie's pouch, as she watched curiously, then looked up to her, saying. "It's only a few more hours 'till sunrise. Take these things back and I'll be there tomorrow night when you wake up."

She nodded, looking solemn, and clasped his shoulder. "Be careful, Shang. I don't think these goons are messing around."

Turning away, she gripped the wrought-iron railing and leapt off, but the metal tore in her grasp. Shouts emanated from the alleyway, followed a split-second later by a high-pitched whine, similar to the particle rifles.

Shang crept into the shadows as she fled, listening for a scream or a thud that never came, then cautiously worked his way out of his old room, slinking into the shadows for safety.

---

Givens Castle

November 8th, 2027

11:47 A.M.

Shang mused that this wasn't the first time he'd hiked across an entire city, though he wouldn't have minded if it was his last. He entered the Castle cautiously and watched for any more of the troopers, trying not to walk into a trap.

Returning to the roof, he decided to take a nap in the warm, noontime sun. He was pleased to see that Jamie was among the statues on the roof's edge, though she wasn't carrying the pouch.

After napping for a few hours, he awakened much refreshed, and headed for her room. He saw a soft cover laid out on top of the futon, the pouch placed on its exact center, with a small note placed on top. It said simply, "Make yourself at home, Shang."

He raided the pouch, tucking the gear into his pockets, then turned to the desk-turned-workbench. The spybox was still laid out on the desk, but a page of hastily written notes lay next to it, containing Jamie's guesses on how the various components functioned.

He puttered around with the spybox, continuing his research on it. The fact that it used unregulated, raw radio signals, rather than the Network-mediated signals that most wireless devices used was quite interesting.

He tried to tease any remaining data out of its memory banks, but all he could find were a few more snippets of the fight. Oddly, it seemed to have leeched its signal from the house's own security system. After enhancing the signal and watching it several times, he noticed that his face was captured quite clearly in several frames of the video.

He said to himself, softly, "I hope this didn't get sent out..." But, he figured that with as much work as it had taken to reconstruct those frames, it was likely they'd been wiped by the box's own software after transmission.

He glanced at his watch, and smiled as he realized he had lost track of time, figuring out how the device worked, and dusk was rapidly approaching. He headed for the roof, wanting to tell his new allies what he had discovered as soon as possible.

This time, Branson and Jamie were the first ones to awaken. Branson scanned the rooftop pointedly, intending not to miss someone hiding on his own roof again tonight. This time, Shang was standing in the open, waiting for him.

Branson nodded to him, saying, "Good to see you made it back in one piece. Did you run into any trouble on the way back?"

Shang shrugged, grinning at the taller male. "No trouble I couldn't lose."

Branson grinned back at him, which looked distinctly odd on his beaked face, and said, "Good man."

Jamie stretched and yawned, not looking fully awake yet, but her demeanor brightened as she saw Shang standing there. "Shang! I'm glad you made it back!"

She strode forward and picked up Shang in a hug, holding him tightly, as Elayne and Trent broke out of their stony shells. They greeted him cheerfully, their initial hostility seeming to have faded since the previous night.

After she let go of him, Shang bowed in greeting to the others, then told them, "I've laid some wards around the entrances and I've been keeping an eye on the surveillance system."

Trent clasped the smaller man on the shoulder, saying, "We might have to keep you on for the graveyard shift!"

Jamie, however, looked puzzled. "You know how to work with our wards?"

Shang shook his head, replying, "Not your wards, they are westerner wards. But I laid a few of my own."

As the two began to talk about magic, the other gargoyles headed downstairs, not overly concerned about the specifics.

She looked disappointed, but thanked him anyway as she pulled out a lawn chair for him. "Were you able to get anything else from the spybox?"

He revealed what he had found, emphasizing the fact that all of their faces were on the video.

Jamie frowned at this news, and spoke solemnly. "I need to talk with Branson for a little bit... Have you eaten yet? I'll show you to the family room if you want. You may need your strength."

He shook his head, saying that he hadn't gotten to eat since yesterday.

She frowned in sympathy and told him, "Well, we don't have much, but you should be able to find enough."

Looking down, she sighed heavily, her voice betraying a profound sadness. "Look, uhh... I should probably ask you this before I bring it up to Branson. G-U-T's probably going to keep after you unless we can demonstrate that you're too unprofitable, right?"

Agreeing with her assessment, he nodded. "Probably. Though I can't put up quite a fight that a garou could in his war form, which is probably why they are settling on a nine tails."

She clasped him on the shoulder, smiling grimly at him. "But four gargoyles and a kitsune could probably put up enough of a fight, right? I say we should hit them hard, while they've still got their men at the hotel, and see if we can change their mind for them. And besides, we need to see if they have anything to do with that spybox."

Lost in their thoughts, they headed to the second story, Jamie leading Shang to the family room in near silence. It wasn't what he'd expected, he had figured on something more... domestic, but on reflection, he guessed they probably wouldn't spend much time on the couch watching TV, after all.

A stage dominated the back wall, and a large dining room table was laid out in front of it. A kitchenette was nestled along the left wall, and the right corner held a surprise. Several machines that looked like old-style arcade games loomed in the corner, but the Shang hadn't seen anything like them in ages.

Branson sat on the stage, his eyes closed, his legs folded up against his chest. Shang had found it hard to read the males' expressions, but he guessed that Branson was recalling a distressing memory. The other two gargoyles were elsewhere, but that suited Jamie. She strode over to the stage and knelt on the floor in front of him.

Shang stalked into the kitchenette, grabbing a bag of chips for quick energy. He also tucked away few candy bars, then went to examine the games, not wanting to disturb the gargoyles. He heard them speaking softly, and he couldn't make out their words... but Branson's tone of voice was rapidly becoming more agitated. Jamie remained confident, not backing down to him.

Shang checked out the cabinets, realizing that the art didn't match their contents. He saw a Marvel vs. Capcom cabinet, an Area 51 box, even an old TRON machine, but they all seemed to have the same custom loader program. He grinned as he scanned through the list, recognizing many of the games. Whoever loaded these had good taste, even if they were mostly pre-Millennial.

The door open behind him, and he heard two pairs of footfalls. They split up, with Trent heading over to the stage to see what the debate was about.

Elayne padded softly to the corner, moving silently to any ears except Shang's, and offered up a challenge to him. "Think you can match up against my skills, kid? Let's see what you got!"

Shang shrugged, figuring that it wouldn't hurt anything. She offered him the choice of 'battlefield', since she issued the challenge. He picked a familiar title, wanting to seize any advantage that he could. He still couldn't make out much of the conversation going on behind him, but was beginning to piece it together. Branson seemed leery of the idea of a counterstrike, but Trent argued in Jamie's favor, eager to strike against the company.

Rather than interrupt their planning, Shang stayed out of it, going up against Elayne. She appeared distracted, her face set in determination, but she still put up a tough fight. She seemed surprised by the speed of Shang's reactions, though he had to admit that she was damn fast herself, and utterly ruthless.

He kept glancing back during loading screens, and noticed that the others had set up a projector on the table, drawing up plans for the strike. Branson still seemed reserved, but offered every piece of advice that he could provide.

Shang turned back, almost losing the initiative, but lashed out against her in a flurry of blows, driving her onto the defensive. Before he could strike a killing blow against her, Trent shouted out to them, "Hey, Shang! Mind if we pick your brain for a mo'?

He looked at Elayne and she nodded, conceding the victory to him, grudgingly admitting that he 'wasn't bad'.

Shang turned to them, grinning at Elayne as he did, and walked over to the table, asking, "Sure, Trent, what can I help you with?

Branson motioned towards the table, and Shang examined the floor plan projected onto its surface in green laser-light. Trent nodded to Shang, saying, "So, you're coming with, right? Strike back against your oppressors and all that?"

Shang frowned, worry evident on his face. "As long as you do more of the striking back."

Trent grinned savagely at him, "Not to worry. What I'm more concerned about is... yeh any good at breaking and enterin'?"

Shang crossed his arms over his chest, his expression determined. "You try and keep a door locked against a determined nine tails and I'll show you a solid wall."

Trent laughed, appreciating the kitsune's show of defiance, and Jamie smiled at him, nodding knowingly. She explained, "I told Branson and Trent that you didn't like to fight more than you had to... so we thought that we could cover you while you handled the technical bits?"

Branson nodded, pointing out several segments of the laser display. "I'm hoping to make this a quick smash'n'grab. We get in, find the security room, search for the spybox data, and raise enough of a fuss that they won't be interested in coming after us again."

He looked up into Shang's eyes, determination showing on his face. "That's where you come in. I'd like you to get us through blast doors, and search the mainframe for our data, while we handle the majority of the firefighting. That sound okay to you?"

Shang held his hands out imploringly. "Okay, but they took all my gear. So, unless you guys have what I need, it'll be hard for me to open doors for you."

Elayne chuckled, standing behind him and looking over his head. "Between Jamie and me, I think we can get enough gear together for you."

Jamie looked over to Elayne, looking thoughtful. "Hey, didn't that shipment from Alex have a few logic spikes? Might be handy on the way out."

Elayne nodded, ruffling Shang's hair. "C'mon, 'nine-tail'. Why don't I show you what we've got?"

She opened the door to her workshop, gesturing expansively at the half-unloaded crates and gear scattered around the floor and workbenches. "New shipment just came in. Why don't you look around, see if you find something your size?"

Shang riffled through the gear, pulling a couple of handguns out, as well as enough ammo to last him a good, long time. He took a tightly folded bag from one of his pockets, shook it out into a compact backpack, and began filling it with all manner of electronics gear.

He also noticed a suit of finely made armor of a make he wasn't familiar with, and shrugged it on over his clothes, its metallic grey plates flexing with his movements.

Meanwhile, Elayne collected her own gear, grabbing a suit of gel-plate armor, a few grenades, an ammo vest, and a rather wicked looking shotgun.

She turned just in time to see him sling the heavy backpack onto his shoulders.

Frowning, she asked him, "You gonna be able to keep up with us, 'soldier'?"

He grinned at her, saying, "Yeah... I'll be fine. Nice wrench you got."

She narrowed her eyes as she responed. "Thanks, kid. I made it myself, outta cold iron. It never hurts to be prepared."

She slung an empty bag around her neck, commenting, "Just in case I see anything I can't bear to leave behind."

By the time they returned to the family room, the plan was nearly completed. Trent, in particular, was enthusiastic about the plan, eager for a chance to repay them for what they did to Malcolm.

Branson looked up when he heard the door open, saw the amount of gear Shang and Elayne carried, and whistled, laughing. "Nothing left downstairs, eh?"

Shang noticed that the two males were decked out in gel-plate armor as well. Trent was unarmed, barring for the finely honed broadsword he carried on his back. A pair of massive pistols rested on Branson's hips.

Jamie, on the other hand, carried her Keris sword and a cut-down particle weapon, but was unarmored. Shang didn't ask about it, figuring it was just a matter of size.

Branson explained the plan, and the only thing Shang objected to was Trent's idea. He suggested they make sure that the security system caught all of their faces, ensuring that it was absolutely clear who had attacked. Trent explained that he wanted them to think that the Kitsune was under the Clan's protection, and not worth the effort of pursuing.

----Chapter III----

913 Taylor Rd, Romeoville

7:42 P.M.

A chill wind blew across the Windy City, an ominous omen as four shadowy shapes flew to the west side, making a straight course toward the Gen-U-Tech building. It was surprisingly squat, an ugly edifice of concrete and mirrorglass. A large parking lot surrounded it, suggesting that more may lie underground, burrowing through the earth like the tracks of a worm.

A security booth stood sentinel over the only entrance, its guard failing to notice the invasion by air. They landed on the unguarded rooftop, seizing it as a staging area.

Jamie landed last, keeping the precious pouch behind her body or one of the other gargoyles as much as possible, scanning the vicinity with a paranoid gaze.

Shang transformed back into his human form, taking the pack from Jamie, making sure that his gear was easily accessible. Jamie shook her head as she watched him, asking, "That is simply amazing to watch. Does it hurt? Looks like it should."

Shang shook his head, chambering rounds in his pistols, saying, "You get used to it."

Branson turned and quietly hissed at them to cut the chatter, pointing at the door. "Trent, you do the honors."

Jamie stood behind Shang like a tank made of flesh and blood, her carbine aimed over his head. Branson and Elayne crouched down, making themselves smaller targets, and aimed at the door with their firearms. Trent drew his sword, holding it in front of him, and ran directly into the door. Breaking it down with a blow from his shoulder, he dove onto it in a roll as the force carried it down the stairs.

Shang got the feeling that this wasn't the first time they'd done this. "Do this much?"

Jamie shrugged and whispered to him, "It's my first time. I think they have, though."

Trent waved his hand, signaling an 'all clear'. The hallway was devoid of inhabitants, making them uneasy. Shang muttered, "I've got a bad feeling about this..."

Trent took his position as point man with ease, and spotted a security camera. After making sure that it got a clean shot of them, Elayne crushed it into scrap with her wrench. She commented, "It's probably safe to say they know we're here now. Stay low!"

Trent kicked down the next door, revealing another deserted corridor. A tempered glass window, revealing a research laboratory with an airlock set into the wall next to it, dominated the hall. Clean room signs were plastered all over the airlock, indicating that it contained some sort of mandatory decontamination shower.

Trent raised his sword and moved to the airlock door, but Branson waved him off, saying, "Not yet. Let's get to the security room, first."

Several more doors met untimely deaths as they progressed through the building. There didn't even seem to be a night guard on the floor, and Shang knew that was not standard procedure.

Jamie placed a hand on his shoulder, asking quietly, "Do you feel anything out of place? Kee's starting to get antsy."

He looked at her, a worried expression on his face. "Antsy? I really don't like this."

Trent rolled past a T intersection, near the security room, and heard a whine like an electric motor spinning up. Branson poked his head around the corner, only to jerk back as he shouted, "CANNON!"

A hail of bullets whizzed past his head, but he took cover behind the wall. The auto-cannon made a repetitive beeping noise, as if to mock them.

Branson looked back toward Shang, his expression wild-eyed. "Got anything to jam it? Otherwise, we'll have to blow it down, and I don't want to do that yet."

Shang shook his head. "Not from here. I need access to a computer."

Branson looked at Jamie and motioned back toward the hallway. "Get going, you two! We'll hold here."

Jamie and Shang dashed back toward the laboratory, remembering the terminals there. Shang guessed that he could work with the system. Jamie knelt slightly as she walked, keeping as much of her body in front of him as she could while they crept back down the hallway.

The hallway still seemed deserted, and they managed to get through the airlock without triggering the decon spray. Jamie frowned as she surveyed the room. "You're going to be awfully exposed back there, so you'll have to trust me, okay?"

Allowing Shang to make himself comfortable at the terminal, she covered the window with her carbine, tearing a heavy workbench off the floor with her other hand, and placed it behind him as a makeshift barricade.

She looked at it and nodded, grimly. Standing next to Shang, she planted one talon on the workbench, holding her weapons ready, holding the sword in front of him as a guard, she aimed her carbine at the door.

Shang lost himself in the terminal's inner workings, wrestling with it as it protested his invasion. Its OS was based off an archaic language, but he was familiar enough with its parameters to make some headway.

Footsteps echoed down the hallway, and Jamie tensed, poised to leap into action to give Shang the time he needed. The point man glanced around the corner, saw Jamie standing guard, and drew back.

Jamie hoped that they had given up, but her attention was drawn to a metallic clattering from the hallway. Her eyes widened as she realized it was a grenade, and she shouted, "GET DOWN!"

Not surprisingly, the troopers were unwilling to use fragmentation weapons in their own building. Recognizing it as a flashbang, Jamie braced herself for the intense shock just as it detonated in a tsunami of pure light and sound.

Shang turned to look at Jamie, spots dancing in his eyes from the reflected light pulse. She reeled from the concussive wave, her eyes screwed shut. He shouted, asking if she was all right, but realized she probably couldn't hear him, since he could barely hear himself.

With a hoarse roar, she hurled herself over the bench, relying on memory to guide her. Shang's hearing began to recover, just in time to hear the sharp tinkling of shattered glass as she hurled herself through the window.

Swearing under his breath, Shang hunched down behind the overturned workbench, reducing his profile as much possible while continuing to work on the system.

He heard a male shout, probably from one of the grunts, a rhythmic, high pitched drone that irritated his sensitive ears, and the sounds of metal striking metal. It sounded like she was holding her own against the entire hostile unit.

She shouted at Shang, her voice roughened by exertion, "You'd better be doing your thing!"

A pair of assault rifle bursts split the air, obviously hostile fire, but he tried to filter out the harsh sounds, concentrating solely on breaking through the system's security. It wasn't overly well engineered, and relied more on archaic principles than actual security to keep invaders out.

He heard a deep-throated gasp, followed by a deafening roar from the hallway, and jumped when several bullets whizzed past his head. They weren't very well aimed, but he still wasn't comfortable with how close they came.

He continued to work on the system, trusting Jamie to keep his skin intact. A human scream sounded after one of her carbine shots, and he heard Jamie bellow, "That's right! Who else wants a piece of me?"

Sighing with relief, he managed to break into a user account on the system. He examined the program list, and realized that he had little use for any of it. Gritting his teeth, he began to carve his way into an account with admin access.

More bullets tore into the thick wood of the workbench, ricocheting off its metal skeleton. Jamie shouted incoherently at the soldier who fired the burst, and Shang heard a resounding crack echo through the hallway, followed after a moment by an odd squeaking sound.

He muttered, "Not good..." to himself, but continued working as the battle raged outside. Decrypting some of the notes on the system, he realized that someone from "Group-6" had stored his login on the system, as a reminder. Grinning at the poor guy's stupidity, Shang entered the password, reindeer_flotilla, and found that Group-6 had clearance to manipulate the building's security system!

He heard the sound of breaking glass from the hallway, followed by a scream and a soft thud.

Shang hit his mic, and told Branson that he was in. Branson replied, sounding pleased with the kitsune, "Good work! Now, how about getting that cannon shut down?"

Grumbling a little, Shang began accessing the physical security system, but was distracted when Jamie landed from leaping over the desk. She was breathing heavily, sweat pouring down her face. Shang blanched as he saw that her shirt was torn, along the waist, her crimson lifeblood seeping into it.

He quickly entered a final command into the system and turned to her, checking over the wound. It wasn't very deep, and he realized that it looked worse than it was. It appeared that the blow had carved through some of her dense muscle, but not into any vital organs. He began to clean the wound and bind it as she explained, "One of those fraggers knifed me, so I decided to give him flying lessons."

With this pronouncement, she grinned at him in a distinctly feral expression. He smiled back as he finished dressing the wound and turned back to the system.

She looked at the monitor, noting the security display. "Good job on the hack. I've got to ask, though... did you hear the fight, or did the flashbang deafen you too much?"

He shrugged as he typed and said, "I blocked it out."

She shook her head and commented, "You're something else, Shang. Walking legends don't faze you, you ignore it when people shoot at you... Well, I couldn't have done it under fire, anyway. Congratulations."

Worrying about the others, not having heard anything from them for several minutes, she stepped back out into the corridor, stripping the guards of their gear. It was either that or start pacing...

She made sure to grab the knife that she had just become personally acquainted with. Her face went pale as she heard another grenade go off, elsewhere in the building, and it didn't sound like a flashbang.

Meanwhile, Shang used the network to link his terminal to one of the security computers, when ran on a much newer and more accessible operating system. He used it to find the turret controls, locating them easily, and shut down all of the turrets, not just the one pinning down Branson's team.

While searching for the turret controls, he also found the program filtering the security feeds, and brought it up after disabling the guns. Just in time, as he saw another security team moving in to flank Branson's team. He warned them of the incoming enemies, and heard Trent's voice crackle back, dripping with sarcasm. "Ahh, just in time for tea, too."

Grinning, Shang replied, "Good hunting, gov'na!" and started looking for more security forces. A flicker of movement caught his eye, but before he could get a good look at it, Jamie dove back behind the barricade, her pack partially filled with stolen gear.

He waved to her as he tried to get a good look at the feed, struggling to make out what it showed. He realized that whatever he was seeing, it wasn't human. And, he soon realized it was more than one something. It was many somethings.

He muttered to himself, "Now, what do we have here..."

Jamie turned to look at the screen, wondering what had caught Shang's eye. Gasping, she saw the overhead lights glinting off their reflective bodies.

They looked at each other, and asked simultaneously, "What are those?"

Jamie grinned bravely at Shang, but he saw her widened eyes, and figured it out for the act that it was. "I'm thinking we should get back to the others. BRANSON! Movement in the basement!"

She turned to check the corridor for hostiles before moving out, and failed to see when the screen blanked. Shang narrowed his eyes as it filled with a solid wash of white, and the words, "A gift for you... a distraction for your enemies..." appeared in black on the display.

Before Shang could try to trace the message's origin, she braced herself against the terminal's desk, kicked the barricade aside, and pulled him to his feet. They retraced their steps, stepping carefully around the unconscious bodies of the second security team, past the deactivated turret, and found the others standing in the security room.

Trent fiddled with the computerized storage systems, and Branson and Elayne had broken into the armory, filling their satchels with armaments.

Growling in frustration, Trent slamming his fist on the console. "Fantastic! The spybox wasn't sending here, I've just searched the whole bloody system for it!"

With a resigned shrug, he spun the chair around. "Looks like I was right about the 'box, though. Too old for those goons to have planted."

Shang muttered under his breath as the others finished their tasks. "Craptastic."

Branson motioned for everyone to leave and pulled a grenade off his belt. "Okay, then. Let's trash this place and get out of here!"

Shang glanced at it, noticing that it wasn't a flashbang. He hustled out of the room, ironically taking cover behind the very turret he had just disabled. As he watched Branson plant the explosive, he began hearing an odd buzzing noise. Looking around irritably, he complained, "Okay, what now?"

Jamie looked around, as she began hearing the buzzing. It was at just the right pitch to be really irritating, and seemed to be growing louder. Realization dawned, and she called out, "We need to move... now. I think we're about to find out what was in the basement."

Jamie dashed past Shang, leaving enough room for him to fire off a shot if he needed. One of the doors quivered with a loud thump.

Elayne grabbed his arm, her shotgun aimed at the door, her eyes shining with an inner crimson light. "Move, kid! Time to get our asses outta here!"

He ignored her comment, slipped out of her grasp, and kept running, pulling out his handguns.

Trent took point, leading the retreat, scanning the halls for hostiles. Jamie stayed in front of Shang, watching him protectively. Trent, Branson, and Elayne faced forward, moving swiftly, as Jamie and Shang covered the rear.

The quivering door burst open. Shang saw a black, winged... thing emerge, with more pouring out behind it. He hurried his pace and muttered, "Fucking crap!"

Jamie aimed at the thing, and a silvery beam flashed toward it. It exploded into goo with a meaty splat.

She shouted, not taking her eyes off them, "What the hell are these things? Texas mosquitoes?!?"

She fired repeatedly, several of her shots missing, as they swarmed around the remains of the initial kill, stripping the boiled flesh in moments.

Shang started unloading on them with his .45s, hoping to slow them down long enough to escape.

He heard a shout from behind, towards Trent, and the canid swore loudly, then yelled, "We've got company!"

Shang growled, asking, "What now?"

Elayne tossed an unprimed grenade towards Shang, shouting at him to help Jamie. He grabbed it with one hand, stowing the pistols for a moment, pulled the pin, and hurled it toward the door the insectoid beasts continued to pour out from.

Jamie struggled to hold them back, finding out that a beam weapon wasn't so good against a swarm of enemies, and began slashing at them with her blade. Seeing the grenade fly past her, she made an instinctive reaction. Performing a graceful backflip, tearing a hole in the acoustic tiles of the ceiling with her talons, she hurled herself out of the blast radius.

Shots rang out behind the two of them, and a third squad of goons had just arrived, as sirens began wailing outside the building.

Branson grimly fired back at the guards, realizing how bad of a situation he had gotten his allies into. He hated to use deadly force against any humans, even ones shooting at him, but there simply wasn't the time to try to knock them out.

Shang holstered his pistols once again and pulled a sheet of specially prepared paper out. He began carefully folding it as he said, "We need to get the fuck out of here."

Elayne spotted a locker room, and motioned the team towards it. "In here, I've got an idea. JAMIE, SHANG, GET BACK HERE!"

Jamie loosened her grip on the carbine, letting it rest on its sling, and began wielding her sword with both hands, swinging it back and forth like a scythe to hold the insects back as she retreated towards the rest of the group.

Her face turned ashen as her spirit link filled with static, and she screamed out Kee's name. She felt stunned and drained when he failed to respond to her cry, and it took all of her will to continue moving with the group. A tear rolled down her face as she covered the retreat, channeling her frustration and sadness into devastating blows against the bugs.

The group moved into the locker room, Shang still sculpting the paper, but the room appeared to be a dead end. She motioned towards the wall and said, "All yours, Trent."

He braced the sword against his hip and charged at the wall, driving the blade deeply into the concrete like a drill. He pulled it out, then started tearing at the hole, ripping chunks out with his bare hands.

Shang put the final touches on his origami tiger, spoke a few quiet words over it, and set it down on the floor. To everyone's surprise, it changed, appearing to become a real Bengal tiger.

Jamie grinned at him as she watched the transformation, wondering what other secrets the kitsune held, and moved out of the way to let the tiger run through the doorway, closing the door behind it and bracing her quarter-ton of muscle against it.

By this time, Trent had torn a hole roughly three feet across in the wall, and continued to try widening it. Shang asked if he needed any help. Trent groaned, the skin of his hands torn almost as badly as the wall. "Feel free, yeah!"

Shang nodded, shifting into another form, which looked like a four-tailed fox, but the size of a large wolf. The pack slid off his rearranging shoulders, and Elayne grabbed it, averting her eyes from the transformation.

He tore at the wall, cutting deep grooves into it with his claws. He could no longer hear the buzzing of the demonic insects, but he sensed a faint acrid smell.

With his aid, the job went much quicker. Trent wrinkled his muzzle as he detected the acrid smell, then shouted, "Nerve gas! EVERYONE OUT!"

He hurled himself out of the gap, with Elayne following quickly behind. Gunshots rang out from the roof as snipers tried to gun them down.

Branson motioned for Shang and Jamie to leave next. Shang, not taking the time to regain human form, jumped into Jamie's arms, shutting his eyes tight and burying his muzzle against her shoulder. She leapt out of the hole, opening her wings slightly, and swooped into a steep dive like a hawk to gain precious speed.

A chill ran down Shang's spine and he shuddered, twitching as he felt that something was about to go terribly wrong.

Pain. No other word could describe the intense agony that coursed through his body. A split-second later, several other sensations assaulted his mind. He heard Jamie's cry of pain, along with an unwholesome tearing noise. He also heard the distinct chatter of an assault rifle using supersonic bullets, and realized that Jamie had been hit. Jamie must have squeezed him, nearly crushing his ribcage, when the bullets struck her.

Listening to the wind rushing past him, he realized that they were losing altitude!

Trying to reduce the strain on her, he shifted into his smaller form, clinging tightly to her. He felt blood drip onto his muzzle, and opened his eyes, looking up. He could see the strain on her face, and heard her gasping as she tried to work the wing. He looked at it, and realized that it hadn't merely torn. A bullet had shattered one of the fragile ribs holding it taut.

Despite the crippling injury, through force of will, she was able to gain some altitude, and the gunfire trailed off as she broke out of their range.

Shang turned his head, looking around, and saw two shapes moving swiftly through the air toward them. He relaxed slightly when he realized they were Branson and Trent.

The two of them moved in carefully behind her, bracing her arms, and they spread their wings wide, using the combined lift to bring her home safely.

They released her as she glided over the castle's roof, peeling off in wide arcs, giving her plenty of room to land.

She warned him, sounding drowsy from the pain and blood loss, "Shang, hold on... this isn't going to be pretty."

Shang buried himself against her, making a plaintive erf as he prayed to survive the night.

Jamie brought herself into a sharp dive, and aimed directly for the deck. She quickly learned that her jacked-up nervous system could produce terrible pain as well as intense pleasure, and blacked out as the speed of her descent widened the tear in her wing.

She slammed into the roof like a mortar round, a series of sharp cracks sounding out. Shang was crushed under her weight, whimpering and whining in pain as he tried to crawl out from under her.

As she regained consciousness, she groaned and rolled over onto her back, taking her weight off the shattered wing, and coincidentally off the kitsune. Elayne rushed up from the stairwell, carrying a large first aid kit, as the other two landed on the deck, springing into action.

Trent grabbed at Shang, pulling him free, and shouted, "Do your thing, go human!"

Elayne and Branson checked over Jamie, trying to assess the damage to her wing. She seemed to have avoided taking any other major injuries, but the cut in her side had torn open with the rough landing.

Shang had never possessed wings, but he quickly guessed that the wounds must have been causing her a great deal pain. Two large, ragged holes were punched in the wing's leathery surface, leaking blood, and a long tear exposed the shattered bone, apparently from the third shot. The other delicate ribs of that wing were broken as well, but that seemed to have occurred during the crash.

Trent put his hand on Shang's shoulder, asking him to take off his shirt. Shang protested, saying, "I'm fine, no real damage to me."

Trent insisted on checking him over, anyway. He wasn't particularly gentle about it, but he was quite thorough, checking symptoms with the casual ease of a combat medic. He shook his head as he checked the kitsune over and said, "It's a miracle you don't have a concussion from that landing, but I think you popped a rib, maybe two, and those shots that hit Jamie creased yeh pretty well."

Shang refused to let Trent tend to him, telling him to take care of Jamie instead.

Meanwhile, Jamie seemed to have mostly overcome the pain, and was sitting up, still dazed from the impact. Branson, Elayne, and Trent worked to immobilize her wing, but were satisfied that she would last until morning. Trent went so far as to pull a thin vial from his personal medkit, injecting it into Jamie's veins to deaden the pain.

Branson walked over to Shang, crouching in front of him as he applied a wrap to his chest. "Well, either we'll have an army on the lawn by morning, or we've taught them enough of a lesson that they won't want to mess with us. Not our finest hour, though. Shang... can I ask you to stay until tomorrow, at least? I'm not real happy with the idea of the coming dawn."

Shang nodded, wincing slightly as he tightened the wrap and pinned it in place. "I can stay as long as you need me to."

Branson clasped the kitsune on the shoulder and said, "You're a good man, Shang. I guess we all owe you one."

He looked toward Jamie, frowning. "I owe her one, too. We'd probably be in a lot more trouble right now if I had run you off."

Figuring that he had done as much for Jamie as he could, Trent reached into one of his coat pockets. "Well, this wasn't a total waste, anyway."

He pulled out a large capacity flash drive. "Little bit of industrial espionage never hurt anyone, yeah?"

He tossed the drive to Shang, telling him to see what he could make of it, as Elayne growled, complaining that Trent got better loot than she did.

Shang chuckled as he headed down to Jamie's room, pleased to see that even a plan that went as far astray as this one failed to keep them down too long.

----The End----