Kyle:

Jessica and I ran full out back into the camp tearing past the panicking occupants, the children especially running in terror from the fireworks. A pair of adult gargoyles noticed us and gave chase, not firing guns, as they didn't know what we were about. A large man caught me and a woman caught Jessica. "Calm down, we need to get you and the other children to safety." said the woman. The woman was the doctor from earlier.

Jessica and I both visibly calmed down, despite the fact both of our hearts were thumping like jackhammers.

"It's okay, we'll stop," Jessica said. We both turned to face the adults. She sighed and waved her hand at the two. Two more fireworks exploded to our left. "It's like this" BOOM! Electricity fired out from Jessica's hand, the two gargoyles flying back. "Don't worry, not a killing blow- for them- go time!" Jessica shouted as many gargoyles started to look in our direction.

"So our powers are back-"

"Less talking, more running!" Jessica shot off and reappeared in front of a large metal cupboard with a lock on it. I zipped over to her. Jessica waved her hand, electric charges ripping apart the lock in a millisecond. The door flew open and there were our swords. Jessica threw my swords to me, slipping Xao's weapon over her shoulder and neck so it went down her back. "Go go go!" she shouted as I clipped the sheaths back on my belt. A gargoyle jumped over a nearby counter towards us, starting to morph, his teeth turning sharp and my eyes going wide- as Jessica grabbed my hand.

We both shot to the wooden cover for the basement as many gargoyle heads turned to us and they started moving in. "Get close!" Jessica shouted. I jumped up against her back as she looked down at the door to the basement full of trolls. Wings started to erupt out of the backs of our pursuers- they were coming in for the kill!

Jessica had already clipped on her swords and drew one out, stabbing it into the door at her feet. An electric charge shot through the blade as a field of energy surrounded myself and her. Jessica sent an electric charge straight through the floor ripping apart the door and the stairs under them. The gargoyles were seconds from us as Jessica closed her eyes a field of energy surrounding us both and firing out, knocking the people back like they were hit by a sudden burst from... maybe a hurricane- guess their gargoyle powers kept them from serious injury. "Jump!" Jessica shouted. We both jumped down to the attic, myself falling on my butt.

Jessica reached up her right hand, a field of electric energy covering the hole above us as many came to look down at us. "Kyle, get moving, draw those things towards us." I jumped over the debris of the torn upstairs, landed on my feet, and looked down the hall. I breathed, calculating the distance in my head. I sent a jolt of electricity to my legs and I shot across the entire distance in less than a second.

The metal door in front of me was no obstacle, in my adrenaline rush, I quickly punched the door to rip it off its hinges and- suddenly I remembered I was not a gargoyle, a werewolf, or a- whatever Jessica was- I was just me, and punching a large wooden door hurts me. Hissing at the pain I looked back at Jessica. I heard a gun go off above her and her form moved. I paused... she was okay. She could probably easily block projectiles... as long as they only fired at her electric field... I jumped back, slashed at the doorknob with Rita, and zipped back several meters.

The door handle shredded, the door flying open breaking from its hinges and I shot down the rest of the hall. In the room with the cage, I looked at the large trolls, the foxes looking at me and baring their teeth. Several slammed into the bars, slashing at me with their claws and snapping their jaws at me. I chuckled.

"You think YOU'RE scary?" I said, grinning like a mad man. I swiped Rita at the bars, electricity jumping to the bars and frying the monsters on the bars. The smell of cooked meat and fur filled the air quickly.

"Bring them to me!" I barely heard Jessica scream. I believed I could destroy them all myself if they were just in the cell, but there was no time to argue. I looked and saw the lock on the door to the large metal cell. I stabbed the lock, several claws reaching out for me, the length of my arm and sword just enough to keep me out of reach. I did get scratched a few times, but nothing serious. I jumped back into the hall, turned, and started a normal run. Behind me, the lock erupted.

I shot a jolt into my legs, just estimating the distance I could risk going without running into the door.

I made the right estimation- barely. I came out of my electric shoot and stumbled a few feet forward, falling to the side of the door, just barely missing slamming my face into its side. Several troll monsters were just a few feet from me.

I quickly rolled, regained my feet, and shot electricity to my feet as one of the trolls sliced his right at me, holding a small sickle in his hand. I shot down the hall, again not having had time to estimate the distance.

I fell out of my electric jump, rolling with the momentum... normally I was more composed about this but... you be calm and calculated with about- maybe two hundred large hairy monsters on your tail- so sue me I was panicking!

I looked back, seeing several of them carrying knives and other sharp objects running down the hall, a few tripping over each other, all of them foaming at the mouth. There was a wonder in the back of my mind if the gargoyles even could control these creatures in their current state- but that wasn't a dominant train of thought. I think the dominant train was something like 'gogogogogo!'. I ran over to the debris of the stairs and jumped over it. I slammed into a wall across from Jessica. "Go for it!"

Jessica kept one hand up maintaining her field blocking the gargoyles. She then pointed one of her swords at the oncoming trolls.

Huge electric bolts streamed down the corridor ripping through the trolls and destroying hundreds of the monsters.

The thunder and yelps and dying growls faded, me looking up and still seeing several gargoyles firing weapons at our shield. "You sure that was all of them?" I asked through panicked breaths.

"Maybe...?"

"And exactly how are we getting out of here?" I asked.

(***)

Judith:

It was like my body just took over. I ran straight towards the fight, slammed down on my feet, and screamed.

Venice and Seraphim were thrown back by the sheer force of the sonic blast, Venice forced to roll, and Seraphim losing hold of her weapons. I ran towards Venice again as the man turned to face me. Before he had the chance to move I screamed again, knocking him back again.

Blades slid out of my fingers as I charged at him a third time, this time he kicked me straight in the face, sending me flying. I barely stayed conscious watching as Jezreel jumped over me and screamed as well-by the way, we Banshees have it so our ears are not affected by these attacks, our bodies on the other hand- Venice and myself flew away from her.

I could barely move, but Venice got up like none of it was even phasing him- immediately taking a knife in the shoulder, one that I looked over and saw Jaden had thrown. Doubt it mattered but it was a brave move.

Venice pulled it out and flicked his new knife into an overhand throwing position, aiming at Jaden, Jaden looking rather out of sorts having to hear our screams. Venice rolled back the knife to launch it as he- spun and fell straight onto his chest after a rock smashed into his hand so hard it broke the knife into pieces. My eyes rolled back again to see Xao had gathered a small bag of rocks and was throwing them... at ya know, a good- ten or so times the normal speed of a human. They were pretty much small missiles.

Venice had no chance to dodge Xao's attacks and was forced back with each impact. I heard bones breaking and I am certain I saw him bleeding... not that Xao stood much of a chance at killing him.

Finally, Seraphim ran up behind him and grabbed the back of his shirt collar, and chucked him away like he weighed about two pounds. He sailed off into the air.

I and the others ran over to Seraphim to watch Venice flying off. "So um... you think that finally did... something?" I asked.

"You think my people were afraid of these guys for nothing- that'll annoy him," Xao said. "Pretty much no way to stop a gargoyle without killing them instantly."

"Misguided as he is, I would rather not kill him," Seraphim admitted. She turned to us. "Run to your people children, for in the end... I am not destined to win this fight."

I staggered to my feet behind them.

"We won't just leave you to die," Xao said.

"Speak for yousel-" I smacked Jezreel's head.

"Why would he kill me if you're already gone?" Seraphim asked back. "The real problem is stopping our people from fighting. Get to the ground. With any luck, Venice only informed a few of our people of what's happening."

"How far exactly did he fly-" Xao started but Seraphim turned to us and shouted-

"GO!"

(***)

Kyle:

"I have no idea how to get out," Jessica admitted. Powerful vibrations shook the basement and I heard several gunshots. As I watched something flew overhead... I think it was a car- someone threw a car! The gargoyles standing over the hole were smacked away. Jessica dropped her shield. "We have to get back up there!" She shouted.

"It's not like we can just jump back up, you blew up the stairs- Jess?" Jessica closed her eyes.

"You... you have no idea how much this is gonna hurt..." She reached into a small backpack over her shoulders that she used to carry supplies. "I've got a rope..." She tossed out one end to me and held one herself. "Don't grab it until I say though," I dropped my end.

"Jess... what are you doing?" Electric bolts flew out from her, firing past me but... they were pushing her up- she was crying. "Jessie?" I had no idea what this was doing to her. She flew at a slow pace out of the hole and must have landed up top somewhere.

"I'll tie it off... come up Kyle." I quickly climbed up the rope, Jessica pulling me up when I arrived.

Jessica was staggering and had burns on her hands, her clothes were torn in many places. I looked seeing what was happening around us. Fire was spreading through the building, bodies flying in several directions as a black man and woman started walking into the facility. "Let's go, as long as we're in here they'll keep fighting-"

"Jess I... don't do things like that-"

"Just go!"

Several holes had been blasted in the walls of the facility, so getting out of the building was a simple matter of running to one of them.

We ran out of the facility and were greeted by- gunshots, screaming... men, women, and children running in terror. Tears started to stream out of my eyes and I couldn't make sense of it all... was this really happening?

To my right, a black woman held her right hand up, three gargoyle men levitated in the air above her, one pointing his gun at her. To my left a white man, I assumed a wildman, grabbed a fully transformed gargoyle and threw him like a rag doll at the wall of the building.

Gunshots went off all around me, the sound deafening. Screams, shots, cries, shouts, explosions- everything was coming apart. I didn't even know who I was rooting for or what I wanted to happen.

Jessica dropped to the wall behind me. I looked back at her. I knew she didn't have an answer, but I still asked, "how do we stop this?"

Jessica stood back up and walked towards the chaos raising her arms. An electric field surrounded Jessica, sparks flying off in random directions. "Jess?" I asked, not loud enough for her to hear. I didn't know what she was doing, but something felt wrong.

Sparks flew all around, even myself feeling a tingling as my body was surrounded by them. I and hundreds of others around were lifted into the air and pulled in different directions as Jessica lifted her hands up. Guns were ripped out of hands, swords flew off and clanked on the ground harmlessly. Above, three cars sailed towards the building, all three ripped apart by electric charges.

I looked at her, Jessica was breathing hard, staggering forward like she was pulling weights on her ankles. "STOP!" she shouted, tears streaming out of her eyes. I wanted to run to her, but the electric field pulling me up didn't let me move. "EVERYONE STOP! EVERYONE JU-" she dropped to the ground. She wasn't moving at all. Everyone else dropped to the ground.

"JESS!" I shot over to her, not caring who saw my powers. I pulled her body so she was facing up. Blood was coming out of her nose and she had more minor burns... some major... "Jessie... c'mon..." I shook her, but she wasn't moving, her skin going pale and cold.

The adults around us stood not moving, most of them too shocked by what just happened to process much of anything. Even in our societies, someone levitating hundreds of adults out of the blue was rare.

"Mommy... isn't that the storyteller?" asked a young voice. I looked over at the child. Then... something happened. Several young children came running out of the group and surrounded us. "Is she okay?" "Jessica?" "The storyteller... she gonna be okay?" "C'mon get up..." "She... she's a pharaoh..." "She tried to save us."

I waved at the children, trying to get them to move off. I got up. I looked at the forces that were coming towards the building, assuming they were the people here to save us. "S-s-s... just stop this," I chocked out loud as I could muster. "If no one has died yet... who am I kidding? Before anyone else does... none of you need to die, none of you are bad, none of them are bad. I'm so sorry... stop fighting this war, it's over. Can't you see that?" I waved my right hand at the gargoyles behind me. "They're just people protecting their kids, they're no more monsters than any of you."