by Grimm, Danny and T5
As Tayden attempted to restore order to the crowd, Phil Smith wandered off to one side of the caves. Leslie Kline followed, not wanting to lose track of her target so soon after possibly finding him. Phil sat up against a wall and pulled his legs together. He closed his eyes and leaned back. He was concentrating very heavily.
"What are you doing?" Leslie asked.
"Calling for backup," Phil responded.
"Oh," came Leslie's response. "After that, can we get out of here?"
Phil cocked one eye open and looked questioningly at the blonde woman who had just helped him quell a mob. "You realize there's a storm going on out there, right?" Phil closed his eye again and began concentrating on sending a message to Grimm.
Back at the shelter, the Thrasher was playing air guitar and regaling Jackie and Grissom Montag with stories of his rock star dreams. Jackie, also called Ameristar, was only beginning to regain consciousness and was still unsure of exactly what was happening.
Grimm and Dirk Bell were searching for some sort of food to eat when Grimm grabbed the sides of his head. "AAAGHHH!"
He was hearing Phil's thoughts in his head: GRIMM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN HEAR THIS, BUT IF YOU CAN, WE NEED YOU AND THE OTHERS BACK AT THE SHELTER, THERE'S SOME SORT OF WEIRD DEMON HERE, AND WULF HAS TURNED INTO A GIANT WOLF, AND THEY'RE FIGHTING, GET BACK HERE NOW
Grimm was reeling from the intensity of the psychic message and leaned against one of the walls for support.
"What's up?" Dirk said, continuing to search for something to eat. "Thrasher's air guitar solos too much for you?"
"No," Grimm said, trying to shake off the wooziness. "Psychic message from Phil. Apparently we've got problems down at the caves and need to get back there now."
"What kind of problems?" Dirk asked. "We've got a killer storm about to hit us over here. We can't just be rushing off in the middle of it."
"Yeah, well, we might just have to," Grimm said, regaining his composure. "Wulf's just gone feral."
Danny Hearn looked down at Priest, lying unconscious at his feet. He looked up and saw the robed, pureblood vampire grinning at him, proud of the fact that Priest was now out of the picture. He raised a bony hand at Danny and waved, mocking him, taunting him, daring him.
Danny doubted that he would be powerful enough to take on this vampire. It seemed tougher than the others. A wiser course of action would be to fly away, find the caves, barricade himself and the innocent islanders in.
But he couldn't get Priest there in time. To flee now would mean leaving him there unconscious, at the mercy of this enemy.
"Damn it..." Danny said under his breath, looking down at Priest.
He charged at the creature. The vampire just smiled.
Ameristar's head felt like it was ready to give birth to a new big bang, but she managed to get on her feet. She needed to get her bearings straight before she could be of any help.
And suddenly, it began to rain again, a heavy rain that poured like the wells of heaven had been opened.
The young, dark-haired man enjoying his double espresso in the famous Café Endive in Paris was interrupted by the passing of a extremely beautiful lady.
"Excuse me, Miss," he said while lowering his sunglasses.
She stopped and regarded him with suspicion. "Are you referring to me?"
"Oh, yes. I was wondering if you could show me the way to Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume?"
"Hmm... First time in Paris, eh? It's easy to find. Go to Jardin des Tuileries, 1st Arrondissement. Just walk down the road here and go to the left at the first crossing."
"Ah. Great, thank you. Are you going there as well?" he gave her a dashing smile.
"Why, yes." She rewarded him with a warm smile. "I might as well show you the way, then."
He got up and introduced himself. "My name is Giorgio, and I am at your service."
Across the beach, Chance was herding the last of the people into the underground caves, those who had left with Ben Todd, the few that had been gathered in the short space of time since the eye of the hurricane hit. They were confident that most people who had been somewhere unprotected on the island were now here, safe.
And those who weren't? He hated to think it, but it was too late to help them. Still, the thought nagged at him; they had never had the time to fully sweep the island. There was no way to tell if there was still someone unprotected out there. He hoped there wasn't.
He wondered where Danny and Priest were. He thought for a second that he should go and find them, do one last sweep of the beach. But he knew there was no time, and that these innocent people were the first priority.
"Be safe..." Chance whispered as he descended into the caves, casting a quick glance behind him.
On the beach, Fenris charged at the creature. Hailstones plummeted down onto his back with a size and force unusual even for this part of the world. Rain obstructed his vision, and the wind continually threatened to blow him off his feet. The elements would only continue to get worse.
But Fenris had little regard for such reasoned concerns. He was not Blackwulf the Everchanging, the cunning warrior, the man. He was Fenris, the wolf. And all that occupied his mind was the battle, the fight, the war with his chosen enemy, this creature.
He charged at it, tackling it around the midsection and throwing them both to the ground in a cloud of sand. He sank his teeth into its shoulder and ripped off a chunk of flesh.
Despite the size advantage that the demon obviously held, it looked as if Fenris may actually have some sort of chance here. Or at least that was the way it would have looked to any observers, of which there were none.
Danny leaped at the vampire, his claws outstretched. He aimed for the throat, hoping he could at least wound it.
With a speed that shocked the hero, the vampire whipped out his arm and grabbed Danny's throat. "Shit..." Danny managed to squeeze out with a gurgling voice.
"Quite right," came the reply, and Danny was thrown to the ground.
"I really do hope that hurt. It would do me a great favour to know you were in some considerable pain. But then, that shell of yours looks tough..."
Danny stood, momentarily confused. Then he realized he still had his exoskeleton on. He must have seemed quite the sight. He also, he came to realize, must have made for quite the impact if he was to throw himself at someone, which, right now, seemed a perfectly logical course of action.
He took a few steps and launched himself at the vampire, aiming for its midsection. He felt a brief moment of satisfaction when he realized his shoulder had connected. That moment was, of course, immediately cut short when he realized that the vampire hadn't actually moved. It had, in fact, grabbed him and thrown him again as he connected.
"You're trying to match me with brute force?" it said. "Oh, dear. I was hoping at least one of you would be at least a little bit clever."
Danny decided to change tactics. "Reverse exoskeleton. Claws. Poison arrow frog..." he said softly.
"What's that? You're mumbling. I haven't done something terrible to your jaw, have I?"
Danny stepped forward, throwing his hands upward as he attempted to connect with the creature's eyes. Rather predictably he missed, as it stepped aside and once again wrapped its arm around his throat.
"I said... poison arrow frog..." Danny wheezed. He was a little disconcerted to realize that his legs were dangling a full two feet off the ground.
The vampire raised an eyebrow. "What's that? Poison?" it said. "Come to think of it, you do feel a little greasy."
It dropped Danny to the ground and sniffed its hand. It laughed. "Poison? Well, points for creativity. You may have a brain in there somewhere. But you'll find my hide is a little tougher than that to penetrate," it said, and kicked Danny in the stomach, sending him flying a full ten feet.
At this point, Danny actually started to feel a little pessimistic. He'd been wiped out fighting vampires, racing against time, saving people from the storm. He hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours. And now he thought that kick may have broken a rib.
"Again...?" he said out loud, to nobody in particular. He became aware of Hal yelling at him.
"DANNY! GET UP!
"DANNY!
"DANNY!"
Danny got to his feet and threw himself into another strike. He had his claws out. He was covered in poison. And he was a desperate man. He had to be able to do some damage, didn't he?
He landed with full force on the vampire's chest, sending them both to the ground. He realized he was straddling the creature's chest, and brought his claws down toward its neck.
It grabbed his wrist, pulled him down to its side, and rolled over, reversing their positions.
"That seems better," it said. Danny struggled, trying to push it off. It responded with a punch to the face, where Danny was sure he felt his nose break. He tasted blood.
"I do believe I smell fear."
"Not... of you. There's something more powerful than either of us... about to attack the island..." Danny mumbled through a mouth full of blood. Another punch, and there was a tooth or two swimming in that blood.
"Exoskeleton..." Danny mumbled. He was once again sheathed in his sleek black shell.
"Finally playing on the defensive. That's a little bit sad. I almost hoped you'd be a challenge."
The vampire stood up, dragging Danny to his feet. It placed a hand on the back of his head and another on his chest.
"Do not expect to get out of this alive," it said, hissing through gritted teeth. It brought up a knee to Danny's groin, and Danny moaned in pain. It punched him in the chest with all its strength, and Danny fell to the ground.
It kicked him twice in the chest. Danny screamed in pain as he felt his exoskeleton shatter.
Priest thought he heard a scream on the edge of consciousness.
"Ow... fuck..." Danny said, wincing. He lightly touched a finger to his chest, where he felt his shell cracked. He screamed again, and a tear escaped from his eye.
"I imagine that's indescribably painful! Lovely," the creature said, standing over him.
"Exoskeleton... reverse..." Danny said softly. He felt it collapse on itself, sinking back into his skin. The pain remained. A huge welt scarred his chest. The vampire knelt on him, digging its knee into his chest, right over his heart. Danny winced. It grabbed his arm, raised it, and twisted both hands around it, snapping it. Danny screamed once more.
"Hal... I need--" he mumbled. He was cut off by the vampire raising a fist and driving it hard into Danny's throat.
"So your powers are based on verbal commands. Good luck, what with that bruised trachea."
Danny tried to speak but heard only his own wheezing. His attacker laughed. It picked him up off the ground and spun around once, gaining momentum. It let Danny go, sending him flying. Danny looked up to notice a huge wall of the ditch looming over him. It looked hard, made of compacted mud and rock. He expected the next second to hurt quite a bit.
Danny went hurling into it, then collapsed to the ground before it. He tried to make it to his feet, and managed only to wobble a little bit on his knees. For his troubles, he received a brutally painful kick to the kidneys. A violent stomp on the chest drove him into the dirt until he was a few inches under. And, he was sure, he broke another rib or two in the process.
Looking up through half-open, swollen eyes, he saw his attacker. The vampire looked tall, powerful. It looked over him, draped in his red robe. It looked up.
"Hmm... the storm. Any second now," it said, looking thoughtful.
"Danny? Can you hear me?" Hal said.
The vampire seemed to fade.
"Danny?"
Everything seemed to fade.
"Danny?"
The world went black.
"DANNY?!"