"Unfortunately, no" Mark said sullenly, Reagan rolled his eyes and replied "He seems to have an abundance of unnatural persistent, no pun intended, so if Staugh is out there, I assume you are going to attempt to stop him again?" Mark nodded and said "Ait"

"Well then, I'll have to come with you, the coven I am with discourages fighting between fellow Unnaturals. Honestly fighting humans is just getting boring and I'm itching for a challenge" Reagan replied "Make sure this doesn't make it back to the coven or I'll get my butt kicked out" Mark nodded before saying "Follow me"

---

Josh appreciatively smiled at Naomi's supportive gesture "Prove it" he said to Timothy, regaining his posture. He hadn't known the shapeshifter for long but frankly Timothy had already pushed a few of his buttons. Plus he was told by Mark to agree with every thing the alpha wolf said.

Night was sitting in the very back of the bus, clutching Christopher's hand a little too tightly. She kept glancing up at the new girl through the veil of hair draping her face.

"Would you relax?" Christopher asked impatiently.

"I don't like this. How do we know she's really an Unnatural. Maybe she's an assassin. Or a suicide bomber. Maybe she has a giant UV grenade and she's going to kill the vampires with it. Or what if ... "

"What if the sun goes nova and destroys all life on Dittopia?" Portia interrupted, popping into view next to Christopher and Night.

"Or Blibber Dustin goes on tour with the Three-Headed Joe Band?" Malachi interjected as his head appeared over the top of the seat in front of the other three.

"Why would that be bad?" Night asked, momentarily distracted from her panic attack.

"Oh. You're one of those girls. Never mind," Malachi said and slumped back down out of view.

"What kind of girl are you talking about?" Night asked indignantly, completing forgetting her worries of the moment before. She leaned over the seat and jabbed Malachi in the back with a gloved finger, interrupting him in the act of making a particularly hideous face at someone holding a sign that read "God Hates Freaks".

"He means fangurls, darling," Portia said and teleported onto the seat next to Malachi. "Are you single?"

Past

“And what if someone wished for something terrible? What if one person’s wish was another’s nightmare?” Elisabeth ground out, finding Alice to be completely insufferable.

Kanti looked up from her phone and met the gaze of the prince. “Yes- if we can identify him as the same vampire that was at the bar then we’ll have a warrant for his arrest for murder and for breaking and entering- not to mention destruction of property. The hard bit is actually capturing him. Most of the time it’s the freelance bounty hunters that actually bring in the vamps. The equipment needed to catch a mature vampire isn’t exactly legal.”

She paused for a moment, looking to be deep in thought. “You’d think the vampire would have struck again already. One that is this out of control usually runs into trouble with its own kind or with someone who wants to collect a bounty. In any case, we could start by going to the bar and trying to match the marks.”

--

“You’re not the only one with the creeps…” Cyrano muttered, wondering why he was here in the first place. He kept looking behind them, expecting to see something or someone jump out of the shadows.

Present

Timothy looked back at Indigo with a nervous chuckle. “Cool it muscles…I get it,” he said, scooting away from the crowd of people. Naomi offered her hand and Timothy took it appreciatively. Without Haleh around, she was the only ally he had at the moment.

“I’ll do it,” he said finally, addressing the ground.

“Good,” Abijah said, never having expected Timothy to refuse. “We’ll be going on paws.” He turned to face Josh, “You can keep up I believe?”

“What should we bring?” Azriel asked, ignoring the question to the elf.

“You’ll bring nothing,” Abijah answered shortly, “I want you to stay and wait for Haleh and the others. They’ll be back and the pack shouldn’t be left. If anything happens-”
Azriel didn’t hear the rest of the sentence as he stomped away angrily.

--

“What’s wrong?” Curse asked aloud, glancing over at Caerwyn. She frowned, wondering if the less than friendly crowd was broadcasting hurtful thoughts into her friend’s head.

In the back of the bus, Hana scowled at the staring girl, picking up every word of the half-whispered conversation with her beyond human hearing. “There’s a scanner up there,” she volunteered loudly, eyes still narrowed, “I felt it- something in the doorway of the bus- heard a noise too, like a droning. Though I suppose, if I wanted to blow you up I’d just make that up anyway.”

“Oh, did I forget to mention that?” Mr. T said, turning back to address the group in the back seats, “Latch and I came up with that feature together. Wouldn’t want any humans climbing aboard,” he turned back to Maev “Except for you of course.”

“I canna tell you how thrilled that makes me,” she answered roughly and turned away from the shapeshifter.

“Though that doesn’t do much for crazy Unnaturals…well more crazy than us- hey new girl,” Terrance added, turning his head back to speak to the teenager, “I’d stay away from the wolves if we get any- they can smell a fox a mile away.”

Hana scowled and turned her eyes back to the window, adjusting in her seat subtly.

--

“I’m fine- just a bit worried. I was wondering where Satin could have gone,” Zaref answered with a weak smile.

“You should be worrying about us lover boy,” Udi offered with a disgusted expression. He leaned over from the seat across the aisle. “Mind cutting down on all this lovey-dovey-ness by the way? The two of you may be newlyweds, but you’re making me sick.”

Aspros

Joe glanced at Odi briefly. He had never much cared for the Satyr- but with his natural defense system he didn’t offer much in the way of food…livestock never tasted as good as a human anyway. They’d made deals before. Some newcomers had disappeared because of him, some had been turned to gradually marginalize the non-vampire population. Needless to say, Odi had proved useful despite his shortcomings- one of which he was displaying right now. Panic.

“You’re going to hurt her,” Odi offered to the snarling Anjali. He backed away from the female vampire, but kept eyeing Darileen as if he expected her to explode at any moment. “She has great power- I’m not sure what she could do, but it could hurt even you.”

Smiling, Joe ignored the Satyr and headed towards Anjali, offering a dark hand which she nuzzled into like a dog. “I wanted you to bring me something special.”

“And I have- I have,” she replied, closing her eyes, heedless of how foolish she looked in the eyes of the outsider. “I f-f-followed what you said and now we have her. She’s the one we needed…you said the skin white as p-p-paper and eyes like oil…” Anjali stopped and flinched, meeting the eyes of her leader now with the gaze of cornered prey.

“You smell them now, don’t you Anji? I can expect this foolishness from the ram, but you? You offered to prove yourself a faithful servant and instead of aiding me, you’ve led strangers into our midst,” Joe turned his back on the now trembling vampire and faced the shadowy entrance to his sanctuary, “You can come out now,” he offered, waiting for the figure/s to emerge from the darkness.

((Opening for whoever wanted to follow inside))

Present

"Max, would you be so kind as to turn off the lights at the front of the store. We don't want anymore visitors this evening." Bernard asked/told his young nephew before turning back to Neal and the large stack of books the Unnatural was looking through. It had taken them an hour or more to locate all 15 volumes that Bernard wanted, not to mention the difficulty in getting the books down from cluttered top shelves.

"Werewolf lore.... History of the modern Vampire.... These are all fine reads, Bernie, but we still haven't found anything on Hybrids." Neal said in an exasperated tone as he slammed the thick book he was looking through shut.

"Perhaps you should look at the volume with the red binding. You just might find what you need in there." Mr. Young said with a gleam in his eye as he sat down in a nearby chair.

After moving three volumes, Neal found the book his friend mentioned: an old leather book, about as thick as a dictionary with red binding. The first page read: The History of Vampires: Part 2 and A Brief History of the creatures Known as "Hybrids. "You sly dog! You knew which book it was all along!" The Darkling said holding up the book in question. "Why did you have me get all these other books down?"

"Because your strong and I could trust you. I'm too old to be climbing up and down those ladders. Besides, I couldn't trust Max with getting some of those titles down. He would be more likely to turn them into the athuraties." The old man replied as he retrieved his glasses from his house coat pocket. "I believe what your looking for starts on page 277.... If my memory holds." Bernard added as he made his way over to Neal's side.

After finding the page, it did not take the Darkling long to find the information he was seeking:
------------------------

"October 5th, 1846:
The Elders have decided that the terror that has swept our town is a living, breathing being. Not a ghost as originally thought. Still, no signs are left at the sites of carnage."

"October 10th:
The town hall has been completely ransacked. Half of the Elders were found dead, strung up in the center of the great hall. For the first time we have prints from the killer. It appears we are dealing with a great demon-wolf...."

"October 13th:
We have finally caught the beast!! It appears to be a great bipedal wolf with large wings.... We are meeting tonight to decide it's fate...."

"October 14th:
Great Scott!! The beast has revealed itself to be one of our own, Milton the farmer. Milton has been tried by the counsel and found guilty. He shall be hung today."

"October 16th:
It has been two days since I write for the happenings of the 14th are still too vivid in my head, yet I must share them.

On Monday, we hung Milton, but the beast did not die. Instead, Milton turned into his beast form and began fighting back. It was only after stabbing the brute through the heart and finally chopping it's head off that it died... at least for a time.
During the night, the beast came back to life. Only half life, but still it lived and moved. We burned the barn down where the corpse was kept and spread the ashes over the ground. Hopefully this shall kill the beast once and for all. I hope...."

Except from the diary of Alan Johnston, Head of Police in Cronanberg (1820-1855)

------------------

"So, I need to stab Karl through the heart, lop off his head and then burn the corpse?" Neal asked his old friend after he finished reading the passage.

"I'm afraid so. That's the only way to truly kill a Hybrid of his kind. If there is another, I have not come across it." Bernard replied as he walked back to his seat. "I wish there was an easier way, for your sake. It took me 15 years to finally find a copy of old Alan's diary. Turns out the whole town became infected by Milton and was burned to the ground shortly after that last entry. Johnston took full responsibility for burning the town and kept warning about the Unnaturals. The poor man was considered insane and thrown into a looney bin for his troubles. Poor man, trying to do good but everyone around him did not realize it. Much like now-a-days, eh?" Mr. Young said as he cleaned his glasses.

"Yes, much like modern times...." Neal replied as he looked over the stacks of priceless books on Unnaturels that surrounded him. "I guess I should be going. I've already intruded enough for one visit..."

"You can't be leaving already? Stay for the night, Neal. No, no, I mean it. No, it won't be any inconvience at all. I hope you don't mind sleeping in the loft, though." Mr.Young said as he escorted his Unnatural friend to the loft. "Max! Where the blazes is that boy.... MAX!!!"

-----------------------------------------------------

Aspros

"I wouldn't call myself a stranger... at least to your kind, Joe." Desmond said dryly as he emerged from the shadows behind the vampire.
"I would much appreciate it if you would not harm the new arrival... Though, who am I to tangle with a powerful vampire?" the Darkling continued in his usual droll tone as the vague form of a winged creature with burning red eyes appeared in the shadows. The creature did not enter the room, but stayed in the darkness eyeing the head vampire with obvious hatred... as it did all beings but it's master.

Present

Josh waited while Azriel and Abijah had their spat then replied to the alpha wolf “Yeah, just let me get my stuff and I’ll be ready to go” as he stood up “I’ll be waiting he said as he retreated to a corner to get his pack ready.

--

“Hey, where is Adam, usually he’d be with you during this kind of thing” Reagan asked. Mark flinched, “Captured” Mark said bluntly “Who… “Savage took him, along with Becca; I’ve made a pact a werewolf clan who lost some of their members to him”

Reagan replied “Crap, man, I don’t know what to say. Anything I can do to help…” Mark blinked away a tear and said “Nah, I don’t want to get you in anymore trouble with the coven then I already have”

“Dude, my cousins are captured and you think I’d still be worrying about that stupid coven, how big of a jerk do you think I am?” Reagan asked “Wait, don’t answer that question” Reagan said punching Mark in the arm “Come on, we have a date with Staff and whatever posse he came up with this time”

Mark grinned at Reagan’s joke and said “Well I’d better make contact with Staff and see if we can take this where no innocent bystanders will get hurt. Hold on”

Hey Staugh Mark thought to Staugh Darn you Mark he replied then thought Careful when you go roaming through my mind, Mark, you might get lost in there Mark snorted.

Amen brother, so you want to take this out back? Stough replied No, I want to do this right here, in the middle of town. Mark sighed Jerkface, well see you in a few seconds

Stough grinned and said "Well, Mark is on his way" to Karl and Steel "I'd turn around" Mark said, standing at the end of the alleyway next to Reagen "You two got dragged into this two? Joy"

---

Brad jumped out of the company's van, as he did he was tying his tie. He hated having to report things on short notice, at least he didn't have to fix his hair. On the way to the street- where the Unnatural busses where driving through- his make up lady was once again pestering him.

"Bug off, I'm fine" he said rudely, pushing the annoying lady away "hurry up Snoot, be ready to get me on air as soon as we get to the street!" there was no need to worry of course, his cameraman was one the best in the world.

As soon as Brad was situated Snoot began counting down "On air, in three, two, one" Brad put on his fake smile "Hello Monsteropolis, I'm here in Ditto Town where the Unnatural crew that Senator Latch is funding to go to a Reservation.

Which he has also funded. As many of you know the Ditto Town residents are strongly opposed to any sort of Unnatural, so as you can see many of them have congregated along the edges of this street to protest"

Charlie ducked under a thrown stone as he ran to catch up to the bus, then as he walked up to the door he was hit in the forehead with a stone "Jerk!" he yelled at the teenager throwing stones.

His stone throwing nemesis was quickly stopped by a policeman, Charlie grinned before he realised he was bleeding from his forehead "Great, and I'm about to get on a bus full of vamps" he muttered, being human with weird powers didn't give you advantages with vampires.

Aspros

Desperado jumped out the shadows next to Desmond doing over dramatic karate moves and yelling "I'm a super stealth ninja! HIHAH! Mahahaha! EAT THIS" as he jumped in the air preparing to punch the ground.

Which of course in all the ninja movies sends a shock wave out on the floor and knocks down all the bad guys, lets just say it didn't work out so well and moments later Desperado was rolling around on the floor holding a severely sprained wrist.

Past

Alice stiffened indignantly. "I have a rule," the petite jinn said flatly. "I can't kill anyone, I can't raise people from the dead, and I can't make people fall in love. So I'm harmless really."

"Great, let's go now," Thomas said, eager to help take down a vampire. He never thought he'd be getting this kind of action when he had begged his mother to let him and Elisabeth stay to oversee the investigation.

-----

Ian crept down the hall, searching for anyone who might be waiting to exchange information with whoever was asking questions about the siblings. They'd only gone about halfway into the building when Melanie suddenly pushed Cyrano against the wall, clasping a hand over his mouth.

"Stay hidden," she whispered close to his ear, her breath sliding across his skin like a soft breeze.

At the same time, Ian ducked and a dart that flew from the darkness before them buried itself in the wall behind him. Dark clothed men emerged from the dark and came toward him. He ducked again a split second before another dart flew over his head. He saw now that the darts were coming from a gun in one of the darkly clothed men' hands.

While this was happening, Melanie kissed Cyrano firmly on the lips before whirling away and landing a karate kick right on the back of one of the men's heads.

The men leaped into action, coming at the siblings with darts and physical violence. Something seemed to snap in Melanie's mind and with a cry of anger mixed with annoyance, she whirled, kicked, punched, elbowed, and cartweeled around the men, knocking down one after another with the skill and grace of a martial artist.

Ian, who had never lifted a finger to hurt anyone his whole life, found himself ducking and swerving to miss the fists and feet and darts coming at him. He seemed to move a split second before the men did, almost as if he anticipated their movements.

Melanie did everything she could to keep the men down and away from her brother, but the men kept getting up after she'd knocked them down. But then she slammed one guy's head into the wall so hard the wall cracked and blood spurted from the wound. The guy slumped to the ground and for a split second Melanie was frozen; she'd never killed anyone before.

That was all it took for the men to grab her. She tried to squirm away but four men held her down while another shot her with a dart. She grew limp and one man flung her body over his shoulder.

Ian turned when he saw Melanie being taken away. "No!" he shouted, elbowing a man in the face that tried to get to him and trying to follow the man with his sister. He only took a couple steps before the other men were on him, holding him down.

"Well, well, the Stryder siblings. Today must be my lucky day." Out of the darkness stepped a well-dressed man with slicked back white hair. He smirked triumphantly at a struggling Ian. "I've been searching for you a long time now, always just a step behind. Luckily I'm a patient man."

"What do you want with us?" Ian cried out, struggling in the men's arms. He'd completely forgotten all about Cyrano and was just worried about Melanie now, who he couldn't see anymore.

"What I want from every Unnatural I come across," the man said calmly. "Your abilities."

-----

Present

Indigo needed no further instruction. He ran into the trees and shed his shorts before emerging once more in his massive wolf form. He trotted over to Abijah where he stood still as a statue, waiting for orders.

-----

Caerwyn started at Curse's voice. He glanced up at her, then down at his pale hand gripping her wrist. He slowly released her, frowning slightly at the red mark his tight grip left. He picked up her hand and kissed the spot lightly, lingeringly.

It's nothing. I'm sorry. He looked up at her face, his expression entirely apologetic.

-----

Selena raised an eyebrow at Udi.

"This coming from a shameless flirt," she said idly.

-----

Raphael studied Marcus for a long moment, taking in his expression and tone. His brow furrowed ever so slightly before the he smiled abruptly.

"I trust my followers," he said, turning away from Marcus to address everyone in the room, even Sofia as she exited the werewolf's room and hung the bucket back up by the door.

"No one here is here by force," Raphael reminded everyone. "Anyone may come and go as they please. I merely believe that as a group we are stronger than as individuals. We are a family here, and as leader of this family I offer protection to those in hiding, healing to those in pain, and providence to those in want. I offer love, peace, and harmony. These things we will all need to survive the upcoming battle between Unnaturals and the mundanes. If we do not hang together, we shall all hang separately." The corners of his mouth twitched faintly.

Mihael couldn't help but watch his friend with a look of respect and slight awe during the vampire's speech. There was always something that stirred in his chest as Raphael, his cold, beautiful face severe yet compassionate, spoke to his followers. He couldn't help but glance suspiciously over at Marcus, watching the warlock's expression during Raphael's speech. While his leader was confident that no one would try to assassinate him, Mihael was always wary, always on the watch.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

"Currently," Malachi said with a grin. "How about you."

"Perennially," Portia said, "accidentally" elbowing Night off of the back of their seat.

"Adults. And they say teens are ruled by their hormones," Night said, sitting back in her seat with a disgruntled look.

"Now that we know that crazed assassins aren't going to come through the door at any moment, I'm going to take a nap," Christopher said. His wings slipped through slots in his shirt and unfurled before wrapping around him to form a cocoon of downy feathers.

-----
Aspros Island

Morgana slipped out of the shadows, glancing in distaste at the crazed individual rolling around on the ground. She'd sheathed her athame, but hadn't let go the magics she'd gathered to her. She was fully prepared to fight her way out of this, though going up against vampires wasn't her idea of the way to live a long and healthy life.

Present

After a hearty breakfast of eggs and some sort of sausage begrudgingly fixed by Max, Neal finally gathered his things and thanked his friend for the advice on killing his enemy.

"I knew you would have something on Hybrids. Thanks again for letting me look through your collection and also for letting me stay the night." The Darkling said as he slung his travel bag over his shoulder and retrieved his fedora from the hat rack.

"It was my pleasure, Neal. Anytime you need... anything, just stop by. You're always welcomed." Mr. Bernard said with a friendly smile as he led Neal to the front door. "By the way, one word of advice on dealing with Karl: Don't let him get under your skin and for the love of everything good, don't let the hatred you have for him cause you to do something stupid." The old man said with a stern look as he leaned on his walking cane by the door. "Besides that, live long and prosper."

"Live long and prosper, Bernie." Neal replied with a smile as he quoted his friend's favorite line back to him. "Oh, and stay out of trouble!" the Darkling added as he walked towards the bustling main street of Monstropolis.

"Same to you!" Bernard called out as he watched the Darkling disappear into the usual crowd of city. "That boy is going to be remembered for something great, I'm sure of it...." the old book collector and part time Unnatural historian muttered to himself as he walked back into his shop and flipped on the "Open" sign outside.

----------------------------------

"Not really dragged, more.... asked to join." Karl replied to the elf, pulling his hands out of his jacket pockets. The ever so subtle pre-twitches of transforming ran down the Hybrids arms... Not yet. Karl thought as he waited for Staugh or the elves to make the first move.

--------------------------

Another speech to rally the troops.... Apparently a requirement if you wanted to be a leader of any sort. Marcus had heard the same basic spiel many times, the only things that would change is who the speaker was and who/what he was trying to rally.

Noticing that Mihael was watching him, the Warlock gave the vampire a slight nod before appearing to be suddenly interested in watching the two females that were present. Raphael's right-hand-man always seemed to be overly on his guard against someone wanting to usurp his friend and leader.

The thought of taking the place of the vampire and becoming leader of the coven had never crossed the Warlocks mind.... well, it had but he always pushed it aside. The last thing Marcus wanted was to be in-charge of something, especially a coven.

((Quick note: Charlie would be getting on the bus going through town so Selena wouldn’t smell him and he wouldn’t have to worry about vamps- sorry if that was confusing!))

Past

Elisabeth gave a short barking laugh, “Oh yes, completely harmless- Unless of course the person receiving the wish was smart enough to think of something besides death that could harm another. There are plenty of things that hurt besides death,” she finished archly.

“Well as interesting as this conversation is,” Kanti ventured, “I think we should be going.”

“Fine.” The princess started towards the door after retrieving her wrap from the settee.

“Um…anyway to get her to look less…royal?” Kanti asked Thomas. If they really had to be accompanied by the two most famous people in town, than she really wanted some sense of subtlety.

--

Cyrano couldn’t decide what he was more surprised about. There was the random ninjas with darts, Melanie’s amazing fighting skills, Ian’s perception and of course the kiss that he still didn’t believe had happened. He was just coming to terms with the fact that he was standing still in a hallway while they were being attacked when Melanie and Ian were both taken by the men. Breathing heavily, Cyrano remembered Melanie’s words and darted into a shadowed corner near a drinking fountain. From there he could hear the creepy man’s words as he addressed Ian. Reporter instinct kicking in, Cyrano pulled his recorder from his pocket and pushed the main button.

Unnaturals, Cyrano repeated in his mind. Of course they were- who else could do what they’d done? He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. After all, he’d been trying to avoid any contact with Unnaturals for quite some time.

Present

The Sage pack, minus Azriel, retreated to their cave and then re-emerged in wolf form. Azriel watched them all from the fire, glaring at his father as the wolves nodded to each other and then, once Josh was ready, took off at a lope through the trees. Naomi glanced at her packmate one more time and then disappeared with the rest.

Running behind Indigo and next to Timothy, she tried not to think about what would happen once they began their siege on Savage’s labs…or what they would find.

--

Curse wasn’t sure whether she should believe Caerwyn, but she nodded nonetheless and smiled. Soon, they wouldn’t have to worry.

Hana tensed up as they reached the center of town and another Unnatural jumped on. She eyed the bloody mark on his head and then turned her gaze out the window. The people outside looked so angry, like they’d become some kind of Unnatural themselves.

Terrance lapsed into melancholy once again, disdainfully eyeing the crowd outside. He wasn’t sure why he had fought so hard to protect them. Once in a long while it’d be nice, just once, to show them what could really happen. What they’d really created. The shapeshifter glanced down at the faint scars on the knuckles of his right hand.

“She’s dead Terrance. I’m not lying,” Timothy said with a frown, eying his dozing brother.

“Mr. T.” Satin repeated, smiling again. “Glad to meet you.”

--

“Well we can’t all be pillars of virtue like yourself,” Udi retorted with a wink and leaned back into his seat.

“I think we’re almost there,” Zaref said, glancing at the road which was now passing out of the trees and onto a stretch of grassy field. Ahead a large structure loomed. “Will you be alright?” he asked Selena quietly, “After all…you were in Mr. Button’s zoo for some time.”

Aspros

“How lovely, more company,” Joe said, keeping his eyes on Desmond’s creature, even through the disturbing display that Desperado was putting on.

Anjali hissed. All the fresh blood in the room was making her thirsty. She eyed each in turn, examining Morgana and Desperado, both of whom she assumed would be weaker than the shadow-master. “There are others here- a call away. Are you s-s-so sure you can stand against all of us?”

Joe held up a hand, silencing Anjali before he took his seat once more in the high-backed chair facing the candle-strewn table that stood between him and the intruders. “I have no wish to cause any of you harm. In fact, it’s convenient that you’ve all arrived, for I’ve a feeling that our little…” he glanced at Darileen, “Mrina, is going to need some help.”

“And why,” Darileen said, rousing, “Would I want to help you?” She stood shakily, facing the direction of Joe’s voice.

“Because, if you help me, if all of you help me, I can get you off of Aspros.”

Present

"Staugh smiled "And you brought your cousin into this I see, hello Reagan, nice to see you again" at this Reagan tipped the edge of a make believe hat "Now if you excuse me I need to to strategize" Staugh said as he turned around. Then he spun and around, drew a black sword while sending a gigantic fireball flying towards Mark.

Mark blocked it with an invisible magic shield, then he retaliated by jumping forward and swinging his sword at Stags head. Reagan drew two pistol and began firing at Steel and Karl.

Steel ducked under a few bullets before jumping over a shot then punched Reagan in the face while grabbing his one hand in a attempt to stop the hazardous silver bullets flying from the semiautomatic colt pistol.

Reagan reeled back from the punch which busting his nose falling to the ground on his back, Steel jumped on top of him, trying desperately to get at Reagan's neck. at just this time Zac flew out of Reagan's coat and began spitting acid dragon spit in Steel's face.

---

Charlie found a bandana on his person and wrapped it around his head as he sat down next to Malachi "Sup?" he asked before sticking his tongue out at some random person.

The mundane with the 'I hate creeps' sign in return gave him rather mean sign. Charlie ignored it before saying "Hey, my name is Charlie" not giving the mage any time to respond to his first question.

Brad dropped to the ground and he heard gun shots firing "Once again it seems that the Ditto Town craziness has worked its magic. Fighting has once again broke out in the streets. Now we are off till we can find out more" he said after he stood up and dusted himself off.

Snoot clicked off the button on his camera "And off air!" he said "Who in the blazes fired those shots! I knew coming to Ditto Town was a bad idea, he added looking around at the rest of the people. They had barely flinched at the sound of gun shots and he wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

---

Aspros

Desperado jumped up and began listening attentively when Joe spoke of getting off of Aspros "And how do you intend on doing this?" the sane part of him asked before Bob took over again and said "Who cares! Anything to get off this cursed island!"

Present

As soon as Staugh began fighting with the two elves, Karl had begun transforming. Unfortunately, Mark's little friend had begun shooting at him with silver bullets and two of the nasty metal shells had found their mark: one in the Hybrid's shoulder and one in his chest. Karl wasted no time in quickly digging the two bullets out of his flesh as he finished transforming. The now hulking, black bipedal wolf with bat wings let out a menacing snarl as he dug out the last bullet. Now it's time to fight!

Karl lunged for the small dragon flying around Steel's face, but failed to grab it. The Hybrid quickly lunged into the air to follow the small lizard and with a quick swat of his massive claws sent the flying pest careening back to the ground.

Seeing as how Staugh was busy with the new elf, Karl dived down, caught the falling dragon and threw the creature at Mark. Fighting fellow Unnaturals was always a thrill, but getting maimed by two elves was not in the Hybrid's plan. Besides, he needed to be at his best for his next encounter with Neal.

So, after swooping down and making a half hearted swipe at Mark, Karl left the alleyway brawl to be finished by Staugh and Steel. As the Hybrid flew over the crowded town, he landed on the top of the fountain in the middle of the Square. Karl merely stayed long enough to let out a bone chilling howl, which caught the attention of some of the nearby protesters (as intended), before leaving for the countryside.

The day had turned out well, even with some minor interruptions. What I need now is to find a farm with plenty of fresh livestock.... With this comforting thought, Karl made his way to a small red barn he could see on the horizon. The Hybrid began salivating as the sound and aromas of fresh beef and pork met his ears and nose as he slowly began descending towards the barn.....

---------------
Aspros

Desmond raised an eyebrow at Joe's offer of leaving the island. "This can actually be done with the assistance of.... her." The Darkling inquired nodding at Darileen.

Malachi was distracted from his flirtation with Portia by the latest arrival on the bus.

"I'm Malachi," the fire mage said, doing his best to be polite and ignore Portia sniffing his hair.

"My name's Portia. But you're too young for me. I rob many things, but cradles? Not my style," Portia interrupted and then promptly fell asleep with her head resting on Malachi's shoulder.

-----

Aspros Island

"This plan for getting off the island wouldn't be something crazy like building a raft from our corpses, would it?" Morgana asked.

Past

"I wish there was," Thomas said, shaking his head at Kanti and looking more than a little exasperated with his sister.

Alice perked up at his words. "Really?" she asked eagerly, and before Thomas could stop her, Alice pointed her hand at Elisabeth and blinked hard.

Instantly the princess's garments transformed into ratty jeans and a dirty and torn t-shirt. On her feet were sneakers that were just barely hanging on. Her make up was gone and in its place was dirt that streaked down to her neck and down her arms. Her hair had come out of it's perfect condition and hung in matted chunks around her shoulders.

Alice smiled smugly at her creation.

Thomas choked on a laugh he tried desperately to hold back. "Um, unfortunate choice of words there," he said apologetically.

------

"Unnatural?" Ian sputtered. "But-but-but . . . Melanie and I are not Unnaturals." He looked somewhat green at the prospect.

The man chuckled. "No? How do you explain your sister's ability to imitate anything she hears or sees? How do you explain her playing Mozart's Magic Flute Opera on the piano and the flute, and Vivaldi's Four Seasons on the violin flawlessly after only hearing each piece . . . once? How do you explain her ability to fight like a martial artist when she's only seen such moves in movies?"

Ian stared at the man, his mouth gaping, as the strangeness of his sister was explained with such certainty.

"And how do you explain your ability to sense what other people are thinking? To anticipate my men's movements before they took them? You and your sister are special, Mr. Stryder."

Ian's mouth snapped shut, and he clenched his jaw. Narrowing his eyes at the man, he stopped struggling and grew still. "And what do you want from us?" Ian ground out.

"My government specializes in a unique form of military soldiers. Super-Soldiers you might say." The man chuckled again. An ominous sound. "You and your sister don't remember anything before your third birthday, is that correct?"

"Yes . . . but who does?" Ian asked, wondering what that had to do with anything.

"You were born in our lab," the man continued. "Your mother was one of our operatives. A strong-minded woman. We had no idea she would kidnap the two of you and escape our facility to hide here in this . . . quaint town."

"Are you saying . . . you created us?" Ian asked, feeling a little sick and wishing he knew where they'd taken Melanie.

"Goodness no!" The man laughed. "You were conceived just like any other child. However, we did run some . . . experiments on you both before your mother gave birth. We were extremely eager to witness the outcome. Unfortunately your mother knew us well. She hid you well. But apparently not well enough."

The man shook his head slowly. "This town is teeming with Unnaturals. It was only a matter of time before my men questioned the right people to lead us to you. I'm surprised you hadn't skipped town, however. You must have realized there was something different about you. And with the persecution of Unnaturals as it is, I'm surprised no one found out about you two sooner."

"What are you going to do with us?" Ian asked, and then suddenly blanched as the man chuckled once more.

"I believe you already know."

------

Present

Indigo couldn't help but feel a strange sort of satisfaction that Azriel was remaining behind. He didn't want to think about how Brick would react if he saw the werewolf with Lark.

Speaking of Brick . . . Indigo reached out with his mind, trying to locate his brother whom he'd told to stay in wolf form so they could communicate. He grew a little worried then, when his mind touched nothing. Brick was in human form. He hoped that didn't mean his brother was in trouble.

He ran faster, almost outdistancing Abijah. He had to consciously hold himself back so he didn't overtake the alpha. While Indigo wasn't a part of this pack, he knew he had to respect the alpha, even though he was sort of an alpha himself. In his small, unconventional family that made up his pack.

------

Caerwyn continued to hold Curse's hand lightly as the bus made its way through town. He stared impassively out the window at the crowds of people yelling and tossing eggs and rocks at the bus. His gaze intensified on one man who was shouting obscenities at them and the man suddenly doubled over with an intense headache.

A tiny smirk turned the corner of the cursed boy's mouth.

------

"Then I was alone and afraid, thinking you were dead and having nothing worth living for," Selena said solemnly. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I am not alone anymore, nor am I afraid. I have you as my husband and that is something worth living for."

------

Raphael fell silent for a moment before speaking again. "Now, there is a new reservation for Unnaturals. The buses leave tomorrow morning. I believe this would be an excellent opportunity to gather more Unnaturals into our family." His eyes shifted over to Marcus.

"If you do not wish to come, you are welcome to stay. However know that to do so will to be choosing to live alone, absent from your family." He smiled suddenly, his white teeth glistening in the dim light of the moon, their only light in the dilapidated hotel.

"We will intercept the bus heading through town once they reach the border and enter the trees. We Night's Children must move swiftly to avoid the sunlight. Immediately following our arrival, I hope that you will all encourage our fellow brothers and sisters to join our family. The more members we have, the stronger we are. Remember that."

((Marshy, I hope this is okay. Kind of bending time a bit here to make them able to join those going to the reservation. If I need to edit anything, just tell me. ))

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Present

Mark was throw off balance due to the rock hard dragon smashing into the side of his head with what felt like apocalyptic force. While he was still dazed Staugh smashed the pommel of his sword into Mark's face. While this not only sent him to his knees it also opened up the the walls around his mind.

Through these holes Staugh's mind flooded through, taking control of everything that Mark was, is and is yet to become Curse you Staugh Mark though before suddenly there was a break Staugh's concentration. Zac had latched his teeth into Staugh's calf and he wasn't letting go.

Mark pushed Staugh back out of his mind and reached up with his sword to stab Staugh strait through the stomach "Missed" Staugh growled before disappearing into dust. Mark stood up to see Steel fleeing "Coward" Reagan muttered, wiping the blood off his face then he bent to pick up Zac "Good job boy".

"Well, lets get out of here, in about two seconds police will be swarming this area" Mark said and sirens began sounding "Thrysta" he muttered and instantly the were in a whole different part of town.

"Well I need to be getting back to the coven Reagan said "Don't forget, call me if you need any help" Mark nodded and said "Good seeing you again buddy" Reagan smiled "Anytime!" then disappeared into the crowd.

Mark began walking away before muttering "Thrysta" again and disappearing only to show up again next to a shocked Brand Warn me before you come out of nowhere like that! Mark chuckled and said "Come on Brand, lets go" as he hopped on his back.

Where to? The werewolf pack is bound to be gone from the den by now Brand asked as he took off "Fly towards the den, I'll make contact with Josh" Brand didn't reply but altered his course just the same.

Josh, where are you? Mark asked his younger brother, Josh sighed, Mark had a bad habit of talking to you through mindspeak without introducing himself first on our way to Savages place, meet us on the way Mark replied Will do A few minutes later a dark shadow flew over the werewolf pack.

((OCC: Ryan: Ouch... Now Reagan's out of the coven's time stream, any idea on how to get him back in? Did all that happen last night if so I hope this doesn't mess anything up for you...))

After Raphael finished speaking, Marcus stepped forward. "Well, I can't break family ties, now can I?" The Warlock said as he pulled out his metal walking stick and began absently swinging it back and forth.

(((Sorry for the really short post!)))