~*~*~*~Lance~*~*~*~
Back and forth I went, back and forth in front of the door that Jake had disappeared inside of. He'd been in there for about 10 minutes now and the wait was killing me. My hair was bristled and I could actually feel my heart thundering in my chest, and it was so loud to me that it sounded like a constant drum beat thundering in this narrow hallway. The room that Jake had gone into with those dark elves was completely sound and scent proof so there was no way for him to be able to tell what was happening within. But the overpowering scent of blood that wafted into the hall when the door was open couldn't have been hidden from his nose no matter how often they cleaned in there.
Eve was sitting in one of the small stools that a pair of kids had brought for them all to wait in while the test was conducted. She was fidgeting with her thumbs while Rayne, Wallace, and Rex's other aunt Yuki discussed their next move to get Jake out of here once those doors opened. But neither one of them was talking about the very real possibility that Jake could've lost the fight with Tai which according to Rex meant almost certain death. But none of them wanted to say it either for fear of what either I or Eve would do should that have happened.
I made it pretty clear already that if anything happened to Jake in there that they'd either need to knock me out or kill me to prevent me from going after every single dark elf that was in my sight. But that was likely my other half talking, the human side... well I just don't think that I'd be able to take the shock and would no doubt revert to my wolf half just to cope. Eve didn't have that luxury and what'd happen if she lost it, well I didn't know that either but considering how scary Rayne could get when she just gets annoyed made me not want anything to do with a berserk witch.
I let out a nervous and frustrated sigh as I continued to pace back and forth in front of the door. Rex had given up long ago in trying to get me to sit down and I thanked him for it. Maybe it was my animal half, maybe it was my very real concern for Jake who was just as much my brother as Pierce, but regardless I couldn't sit still long enough to be consoled. Rex and his fiance were sitting on stools near Eve but neither of them looked to be in any rush to comfort any of them. They just sat there, Rex was leaning on Estelle's shoulder while she rested her head upon his. Rex still looked beaten up even after Rayne had worked on him, but the beating his body took before they called him back here made me wonder just what the hell he'd gone through.
Finally there was Andrew who despite his attitude was also rather quiet. He was leaning on the opposite wall of everyone else with his white hoodie pulled over his head. He was crosslegged on the floor and had his hands in his pockets, and his head resting against the wall. His white hair hung very loosely in his face completely shielding his black eyes from the rest of us. Why he was hear i didn't know, he was never particularly close to Jake. In fact the two of them fought like cats and dogs when they first met and even now they still barely got along. But whatever, it's just good to have someone else here which is more than I can say for Issac.
It's not like this place is hard to find, and he'd left them nearly an hour ago to go and eat in the privacy of his room. So where the hell was he? He knew how important it was for us all to be here, especially since he seems to have gotten pretty close to Eve and Jake. If something happened than he should be here to help comfort Eve. He should be here anyway to greet Jake if he came out alright. I let out another frustrated sigh as I continued pacing when we all heard a voice call out making us turn our heads to look.
Down at the entrance to this hall there was a tall and broad shouldered man running down the hallway. I'd never seen him before but Wallace, Rex, and Andrew all straightened up when they saw him. He had black hair that he kept fairly short, and what he did have on top he kept brushed back. Along his jaw was the beginnings of a beard, and he had long and thick almost feminine like eyelashes that rimmed his almond shaped eyes. His skin was darker than even mine was despite spending my days out in the LA sun and he spoke with an accent that I couldn't quite place.
"Sorry I'm late," He began before extending his hand out to Wallace. "Good to see you again Mr. Chairman." Wallace took the man by the forearm and once that was done the man nodded to Rayne. "And you too Ms. Grimmwell."
"Jack," Wallace named the man and Rayne acknowledged him with a nod of her head. "Good to see you're well. Thank you for coming, but what's your reason if you don't mind my asking?"
"Jake is the last student of the Proctors is he not?" Jack said as if it should've been the most obvious thing in the world. "I wish to see how far he will go to live up to his teachers."
"Yes well Jake wasn't the only student to have graduated under the Proctors." Wallace said before gesturing to me. "This is Lance Proctor, Jake's partner and brother since they were five years old."
"Yes I've heard of you as well." Jack said extending his arm which I hesitantly took by the forearm as was the customary greeting between Saints. "Strong grip on this one."
"Lance this is Ajax Solaris the-"
"The Monarch's Enforcer." Lance said before giving Ajax' hand a firmer shake. "Sorry for not recognizing you sooner, I'm a bit distracted."
"To be expected." Ajax said with a warm smile. "But I wouldn't worry about your brother Lance. If Jake is anything like your teacher than he'll pass this test with flying colors."
Ajax let out a booming laugh that echoed throughout the hallway so much so that I could feel his laughter in my chest. But he was silenced by the doors to the training room opening with a loud creaking sound and filling the hallway once again with the scent of blood. We all stopped talking and those of us that were sitting now got to our feet as we turned to look at Imperial Guard exiting the room in absolute silence. The wait to see which of the two would emerge from the doorway couldn't have been more than five seconds but with the tension that'd been built up within me it may as well had been five hours.
But that tension turned into a mix of disbelief, terror, anger, grief, and sorrow as the Lady Tai was the one to emerge from the room. Eve brought her hands to her mouth and her eyes were instantly wet with the threat of tears breaking through. Wallace's face was completely drained of color, Rayne and Rex both cracked their knuckles with how tightly they balled up their fists. Andrew didn't seem to know how to respond while Ajax looked more disappointed than anything. I on the other hand could feel my bones rearranging themselves and steam was flowing from my mouth as my eyes began to give off a green glow. I lunged at Tai who didn't even flinch while Wallace and the rest of them grabbed my by the arms and shoulders as I tried grabbing this bitch by her throat.
I let out an animal-like snarl as my jaws snapped shut just short of her damned blank face. Slobber was falling from my mouth and I could feel the horrible ache in my face as a snout began to grow an my canines extended. I could feel everyone's feet beginning to slide along the ground as Wallace was screaming at me to stop but I was so dead set on tearing this bitch apart piece by painful piece that everything I saw had a red mist over it. Yet still she merely stood there without even so much as a move to defend herself, she just looked at me with those cold dead eyes for a moment longer before she continued walking down the hallway.
"Lance knock it off!" Said a voice that made my eyes grew huge and seemingly dispelled my blood lust. I spun around to see a figures stepping out of the training room, he was leaning heavily on a wooden crutch and was heavily bandaged across his torso with a red splotch on the that was just slightly off center. The red mist that had fallen over my vision was washed away in that instant that I saw him looking at me. "We're guests here, don't get me into any more trouble I really don't want to fight her again."
"Jake!" Eve shouted throwing her arms around him and making him cry out.
"Hey, hey easy I got a hole in my body no added weight please!" Jake said with a hiss but Eve didn't care she just tightened her hold around his neck. There was a pause before Jake hugged her back and a quiet exchange of words was spoken between them.
"You- You passed?" Rex said as if he couldn't believe what his eyes were showing him.
"You ever have any doubts?" Jake asked with a grin on his face.
"But how?"
"Oh you know bit of this, bit of that, a sword dragged down her torso and here I am." Jake said with a shrug.
"You hit her back?" Yuki asked even more shocked than her nephew. "You actually got a solid hit on her?"
"Sheesh does me saying I passed not mean what I said was true?" Jake asked as I walked up to him. He tilted his head at me before he spoke. "What's up?"
I didn't even dignify that with and answer, instead I just took his crutch from him and lent my shoulder to him which he gladly took. "Don't do that again." I said quietly as I helped him walk down the hall.
Jake looked down at me as if he were thinking about something before he nodded his head. "Long as I can help it, okay?"
~*~*~*~Several Hours Later Near an Estate Just Outside Kyoto~*~*~*~
"You're sure this is where we might find them?" Issac asked the dark elf woman named Zhang who nodded her head. "Okay, thanks for getting me this far. You should get back to the palace."
Zhang shook her head at that. "No, I'm not going to bring you here just so that you can get yourself killed."
"Don't worry." Issac said peaking over the wall of the compound. "I have no intention of getting killed."
"Then you really shouldn't have come here!" Called out that familiar voice that made Issac's blood run cold. He looked up and saw a familiar green-eyed shape looking down at him from a post on the wall. Gabriel was leaning on the railing looked to be mulling something over. "A vampire and a grey-skin together? Gross."
"Gab-" Issac began but dove in front of Zhang when his son pulled a pistol from his belt and fired it at her. The bullet tore through Issac's chest and bounced off of one of his ribs, cracking it but it missed his heart.
He looked up at Gabriel who was clapping his hands together now with an amused look on his face. "How chivalrous of you to take a bullet for the lady." He said in a mocking tone. "But you don't really think that's going to stop this do you?"
"Gabriel stop this!" Issac called out.
"No." He retorted narrowing his eyes and popping off several more shots. None of them were aimed for Issac's chest telling him that Gabriel was just going to make this hurt, and he was succeeding. Still Issac bit back his cries though there was no way that anyone inside this mansion didn't hear those gunshots. "You're a toughie aren't you? Good enough for my new toy, I could use one as cute as you."
"Wake up will you?" Issac screamed, making Gabriel raise a brow. "I'm your father Gabriel, don't you remember this?" Issac tore the stone from his neck and held it up to his son while motioning Zhang to leave. Gabriel's eyes opened just a bit wider at the sight of the stone and Issac could see that he recognized this. "That's it, remember, you gave this to me on our ranch in the colonies."
Gabriel's mouth twitched before he fired his gun again this time catching Issac in the hand making him drop the stone to the ground far below him. "Get real." He said flatly. "You're not my father, and showing me some pebble doesn't do it for me. I thought you were kind of cute but now you're just weird. It's a turn off."
Issac cradled his hand against his chest before shooting his son a glare. "Stark Constantine isn't your father Gabriel!" He shouted with glowing blue eyes. "He and that twisted bitch of a wife brainwashed you!"
"Hey those are my parents your talking about." Gabriel said pointing the gun at Issac again. "Insult my mother again and you'll regret it... Actually how do you even know my parents' names? Who are you?"
"I told you, I'm your father Gabriel." Issac said loudly as Zhang quietly spirited herself away. "I'm Issac Ravendale, your mother's name is Georgia Ravendale, and you are Gabriel-"
"Constantine. My name is Gabriel Constantine" Gabriel said with furrowed brows as he tilted his head at Issac. "You know what I do remember you. A few days ago, yeah, you showed up and said I was your son there too." Gabriel shot him a mocking grin and a shrug. "What kind of freak gets off on trying to take other people's kids?"
Issac's eyes shone with more blue fire now as he jumped from his spot on the wall up to the post that Gabriel was standing on. His son shot backwards and was crouching on the railing on the far side from Issac with the gun raised to him. "Look at my face and tell me you don't recognize me!" Issac yelled as Gabriel again narrowed his eyes. "Think back two hundred years ago, a small farm in the American colonies, you, me, and your mother. Think back to then."
"You're right, I do recognize you." Gabriel said making Issac's heart jump into his throat. "From the other day."
"Gabe-"
Another gunshot sounded that caught Issac right in the shoulder, making him twist halfway around before he lunged for his son. Gabriel jumped again firing one more time only to have his gun click, signalling that he was out of bullets. He hissed in annoyance before placing the pistol back into the his belt as two massive bat wings tore free from his shirt. Issac felt the crawling sensation along his back before two wings sprung free of his back now. Gabriel looked surprised but he didn't let that overtake him as Issac jumped after him.
His shoulder tore into Gabe's stomach and the two of them fell to the ground below, crashing through several tree limbs on the way. They landed hard with Issac trying to hold his son down but got two boots to the gut in response, sending him flying over head and into the wall of the mansion. He picked himself back up and flew after Gabriel who had already cleared the height of the mansion. Issac took hold of his son's ankle and tried pulling him back down only to be met with a boot to the face.
There was a loud cracking sound as that one kick shattered Issac's nose and filled his mouth with his own blood while he continued to struggle with his son. When he finally grabbed hold of both of Gabe's legs Issac pulled with all of his might dragging Gabriel down so that they were face to face. He told him to stop but only got a punch as a response, which separated them from each other. Gabriel flew a bit higher while Issac gave chase. He wasn't going to fight his son, but if he had to he would restrain him and make him remember who he was. The two of them were easily over 100 feet above the mansion's highest point now and once they were that high Gabriel turned around so fast that Issac had no time to react.
His son's shoulder connected with him so quickly that Issac had no chance of actually recovering. But he began to hold onto Gabriel for all he was worth while his son kicked off his boots and changed far enough that his feet were adorned with gargoyle claws. Issac continued to struggle with his son but after transforming so much the difference in their strength wasn't something that could be overcome unless Issac also transformed which he wasn't willing to do. Instead he tried in vain to tangle Gabriel's limbs with his own, but Gabriel wasn't focused on that. It wasn't until Issac felt a horrible pain from his wings that he knew was Gabriel was doing. He was ripping apart the skin of his wings with his claws to prevent him from flying.
Issac now knowing full well what his son was trying to do began to transform himself to speed up his healing. But by the time he reached the same level as his son, Gabriel had brought his knees to his chest for a moment before fully extending his body. The force of that sent Issac's body straight down with that much more force, as a spire ripped its way through Issac's back where it exited his stomach. He let out an inhuman screech while Gabriel used his powerful wings to bring himself up a good twenty feet before shooting straight down again. He stomped on Issac's chest with all his weight and strength of his wings, sending Issac right through the roof of the mansion and into one of the many rooms.
He tried getting up but Gabriel followed him down and put a clawed foot on his chest to hold him down while he slowly regressed into his human shape. "You really are a dumbass you know that?" Gabriel spoke as if he were scolding him. "You didn't even try to fight back. But then again, at least you get to see me without a shirt on before you die so there's that."
Gabriel brought his leg up ready to stomp on Issac's head but before his foot could come down another familiar voice called out. "Not yet!" Gabriel froze and looked to the side as did Issac, where they found Stark walking toward them. He was dressed very casually with pajama bottoms and a plain white shirt on. Gabriel complained to him but Stark silenced him with a raising of his hand as he crouched down over Issac. "You just never learn do you?"
"What'd you do to my son?" Issac coughed out before letting out a scream as Stark grabbed the spire that'd impaled him.
He twisted it for a moment before ripping it out of Issac's stomach. "You're son? What do you mean dear grandson? Gabriel is my son, you must have him confused with someone else."
"I'll get you for this Stark." Issac said in a threatening voice. "And I'll get my son back."
"Again with calling him your son." Stark said rolling his eyes. "I'll say this one more time." He said grabbing Issac by the throat hoisting him off the floor and looking him in the eye. "Gabriel. Is. Mine."
Pic is Gabriel, doesn't he look mischievous?