Where Our Worlds Collide

[Aiden]

It had been six months since the whole Keystone fiasco, when the factions gathered to share information about what had happened in the six months since establishing the groups. Yuki and Teagan had been under his command for a whole year, and in that time, they had flourished as great hunters, despite their time or experience. He couldn't ask for a better team, their home life kept them all entertained, whether Yuki wanted to admit it or not.

It had also been six months since Aiden had talked to either Deacon or Jeff, the latter of which had some major sucking up to do before Aiden even considered speaking a word to him. It still bothered him immensely, but his anger had faded over time. Not only that, but to call him unfit to lead because of his demon blood? There had only ever been one single incident, and neither Teagan nor Yuki had been hurt. They chose to stay with him, he gave them the choice to leave, and they didn't. They were a far better team than Keystone or Austin; how many creatures had they killed in the time that Portland killed hundreds?

But things slowly returned to normal, and eventually Portland began venturing into neighboring states and following jobs now that things in Portland were normal. It was no longer a supernatural epicenter, but just heard of the occasional demon, maybe a ghost a few towns over. It was quite peaceful, and the Portland faction was feared by supernatural baddies on the west coast.

Currently they were returning from Idaho, a boring state that just made Aiden want to get the job over with and get home. The hive of vampires stood no chance with all of three of them, and the job had been completed within days. Now, the Camaro purred its way into Oregon, a few cities from Portland. And while Yuki and Teagan were occupying themselves doing whatever, for the past fifteen minutes, Aiden's eyes kept flickering from the rearview mirror, back to the road, and back to the mirror.

There was no doubt about it now. They were being followed.

He sped up, not seeing any cops around, and weaved through the lanes in order to gain ground. It was subtle, but whoever was following him did the same thing, going even faster. For a moment, Aiden considered alerting the girls, but he kept quiet, unsure if they had noticed it or not. He changed lanes once more, and the red car that was following them vanished from sight, making Aiden quirk a brow up.

And then the car was right next to them. Three figures in the car, two female and one hulking male, looked straight at him, their eyes flashing black. Demons. "Oh you've got to be kidding me!" Aiden yelled, speeding up. "There is a car of demons following us, the red Mustang. Hold on," Aiden said, going from leader to teenager, a slight smirk coming onto his face, the pretentious kind that said 'my toy is better than your toy.' Without warning as soon as the lane opened up, he took off down the highway, weaving in and out of lanes.

It wasn't erratic or wild, in fact it was quite controlled despite what Teagan and Yuki would say. Cars parted to avoid him, and as soon as he saw an exit, he took it, sliding around the bend and gassing it down the street. This part of town was usually dead, so his speed maintained itself. At corners, the car would drift around with a squealing sound, and all Aiden could think of was his poor tires...aside from the fact that they were being chased.

The red Mustang came into view behind them, and Aiden kept his eyes on the road while he sailed over a dip. "You guys want to try and stop them or something instead of just sitting there?" he asked, opening the glove compartment in a split second, and revealing their guns.

[[You can shoot at them, but all three are going to survive, and the car has to keep following. You can add in some driving if needed, it'll probably be dragged out for another post or two by Aiden.]]

[Yuki]

Six months had passed since their rough departure from Keystone. They had spent most of that time span isolated from the rest of the factions, as Aiden made no attempt to communicate with either Jefferson or Deacon. Yuki herself felt no personal attachment or connection to either of the two men, so it did not bother her that they had no contact with them, but she knew that Aiden did indeed hold this bond, especially with Jefferson. She didn't like to think of the events of that day. In summary, when they had headed over to Keystone, she had not expected things to turn out the way they did.

But no sense in living in the past. Those months had done wonders to the faction's ability and skill, to the point where even Yuki was content with skipping a couple days of training, or skipping out on a mission. Indeed, her own personality was a tad bit different, she supposed, than what it had been virtually a year ago when she first arrived in Portland. Though she still knew that everyone around her was exponentially weaker and not nearly as intelligent or educated as herself, she trusted her faction mates and respected them (even Teagan), to a certain degree. Granted, she still gave out glares like no other, and a smile on her face was an extremely rare sight, but she had certainly become more relaxed around them. She had her guard down around her faction, though she'd rather die than admit it.

Returning from the destruction of a vampire clan (their removal was inevitable, the pitiful things), Yuki had been dazing idly at the scenery outside, mentally noting the herbs that passed by the window as Aiden zoomed the Camaro through Oregon. She had even gotten used to Aiden's insane driving, though she did burst out to grab the wheel or tell at him every so often when he pulled one of his more drastic measures, or when he took the car up anywhere past 90 miles per hour. He was lucky she would even let him drive that fast.

Something must've snapped in Aiden just then, because she felt the car's speed start to increase rapidly, and Aiden's maneuvers became sudden, almost evasive, she would say. "What on earth is your issue?!" she barked at him, snapping up from her seat to turn towards him.

...Demons? Red Mustang? Yuki's eyes flickered to the rear view mirror. He was right. That car had been behind them for quite a while now. ...How had she not noticed?! Her gaze darted from the car, to the front of the row. True, she trusted Aiden, but something about being in the Camaro with him driving and being followed by a team of demons was discomforting. She waited for Aiden to lose them so that they could take cover and kill them off, or perhaps lure them to a place where no civilians would be injured. Even if the area they were driving in was not very populated, and casualties were unlikely, she did not want to risk it.

"You guys want to try and stop them or something instead of just sitting there?"

She narrowed her eyes at her faction leader while reaching in the glove compartment for a gun to hand over to the girl, as well as one for herself. "As if you're doing "something" by driving. They're still close on our tail." Yuki carefully aimed outside the window at the demons. She was going to go for the large male. However, supernatural fights via car chase weren't up her alley, and she wasn't used to pulling a trigger while in a car, much less while in high speed motion. Even if Aiden's driving was more controlled than how a "normal" person would drive under the circumstances, she was still inexperienced with it. But it couldn't be that difficult. She had done it before, though not at this speed. All she had to do was aim, and--

"Kuso" she hissed, retreating her hand back inside the car. She had missed. "AIDEN, could you not drive as if you've drunken yourself stupid?! I can't aim when you're abusing the car like this!"

[Teagan]

Despite common myth, three was not a magic number. Any moment where one may have come to this conclusion was simply a matter of pure coincidence. Nothing about the number three was special, except that it was the only single digit to have two letters repeat after each other. Three wishes, three chances, three strikes; all superstitions, when it came down to the wire.

There was just nothing special about the number three. Except, of course, that people believed it is special, thus making it so. It received special honors that few other numbers could claim. No one in their right mind cheered over the thought of a two day weekend, although, arguably, a four day weekend would be special, if not improbable. A five-day period was just referred to as a week, not the end of it.

Regardless, the prime number was not unique.

Nor did it have much value to Teagan Cassidy. So when it became a continuous presence in one of her car ride daydreams, extreme confusion washed over her. She couldn't do much about it though. Controlling dreams, while an exciting task, often proved difficult. Especially in this case, where her mental ramblings would not release her from slumber without finishing their course. Multiply three times two to make six. Six letters in the word ‘months’. Six months that had passed since she visited Arthur, another six-lettered word. The twinge of disappointment she felt was completely unnecessary; she spoke to him on a regular basis, along with Miles and, on rare occasions, Deacon (note: six letters as well). Conversations with him were thin and stretched nowadays, but she tried her best to return to the once aloof dialogue to its original form.

Deacon didn’t make it easy on Teagan. He often dropped hints, fishing for information on Aiden’s mental status. Once she assured him that everyone was fine and safe, he’d end with the encouraging thought that, just in case something did go wrong, she always had a home at the Wesson. Teagan understood his thoughtful concern, but Portland was a team, and nothing would mess with them.

Or so she thought.

Her dreams were rudely interrupted when a sudden jerk caused her head to crash against the window. Hard. A loud shout coincided with the collision, sending a jet of chills down her spine after the initial wave of pain. Teagan squeezed her eyes shut as her hand flew to her forehead. The motion of the car rocked her left and right, forward and back.
"You guys want to try and stop them or something instead of just sitting there?"

Yuki replied back in a harsh tone, and Teagan grumbled in agreement. “My head!” The sound of gunshots rang out, causing Teagan to finally crack open one eye. What on earth? People firing guns on a road chase? “I can’t tell if I’m awake or asleep!”

Regardless, she grabbed the extra gun Aiden supplied and rolled down the window on the opposite side of the car as Yuki. The car swayed through traffic, weaving in and out of unsuspecting cars. She aimed, careful not to injure any civilians, and fired the weapon. “Seconding Yuki! You’ve got to keep it steady if you expect us to be able to do anything!”

[Aiden]

Someone finally complied and took a gun from the glove compartment while his eyes stayed on the road. He honestly had no idea where he was, he was just taking turns at opportune moments. He knew that his poor car could handle the strain, but with each squeal of the tires, he felt himself feeling worse and worse for the Camaro. What did it do to deserve being chased through the city?! At this rate the cops would show up and this would be broadcasted onto television.

He heard several gunshots, and realized that both Teagan and Yuki were trying to rid of their enemy. "Hang on!" Aiden warned before taking a sharp turn and sliding into a deserted part of the city. There was a straight stretch of road, so Aiden floored it and let Yuki and Teagan take aim when the bright red Mustang (really, could they make themselves any more identifiable?) came around the corner as well.

It wasn't until something clipped his side mirror that Aiden lost his cool. "THEY ARE NOT SHOOTING AT MY CAR!" he yelled, veering to the right, and back to the left for a moment. "Since when are demons not above using guns?" he grumbled to himself, taking another sharp turn. He sped down this street as well, not seeing any other turn off for a while on the straight stretch.

"Now's your chance. Go for the tires and spin 'em out!" Aiden called back, eyes straight ahead.

[Yuki]

High speed car chase. Chasers? Demons. The chased? Hunters. Such was the life of Portland faction. Being followed at an intense speed by demons in a red Mustang. Naturally. Of course, why would it be any other way? All in a day's work. Regardless, Aiden's driving made it impossible to shoot. Yuki would have much enjoyed the opportunity to finish the job quickly. Damned demons were only annoying. As if she could really aim outside the car with their manic faction leader swerving the vehicle from street corner to street corner. Strategically speaking, shooters would be a viable target to leave the hunters defenseless, because if the driver was shot, the passengers could always drive, but at this rate, she'd be shot before she got do anything at all.

Once the bullets started being directed at the car, Aiden "flipped out," as Teagan would say. His hands on the wheel tightened and Yuki braced herself for a sharp turn. After a maneuver only Aiden Wood could pull off with his car, lest he should kill whoever attempted it, they began upon a street that was a stretch of straightness. No curves, no turns, nothing. Maybe now they could do something to the foolish creatures that dared pursue them.

"Just have to hit the tires," she whispered to herself. She took aim outside the window and watched everything with the calculating eyes of an eagle. First shot....did it work? ...No, miss! Kuso Letting out a grumble, she steadied her gun and after one more fire--

"Gotcha!"

Her hand retreated back into the car and she watched from the side mirror what one flat tire would do. Tire debris went scraping along the pavement as they drove along and when it was almost completely wasted, the damn car still kept going, to the point where a screech could be heard in intervals from behind them. Persistent things. Didn't they recognize a battle that would end up in their defeat when they saw one?

"Teagan, try shooting the tire on the other side!"

[Teagan]

The car jerked left and right, not making Teagan's job of aiming any easier. She already had that stupid defect, why did Aiden or the people chasing them feel any need to make it more difficult on her? And what was with the timing? Of course the moment for a shootout on the streets would start when Teagan was completely asleep and not quite mentally grouped together.

Her vision blurred, emerald eyes unable to clearly focus on the target. The shots spoke for themselves in evaluating Teagan's ability to fire after coming out of a slumber.

Tree.

Mailbox.

License plate.

Bush.

HA! The sound of shattering glass redeemed the previous shots. Or, it might have, had she hit something other than one of the car's side mirrors. Beside her, Yuki blew out one of the tires. Hopefully, with that combined effort, the car would give up and leave them alone. Teagan raised an eyebrow as the car continued -if not a bit shakier than before- and then proceeded to speed up, drawing closer to the faction.

"Will you people give up?!" she shouted in frustration. She squeezed the trigger and nailed one of the windows of the car. Undaunted, it never even slowed down.

"This isn't fair!"

[Aiden]

Surprisingly, or rather probably surprisingly for Teagan and Yuki, Aiden let off the gas and let the car slow. They needed to eliminate the enemy, and that meant letting the enemy into their sights and trying to get a good shot on them. He heard several shots fire when the car behind the skidded into view. His eyes occasionally flicked to the rear view mirror to see if any had actually landed, but thus far they hadn't. If they could spin the car out, they'd be all good...

...he heard the sound of a tire blowing out, and he mentally cheered. They should be...wait, the car was undeterred?! "What the hell," he hissed under his breath, stepping on the gas as the dilapidated car continued to speed towards them with a trail of sparks. Even without a tire, they were ruining the car and gaining ground, a metallic screeching causing Aiden to cringe the whole time.

More bullets began firing from the Mustang, and Aiden tried his best to avoid them. After one shot, the passenger's side mirror was gone, and he cursed loudly. He tried to speed up, and looked behind the car once more to see a rifle sticking out of the Mustang. He cursed loudly again, and saw the flash at the muzzle of the gun, and then heard the sound of shattering glass.

In the first second, he thought the back windshield had shattered, but there was too much glass flying around for that to be the case. Then he realized the front windshield had shattered as well, that the bullet had gone straight through. He could feel his skin being cut open by the shards, and instinctively tried to cover himself, thus sending the car into a spin as his hand tugged downwards on the steering wheel.

He heard a loud thunk behind him, and realized that Teagan's head had probably smashed against the window. There was the sound of tires squealing, the metal dragging on the asphalt behind them. Finally the Camaro slammed into something hard enough to stop the car, sending the airbags off. Aiden's head slammed into the seat behind him, and he began coughing when the airbag exploded into his chest. It took a moment, but Aiden finally surveyed the damage of the car; it was wrecked, the side was smashed in. Teagan was knocked out, and Yuki was coming to. "Yuki, come on, we've got to fight these guys," he managed to sputter out, grabbing the gun from Teagan and almost falling out of the car.

Standing up, the car stopped in front of them and the three demons got out, followed by a fourth that Aiden had apparently missed. All of their eyes flashed black, and Aiden instantly sprung for the trunk which had popped open. He grabbed two containers of salt, and made a circle around himself and Yuki before the demons could grab them.

"Oh, that's alright Wood. I'm sure you've noticed the nice breeze that'll take car of that salt line in a couple of seconds," a female demon said, a smirk on her face.

"We've come to make sure that your little band of hunters doesn't get in our way anymore. These are some orders I'm happy to follow," said a tall male.

"Casey ain't here to save you now, kid," said another, short and stocky male.

Aiden leveled the gun at them, making the female laugh. "A gun isn't going to do anything, you know that. I think that crash rattled his brain," she said, stepping forward. Aiden fired off a shot, the bullet flying into the kneecap of the shorter male and making him fall to the ground.

"No, but I can sure as hell make sure that you can't move," Aiden hissed, ignoring the lines of blood dripping from his arms. A second later, the short man stood again. "We ain't your average demon, kid. I can deal with it. Now Eddie here, on the inside he's screamin', but me? Nah, I can walk it off," he said. "Get the girl."

For a moment Aiden thought the man stupid because they couldn't pass the salt line, but then realized that Teagan was still in the car, unconscious. He fired a shot past the demon's head that was stupid enough to listen to Eddie. "You can't walk it off if your head is missing," Aiden said darkly, glaring at the man. The gun stood in the air, ready to fire should the guy take another stop.

"No matter, your salt's gone anyways."

Aiden cursed mentally, and then snapped to the three other demons that began approaching. Firing at one would set the others off, and even if he and Yuki fired together, there were two more, and one with Teagan. This situation was bad. He knew that the Camaro was still drivable, but there was no way they were getting it home, or getting it going by the time the demons would get to them. Think, think, think...

...behind them, the guy going after Teagan screamed in what sounded like pain. Good, Teagan had woken up and--

--when Aiden turned, the site he found wasn't what he had been expecting at all. His face drained of color, his body went cold, and the gun dropped, though still gripped tightly in both hands. The woman that had haunted him for a decade was standing there, holding the man's arm in her hands like it was a plaything.

Ariel was there. And Aiden was going to lose.

"Good morning, my fellow hell spawn," she almost sang in her creepy like manner. "I see you've found my boy here."

Aiden's breathing instantly became quick and heavy, and years of hatred began boiling up inside of him. His eyes darkened as he stared intently at her; he wanted nothing more than to kill her now, but he knew there was no way he was doing that right then and there. It wasn't like he had the Colt.

"Thing is, only I get to kill him, see," she said, dropping the arm and forming a fist, causing the man's head to explode. "And, honestly, I need him alive for a few more years. Its just how things have to go," she said in another almost sing song voice. Suddenly she vanished and appeared behind the group. "I know who sent you, and should any of you survive, well, you can tell him to stop meddling in my affairs," she hissed, her eyes flashing white, showing Yuki just how powerful she was.

Aiden took a step forward, but felt his body stop dead in his tracks. "Ah ah, Aiden. Stay put, I can't have you losing any more of that precious blood in you," she said with a malicious smile. She returned her attention to the three demons, all of which began fighting in a mix between physical and telekinetic attacks.

"Yuki...take the car and leave. I'm going to kill that bitch," he hissed, his anger very evident. "Hell, I'll even go demon to do it. And if you stop me I swear I'll--" he stopped as a body flew past them into the side of the Camaro, got up, and ran back at Ariel.

[[This isn't where Aiden leaves, so you've got to convince/drag him away from this.]]

[Yuki]

Only demons. Only they would be able to sustain the movement of a severely damaged Mustang. The casualties of the classic car included a flat tire, a broken window and a shattered side mirror. Injuries to important components of the car, and yet it wavered down the road in all its screeching-metal glory, ignoring the sparks and the broken glass.

Just as Yuki was about to continue to fire at the vehicle, she quickly retracted her hand as she saw one of the demons take aim at the passenger mirror--the mirror on her side of the car. Within seconds of tracing the demon's line of fire, the glass before her burst into tiny bits. She didn't turn to look at Aiden's reaction, but she knew that he was not going to be happy about that. The Camaro accelerated upon Aiden's will, and as she looked through the rear mirror to see the car behind them (since the passenger mirror was no longer an option), she witnessed the rifle again, this time taking aim directly at the rear window.

The seconds that followed were too quick for Yuki to take notice of their order. Sharp glass shards, the smell of fresh blood on her hands, spinning car, revolving scenery, the boom of the airbags, a loud thud in the backseat, a sharp pain, and then sudden darkness. It couldn't have been long before the black spots in her vision were completely erased, but she felt the pressure of what must have been the air bag dissipate, and took a deep breath to clear her sight--surely no more than a few minutes.

Gasping for air and dizzied by the impact, she looked towards the back of the car to see if Teagan was okay. ...But she wasn't. The girl had been knocked unconscious. That must have been the thud she heard earlier, right before the release of the airbags. Or was it during? They had to help her out..."Yuki, come on, we've got to fight these guys," she heard Aiden say. Internally, she wanted to protest and assist Teagan, but she knew there would be no point in doing so. These demons had to be taken care of first. She could only hope that the girl woke up soon.

Shaken by the temporary black out she had just experienced, Yuki did all she could to calm her restless nerves. She was completely calm inside, calculating as always, but her body was experiencing involuntary reactions. It seemed her brain and body were disconnected, each acting of their own accord. But as soon as the demons stepped out of the car once she and Aiden were outside, the two functions were reunited, and with deep, measured breaths, she could feel herself regaining control of her system.

Four demons. Four against two. They were outnumbered, true. But numbers meant nothing against skill. While Aiden dived for the salt, Yuki followed suit to the trunk and pulled out weapons. As the line of salt was drawn, each of the demons felt it necessary to voice their own personal quip against her faction leader.

A few things stood out as the demons made their statements. One, they were ordered here. Someone was in charge of this attack. Her thoughts drifted to the events of Halloween. Could it have been him, the demon from that night, come to settle the score once and for all? A part of her hoped so, and a part of her didn't. Either way, he wasn't here now, so the beings before her were just filthy scum, not worthy of the dirt under her shoes.

The second thing that stood out was that they were not sided with Casey. After following his orders all this time, she was still not sure about the man. A small part of her doubted his allegiance, wondering what his intentions were. So far, they had been against the supernatural, but hearing a demon point out that Casey wasn't there to "save" them provided more concrete proof that the mysterious man was, in fact, not sided with them.

Yuki's mind raced ahead as words and gunfire were exchanged. She already knew where this was going. Even with their skill, the odds weren't good. There was no time to draw a pentagram, no time to escape, she'd be shot at if she started reciting an exorcism, salt was impaired by weather conditions, and shooting would do nothing. She did not want to injure the host's bodies either. At least not fatally. That was one aspect of demon killing that she had never overcome. It took all the time up until now for her to realize the contemplation she faced in shooting at a human possessed by a demon. That split second of ethic debate could cost her life in battle, but she could not simply shoot at an innocent civilian.

This in mind, she turned to look sharply at Aiden when he threatened to shoot at a demon's head. But she knew he wouldn't do it. Perhaps in another situation, he might have, but in this one, it would only cause all the demons to attack the both of them. It would only put them in a more dangerous situation, one which would probably result in both of their deaths.

But what choices did they have here? Teagan...she had to wake up! She just had to! They wouldn't be able to do anything with the demons keeping a close eye on them. But if the girl had awoken, they wouldn't expect it. Then, they could take advantage of their surprise and---

"Good morning, my fellow hell spawn. I see you've found my boy here."

Yuki raised her gun at whoever the woman was that appeared on the scene. She did not recognize her, but the other demons seemed to back away, out of...fear. The woman's gaunt face was unnerving, even for Yuki. She seemed wild and reckless, not a figure to be taken lightly. And Aiden...he was so tense, his breathing heavy, quick, angry. What had she said? "My boy."

My boy. Was she...Ariel?

It couldn't be.

She was one. The one that had murdered Aiden's parents. The one that was the source of his struggle with the demon blood in him. No, no, no, this was not good. Aiden was bound to unleash the demon in him. How was he to keep it contained around the one person that had stolen his childhood, his family, his life?

As Ariel clutched the arm of the demon that had advanced towards the car, the man met his demise in a violent manner with such a simple movement of her hand. She...needed Aiden alive? What did she mean by that? Moments after, she appeared behind the three other demons. Their faces became pale, with good reason after what had happened to the other demon. Yuki was unsure how to act as all this occurred before her. She knew she should shoot at Ariel, but nothing would come of that. She wouldn't die. Was it her job to calm down Aiden, then? Or perhaps make a move for the car to defend Teagan?

Ariel knew who sent them. Someone had sent the demons to kill them, someone Ariel clearly did not agree with. Were they enemies? And why...why did she need Aiden alive? Why was she defending her faction leader? What did she want from him?

As Ariel's eyes flashed white, it was almost as if her gaze was directed at Yuki. A chill ran down her spine, though she did not once waver the gun from Ariel. White-eyed demon. She was powerful. There was no way they'd be able to take her on, not like this, they weren't ready. And suddenly, the demons all began fighting, and naturally, Aiden was itching to join in the battle. Ariel prevented him from doing so, which only set him off even more. But she had to restrain him. She had to knock some sense into her hard-headed faction leader. If he fought her now, he would die.

"Aiden, listen to yourself!" she yelled firmly, attempting to hold him back. "You are as well aware as I am that there is very little chance we will with this fight! Teagan is in the car, unconscious, and we have no way to defeat Ariel! You know that an exorcism would be the only way, and do you really think she'd allow that from either of us at the moment? I understand your desire for revenge, but if we stay here, we will only get dragged into something we cannot win! You can't turn into demon again. Will you so easily let yourself become the very thing you despise?! You'll have another chance at her, let's go!" she pleaded, hoping that he would listen to reason midst his thirst for vengeance.

[Aiden]

Yuki's thoughts about Aiden's honor were completely wrong this time. Aiden wasn't going to hesitate to put a bullet through their heads, because right then it was the only way to stop them, at least until the black smoke overtook another host and appeared on the scene again. Aiden's honor had changed over time, because more recently he was living in a mix of influences, such as Malcolm's, Jefferson's, and a couple others. There was a side of him that they hadn't seen yet, and right now, in order to survive, he might have to pull that side out.

But with Ariel on the scene, things changed. The moment that Aiden saw her, all that rage was unleashed inside of him. His thoughts went from how they were going to escape to how he could kill Ariel. He couldn't exorcise her, she was too powerful. He couldn't do anything with a gun, or his hands. The only thing he could do at the moment was go demon and rip that smoke from the host and destroy it, and at that time, it didn't seem like that bad of an option.

At the same time, his mind was racing. She needed him alive? And for a couple more years on top of that? So she was defending him, letting him have his chance to escape. Why? What was her end game with him? Someone that was trying to kill the hunters was preventing that end from happening through their deaths, so Ariel had an enemy within the ranks of the demons? It didn't make sense.

Yuki was yelling at him by this point, but he didn't really hear any of it. He was watching the fight, brutal as it was, and the words were only vaguely registering in his head. Turn into what he despised? A flashback of his birthday ran through his head, the desire to kill his teammates was never forgotten. If he did manage to kill Ariel, would he turn on Yuki?

He'd have another chance.

If she wanted him alive, that meant that she was keeping an eye on him, and that he could find her. And if he could find her and trap her, he could get information out of her. He was bleeding, he was sore, his car needed to be repaired, Teagan needed medical attention, and Yuki was pissed at Aiden.

Malcolm would pissed at Aiden, too. He wasn't being smart, he was acting without thinking, and that would get him killed.

It was time to go.

He turned around, only to be met by three more bodies, all male. "Oh look, reinforcements. I guess whoever sent these guys thinks Ariel is a threat," he said to Yuki. One raised his hand, and Aiden felt the gun jerk out of his hands. "Well, if you'd rather take my fist than a bullet, fine," he said, leaping forward, and sending the closest man to the ground after his punch landed in the guy's jaw.

Whether Yuki joined the fight or not, Aiden needed to at least find an opening during his fight with these guys and get to the car. The engine was still running which meant it was still drivable. He leaned back to avoid a punch, and let another fall to the ground after an uppercut. The first man pushed himself up, and ran at Yuki.

"Come on Yuki, show 'em who they're messing with. Japan's pride, right?" It had been a nickname he had found online for her, because of her skill in martial arts and her title in one of her competitions. "Knock him out!"

[Yuki]

It took all her strength to hold Aiden back amongst his fury. To her, the debate was simple. Well...maybe not completely simple, but simple enough to know that Aiden was not prepared for this encounter and neither was she, and though she would love nothing more than to put a bullet through Ariel's head and exorcise the hell out of her, it could not be done. Not here, not now. Aiden said nothing in response to her protests, but as his body grew less tense, she thought perhaps he was realizing that fighting Ariel would be completely stupid. As he turned around to head towards the car, Yuki was somewhat relieved. Good. He was listening.

But the relief was temporary. Three male bodies stood before them, presumably sided with the demons Ariel was now fighting. Ariel didn't seem like the type to send henchmen in this situation. Immediately, Yuki raised her gun at them, but as soon as she did, one demon made a motion with his hand and both her weapon and Aiden's were yanked out of their hands. A wave of anger followed suit. Stupid things, did they really think not having guns would stop them?

As Aiden lept to land a punch to one of the demons, Yuki darted for the car. Upon seeing their fellow demon fall to the ground, one man ran for Aiden and the other ran for her. Catching up to Yuki, his fist charged for her face, but she paused in her step suddenly and struck out her palm, catching his arm mid-punch and twisting it. "Bad idea," she snarled. Before he even had the chance to cry out in pain, she kept hold of his arm and grabbed his head with her other hand, twisting it until she heard a loud crack, then aimed a kick at his chest which knocked him to the floor. Mentally, she apologized to the host, but at least if the demon ever got out of him, the broken neck and possible broken back would heal.

She continued running towards the car, picking up her gun in the process. Despite it's beat-up state, she could hear the hum of the engine still functioning within the Camaro. Teagan was in there. They just had to get to that car and then they could make their escape.

From behind, she heard a grunt and the sound of footsteps charging towards her like a bull stomping towards a red flag. She didn't need to look to know that Demon #1 had gotten back up.

"Come on Yuki, show 'em who they're messing with. Japan's pride, right?" she heard Aiden's voice from a bit of distance, as he had gotten held up fighting the other demon. "Knock him out!"

She turned around, and the possessed man threw a sloppy punch at her. "I don't need you to tell me that!" she yelled back at Aiden. Yuki aimed a kick for the demon's shoulder, burying her boot into his skin, exerting intense pressure onto the area until he fell to the ground and she was stepping on him. The strike was quick, almost too fast for the eye to catch, and she hoped that the heel of her boot was digging into his flesh. As she had him pinned to the ground, she took out her gun and fired a shot at each of the demon's legs.

He cried out and she jabbed a spot in the demon's neck that would hopefully paralyze his body, if only momentarily. She wasn't sure if it would work, since he was a demon after all, but since he never got up, either he was in too much pain or her trick had worked.

Bolting for the car after cleaning up that mess, she reached the Camaro. Inside, Teagan was safe, but still unconscious. Yuki whipped around, facing the battle scene. In front of her, she saw Aiden a bit far off, and behind him, the fight between Ariel and the demons seemed to be drawing to a close. "Aiden, c'mon! Let's get out of here!" she yelled, motioning for him to hurry--because when that fight ended, she did not want to be around to face the victor.

[Aiden]

The small gang of demons that was confident that they could take down the two members of Portland quickly leaped into action. Aiden took the first out, but now the taller of the males stood before him, his eyes flaring black. Did he honestly think that by flaring the true color of his eyes that he could intimidate Aiden? Instead, the faction leader kept a steady gaze on the man, his arms up loosely to either protect himself or strike when needed. Why the demons were looking for a fist fight, he didn't know. But thankfully in this instance Teagan wasn't in the fight, and that posed less of an issue.

Aiden hadn't been in a fight like this in a long while, and he was just waiting for the demon to strike so he could move. Malcolm had taught him how to fight, over many years, so even though Aiden looked a little scrawny at times, there was a force he hid within him that this demon was about to find out. He wasn't even sure if Yuki knew the extent of it.

Movement.

The demon charged him, and Aiden simply sidestepped, letting the man stumble past his mark and try to turn around. By the time he had, Aiden was right there to give the guy a good punch to the jaw. He stumbled backwards again, this time threatening to lose his balance. When he came at Aiden once more, this time carefully, Aiden grabbed the man's wrist when a punch flew his way, pulled the man towards him, and kneed him in the gut. He sputtered for air, and sank to the ground.

Aiden was going to join Yuki at the car, but after he got a few steps in, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He grabbed the wrist, bent his knees, and pulled hard to fling the man over his shoulder, but midway through he didn't feel the wrist in his grasp. The demon in question was now standing in front of him, smirking.

Wasting no time, Aiden jumped forward, tackling the guy to the ground, and punching him repeatedly while Ariel's fight was growing closer. "Trying," Aiden called through clenched teeth to Yuki, making sure that the guy beneath him wasn't going to get up. He pushed himself off the body and stood, moving to the car, and sending one last kick to the man with the broken neck. He half walked, half ran around the front of the car, and slid into the front seat, trying to work around the now deflating air bag.

Popping it with his knife, he quickly cut the material away and then tested the gas. The car moved forward, so Aiden took stock of the car, and then looked at Ariel. She had turned around at the sound of the gas, looking at the car, almost expectantly. Aiden held her gaze for more than a couple of seconds before finally hitting the gas to driving away from the scene.

When they were a few blocks away, Aiden left one hand on the wheel, and placed another on his head. "I don't get it, Yuki. Why would she help us? And just who the hell was attacking us?" His gaze on the road was a thoughtful one, and he didn't even notice the strange looks they were getting from other drivers on the road.

Suddenly his phone buzzed in his pocket, and Aiden pulled it out. "I swear, if this is Casey trying to--" he paused when he saw the name, Deacon. He stared at the screen for a second, feeling the continuous vibration in his hand, before hitting reject. When his phone went to the main screen, it showed three previous missed calls, all from when they were fighting. The phone lit up again. If it was that important, Aiden figured he could spare a moment. "This is Aiden," he said, trying not to snap at the man. "What do you want?"

[Casey]

Deacon paced the hall just outside Miles’ room as he slept. The nurses all knew him by now and politely stayed out of his way as he kept his ear to phone. He pressed the heel of his freehand into his other ear as listened to the familiar ringing. With each call he hoped that the boy had a very good excuse for not picking up. If Aiden was just being pissy Deacon didn’t care if the boy had on him hunting, he would drive to Portland and thoroughly kick his ass. Then his call cut off early and he pulled the phone away from his ear. At first he was startled by the change, then he narrowed his eyes realizing that the boy had hung up on him.

“Oh hell no,” he ground out stabbing at the redial. If Aiden was going to try and annoy him he was going to keep calling until he picked up. Deacon had more time to waste and patience than Aiden did.

"This is Aiden," he heard a tightness in the boy’s tone, "What do you want?"

“I want your full attention for starters,” he growled as he made his way toward the stairwell, “Did it ever occur to you that if I was calling after so long it probably wasn’t to say ‘Hi’?”

Deacon pulled open the door and stepped into the echoing stairwell. As he made his way to the lobby the sound of his footfalls and even jingle of the zipper on his jacket rang in his ears. “Look,” he said more calmly, “I don’t care what the hell is going on between you and Jefferson but this isn’t for me. Art’s missing, probably for the last few months. He was heading out to your area and he kept up with me with texts. I started getting fewer and fewer, then they stopped. Tracked his GPS, which said he was in Florida and had a buddy following it. Two weeks ago the signal died, and no one I’ve been able to talk to can find him.”

He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and ran a hand over his face, “I’d go looking myself but I can’t. I know you don’t owe me much but will you look into this?”

[Aiden]

Making sure that he wasn't going to immediately hit any cars around him, he held the phone to his ear and answered. If this was about him walking away from Keystone, about his ability to lead, then Deacon had another thing coming for him. A lifetime with demon blood, and he had only snapped twice, both times by complete accident. It didn't make him a monster...well, okay, it did. But his case was....what, justified? Just because it was Aiden, and not some stranger involved in a case? Whatever, it was different. Yuki and Teagan would back that.

Instantly, though, Aiden could hear the stress in the man's voice, the lack of energy. His brows furrowed slightly, and Aiden's need to tell the man off vanished. No, something was up, he could tell from the first statements. "Sorry, just got out of a fight with the woman that ruined my life. I apologize for for still being on an adrenaline rush," he challenged back.

When Deacon continued, something changed in Aiden and the adrenaline was gone. Art was missing? Wasn't that guy like, some hidden black belt, or sharp shooter...couldn't he at least bore his enemies to death with some nerd talk? Crap, should he tell Teagan? He decided that for now, it was best to be as vague around Yuki and Teagan as possible, even though as far as he knew, Teagan was still unconscious.

"My area? Why?" Aiden inquired. If he was going to do this, it would be like any other job. "I know you don't want to tell me something you might not know, but if I'm going to help, I need to know as much as possible, alright?" he said, deciding to verbalize his thoughts to Deacon. Family was important, Aiden especially could tell you that. "I need a departure date, a why, and the name of the guy helping you."

"I'll call some other hunters, it might be demons," he said, and then caught the nuance from one of Deacon's statements. "Why aren't you able to do it yourself?" Aiden asked genuinely, making sure that he didn't come off rude. "Did something else happen to you guys?"