(co-written by O)
Chase and Aaron had been to S.P.E.A.R. before in the past, but it was new to both Andromeda and Nyx and both girls were amazed at the large office inside and were amazed to see many human agents working with agents of the supernatural. Director Myers was walking in front of the four of them leading to her office passing by numerous agents from werewolves to succubi, as well as a few fairies, when someone happened to call out to them.
"Aaron, is that you?" A male voice called out to Aaron as he turned around to see a face he hadn't seen in a while.
"Tom? Oh my god, Tom, how are you? Feels like I haven't seen you in years." Aaron said as he went up to his cousin and gave him a hug as they both gave a hearty laugh.
"Chase, good to see you doing as well." Tom said Chase nodding to him shaking his hand while also giving the young Moreland a hug by the shoulder.
"So, who are these ladies you've got with you?" Tom asked looking at both Andromeda and Nyx.
"Oh right, I guess you've been busy. These are our girlfriends. This is Nyx, the girl who brings a bright light into my life." Aaron said as Nyx gave a little blush and chuckle putting her head on Aaron's shoulder.
"And this girl is the love of my life forever more, Andromeda." Chase said as holding Andromeda's hand tightly as she batted her eyes and gave Chase a kiss on the cheek.
"Ahem." The woman next to Tom said clearing her throat.
"Oh right, this is my new partner here at S.P.E.A.R., Alexa Ross, she's a..." Tom began to say before Chase interrupted.
"A Nekomata, I can tell by the eyes."
"How is it he recognized me so easily?" Alexa asked surprised.
"His family's well versed in the supernatural," Tom quickly explained to Alexa before looking back at the group. "Anyway, I never thought I'd see you dating anyone Aaron. I can count on my fingers the number of girls you've gone out with. Don't worry, it's a pretty small number." Tom jokingly said to Nyx.
"So, where did you both find these girls?" Tom now asked interested to hear their story.
"Well, actually we're sisters and you might have heard of our family: The Tepes." Nyx admitted as Tom's eyes went wide.
Tom paused, his expression faltering slightly as he gazed at his cousin and Chase. "You two are dating the daughters of Wyatt Tepes, the vampire lord?!"
"Yeah, we know. Trust us when we say it was a shock for all of our families." Chase said rubbing his neck.
"Yeah, I bet. So uhh....quick question does that....that little vampire still work for your family? The one who looks like an innocent little girl?" Tom asked sounding a little nervous.
"You mean Little Ann? Yeah, she's still lives with us. Do you know her?" Andromeda asked Tom.
Tom fidgeted slightly, surprising Aaron. Throughout his life, Aaron always saw Tom as a confident, cool, unshakable man. He was the one who Aaron wished he could have been when he was in high school. The captain of the football team, the unshakable, unbreakable, leader who inspired his team. Now, he saw something he had never seen on Tom's face. Fear.
"Yeah, I do...she, uh....she tried to kidnap me when I was little." Tom said making Andromeda and Nyx feel a little embarrassed now.
"Yeah, uh....look sorry about that. We know she can be....pretty intimidating, especially when she's in....a mood." Nyx said.
"Yeah, I got....kind of lucky actually back when she tried to take me." Tom said softly.
"Lucky? What do you mean Tom? What happened." Aaron asked.
"The truth is....I was more afraid than I had ever been that night." Tom admitted to his cousin and friends.
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"Let go!" a 5 year old Tommy Harris exclaimed as Ann pulled him out of his home. Ann, the child vampire, was mute, her cold fingers wrapped tightly around the boy's wrists. No matter how hard Tommy pulled, he could not escape.
For the kindergarten age boy, he was still unsure what was happening. Only moments ago his parents were getting him and his baby sister ready for bed. The next thing he knew, an older girl burst into his house. Tommy was surprised by this, the girl didn't look much older than him. He had tried to place her face, maybe she was in second grade or third grade. Tommy remembered the bigger kids sometimes knocking at his door selling cookies. This girl though seemed different. She wasn't selling cookies, she was simply scary.
Two grown men now burst from a car, screaming to the girl and a man with a sword to get in. Terror now washed over Tommy. He had just learned about this. These were strangers! Kidnappers! They were going to take Tommy and Yuki away from his parents forever.
"Ken, Ann, get in," one of the vampires called, the getaway car idling. "Lord Miro has already captured his son. Once we take these two, we're returning to the vampire realm."
Tommy's face went pale, his tiny eyes wide with fear as he fearfully looked at the older girl.
Ann, her name was Ann. She was strong, scary, her eyes a dark void as she looked at the kindergarten boy with a blank expression. Tommy watched as two men, two monsters, sprang from the car, helping the vampire with a sword put Yuki inside the car. Tommy was next. This girl. This monster was going to put him in the car next. He would never see his parents again.
Ann grunted in annoyance, covering her ears as the boy released an ear piercing scream. Turning, the vampire assassin was surprised, raising a single eyebrow as she stared at this child.
He was a wizard, a powerful one by the looks of it; yet he was untrained, his powers raw. In sheer panic, this child had tapped into his latent abilities, a tornado of metallic chains swirling and slithering throughout the front yard. Ann watched as these living chains lashed out, ensnaring their drivers by the throat. The two vampires now made futile attempts to free themselves, the chains wrapping around their throats. The sound of their necks snapping was audible as the boy's magic hung their limp bodies in a nearby tree like a macabre decoration.
As the chains now tried to wrap around Ann, the child vampire grasped them in her vice like grip, tearing through them like tissue paper. This child was powerful, but he didn't have the stamina for a sustained attack. The boy was slumping to the ground now, exhausted by the raw power he had displayed. Glaring at the boy, Ann now considered if taking him was worth the effort. He could be a problem. Perhaps...she should just...get rid of him?
"Ann!" Ken exclaimed. Ann turned, looking at her blind compatriot. "We need to go and I can't exactly drive. I'm going to need your help."
Ann sighed, stomping her foot once in response. As she turned to leave, she took a moment to study the young child one more time.
Tommy was trying to catch his breath, tears streaming down his face as he locked eyes with Ann. The girl's eyes, they were angry, scary, like staring into a pitch black space. The moment seemed to last forever, Tommy and Ann staring at one another before she lept into the car, the vampire with the sword behind the wheel as Ann held it. As the tires squealed and sped off, Tommy could do little more than sink to his knees.
"Tommy?"
Tommy turned, his dad now sprinting out of the house. Somehow he was okay but, Yuki...his baby sister was gone. "I'm sorry Daddy," he whimpered, not even realizing the broken bodies of the two vampires behind him. Tommy's father now knelt down, clutching his son in a tight hug.
***************************************
"She unlocked your magic," Chase gasped. "And it sounds like she left a hell of an impression." Tom nodded stiffly, Chase recalling what Caleb and Connor had told him about their father and how Jacob had PTSD after encountering Little Ann.
"Yeah, she did leave....an impression on me." Tom said as Chase noticed Tom's hand slightly shaking before he stopped.
"Well, I know we can't exactly change what happened, but we're sorry for what you had to go through." Nyx apologized.
"It's fine, really. I just....don't think I want to meet her again anytime soon." Tom said taking in a deep breath as Director Myers stood behind them all tapping her foot.
"If you all are through catching up, I'd like to see the four of you in my office, now." Director Myers ordered as she proceeded ahead to her office.
"We'll catch up another time Tom, it was great seeing you again." Aaron promised, giving his cousin a hug.
"You too. I look forward to the next family reunion. I heard Mason's grown up a bit since I last saw him." Tom said, the man's confidence now slowly returning as the group walked away.
"Like you wouldn't believe." Aaron said with a little chuckle as they all waved goodbye.
Chase, Aaron, Andromeda, and Nyx all went into Director Myer's office as she stood behind her desk hitting a punching bag behind her.
"Come in, sit down, and just give me a minute." Director Meyers said as she hit her punching bag pretty hard for another minute or so before stopping to take some deep breaths and then untied her hair again before sitting down and taking some more deep breaths as the four of them now looked worried about what she would say to the four of them.
"I suppose I should give some pleasantries first. Princess Andromeda, Princess Nyx, how's my mother doing these days? Miss Cheyenne." Director Meyers asked calmly smiling at the girls.
"Oh she's been doing great. Our mother and Aunt Hanako treat her like a sister or second mother after our G.G." Nyx replied with a smile.
"Yeah, sometimes when we were little and we got into a little trouble, she would sometimes sneak us a snack to make us feel a little better." Andromeda remembered.
"She also makes sure our brothers always looked nice for any girls they would meet up with. You wouldn't believe the time it took for her and G.G. to get Duncan to look nice for that ball where....well, where the four of us met up and and where I met Aaron." Nyx said remembered fondly.
"I'm glad to hear my mother's doing so well with you and your family. Now....can you all please explain to me why you RUINED MY STING OPERATION?!" Director Myers said as she slammed her fists onto the desk while standing up.
"Hailey, we're sorry, we didn't know, we were just...." Chase began.
"That's DIRECTOR Myers to you all when I'm serious on my work business." Hailey said as she took another deep breath before calming herself down again. "Okay, so those Aufhockers you encountered on the street were meant to get the attention of a civilian, any random civilian. Then those soldiers came in along with their super soldier and we would get the drop on them. UNFORTUNATELY, the four of you engaged with not only those Aufhockers, but their super soldier as well, and gave them enough time to make their get away." Director Meyers explained.
"It's no big deal Ha....Director Meyers, you'll get them next time." Aaron said.
"Next time....heh, heh, heh, next time? S.P.E.A.R. has been trying to catch these guys, SINCE THE FOUR OF YOU WERE IN KINDERGARTEN!!!" Director Meyers said stomping her foot down hard on the ground.
"About a year or so, after your brother attacked their father," Director Meyers said pointing to Chase and then the girls. "We got reports of a group of mercenaries out in the field along with some kind of super soldier that would beat us to the punch sometimes when an assignment would come up. Some of the civilians thought they were S.P.E.A.R. at first, but then saw their symbol and realized, it wasn't us." Director Myers explained showing the four the symbol they had seen the mercenaries all wearing.
"So who are they?" Chase now asked.
"Well, the ones who didn't die immediately after biting down on the cyanide capsules in their teeth proclaimed they were called the Crusaders." Myers said showing the four some pictures of dead mercenaries with mouths foamed.
"Oh my god, these guys must be really serious." Andromeda commented.
"They are, and the toughest one of them all is their own super soldier who we found through our intel is called The Seraphim. We don't know whether they're a man or woman, but whoever they are, they are tough. My predecessor, Director McMillan had a few close calls with The Seraphim, but she always managed to lose trace of them. It was one of the cases she could never finish before retiring back to the fairy kingdom and going back to her people."
"Your previous director was from the fairy kingdom?" Nyx now asked.
"Yes, maybe you've heard of her, Princess Sarathea." Myers replied as Andromeda now squealed loudly.
"I got to meet her when I was little, she came with her mother, the queen, and she was so beautiful. She said Nyx and I looked very regal in the dresses our mother chose for us." Andromeda said excitedly as she looked at the others seeing they were a little baffled by her glee.
"Sorry, I just got really excited meeting her was all. So did Nyx too, right Nyxie Pixie?" Andromeda asked her sister as she blushed slightly.
"At any rate. If any of you ever encounter these guys again, I ask that you not make any moves against them." Director Myers requested.
"But wait, Director Myers, Chase and I are both hunters sworn to protect both humans and the supernatural from threats, can't we help you on this?" Aaron now asked.
"From what I understand, you all are down a man and despite the reputation the Morelands hold, I can't allow you to endanger yourselves and two princesses in the process." Myers said shaking her head.
"Hey, Andromeda and I have been trained since childhood for survival. We know how to fight for ourselves." Nyx assured Myers.
"Yes, and if either of you gets injured or worse, than I'll have your parents and as your grandparents breathing down my necks and you two are going to get the worst of it, considering these two are also technically in your care." Myers reminded Aaron and Chase.
"Look, just let us help you out where we can. We promise, if the situation is too extreme, then we'll you and S.P.E.A.R. handle it. So long as we both live, we won't let anyone or anything harm the ones we love." Chase promised holding Andromeda's hand tightly.
Hailey rubbed her fingers on her temples and took a deep sigh. She looked over at the picture of herself and Lancelot and grew a little smile on her face.
"Alright. The four of you can help me with this. But just know that what you're doing is very dangerous." Hailey reminded them as the four of them nodded to her.