Karla had not been expecting guests at her apartment in the afternoon, but not only was Donavan there, so was Agent Yang, Commissioner Gurumarra and two suited individuals - a man with black hair and green eyes who was a good head taller than her at what she guessed was a good 190 centimetres at minimum, and a brunette woman with blue eyes around her own height, but she had slightly darker skin. There was a familiar but unusual subtle scent around the pair that she couldn’t put her finger on.
“Right, allow me to introduce these two - they’re special agents on loan from the United States, they work for the Extranormal Affairs Department,” Gurumarra said, gesturing to the pair, “Special Agent Jax Morton, and Special Agent Linda Lupine.”
“Hello,” said Jax, maintaining composure, “I’m not a fan of bringing civvies on board, but apparently you’re already involved, so it can’t be helped. A pleasure, I guess.”
“Hi, nice to meet you!” Linda smiled, though she was still maintaining some professionalism. For some reason, Karla just got this impression of a dog wagging her tail.
Wait. ‘Lupine’? There’s no way her name was that on the nose, right? Karla just decided to straight up ask, “are you two werewolves?”
“Huh. Perceptive,” Jax said.
Linda chuckled, “yeah. Mom’s from the pack in the Potawatomi, and she found Dad’s last name funny. I guess they just liked the alliteration when picking out my name.”
Native American. Interesting. Wasn’t what Karla expected, but it kinda made sense. “Oh, okay, nice to meet you, then. I suppose tonight’s the night?”
Gurumarra nodded, running a hand through his hair, “yes, unfortunately. I’m sorry, by the way. I wish we could do this any other way, but…”
“But what?”
“We are going to need to use you as our way of finding the ritual site. We can’t afford to spend all night searching for it, especially considering what magics they might use to conceal it. Once you ‘turn’, you’ll be compelled to go straight there. Beforehand, multiple trackers will be placed on your body.”
Oh. That… That made sense. Karla absolutely didn’t like it, but if there was seriously no other option… “Alright. If I’m gonna be brainwashed, I might as well make myself useful. But wouldn’t I try to warn Gulara or try to remove the trackers once I turn?”
“We’re going to wipe your memory of us being aware of you being under her influence and of our plan, along with some mental blocks to ensure you keep any physical trackers on your person,” Lim explained, “you won’t be aware until it’s far too late to do anything about it.”
“I wish I could help, but, you know, normie over here,” Donavan said.
“Also, you know that charm I gave you? Try to keep it on you. Who knows, it might be helpful again,” Lim said.
“Alright… Thanks, by the way. I might not be here if I didn’t have it,” Karla said, “just… Promise me you’ll give them hell when you track me down.”
Gurumarra snorted, arms crossed, “oh, this has been a long time coming. I’ve been willing to not go too hard after them as long as they kept to themselves. But now? I’m going to lock up every last one of them. So, are you ready?”
Karla nodded. “Ready as I’ll ever be. Do it.”
Estella was perhaps hoping for a break from sparring practice in wake of the full moon that was about to happen. Unfortunately, Clarette being the dedicated teacher she was, had absolutely no intention of permitting that - at least, not yet.
“I spoke to the Commissioner this morning. He has a plan,” Clarette said as she effortlessly parried Estella’s incoming strike. “A full-scale raid on the ritual site, once they have the location. They’ll be bringing in two experienced werewolf agents on loan from the EAD - that’s good, since were-folk have a natural resistance against magic. He also mentioned he has someone else assisting on short notice, but he wasn’t exactly keen on disclosing whom.”
Estella took a step back, anticipating a counter-attack and regaining her posture and stance quickly. It paid off, as she was able to narrowly deflect Clarette’s incoming counter-slash. “Werewolves, huh? That’ll be a new one. We fighting to kill or to subdue?”
“Considering this is lead by the local authorities, the Commissioner has specifically requested that we try to avoid taking lives if we can so help it. Since it is a police effort, and these are not demons, I’m willing to acquiesce to it.” Clarette continued her barrage of blows, however, striking quickly and with practised ease. Her skill was something Estella marvelled at.
Still, Estella had to actually respond to it, and she took another step back, deflecting each incoming strike. “You sound like you’re not happy about that.”
“I’m not adverse to fighting to arrest, but Arcane Knights are soldiers, not police. We exist to slay the unholy and demonic first and foremost. It’s the job of police to deescalate and arrest without drawing blood where possible, hence ‘protect and serve’.”
“You say that, but in some places police don’t tend to honour that particular mantra,” said Sonia, who was watching from outside the ‘ring’ with Anja, having finished a sparring match with her. “Especially in the United States - ‘all cops are bastards’ is a surprising common opinion over there. Sometimes soldiers are better trained at deescalation than cops are.”
“Can we not get into this debate right now? Especially today of all days,” Natalia sighed, as she performed maintenance on her equipment at the maintenance area not far off.
As the two knights clashed blades, Clarette noted, “it’s all about integrity, discipline and maintaining the right culture in an organisation, along with stamping out corrupt and abhorrent behaviour in the ranks whenever it is found. But yes, we have more pressing matters to be thinking about. Right now, our lives and the mission are more important than taking our enemies alive.”
Estella took a deep breath, focused, and stepped forward and to the left, sending Clarette’s blade sliding across Galowye and away to the right, quickly raising her blade-
-only to be sent tumbling onto her back as Clarette performed a quick leg sweep, elegantly spinning around and stopping her blade at Estella’s neck. “Admirable attempt, my student. But you’ll need to be much faster and quicker on your feet if you want something like that to work.”
“When I think I’m getting better, you pull the rug out from under me and remind me I have a long way to go,” Estella groaned as Clarette reached a hand out to her, and she took it, the elder knight helping her to her feet.
Clarette chuckled, wagging a finger at her, “I can’t let you get complacent for even a minute, Estella. Part of my job is to ensure you know you’re tangibly improving without allowing you to rest on your laurels. There’s always someone stronger and more skilled than you are.”
Tharen was laughing from the sidelines. “This lady really knows to keep the pressure on!”
“Hopefully not too much pressure,” Phi’Scia sighed, watching, “we will need to be properly rested before the raid begins.”
“Very well, I think that’s enough, anyway,” Clarette nodded as as she sheathed her sword, “we have only hours before nightfall, and before the full moon’s power is felt across the land. Hags have many, many tricks, so we must be prepared for anything.”
“Hags?” Estella asked, as she put Galowye away and dismissed her armour.
“Usually just witches who use their powers for vile means,” Galowye explained, “while there are many similarities between normal mages and witches, which is why I typically loathe to use the label, witches define themselves through their own specific cultures, sorceries and internal practices. And evil witches tend to maintain the health of their coven by performing all sorts of vile acts to ‘initiate’ outsiders.”
Arika nodded, legs crossed and sitting down on the sidelines, “that’s pretty much it, yeah. My coven prefers to stay above board and use nicer ways of keeping our numbers healthy - we’ve got a whole secret village with modern amenities, a school, a library, the whole shebang, though that’s pretty much because of government support. Gulara’s coven are a bunch of criminals, so they get none of that. And before you ask, don’t ask me why they’re evil. People sometimes just… Are.”
Logos stretched his wings, “either way, they’re enthralling and trying to convert innocent people against their will. We’ve got only one shot at stopping them tonight, since they’ll all be in one place - tracking the witches down otherwise has been a massive pain.”
Estella sat down on a seat just outside of the ‘ring’. “This isn’t your fight, you know. But you’re still gonna help us anyway. Thanks.”
Kat laughed, coming over and slapping Estella on the back, nearly bowling her over. It seems the rotund Gaian didn’t know how to properly restrain her strength sometimes. “Hey, we’re all friends now! We’re not gonna bail on you guys that easy. Besides, it sounds like fun.”
“Any brawl sounds like a good time to you, Sister,” Europa said, rolling her eyes but smirking all the same. “But she’s right, you know. As far as the resistance is concerned, you’re all an investment. We’re hoping you might be able to help us later on in our fight against the Gaian crown.”
“You are asking a lot of us, you realise,” Leigh said as she sat down as well, “but at the same time, Gaian immigrants have been trickling into Thaumia over the last couple of decades at an increasing rate. It might be about high time we look into the root causes, and if need be, resolve them. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, hmm?”
“Something to be discussed when the Salvron threat is not an immediate concern, but yes,” Gartho said, “it seems everyone is more or less prepared.”
“It’ll be a good opportunity to put my new optimised battle-suit to the test!” Florrie called out gleefully.
“This is a life or death battle, not a science show, Florrie,” Sonia chided.
Jay sat down next to Estella. “How’re you feeling, Es?”
Estella stretched up arms upwards, inter-locking her fingers, “I think I’m pretty ready. We’ve handled the witches before in pairs. And now we’ve basically got the Commission behind us, as well. I don’t think the Emperor is prepared for another battle so soon, and if Hanzo shows up, we’ll kick his teeth in.”
“I wish I had your optimism,” Jay sighed. “Just… Don’t go running ahead without a plan, okay? If you get captured somehow, that’ll be a bigger problem for the rest of us to deal with.”
“Jay, it’ll be fine, why would I want to do that? I’m not stupid,” Estella chuckled.
Jay just sighed, and walked off. He could at least have a bit more faith in me, geez… What’s his hangup? Estella thought to herself.
She noticed that Arika was rather distinctly absent. But she had a good idea of where she likely was, so she got up and headed outside. And sure enough, sitting on a plastic mat on the grass, was Arika, making and chewing on her home-made drugs.
But Arika seemed way more focused than usual, rather than just being relaxed. It was like she was meditating, muttering something in her own native tongue. Estella sat down in front of her, “Arika? Something up?”
“I’m seeking guidance from the spirits of the land,” Arika said tersely, not even looking at her.
Estella furrowed her brow. “Guidance? Preparing for the upcoming battle?”
Arika nodded. “Gulara standing her ground out in the open isn’t like her. Especially not with the Commission after her. She knows when the gathering begins, we’ll all be on her like moths to a flame. I think she’s got some kind of trap ready, Stella.”
“Yeah, she probably does, I already figured as much. Good thing we’ve got a bunch of magic experts,” Estella said. She smirked, “also, ‘Stella’? Not a lot of people use that one.”
Arika’s gaze finally focused on her, with a grin, “it’s because I think you’re ‘stellar’!” She then smacked her cheeks with both hands, “no, no, focus. The ancestral spirits and the spirits of the world are all telling me the same thing - she’s got something up her metaphorical sleeves, and we need to be ready for anything.”
If Arika was being this uncharacteristically serious, then Estella decided she should probably heed her warnings. She nodded, “okay. I’ll be careful. What about your coven? Shouldn’t they be joining the fight as well?”
“Haven’t got a response from Mum. We don’t know if they’ll show up tonight,” Arika said. “I just hope what we’ve got now is enough.”
Estella couldn’t agree more.
Phi’Scia decided to take a break from her studies, stepping outside as the sun was setting. She was not expecting to see Aurelius outside as well, holding some kind of magical globe device, with an accompanying moon attached. She could already see the detected flows of Aether. “Trying to figure out how strong the full moon’s power will be tonight?”
“Regrettably, that’s going to be troublesome until the full moon appears, and by then we won’t have time for study,” Aurelius frowned, looking at her, “but at the same time, this is going to be a large ritual. The coven will want to draw out as much power as possible to benefit them most of all.”
“Crazy how perception can alter the very mechanics of how magic works on such a large scale,” Phi said as she looked up to the sky. The full moon was visible in the daylight, but barely.
That was when Logos landed near them, his cloaking spell disappearing. He was wearing a pair of fancy goggles that he handed over to Aurelius, “as you suspected, there’s a large amount Energeia on the move around the town. Seems the monsters that have managed to sneak in are sensing the shift already.”
“Looks we’ll have to content with a horde of local monsters and spirits as well,” Aurelius nodded, putting the goggles on his belt, “good thing we’ve got a ship with advanced weaponry.”
“That’s another problem to keep in mind, then, I’ll alert the others,” Phi said, turning to Logos, “you think Sonia’s gonna be ready for a battle?”
Logos chuckled, “eh, her enhanced physical abilities should see her through if she’s careful, and setting herself on fire might at least stop any hair from restraining her. She needs more training and understanding of her abilities, but we’ve got her back.”
“Okay, good,” Phi sighed with some relief, “nice to know that strange lady in Anja’s dreams is actually helpful.”
“Yes, about that…” Logos frowned, “something about this is utterly puzzling to me. If that woman is who I think she is…” He shook his head, “nevermind, we can’t be certain, and if what she said is true then Anja knowing would be detrimental to our cause. But it absolutely opens up a ton of questions. But we need to focus on the battle we’re about to face.”
“And this certainly isn’t going to be the end of our troubles, either - I doubt the Dark Emperor will expose his real body for this particular fight, for instance,” Aurelius said.
“No, but if we win, basically all of our distractions may end up out of the picture,” Phi said. “Assuming that the monsters and Hanzo appear, we’ve got a chance to wipe them and the evil witches all out in one clean sweep.”
“Well, then, let’s hope we’re that lucky.”
Karla wasn’t sure why, but she stared out the window, waiting for the sun to fully set. The full moon was beautiful tonight… And strangely, it seemed larger or closer than usual. How strange.
And then a switch triggered in her head, and it was like a part of herself she didn’t even know she had melded with her.
She went down in the apartment building’s garage, and got into her car, wasting no time driving out onto the streets and heading towards the beaches. She knew exactly where to go and what she had to do, now.
Once she arrived at the specific beach she was drawn to, she stopped the car, and began to strip down, getting out of the car and heading across the beach towards a rocky area that blocked line of sight from the rest of the beach. She noticed there were multiple other cars and bikes that had been left behind by others, but paid them little mind.
She could feel her belly swelling as the full moon’s light shone onto her body, and she caressed it, smiling. The baby would be ready soon, and she’d be a proud mother.
As she stepped around the rocks, she saw the large bonfire raging on the beach, just back enough from high tide level. She could see numerous witches dancing around the bonfire, chanting in a language she did not know (though that would change soon), and multiple other normal people, naked like herself, awaiting the conversion, the women all pregnant like herself.
Then she saw the Mistress, overseeing the proceedings, and she smiled widely, walking over to her, “Mistress, I’m here!”
Gulara turned to her, smiling softly as she came over, and they exchanged a brief kiss, caressing Karla’s belly. “Our child is strong and healthy. Unfortunately, it seems you brought something else with you as well.”
Karla gasped as Gulara ripped something off her back. It wasn’t painful, but it was surprising - had something been stuck to her back with tape or something? It was only when Gulara held the object in front of her that she realised it was some kind of tracking device, and she went pale immediately. “Wait, Mistress, I didn’t know-”
“Of course you didn’t, they would’ve been sure of that,” Gulara sighed, as she found multiple other tracking devices on Karla’s body that she couldn’t even feel until they were pointed out to her. “You’re being tracked technologically and magically. It’s not your fault, dear, they would’ve discovered our location one way or another.”
“So… What now, Mistress?”
“You prepare for the ritual. And I will prepare for war.”
One of the agents present in the room nodded, watching the monitoring device, “VIP is on the move. I repeat, VIP is on the move.”
“Right on cue,” Gurumarra said as he turned to the rest of the large strike team - a mixture of mages from the Commission and soldiers, and the two EAD agents. “Ladies and gentlemen, let’s move. Try to keep a good distance behind the VIP so she doesn’t notice we’re following her.”
A feminine voice chuckled through his magical earpiece, “how cute. I already found the location and are making preparations as we speak.”
He sighed, as he headed for the armoured car. He never thought he’d be working with someone like her, but her power and expertise was invaluable in a time like this. “Just make sure your target doesn’t notice your presence, otherwise he might even leave town immediately.”
“Trust me, Commissioner, I have NO intention of allowing him to escape this time. Once all of you enter the target area, well, there will be no turning back, just to be clear. I will make sure of that.”
“I am quite aware, and I have no intention of leaving until I have all of the targets either in custody or dead. See you after the operation is over,” Gurumarra said, as he got into the car.
“Of course. This is your operation, don’t make me have to clean up the mess if something goes wrong. Sayonara~!”
This woman was going to drive him up a wall. And he wasn’t sure she’d be willing to actually clean up any messes if it came to that - the only thing she really wanted to do was capture her target. He had no qualms with that, but someone like her was unreliable when it came to anything else that didn’t immediately benefit them directly. So he couldn’t count on her to do the right thing if push came to shove.
Well, that didn’t matter if everyone did their jobs right. He knew Gulara would try some devious trick, but he was prepared for whatever traps she was going to unleash on them. He was done giving her second chances.
Tonight, the coven would be smashed to pieces by his hand.
