Chapter 13: Return to Raven's Way

Return to Raven's Way

It had been nearly three months. Longinus had managed to gain a great deal of control over Xero's magic, making him nearly as powerful as before the anchor reaction. Xero, not without some difficulty, taught himself complex, element-based spells from books in Vlad's library. It proved quite trying, as he had never gained true dominance over the elements.

The three were preparing to leave Vlad's castle. It was time to set out to find out who had been calling to Xero. In their preparations, Vlad insisted that they all change their appearance to avoid being capture by the Raven's Way police. Even though it had been quite a while and there were no witnesses, they all agreed that it would be very unwise to return as they had been. For that reason, Vlad dyed his head fur black along with his paws. Xero cut his long silver hair from the center of his back to his ears. Longinus, being in the most danger, used Xero's magic to make black rings on his arms, and a strange mark under his left eye. Xero, nearly getting himself killed by Vlad, extended his claws and scratched Longinus across his face, making three burning lines. When the fires burned out, Longinus was left with three black scars.

Vlad provided them with new clothes for their next task. Longinus got a black vest and a white overcoat. The older Wolf gave Xero a white vest with black trim and a pair of white slacks. Xero objected, calling the clothes far too formal, but a murderous glare from Vlad resolved the issue. Vlad himself, wore a crimson silk suit and black gloves and boots. Under everyone's clothing was a bulletproof vest.

After some clandestine investigation from Vlad, the three of them managed to learn that Xero was, in fact, born in Raven's Way, which meant that there had to be something containing details of his existence, and perhaps if he had any siblings. The question that remained was how to obtain such a record.

"Honestly, do we really need to go back right now?" Xero asked, falling backward into a chair as Vlad and Longinus checked to make sure they had everything they needed. This was the closest the panther had been to a forest in a while, and he was not ready to go back to the artificial environment provided by Raven's Way.

"Sorry, but I can't use your powers well enough to send Vlad to City Hall and get him back when we need to." Longinus replied.

"Found 'em!" Vlad called from the other room. He walked in carrying a pair or silver dessert eagles like the ones Longinus had used in the forest, in fact they were the very same ones.

"We've been waiting for those?" Xero asked.

"Yeah, well, I couldn't really summon them." Longinus answered, taking the guns from his brother. "It calls for white magic."

"Xero, you have everything? All your weapons? Spellbooks?" Vlad asked, tying a dagger to his right leg.

Xero checked himself, feeling his throwing spikes on his right leg, a knife on his left, and his beloved revolver hanging from his belt. He gave a nod.

"Alright, Longinus, you're up."

Longinus nodded and closed the library door. "Now, how does this work again?" he asked Xero. "We're going to my apartment."

"Focus on the door to your place as if you were outside it." Xero replied, standing up from his chair. He walked over and took Longinus's right paw and pierced it with one of his claws, making the Wolf yelp. "Sorry, but as you are no Shade user, the best way for this to work is for your blood to be in direct contact." He pressed Longinus's paw against the door and created a thin mist of darkness. The mist slithered under the Wolf's paw and reacted with his blood as he focused on his task. A black light flashed under the door and Xero snatched Longinus's paw away. "You're done." he said. "Let's see if it's right."

"What if we end up somewhere dangerous?" Vlad asked as Xero reached for the doorknob.

"The Panther looked over his shoulder with a smirk. "Don't tell me you're not up for a little fun." He turned the knob and opened the door. There was a screen of darkness that blocked their view.

"No way in HELL am I going in there." Vlad said, taking a step back.

In that instant, Xero was standing behind the Wolf. He drew his right paw back and in a motion almost too quick to be seen, thrust his paw forward, pushing Vlad through the door. Xero laughed before feeling something hit the back of his head and hearing something hit the floor. He turned around to see Longinus holding the bottom of what once was a crystal vase.

"If that cut me, I swear I'll kick your a*s."

"As if you could." Longinus replied, dropping the remains of the vase. "Now, if you would?" He gestured to the open door.

Xero growled and walked through the door. Longinus followed and closed it.

The sound of guns cocking met their ears. The three looked around. Vlad had been right in his reluctance. Looking around, they found themselves surrounded by furs in R.W.P.D. uniforms like the dismembered Lion. Ten...twenty...thirty officers. Longinus had inadvertently taken them to the police station.

Xero swore loudly, then turned to Longinus and slapped him. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!"

"...what would happen if we were caught..." Longinus replied with a nervous chuckle.

"Paws behind your heads!" one of the officers shouted.

Xero growled and looked to Vlad as he raised his paws. He tapped into the Wolf's mind to hear his thoughts and send his own.

D****t, what do we do now?! Vlad shouted in his mind.

You're an Eternus, right?

Vlad looked to Xero. Yeah, why?

Xero looked forward and smiled darkly. Protect Longinus.

Vlad nodded and readied himself.

As the officers moved in, Xero reached to his back and drew a silver revolver he had found in Vlad's castle. Before any officer had a chance to react, Xero had shot three of them. He produced a black fog that surrounded the three of them while Vlad got in front of Longinus. When the fog lifed, Xero was gone. The officers, thinking they would hit Xero, fired on Vlad.

Xero appeared in the middle of the crowd of officers. He reached to his leg and drew his own revolver and started spinning, firing at the officers as he turned. One officer aimed a kick at Xero, but before he could connect, the Panther kneed him in the stomach, making him double over. He hit him on the back of the head with the handle of his revolver, knocking him to the ground. Xero put a foot on the officer's back and kicked against the floor, sliding across the room on the Otter's back. He kicked again, making them spin as he fired more rounds into the falling crowd of officers. A Fox ran toward him with a knife.

"Oh, this'll be fun!" Xero called, holstering his revolvers. He reached to his left leg and drew his dagger.

The officer slashed at Xero, but had not counted on the Panther's next move. Xero bent backward and dodged the blade, but then slithered under his legs and under the officer. He sprang to his feet behind the fox. He tried to stab the fox, but was countered by the officer's knife. He swung at his head, but the Fox ducked, then rose sharply, trying to uppercut the Panther with his knife. Xero bent backward and slipped his blade back into its sheath. Before the Fox could bring his arm down, Xero lifted back up and hit him on both shoulders, making both arms go numb.

"Let me end your suffering..." Xero said, drawing both revolvers. He started spinning them around himself on his fingers, then caught and aimed them at the Fox. He unloaded the rest of the bullets in the officer's chest, then holstered the revolvers and turned to Vlad and Longinus.

Vlad stood  up and clapped. "Impressive, but I can't help but think you shot me a few times on purpose."

"Maybe I did." Xero replied with a smirk.

Vlad drew his knife and threw it in Xero's direction.

Xero ducked. The knife flew over him and into a surviving officer's shoulder. Xero looked back and laughed. "Try a little more to the left next time." The Panther vanished and reappeared behind the surviving Wolf in the same instant. He turned the officer around and made him spin rapidly in place. Xero laughed again and jumped onto the spinning Wolf. Both of them seemed to disappear, but they were definitely still in the room. Howling and roaring could be heard as blood began to fall everywhere from seemingly nowhere.

"What's he doing?!" Longinus exclaimed.

Xero had made the Wolf spin as fast as he could move, making it impossible for him to defend himself. He had started clawing, stabbing, biting, and tearing the spinning Wolf to shreds. The howling and roaring ceased, echoing for a moment before Xero appeared sitting on a desk, tossing and catching a skull as blood rained from nowhere. "That was fun..."

Vlad wiped blood off his face. "And messy. How come no one is satisfied with a quick and easy kill anymore?"

"That was easy." Xero replied. "As for quick, I'm sure I could do it faster."

"Speaking of, how come you can still do that?" Longinus asked. "I thought you couldn't use your powers."

"I can't." Xero said before tossing the skull away. "This is my natural speed." He waved a paw toward, then away, from Vlad, taking four bullets out of his vest. "Are you alright, Longinus?" The younger Wolf nodded.

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The plan was to reach the medical facility where Xero was born. There would have to be something with the name of any sibling he may have had, since he would be the younger brother of that Panther. The problem was that now their change of appearance was useless, as Xero had murdered a portion of the police force inside the station. Longinus suggested moving on to his apartment, but Vlad countered with the fact that it was surely being watched.

"Longinus, you're up." Xero said, looking away from the moon. They had lost the police and hidden on top of a building.

"What do I need to do?"

"You're making a permanent door portal."

"Where to?"

Vlad walked over from the edge of the building. "Maybe to your house. There's nothing at mine for us."

Xero shook his head. "There's no way. The spells around my house prevent entering it from anywhere other than the forest."

"...I have an idea!" Longinus exclaimed. "How's this, we open this one to my apartment, but change the door there to a portal to some place else."

Xero and Vlad looked from Longinus to each other.

"Is that good?" Vlad asked.

"Actually, thats brilliant..." Xero said, turning back to Longinus. "What other place do you have in mind?"

"Hmm...just to teach them a lesson, how about a stall in a truck stop bathroom?"

"DAMN, wolf!" Xero exclaimed. "You're more evil than me!"

Longinus laughed and made his way over to the door that led into the building's top floor.

"Hang on there." Xero said. "Door portals that go one way coming in and another coming out require everyone meant to use it to have some of the maker's blood. It keeps others out."

"Does everything in dark magic require blood?" Vlad sighed.

"No, just the very complex things." Xero replied, moving over to Longinus. "Don't be such a baby, you already have his blood."  He held out his paw for Longinus's, which reluctantly came to him. Xero pierced his paw again, then reached to his right leg and drew a throwing spike. He got some blood on the spike and made a cut on his shoulder with it. "There, make the portal going to the outside of a door of a room. Do not use the entrance."

Longinus nodded and placed his bleeding paw on the door. The black flash came from under the door and Longinus opened it.

Xero clapped, seeing the black screen. "Now let's just hope you don't put us in a cell this time."

Longinus pushed Xero, making a red pawprint on his vest.

"B*****d. Alright, let's go." Xero stepped through first, followed by Vlad, then Longinus, who closed the door. "Nice job." Xero said, looking around. "Now get outside and make the one going to the truck stop, and FOR GOD'S SAKE DON'T CLOSE IT BEFORE YOU'RE DONE!"

"So, Brother, this is where you've been hiding?" Longinus said, surveying the apartment. "Kinda small."

Longinus came back inside and closed the door. "Well, personally, I don't need that much space. I'm never here to really use it."

"And where else might you be?" Vlad asked, taking a seat in Longinus's armchair.

"Here and there. Wherever life takes me."

"If you weren't such a go-with-the-flow type, we wouldn't be in this situation." Xero said, sitting on the bed Longinus had put him in at his first visit.

The next few hours were spent going over possible ways to reach the Raven's Way Medical Center. No one really spoke, just the occasional "Ah...er... nevermind." as they hatched and scrambled plans that seemed workable, but were then found to be impossible, or too complicated. Xero even dared to suggest shooting Longinus so they would have a reason to go to the hospital. The idea was dispatched when Vlad issued a threat involving an egg beater, a ping pong ball, some fishing line, and a rubber duck.

Reviews

[Forist.johnston]

'The idea was dispatched when Vlad issued a threat involving an egg beater, a ping pong ball, some fishing line, and a rubber duck.'

Haha... nice. Can't wait for Chapter 14!