Ashley sat quietly and slightly struggled against the chains that held her as an eleven foot male lion-person and a nine foot female lioness paced in front of him.
"You're lucky you didn't KILL any one here!" Felicity roared and kicked Ashley, throwing her against the wall.
"Our orders weren't to kill anyone," Ashley shot back, "although, those may likely change after all of this."
"You're still going to jail for trespassing and attempted murder!" Felicity roared again, "game or not! And your "Master" will DIE!"
"You really think that?" Ashley answered, "two lions against a pack? Against a family, even if not entirely related by blood? Against all the smarts my "Master" has?"
Felicity looked at Brian for a moment.
"She didn't just say "family" did she?" Felicity asked.
"I don't think the tough guy approach is working," Brian said, "they brainwashed her good."
"So what will you try?"
"Maybe to get some information?" Brian answered, "She knows she's going to jail... at least until Serenity can figure out a way to turn her back."
"But Mary said..."
"They're dogs, Felicity," Brian growled, "big, stupid, ugly, dogs. Do you really think they're smarter then we are? Then Serenity is?"
"No," Felicity sighed, "They are dumb dogs, after all."
Ashley only sat quietly. Humiliated that she had gotten caught, and embarrassed that the plan to grab Serenity had failed, but she did see some hope. They were by far underestimating the Master's intelligence, and the Pack's numbers.
These two might make more lion people, but the Master had already planned for the evacuation if a battle arrived where victory wasn't likely, and even if they did... an attack on the manor would fail as well. Only a small portion of the Pack had made the attack, and only one, Lawrence, had suffered a serious injury with a dislocated shoulder. There were still more then thirty wolves at the manor, with six gargoyles to defend it, and the gargoyles dwarfed even these two. And being made of stone... it was unlikely that these two could do anything to harm them. And even if they sent her to jail... escape was only a reflective surface away.
"How many wolves are there in your Pack?" Brian asked, trying to sound calm in the midst of a wrecked house, blood stains, a seriously wounded Trevor and Paul, a terrified Mary, and a nervous Serenity.
"More then two," Ashley answered.
"And all very weak," Brian gave confident smile, "you fled before the mighty lion."
"Mighty? Ha! Between the ape and the cat and trying to cut off all escape routes, were already distracted and spread thin," Ashley shot back, "you beat a foe that was unprepared. Not a sign of might. Attack the manor, NOW and we'll see how mighty you are. When the Master feeds on your bones!"
"You might as well cooperate..." Brian paused, hoping the wolf would give him her name.
"Ashley."
"Any surname, by chance?"
"No."
"Well, Ashley, it's in your best interests to cooperate," Brian said, again sounding confident, "Because you've been beaten and your attack thwarted, and our pride will be much larger when we kill your Master for all that he's done to you?"
"All that he's done to me?"
"Stolen your humanity, brainwashed, and raped you," Brian finished, "It would be best if you cooperate."
"The Master's attention has been fixed on Alpha Female and the Betas," Ashley answered, "He has not mated with me... and even if he did, it WASN'T rape."
"Would you have wanted it before the "transform" he forced on you?" Felicity asked.
"I was male before my transformation," Ashley answered, "Such a question is not a concern."
"He's still stolen your humanity," Felicity charged.
"Says a lion," Ashley shrugged.
"We did it for our daughter," Brian snarled, "to give her parents she deserves."
"Even though someone used the game to transform her INTO lion cub?" Ashley retorted, having heard some of Mary's talk with Ulysses.
Both lion people blinked at that.
"You're lying," Felicity growled.
"How do you think she became a lion girl in the first place? The game can alter one's perception of reality, whether deliberate or not," Ashley commented, "someone transformed her into your "cub" and the game made you think she'd always been that way. Probably to make her miserable. How else do you think she got a turn? Did something un-lion-like appear on her? Did she behave differently from how you remembered?"
Felicity and Brian looked at each other, a lump developing in their throats. Mary had been human and needed to be turned back. She had never been a lion cub her whole life. All their memories were false. But still it would be necessary to stop Jensen. They could restore things after he was dead.
++++++
Trevor, meanwhile felt awful. His earlier wounds from Mr. P were open again, he had been clawed again, this time into his chest and ribs, and he'd lost one of his canines in one of the wolves's tails. Serenity and Mary were with him as Serenity was desperately trying to bandage him up.
"Is he going to be alright?" Mary asked.
"I hope so, Mary," Serenity sighed, trying to hold back tears, "I really hope so."
"What will happen with the wolf woman?" Mary asked.
"She'll be looking at a year's incarceration in the State Penn in what is termed the "Glendale Wing" for trespassing and assault and battery," Serenity sighed, "Not attempted murder as your parents seem to think."
"But didn't you say she's brainwashed?"
"Yes, but until we can transform her back to her old self, the law will view the brainwashing as an irrelevant issue," Serenity spoke, "She still invaded someone else's home and attacked. Brainwashed or not what she committed was a crime as far as the law is concerned."
"So, she'll be away from Glendale?" Mary asked.
"For a short while," Serenity sighed weakly, "before this Jensen sends someone to free her."
"He'd attack a prison?" Mary asked.
"No, he'd likely do something like what he did here," Serenity sighed, "send someone through mirrors to get her."
"Just tell the prison not to use mirrors with her," Mary advised.
"I don't have that level of authority," Serenity sighed again, sounding weaker.
"Is something wrong?" Mary asked.
"I've lost, Mary," Serenity sighed again after a few moments, "even your parents defeat Jensen in their little venture, he and his wolves can not be changed back. This case began with the wife of one of the officers he had abducted hiring me to find her husband. In order to explain to her what had happened to me when I was cursed by it. The wolves later got her and through her have learned of my immunity, and from what you said, one told you that Jensen has duplicated that on them. Even if they can be freed of Jensen... they will likely all remain wolves, remain around the Smith estate, and will simply wait until he is released from prison... or scatter. But still, my mission has failed, Mary. I set out to save them. Now it seems, all I can do is stop things from getting worse."
"There has to be a way," Mary spoke, trying to sound hopeful.
"I've been trying to find a way to restore my old form for years," Serenity spoke, "no luck."
++++++
Jensen was absolutely shocked when the strike team returned. All of them injured to some degree. Nick was unconscious. Lawrence had a dislocated shoulder. Both Roger and Zack were scratched up, and Roger looked like he was missing one of his ears... or at least part of it. Nicole, Sarah, and Ulysses looked relatively uninjured, but Nicole was moving with a pronounced limp. Ashley was missing.
"What happened," Jensen asked a low voice, sounding both angry and nervous at the same time, "Where is Ashley?"
"Serenity was better prepared then I had thought, Master," Nicole said weakly, "the arrival went as planned... but there was this orangutan there that moved like a ninja and knocked Nick out when he made a rather clumsy effort to grab him. I sent the others after Serenity while I dealt with the ape... I think I cracked a few of its ribs, but it still moved too fast to land a lethal blow on it. Ashley tried to help... but we were still unable to corner it."
Jensen guessed that this orangutan hit some pressure points and that was what lead Nicole's limp.
"The rest of the males pursued Serenity and a family of three, including one lion girl into a room with a door on it like Fort Knox," Nicole continued, "While Zack, Roger, and Lawrence began to pound on the door to try and get in, the lion girl, apparently used her turn to turn her parents into lion people while the familiar bought them time to transform."
"And then they thrashed you," Jensen finished.
"It was too enclosed a space," Nicole answered weakly, hating having to admit defeat, "We had no choice but to charge them... and with the ape still moving around in the background, while we might have managed to win in the end, it was likely that only one of us would still be alive."
"And that house isn't the Pack's territory," Jensen nodded with a sigh, "A good tactical move, Nicole."
"You're not mad, Master?" Nicole asked, "I failed you."
"Oh, I'm furious, just not at you," Jensen answered, "I should have sent more of the pack. I, Kaylee, the triplets, the click, Alexandra, Margot, Megan, possibly Mr. P should have gone along, and just over powered through weight of numbers. The failure is mine. Not yours."
"No Master!" Nicole tried to protest, "Let me gather the others. Let us go in force. Take the gargoyles if need be. They have Ashley, Master. We must get her back!"
Jensen's eyes widened.
"They have Ashley?" Jensen asked.
"Yes, Master," Nicole answered.
"Julie," Jensen spoke firmly.
"Yes, Master," Julie spoke as she stepped forward.
"Tend to the wounded," Jensen spoke, "and have Abbey or Samantha take Lawrence to the island. He'll need time to recuperate, and the island is the only place he can do it. Meat is to be brought to him as necessary. Have the gem wolves insure that he is comfortable."
"Yes, Master," Julie spoke, "Sarah, Ulysses if you can help move those having trouble moving, or like Nick are unconscious, to the medical room that would be appreciated. I'll treat them there."
The others left, leaving Nicole standing before Jensen, Kaylee, Fran, and Darla.
"What do you intend to do, Master?" Nicole asked.
"We will get Ashley back," Jensen answered, "I, Kaylee, Fran, Darla, Maxine, Robyn, Alexandra, Beatrice, Anne, Margot, Millie, Grace, Hope, Isabelle, and Mr. P will be going back there."
"They likely smashed all the mirrors, master, and why not the gargoyles?" Nicole asked.
"They are the manor's defense," Jensen answered, "with most of the Pack absent and only a few guards around the wounded and the pups, the manor will be vulnerable."
Nicole nodded.
"Gather them," Jensen ordered, "Quickly. We leave as soon as we can."
"Of course, Master," Nicole answered and moved out.
"How do you plan to beat these lion-people, master?" Fran asked, "lions are bigger and stronger then wolves, and they live in prides."
"Right now they only have two," Jensen answered, "Not enough to threaten us. And in the enclosed space of that house, while we had the numbers to beat them, we couldn't maneuver to do so and had to attack their strength head on."
"Like the Persians at Thermopylae?" Darla asked.
Jensen didn't get the reference but nodded.
"And since Serenity likely knows that Alice and her sisters can use any reflective surface, not necessarily a mirror," Jensen continued, "Will likely take steps that we can not simply invade the house again, which will play to our advantage..."
"Dear?" Kaylee asked, sounding concerned.
"Alice will take us as close as possible, but not into the house," Jensen explained, "and we will approach it from the outside. The two lions will surely feel they have to defend their cub and their territory, and may not even think rationally enough to recognize the trap. Outside, we can maneuver and insure that they are overwhelmed by our numbers. Once they are dead we will go in, grab Serenity if she is still there and free Ashley."
"Suppose they've called the police to come pick her up?" Darla asked.
"If that is the case, we may just wait in the mirrorverse for the transfer to be made, and Alice will pull the officer into the mirrorverse," Jensen said slowly, "Then Ashley will be freed."
"And it could also be possible that these lions are still vulnerable to the game," Jensen commented after a moment, "Serenity will not have them be immune to the game as we are, as she'll want to turn them back. Which means we can easily use one our turns to turn them into something far less threating."
"What about the game's manipulativeness?" Kaylee asked.
"They will be worms, Kaylee," Jensen vowed, "changed into harmless earthworms and crushed. I doubt the game will be able to manipulate anything that way... but, Alice..."
"Yes, father?" Alice asked, still standing near the mirror while Amy had followed the wounded wolves.
"Write up a transform that will turn two lion people into earthworms, normal looking, normal sized, non-sentient earthworms," Jensen ordered.
"Yes, Father."
+++++
Serenity was slow to come out of where she had been treating Trevor and where Paul was resting, breathing heavily, and sounding pained to breathe. She found Brian and Felicity pacing in front of the tied up she-wolf. The she wolf still struggled, but seemed to remain calm.
"We've called the police, about a home invasion," Felicity spoke as Serenity spoke, "Since that's all the Game may consider to be criminal."
Serenity nodded.
"She's been rather defiant though," Brian commented, "refusing to admit that we're here to help and that WE'RE better, stronger, faster, smarter."
"Don't underestimate Jensen," Serenity warned, "and don't let a lion's instincts get in the way, which is precisely why I warned you NOT to do this. I've dealt with many similar characters in the past, but Jensen is by far smarter then any of them. He's locked his pack's forms. It's now unlikely that any hold the game has on them will ever be broken."
Neither Brian nor Felicity said anything.
"And also remember that you're a large cat now," Serenity warned again, "While wolves are the largest canids in the world."
"But the lion is king of beasts, the largest of all the cats!" Brian said proudly.
"Actually, the Bengal Tiger and the African Lion are roughly the same size. The tiger may be a few pounds heavier, but not by much," Serenity corrected, "and the Siberian Tiger is larger then both of them. The thing that gives lions a hunting advantage is that they are social while tigers are solitary... but all of them are sprinters."
"See, we're faster then they are," Felicity boasted.
"Maybe, but only for short distances," Serenity warned, "most dogs can run at full speed for miles without tiring. You won here because they couldn't maneuver and Paul and Trevor kept them distracted. Jensen may attack again, likely to get his Pack member back, and he may likely play to a canid's strength. His endurance. He can outrun you easily. If you're drawn out of the house, they may run and lure you into chasing them or out into the open where their numbers will aid them more... and once you've exhausted yourself running, then he'll spring his trap."
"You're over-blowing things," Brian said, scratching has his reddish colored mane, "we beat them once. And if he tries again, we'll beat him again. Easily. Just as we did here now."
"And the police are sending an officer to pick her up, and he'll be here in five minutes," Felicity added, "I doubt they're bullet proof."
"Stop underestimating him!" Serenity lost her temper, "I told you not to do this, and you wouldn't listen! Thinking that your daughter, who was born a normal human, needed to have lion parents because of some demon man's perversions! Trevor is barely alive because of all of this! And if it weren't for him, they would have broken in while you were still transforming and you would have been killed or wounded! And yet, I don't hear you thanking him for that! The only one who's recognized that is Mary! You're too busy pretending to be Simba and Naala!"
Ashley looked on quietly.
"Mary really was human?" Brian asked after a moment.
"YES!" Serenity yelled back, "It's why I suggested that we work a way to turn Mary back into a human! Mary got caught by a man I had helped put away years ago, who I had thought had a life sentence, but someone got him off apparently. He apparently got a turn in the game and used it on Mary, turning her into a "little cat girl". The game likely choose which specific species of cat and then altered reality so you would think it normal. She came to me looking for help while I was looking for someone with a turn. My goal is not to create groups of animal people to support short term fantasies or delusions, Mr. and Mrs. Hardy, my goal is to END he game. And all you've done is continue it... even if Jensen is beaten... who is to say you haven't already become as bad has he is..."
"But Mary's transform for us," Felicity began.
"Fairly well worded, but who really knows," Serenity spoke, "the Game can manipulate anything. One wrong word... just one... could ruin your whole idea, and as far as the game is concerned, ten times out of ten that is exactly what happens. It feeds on misery and doesn't view previous suffering as payment. It wants people to suffer continuously and forever. That is the reason it is called a CURSE!"
Brian and Felicity looked at each other as they heard a police car pull up.