Transcendancy Ch. 03

"I lasted for three fuckin' days, Jack. Katrina just about gave up on me. She fully accepted it, Jack, bitten by that fuckin' monster, he was pourin' through her, like she was some kinda conduit or somethin'. And after three fuckin' days of waiting for you to show up, I couldn't stand it anymore. And I killed a kid. He might've been fuckin' thirteen, or fourteen, I dunno." Jack sighed and wiped the blood from his mouth.

"I'm sorry, Montoya, okay, I just... my whole fuckin' team was gone, alright? I'd gotten almost every member of my fuckin' team taken out, and..." Montoya whirled again and hit Jack with another clubbed blow, sprawling him down the floor across Adam's body. Montoya gave a low growl and began to change. Jack felt his hands settle on something cold and hard that wasn't stone, and his fingers gripped the wooden stock gratefully.

"What happened to Katrina?" Montoya laughed, his voice deepening as he changed into his bloodwolf form. Jack stood slowly, straightening but keeping his hands by his body.

"The whore?" Montoya asked mockingly. "As you so nicely called her? It's Katherine now. She took up her old habits, but this time, it kept us fed on a nightly basis. You know, Jack, if you eat on a regular, full basis, that you don't lose so much of your humanity. That's what makes it hard, Jack. To keep feeling normal, you've got to feed, which in turn fucks you up more."

"I lost myself in the Thirst, then. You kill enough, and you forget what its like not being a monster. And that's when you start to change, Jack. You get paler, your eyes change, but its more than that. Your soul goes, Jack, and you know, because its gone. Now here's the fucked up thing about all this. Katrina was changed into one of these things, then she came looking for me."

Montoya cocked his head, listening to something far off, and a strange expression came across his wolven features. Jack shifted his grip on Adam's shotgun and wondered if he'd be able to get Montoya to keep talking. "She's upstairs, isn't she? She's the one in charge here. Where's the other two? Montoya, c'mon man, talk to me, she's the big bitch here, right?" Montoya looked back at him and nodded.

"When you're a sucker, Jack, you can't stop feeding. You lose who you are because if you remembered who you were, and what you had to do every fuckin' day, you'd go insane. Well I was lost, Jack. I was gone. And then I was brought back. When they change you, you turn human just long enough to remember what it was like to have a soul before it's ripped out of you again, and then you're gone fuckin' even more."

"The world becomes about fucking, and killing, and destroying, and all the things that good Christian souls should never do. Every fuckin' one of us is the fuckin' Antrichrist Jack." Montoya opened his mouth wide and leapt forward, plunging his teeth into Jack's shoulder. Jack fell back in surprise and Montoya ripped his teeth out, forcing Jack to scream in pain. "And now it's time for you to feel everything you brought to me, Jack."

Jack flipped the shotgun up, and shoved it deep into Montoya's throat. Montoya's eyes went wide and Jack pulled the trigger, exploding his former partner's brains out across the steps behind them. The slayer sighed as he shifted his jacket, seeing the wound already healing slowly as the virus began to bleed into his system. He looked back at the corpse of Montoya. "Via con Dios...slayer."

********

Katherine flinched her muscles and Mariella leapt into the feint. Gabriel jumped forwards in her shadow, using her body to block his attack. Katherine slammed a fist into Mariella's side, and the Magdelena cried out in pain as she hit the wall and slumped down. Gabriel slashed upwards with his sword, opening up the bloodwolf's jaw and eye. Black lines began to move across, leaking the rose oil poison into her veins.

Katherine reached a hand to her eye and howled as Gabriel spun around and kicked, blasting her back out into the living room, through one of the posts on the bed. Katherine roared in rage and sprinted up, only to smash into Mariella's sword as the Magdelena darted around the corner. She tumbled and fell, but kicked out as Gabriel went to slice through her stomach with his sword. Gabriel flew backwards and grunted as his strengthened form crushed the ancient stone wall.

Mariella danced around to Katherine's side, dodging the prone bloodwolf's kicks and claws and stabbing down and in with her Spear. Katherine howled in pain as Mariella impaled her shoulder, then jerked her body forwards and grabbed Mariella's throat. A white-hot flame ball barrelled into the huge bloodwolf, and she howled and dropped the woman in her grip as the Magdelena yanked her Spear free.

The bloodwolf staggered back, staring at the charred flesh of her shoulder, which wasn't healing like other wounds did. She slunk back away from Gabriel, who was staring at her through the bright blue eyes, which had begun to smoke again. He slowly drew his sword up in front of him and Katherine glanced back at Mariella, who held her spear up to her shoulder, ready to throw. Katherine staggered up to her feet, and glared at the two of them with one good eye.

Gabriel and Mariella began to walk forwards, and Gabriel leant down, throwing a fireball up into the archway, and sending it crumbling down, blocking the only exit. Mariella closed her eyes and took deep breaths, feeling herself calm and peaceful as Gabriel's sword exploded into blue angelfire. She cast her Spear as Gabriel threw his sword, impaling the creature through it's mouth and the heart, made vulnerable by Gabriel's previous fireball.

Katherine shrieked in horror as she burst back out the window, thrown off her feet by the force of the two weapons slamming into her body. She sailed almost gracefully out the protective window, and exploded into orange fire, though Gabriel's sword still burnt blue, and Mariella's Spear glowed bright white. She was howling in pain as she hit the ground, the two weapons pinning her to the earth beneath her.

She continued to scream as she burnt away in the sunshine, the sound finally fading as her vocal cords burnt, shrivelling like dried leaves in a brushfire. Mariella leant against the wall and touched her throat tenderly, feeling the bruised flesh with her fingertips. Her breathing was ragged and Gabriel shrugged his shoulder forward with a loud crack as his ribs settled back into place.

He gritted his teeth and breathed shallowly for a few moments, until the pressures in his chest eased as his body healed quickly. Mariella tilted her head up to Gabriel, showing him her neck. "Any wounds?" Gabriel came close to her and held her neck, inspecting it, then took a deep breath and kissed her forehead as his eyes finally cleared, back to their normal deep blue.

"All clean." She nodded and held out her hand, concentrating. Far below, the Spear shuddered in the smoking pieces of burnt bloodwolf and jerked itself free, returning to her silent call. Gabriel watched her do it then concentrated, feeling the sword on the ground. The sword didn't move, but instead burst into flames and disappeared as flames erupted along Gabriel's back, as the sword coalesced in it's scabbard.

They stood there next to one another, too exhausted to move for a while as they simply took in the warmth of the sun, until a faint shout reached them through the wall of rubble. "Gabe? Mariella?" Gabriel smiled tiredly and Mariella moved to the rocks and stones scattered along the floor, blocking the doorway.

"Jack? Stand back, away from the stones!" She looked back at Gabriel, who held up his hands and reached out to the rocks. Blue flames spread along the stones and began to melt them, and Mariella heard Jack swear as he moved out the way of the molten rocks.

"Jesus, kid, take it easy next time, would ya?" Gabriel didn't answer as he stared at Jack, and the old slayer shrugged, his expression mournful. "Yeah kid." Mariella looked between them and then shook her head, not understanding. Jack lifted his Jacket off and threw it to her, showing the bite marks in his black t-shirt. They'd already healed, but the blood still covered his arm.

Mariella sighed and bit her lip, her expression pained as she moved to him and put her arms around him. "Oh, Jack." They didn't say anymore, and then Jack moved past her to the shattered window, letting in the midday sun.

"Fifteen years, you know, I guess I'd gotten a bit rusty. Nobody would have ever gotten the drop on me back in the day." Gabriel nodded and stood beside him, staring at the sun. "Padre's dead," Jack whispered softly, and Mariella felt her eyes getting hot and prickly as tears tried to come. "So's the whole team, again. These creatures..." He shook his head, turning to Gabriel. "I'm infected."

"This creature was uh, experimenting. On the way up, we found a whole lab set up, with bloodwolves in various stages of development. Maybe there's something down there to tell us how to stop it?" Jack shook his head at Gabriel's optimism and sank down to his knees, his eyes closed as he basked in the sunlight.

"Nah." He gave a slight chuckle. "What other way is a slayer supposed to go out? Rule Number 1, kid. If you partner is bitten, never, ever, let him live. I broke that one. And now it's come back to break me." He looked up and his eyes locked onto the hilt of Gabriel's sword. "You do it, kid. I'm no samurai, but... you do it. Don't let me turn into one of those fuckers."

Gabriel looked up at Mariella, his expression horrified, but she nodded, her features turning to stone. Her eyes were soft and hurt, though, hiding the pain behind her stony façade. Gabriel drew his sword as Jack looked up at him. "Via Con Dios, my friend." Gabriel felt tears blurring his eyes as he steeled himself and stabbed down, burying his sword through Jack's back and down into his heart.

"Via Con Dios, slayer." The light left Jack's eyes and he slumped down to the ground as Gabriel put his hand on his friend's shoulder and gasped a breath. Mariella came up to him and gently cradled his head in her arms and shushed him as he struggled against the pain. After a while, the storm of weeping passed, and Gabriel raised his head, his blue eyes clear. "We should go."

Mariella sighed and nodded slowly, reaching down and closing Jack's eyes. Gabriel picked up his body and leapt out the window, landing in a strong crouch on the grass at the front of the ornate door. Mariella landed gracefully beside him and they began to walk out towards the hills near the town. "He shouldn't be left there." Mariella nodded and then turned and ran back into the Castle. After several moments, she came back, carrying Adam's body.

"Neither of them should be." Gabriel smiled softly in agreement and the two of them moved out into the green, rolling hills. They knelt down, far away from prying eyes and began to dig, Mariella using her hands and her Spear, and Gabriel using his hands and Sword.

The sun was going down by the time they finished, and Mariella began to pray over the unmarked graves. Gabriel knelt down beside her and thought about how much his life had changed in the last few weeks. He had met and fallen in love with a mysterious warrior woman of the church, battled vampires, and werewolves, and hybrid creatures of the two.

He had met legendary slayers and holy warriors, unholy demons with teeth and fur and claws. And he had discovered why he was so different. He had been shown why his whole life he had been out of place, and who he really was, the son of an Archangel. It all seemed too unreal. But it was very real. He only had to reach inside of himself to find that righteous, burning fire and know that it was real.

Gabriel watched the sun sinking over the horizon and began to feel something was very wrong. Mariella finished her prayers and Gabriel looked at her. Something she'd said, or... when they were in that place outside of time, where they'd made his Sword. "Two wolves." Mariella looked up and stared at him. "Two wolves, you said. There's another one." Mariella's eyes went wide, and she whirled quickly, grabbing her spear as harsh laughter began to sound.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" Gabriel pivoted around and drew his Sword in a single motion. Two massive bloodwolves, bigger than he'd ever seen, were standing on the edge of the hill in the wavering dusk light, covered in dirt and dust. Further down the hill, two shallow graves had been ripped open from underneath, where the creatures had buried themselves.

The slightly larger one was over nine feet tall, and jet black. His eyes burnt red, almost glowing in the low light. He was filled out in pure muscle, and his claws were long and black. He radiated a fear-inspiring presence. The female beside him was slighter of build, but still had that feared presence, and Gabriel gripped his Sword tighter as she leered at Mariella.

The Magdelena gripped her Spear in front of her and crouched back, ready to attack or defend. The larger bloodwolf shook his great head and waved a hand at them. "Easy, now, easy now. Just relax. We're here to talk." Mariella stepped up beside Gabriel, but neither of them lowered their weapons. "I'm am Markus Stormbridge, and this is my Queen, Bethany Della Nostrum." The female ducked her head slightly in a mockery of a bow, and Gabriel took a breath.

"You'll find nothing welcoming about us tonight." Markus scoffed and ran a finger down his jaw idly, scratching himself.

"No respect for a king and queen, meat? How do you expect to survive if you..." He trailed off as he stared at them, then gave a low growl and a sniff. "You are not human." Gabriel gave a leering grin and brandished his sword again. Markus snarled. "They're the hunters, Bethany!" Bethany gave a growl and leapt forward, past Gabriel and into Mariella. They tumbled back as Gabriel whipped his sword up, catching Markus on the chin.

Markus was much, much quicker than the other bloodwolves, and as he slashed Gabriel's Sword away, he jerked his body in, slamming his elbow into Gabriel's ribs. He staggered back, clutching at his chest, and feeling the bloody wound. He coughed and his blood hit the hilt of his sword as he wiped his mouth. Markus's lip twitched in amusement, and he came in again. Gabriel swung his sword around like a pendulum, stabbing the bloodwolf in the neck with the crosspiece.

Markus snarled at him and punched him down low, again slamming into his ribs. Gabriel felt himself flying, and flung his legs over his head, trying to land on his feet. He sailed over Mariella and Bethany, who were in the midst of grappling over the Spear. Mariella swung back with all her might and kicked, hitting Bethany right in the jaw with a satisfying crack of bone.

Bethany roared and let go of the Spear, and Mariella stumbled back. Bethany leant forwards, sinking her teeth far into the Magdelena's upraised forearm, and drew herself up to her full height and roared again as Mariella stabbed the Spear into her belly with all her might. Bethany's roar choked off, and she convulsed over the Spear as the arrowed head burst out behind her. She stared at Mariella in shock and grabbed hold of the Spear tightly in one paw and twisted on it, trying to see behind her as Markus gave out a terrifyingly human scream of hatred.

The Spear's tip was visible through the unborn monster's eye, but the rest of it was buried in the creature's head. The small carcass was humanoid in shape, but barely formed. Bethany turned slowly back to Mariella, her eyes burning in red hatred, and Mariella gasped and stepped back, pulling the Spear with her.

Markus gave a roar behind Bethany, and Gabriel called to Mariella from behind her. She knelt down and braced herself, and he used her shoulder to push himself off in a giant leap. Bethany's eyes opened wide and she opened her mouth to scream, but the scything blade cut the top of her head clean off, separating her top and lower jaws and everything above.

She collapsed onto the ground as Markus roared and charged in, punching his fist into the hole in Gabriel's chest. Gabriel tensed and gritted his teeth as the Spear of Destiny came shooting overhead, blasting through Markus's neck and staggering him back. His free hand gripped the bloody mess of his throat, and his red eyes opened wide.

With the last of his strength, Gabriel gripped the handle in both hands and stabbed across, impaling the bloodwolf Packmaster's heart with the Sword of the Archangel. Markus twitched and blinked in surprise and stared down at his hand, still imbedded in Gabriel's chest, straight through. The blue light in Gabriel's eyes began to fade, and he let go of the Sword as he sank down and pulled Markus's arm back through his chest. He vomited blood and wiped his mouth, then felt himself slowly beginning to heal.

The healing stopped after a while, and he stared down at his chest. Black lines spread along his veins as the bloodwolf venom seeped into his system, slowly trying to change him. He crawled to Mariella and laid down at her side. She wept as she tried to call to the Spear, but it wouldn't come. She coughed and stared at him, and he smiled, his mouth covered in his own blood.

They sank down into the darkness and held one another as the silence of the night closed in around them. Black lines began to spread along Mariellla's arm, and she began to sob as she held Gabriel close to her.

********

Gabriel opened his eyes slowly, feeling the stickiness of blood covering his face. The sun was setting, and it's brightness stung his eyes. He rolled over and groaned, and a small chuckle came from above him. He twisted and peered out from under a shading hand at the figure. The man appeared to be middle aged. His long blond hair fell down his neck in long, silky strands. Gabriel looked for Mariella, but she was still asleep beside him.

"We need ta talk, lad. An' we've little time." His voice was lighter than his appearance, with a strong Irish tilt to it. Gabriel shook his head again and looked at his chest, but the wound was gone. Gone too were the black veins. "I'm Michael." Gabriel frowned and tried to stand, but he was too weak.

"And I'm..."

"Gabriel, yeah, I know, I was a friend to your da." Gabriel opened his eyes fully and stared at the man, who shrugged and stood up, pulling him up with him. "There's a few t'ings what need explainin', and certain interested parties t'ought that I'd be the one f'r 'em." Gabriel turned back to Mariella, but she remained asleep.

"Why?" Michael shrugged and hit him lightly on the chest.

"I'm a nephalym, jus' like you. An' eh, well, suffice it t'say that we're no tha' different. Now you've don' somethin' that no'ne in history o' the world before' ye's don'. You've gon' an let an angelic avatar get infe'cted. Turns out the power's 't be don' rightly know what'n the hell t'do wit' you two now."

Gabriel looked at Michael and shrugged. "Why don't you just leave us be?" Michael gave him a wide grin.

"Now where'd the fun be in that?" Gabriel looked down at Mariella and didn't answer, and Michael reached out and laid his hand on his shoulder. "But at least in a fashion, that's what they'v don'." Gabriel looked back at him. "You two've mixed Magdelene blood, angelic blood, human blood and now these ruddy bloodwolves int' the mix."

"You're about as balanced as ye can get. So the High Lord himself, and the Underlord himself both wanna le' ya be, t'see what be'comes o'ya. So there ya hav'it. You're on your own. But jus' be warn'ed, boyo..." Michael pointed past them to the light orb of the mood behind the fast moving clouds. "Whoever don' win, they'll sure as shite be after ya." Gabriel scoffed and turned back, but Michael was gone. The clouds parted and the moonlight shone through, and Gabriel felt himself strengthening.