The Tail end of it

(Order of Posting 1. Me, 2. Shrike Marine, 3. C.S.O, 4. Sea Bunny)

In this part of town, only the gentle trickle of rain was audible, along with the ever distant sound of moving automobiles. This faux-silence offered a peaceful yet tense ambience to the entire suburb, and any further along. At least at night that is.

Which of course it was. Night. The dim yellow streetlight's hardly visible glow was tainted by it's own feint flickering, and it cast a rather useless illumination upon the only source of noise in the entire surrounding area. A club.

While not exactly a rowdy, flashy club. It wasn't either the most peaceful of places. Rather seedy, and rundown the building offered cheap drinks that were probably rejected by the higher-up joints, and meals which you would likely be paying for a plate of grease.

It was this place, an undesirable location that a certain character had called, pleading for help. His name was Mike Shwitz, and he was certainly feeling out of place in such an uncomfortable establishment.

About four other Mobians were there, and no humans in sight. Those present were some hunched over figures, a majority were labour workers such as coal miners and garbage collectors that had no money to purchase anything better. And even more of them were likely Anti-human, which probably explained the lacking presence within the club.

Shwitz shifted uneasily in his chair, keeping his eyes alert and making sure that he wasn't being watched. Which he wasn't.

"C'mon." He muttered under his breath.

No sooner had the words left his mouth, a Grey fox walked into bar, equally out of place, wearing some clothes he had likely grabbed from a reject store in an attempt to at least look like he belonged there. But the figure was obviously more suited to something like a suit and tie.

The fox headed straight to the bar, whispering an order for a drink, and joining the appearance of everyone else there, slouched over a table, waiting for their purchase to arrive at their table, or simple enjoying the foul odour of sweat, dirt and long-gone smoke. 

After a minute or two, and several muffled breaths of the fumes wafting about, a bottle made its way to the Fox's table in the hand of the club owner, and he accepted it with a nod, and made his own way over to Shwitz.

He said nothing, as they both knew there were more that would arrive. But they sat there, each with their own drink of cheap home-brew, still with the yeast culturing in the bottom.

-No stranger to the unknown, or places of un ease, hearing to call was the only reason he would venture into a place like this, did he have better things to do..probably not but with what limited intel he was given he thought at least to check it out. 

Something to do with a creature at large, what it was or what it was capable of unknown but what ever it may be it had proved dangerous enough to warren warning, he thought to himself if this could of simply be a rogue creature of the by gone race now supposedly destroyed a old enemy?

Or something entirely different, he didn't know but he would go along with it just the same.

It was dark and poorly lit, not the most welcoming of places but one to meet in...some what secret to figure out what the hell is going on, the armored figures thick black steel cap combat boots thudding making his way to the marked location indicated via his HUD.

It pointed him towards a bar and that was the final destination, Clubs and him didn't go well, most times tho beings stayed out of his way as he did with them. He would head over opening the door with some force and walking straight in.

He knew he was not welcome by the eyes that viewed him but he no longer cared about those who disliked him, he was here for another reason, once inside the figure looked left to right slowly, eyeing out who it was who called for help. 

He would of been lost if not for the sight of a familiar face, there in the dark of a table in the corner was Darken, what the hell was he doing here, did he also receive the call some how, he went over immediately with out wasting time or thought. 

'Darken ? What are the chances of this...last place I expected you to be...been to long man..good to see you again, still alive and kicking...."

-Shrike turned his head to the other figure he also sat at the table, this was no doubt the guy who sent the call.-

"You must be Mike Shwitz, the one who sent the call, picked it up not long ago, I'm here about the...little issue you have with some kind of creature...names Shrike..Shrike burn..I hope you got some intel for us."

-He said as the soldier like figure sat himself down at the table they were all gathered around at.-

*Well... things are off to such a lovely start for this outing, aren't they?*

The thought seemed to fit the situation. It was already late out, so it was dark and only getting darker. The streetlights didn't seem to be helping much. Usually it wouldn't be that big of a concern as moonlight was generally sufficient for getting around... but the cloud cover due to the rainfall quashed that possibility.

So, here was was, wandering around the darkened streets, doing his best to not get lost on his way to a scheduled meeting, but not exactly succeeding.

This is what happened when you tried to find a location on short notice when you didn't know an area and had some difficulty with posted signage. You ended up wandering around for a lot longer than you should.

Keeping that in mind, it wasn't a surprise when he got to his destination late.

The door to the club swings open and the silver furred wolf quickly steps inside, mainly just to get out of the rain. He had no real fondness for establishments like this. He preferred to keep to himself. He wasn't much of a drinker. He knew food offerings were better elsewhere. Then there was also the fact that the last time he'd been in a place like this, he'd managed to embarrass himself thoroughly in a short time.

Well... hopefully tonight would turn out better.

After resisting the urge to shake water from his fur, he steps further into the room and glances around at the limited number of patrons. He figures that will make it much easier to find... whoever it was he was supposed to. He wasn't exactly clear on that beyond a time and place for a meeting. He had a name as well... but he wasn't about to start walking around asking everybody here one by one if that's who they were.

As luck would have it, he spots another very familiar 'face' in the club and, with a sneaking suspicion that he was related to what the wolf was looking for, he starts to make his way over.

The wolf adjusts his clothing slightly as he walks. The rain had made his dark green shirt and brown pants a bit too clingy for his liking. He's stop the fidgeting by the time he reaches the table with three patrons sitting there, and he stops beside the armoured figure.

"I've heard there was trouble and since you're here as well, I assume this is the place to be." he says to him, keeping his voice down to not draw the attention of anyone other than the people at this one table, "Hopefully things turn out better than our last couple of adventures."

It was unusually dark out with the heavy overcast and the dim streetlights weren't helping. The atmosphere was tense, and made her feel on edge. This was nothing she wasn't used to. However, she had never set foot on this side of town before. 

'A creature...' She thought, bouncing her baseball bat on her shoulder. She couldn't care less about what could happen to the man that contacted her. But living around this place made her feel as though she would eventually become a potential target. She might as well deal with this thing sooner than later. 

As she eventually found the address, she discovered it to be some club or bar. Not exactly someone her age would be welcomed in, but she opened the door and stepped inside anyway. There was no one to check for any sort of ID by the entranceway, so she continued on with ease. Her short stature and youthful appearance may raise a few brows form others in the establishment, but she wasn't concerned about it.

She was searching for someone, but who? As she took a look around, she spotted an armored man. Helmet, and everything. Was he taking part in hunting down this creature? Perhaps her arrogance caused her to misjudge the danger of the situation. She felt a little intimidated, but refused to let that show. 

Just as she approached the table, she heard the wolf mention that there was some trouble. That could be anything. How was she supposed to find out if they were who she was looking for? No, she knew how. She placed her hands on the table, and spoke with confidence. 

"Creature."

After a few seconds, her face grew red. Of all the things she could've said or asked, this was it. How stupid. She hoped they were the ones and understood what she meant. Otherwise, she just made a complete fool of herself in front of a bunch of strangers.

The large, dirty-shirted Mobian behind the counter threw his cloth onto the bar, retreating to a small area in the back of the kitchen as more and more of these strangers entered into the Club.

The very moment that the soldiers Steel-capped boots entered into the establishment, hands were lowered. Those that had previously been resting on their arms looked up, the building turned into a straight-backed gathering in mere seconds.

While no hostility was displayed, at least one of them was bound to be thinking of it, judging by their white knuckled grips on the glass bottles laying on their tables.

The Darken had a similar, less aggressive reaction, whereas the character who was likely the one that had called, had almost no reaction at all.


"Shrike! My man! It has been too long indeed, yeah... I'm holding up. I can't even remember the last time we met, it's all been a haze with-"

He cut off what he was about to say, realising that all eyes were on the soldier, and whatever it was he was saying, was going to be heard by all.

"I'll have to save that story for another time."


The figure next to the fox nodded, "That is my name. And yes, I sent the call. I will only say things once, so I wish to wait for everyone to arrive." he said.

He appeared to be a Leopard, or a Cheetah, but with the lighting, and his subtle attempts at hiding any defining features of his face, it was hard to tell.

Shwitz had kept the original transmission crisp and to the point, perhaps he had left a little too much out. It was an attempt to sort the Tares from the Wheat, but perhaps he had lost too much of the Wheat?

No, more people filtered into the bar, after the soldier was a wolf, wearing some rather soaked attire, he was slightly soaked by the time he reached the table, and dripping thin streams of water along the wooden floorboards.

Shwitz offered a curt nod to the wolf as he took his seat around the table, keeping his word and not explaining anything twice.

And the last figure to enter into the club as that of a girl, perhaps a little too young for the environment. The Bartender was absent however, and he likely wouldn't have cared even if he was present. But, it still caused Shwitz to question the reasonableness of location.

After all, a backstreet meeting house such as this is the perfect area for thieves and murderers, and ideal for the predator.

He snapped back into attention, having momentarily lost his grip on the seriousness of the situation, likely due to the youth entering into such a sleazy tavern as this.

She sat down with them, confidence brimming the air around her, and only added to by the baseball bat to which she clung. Then she spoke, however she seemed rather flustered about what she'd said, perhaps not expecting to say it, but it had happened.

"Yes, So it seems that you're all here for the right reason. My name is Mike Shwitz, and I a the one that made the call."

The leopard's mouth moved with a sense of fear, despite his rather shady appearance. 


"Alright, I'll only tell the story once."


"Two weeks ago, I retired from my job. I used to work as a businessman in Station square, importing and exporting refined metals, a good business with some huge profits. I moved back to my house in the city with a huge retirement fund and a hefty financial umbrella to support any of my future needs. I was ready to relax.


Then, one week after that, I discovered that a large quantity of rings had been removed from the safe in my study. There was a small scratch on the windowsill when I discovered the missing rings, and I made a note of it. When I came back to the room the next day, The scratch had been fixed. No problem, However when I checked the note that I wrote, it stated the exact appearance of the window 'Scratch covered with plaster.' 


You see, they had changed over the note from my pocket while I was sleeping! Apologies, I digress. 


I let the authorities know about it and thought it'd be fine. But then five days ago, I awoke covered in dust and with a policeman staring down at me. I looked up and there were- there were forty-six bullet holes in the wall, several merely inches from where my head was.


After a bit of questioning, I learnt that my neighbour had witnessed a figure enter my home, and began a gunfight right there in my bedroom. My neighbour is currently in intensive care.


Needless to say, I slept underneath the bathtub after that.


Then, only two days ago, I awoke again, this time less peacefully than last time."

Shwitz looks up at the group, showing his face and revealing a deep fissure running along one of his eyes and nearly entering the other, along with two smaller grazes either side of the larger.


"I woke up with the creatures hand embedded in my face. Three wickedly sharp claws tearing through the flesh of my head, and I nearly lost all my vision. I rolled right out from underneath the tub and lost the knife that I'd slept with inside of it's leg.


All that I saw was a flash of blue and red, although I think that the red was probably just the blood filling my vision, and then I bolted."


He turned his head sideways, showing a red-stained bandage.


"When I ran, the thing fired on me, but when I looked back, it had no gun. So I kept running. I haven't stopped running."

By the end of his story, Shwitz's eyes filled with nothing but fear and sorrow, tears beginning to leak from the corners and trickle down his face in sync with the gentle rain outside.

"I call it the predator, but I have no idea why it's hunting me."

-Shrike felt the unease but like before it did not change his stance, should some one be foolish enough to try and take him on a punch would be the least of their troubles, he was not at all strange to the idea of brute force when called for.

He did take care to hide his weapon best he could should some one take a interest and attempt to nick the weapon, tho for now there little group huddled around the table seemed to be well off from preying eyes. 

Indeed it was good to see Darken, there meeting first and foremost was not a conventional one, a skirmish in the desert accompanied by the large bipedal war machine piloted by Rex himself, a exciting yet dangerous operation one he would not forget. 

The reaction of others staring didn't sit well with Shrike he for one was a guy who disliked those who were haters of other kinds with out even knowing them. However he kept his cool and decided to ignore the stares and focus on the task at had. As fate would have it on multiple occasions the wolf showed up, a figure who seemed to follow Shrike in many operations and adventures he had been on, some good, some strange but all in all he welcome his sight. Tho the wolf did have some doubt to the success of this new adventure.

" Good to see you here as well, judging by our last run in's I wouldn't hold my breath on any thing but if this thing is as bad as it going to sound it may just be worth the full mile." 

-Just then a totally unexpected character showed up, some one Shrike would of never expected to answer the call for such a task, She looked young and well....small but he dare not remark on it, he learnt the hard way with remarking on ladies heights in the past. She proceeded to the table, placing her hands on it and stating just one word "Creature".

Shrike turned his head to look at the others in a bit of confusion before turning his gaze back to her.-

"If you are referring to the creature hunt then you found the right table, our client here...is just about to fill us in on the details, join us..should be a interesting time."

-Thus Mike finally explained what it was that was after him and others, even showing visible scars of what this thing was capable of, Shrike immediately thought it could of been a Dark one but was not a 100% sure tho what ever it was, was it also capable of wielding weaponry ? If so holy shit was this on another level all together, after Mike explained the entire ordeal Shrike felt like he had to at least comment.- 

"Call it what you want, but this thing sounds like if left free to do as it pleases could cause horrific collateral damage that if it can wield weapons, I'm up for it but we still know very little to what we walking into, but I accept to do what I can to locate and eliminate the threat Mike." 

The wolf keeps his attention on Shrike as he offers his reply. He nods slightly to him.

"Well, hopefully things go a bit better this time around. Or at least they can try to not be as crazy." he replies.

He is then surprised to see another person join this group at the table. He regards her curiously as she places her paws on the table and says the word 'creature'.

*That's... a rather odd way to introduce yourself...* he thinks, looking a bit amused.

He doesn't get a chance to reply, or consider one as the client, Mike, decides to begin his story. Taking a seat and being quiet, the wolf listens with interest as Mike tells them what is going on. Mentally taking note of the details, he ponders them quietly, deciding to let the others take the lead in asking any questions.

She listened closely to what the leopard had to say, leaving behind her embarrassment.

When he mentioned that a large amount of his profits were stolen, she clicked her tongue and mumbled under her breath. "Jeez, who would do such a thing?" It was hard to tell if she was being sarcastic or not. Either way, hypocrisy was present as she, herself, often threatens people on the streets to hand over their money.

Now, the topic had moved to the scratch and the note. She was already baffled by why the note was swapped and the windowsill fixed up. What was the point in that?
 
Now, a gunfight. Forty-six bullet holes? Insane. Right there in his bedroom. Why didn't he wake up? How could he not have when there was so much going on right next to him?

After listening to more of his story, he lifted his head, and there she saw it, the scarring on his face. It was revealed that this creature was the cause. No surprise there. What a wicked way to wake someone up.

He mentioned that when the creature fired at him, it had no gun. How was that possible? Was it someone else? Or some sort of power? 

There were many questions that filled her head. Just what in the world was this thing?

Seeing tears in his eyes, she would normally roll hers in response, but this was more serious than she thought it was. She was again wondering if she made a mistake. However, she quickly reassured herself that taking care of this thing would be no problem. Her pride refused to let her back down. She felt like she couldn't at this point anyhow. Might as well give it a piece of her mind. She almost felt bad for him. Maybe she did...

Shwitz made no effort to wipe the tears away from his face, but instead retreated back to the way he had been at the beginning of their encounter: hunched forwards, face obscured by the shadow cast from the hat placed carefully on his head. His story had seemed bizzarre indeed, with the tone of many of the people there being one of relatively distant curiosity, but they mostly appeared to be intrigued. 

The grey fox, armour clad soldier, damp-clothed wolf, and young streetwise-girl all sat around him, they had listened to his story, and he had given it to them. It was not much, but it was all he knew. The only thing that was left, was to present some evidence that wasn't in the form of wounds.

"I apologise for the amount of seemingly dead ends my tale has presented, but I feel that this predator will not stop until it has finished this-"

As he finished the sentence, the leopard motioned to his face.

"And, I am willing to reward you for your efforts sufficiently."

Then he reached into his coat-pocket, pulling out several objects in his red-stained fist. The first item he placed on the table was a crumpled piece of paper, the second being a coin-like object with a rather unclear red shape in the centre of a black disk, the edges of which were gold like a normal coin. And the final item to be placed on the table was a bullet in a small resealable plastic bag, along with several crusted smudges of what looked to be blood.


"These items are the only thing that I received from the creature. The fake note, the bullet that I was shot with, and a sort of trademark."

He pointed to each object as he mentioned it.


"Please have a look if you'd like. And thank you, Shrike was it? I am certain that this thing has done the same things to others, and I'm doubly so that it will continue long after I'm... That is, were it to succeed. That's why I sent the message, I need help from the four of you in order to prevent future tragedies. And I won't lie, I don't know what this thing is, or where it came from, but I do know what it is capable of. The Prospects of this thing being loose in the streets frightens me more than I felt during the night it attacked me."


The grey fox picked up the note, removing the creases and reading it, he then picks up the coin, and analyses the shape of the symbol. It appeared to be a depiction of a crab, except it's left claw is equal to the size of it's entire body, and it's right claw is missing completely, and then finally the bullet.

"You're not wrong Shwitz, "Window is fixed with plaster." Plain and simple."

After reading the note, he passes it along to the most familiar figure at the table: Shrike, whom Darken had just learnt's last name.

He looked at the coin, and then along with the bullet, passed it along too.

Shwitz nodded to the fox, "Indeed. The local authorities have refused any access to the house, besides for myself to retrieve personal items, and I discovered the coin in my safe, were the rings were supposed to be. They might have more information on the subject, and the only person that I know to have gotten a proper look of the predator is in the hospital, also with restricted access. But I'm certain that if you'd like I can try to squeeze you in under the premise that you are ' personal investigators'."


"Any questions?"

-Shrike sat in silence to listen and understand the situation they were now tasked with doing, evidence was provided although it was not ground breaking it was at least something to go on. Noting Darken had already began to analysis the items presented, he let him handle that as he knew Darken was better when it came to this kinda thing them him.

Tho he did see the appearance of a crab like being, perhaps a hint on what this thing was or at least a look to go on, Shrike had a view of it after Darken passed it to him which he would then pass on to the wolf beside him so he could have a look himself.

Mike suggested sneaking them under as personal investigators but Shrike knew full well the authorities were not stupid and if they were alerted to these so called fake investigators the consequences would be bad at best, faking such personal was a crime in on it self.

Shrike sat for a moment and thought, if they couldn't get in the house they would at least have to be in the perimeter around the area..perhaps spot it near the complex and then proceed to hunt it down.-

"With all due respect Mike the local authorities, would discover us sooner or later, they not stupid and if caught impersonating their personal well that is a crime in on it self.

I would take up position in the perimeter around the house, out of site of the authorities and hold there, the creature is bound to return to the location and when it dose, we can track it if it escapes, this will be a search and destroy, tho it would be ideal if we could draw it away from any populated areas if possible, still don't know what this thing is capable of....I'm in..don't know bout the rest of you but its elimination alone is payment for me enough." 

-After which Shrike sat back and was all set himself ready to go. Even if he was going alone.-

The wolf continues to listen intently to all that is said by the leopard and the rest of the group assembled around the table. He remains quiet though as he gets a chance to examine each of the items that had been offered to them. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be of much use with the items.

He glances briefly at the note before passing it along to the lone female at the table. He did the same with the bullet, as he had no understanding of guns. Although he thought the coin was interesting, and probably of some value, he didn't have anything to add about it other than it had a picture of a crab.

Once he passes off the coin, the wolf looks back towards the leopard. He doesn't have much to add, so he instead asks a really simple question.

"Where are you going to be sleeping tonight?"

She had no interest in the note, but decided to have a look anyway. She knew she wasn't going to find anything new or different. It was just as he said. 'Scratch covered with plaster.' 

Once she received the bullet, she was hit with another question. Did this belong to that thing? But he had no gun, right? Perhaps it was from the neighbor when they had that gunfight...

As she examined the bullet, she heard the armored man talk about the authorities and worry about getting caught doing something they shouldn't. She snorted at this. "Playing by the rules? How lame~!" She gave a slight taunt, not caring at the moment about how he's much larger than her, armored and potentially weaponized, or about the fact that he could possibly be tied to the authorities in some way. He did very much look like a soldier. 

She turned to look at Mike. "I don't mind impersonation. Though, I can probably find my own way in to both the house and hospital." She spoke with confidence as she took the coin that was passed on to her.

This was one of the items that really caught her attention. It was something she's never seen before. Perhaps it had some potential value. She pondered pocketing it for a brief moment, but that seemed risky at a time like this. Surely, one of them would realize it's missing.

After the wolf had asked his question, the dog chimed in with a comment of her own. "Maybe on the streets. We can trade places for the night~" Once again, it was hard to tell if she was joking or not. There was a large grin on her face, but she knew he was a man of financial success. He had mentioned so before, so she figured he could likely find a nice, comfy place to stay, like a five-star hotel. She rolled her eyes at the thought and mumbled under her breath. "Luckyyy..."

The Leopard took a long drink from the filth-crusted bottle before him, and after a long draw from it's foul contents, he put it back onto it's place on the table. A ring had developed on the table from the amount of wet bottle-ends had sat there, probably for days on end, and there were several more similar stains circling the table.

He listened to the rebuttal from Shrike, but then heard his suggestion, which did indeed seem to be a better plan, and probably more likely to get to the source of the problem faster than simply impersonating police. 

Shwitz looks to the Wolf, and then the young Dog, both of whom had offered their own questions.


"Thank you for your enthusiasm miss...?" he said, unsure of her name. "But I think Shrike is right, tracking down the creature would be more efficient than trying to gain unauthorised access to a hospital, just to bother a mentally and physically scarred individual."


"And in regards to my accommodation, I've informed the Authorities that I'll be staying with a friend out of time until I can recover, but in truth, I've been going around town staying in places like this, I don't know how long I can throw of the creature though. It should however, be checking my old residence on occasion, considering that whatever it is knows how attached I am to that house."

He tried to ignore the dog's snark comment and attempted to address the whole problem at hand, "Depending on your availability, I would like to work on this plan as soon as possible. Tonight even. I believe that any delays would bring the predator closer to victory, and would only further any damage it's causing outside of the current situation."

The leopard straightened his hat, downing the last of the bottle in the process, "I don't think I'm familiar with all of your names actually." He points to the soldier-like figure, "I know that you, good sir are Shrike." then to the fox, "And you're Darken." and then to the wolf and dog, "But I don't believe that I've learnt your names..."

-Shrike by now was ready to go, armed and armored for the job he could not feel a sense of un ease, there was still very little intel on the creature at hand, one wrong move could mean the end of the road for one of them, taking the approach of a term he usually went back " Hope for the best, plan of the worst." Approach, something he was taught during basics of G.U.N training, no matter how well you prepare nothing really goes to plan.

-Shrike had a look at the bullet...it didn't really match any thing he was aware of, tho he knew this was not a standard bullet..looked more military grade to him, but it still could mean any thing really, perhaps some guy got hold of a military grade weapon who knows.

Shrike stood by his choice to avoid infiltration, despite the taunt he received, but he didn't respond he knew the implications of such acts, if they wanted to follow through with it, then they would suffer the consequences of impersonation of authority figures, nor was Shrike looking for another bounty placed on his head. 

"What I wouldn't give for a squad of Replicant soldiers right now, they would be mighty handy, regardless, we move out now and set up..covering different angels of the house..once the target is sighted we must flush it out of the area and draw it away from the area, once we done that..the rest is fairly simple..destroy it.... Well that is at least what I am doing."

-Shrike stood up at the table grabbing his weapons.-

"Don't worry we will take this creature out, so long as the general idea works, and hoping it is not resistant to conventional means....before we go is there any way to stay in contact with you should the need rise ?" 

The wolf looks back at Schwitz.

"You know my name, you just don't know you know." he replies, "I go by Wolf for the sake of convenience."

He then waits allowing the last member of the group introduce herself. He then listens as Shrike states what his plan for dealing with the situation will be.

"So... I don't know if trying to track down this creature is really the best approach. If it were easy to find, you'd figure that more people would be talking about it, right? Or at least the authorities would be more active in hunting it." Wolf says, "Thus far, this creature has come to Mike two or three times and no one has noticed it at all. You'd figure that someone would have spotted it at some point... Especially after all that gunfire a week ago. You'd think that people would have been alert in the area. Someone called the police after all."

Wolf pauses as he looks around at the others.

"It might be easiest to just stick close to Mike while he sleeps. That seems to be when it shows up." he suggests.

She wasn't too happy with her plan being shot down. It took all the fun away. She leaned back in her chair and glanced away with an obvious look of annoyance. She almost completely tuned out the rest of what Shwitz was saying until he brought up the fact that he was unfamiliar with the names of both her and the wolf.

The canine gave his name. She softly repeated it. "Wolf..." What an obvious name. That's like if she called herself 'Dog'. "How lame..."She mumbled. Her voice was barely audible. She looked over at Mike and gave him an answer of her own. "Tricky." Plain and simple.

She then turned her attention to Shrike was talking about some replicant soldiers or whatnot. He was already giving what sounded like orders, too. She dropped her head back and made a face, clearly annoyed once again. Her attitude made it known that she was rather insolent and likely insubordinate. She would potentially become a loose cannon in this operation. However, her power would be of good use in taking down whatever this thing is.

She then looked over at Wolf who suggested a different approach. Her fun plan was already turned down, so it didn't matter to her what they did. The end goal was the same. She decided to remain silent and let them figure it out.

Shwitz nodded to Wolf and Tricky at the reveal of their names. 

"It's nice to meet the both of you, and also to you, Shrike and Darken."

Everyone began pitching their ideas, and it appeared that everyone had a different approach on the subject.

The Leopard sighed, it seemed that the opinions of the gathering had become torn, and moved in their own directions, however, with a bit of planning and organisation, everyone might be able to reach an agreement. After all, his job used to be negotiating for the best prices of steel and aluminium. 

"I see that we've all got different ideas on how to go about this."

He started, hoping that it hadn't come out in a scorning way, that wouldn't help the situation.

"Shrike believes that lying in wait at a distance is the best option, in an attempt at tracking and cornering the creature. Wolf suggested being in close proximity to it and catch the creature off-guard. And it appears that Tricky is still quite content with gathering information on the subject before moving."

After a short moment of thinking, Shwitz came to a conclusion.

"Tricky, what if I were to ask you to go to the hospital, I could send someone along with you if you'd like, or would you rather go alone?"

He looks over to Wolf, "And yes, the police have been notified, but they seem to be at a dead end. They have no leads, and there is no activity. Not only that, they aren't even sure what to do with it, do they call the SWAT teams in or not? It isn't something that the Police alone can handle."

-Shrike was not a fan of this idea but he had to roll with it, given that the leopard still hold total control over the situation since this thing was after him in the long an short of it.

 It seemed like it was left to him and him alone to see what best would work, Shrike folded his arms waiting to see what the Leopard could do for the situation, it wouldn't take longer either.

He settled on a dangerous idea of splitting the team up Tricky would be probably going in alone under infiltration orders to gather intel while Shrike and Wolf probably were dispatched to set up an wait for the creature to arrive, once it did, flush it out of the area and engage on sight, destroying it if possible.

Shrike didn't seem to mind this change in the plan all to much tho it did mean if engaged only two of them would be taking the creature on, which either could be alright or horribly wrong, still it was better then no plan at all and Shrike simply agreed by a small nod from him

"Alright I can work with that, Wolf you with me on this one, Mike we will be heading to set up around your house and wait for the creature to arrive, we will engage on site and drive it away if possible...I just hope this thing can be hurt with conventional means or we are going to have a bad time...Wish us luck..probably gonna need it as well."

-Shrike departed from the table with wolf hopefully in tow and began to proceed to the location that would be the outer most perimeter of his house, along the way Shrike turned to wolf asking him something.-

"So..Wolf...you have any faint idea what we are going to be up against..an what do you plan to fight this thing with should we encounter it ? Got any firearms ? Close quarter weapons ? Magic powers ?" 

-It was kinda strange for Shrike to me roaming in Station square again, it was not to long he was here under completely different circumstances, investigating possible leads on unknown energy readings, tho that journey was a complete waste of time, he did run into a lady here who became one of Shrikes greatest allies and he did promise one day to come back to visit, however now was not the time, a horrific creature was on the loose, the aim of the day was simple.."Extermination" -

Wolf stares back at Mike quietly as Mike offers his reply. He feels like Mike missed the point about the question, but it could have just meant that Mike didn't have an answer for it. But before Wolf could think of how to follow up, the impromptu meeting seemed to come to an end with everyone given some sort of task to do, and Shrike suggested that he go with him.

So, a little while later, Wolf was walking along with Shrike back through the rain, heading to wherever their destination was. It was quiet until Shrike posed his question.

"Same as before really. I've got some blades I can use... of course, I didn't bring them to the meeting. I didn't expect to be preparing for a fight today." he replies, "Otherwise, I really just have my defensive skills."

Tricky couldn't help but grin, showing off her shark-like teeth. They were rather unusual to see on dog. She was more than happy to hear that she'd be able to infiltrate the hospital. She enjoyed doing things that risked her getting in trouble, and after having done something like this for quite some time, she became rather good at it, or so she thought. She pondered the idea of having someone tag along with her. Though, she was unsure if they'd end up being more hurt than help. 

Her thoughts were interrupted as Shrike began to speak about his part of the mission. She could've wished them luck or said something along the lines of 'see you later', but she just watched silently as both him and Wolf got up and left out the door.

Once they left, she leaned back in her seat, and propped her feet up on the table, finally giving an answer to Shwitz question. "Depends, who're you thinking of sending with me?"

The Leopard nodded at the continued enthusiasm of the soldier, it could have been the atmosphere of the building, or the rather urgent threat at large around the city. Either of which would have been a good enough reason to be on edge, the bar was seedier than a pomegranate and Shwitz was a living testament of how dangerous this predator is.

Just as he left, Shrike mentioned the effects of conventional methods, and according to Shwitz's experiences, a knife is quite effective, but bullets might be a different story. He made sure to slip Wolf a radio transmitter before he followed the soldier in tow.

Then the Leopard turned back to Tricky, who had a large-toothed grin plastered onto her face, and was looking rather comfortable with her new position on the bar-chair. 


"Considering that I will be going along with Shrike and Wolf, I was considering sending Darken with you."

The fox had been quite for most of the time that Shwitz had been speaking, but was wrenched from his plane of thought at the mentioning of his name and began exchanging looks between the Leopard and the Dog.

"From what I've been able to gather, he is very good at analysing data, and should be able to give you a technical readout of the entire hospital if you lose your way."

In all honesty, the Fox seemed to be rather reluctant to infiltrate the medical centre, but he at least nodded at the conclusion of Shwitz's explanation. And he pulled out a laptop-like device, but with a larger resemblance to a wide flip-phone than anything else.

"The Hospital is at 376 Auburn street, She's on floor 34, ward C, room 18. If you need any more help, let me know with this."

He planted a rather simple communicator on the cup-stained table, and then jogged out of the building to catch up with Shrike and Wolf, leaving Tricky alone with the grey fox.

@Group Δ


As they walked through the city, the transition from filthy slums to rich villas was slow and almost invisible, the quality of the housing increased at a small rate as they passed countless streets, but eventually they reached the part of town that would be Shwitz's home.

And as they neared one of the inner streets, the panting Leopard joined Shrike and Wolf. The rain soaked gently and almost quietly into their clothing, and for the most part made it heavier and colder.

"My house is just up ahead." 

Surely enough, couple of hundred metres up the road was a house cordoned off by the famous police 'crime scene' tape. There were no police on duty but there was a single vehicle parked on the street, blocking off the driveway to the house.

It was a three-story house, with white stucco outer walls, and a series of neatly trimmed bushes out the front. The only thing off about the seemingly lavish abode, was the Shattered door frame that lay hanging on it's hinges with splinters of its remains across the front porch, and the large shards of decimated glass from several ruined windows mixed in with the remnants of wood.


"That is not what it looked like when I was here last." 

-Shrike along with wolf trekked ahead only for mike to eventually catch up with them during the initial departing from the the place they were at, seemed like is was them three against what ever may be lurking out there, Wolf had forgotten his bladed weapons but ensured to note he still had defensive capabilities, it was unknown what Mike could do and Shrike...well he always had a healthy supply of ordinance, as a motto he lived by was "No such thing as overkill" 

As the trio marched on it became apparent of the living conditions vastly changing even a short distance, slums gave way to rich vistas, all the more while Shrike thought to himself how this was even remotely fair, then remembered they lived in a world where the the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

The rain was not really helping with the mood, the water washing over the charcoal color helmet and down his visor, his BDU were drenched and thankfully to military gear it was water proof and didn't cause to much of a hinder to movement. 

Eventually they would reach his place, if this was just a house to Mike this was nothing short of god damn luxury for Shrike, like 5 stars and up, he was use to finding what ever means of shelter he could for extended periods away from Lysanders base..this..this was something he rarely saw but it was the destination non the less.

Marking tape surrounded the area, no getting in with out drawing attention, and attention was the last thing he wanted, a lone vehicle was in the vicinity, could be a outlook and rapid response. Shrike held position and thought of what to do next.-

"Alright we can not get any further, convinced that vehicle is a watcher, rapid response, if we are seen remotely inside the area they will call for back up I am sure of it..we need to set up in more or less of visible distance from where the the incident happened and wait..wait to see if this thing does come back...If it does we know what to do."


-Shrike crouched and moved up closer, when he spotted the torn out door and the burned and wrecked patches of grass he concluded this must of been the entry point of the creature, he decided here was the best place to set up.-

"We will hold position here, take cover and remain out of sight but keep your eyes on that entry point..we will only move in once we have visual contact with the hostile...element of surprise lads..let's keep it that way."

-Shrike hunkered down between what ever he could to reduce his profile, even if the rain was battering down and being cold as hell it remained where he was and waited.-

Wolf walked in silence along with Shrike towards their destination which was in a more well to do area of the city. He glances around as they walk, taking in the buildings that they pass by and noting how impressive many of them look.

*Wow... these places are huge. I wonder how many people are staying in them to require all that space...* he ponders, *This area must be filled with people.*

A short while later, Wolf hears the approach of someone on foot behind them. He turns to note that Mike was hurrying to catch up to them, and he slows his pace a bit to accommodate him. The trio remained quiet until Mike mentioned that they were close to their destination and eventually pointed it out.

Wolf looks over the exterior of the property indicated as Mike mentions the damage done to the entrance and Shrike points out that the building was likely under surveillance.

Wolf glances towards Mike.

"So you think that whatever was after you came by, after you'd gone, and made a mess here?" he asks.

She had almost forgotten about the grey fox. He's hardly spoken a word, if he's spoken at all since she arrived. As he pulled out this computer-esque device, she starred at it with both interest and confusion. It didn't much look like any computer she had seen before, but she was glad for his help. It would certainly make her trip more quick and easy. 

She nodded as Shwitz gave out the location. "Gooot iit~" There was a smile on her face and her tail slowly wagged. She seemed rather pleased. As he left the communicator on the table and made his way out, she grabbed the device and got out of her chair. She stepped over to Darken. "Come on! Let's go!" She was clearly impatient, not wanting to wait too much longer. She stood by him, and peered over to see what was on that screen of his. She was tempted to grab him by the arm and pull him out the door, but she didn't want to tear him away from what he was doing, unsure if it was something vital to the mission.

@Group Δ

Both Shrike and Wolf seemed to be amazed by the large houses, and it caused a flush of embarrassment to swell within Mike, he knew what it was like to live in the lower end buildings a bit closer to the club that they had just left, as he'd spent a part of his early life there. But since he took part in the metal industry, his living standards rose and the house was rather lavish at worst.

Shrike was rather keen to deal with the creature, and Shwitz couldn't blame him, after all, it appeared to be capable of causing a lot of damage in a short amount of time, and something like that on the loose was a huge threat. With him walking around with military standard gear, Mike wasn't surprised that Shrike had some military standard threat responses. 

And it was fair to say that the police car likely had a rapid response video feed on the dashboard, if anything entered the area within the tape, they would be swarmed by police, and possibly some stronger forces. And the last thing they needed was to have to deal with the local government.

Then Wolf asked him a question.

"Yes, it would appear that the predator has come back and found that I wasn't here, but it should come around again soon. It'd be best if you found some cover."

The Leopard dropped to the ground, wedging himself between the neighbouring fence and a large hedge, taking his own advice and following suite of Shrike.

The area was silent, with the only sound to be audible being the distant whoosh of cars and a slight rumble emitted by an overhead Aeroplane. the main city could be seen in the distance if one's eyes followed the road and then moved up higher, and the bright orange lights stood out against the black of the sky and surrounding area like a sore thumb, whereas the street on which the stood was illuminated by evenly spaced, however dim, white lights.

And as the rumbling of the Aeroplane became more distant, a slight whistling sound replaced it, getting louder and louder, however not to the same volumes that a plane would reach.

@Group α

The Grey fox looked up from the device, and gave the dog's shark-toothed grin a glance, but then moved his gaze back to the machine in his hands. It was odd that someone with the outer appearance of a dog would have the teeth of a shark, and it piqued Darken's interest, but he would have to ask about it later. There were much more pressing matters at hand.

"No problem." he said, fingers flying across the tiny touch-pad of the device as he stood up from the torn seat and away from the beer-stained table.

"I'm just getting the layout of the Hospital. While I haven't broken into one before, I have broken out of one, and it wasn't exactly on the good side of the government either, so I've got at least a little bit of experience in this area."

He then put the machine away in the still-soaked pocket of his pants and motioned for the door, signalling that he was ready to go if she was. 

The figures sitting around the bar had once again slumped back over their drinks, and they had been so ever since Shrike left, as Darken and Tricky were only mobians, there wasn't any threat. But the room still had a slight tension to it, and the bartender still had not come back to the front bar.