Today was the day, today the Normal would finish those who stood in their way. As Casseus prepared himself, he thought of the Normal's actions.
While Casseus, Rick, and Demeter attached the remaining teenagers, the Dark Garden, Hinata, and Choon Hee were attacking the other timeline and Magic High. With S.P.E.A.R, the wizards, hunters, fairies, and vampires distracted, the Boss believed their enemies were weakened. A well placed strike would give the Normal an opportunity to enact their plans of control. The only one who could possibly stand in their way now were the kitsune and the Boss would be dealing with them personally. If all went as planned, Casseus and the others would celebrate a victory.
Well, almost everyone.
Casseus glanced at Rick, his mood growing foul as he studied the teen. Rick was powerful, perhaps too powerful. If Rick continued on this path, Casseus had little doubt the boy would surpass him. Once that happened, Casseus's fate would certainly be bleak. The Dark wizard would need to pick his spot, waiting for the right moment to eliminate Rick once and for all. Now he just needed the devil to hold up his end of the deal.
Pulling into the hospital's parking garage, Nat now put the car in park. Connor was still in the hospital, Spark constantly by his side. Finally well enough for visitors, Nat, Rei, Amara, Stephanie, and Chenoa were planning a visit to cheer him up. "Hey Steph, where's Travis?" Nat asked.
"He's on his way," Stephanie replied. "He said he was going to bring some food for Connor. You know how hospital food can be." The others nodded in response, from what they heard, Connor was going a bit stir crazy, with the young hunter wanting to get back out there. That wasn't going to be possible though, at least for awhile. With surgery and rehab, Connor would probably be laid up for months. "Has anyone talked with Miles and Miranda?"
"I was sneaking in for a couple days before their mom caught me," Amara blushed. "They're okay. They just hate being stuck in the house. Hopefully their folks start to relax soon. Hate if we didn't see them all summer."
"Miles told me his parents are going to talk with Connor's mom soon," Chenoa added. "My step parents will be their too." Chenoa's friends paused, casting the deer girl a curious look. "Are we sure the Desotos meeting Goldie and Bear is a good idea?" Rei asked. "I don't see a problem." Chenoa shrugged, everyone else casting each other dubious looks. If the Desotos were having a hard time dealing with demon hunters and magical girls, how would they react to immortal forest guardians?
As the group made their way through the parking garage, they spoke of the summer and the future. The Normal were still a problem. They feared that they would be for quite sometime. What none realized was how close that threat was now.
An explosion of magic sent Nat and her friends sprawling, the group dazed as they looked to gain their bearings. Nat blinked, rubbing her eyes, before gasping as Casseus, Rick, and Demeter now slowly approached. "Shit," she gasped, before turning towards her friends. "Guys we've got a problem!"
Stephanie groaned, slowly raising herself up. As her vision focused, she felt herself go pale. Already Nat and Chenoa were on the attack, the dhamphir girls features shifting, her eyes taking on a reddish hue as her face became animalistic in nature. Nat now weaved between blows, her body becoming corporeal as she attacked. Chenoa also now transformed, her legs shifting from human to deer. As the deer girl now cast spells, Stephanie turned to Rei. "Rei! Portal! NOW!!"
Rei nodded, understanding what Stephanie was doing. As she opened a portal, Stephanie pressed a button on her watch, the battle suit quickly flying to her before assembling. Now donning her mech suit, Stephanie powered up as she looked to attack.
Casseus smirked, watching the group of teens now display their full power. Nat fighting Rick, the dhamphir impressing the Dark wizard with her skill. From what he could see, she was the biggest threat, despite not possessing magic like her wizard girlfriend or the deer girl. Watching those two told Casseus what he already expected, they were powerful yes but inexperienced, neither were fighters. Watching the pair try to fight, Casseus knew they were not long for this fight. That's where Demeter came in.
With a nod, Casseus now signaled the nature goddess. Demeter's strikes were precise, despite not being a violent god, she knew how to disable someone quickly. Summoning forth the elements, she now struck Rei and Chenoa, sending the pair sailing into a nearby wall and taking them out of the fight. "Two down three to go," Casseus thought.
Glancing at the remaining three, Casseus frowned. While Nat continued to hold her ground, her friends wouldn't last long. Amara the Mara and Stephanie in her battle suit were capable, but outclassed by their opponents. Although a demon, mara's abilities lay in their ability to cause fear not their strength. While Amara now tried to use her abilities to cripple Rick, they weren't going well. With a grunt, Rick cast a spell sending the demon sailing into a parked car. Smashing through a windshield, the demon coughed blood before slumping over. She was breathing, but she wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.
Now it was down to two, Casseus realizing that Rick would come out of this encounter unscathed. Nat and Stephanie turned, noticing their friends crumpled before them. This was a losing battle but they couldn't give up. As Nat now charged Casseus, Stephanie turned her attention to Rick. The confrontation with Nat proved a minor challenge for the Dark wizard. He spent years honing his fighting skills, supplementing them with his magic. Although the dhamphir was skilled, Casseus was more clever. After an exchange of blows, Casseus cast a spell, using the concrete of the garage to capture Nat's legs. The dhamphir was stunned for a moment, unable to move and giving Casseus enough time to send a tremendous blast of raw magic into Nat. The dhamphir screamed for a moment before falling unconscious. A small grin now rested on his face as he turned to watch Rick.
Rick appeared to be having trouble with Stephanie. This didn't surprise the Dark wizard at all. He was the one who assigned these battle suits only a few short years ago. They were designed to counter magic, meaning Rick was fighting at a disadvantage. Inwardly, Casseus found himself rooting for Stephanie. Perhaps the girl would do him a favor and eliminate Rick for him. Afterwards, he would deal with her. After all, he knew not only the suits strengths, but it's weaknesses.
Unleashing a hail of gunfire, Stephanie now rocketed towards Rick, knocking the teen down. She was the only one left, the rest of her friends lay unconscious. If she lost, who knew what would happen to them? Charging forward with a primal yell, she at least hoped to stop Rick and buy herself sometime. Instead, she found Rick sneering, the teen using Chenoa's stolen magic to conjure forth a lightning bolt. Stephanie screamed, her body cracked with pain as the suit shut down from overload.
"Finally," Rick sighed, noticing Stephanie crumpled at his feet. "You certainly were a pain in the ass." Tearing off the suits helmet, Rick now held her by the throat, noticing the fear in her eyes. Tears now leaked from Stephanie's eyes, her life was about to end.
A streak black smoke now darted through the garage, knocking Rick and the others back. Stunned, Rick propped himself up on his elbows, a grin slowly spreading across his face. "Finally, I was wondering when you'd show up."
Travis now stood before the trio, cradling Stephanie in his arms. The reapers cloak of shadows swirling around him as he angrily gazed at Stephanie's attackers. "Travis," Stephanie asked groggily. A kind smile now formed on his face as he gently lowered Stephanie to the ground. "Sorry I'm late." he said softly. As he now stood, a fierce expression fixed upon his face, he summoned forth his scythe, ready to attack. "Check on the other's," he said firmly. "I'm going to finish this."