Denouement

[Peter Sharpe]

His plan had gone off without a hitch. To say it was a risky move would be a dire understatement. He'd never attempted to tamper with the memories of an Immortal before. The majority of the vampires he came into contact required much less subtle means of silencing, and he'd never found himself in a situation where he deemed it necessary to alter the mind of a fellow Lycan. Certainly, he had full confidence in his ability to mesmerize... but this was an entirely different league of manipulation... It was simple enough to alter the memories of a human. Their minds and bodies were fragile, for the most part. But even used on simple creatures such as humans, the proccess was incredibly taxing on his body. In fact, the first time Pete had used this power he'd lost consciousness shortly thereafter. But his most recent actions had led him to befuddle not only one Lycan, but two. Tampering with a single Lycan's mind was a tall order. Not only was it neccessary to meddle with the human side, but also the enigmatic wolf side. He doubted that it was even possible to make a seamless alteration to the dual-sided mind of a Lycan. But then, twenty years ago, he would have doubted the existance of Immortals altogether.

Though pleased with his work, it had taken a great toll on him. Pete had spent the past two days in a coma-like state, and the two blondes, Damien and Adele were in equally rough shape. He'd awoken before them, but he was certain that his body was far from recovery. Setting off from Perrin's villa, he noticed that his body was unusually sluggish. He doubted he had the strength to undergo a transformation in his current condition. An interesting thought crossed his mind, and he was hard-pressed to stifle laughter. This must be what it feels like to be human. It seemed like an eternity ago, back when he'd been a human.

He had precious few opportunities since turning to simply walk down the street with no motivation beyond passing the time. Nowadays he spent the majority of his time in quiet contemplation, wandering through the streets as thoughts wandered through his mind. He'd done many a thing that he wasn't neccessarily proud of, but he had very few regrets; this was the life he'd chosen to lead. His only remorse was what had happened in America between he, Arai, and Namir. The latter in particular. Namir had been his protege. They were young then, and they planned to change the way the world worked. They planned on ending this eternal war, and see to it that mankind would be protected. It was often during his walks that he wondered where he'd gone wrong, when she'd become so malicious. She'd got it into her head that it wasn't their place to hide in the shadows, that humankind was meant to be nothing more than slaves to the Lycans. And once that thought had taken hold, they'd become sworn enemies, and Pete was fighting a war on two fronts. He thought he'd escaped his demons when he left America to aid Alena in her campaign against the Roman vampires. Yet here he was again, fighting against his former allies, wandering the streets in search of answers he knew he would never find. Sometimes while he walked he would get a strange feeling, as if somebody from his past was right around the next corner, or was walking just a few yards behind. He would look around at the sea of people, his heart jumping every time he saw that auburn hair. But it was never her. She wouldn't just appear after years to solve all of his problems; no, that would be too easy. Whatever forces, either God, Destiny, or the Universe... whatever forces were at work, they would never allow his life to be that simple. They seemed content allowing him a moment of happiness, and then ripping whatever he held dear out from beneath him.

His thoughts left him in a particularly foul mood. Fortunately for Pete, his mood wasn't so foul as to leave him oblivious to his surroundings. He was being followed. His most recent exploits had left him unable to sense the presence of other immortals, and it would be impossible to detect his stalker by scent in such a massive throng of people. Much to his dismay, the sun had dipped below the horizon about twenty minutes beforehand... knowing full well that he would need any and all advantages available to him, he casually walked into a dead-end alleyway, quickly finding a spot where he could remain out of sight, where he lay silent in wait of whatever was out there.

[Kali Caldarelli]

The thought had certainly crossed her mind once or twice; she was in far over her head. Though she set off in pursuit with a fiery determination, as days turned to weeks, her courage and ambition began to falter. It wasn't that trailing this mystery man was difficult... no, quite the contrary, it was simple enough to follow the trail of death and destruction he left in his wake. Perhaps it was death and destruction of World War proportions, but certainly misfortune seemed to accompany him wherever he went. Kali had managed to trail him all throughout Europe; from Stockholm, the capitol of Sweden, to Rome, to the Norwegian mountains, and finally, the the ancient city of Athens. And everywhere she went, the same tell-tale signs of his presence were to be found; Missing people, destruction of property... murder. And just as in America, not a single witness was to be found. Interestingly enough, at ever turn, the locals adamantly denied any knowledge of the man, his accomplices, that anything was out of the ordinary, and in many cases, they denied his very existence, chalking up the happenings and rumors as simply that. Rumors.

But Kali was running short on time. She had exhausted her resources days ago, and had since been only sustained by the generosity of strangers, which likely wouldn't hold out much longer either. She'd gathered evidence; photographs, newspaper clippings, and her own eye-witness accounts -- But it was all circumstantial at this point. She needed the final nail in the coffin, and it appeared as if she had no other options at this point. It was time to do or die. She needed either a full confession, or to catch him in the act. To say the plan was risky would have been the understatement of the century. She would simply find him, and coax him into confessing everything while their conversation was recorded with the small device she kept hidden on her person. A simple enough task.

Preparing herself for her potentially life-threatening confrontation, she ran through the scenario over and over again in her mind. She had been staking out his last known location in Athens, a large villa on the outskirts of town. There she enlisted the aid of several local children, who agreed to notify her of his movements in exchange for the very last of her money. Soon enough, her small spies had tracked him heading deeper into the city, and she once again set off in pursuit. After several minutes of powerwalking her way through the crowded streets, she came to an abrupt halt, and a gasp escaped her. He was no more than twenty yards ahead of her, apparently just meandering through the streets. Gulping down her fear, she watched as she turned into an alleyway just ahead of her, and quickly followed after him.

[Peter Sharpe]

Pete's dismay quickly turned to repulsion as he realised that he was kneeling in what he was certain to be a puddle of gutter grime and human urine. The smell likely would have been enough to gag an elephant, and even with his weakened powers, the smell overwhelmed his senses. From the darkness, he couldn't see the size of his would be assailant, and his nose proved to be only a burden to him at this point... but his eyes detected the unmistakable sound of high heels on cement. They didn't belong to one of the passersby, no, the source of the sound was closer, and coming towards him. Interesting. Either he was being pursued by a female, or a some sort of cross-dressing or transexual assassin. Of course, this did nothing to ease his mind. He'd fought against numerous female vampires, and sparred with as many female lycans. He'd learned the hard way that appearances were not reliable representations of how likely he was to defeat his opponent. After all, he'd met a certain lycan many years ago that wasn't too much bigger than your average highschooler. This lycan also happened to be one of the few Lycan Lords, and one of the largest of the wolfpack at that, standing at an intimidating twelve feet of muscle and fury.

The click-clack sound of the heels were drawing ever closer to where Pete had chosen to hide. Fortunately he would have the advantage of surprise, he was out of eyesight, in total darkness. Even if this stranger was using the keen sense of smell the Lycans were reknowned for, they would only have a general idea of where he was. That is, if they couldn't hear his heartbeat. He snarled, forcing himself to remain calm, which was no small feat considering his circumstances. One of the great strengths of his kind lay right above the kidneys, the adrenal glands. In humans, these glands enabled mere men to perform spectacular feats when faced with life or death situations - such as lifting cars off of their bodies, or running for leagues beyond their normal capabilities. As a lycan, these glands worked doubly so; allowing him to sustain great wounds, and amass great amounts of strength even at the brink of death. The downside was that such hyper-focus was reeking havoc on his already strained body. Whatever he was going to do, it needed to be quick... he doubted that he was capable of a prolonged fight.

He steeled himself as she walked... right past him, unaware that he was just a few short feet away. Now or never. He silently stalked behind her as she apparently searched for him. In one swift movement he placed his left hand over her mouth, and pulled her back into the shadows by the waist with his right. It was obvious by her reaction that she was mortal. Judging by the fact that she hadn't reached for a weapon the instant he closed on her, Pete assumed that this woman was also unarmed. It looked like today wouldn't be the day the Swiftpaw was killed. In order to prevent the woman from screaming, he kept his hand firmly over her mouth as he delivered his message via the mental link. "Now listen, it would be much easier for me to snap your neck now, and not worry about what you were doing following me... but I'm feeling rather charitable tonight. If you move, if you attempt to call for help... in fact, if you even THINK about calling for help, I will not hesitate to leave your corpse in this alley to rot. Now tell me, what do you think you're doing here?" Of course, this was a bluff, he frowned upon the slaying of innocent humans. But she had no way of knowing this.

[Stefan Wolf-Bane]

Stefan's eyes darted back and fourth as he watched the girl in front of him. He had been following her since they left the airport. He was on his flight home from Rome and had a lay-over in Athens. When he heard this young human girl asking questions to the locals. Questions he knew the answer to. questions she wouldn't want the answer to. He trailed the girl very carefully trying to keep himself far enough away from her so she wouldn't notice but close enough that he could keep an eye on her. He was silent as he walked. His foot steps making as little noise as was possible. Something he had learned his days as a child in Sparta. Following prey had been a normal thing for him even before his transformation.

But why would he waste his time? He wouldn't normally. He wasn't one for hurting innocent people. But he had heard her asking questions. And although he did not know the man she was looking for he did know what could cause the things she had been asking questions about. And there was no mistake the scent of lycan was in the air. In fact as they walked the scent become stronger. And as the scent go closer the more tense his muscles became. although he didn't know the other, so it wasn't a sure thing that this would lead to a fight. But that still didn't mean keeping his guard down was wise. He had to wonder what this human girl was after. she had to have realized by now what she was trailing was dangerous. But yet she continued. And one of his biggest weaknesses was seeing children and females hurt. Though he had to admit to himself he did have another reason. the girl looked so much like his Cathrine. His beautiful wife. She was taken from him by those monstrous vermin blood suckers. he was almost thankful to have been biten by the beast that killed it. because now he had the power to take down those filthy creatures. And Although this girl was not his wife, her hair was pale, but her face looked almost just like hers. her soft features so close to the real thing. he couldn't bring himself to let the girl get hurt. Even if it did make him sound like a lunatic.

He heard a shift as something moved very quickly and suddenly the girl was gone. pulled into the shadows. He had lost sight of her. "Fuck", he muttered. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply her scent filling his nose, hers and the scent of the lycan she was following. "Looks like she has gotten herself in trouble", he said to himself. Now Stefan was old but not stupid. He had been around long enough to know he must be careful. He had yet to see the other lycan and fighting an opponent you hadn't even seen yet was never smart. He couldn't rush in. instead he walked carefully and silently toward the blackness that had engulfed the human girl. His eyes hunted for her and the what had taken her, while keeping an eye on his surroundings as well. "quit hiding, come on out. let the girl go", he said his voice low but loud enough he knew the other sensitive ears would pick it up. He was sure that wouldn't work. but he was hoping for a peaceful end to this that didn't come with a dead girl and two fighting lycans. He clenched his fist but kept it down by his side. but should it get to that point he was ready. a Born fighter, spartan strong from birth, the blood of the wolf only enhancing it that much more.

[Kali Caldarelli]

Triumphantly she whipped around the corner into the alley, expecting to find the cornered man with nowhere else to run. Strangely enough, she saw nothing. Though admittedly, the last rays of the sun had long since faded, she was still capable of making out the majority of the alleyway... which appeared to be empty, save for a dumpster and the garbage that always seemed to grow naturally from the pavement like the city's equivelent of grass. Her eyes must have been deceiving her, she decided, now slowly walking further into the alleyway. Afterall, she'd clearly seen him turn this way, and to the best of her knowledge, man was capable of neither flight nor invisibility. He had to be here, there was no other reasonable scenario. Perhaps he knew that he was being followed... but how? She had been so careful, never getting close enough as to arouse suspicion. Nothing else made sense though, she reasoned. He had to have found out... and was either hiding in an attempt to throw her off his trail, or preparing to ambush her. The answer came, just a moment after she'd realized what a terrible mistake she had made, in the form of an arm pulling her into the shadows by her waist. Before Kali was able to cry out, the assailant had clamped his hand firmly over her mouth, while restraining her with the other arm. She struggled briefly against his hold, but to no avail, she wasn't going to escape his grasp that easily.'God... I'm going to die here' she thought.

Kali's panic dissolved into confusion and disorientation as an icy presence stabbed it's way into her mind. She winced at it's intrution, but the discomfort was nothing compared to the chilling message that echoed inside of her head. "Now listen, it would be much easier for me to snap your neck now, and not worry about what you were doing following me... but I'm feeling rather charitable tonight. If you move, if you attempt to call for help... in fact, if you even THINK about calling for help, I will not hesitate to leave your corpse in this alley to rot. Now tell me, what do you think you're doing here?" How was this possible? Kali knew she wasn't just imagining this... the man was literally speaking into her mind. What she did know was that he wasn't bluffing. He was a murderer... she doubted that he would even pause for a moment to consider snuffing out her life. Though on the verge of hyperventilation, Kali steeled her nerves and tried to keep her wits about her. Curious that he hadn't just killed her... perhaps if she cooperated, she might live to see another day. Though her situation looked bleak, she tried to hold onto that small glimmer of hope. Perhaps she could lie her way out of this. Perhaps he could be convinced that she was just an innocent bystander that happened to walk in the wrong direction... or that she was a prominent figure who's death would not go unnoticed.

Before she could formulate a plan, she heard whispers coming from the mouth of the alleyway... not in her mind this time. By now it was too dark to make out anything more than the source's sillohoute, painted ominously by the flickering street lights behind him. Who was this man, and what did he want? Was she about to be set free, only to be captured once again?

[Stefan Wolf-Bane]

The moon was now high in the sky and its silvery light shined down on Stefan. His silhouette showed prominently his hard rigid figure. He stood with every muscle tensed ready for attack, although if you could see his face you would never had know that. One of the many things he was taught when training to be a soldier was to keep completely calm and never let your enemy read you. He took this very seriously, and in this moment it was more critical then ever. This girls life was in danger, was in the hands of one of hsr kind. He knew how some of the others were. They didn't think much of humans. For the most part he could see why. Becoming a lycan had let him take a step back and look at the world for what it was. Humans for the most part were vile uncaring creatures. But He could say the same for many of his own kin. ANd he had learned a long time ago it was not their place to pass judgement. The humans were gifted the sun, and they the moon. that was their place, it was not for them to change it. But even still some tied and he knew how they treated them. He had seen many a young person lured off by his kins devilishly good looks and then torn to shreds. He never stopped it, but it wasn't his place to mess with the laws of nature. But in this instance he couldn't let it happen. That girl, she looked to much like his Catherine.
His mind flashed briefly back to that night. He had just come home from war eager to see his beautiful wife, and hold his children. But all he found was a bloody door and a house torn to pieces. He felt a ach in his chest it ran down deep, deeper then his heart, straight to his very soul. The scene of his dead children and wife. He couldn't see that again. Whether it was really her or not, he could not bare to see anything that even remotely resembled her lifeless body. He clenched his fist tight moving slowly closer to hiding place of this other lycan. "Let the girl go brother, im not going to ask nicely again. She is just an innocent ignorant girl and I will make sure she stays so." He swolloed hard, "let. her go". He wasn't giving anymore warnings. He didn't want confrontation, he had no wish to fight he only wanted the girls safety.

[Darius]

It had taken him months to track down the infamous Swiftpaw. Far from home and without resources of any kind, Darius had gone without proper food or lodgings for the entirety of his journey, relying on the little he could steal unnoticed and his own rage to sustain him. Despite the fact his Lycanthropic body required a staggering amount of caloric input, he was maniacally content with the mere thought of tearing into the Swiftpaw's traitorous flesh. He would play his coming retribution over and over again in his mind, each permutation of torn limbs and pitiful pleas for mercy seemed better than the last. In spite of all his daydreaming, he hadn't decided on the details; the only conclusion he came to was that the Swiftpaw would pay for his transgressions with his life, and that it would be taken from him slowly and painfully. But this wasn't the time for pleasant thoughts, Darius reasoned. This was the time for action. He'd nearly lost track of the Swiftpaw in Rome, and again in Athens, but it seemed God, or luck, or the universe was acting in his favor. As it turned out, he wasn't the only one searching for that human-lover. Darius had come to the conclusion that there was no such thing as coincidence long ago, it just wasn't feasible that the same woman kept turning up whenever he followed a lead on his mark's whereabouts. She had to have been following him as well. Darius hadn't the slightest inkling as to what a human could be doing following someone so dangerous. No matter, she was just a human, if she had any intentions of getting in the way, she would meet the same fate as Sharpe.

Perhaps he should thank this woman for leading him right to Pete, Darius contemplated. How difficult it would have been to track him down in a city like Athens... But now all he had to do was follow the two, wait until an opportunity presented itself, and attack Pete before he was able to complete his transformation. Under normal circumstances, he would never stoop so low as to attack an unaware victim from the shadows, but strong as he was, Darius knew he likely wouldn't be able to stand blow for blow with the White Lycan. He'd heard stories... stories of how he had survived encounters with vampires such as Rickter Rossenheim, and Vincent Van Albericht. Darius shook his head, clearing his mind of such thoughts. Now wasn't the time for trepidation. Seeing Pete walk into an alleyway, he couldn't help but smirk. He knew he was being followed. Of course, Darius couldn't expect anything less from a Lycan of his reputation. To his amusement, the woman followed right after the Swiftpaw, unaware that she was walking directly into the wolf's claws. Darius halted just as he reached the mouth of the alleyway; there was another Lycan present. An old Lycan... definitely not one of the Swiftpaw pups. But what was he doing here? It would be risky to engage Sharpe alone, but to fight against two Lycans of that calibre would be suicide.

"Let the girl go brother, im not going to ask nicely again. She is just an innocent ignorant girl and I will make sure she stays so. Let her go"

Darius could hardly refrain from laughing, Pete had likely detained this woman, likely to question her... and now he would have to deal with her would be savior. A plan started for form in Darius' mind. "You heard the man, let her go, or you'll answer to me!" He shouted into the darkness. Before moving into the alleyway, he probed for the other Lycan's mind. "Listen, buddy, I know this Lycan. He's a murderer, and a traitor to our kind. But I can't fight him alone... He'll kill her if we don't do something."

[Stefan Wolf-Bane]

Stefan's mucles flinched just an inch as the scent of the other lycan hit him. Damnit, he thought to himself. He had been so preoccupied with the girl he hadn't even noticed the other lycan getting steadily and steadily closer. His mind was turning and ever ounce of battle experience he had was trying to figure out a way out of this while still saving the girl. He wouldn't let anything happen to her, not this time, not again. He had already failed once. he couldn't bare to do so once more. But all his strength and battle experience wouldn't help him if he was out numbered. His only chance was to hop this other lycan wasn't a threat as well. He gripped tighter his sword as the other lycan stepped out of the shadows and began to speak.


"Listen, buddy, I know this Lycan. He's a murderer, and a traitor to our kind. But I can't fight him alone... He'll kill her if we don't do something."


Hmm, was this lycan right. He had lived a very long time to know not to trust people at their word. But seeing the situation he really had no choice. He needed to rescue her. He needed her to be ok. The other did have a point, if they worked together they may just have a chance of getting the girl out of here. And once he had her he would leave with the girl and get her far away from both far away from any danger. "Alright, youve got a deal", he said his eyes searching the area for any sign of movement.

[Peter Sharpe]

His heart sank. There would be no easy way out of this. Though it seemed that for the moment his detainee would remain docile, Pete had more pressing issues at hand. Notably the man poised to attack from the roof of one of the buildings enclosing them in the alleyway. By this late hour, the darkness was all-encompassing, and it wasn't likely that the meek eyes of a human would be able to penetrate such darkness. No, there was simply no way a human would have been able to spot him, Pete reasoned. Could it be a vampire? Certainly vampires had been known to stalk the skylines of Greece for prey since the second fall of Rome... but there was something about the man's mannerisms, something about the way he'd called Pete 'brother' that led him to believe that his opponent was a Lycan. Judging from the way in which he spoke, he was likely an old Lycan. Pete had heard this manner of speaking before, from one of Alena's most trusted. He was a Lycan by the name of Szandor Colden, a Lycan who called Greece home centuries before Pete was born. Of course, it was only speculation. Pete cursed under his breath. He wouldn't need to speculate had he not over-exerted his powers just a few days ago. His mental link would have detected this Lycan's presence long before he was a threat, and his nose would have told him everything he needed to know about the man. But as he stood now, he was left in the open, with little of his Lycanthropic powers available, while his opponent held the high ground. Not to mention, even if he were to engage this Lycan and emerge victorious, in doing so, the woman would likely escape. If he were in her position, once he escape, he would make it a point not to be captured again so easily. It would be too easy for her to disappear... he couldn't allow her to get away, not before the reason she was following him was made clear.

To further complicate matters, another man had appeared at the mouth of the alleyway. He couldn't make out any distinguishing features, but he had an imposing silhouette. Around Pete's height, and broad shoulders. Not nearly as large as Geoff, but certainly strong by the looks of him. Was this just a passerby? A would-be vigilante? Had he any idea that Pete wasn't human?

"You heard the man, let her go, or you'll answer to me!"

Though frustrated again due to his lack of super-human senses, he was able to tell two things from the man's voice. He was American. Of course he would recognize that accent, this man was from the North East. Moreover, this man was more than willing to fight. Either he was just a self-righteous human who didn't know what he was getting himself into, or this was another immortal who knew full and well what Pete was. Therein lied the conundrum; would he escape with his life, or risk fighting two immortals in his weakened state? I've never been one to walk away from a fight. Even if he wouldn't be able to shapeshift, if these men wanted a fight, they would soon know why he was called the Swiftpaw.

Still hidden in the shadows with his hand covering the woman's mouth, he reached out to her mind. Things are about to get a bit hectic. I don't know why you were following me, but whatever reason you may have had, you'll learn nothing if we both die here tonight. Find a safe place to hide, and if I'm still breathing by the time this is over, I'll find you. You'll have the answers you're looking for, but I have questions of my own. Of course he would have liked to keep up the menacing fascade, this was simply not the time for theatrics. Pete released his grip on the woman's waist, and gave her an encouraging shove towards the back of the alley. Stepping out from the darkness, he readied himself for whatever was about to happen, his breath visible in the sickly orange light of the streetlights that partially illuminated the alley. Pete wasn't sure if it had been this chilly outside all along, or if he simply wasn't used to feeling the cold. No matter.

"The girl is mine. If you'd like her, you'll have to take her by force!" He shouted to his would-be challengers.

[Jason-Lagana]

Ever since the encounter Pete had with Geoff, Jason had been on edge. He had felt an incredible disturbance coming from the man who had given him the one thing he had desired the most. So from that day on Jason made it his top priority to figure out what had happened to his greatest ally. For 3 days Jason had searched and wandered all over Athens in search of this man and finally he had found him. He had been filled with so much confusion until he neared that hallowed alley in which what appeared to be an inevitable grudge match was about to begin. Jason had known something was off with Pete, but he couldn't lay his finger on it until now. Jace had spent so much time keeping his distance from Pete in order to not arouse the idea that he had been stalking him without his knowledge. But as the gap had been closed in on, he could sense the not-so-ideal state that Pete was in.

When Jace appeared somewhat on scene of the three way Lycan Death-match, or so Jace saw it, he spotted the woman being taken by Pete into the shadows. He had no clue as to what was going on with her, but hearing the words of the Lycan perched atop of the roof Jason became very on edge. His mind raced with thoughts of what to do. 'Should I attack the man on the roof as a precaution, or just stand guard to intercept him if he makes a move?' Jason thought to himself. But he could not forget about the girl Pete had taken possibly as a hostage or for his own reasons. She had become part of this equation whether she wanted to or not. So Jace stood quietly, waiting for something to help his situation, and when Pete shoved the woman away he knew this was his chance.

Suddenly Jason jumped from his hiding spot and landed near the shadows in which Pete took cover. "So, I didn't think you were expecting company" Jace spoke with that energetic smirk on his face. His hands shook energetically with anticipation. That tension you could cut with a dull rusty spoon surrounded Jace, causing his adrenaline to start to flow within his body. His eyes darted between the locations of both Lycans who seemed he had perceived as a threat towards Swiftpaw. His knees stayed slightly bent, his stance ready to retaliate against any attack that comes towards him.