The Majikus Circus. 8D Five Years Ahead~

Nylat growled deeper as the second scientist entered, and let go of David's leg as she was zapped in the side. She growled, almost drowning out David's words of "I'll get it checked later." Nylat snarled deeply as the rod inched closer to her pups. But before she could do anything, the door bust open and someone dashed in. David lost hold of the catchrod that held her still, and she slipped out of the loosened 'noose,' gasping for breath. Worried that the newcomer, despite having just punched the shocky-dude, had bad intentions, she latched her teeth into his leg, before realizing what had just happened and instantly letting go, looking up at Dravius. "I'msosorryohmygoodnessforgiveme." The sound of footsteps caught her attention again, and she noticed that David had slipped out of the room, and was limping down the hall as fast as possible. Growling, she flicked her tail and grabbed the catchpole, catching up with David without even having to run. She adjusted her bite on the pole and looped the 'noose' end around his neck, pulling back on her end of the rope. He hit the ground as Ny pulled, gasping. "Oh no you don't, sir. You're going nowhere." She then promptly dragged him back into the room, dropping the pole as soon as his feet cleared the doorway, and dashing over to her pups, licking them and making sure they were okay. "Thank you so much Dravius I am so sorry for biting you."

~~

Kanec was silent for most of the time, not responding when addressed, his mind boiling over in anger. He was pretty much seeing red. Finally, when Selvai finally spoke of actually taking them, he shifted back into his human form, quietly taking the magician's other hand, wings half-flared out of pure tension. "Ready whenever you are."

Ava grimaced as the blonde woman, in a moment of rebellios stupidity, knocked over one of her scientists while unfurling her wings. She let out a hiss of annoyance when the man fell over a nearby tray of instruments, sending them rattling across the floor. Not that she cared all that much if the man was injured or not. There were always more lackeys that could be hired, after all. What really angered her was the instruments that were now scattered across the tiles. It would take time to collect them all, and they would have to be re-sterilized before they could be used again.

"That was very foolish of you," the silver haired woman snapped, slamming the items in her hand down on a nearby tray. "You two, stop bothering with him and restrain her arms," Ava ordered the pair of scientists holding up the man Maya had kicked over. Grabbing one of the syringes of sedative, she approached Maya once the pair of scientists had managed to hold back her arms, jabbing the needle into her arm and injecting the contents. "Now, shall we try this again?" she asked. "Or will we need the restraints as well?"

Taking the scalpel and cup back off the tray, Ava delicately scraped the blonde's nearest wing with the side of the blade, holding the specimen cup close to gather the dust that came off the surface of the orange wing. Screwing the cap on, the silver haired scientist attached a label to the cup, writing briefly on the sticker before placing both the scalpel and cup on a tray out of reach of the women's wings. "That was a bit silly, to cause such a fuss over something so minor," Ava remarked. She was placing several vials, syringes, and petri dishes onto a tray as she spoke. "Especially since it's this next part which is going to hurt."

-----

It had taken more leaps than Selvai had been comfortable with to finally reach the town, and then he'd only been able to bring the group the to the outskirts of the city. He was now leaning against a small tree, resting for a moment before they headed into the city. The magician finally straightened, stepping away from the tree and rubbing at his temples before throwing a strained mile at his companions. "Right, shall we get going? I am sorry that I cannot pinpoint their location any closer than this, but I can locate the building by sight once we find it."

After far too long of walking along the streets, the group turned onto a dead-end street, the abandoned and boarded up buildings lining it giving the impression that there was nothing of importance on this particular lane. However, at the very end stood a large, ordinary seeming brick building, with a few trees planted around it. The windows had been covered with a reflective sort of tint, to prevent anyone from being able to see inside while allowing the occupants to still view whatever was outside. Selvai attempted to casually rest against a burnt out lamppost while nodding in the direction of the large building.

"That is it," he said quietly to the others. "It is the same building I saw while scrying." He glanced over at the circus master. "Now that we are here... What is the plan for finding and liberating our family members? I am afraid if we are not careful, we may put them in more danger while trying to rescue them. These people were able to subdue both Nylat and Dravius, and control them long enough to bring them here, after all."

((I AM GOING TO KILL MY CONNECTION.))

Having kept her eyes firmly on Ava's face, Maya felt a peculiar kind of satisfaction at the slightly irked expression that flitted across it in response to the blonde's momentary show of resistance. Yes. It probably wasn't a smart thing to do at all, considering she was, pretty much, at the mercy of this cold-blooded scientist. But it had been the only way really for her to vent, without being openly rebellious. That would have, most likely, resulted in something far, far worse. For her, probably.

At Ava's snappy remark, Maya remained quiet and unresponsive. There was a sense of a peculiar distractedness about the young woman as she sat there. Most likely due to the fear that was still festering within her stomach. It was her only way of really dealing with it.

When the silver haired smoker had issued her command, the blonde allowed the scientists to hold her arms firmly without any complaint at all. The only real change had been the shift in her expression, that had become an outright glare in Ava's direction. Honestly?... She actually thought she was going to do something that stupid that she needed to be restrained?... It wasn't like she'd even shifted from where she sat.

Exhaling through her nose, the butterfly winged woman flinched only slightly when the needle entered her arm, keeping her breathing as steady as she was able as she almost felt the sedative take effect. She allowed her eyes to fall on a nearby tile on the floor; Her expression distracted. Again she ignored Ava's words, only responding with a fleeting glare, before allowing her head to drop forward slightly, eyes closed. "Clumsy me." She murmered with a quiet snort as the scientist spoke about making an issue out of it. The scientists following words, however, caused Maya to look up at her again.

Well that sounded ominous. Not that she felt she couldn't handle a couple of needles... But really... For some peculiar reason, she was expecting something a lot worse than just a couple of pointy metal pieces. She was starting to feel a lot more nervous, all of a sudden.

~~~

After the somewhat haphazard travelling method of Selvai's teleportation, Raphael had had to sit himself down for a few minutes as the magician rested himself over by a nearby tree. The first leap had been incredibly disorientating, though the Ring-Master kept any personal feelings about this form of travel to himself. He hadn't wanted to put Selvai off in any way. Still... It HAD got easier with each leap.

Zyano, like Raphael, had found the method unusual, thouugh he seemed to gain his balance and sense of direction far quicker than the blonde male had. Perhaps it had something to do with him being on four paws, or something of the sort. Shaking his head, his boy following shortly after, he padded quickly in the direction of the nearby town, shortly accompanied by the others.

"Please." Raphael said, waving a hand in Selvai's direction. "You did just fine." He grinned. "This has still saved us hours of travel. It's done an awful lot for us."

Of course, locating the actual building took quite a bit of time, although not nearly as long had the actual travelling time being added on. When the group finally did locate the building, Raphael simply looked at it with a kind of analyzing look; His only movement being his hand which he place on Zyano's head at the hybrid's deep and unbridled growling.

He moved his head to look at Selvai as the Magician voiced his question, a small indistinct noise making it's way from Raphael's throat. "You forget what I can do." He said, a grim smile on his features. "I can get us in easy enough. I can keep us hidden easy enough... It's getting them out that might be a problem. People tend to notice when other people simply dissappear. We may have to fight our way out... At least, through some of them. If worst comes to the worst... I can probably manage to keep most of them at bay."

He shrugged, then headed off towards the buildding, being sure to cloak the little group's physical appearance from view, as well as any sound they may make. Getting through the door this way was simple, and the group came to a stop in the entrance corridor completely unnoticed. Two random people dressed in labcoats passed without the slightest trace of seeing anyone there.

"Huh... Scientists?" Raphael murmered, as Zyano growled again.

"I can smell them... Sort of." He hissed. "I can't make out the direction... It's too clean in here."

The Ring-Master glanced at Zyano, then looked at Selvai and Kanec. He would have suggested splitting up, letting Selvai take care of hiding him and Zyano, while Raphael kept himself and Kanec away from prying eyes... However. He felt he had asked far too much of the magician already, and he had assumed that teleporting them over this distance had probably taken enough out of him without adding this. Raphael would have to do this bit.

"All right." He said. "We'll have to walk around then. It shouldn't take too long... Come on." The Ring-Master then stepped off, heading down an empty corridor, his eyes everywhere.

*DED*

((*pokes with stick* I guess I should post soon, hunh?))

Would be nice. 8<

Dravius, as soon as he had decked the scientist in the jaw and stood in front of the cage full of puppies, yelped slightly as he felt teeth dig into his leg- "The fuh-" The Co-Master yanked his leg away, although he probably would have just ripped a chunk out of his leg if Nylat hadn't let go. "Oh, shit, Ny." Dravius sighed, more in exasperation, as he watched one leg of his bright white pants become heavy and bright red. "S' fine, you were kinda surprised." Nylat had scrambled away in short order, and the young man bent down to try and pick out the fibers that the hybrid's teeth had driven into the puncture wounds in his calf. "Hmmm. I hate puncture wounds." He murmered, straightening back up as she dragged a scientist back in with what looked like a catch pole, then sprinted to her children.

"D'you want...me....to hold this or something?" Crossing the room, Dravius hefted the catchpole, half-dragging the scientist with him. "Hey, s' no biggie. They're just kinda bitchy to stitch up." He shrugged his shoulders, then looked behind him. "I'm gonna go look for the others, do you want me to leave this guy here....or...?"

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

Paul had jumped slightly when he was addressed, stuffing his hands in his pockets and trying his best look like he wasn't interested in Maya at all. "Oh. Okay. You....you said....can I have this one too?" He pointed at Maya, then stuck his hands back into his pockets and turned his attention back to Penelope, who seemed about to leave.

His face lit up in a rather terrifying fashion at the young girl's mention of Kioko, cocking his head to the side. "She's not my friend." He stated, touching the strap of the bag he was still wearing, which contained an outrageous amount of sharp objects, all well cleaned and kept in dangerously good condition. Paul followed after Penelope as she walked down the hallways, until they reached Kioko's room.

With a slight scratching noise, Paul slid his key card through the electronic lock, and turned the knob almost speculatively. Crossing the room, the young man sat himself on the passed out woman's bed, turned her over and took her chin in his hands, studying her carefully, tilting his head to the side, a smirk on his face. Suddenly, Paul's head whipped towards the door, taking a deep breath through his nose, and stood up abruptly, eyebrows furrowed.

Trotting over to the door, the young man walked a few steps out into the hall and looked from left to right, freezing when he caught sight of a bloody leg disappearing around a corner. "Oh, THERE'S a tease." He grinned, turning to Penny and saying, "I think someone's gotten out. And he seems positively drenched with blood, the harlot." His smile was quickly becoming manic, his pupils noticaby smaller than before. "We should get him before he wanders off too far, shouldn't we, Penny?"

Tying a rubber strip around Maya's upper arm, Ava jabbed the first of the syringes into the blondes arm, drawing off blood into an attached vial. She repeated the process until the rest were filled, then placed the vials into a rack on the tray. "Very good so far," she said in a patronizing tone. The scientist ripped open a packet of alcohol wipes, gripping Maya's elbow tightly and swabbing the skin quickly. Tossing the used wipe into the trash, Ava snatched a scalpel from the tray. "Now, this part might hurt a slight bit more."

The silver haired woman made sure to hold the knife steady as she cut away a small patch of skin from the inside of Maya's arm, peeling it off and transferring it to a waiting petri dish. She placed the cover over the dish, then covered the wound with a bandage. The scientist moved onto the next part of her sample taking, picking up a small pair of curved scissors. "Hold your wings still," Ava ordered. Choosing an empty petri dish from the tray, she moved around to Maya's back. She picked a spot near the bottom of the blonde's wings and snipped off a small, dime sized piece of the membrane, using the scissors to carefully transfer it to the petri dish. "Tell me, did you feel any pain at all during that? If so, how high would you rate it on a scale of one to ten?" Ava inquired, stepping back around and putting the dish back on the tray. "You see, I'm curious about the structure of your wings. Do you have any nerve endings, blood vessels, etc. in them. Also, will they heal if torn or otherwise injured?"

Done with the blood and tissue samples, Ava pushed that tray aside and picked up a chart and pen, clicking it rather obnoxiously. "Now for the last bit of today's examination." She pointed at Maya with the pen, smirking nastily. "Strip down, and toss your clothing into that trash bin over there. I'll need to make notes of any scars, marks or any other odd things before we take you back to your room. And don't try to be stubborn, I doubt you want to be strapped to the table like your tall friend was."

-----

Lionel was tired. And scared. When the mean men had taken Maya they'd left him alone in the strange bed in the strange room, with no one else around to rock him back to sleep or tell him a story. The child slid off the bed, dragging the white sheet with him. He toddled to the blank door, pushing at it with both hands. Frustrated when the big white slab wouldn't move, Leo slumped in front of it, sniffling and pulling at the sheet. When no one came back for him after a few minutes, Lionel started crying harder, wailing and hiccuping.

-----

"Alright. If we do end up having to fight our way out, I can at least teleport Lionel and the others outside and away from here... I do not like the idea of splitting up, but it would get them away from this place, and the rest of you would not need to worry about protecting them while fighting," Selvai offered. He wouldn't entertain the thought that perhaps none of those taken captive would be in shape to be moved once they were found. He'd become as enraged as Kanec and Zyano if he started thinking too deeply about the possible reasons their friends had been kidnapped.

The magician followed behind the rest of the group as they moved through the corridors, edging around the clueless scientists they encountered. As they moved deeper into the building, they passed by a side corridor, and the magician paused. "Wait for a moment. Zyano, your hearing is better than mine. Could you concentrate, and tell me if you hear anything down this corridor?" he asked, pointing to the hallway they had just walked past. "I believe I heard a child crying."

((NO AVA, I DON'T WANT TO STRIP.))

Penelope had headed straight to Kioko's cell, rolling her eyes slightly at Paul. Honestly. He'd have anyone who was capable of bleeding. She shook her head, her feet making no sound on the floor of the corridor as she turned her head to focus her gaze on the split haired male.

"Of course not... I suppose... Victim, would be a better word." She mused quietly, stepping aside to allowing the man to open the pyro's cell door. She followed him in, keeping herself stood by the door as she watched him express his interest in the albino. So long as he didn't do too much damage, everything would turn out fine. The girl very nearly rolled her eyes again, only stopped by the man' sudden change in expression and interest.

Penelope looked slightly confused when Paul passed her to stand outside in the hall, following him a couple of steps behind. "What?" She asked, eyes narrowing slightly as she followed the male's gaze down the hallway. She didn't quite see anything herself, but she was pretty certain Paul wouldn't have lied about it... Besides. There was an awful lot of blood littering the usually clean, white floor.

"... I think I agree." She said quietly, stepping off quickly down the hall in the diection Paul had been looking. "Be sure to close the Albino's door behind you."

~~~

Fang, who had remained silent during Ava's activities with the tall male, had followed the silver haired woman once she had finished with him and had headed off to fetch her second subject. He had chosen to accompany her here, and he waited silently in the room. A good portion of time passed uneventfully, up until the point Penelope's somewhat sudden message caused him to glance up sharply.

Someone free, hm?... One of the subjects.

He paused, then looked at Ava. Unable to speak as he was, he proceeded to let loose a vicious sounding growl. It wouldn't have meant anything to anyone, really. But it would have meant much, much more to the silver haired scientist. A warning, to be precise.

~~~

Huh. Well... She'd been expecting that much. Maya watched in silence as Ava started placing a number of instruments on a nearby tray, paying far too much attention to the sharper objects within the scientists arsenal. She remained impassive as the silver haired smoker placed a band around her arm, wincing only slightly when the needle was inserted; And keeping her eyes conveniently focused away from the vials.

The blonde snorted quietly at the scientists' patronizing tone, although she couldn't quite prevent herself from automatically pulling away slightly when Ava started scraping at the skin on her arm. She probably would have made more of an issue of the thing if it hadn't been for the two scientists who still firmly held her in place due to her earlier actions.

As such, the scientists next command to keep her wings still caused Maya to glare at her, up until the point she lost sight of the silver haired woman. The actual cutting of her wing wasn't really painful, so much as Maya could actually feel the sudden difference in the membrane. The sensation of pain was usually located closer to the body, thep ain being more pronounced where the muscle existed very near to her back, though of course, Maya wasn't going to willingly divulge that information if she could help it.

As such, Ava's question didn't exactly gain a real response. The blonde winged young woman simply looked at her, frowning slightly. She listened to the rest of the scientists question, throwing an irritated glance at the scientists who held her arms, before responding in a flat voice. "Aren't you supposed to be the scientist?"

It was probably an unwise thing to say, unfortunately, the young woman's irritation and slight drugging had probably effected her good sense. Maya allowed her gaze to fall again, looking up sharply when Ava spoke. Woah. WOAH. What.

There was no way- She just- What!

Maya was not NEARLY drugged enough to willingly take anything off in front of these people, and almost instinctively she started straining against the two men who held her arms. There was a momentary pause when Ava mentioned Dravius; The worry for the Co-Master still being somewhat prominent in the young woman's emotions. She then returned to her struggling, her flaring wings causing a serious problem for the scientists holding onto her.

It was only the terrifying sudden appearance of the shadow man that stopped her struggling; She hadn't really noticed him before... The snarling noises he was making causing a shiver to run down her spine. Maya wasn't quite sure what to make of it... Something was obviously very wrong, though. That much was obvious.

~~~

Raphael had kept up his vigil, his gaze peering into every room they passed, and gazing speculatively down most corridors. To say this place was huge was an understatement. Every corridor just seemed to lead to more corridors, and there were doors in every one of them.

At Selvai's suggestion, the Ring-Master nodded slightly. "Might be an idea." He said, peering into another corridor. "We'll see how it goes. At this moment in time, we're kind of just winging this." He paused, tilting his head slightly at the magicians' following words. Zyano, who had been desperately trying to detect the others using his nose, had been becoming increasingly frustrated by his inability to find them.

The hybrid had been so focused this way that even he had almost missed the child's crying plea. It was only Selvai's words that brought his attention to the corridor, and Zyano almost immediately heard the despairing sound. "Lionel." He said suddenly, pelting off in the kids direction. Surely, wherever Leo was, the others were...

"Woah, Zyano!" Raphael started, shooting off after the hybrid. The amount of time it took them to reach the door was surprisingly short, and the Ring-Master skidded a good distance before managing to get himself to stop completely. Zyano was stood, looking at a nearby, heavy looking door. "He's in here." The hybrid said, pushing against the door. "I can't just smash through this, though... It sounds like he's just behind it."

Raphael stared at the door thoughtfully, then looked at Selvai. "Got any spells for this?" He aske,d gesturing towards the card slot by the door.

((TOO BAD. TAKE YOUR CLOTHES OFF ANYWAY.))

Kanec had shifted into a cat upon arriving at the building, needing the extra help in his balance. Shifting alone had helped, but he was still a bit shaky. As they set off, he shited into a raven and flew up to Raphael's shoulder, shifting once more into a cat. He listened idly to the conversation around him, more focused on keeping his temper down. Or else they might find a building coming down around their ears.

But as soon as Selvai had heard it--and before he mentioned anything, Kanec had heard the crying, and had leapt straight from Raphael's shoulder to the ground, shooting off like fluffy brown lightning. He scrabbled at the door for a moment before the other caught up, and he stared at the door in frustration, ears back. He hissed. "Back up." He shifted into a roach, slipping under the door through the ever-so-small crack. Once inside, he shifted into his human self, picking up Leo gently. "Shhhhh. It's okay. Daddy's here~" He carried his son over to the bed and set him down. "Stay right there, okay?" Then he strode over to the door, wings flared angrily.

"Hope you guys don't mind conspicuous anymore--and backed up."

He shifted into a dragon, breaking down the door with ease and roaring loudly into the hallways of the building, daring anyone to try and mess with him.

~~

Nylat shrugged. "Leave him there." She scooped up both of her pups by their scruffs, ready to find someplace to hide until she could escape. She couldn't charge out like she did last time--they'd get hurt. And if Dravius was leaving to find the others, she couldn't make him stay with her pups. Not that she was going to leave them with just anyone at the moment. She was about to mutter something around the fur in her mouth when a loud roar caught her attention, and she glanced around. "Was that...?"

Raphael had gone back to looking thoughtfully at the door, eyes narrowed and eyebrows furrowed as he awaited Selvai's answer. The magician had been the only logical choice, really... Seeing as smashing the door down was likely to cause Leo some injury should they attempt it.

The Ring-Master paid scant attention to Kanec scratching at the door, still pondering the issue up until the Shifter spoke. He watched the male shift, then took a step back from the door, eyebrows raised. "Well. That's one way of doing it, I suppose." He murmered, glancing up and down the hallway to check they were still alone. He still had his illusion up, but that didn't in any way prevent him keeping his eyes open.

At the somewhat sudden banging on the door, the blonde Ring-Master sharply turned his head, gray eyes narrowing again as he watched the door fall outward, smashed open by Kanec's rather imposing dragon form. The Shifter's words had caused a cold, anxious sort of feeling to settle in the blonde's stomach, and he opened his mouth to speak, his expression forbidding.

"Kanec, wha-" He started, cutting himself off as Kanec let loose an almight roar. Unfortunately, Raphael's illusion had only been powerful enough to cover their sight and sound up to a certain level, because the Ring-Master thought there would be no need to provide a more powerful illusion. The volume of sound Kanec had decided to let out broke the current limit however, and Raphael wasn't able to adjust his illusion to hide it in time. He realised immediately, and his expression was that of someone who was trying to keep a firm hold of their emotion.

"Kanec." Raphael said, keeping his tone of voice as level as he was able. "What the HELL did you do that for?" He asked, allowing his illusion to fall. It wasn't going to do anything now. "You've just alerted everyone in this building that we're here. And considering the size of this place, that is a lot of people."

The Ring-Master exhaled sharply through his nose, before holding the bridge of it with an exaggerated calm. "We didn't come here to start a war, Kanec. And you do realise you've just made it that much harder to find the others?... I was hoping to get us oiut of here with minimal casualties. And now..." He shook his head in disgust. No doubt the place would be swarming very soon. "... This is EXACTLY what I was trying to AVOID."

The Ring-Master inhaled, then raised his narrowed eyes to Kanec. "You. Keep a hold on that temper of yours." He said in a voice that refused argument. "We need to find the others and get out of here, not start a riot." He then turned to Selvai, his expression still flat. "... It looks like we are going to have to fight our way out of here... Right after we fight our way through it, thanks to our friend here. Unless we get out quick enough."

The blonde threw one last irritated look at Kanec, then stomped off down the hall. 2Come on." He said flatly. The quicker they found the others, the better. Raphael had NOT wanted to cause too much damage, despite whatever it was these people were doing... This wasn't why they came here... And of course... The chances of getting everyone out unharmed had dwindled considerably since Kanec had pretty much just put up a neon sign declaring their presence.

Zyano, who had been somewhat surprised by the Ring-Master's controlled anger, had remained silent, following the blonde when he started walking. "... Seeing as... We're not hiding anymore..."

The blonde looked at the hybrid, causing Zyano to flinch slightly under that steady gaze. "... Fine." Raphael grumbled. "Go find Nylat... It'll be quicker if we split up now, anyway. And we need to be as quick as possible."

Zyano bowed his head in quite thanks, before pelting off down the corridor, following the smallest of trails of Nylat's scent. He encountered only a couple of scientists, both of whom had been scrambling around looking for the source of the earlier noise. The large hybrid had managed to subdue both without actually killing them, before continuing on his way.

It was only a sudden, strong scent of blood that brought the giant hybrid to a stop, and he immediately headed for the door that harboured it, slipping his head through. A sudden sweep of relief flitted through his being at the sight of Nylat. He shoved the door, then bounded over to his mate, nosing her with probably more force than was strictly necessary.

"Are you all right?" He asked suddenly, licking Nylat's snout continually, being sure to get the pups also while he was at it. He managed to restrain himself long enough to glance around the room, glaring for a second at the unconscious scientist and the one held by a pole. "What exactly happened?" He asked, turning his blazing amber gaze back to his mate and children. "... I wasn't able to follow your scent..." He paused, then nudged Nylat gently, torn between wanting to tear a limb off one of the nearby people, and getting out of there. "...Come on... We need to get going... We don't have much time. This place is going to get busy before long... And I think that's something we want to avoid" He murmered, licking Tylia and Kylain. His priority now was to get his family out of there safely, despite how much he wanted to attack the people in this place for taking them... Quite suddenly he understood Raphael's earlier objections with crystal clarity. The sudden thought of a swarming building was near alarming, especially seeing as his family was the most important thing at this moment.

Paul's smirk split into a huge, shark-like grin, and he nodded, shoving the door closed behind him, taking a second to lock it. There was indeed a trail of blood along the tiles. Bending his knees for a moment, he planted both hands into seperate point in the trail, then standing back up and running his now bloody hands through his hair from his hairline back, smearing the sticky red all the way through his locks and down the back of his neck, where a strong sense of pleasure was building. The young man's hair stuck up unevenly and the white part was stained with crimson streaks. Paul had a strong compulsion to lick the palms of his hands, but the blood HAD been on the floor, and come on, that was gross.

Contenting himself with running his still slightly sticky hands through his hair once again, the young man noticed his hands shaking slightly. He hadn't had a good bath in a while. Too conspicuous. Trotting rather nonchalantly through the halls, Paul quickly caught sight of a sprinting figure nearly slipping around a corner. Paul took off at a fast run, slowly but surely gaining on the tall, dark haired male. At the point where it was possible, Paul hurled himself at the running man, grabbing an arm and dragging the man to thr ground, with a few dozen expletives on the other man's part.

He was bleeding heavily. Dravius had been hauled down almost atop the other man, but landed on his back quite hard. Cursing, he tried to sit up, but the man was obstructed by one of the weirdos from the van sitting on his chest. And drooling pretty heavily. Holy fucking shit, this guy looked like he had just inhaled his own body weight in cocaine. Dravius tried once more to dislodge the man, who promptly snarled and produced a knife from god knows where. A low hiss, along with a slight spray of saliva, proceeded the man driving the long knife into the cap of muscle into Dravius' upper arm.

God damn. The man's face followed his knife, while pulling the metal out of Dravius' shoulder. Like a kitten, Paul nuzzled the site of the blood welling up, placing one hand on the taller man's chest.

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

What.....what was happening. Dravius was sitting in a state of shock, disbeleiving as the weirdo began rubbing his arms, face, and hands all over the cut in his shoulder. "Alright, that's totally enough." Dravius shoved the man off him, who was already off balance due to his...nuzzling. The man was visibly trembling, and absolutely covered in blood. "What in the seven hells are you doing?" The tall, dark haired male demanded, staring at the shaking man on the floor.

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

Paul had been more than a little bit surprised when the man didn't begin screaming, or writhing....or something. LAAAAAAAAAME. He had been even more surprised when the man stood up. That didn't happen. The young man's pupils were now mere pinpricks as he stared up at Dravius with unblinking eyes, his face, hands and sweater smeared with red.

He wanted more. And Dravius had the nerve to STAND UP. A snarl contorned his entire face, and Paul lunged at Dravius, bowling him over. He had regained his knife, and drew it across Dravius' chest quickly, wriggling out of his top layer so that he could have more contact with the blood his his short sleeved shirt.

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"HOLY SHIT." Was Dravius' only response as the shorter man jumped at him with a surprising amount of force. He fell onto his back again, trying his best to shove the manic man off of his chest.

Oh, there went the sweater. This was making Dravius increasingly uncomfortable, and he was beginning to feel more than a little lightheaded from the amount of blood he was loosing. "Stop-fuck..." Dravius tried repeatedly to shove Paul off of himself, but only suceeded for a fraction of a second before the werido went back to running himself all over him. OH, THERE WENT THE SHIRT.

Paul paused for a second, his eyes clouded and wide. He then began methodically cutting Dravius' shirt off, using one hand to fend of Dravius' increasingly woozy attempts to dislodge him.

((Paul you are a total creep.))

Penelope had sighed. She had the weirdest, foreboding sort of feeling. Understandable, due to her current company and the fact that they were about to chase down a heavily bleeding subject. No doubt this was going to end in some sort of distaster. It was almost bound to.

Sighing again, the girl stepped away from the door, following the quickly moving Paul at a steadier pace. She didn't even bother to run to keep up when the duo-haired man dissappeared around a corner, although in truth she hadn't really been that far behind him anyway, so she hadn't much need to do so. Stepping lightly around the corner, she stopped suddenly at the sight of Paul, quite frankly mauling the tall, dark haired male they had apprehended earlier.

Ah. So he had been the one to get out.

Taking a few steps forward, the dark haired girl had been about to tell Paul to cut it out, when she caught sight of the amount of blood and the feel of the general air. It didn't bother her, really, but it meant there was absoloutely no chance in hell Paul was going to listen to her now. He probably wouldn't even hear her, at this point. A couple of scientists, who had been sprinting around looking for the escaped subject, came to a stop beside Penelope, looking suddenly and absoloutely horrified by Paul's actions once they realised what was happening.

The girl simply sighed, then focused her dark eyed, slightly narrowed gaze onto one of the breathless scientists. "Seeing as you're here." She started. "Why don't you run off to Ava. Tell her that Paul seems intent on draining the blood of one of her subjects." She paused, then looked back at the two men. It really was getting out of hand... Probably more so than she had originally realised.

"Quickly." She snapped, causing the trembling scientist to shoot off back the way he had come, leaving the girl stood with his still horrified companion.

~~~

Raphael had been storming down the hallway, waylaying every single scientist that came his way without a second thought. His ways were usually simple, although there was the odd few times he decided to get a little more creative; Leaving a number of people behind him, flailing around on the floor and screaming their heads off. Well. Noise didn't exactly matter anymore. Kanec saw to that.

Sighing exasperately as another scientists came flying around the corner, Raphael watched with a distracted gaze as the tiles floor suddenly cracked under the bearded man's feet, sending him falling through the earth with a terrified sounding squeal. The Ring-Master passed the jagged hole in the floor, stepping around another corner and down another corridor. He had, despite his seeming negligence, made somewhat sure that Selvai and Kanec had been following him. He hadn't really wished to leave the Shifter behind especially, things were likely to go from bad to worse in that case.

Coming to the end of his current corridor, the blonde took another turning, then froze in place as his eyes adjusted to what he was seeing. And it wasn't all that good. The amount of blood stated that in itself.

The blonde Ring-Master wasn't entirely sure what to make of it, in truth, but it was instinct that forced him to react as he did. The sheer amount of force that he brutally directed at the split haired male was astounding, so much so that Penelope, stood at the other end of the corridor, also felt it. In fact, she was promptly flung against the wall, along with the nearby scientist, and it took a lot of quick moving to get out of the way before Paul ended up on the pile. She stood, shaking slightly as she gingerly touched the back of her head where it had made contact with the wall.

Rapheal, still stormy eyed, strolled up to the downed Dravius, promptly grasped Dravius under the arm and pulled him to his feet; Being sure to keep him near the wall so that the Co-Master could get his balance. He then proceeded to use the males torn shirt to tie around his arm to help stem the blood, for now,, anyway "Nice to see you making friends." He snorted, looking back over to the end of the corridor where Paul, the girl, and the scientist resided. "This'll do for now. I'm sure there's plenty of medical instruments in here somewhere we can use later." He stepped away from Dravius, his eyes blazing. If anything else, Selvai probably had enough energy to help deal with Dravius' injuries for the time being.

"What exactly is the meaning of you stealing off with members of my Circus?" He asked, voice dangerously low as he surveyed the small group at the end of the corridor.

Dravius had all but stopped struggling, the room spinning around him. He felt extrordinarily woozy, and couldn't really fight back against the wierdo who was still rubbing himself all over his beeding chest. He dimly heard thundering footsteps down the hall, and the young man nuzzling him was thrown off with an enormous amount of force. How nice.

Dravius was then hauled to his feet, and stuck out a bloody arm to brace himself on a wall, worried about the sheer amount of blood that was smeared on the floor, Paul, and himself. His reflexes weren't the fastest, so as Raphael spoke, he turned his head slowly and looked at the strips of cloth tied around his arms, then tried his best to bring his attention to his friend and savior. Everything was out of focus at least a little bit, and Raphael's words sounded blurred and distant.

"Thanks..." Dravius said sleepily, running his slightly sticky hands through his hair, and sliding down the wall a little bit. His legs didn't seem to want to support him, and turned his head slowly. "Selvai, can you....fix them or something?" The Co-Master was visibly shaking, his lids drooping slighty.

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

Paul had been contentedly snuggling his face and torso into the spreading amount of blood on the floor, until he was flung off as if he had been hit by a truck. The young man slammed into the wall with a yelp, leaving a large smear of blood on the bright white concrete. Snarling, Paul got back to his feet.

This blonde man had just removed his source of blood and propped him up against a wall. How dare he. Paul hissed loudly, still shaking hard. His eyes were unfocused, but still directed towards Raphael. "Me? ME!? WHAT EXACTLY IS THE MEANING OF STEALING THAT MAN FROM ME?" His voice was shrill and unreasonable, and Paul balled his hands into fists and stomped his foot angrily. The once-white part of his hair was bright red, and weighed down by the weight of the drying blood, and was all swept to the right.

Paul's pupils were stil mere pinpricks, and his attention was drawn to the bleeding man slumped against the wall. My god, all that wasted blood seeping into the bandages, he could barely stand it. "YOU ARE RUINING EVERYTHING!" Paul screeched, his eyes suddenly coming into focus, and his face contorting into a rather unsettling mask of fury. "I DEMAND YOU GIVE HIM BACK.

Selvai had been examing the keypad beside the door while Raphael spoke, and hadn't paid much attention to Kanec until the shifter spoke from behind the door. The magician stepped away from the door as it crashed outward, throwing a sharp look at Kanec after he let out a loud roar. "I was going to offer to short out the electronic lock, but that seems a moot point now. As is trying to sneak our friends out before someone notices us here," Selvai said pointedly, following behind Raphael and Kanec as the group headed further down the hallway.

He had to hurry to keep up with the ring master, stepping around (and occasionally, on) the people incapacitated by the blond mans illusions. Normally, he would have felt sympathetic towards anyone in such obvious distress; however, considering what these people had done to his friends, he felt that they deserved just a bit of pain and suffering.

Raphael took a corner and paused suddenly, causing Selvai to stop a few feet behind him to avoid running into the ring master's back. Stepping around, he saw what had caused the other man to stop short. "Oh." The magician nearly cringed at the massive amount of blood in the corridor, and covering the co-master. He took Raphael's place beside him when the ring master stepped away to address the people gathered at the other end of the corridor. "Hold still," he told Dravius, getting his shoulder under the other man's uninjured arm and helping him to stand up. Selvai glanced at the others once, then turned his attention back to the black haired man when he spoke, somewhat worried by the man's shaking.

"Of course," he reassured him. Placing a hand over the wound in Dravius' arm, Selvai concentrated, muttering a few words quietly as the large gash began to close slowly. Carefully propping him against the wall, Selvai placed both palms flat against Dravius' upper chest, ducking his head and chanting as a warm light began to glow under his hands. It lasted for a few seconds, then the magician went quiet again, pulling his hands away and looking at Dravius closely. "Do you feel any better?"

-----

Ava had been approaching Maya with a pair of scissors, prepared to deal with the stubborn subject herself, when Fang let loose with a warning growl. The scientist cocked her head, frowning deeply, before tossing the scissors back onto the tray with a growl of her own. Wonderful, now she would have to stop the examination of the blonde woman and handle this mess. Snapping off her gloves, Ava made a mental note to find out which incompetent assistant had caused this and let Paul bleed them dry once everything was settled. As she stripped off the paper smock covering her clothing, a loud, echoing roar tore through the building and rattling the instruments on their trays.

"What the hell now!" Ava snapped. "Watch her closely," she ordered the two men holding onto Maya's arms. Storming out the door, Ava nearly knocked down a wide-eyed and agitated scientist. "Ava, one of the subjects has gotten loose," the man babbled, out of breath and obviously shaken. "And Paul has gone feral on him. We need to sedate him before we can get the subject back into his room."

"I'm aware," Ava snapped, pushing him out of the way. "Fang! Come with me." Marching through the corridors, the scientist reached a plain looking door and pulled a set of keys from her pocket, unlocking the door and stepping inside. The room contained several shelves with different sized containers, and several rows of screens on the far wall, each showing different hallways throughout the building. Ava fiddled with a table of controls underneath them, bringing up the hallway where Paul and Penelope where facing off with Raphael and the other circus members. She studied the footage for a moment, then turned to Fang. "Right. Fang, I need you to incapacitate that man," she ordered, pointing to Raphael. "He seems to be the leader here. And be quick, we can't have him using that ability of his against anymore of our people."

Leaving the surveillance room, Ava made her way back to the exam room where Maya was being held. "I regret that we will have to postone the rest of your examination, dear," she said mockingly, tying the blonde woman's hands tightly in front of her. Ava grabbed a syringe of sedative as she passed by a tray. "Some of your friends decided to stage a rescue attempt. Brave, but very stupid," the scientist said scornfully, dragging her out the door. "I suppose I should be thankful, though, it's not often research subjects just walk into our compound."

Ava pushed Maya in front of her as they rounded the corner and hurried over to Paul, using her teeth to twist the cap off the syringe and injecting the deranged man in the neck before he could do anymore damage to her subjects. Tossing the needle away, she fixed the group of strangers with a cold glare, pulling a scalpel out and holding it close to Maya's neck. "This would be the point at which you lot surrender and allow yourselves to become research subjects alongside the other freaks here. Or, I add this one's blood to the walls in here. I would hate to have to dispose of a guinea pig, but I refuse to lose all my subjects at once. It would greatly hamper my research, you see."

-----

Kioko had been drifting back to consciousness when the door opened, and immediately shut her eyes, playing at still being out of it to prevent being drugged once again. She had to bite down hard on her tongue to keep from screaming as one of the people began touching her, turning her over. It took all her willpower to remain limp, and not set the creep on fire once they began examing her face, tilting her head from one side to the other. It wasn't until she heard the door shut and lock that the albino allowed herself to open her eyes and sit up, shuddering in disgust from the realization of which one of the kidnappers it had been in the room with her.

The pyro scrubbed at the side of her face, itchy from dried blood, when a roar rolled through the room, and she let out a small scream of surprise. Recognizing the call from Kanec's dragon form, Kioko ran to the door, smacking the flat surface with both hands to draw attantion to it. "GUYS! ARE YOU OUT THERE?" She pressed her ear to the door, hoping to hear something from the other side. After a few minutes of nothing, Kioko gave up, pacing around the small room for a moment. She needed to get out, and try to meet up with Kanec and whoever else had managed to find them.

Approaching the door once again, Kioko put both hands on the metal surface, near the locking mechanism. Taking several deep, slow breaths to calm herself, the pyro concentrated on the door, pushing outward while heating the metal under her hands. After a few minutes, the metal began to glow red, and Kioko pushed harder, popping the door out of its lock and sending it swinging outward. The white haired girl caught it as it hit the wall and rebounded, then carefully looked around the hallway to see if anyone would be coming to check on the noise. Not seeing anyone, Kioko took off in what she hoped was the direction of Kanec and the others.

At Ava's insistance, Fang had followed her almost obediently; Looking at the screens with no apprant interest. He noted the silver haired woman's command, before slipping out of the room and towards the general direction of the group of invaders.

It was on his way there, however, that he came across another of Ava's subjects, another, he realised. That had escaped. He immediately informed Penelope, before flitting off down the hallway, and directly towards the intruders.

~~~

The sudden, roaring sound that almost seemed to shake the cold, white room seemed to almost bring Maya straight back into full wakefullness. Despite still being lightly sedated, she recognised with a jolt of brief relief that she recognised that sound, and she watched as Ava quite swiftly lost her temper. She remained patient and impassive as the scientist left, taking the tall, dark shadow man with her.

The blonde had briefly considered trying to fight her way out of there now that she was only accompanied by two scientists, but had no time to really put any sort of plan together before Ava returned, strapping her arms together in front of her and promptly shoving her out of the room.

Maya was still battling with the idea that someone had found them... She had thought it near impossible considering the means by which they were brought here. Walking silently with the her silver haired captor, it took the blonde a moment to realise Paul when she saw him, feeling a certian horror well up at the sight of the male covered in blood. This of course was followed by the sight of the pool of the stuff further down the hallway, then the group that stood beyond it. Her first feelings of horror gave way to relief, the latter of which immediately dispersed at the sight of Dravius.

Oh god Dravius. It was his blood.

The butterfly winged young woman could only stare as a terrifying sort of fear took a firm hold of her heart, and she almost stopped herself breathing as she watched the man she loved seemingly suffer the effects of that blood loss. She probably would have burst out crying with fear for him there and then had it not been for Selvai's intervention. The magicians healing hands however, allowed the blonde to regian some control of her suddenly raging emotion, and she realised with some trepidation that she was trembling violently.

~~~

Raphael, despite having most of his attention focused on the small group further down the corridor, paid enough attention to the men behind him to note Dravius' obviously disoriented state; And Selvai's provided assistance. The act of the magician allowed the Ring-Master to breath a temporary sigh of relief. At least now he needn't worry so much about the injured male... It was one less member to be concerned over for the time being.

Squaring his shoulders, the blonde focused all his attention then back on the group, raising an eyebrow at the split haired male's hysteric statements. "I didn't steal anyone." The Ring-Master replied blithely, not even slightly surprised by the man's continually erratic behaviour. A small, twisted smile emerged on the tall Illusionists face as Paul continued to shout and scream and generally just be a little too over the top about the whole thing.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." He added, responding to the man's final statement. "I think you'll have to come and get him." Preparing himself for what was likely to be a feral and very angry offense, Raphael quickly began to pull in his will, preparing his mind to face off against the undoubtedly vicious moves this blood covered man was likely to make. Unfortunately, any plan he had formed flew immediately out of the window when another one showed up, accompanied by Maya.

Oh god damnit. Raphael let his prepared illusion fall; His eyes narrowing as he attempted to think up another way out of this. His illusions were powerful enough to get them all out of there... The issue was that his Illusions tended to alter the world around them, usually in very dangerous ways, and anyone in his area of power was likely to get drawn into it. Unfortunately, Maya's presence put her directly in the vicinity of his targets, and he would be unable to do to anything to them with his ability without risking harming her in the process. That, unfortunately, was something he would never be able to do knowingly, and it had stopped his planned attack dead in it's tracks.

He inhaled, his eyes still narrowed as he took a step away from the group. Great.

Maya had realised almost as soon as Raphael that the Ring-Master had been rendered helpless because of her position. And it had absoloutely nothing to do with the metal held against her neck, not in her eyes. She knew Raphael's ability, and she knew he would be unable to do anything with her there. The blonde exhaled quietly, eyeing the sharp little instrument with slight apprehension. Her worry for Dravius had subsided somewhat, and her mind quickly flitted through the possibilities of getting out of here, despite the fact she was still shaken somewhat by the initial appearance of her boyfriends health.

With a detetmined grimace, she caught Raphael's eye, and the two stared at eachother for only a second before Maya finally made what was undoubtedly a dangerous and probably risky move; But her advantage was there in that these people didn't seem to think of her as much of a threat. Also, they'd forgotten to restrain her wings.

Repeating the move she had used in the experimentation room; The blonde flared her wings with such force that Penelope, who stood slightly behind, promptly had to dodge out of the way of those wings, giving the blonde ample room to move. She then, with all the grace and power her dancing years had provided her, swung herself around in such a way that one knee promptly came into contact with the smoker's stomach; Very fast, and very, very hard.

Having her hands tied naturally made the move somewhat awkward, hence dangerous, but she managed to hit the scientist with enough force to at least knock her to the ground, and the balance of her wings compensated for the loss of her arms. Unfortunatly, her wings being flared, one of them caught slightly on the scalpel held by Ava, and as a result, a small tear appeared in one wing, splashing the white floor with a surprising amount of blood.

With surprising speed, the blonde then bolted, paying little heed to the sudden, stabbing pain in one wing. She ran, not towards Raphael and the others, but rather back down the hallway in which she and Ava had come. It didn't matter that she went this way, so long as she got out of Raphael's way enough to let him do what he needed to, and as long as she got away from that damned scientist and that guy covered in blood.

She ran for a good few minutes, skidding around a corner before stopping herself short to slump heavily against a nearby wall. There was no-one around as far as she could see, and she took the quiet moment to gengerly touch the gash in her wing. It's edges were pretty clean cut, and droplets of blood welled from said edge, far more prominent where her veins resided, small rivulets of the stuff slipping down her wings in little red rivers.. Ugh... Great.

~~~


After managing only just to swiftly avoid the sudden flaring of the butterfly's wings, Penelope had had to move her feet rather quickly to keep herself from falling into the wall again. She hissed as the blonde bolted, then froze for a moment as a message from Fang intruded on her thoughts. Great... Yet another escaped subject.

The dakr haired girl sighed irritably, then looked at Ava. "Seems we have another one loose." She stated, glancing over at the blonde intruder and his companions. "I'll deal with it." She added, suddenly noting Fang's appearance as his shadow slipped around the hallway, coming to rest on the floor in front of Ava and Paul. Well. There was no point in her hanging around while Fang was here... He was certainly more than enough for those idiots. Stepping quickly away, the girl dissappeared quickly around a corner.

Fang, who had taken a moment to assess the men in front of him, finally started to move again after a minute or so of seeming stillness. His form, like it had in Disera's van, almost seemed to grow from the shadow staining the once bright white tiles. The form he took, however, wasn't human.

Instead, the thing that pulled itself from the gleaming white tiles of the floor was ghastly, almost wolf like, and incredibly large. He quite easily filled the entire corridor, his hunched form filling the room between floor and ceiling. His large, clawed front hands cracked the tiles as he tensed his finger muscles, red eyes gleaming and gaping jaw almost dripping shadow as he came into focus.

He let loose a blood curdling roar, his wolf like ears flat against his huge skull, then glared at men in front of him, particularly the blonde, his hulking form still and waiting. After a moment or two, he lunged, aiming his huge fangs in Raphael's direction; The blonde of which responded with an illusion that marred the giant creatures steps, the floor cracking beneath the creatures legs.

"Go and help the others." Raphael said suddenly, keeping his eyes on Fang, speaking to the men with him. "We don't have a lot of time."

~~~

It had taken very little time for Penelope to find the second straying subject, and she sighed irritably as she appraoched. "You know." She started, eyes narrowed in Kioko's direction. "You've all made miss Ava very angry. And it seems to be spreading." She hissed slightly. "You could behave yourself and come with me... Otherwise, things are going to get very messy. But somehow I doubt you will."

Stepping forward, Penelope's eyes narrowed as she continued. "People, I've noticed, tend to feel somewhat... Boldened, by the appearance of their "saviors". And I really don't have time to play games." The girl held up one hand, and promptly used her ability to control the air around Kioko, increasing the pressure around the albino. Poor girl... Probably felt like she was getting crushed, and somewhat unable to breathe... Well. It wasn't quite THAT drastic. But it certainly would have been painful.

Nylat was once again about to leave when, ears pricked, she caught the sound of pawsteps, soon followed by Zyano's appearance. She set the pups down and buried her face in his fur, not seeming to want to leave its comfort. "...I'm fine, and the pups are even better. And...I'll explain later. You're right. We need to leave." She was about to pick up one of the pups, when she remembered David. Having long since been silenced by the tight cord around his neck, he'd been too busy struggling to breathe to really pay much attention to the events. Nylat took the pole in her teeth and hooked the smaller loop around a hook on the wall--which had probably held the shocking-pole. David was forced up into a half-crouch, and Nylat approached him, growling, claws unsheathed. "Twice you've caged me, twice I've escaped. And let me tell you something." She slapped a paw across his face, leaving bloody gashes. "Third time is NOT a charm. You're lucky my pups are around now, and need to get out." She hissed. "Because if I ever see you again, I'm killing you." She then turned back to Zyano, making sure to forcibly kick David's bent knee. "You take one, I'll take the other." She then picked up Tylia, and started out of the door, pausing to wait for her mate.

~~

Kanec sighed a bit, lowering his head slightly at Raphael's remarks, but felt little remorse. As the others left, he turned and picked up Lionel, setting the boy on his scaly back before following along after slowly, keeping an eye on his son to make sure he didn't fall. As he finally reached the small group, he had barely any time to absorb the situation before he was met by the sight of a giant shadow-wolf. He sniffed. No scent. His eyes narrowed. This one was the only one plausibly capable of taking Leo. The others would have had traceable scents. He growled, then lifted the boy from his back and handed him to Selvai. "Take care of him, for me." He then stepped beside Raphael, tail twtiching dangerously. "I'm staying." Then in a lower tone, he added. "You can only do so much."

Dravius had been leaning heavily against the once-white wall, trying his best not to slide down it. Even with supreme amount of effort, his legs refused to hold up very well, and he lost a few inches, his knees slightly bent. At Selvai's assistance, Dravius leaned heavily on the magician, the floor swaying, and everything coming in and out of focus. Following Selvai's hands with his eyes, he watched the cut on his shoulder close, and at Selvai's placing his hands on his chest, he blinked slowly.

The results of the spell left him feeling much less wozzy, and the strength returned to his legs in a leeching sort of way, enough so he could stand on his own, straightening his shoulders and rolling his neck from side to side. "Yeah, lots." His speech was still a bit blurred, but the small amount of colour that he usually had was beginning to return to his cheeks.

"Thanks." He smiled weakly, scratching slightly at the dried blood caking most of his face. His dark hair was drying in a tangled, unorganized way, thanks to the blood that was caked in it. When Maya ade an appearance on the scene, Dravius began to shift anxiously from foot to foot, picking at the thing layer of red on his collarbones. At her sudden escape, Dravius' eyes went wide, and he made a small noise that consisted entirely of anxiety.

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

Paul had been less than five seconds away from trying to rip the skin off of Raphael's face when Ava rolled up and stuck a rather large neddle in his neck, causing a large, offended yelp. "Ava you COW." He stomped his foot again, still looking more than a little manic.

"You are not....the BOSS....of ME." With his slightly slurred speech, Paul was trying his hardest to make his slow words have some sort of impact by raising his voice. When Ava was promptly waylaid by the winged woman, he let out one explosive "HA." then turned his head to follow the woman's flight, his eyes drawn back to the splattered trail fresh across the tile.

Paul titled his head and bent down, tracing a finger from one spot of blood to another, making a thick line of red in the tiny grout lines of the tiles. "Ava, see? I coulda....gone...after her faster if you hadn't..." Paul was feeling rather exhausted, but the fresh blood on his skin was gradually giving him a bit of a second wind. Straightening up, Paul crept towards the hall the blonde had scampered down and gazed down it sleepily.

Ava grunted in pain, folding in half and dropping to the ground when Maya kneed her. The scalpel dropped out of her hand and clattered across the floor, and the scientist ended up gasping for breath as Maya ran off. "GODDAMMIT! Shut UP, Paul," she snarled, climbing to her feet. The silver haired woman threw a nasty look at the group of men gathered at the other end of the corridor. "Fang, kill this lot. I'm past the point of caring about having live subjects," Ava ordered, picking her scalpel up from the floor and heading down the corridor after Maya. Passing by Paul, she paused a moment, then grabbed the man's forearm and made a series of short but deep cuts along the skin, dropping the limb when blood began to well up and run down his skin. "Come on," she demanded.

Following the trail of blood droplets from the woman's cut wing, Ava quickly found the hallway she had stopped to rest in. Hissing in anger, the scientist began to stalk toward her, exhaling wisps of poison. "You, are going to suffer," Ava threatened, fist clenched around the scalpel so tightly her knuckles went white. "I am going to snip your wings off, one small piece at a time, then conduct the most painful, humiliating tests I can think of on you. And, after I'm finished, I'm going to turn you over to Paul, so he can bleed you dry." The scientist stopped several feet from the blonde, making sure to stay out of kicking range. "And while that's happening, while you're slowly dying, I'm going to bring in that lover of yours so he can watch, before I kill him too. Then, I'm going back to that circus of yours, and letting Paul, Penny, and Fang run loose."

Moving quickly, Ava closed the distance between them and grabbed hold of Maya's top. Slamming the blonde against the wall, the scientist let go of her just long enough to slap her hand across the face with her free hand. The scientist then took hold of her bound wrists, holding them up and above Maya's head as she raised the scalpel to her face. "I should just deal with you right now, but you've made me too angry let you off that easily," Ava snarled, exhaling a thick cloud of black directly into Maya's face. She dragged the blade of the scalpel down the butterfly's cheek, following the line of her jaw. Drops of blood welled up from the cut, dripping onto the dark fabric of her shirt. "You, and your friends, are going to die screaming."

-----

Selvai accepted Lionel from Kanec with a muttered "of course," rearranging the squirming child in his arms when Leo began to fuss and try to reach for Kanec again. The magician quickly turned away, shielding the child between himself and the wall when Fang appeared. He cradled the toddlers head with one hand, eyes darting between the giant, wolf-like creature and Raphael as the other man spoke. "Alright." He looked over to Kanec, fixing the shifter with a serious look. "Kanec, be careful. I know you want revenge, but Disera is waiting for you to bring Lionel home," the magician told him.

Holding Leo tight to his chest, Selvai grabbed Dravius' arm, the one which had not just been healed, and teleported the three of them just past Fang, breaking into a run and pulling Dravius along with. "We need to hurry and find Maya and Kioko. That woman has already ordered that creature to kill us, who knows what she will do to Maya when she catches up to her." Following the same trail as Ava and Paul, Selvai quickly found them, although he hung back from drawing attention to himself or Dravius. "Are you fully recovered yet?" he quietly asked the co-master. "I do not mean to throw you to the wolves, but as long as I am holding Lionel I can't fight either of them directly. If you are not able to, I can take the lead and try to incapacitate them while you hold him."

-----

Kioko gasped in surprise, backing up against the nearest wall when Penelope appeared. Having seen what the other kidnappers where capable of, she wanted to get away from this one as soon as possible. Ignoring the dark eyed girl's taunting, the pyro tried to flee, but only made it a few feet before she was being crushed, gasping for breath as her legs buckled under her. "S-stop," Kioko choked out, fighting to push herself up from the tiled floor.

She managed to lift her head enough to glare at Penelope. "I don't care how angry that cow gets. You can all go to hell." Kioko gave up fighting against the girl's power, letting herself be compressed downward. She flung out one hand toward her, concentrating and forming a large ball of fire in her palm. It took a considerable amount of effort, but the pyro managed to throw the fireball in Penelope's direction, although it ended up heading more toward the girl's legs than her face where Kioko had been aiming.

Raphael had still had his gaze focused on Fang, his grey eyes cold and calculating. Things were beginning to make far more sense by this point; Especially how Dravius and the others seemed had ended up in this place. Naturally, Raphael knew his members well enough to know their ties with eachother would have been a major downfall in their getting caught, but the sudden appearance of this... Creature, had undoubtedly proved thet they had not exactly been dealing with normal people.

Exhaling through his nose, the blonde Ring-Master glanced quickly at the small group that stood with him as Kanec deposited Leo on Selvai's person, his eyes falling back onto the gigantic shadow-wolf as he felt the Shifter's imposing presence stop beside him. He seemed not too surprised by Kanec's choice to stay and fight, although the Ring-Master did put on a bit of a hurt expression at the Shifter's quiet remark.

"Oh, please." He responded quietly, his hurt tone of voice mirroring his expression, a small, indistinct pout on his face. "Try not to underestimate my ability. One form of reality is much the same as another." He shrugged. "Die in one, you die in them all." He paused then, looking somewhat thoughtful. "... It might not be a bad idea, though." He finally concluded.

The blonde's expression had returned to it's previous state as he looked back towards Fang. "It'll keep you out of trouble, for one thing. And you certainly need some way to vent that frustration of yours." He looked over at Dravius and Selvai when the magician spoke, mostly to Kanec about returning home safely. He then watched them leave, shuddering somewhat at the physical dissappearance of the magician's teleporting method. The Ring-Master still hadn't exactly adjusted himself to how that mode of travel felt.

He turned his attention back to Fang in time to hear another great, tearing growl emerge from the shadowy jaws of the giant creature; Before it rather blatantly brought one of it's front legs forward, cracking the tiles when it's claws came into contact. It had, in fact, noticed the fleeing magician, but had chosen to follow Ava's orders and deal with the blonde and his dragon friend first... He could always amuse himself with the other two later.

Giving an almost grin like smile, the wolf like creature bounded forward, jaws agape, when the white tiled floor in front of him cracked with a resounding shudder. The earth that resided beneath the tiles shot up to form a huge, rocky outcrop, and Fang; Momentum built with his charge, ran headlong into it. The yelp of pain and cracking noise gave Raphael a fleeting, satisfactory feeling, before the dark bodied creature clambered around the mass of rock, blood dripping visibly from his snout, a snarl between his fangs.

"I'll give you the next hit." Raphael said nonchalantly in Kanec's direction. "Try not to make too much of a mess."

It was about then Fang lunged again, claws outstretched, red eyes blazing.

~~~

Zyano's initial relief at finding his family safe and well had remained with him, although it was now heavily tinted with that selfsame anger that had invaded his being when he'd originally discovered his mate and pups missing. He felt like he truly needed to make someone pay for this, all of it, and for a moment he wholeheartedly sympathized with Kanec and the Shifter's earlier outward show of frustration. Still. The giant hybrid did keep himself from doing anything, because as of right now, his family needed him more than he needed to vent.

Continuing to lick Nylat's head as she buried her face in his fur, he made a contented little noise in the back of his throat as his mate explained that she and the pups were all fine. He nodded slightly at her agreement to get out of there, and turned his attention momentarily to his pups. He paused long enough to watch Nylat as she approached the man currently held by the pole, ears alert as he listened to her words.

So he was the one.

Letting out a quiet growl, Zyano allowed Nylat her moment of retribution, watching with an impassive expression, his form overshadowing his two young pups protectively. He did, however, feel a kind of fierce pride bubble in his chest as he watched his mate deal with her demon. And deal with it she did. Upon her return, he gently licked her muzzle, growling more now out of pride for his mate than his anger, before taking his own place in front of David. He said nothing, and did nothing; The only sound being a dreadful building hiss that was starting in the back of his throat. His usually warm amber eyes were icy, and his gaze was direct, and full of venom. His size only added to the effect.

Cutting himself off before he actually did do something, he turned and heade back towards the pups, gently holding Kylain between his huge jaws before following Nylat out into the hall. He padded down the hall quickly, heading back the way he had come. He stopped suddenly however, when he caught a recognisable scent, and another that was nothing if not unfriendly. He lowered Kylain to the floor, looking at Nylat with concern in his eyes. "I smell Kioko not far from here." He stated. "And she isn't alone."

~~~

((YOU JUST. OMG.))

Okay. First thing first. She had to get out of these ties. Maya stared at the rope tightly binding both of her hands, before futilely trying to pull them out of it. She knew it wouldn't work, Ava had made sure the pressure kept her hands pretty much immovable, but she had to start someplace. Sighing through her nose, the blonde pushed herself slightly away from the wall, stretching out her damaged wing in order to assess the tear a little better, and flinching slightly when the stretched membrane sent a shock of pain shot through it.

It was, as far as she could tell, just over a foot or so long. And the mere sight of it sent a cold chill down her spine. Her wings, as far as she was able to remember, had never sustained damage quite as deep or drastic as this; And naturally, she worried about the possibility of losing her ability to fly as a result. She didn't think she could bear such a thought, never being able to fly again... It was a terribly depressing thing to mull over.

The blonde, however, had very little time to think about any of this further when an enraged, and strangely familiar, hiss caught her attention. Her head turned sharply, her movements freezing when she caught sight of Ava, storming down the hallway and looking more than just a little pissed off. No... That wasn't right... Raphael should have dealt with this. Getting away from the silver haired smoker once was hard enough... She wasn't quite sure she could do it again... And... That... Guy was with her.

Oh god no.

Maya's heart sank as she watched the two approach, pulling her wings firmly towards her back. Her fear was beginning to make it's return, and the blonde fought to keep herself from visibly shaking. It wasn't, after all, very likely that Ava or her friend over there were in much of a mood to be any sort of forgiving. And she hadn't exactly expected either of them to come after her, all things considered.

Maya simply stared at her, then took a step away. Her wing still bothered her, and her hands remained firmly tied.She wouldn't have much chance fighting them... No chance at all probably, considering what Paul had been able to do to Dravius. Unless she wanted to lose a wing entirely, it was best to keep her distance... And probably increase it. She grimaced, then frowned, no sign of her trembling fear visible in her eyes.

"You're a pretty sucky scientist." She said out of a rebellious kind of fear. "This whole plan of yours is falling apart at the moment... What makes you think you'll get that far?" She asked, before straightening her back slightly, taking another step away from the two of them. She was certain running would do nothing now... Despite how much she desperately wanted to. Either of them would probably catch up with her before she even reached the end of the hall. Still... She certainly wasn't going to give it to them easy. The blonde braced her legs, readying herself for either of them to get in range. Despite this, she still completely missed Ava's quick move, and didn't move herself nearly fast enough to get away from the smoker's grip.

She could do very little as she was slammed against the wall, making no sound with some effort. She did, however, inhale sharply when the Scientist slapped her across the face, starting a struggle when Ava repositioned her hands. Maya paused to hold her breath and close her eyes as Ava's probably toxic breath slipped from the woman's lips, letting out an explosive breath as the last of the blackened air melted away. She wasn't able to completely hide the small, pained noise that escaped her throat as Ava's sharp metal implement promptly cut a bleeding line into her jaw.

"Do your worst." The blonde hissed from between clenched teeth, desperately trying to dislodge her arms from the silver haired woman's grip. She, admittedly, was probably acting far braver than she felt. She was still trembling somewhat, although her continuing struggles seemed to hide that pretty well. Lifting her leg as swiftly as she was able, Maya roughly pushed forward, attempting again to drive her knee into the scientists stomach, more to try and regain some distance between herself and this madwoman. Not that she was sure she'd succeed. Her fear was beginning to wear down any determination she'd had, and she really didn't feel she'd moved fast enough.

~~~

Penelope had, originally, planned to simply wait here and wait for someone to come along so that she could inform Ava she'd apprehended the second runaway. After conversing with Fang, however, Pen realised that the situation seemed more serious than she had thought. Fang, it turned out, was in the middle of an ongoing battle against two of the intruders, and according to him, Ava had gone after the blonde one who had run off.

So. It seemed everyone was busy... And... Seeing as Ava most likely was fuming by this point, it was highly likely she no longer cared about the pristine condition of her captives. That certainly would make things easier.

Smiling in a slightly chilling way, she watched the weakening struggle of the little albino under her ability, raising an eyebrow at the girl's fighting words. "Spirited, for someone who was brought to us so afraid." Penelope mocked, tilting her head slightly as she regarded the white haired girl. Fortunately, the ability currently keeping the albino in one place allowed Pen to spot the warning signs of a retaliation before it happened. She still very nearly got caught out, however, seeing as she had not quite expected the speed of the albino's fireball, despite the fact she was currently half glued to the floor.

"I would really keep your limbs closer to you." Pen murmered, eyes narrowing. "It's easier to break a stick than it is a tree." The girl focused her ability, lifting it momentarily before focusing the brunt of her increase in gravity on Kioko's outstretched arm. She allowed it to increase, placing a huge amount of pressure on the albino's joint in her arm, not quite enough to break... But certainly enough to crack it. "Really... I'd rather not do this to your neck... I don't think Ava would appreciate it."

Nylat watched Zyano as he faced David, slightly disappointed that he didn't do more. But she followed him out, trusting him to have a better idea of where to go. When he stopped, she was following so closely that she nearly ran into him. She set down Tylia, sniffing. Sure enough, she smelled the pyro and the unfamiliar scent. She growled slightly. "Then lets go and help. But take care. These people aren't wholly normal."

~~

Kanec nodded as Selvai left, growling at Fang. At Raphael's comments he frowned slightly. "I do not underestimate, but nothing is as effective as good tooth-and-claw fighting." Further commentary was halted by the wolf's attack, and Raphael's counter. At Raphael's words, he snorted. "No promises." When the wolf charged, Kanec waited a moment, then looped around slightly, dashing at Fang from an angle, digging him claws and teeth into the shadowy form and slamming him against the wall with every bit of force he could muster.

Paul flinched slightly from his bent-over position on the floor, his shoulders slightly rounded on the pure agression radiating from Ava as she got back to her feet. His sedated reactions weren't nearly quick enough to pull his arm away from the scienist as she cut three quick gashes in his arm. As the blood traced slowly down his arm, Paul stood up and rubbed the smarting cuts with the palm of one hand, then gently traced the lines of his collarbones and the tendons on his neck, following after Ava at a brisk trot, his pupils caugth halfway between saucers and pinpricks, and the muscles in his upper arms twitching slightly, hands shaking.

It really wasn't good to be like this, Paul reflected for approximately two seconds. Like sedating someone and then having them snort a few lines of cocaine. Harmful to the system. But hey fuck that he felt pretty god. Good. God. Whatever. Paul's thoughts were becoming scattered, then uniting in two different streams, one wanting to make the woman Ava was chasing scream in an exquisite way, the other wanting to tease more blood out of his own arm.

Tilting his head, Paul vaugely realised Ava was huffing noxious fumes everywhere. The young man considered for a second is Ava just stored all of the smoke she drew in, then shook his head. When more blood was spilled, Paul let out a small grunt and took a few steps forward, his lips peeling back from his teeth. The small dips in between each tooth were painted red with blood, and Paul brought a hand, tipped with blood caked nails to Maya's jaw, and dug those selfsame nails into the thin cut along the contour there, wiggling his fingers slightly in order to get them deeper under the skin, and said in a flat and oddly magnified voice,

"Scream. Don't make a liar out of Ava."

((FINE, NYLAT. FINE.))

It had been a definate must, keeping one's eyes on this creature. Raphael, for some peculiar reason, had assumed that there was far more to this shadow wolf than what met the eye. The silver haired woman certainly seemed to hold this creature in high regard. At least, she certainly seemed to think this thing stood a chance.

He glanced sideways at Kanec, a small, wry smile on his face. "Tooth and Claw. That's certainly your ara of expertise, then. Try not to get too careless, though. Like Selvai said, you have a fiancee waiting for you and your son back home." The blonde replied, turning his gaze back to Fang; Who at that moment charged forward again, blood spraying from his growling maw.

"Right. That'll do." The Ring-Master said quickly, side stepping to avoid the clash as the two gigantic creatures smashed into eachother.

Fang, who hadn't really noticed Kanec's somewhat thought out move, got caught out entirely by the dragon's sudden side swing. Fortunately, the dark male's meeting with the sudden wall that now dominated the corridor had put him in a terribly foul mood, and he hissed screechingly as the dragon's claws dug into his shadowy form. The wolf hissed again, and then, to Raphael's dismay, quite promptly began to change form.

The wolf like creature lost it's fur and gaping maw, to be replaced by the long, coiling body of a giant black cobra, which; Due to his current position, promptly wrapped itelf formly around Kanec. The blonde, however, used the same trick he had used to dislodge Paul from Dravius, and Fang was slung from Kanec's body to crash into the opposite wall with astounding force, hissing madly and re-arranging his body.

Raphael, by this point, was needing to pay heed to his breathing. His ability, while powerful, required a lot of mental strength; And he needed to be sure to use this wisely. He couldn't fight forever.

Fang, once he had managed to disentangle his body, glared at the two he was faced against, before promptly lunging forward again. His move, however, wasn't so much aggresive as it was evasive, the huge, giant black snake disappearing through the white tiles of the floor as though it was some sort of swimming pool. He was gone only seconds, before he re-emerged with surprising speed, directly under Kanec's neck, fangs outstretched.

~~~

"No... I noticed. They don't smell normal..." Zyano murmered, turning his eyes to his mate. "We should leave the pups someplace safe... We can't take them with us." Glancing around, the hybrid padded to a nearby door, nosing his way inside and sniffing with a careful gaze. The place was empty, and it clearly hadn't been used for a long, long time. Lifting Kylain into his jaws, Zyano very gently placed his pup just inside the door, hidden by shadows and boxes, before padding back out into the hall.

"They should be fine there. No-one's passed this hall in a while... They're probably all concentrated where Raphael and the others are... Come on!" Stepping off, the gigantic wolf bounded down the hall, following Kioko's scent. THhe albino wasn't very far at all, located a hallway or so away, and, as far as Zyano could tell, quite clearly in trouble.

The young woman was on the ground, looking peculiarly like sh was being forced down. The girl who accompanied her was a dark haired child, and Zyano was taken by a momentary surprise before he let loose a low growl.

Penelope, who had had her eyes focused on Kioko, glanced fleetingly at the hybrid with a slight frown. It wasn't an issue. She could deal with him... Just as soon as he got closer. Unfortunately, Pen's ability only reached so far, and Zyano, for the moment, was outside her sphere of influence. Still... He'd end up in it soon enough. No doubt he was here to save his little white haired friend.

~~~

Whether or not Maya's initial attempt to loosen Ava's grip on her had worked went almost unnoticed, as most of her focus had promptly switched from the silver haired wench to the split haired creep behind her. It obviously hadn't worked, though, because as of right now, she was still very much stuck. In her desperation to get out of Ava's grip, the butterfly winged young woman had completely forgotten about the presence of that guy. And right now, noticing it was NOT helping at all. She was, in honesty, terrified, no matter how she tried to hide it.

The blonde stared at him, his somewhat quick approach making her blood run cold. She still vividly remembered what this man had managed to do to Dravius, the blood he still wore a symbol of his savagery, and right now, she'd stand absoloutely no chance if he decided to do the same thing to her.

Holding her breath, Maya could only struggle weakly against Ava's firm grip as Paul promptly raised his hand to her face. She hadn't really known what to expect, but when the stinging pain of the cut quite suddenly became a jolt, and drastically more painful, she automatically attempted to pull her head away from him, her body pressing itself closer to the wall behind her. Both of her wings were flared slightly, the wall behind her torn one covered in a thin layer of blood, the thin membrane sticking to the thick liquid as they fluttered slightly; Like that of a butterfly caught in a net.

The only sound that escaped her lips was a pained noise in the back of her throat, as she exercised a huge amount of effort not to make any other sound. She refused to scream for this guy. And she was going to keep herself from doing so for as long as she was able. She would not give them that satisfaction.

Having failed with trying to dislodge Ava, probably to the scientists close proximity, the blonde desperately lashed a leg in Paul's direction, hoping to catch his lower torso. "Get your hands off me." She growled, her voice breaking slightly under the pressure of trying to keep her emotions and fear in check, eyes watering slightly due to the pain in her jaw and wing. It was going to get worse, she knew. It could only really get worse. But there was only so much she could take.

What?

She wouldn't scream. WHY WOULDN'T SHE SCREAM. Paul curled his lips back from his stained teeth and dug his nails in harder, bringing his face mere centimetres from the young woman's, and said in a voice full of venom,

"Scream. You can do it now, or when I bleed. You. Dry." His voice was soft, and his pupils pinpricks once again. The whites of his eyes were bloodshot, and he searched Maya's face hungrily.

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

Dravius had been standing unassumingly when he felt a hand wrap wroung his upper arm, and then a deep, sickening tugging sensation in his stomach. One blink later he was in a completely different place in the hallway, and then he was running, stumbling on the first few steps, but managing to keep up a respectable pace, although the jolting steps made him feel about to lose his last meal.

At Selvai's question, Dravius took a moment to steady himself, swallowing and then clearing his throat softly. "I see no wolves, so I should be fine." the young man flashed a quick smile, cocking his head to the side. Striding forward strongly, the man's long legs carried him to a few feet from the silver-haired scientist. Pivoting quickly, Dravius lifted his leg up far enough to slam his heel into Ava's side as he turned, grunting out a quick, "Get your yellow-stained fingers off my girlfriend, you whore." The action made him smile grimly, more of a grimace than anything else, his lips pulled back from his teeth.

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

Paul turned just in time to see the previously-bleeding young man kick the shit out of Ava. In his surprise, he let go of Maya's face and reared back, curved knife in his hand. Snarling, the young man swiped his still oozing forearm across his forehead, facing Dravius with a snarl.

"You're not taking her. You can't because you're mine. She's Ava's. But I'll get her after she's done. So either go away or I'll cut you open from heart to hip." Paul said vehemently, adjusting his grip on the wickedly sharp blade in his right hand. The muscles along the underside of his forearms were twitching and writhing, and he couldn't seem to keep still, shifting his feet from side to side.

"SO LEAVE." Paul's voice was shrill as he raised it, cracking slightly on the last syllable, his eyes widening. "LEAVE NOW. GO BACK TO YOUR ROOM AND WAIT." He was panting slightly, trembling.