This is our Fate—Aliyah/Michael

[Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova]

i'd like to make myself believe that planet earth turns slowly
IT'S HARD TO SAY THAT I'D RATHER STAY AWAKE WHEN I'M ASLEEP 'CAUSE EVERYTHING IS
NEVER AS IT SEEMS. 'CAUSE I'D GET A THOUSAND HUGS FROM TEN THOUSAND LIGHTNING BUGS
AS THEY TRIED TO TEACH ME HOW TO DANCE A --------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------ FOXTROT ABOVE MY HEAD A SOCK HOP BENEATH MY BED

A yellow flash was easy to spot against the dim gray of the broken building. Her yellow pelt was not best for hiding in the city, even with the black spots peppering her pelt. The cheetah was more suited for a plains setting, but she hadn’t had much of a choice, after all. The sleek, feline figure weaved in and out of debris, stopping and lifting her muzzle to the air, jaws parted to taste the air as she tried to scent something, find the one she was looking for. Her ears flicked at the sound of her partner moving in and out of the debris, and Audrey was down again, her belly brushing the ground as she darted forward, weaving expertly around becoming a blur as she ran through a patch of open air. There was a fence in front of her, blocking her path to the next lot, but she didn’t slow down in the least. At the right moment, she pushed off the ground with her strong back legs and hurled herself over the barrier, clearing the top of the seven-foot, wooden fence by a good two feet before she landed on the other side, glancing side to side.

Li. . . . I don’t think there is anyone here but us. The thought rang through the silence, but was for the wolf lurking around, and no one else. Shoulders bobbing up and down with each step she took, Audrey moved her small head, eyes piercing the darkness as if it were day. They were here trying to catch the trail of someone who was known to associate with a Blood Dynasty member and take care of him, or see if he could be swayed, but the trail had gone flat after they’d reached these buildings. Sitting back on her haunches, Audrey’s tail swished back and forth as she waited for her partner to arrive. They had become rather good friends after that first moon together. When word of a war reached their department, they were both assigned to see what they could do to help. Audrey didn’t know about her werewolf friend, but she had gotten quite attached to running around as a cat. Should we move somewhere else to look? Go back to where the trail ended?

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---------STATE Finished
---------VOCAB 382
---------MUSE Bleh
---------CHATTER Here it is.
---------COSTAR Aliyah and Michael
---------WARDROBE Here
---------STAGE Abandoned lot
---------CREDIT coding/banner by yours truly. lyrics by Owl City

[Trinity Keating]

A sleek figure darted between the few peices of rubble following closely behind the cheetah before her. A fence soon came into view and the female sat back waiting until the cheetah cleared it. A wolfish smirk spread across her face. The female got up and bunched her muscles readying herself for the jump. The steel grey of her fur caught light and shined briefly before she vaulted over the fence clearing it at the same height as the cheetah before her. When she landed the force of it rippled through her body and her head turned looking from side to side. The female looked up at the cheetah as her words flowed into her mind. Audrey I've been a cop for atleast six years. You aren't looking hard enough. He's here. I know he is. I can feel it.

Li pushed herself off the ground to her full height of five feet seven inches as the words flowed effortlessly from her mind to Audrey's. The brilliant gold of her eyes stared into the surrounding area. I'm going on foot please stay in your cheetah form. With that being said Li stopped next to the cheetah and shifted into her human state. A soft thump of things hitting the ground reminded her of the items she had strapped to her legs. Quickly she got dressed and strapped the sawed off shotgun she had on her back. She then fastened the hunters knives she had to her hips. With a crack of her neck she was ready to go. Another search fo the area told her no one was here but she knew he was close. Li took a couple steps forward before stopping.

"Audrey you need to listen to what your instincts tell you and use them to help you fight."

The words were low and sharp as she pulled out one of the hunting knives and gripped it tightly. He was he now that she was sure of and it was only a matter of time that the human hunter would show himself and then she would show him just what it was like to be a werewolf. A snarl rumbled from her as she scanned the area taking on a stance that would keep Audrey behind her. After having shared their first moon together, Li felt that she had to protect the female were-cheetah. Audrey stood with her when she gave into the need to change. She had helped Li keep her cool and Li would never forgive that. So now it was her duty to protect Audrey. At all costs.

[/size]

[Michael Anderson]

The Sweetest Song
... is always sung in silence.

I don't make it a point to kill police. Spies -- agents, they're all fair game... after all, their deaths never make it to the media. It's kind of ironic that way, I suppose... but to begin with the average working man in law enforcement uniform was revered a public hero more often than any one important higher than the FBI. As a general rule... I keep deaths outside my target to a minimum; there's always some way for a deed to come back to you and collateral damage does the dangerous thing of raising the profile. Not that I wouldn't survive; but I always found it useful to have precautionary measures in place. But that day I went with Mara to the Blood Dynasty's ball sealed me as an associate to their little Darwinist ambitions.

The truth of it? I'm not on any one's side.

---

The war between the Bloody Dynasty and the newly formed Twilight Brigade was brewing -- and Michael, ever having his ear to the ground had sources screaming from just about every channel who was going to be involved. Heck, even the locales for the showdowns didn't seem to be that big of a secret. This war was the kind of event that angered the powers that be -- and when that happens, expensive information becomes both readily available and ridiculously cheap. He wasn't a member of either faction... and though his association with Mara was strictly for pleasure, her high position within the Dynasty's ranks had unveiled him as a potential enemy that the Twilight Brigade would no doubt target.

It hadn't been his first time to be caught in the middle of a war. Most people who saw themselves innocent did the stupid thing of trying to make their case -- but he wasn't an idiot. He knew that in times of war it was acceptable to kill those even under remote suspicions just to be sure. And so he remained in New York City -- making his mark, leaving his trail and scattering subtle clues and tiny bits of evidence as to where he would be. He knew he was being pursued... even knew the names of those who sought to bring him down and the fact that the NYPD's CA division had been assigned his case. Huh. It was odd that they were targeting a human of all things -- still, despite their meager training, they were both supernatural beings and were ill-equipped compared to him.

He had employed cunning to evade their notice... and now they had closed in on his location, they had done so under his conditions. It was a battlefield of his choosing -- an abandoned building ... no offices. Just large open space with wooden crates and metal drum barrels to block their line of sight. This was what he preferred... while it sacrificed the amount of places to duck for cover, the spacious room had a distinct air flow that masked his scent... even if by some miracle they could navigate through the nauseas smell of oil his body would constantly be down wind of their noses. And as he watched from the dark, high up on the girders of the roof he considered how best to engage the situation.

... he still hadn't decided on whether he'd be simply neutralizing the threat or eliminating it completely. As he stood perched from his vantage point looking directly down, he made a mental check of his equipment. Dressed in black urban light armor, he had the appearance of a modern day ninja... with his blade Silent Serenity at the small of his back, his pistol Reverse Charity at his hip and a silenced KRISS Vector slung over his shoulder with a tactical belt crossing his torso, lined with various grenades and smaller knives. He was ready to take them both down... but first, he opened the lid of a clear container... something he'd picked up from a janitor's closet, as he tipped it on its side, letting its contents drip down on to the lower levels.

It was ammonia. The fumes would nauseate the average human.... the effect on something with sensitive smell however, was obviously tenfold. But he moved along... walking the metal beam of the roofing with perfect balance he reached for his silenced Vector and awaited their response.

[Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova]

i'd like to make myself believe that planet earth turns slowly
IT'S HARD TO SAY THAT I'D RATHER STAY AWAKE WHEN I'M ASLEEP 'CAUSE EVERYTHING IS
NEVER AS IT SEEMS. 'CAUSE I'D GET A THOUSAND HUGS FROM TEN THOUSAND LIGHTNING BUGS
AS THEY TRIED TO TEACH ME HOW TO DANCE A --------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------ FOXTROT ABOVE MY HEAD A SOCK HOP BENEATH MY BED

Audrey I've been a cop for at least six years. You aren't looking hard enough. He's here. I know he is. I can feel it, Audrey’s companion chastised, making Audrey flatten her ears against her head in indignance. Her fur bristled slightly, standing on edge and she narrowed her eyes, glaring in Aliyah’s general direction. Claws unsheathed, she scraped up some dirt as she came to a stop and waited for the werewolf to catch up to her. I’m not a dog, I don’t track! she retorted sourly, jumping slightly and hissing as a fox startled her by toppling over a pile of wood and then taking off, fearful of the strange creature standing ten feet away. Audrey was a little tightly wound at the moment, but she huffed and watched the fox take off, then turned her head as Audrey leaped over the fence—it was perhaps less graceful than Audrey, but dogs normally were compared to cats. Lumbering creatures, they were.

Whiskers quivering, Audrey lifted her head and took a deep inhale of the air around her, jaws parted to taste the air as well. Rotting and wet wood, mud, dust, concrete. . . there were all sorts of scents in the air, but Audrey couldn’t siphon out all of that to find the one they were looking for. I'm going on foot please stay in your cheetah form, Aliyah requested before she shifted into her original form, using the clothes she’d brought with her to change. Audrey was too small to comfortably carry clothes on her and be able to move about freely and not lose any of her agility, but she had rigged a dog harness to hold a small bundle of clothes against the base of her ribcage. If it started to prove to be a little constricting, then she could just slice the straps with her hind claws and be free of it. Why do I need to stay like this? Audrey asked belligerently, but remained as she was. There was no reason for her not to be, and she felt a little better like it anyway, but there was no harm in asking.

“Audrey you need to listen to what your instincts tell you and use them to help you fight,” Aliyah lectured. Audrey pulled a very human gesture of rolling her eyes. This werewolf was no older than she was and was just as new at being a were! She had no reason to be acting all high-and-mighty toward her? Taking a couple bounding steps forward, Audrey stood on her toes and perked her ears in the direction she was facing, tail lifted and it’s tip twitching back and forth. I don’t need a lecture, Aliyah. My instincts work perfectly well and we are in good communication, she responded, flicking an ear in the werewolf’s direction before relaxing her muscles and trotting to another area, head down as she scented the ground for a minute, then she lifted it back up. Out of the relative silence came the sound of trickling liquid, and Audrey’s ears twitched in that direction before she turned her head and the rest of her body to the sound. Do you hear that? she asked Aliyah.

Then, it hit her. Audrey tossed her head and gave a short sneeze, lowering her head and pawing at her face as she moved backwards in some sad attempt to get away from the god-awful scent. Oh god what the hell! Audrey was not the most composed and professional person in the world, but she couldn’t imagine what Aliyah was going through. Dogs usually had a more sensitive sense of smell, and Audrey’s eyes were burning and watering and her stomach was doing little flips, but the scent was unmistakable. Most people knew what it was and could recognize it. Amonia? Well at least now we know someone's here, Audrey mused, lying on her stomach with her paws over her face. Her striped tail lashed about in aggravation, lips drawn back over her teeth in a silent snarl as she pawed at her eyes and nose.

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---------STATE Finished
---------VOCAB 683
---------MUSE Good
---------CHATTER Much better than my last one.
---------COSTAR Aliyah and Michael
---------WARDROBE Here
---------STAGE Abandoned lot
---------CREDIT coding/banner by yours truly. lyrics by Owl City

[Trinity Keating]

Audrey was going to complain? Really? Li sneered to herself but didn't say anything. They were about the same age in being Weres but it hadn't taken Li all that long to figure out what it was like to be a werewolf. She shook her head and looked back at her fur covered friend and a sly smile crossed over her face. The werewolf opened her mouth the say something but the aweful smell hit her nose. And did it hit her hard. Her ears picked up the sounds everywhere and she could hear that Audrey was in pain. God this stuff was horrible. Li stepped back and tried to cover her nose but the smell was just too much. Her vision blurred lightly and she stumbled slightly trying to breath without taking the smell into her body. Bloody fucking hell why did this guy have to be so obnoxious!

"Damn straight. But its cowardly of him to hide behind the smell of amonia."

Li mused wiping the tears from her eyes and trying to keep her mouth closed. This was making her naucious but there was one good thing to it. Her senses were so strong that now with her smell cut off her hearing seemed to pick up every little thing. Careful Li closed her eyes and took several deep breaths bringing the smell into her. Within minutes her nose had become used to the smell, though stunted she could still breath and smell somewhat, but it was bareable. Foot steps brought her attention to a near by area. Knife in hand she took a deep burning breath through her mouth and moved forward fighting the waves of nausea.

"Let's see if the little dirt bag acutally wants to play or if he's going to fight from a far."

Li growled low as she paused in her movement listening for anything. She could hear his breathing but she couldn't quite pinpoint him. Yet. It wouldn't take her long. She'd always been a tracker and this was no skin of her nose. A low growl continued to rumble from her subconciously as she paced the area trying her hardest to ignore the burning smell. A click sounded and she knew exactly where he was. Her head jerked up to the roof tops of the buildings and her gaze settled on a swift moving figure. He was circling them? No. What was he doing? It didn't matter he'd be dead soon. Flipping the knife so the cool dull edge of the blade pressed against her wrist, Li took off in a sprint and vaulted herself onto the roof right behind the little dirt bag. Surprise flitted across her face.

"Well if it isn't the little street ninja. Oh this will be sweet."

The words were venomous as she glanced down at Audrey and then back at the ninja.

[/size]

[Michael Anderson]

It's funny how people choose to believe that fighting fair is the only acceptable means of engagement. And it's even better that those same people are always those who are well-armed or carry the advantage in some way... in essence, they were the greatest sore losers in whining history. The American Army in Afghanistan were a modern day example... ambushed and defeated by poorly trained militants who set up traps and fought using cover and tactical positions... Aliyah seemed more like a crybaby than one of New York's alleged finest. Still, he managed to get under her skin with a little bit of ammonia -- and he could only fathom her reaction to the numerous other things he had in store. The other cop was still down below -- he hadn't been aware that the CA division had started hiring half the cast of Animorphs.

It's quite amusing, though... most were-creatures were always quick to commit themselves to the most predictable of behaviors. Find something and charge at it. A human -- a well trained, pragmatic human knew how to break the scenario down... and this scene was one of the worst possible for any below. With the angle of how high Michael was located, there was no cover whatsoever down below... furthermore, the gravity would have been against any grown team wanting to deploy grenades to flush the opposition out. In essence... this entire structure was his killing field. He had yet to decide whether he was going to take a particularly lethal stance -- and as Aliyah made the ridiculously high jump to the girder he'd been standing on, he knew exactly what action to employ next.

His fingers pulled a small, metallic two-pronged object from his vest's pocket; and as he took a leap to the adjacent girder's beam support, he struck it hard against the steel surface, a high-pitched ringing filled the room as the object was now clearly a tuning fork -- to humans it was enough to catch their attention... but to an animal who had a hearing range beyond that of a human? It should of been clear what he was doing... taking their strengths and twisting it into weaknesses, he was exploiting their acute senses by overwhelming it. He fully knew the affects of doing so... hearing, for one, controlled a living being's sense of balance... and this high up, he wondered whether the thing to knock Aliyah off would be the fumes or awkward sense of balance from having your hearing torn away from you.

Oh, but he wasn't done there. One more leap, the "ninja" sighted the panel of light switches and with a thought turned on all lights in the room. Sight, scent, hearing... it certainly would of sucked to be a were-creature about now. Especially since this human was now assessing the perfect plan for neutralization... he'd have it all by the time they'd recuperate.

[Trinity Keating]

Great just fucking great. How much more can he do. That annoying ringing wouldn't stop but for some reason it didn't bother her as much as she had originally thought it would. The amnonia, the light, the ringing. All of it made her feel well human. She hadn't realized just how much she had put on her new found senses. Amazing what a little kick in the face would do. His smell filled her nose but the amnonia covered a good portion of it. Irritation bubbled but was quickly replaced as she closed her eyes. The sharp throbbing seemed to ease up slightly when she didn't focus on anything. What a pain. Li rolled her neck and a small crack echoed in her head. If she was wolf then she'd know what to do, but then she'd lose the advantage of human limbs and such.

"Aw fuck it."

He wasn't damaging her at all. It was just really really annoying. This annoying ninja must have forgotten that she had been human only recently so being muted with her sense was nothing new. Her eyes scanned and then locked on the ninja. Pushing herself off the metal she launched herself at him bringing the knife towards his side and then again towards his neck as she jumped backwards. As far as she was concerned there was no more messing around. If he was going to stunt her like this she was going to tear him limb from limb. Another growl sounded from her as she made her way back down by Audrey.

"Feels like we're human again eh?"

Li laughed rolling her shoulders and flipping the blade in her hand as she cautiously watched the fucking ninja. Why it had to be this asshole she had no clue but to hell with it. He would either be dead or be eating out of a straw by the time she was done with him. Who did he think he was kidding? Oh yeah let's try to stunt a couple of freshly turned Weres. A small laugh came from Li at the thought.

[/size]

[Michael Anderson]

The "human" wasn't forgetting anything. Unlike the other two in the room he wasn't some kind of god who for some reason would know every little detail about someone with completely baseless assumptions. And true, while he could have read the extensively detailed files on either of them available due to them being government agents, there was only so much that information on paper could have done for you. And it was amazing how truly selective being a "newly made puppy dog" was... after all, they only claim to have minor senses yet have the complete strength of being able to tear apart some one limb from limb. Truly, if they were a god they'd be the worst kind; a cheating god.

And you had to admit -- despite being extremely efficient, accurate with a weapon and employing non-lethal means, Michael was extremely generous in his treatment of them so far. You would think that trained government lackeys would at least have some street sense but it seems they tend to develop some sort of brain matter which prevents them from either thinking rationally or intelligently -- he was pretty sure it was a serious case of the dumb mingled with symptoms of the stupid. For example, Aliyah -- the wolf, as he had seen earlier had responded to the most obvious provocation in the history of man. To put it in perspective, Michael was an extremely lethal disciplined killer -- you think he would retreat, run or back off because he was a coward?

Wrong. The only time you'd see his back was when he wanted you to -- and when that happened things never turned out so well for the pursuer. As she came at him with a knife, he leaned forward and swept his left foot back, turning around with the momentum, he was practically horizontal against the girder. With the element of surprise still on his side, it was unlikely she could have avoided his counter-attack. After all, standing on a girder means having extremely little room to maneuver in; stepping forward would have had the same effect as stepping back -- too little time to do so. Stepping left or right... and well, there was a free drop which would of left her up in the air and very well exposed. The only way she could have possibly his sweeping leg was to go up.

And you know... whether or not she could evade him, or if he did succeed in tripping her? It didn't matter. The end of it all resulted with her being caught in mid-air, with the momentum behind him he followed through as he would have caught her left hand by the wrist. He held on tightly as his right hand pointed his Vector sub-machine gun pointblank at her fucking torso. And if you don't know the technical specs of the gun in his hand, it had an average magazine feed of 30 rounds. The caliber was .45 ACP; the size of bullets which held unimaginable stopping power especially for a sub-machine gun. In perspective the bullets were larger than most magnums. Furthermore he had deployed blessed hollow-point silver rounds -- he was expecting a supernatural threat, obviously. The silver could kill a werewolf or vampire if left inside within the span of a minute and that was your regular ball round. Hollow-points were non-standard for military; in fact, it was rather obvious he didn't join any branch under Uncle Sam so to explain, a hollow-point had the tip of the bullet hollowed out; the effect on a soft target like... say, a werewolf, vampire or human... it would expand; tearing through vital organs as it did so.

One bullet was all you needed to take even a werewolf out of the fight for a few minutes. Aliyah was about to receive thirty in the freaking torso. That means her heart, lungs, spleen, stomach, pancreas, kidneys, intestine and every fucking essential organ that wasn't the brain was going to be shredded by muzzle-velocity silver. Aliyah Jackson? This was your life. And this was a very bad fucking day.