My Little Ventrue Pt. 05 Ch. 16

Strength incarnate exploded inside him. Bulging muscles replaced frail wolf limbs. Serratus muscles wrapped his ribs as they mended. Trapezoids pushed out from his shoulders and neck. His lats rebuilt themselves in moments, realigning his spine with his rhomboids, and causing his shoulder and back width to increase to ludicrous sizes. Massive talons replaced the tiny claws of his paws, as did enormous hands. His snout grew bigger, thicker, longer, and his teeth did the same. Weight came from nowhere, forcing his new, larger rear paws into the stone beneath him. Two hundred, three hundred, four hundred pounds. He flexed his arms as the rumbling in his chest turned into a growl. Five hundred, six hundred, seven hundred pounds. More, until he was no longer a wolf at the knees of the hunters, but towering over them instead, their backs to him, his growls lost in the sounds of their yells as they tried to fix the chaos Jessy and Clara had caused.

He roared, silencing them all, and he dove into the fray.

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~~Natasha~~

She was in a nightmare.

As she held up her phone to use as a flashlight, it was obvious that she was in a nightmare, and that sent a chill down her spine. The Prince would surely want as much information gathered as possible, so she snapped as many pictures as she could, while shining the light about. Paranormals had ways to keep themselves out of pictures, but the nightmare itself? Time to find out.

As she scanned the phone around, eventually her lens landed on Noah, who was looking straight at her, a frown on his face. Yeah, she was being silly. They had more important things to worry about, like—oh my god.

Tash froze, and stared at the enormous, skeletal creature before them. It was colossal, and was missing its lower body, dark bones held up by its hands on the floor. Bone wings. Small white dots inside huge, black eye sockets. A giant spinal cord, dangling from a rib cage Natasha could probably fit inside of. She'd seen this monster before, when Athalia had gotten aggressive with her and her boyfriends, in the tunnels beneath Dolareido before the spider monster attacked. Azlu, they called it.

She turned, and almost squeaked. Spider monster! No, this wasn't the grotesque monstrosity from before, this was different. Very different. A woman's body, sort of, a white silk dress over a curvy figure, a face with no eyes, only enormous horns, shins that came down into long, sharp points, with no feet. She had less fingers, and her fingers were long claws themselves. Dark, almost shiny skin, and eight long, long, long long long spider legs that came out of her back, their multi-sectioned lengths smooth and almost metal like, and they came to sharp pointed tips, like her feet.

Athalia was terrifying. Fiona was both terrifying and beautiful. Maybe it was the thin white dress that barely contained her enormous breasts, or how it cinched tight around her inhumanly small waist. Maybe it was the small, dark lips that pursed into a very seductive little smile. Very much not Fiona!

Jack and Damien both seemed almost blase about the whole thing, though she noticed Damien glancing Athalia's way a little more often. Maybe he'd never seen her monster form before, her 'horror'; or he was just scared of it, like she was. Tash looked to the others as well, and was happy to see the wolves were staring at the monsters as much as she was. They were scary! Athalia in an obvious way, Fiona in a 'I will seduce you, tie you up in silk, and literally liquefy and drink your innards' way.

Around the room were wooden tables, wooden chairs, all very old fashioned. The wooden ceiling above them screamed antique. If she knew her history well, and she did, they seemed like the sort of furniture you'd find in homes in the 1500s. Time travel? No, no of course not. The monster must have had a nightmare home in a place that was like the 1500s. A deep breath sold it, the smell old wood, but also manure and grass.

The group of them looked at the room's door. Same old wood, and it was open to let in a slice of gentle fire light cut across the room.

Nodding, Arturo moved forward toward the door, and crouched low. Tash engulfed the group of them in her cloak of night, as did Damien, and she nodded to them as she followed behind Arturo.

"We should be fine t-to talk, quietly," she said. "Smell anything? Other than... what... appears to be the insides of a castle, from f-f-five hundred years ago."

"That explains why I smell shit, horses, grass, wood, and stone. I can smell Clara and Eric, and... yeah, that's Jessy," Art said.

Wow, what a nose. She pat him on his back, and he stood up as she poked her head out. With a glance back, she nodded toward the hall, and everyone came out.

"W-Wait, Athalia, how—" The giant dead god corpse thing, became black mist, and flowed through the normal-sized door. "Oh."

The skeleton beast snorted at her, and a gush of cold air hit Tash, as the odd monstrosity marched forward. With more room over their heads, Athalia drifted higher, hovering, her nigh-black skeleton wings grazing along the sides of the huge hallway. At least she was up and out of the way of them, but Tash didn't like it. Her spinal cord swayed around underneath the strange half-body corpse monster! Gross.

Fiona walked through the door, her long spider legs following behind her. Once she was out into the hallway, she started walking on the eight spider legs, and her human half began to hover behind Athalia. Long, such long legs. Tash looked up at her, and as Fiona drifted over her head, Tash covered her eyes. The spidersilk dress she was wearing did not have underwear! And the bits between her thighs appeared to be human.

Could Begotten have sex? Or rather, could their horrors have sex? Athalia, of course not, but Fiona?

Tash looked over to Art and Matt beside her. Matt kept his eyes on the multiple doors of the hallway around them, but Art glanced up and smirked as he looked up Fiona's skirt. Elbow attack! Tash drilled her elbow into his side, hard enough to earn a quiet groan from him, before he chuckled at her.

"Sorry."

"R-Right." Frowning, she continued along, and looked at the gargoyle braziers holding the fires. "These are... b-beautiful."

"This a reflection of a real place?" Noah said. "The Hisil operates sim—"

"It is a nightmare, fool." Athalia turned to look down at them from above. How a skull could frown, with no lips or skin, Tash wasn't sure, but it did indeed look like it was frowning. Maybe just a trick of the eye, to match her upset tone. "It is not a reflection of anything. It is a creation, and it stands on its own in the Primordial Dream. I do not know if this chamber is the heart of this beast's lair, but... I do... sense a presence."

Primordial Dream. Fiona had mentioned it, but neither she nor Athalia had explained it. At this point, it sounded like the dream world was an actual place. What were chambers? Lairs? How did you burrow through... through... what did you burrow through, to get from the dream to the physical? How did any of that work? Tash's priority was to deal with the hunters, but Antoinette still wanted her to learn as much as she could about the Begotten, the Uratha, and the worlds they policed.

Antoinette. Tash sighed, and looked at Jack. The boy stepped ahead of them, and walked with an upright pose, Athalia and Fiona over his head. Before departing on the mission, Antoinette had asked her to protect the boy; a request as a friend, not the Prince. She'd do her best, but it was hard to do that when Jack kept putting himself at the front. Maybe she could talk to him, tell him to stay closer to Damien? No doubt Julias had already told him that, though.

He was a Ventrue, and there was no getting around that Ventrue drifted toward leadership. Mister Mire had sired the boy for his tenacity, but as Jack grew comfortable, and confident, he became more and more like his sire. And then, there was his secret about his new, overwhelming hatred for Angela that he'd shared with her. While the boy was becoming more and more like Mire, he was also becoming more and more like Viktor. And that must have been terrifying for him.

She nudged Art in the side, and he leaned down for her, bringing his ear next to her lips. "Keep an eye on J-Jack."

"You know I will."

"I... I m-mean... more than... than you m-m-might think is necessary."

Art raised a brow at her, but nodded, shrugged, and continued walking.

Matt opened one of the side doors, and everyone froze with the quiet sound of wood creaking on stone. Rolling his eyes, Art walked up to him, slapped him upside the shoulder, and peeked into the room.

"Same as the one we arrived in."

"Strange," Noah said. "This feels less like a nightmare, and more like a... like a museum, or medieval festival."

"Not all nightmares show the pits of torture they can put you through so easily," Fiona said. Her accent was gone! Now she sounded almost Portuguese. "My heart of my lair is a jungle. The pain it can inflict, the terrors it holds, are deep within its center. None of you have seen it." Guess that ruled out Damien or Jack having ever gone that deep then.

Noah fell in behind Jack, and looked over his shoulder as he walked, eyes scanning around at everything. While Arturo looked like he was scanning for enemies, Noah seemed interested in the strange building itself. She didn't know him very well, but maybe he was a scholar or something, an intellectual; not that Art or Matt weren't smart, but... but they weren't. Smiling, she pat Art on his side, and he raised a brow at her, confused. So cute. Her beautiful, awesome, big dumb boyfriends.

Noah, on the other hand, she noticed a glint in his eyes when he approached one of the braziers, and examined it. She knew that glint. It was the glint she got in her eye whenever she saw something new, something interesting, something to add to her catalog of memory.

"These braziers," he said, far closer to the fire than she was willing to get, "are... too detailed."

"Too?" Damien said.

"Yes. Stone sculptures like these were typically not high in detail. And yet, these gargoyles have... pores."

Oooh! Tash wanted to look closer, but didn't want to lean in close and get a face full of flickering flame; the slightest touch was enough to be harmful. She'd have to suffice with looking at the gorgeous artwork from a distance, and take a few zoomed in pictures.

"Chambers are the culmination of fear, breaking points for the soul, and..." The skeleton monster above let out a long, raspy sigh, and shook its head. "Nevermind. It is not physical, it is greater than that. Do not trust your eyes."

"I feel... so... naked here," Matt said. "Nothing has a reflection. I don't smell or feel any spirits. But I can feel it's different."

Tash couldn't feel that. As she kept the group in the aura of her cloak of night, she managed to look around a little with auspex, to see if there was something extra to see. With vitae flowing through her eyes, looking for... for something beyond physical matter, it was pointless. Whatever it was that the monsters and werewolves could see or feel about the place, to her, it was beyond her ability to notice or differentiate. Could Daniel? Her sire's mastery of auspex was far beyond her own, and the man could use it to do unthinkable things, discover lost secrets, uncover truths from liars, and even glimpse into the past. Maybe someday she'd be able to, too.

"As we said," Fiona, or rather Vrall, said from above, "we are in the Primordial Dream. The physical and spirit world are two sides of a coin, but here? It is the shadow the coin casts."

Tash nodded as she digested the information. Maybe they should call this place the Shadow World then, if that was the analogy. Then again, who was they? Primordial Dream, Shadow Realm, where did these words come from? Who categorized and collected the information, gave it definitions, names, identifiers. And was it accurate information?

The group stopped before a door, giant, two wooden slabs barring their way. Closed.

Jack pulled out his pistol and short sword, as did Damien, and Tash. The hallway had been empty, and despite poking their heads in a few of the doors, all they found were empty rooms with old furniture.

"I can smell them," Art said. "They moved through here."

"I guess they closed the d-door behind them?" Tash shook her head as she considered. That was a possibility, but if it'd been her, she wouldn't have closed such an enormous door after opening it, since it was bound to make a lot of noise. It also meant they'd have to reopen it, if they were going to run back.

"Think your cloaks of night can suppress us opening this?" Jack said. Both Mekhet shook their heads. "Figures."

"Stealth will only help so much," the skeleton said. "Forcing open someone else's portal announces our presence, be it a Begotten's lair, or some other entity's tunnel through the worlds. Whatever beast waits for us within this nightmare, they know we are here."

"... so much for the element of surprise." Damien sighed, and pointed his sword up at the hovering monstrosity. "Could have told us that before we came here."

"It would not change what we have to do. The hunters will be waiting for us. And the likely place they will, is on the other side of this door."

Sighing, Tash set her chin in her fingers, and analyzed. Yes, if the hunters were setting up a good place for an ambush, the other side of a thick door was a good place.

"D-Does anyone hear, or sense anything on the other side?" she said. Everyone shook their heads. "Should... should we try and... b-b-burst in?"

Everyone looked at Jack. Tash smiled at that, not only because the boy was turning into Julias far faster than he realized, but also, because she didn't want to answer that question herself. If the hunters were waiting on the other side, trying to sneak out of the hallway wouldn't work; whoever stuck their head out first would die. If they burst into the room, but the hunters weren't waiting, they'd give up the element of surprise by announcing their arrival even more than they already had.

"Can you investigate with that black mist form of yours, Athalia?" Jack said.

"No. My senses are gone while in that form. It is only for moving to locations, not scouting."

Nodding, Jack looked to the three Uratha. "Can you transform into your werewolf form, and... well, stay in control?"

Matt and Art smirked, while Noah shrugged.

"I can," Noah said. "Not all of us are so well mannered."

The two boys with Natasha rolled their eyes, but at least they didn't get angry. They weren't happy about Noah playing supervisor, but Natasha could tell the man was doing his best to help the pack. Art had said the man was Elodoth, and was good with his words. They also said he was a bit of a sociopath, and thought of his pack mates as pieces on a chess board, not as people. A mean insult, but even now, the man's expression was more deadpan than Tash expected from anyone in this situation. She recognized the look of someone analyzing the moment, and detaching themselves from the emotional gravity of it to maintain an objective eye. Hopefully that wouldn't lead to rather harsh decisions, at the possible detriment to others.

She doubted it would. He was a member of their pack! Surely he'd protect his family above everything else. Matt and Art seemed to trust him, even if they didn't like him.

"Alright," Jack said, "the mission hasn't changed, just the method. Stealth isn't an option"—he threw a glare at Athalia as he said it—"so we should use a rushdown tactic instead. Even if the enemies aren't waiting in ambush, rushdown will work better because it will allow us to close in on the enemy quickly. Ever see SWAT tactics? Use speed and overwhelm the terrorists holding the hostages. Hesitate and lose, so we don't hesitate. We move quickly, and take down any enemies in our way. They'll hesitate, and we'll take advantage of that."

For a moment, Tash smiled at the man's wisdom. Then, she tilted her head to the side. Was he talking about a video game? It almost sounded like he was talking about a video game. It was still sound advice, and she pursed her lips as she kept her opinion to herself.

"Remember, rescue is priority. Second priority is learning more about the hunters and the situation, like how they have a Begotten working for them. We've been flying blind for weeks with these hunters, and that has to change." He checked his pistol, tightened his grip on his sword hilt, and took a breath; only Natasha and Damien would know how useless that was. "Ok, Uratha, you—"

Roars from beyond the door started to echo, loud, filled with inhuman shrieks. Moments later, more roars joined it, but not layered with strange shrieks. She knew those roars! Those were the roars of a werewolf, a howl mixed with rumbles that grew into overpowering thunder.

Everyone froze when the sounds of gunfire joined it.

They all looked at each other, and Tash chewed on the inside of her cheeks as they listened. Gunshots, more of them, and then yelling. The noise's details were lost to the echo of whatever lay beyond the door, but it sounded like a man's voice. Clara, or Eric, or both, were fighting the hunters. Maybe Jessy was fighting too; knowing Jessy, she probably threw the first punch.

Natasha had faith in Jessy's abilities, as the girl had proven herself many times in combat, kicking Carthian ass. But this situation was different. The hunters weren't looking to have a brawl, or a skirmish fight that led to blood loss, but no deaths. No, the hunters were looking to kill, and they'd use fire and silver and shotguns and assault rifles. Could Jessy survive something like that?

Everyone waited for Jack's word.

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~~Jack~~

As the distant roars and gunshots ran through his ears, he tossed a few dozen scenarios through his head. Did they really have to do this? Did it really come down to opening a door and hoping for the best? Was it really the best idea to just, break their way into some unknown monster's dream, and force a situation? There had to have been a better way, a smarter way, something more elegant or precise or manipulative or... or... something. This rescue mission was foolhardy, and everyone knew it. He wasn't saying it, and they weren't saying it, but they all knew it.

All of their back-up plans for rescuing Eric, if their defense of him failed, did not account for a nightmare realm. If they'd had time, they'd have taken a few days to plan something proper. This on-the-fly rescue mission was going to be the death of them all, but it had to be done. It had to be done. He wasn't about to let Jessy go through what he did, or Clara. Or hell, even that asshole Eric.

"Let's take advantage," he said. "Uratha, transform and get ready to storm whomever's waiting for us. Damien and Natasha, ranged support. If there's any snipers waiting for us, use your speed to get up to them and take them out, but otherwise stay out of the fray. Fiona, close range support. Stick with the Uratha, distract, and incapacitate groups with your webbing if you can. If the werewolves go down, get them back through the door and into one of these rooms." He gestured to the normal-sized wooden doors around them. "Athalia, push open the doors as fast as you can, and since you can fly, try and get behind whatever's waiting for us.

"If I was Jeremiah, I'd have hunters waiting for me in a staggered formation. We're talking kine, with physical limitations; they have to rely on their weaponry to be dangerous, so they'll play to those strengths. Pistols and shotguns at medium range, rifles at long, with some kind of cover between us and them. They may have a sniper, but unlikely; sniping in real life is nothing like the movies. They'll also have molotovs, maybe flamethrowers and grenades, and silver bullets and silver knives, and..." He stroked his chin as he looked down, and ran through the scenarios in his head. Needed more time, needed a lot more time, but they had to go and they had to go now.