^^ Maximus's Knife ^^

--- Maximus ---

I turned my head a little to look at my collar, and it spoke. "Special Riot units in the vicinity of the downtown New York, 10-33/10-34, I repeat, 10-33/10-34, human officers in need of assistance with Riot, unequipped to handle Supernatural threat of unknown origin."

Melodious grinned. "A riot on your first day, huh? Go ahead and announce yourself, eh? Make an impression." His eyes sparked a bit with malice, and I grinned back savagely.

"Aye-Aye, Sir Melodious. Human. Get your Riot gear. Now." I looked at the woman.
She nodded and sprinted off to the armorer, who had already opened a cage on the side with sets of Riot Gear.

I grinned as she returned, and threw her over my shoulder, sprinting outside. I spoke into the device clearly. "10-61, NTF personnel in vicinity, responding."

"Specify?"

"Agent Aurelius and Detective Duval, Responding." The police girl spoke into her own mike, which Melodious had apparently given to her as well.

"10-4, Aurelius and Duval, be careful. More units on the way."

"10-101, permission to use Powered Agent Asset?" Duval asked.

"Obtaining permission... granted. 10-104, Let'er Rip."

I grinned and set her aside, then stripped, setting all my clothes into a duffel bag, and finally shifting into my full Draconian form, and allowing her to sit on my head, between my ears.

She yelped at my very sudden movements, and then clutched my ears tightly to keep balance.

I grumbled, and raised my wings, using magic for acceleration, launching my massive form into the sky.

From the air, I saw the Riot, being spearheaded by four dragons at each corner, dragons I recognized from the news coverage yesterday. Between them were other supernaturals of random breeds, mostly pure-breds. Most hybrids sympathized with humans, not Lumina.

My shadow covered the square, and I unleashed a single screeching challenge, pouring magic into a simplistic barrier that surrounded the square.

I landed carefully, making sure I didn't squish anyone, and then roared again, glaring at the four dragons.

"Submit to me, Maximus Decius Aurelius, and I will not turn your bones to pillars of salt." I ground out of my roughened vocal cords.

They balked, but then regrouped, and started circling me, shoving their own comrades away carelessly to make room for their feet.

Detective Duval spoke up. "You know you can't actually turn them into pillars of salt, right? We're supposed to arrest them."

"Hmm... that complicates things..." I grumbled, and whipped my tail across the nose of one who'd gotten too close, my wings quickly following up on the other two. The fourth hung back, out of range, and started gathering a fireball between his teeth. "Am I allowed to kill him before he destroys the square and everyone in it?"

"Please don't? Find another way. We're cops, we don't kill people." She said simply.

I sighed and cast a single barrier around his head just as he unleashed the fireball, and it exploded around him, scorching his face, but leaving him mostly unharmed.

The people, by this time, had crowded up along the edge to get out of our way, and so I pounced forward and knocked the dazed dragon to the ground, stomping on his throat to make him submit.

His comrades roared and advanced, but my tail wrapped around the third's neck, shaking him like a terrier, while the two females were each gripped in one of my paws.

"Main perpetrators captured. Orders?" I asked.

The human detective quickly spoke on her radio. "10-26, detained suspects, four draconic criminals, multiple other rioter's trapped in barrier, please advise?"

"Keep that barrier in place, Maximus, and Duval, see those riot squads? Have Maximus let them in, and then assist in their arrests and transport to the busses. Once they're clear, we'll send a Dragon Detainment squad to your location." Melodious answered instead of the dispatcher.

"Understood, Sir."

"10-4, orders confirmed. Max, open a door in the barrier where those riot-squad members are?" She looked over my eye crests, to see my eyes.

I nodded slowly and set her down, then when she reached the crowd, I simply snarled, and they parted for her. I opened a small, two-man doorway, and the riot-squad filed in, surrounding the square expeditiously.

They began detaining the more compliant people, the ones most likely just caught up in this because of the public location, and I got a better grip on the dragons under me.

---

Almost three hours later, the last of the more troublesome people were carted away, unconscious, and the team to detain the dragons came by.

They used manacles and muzzles specifically designed for dragons, and swiftly had them all tied up and ready for transport to a detention facility.

I relaxed my tail and talons finally, and then shifted human, while Duval tossed me my duffel bag. I dressed, then spoke into the speaker on my collar. "Agent Aurelius, reporting a 10-24, Assignment completed. The 10-34 has been halted, all known suspects accounted for. 10-9 signing off?"

"Checkpoint received, have a good day, Agent Aurelius. We'll call you for any further jobs." The dispatcher was back.

"What about my job? Am I still on a clock?" Duval asked.

"As a detective, you would be, but as an Agent, you are not. When Agent Aurelius or you is contacted for further assignments, you will meet him at his checkpoint, and go from there. Every morning is also a checkpoint." She explained.

Duval nodded. "And if I have a case I'm assigned to?"

"Continue working your case as normal."

"10-4, dispatch." She chuckled, and then looked at me. "I didn't think it would be this easy."

"You'll be doing the paperwork tomorrow, because I handled all the brute force... so yeah. 'Easy' only applies to this." I smirked.

She drooped slowly. "Eeeewwww paperwork..."

I shrugged. "You asked for it. Now how about some food? I'm hungry from all that magic." I tossed her onto my shoulder and started jogging towards the smell of a Chinese Restaurant.

On the way, Melodious appeared and handed me a small black rectangle with my name and a lot of numbers on it. "You're familiar with the Credit System? You have a bank account now, and the money from your contracts will be wired directly." He said simply, and then patted my shoulder, before walking away and finding his human partner, getting into his car.

I hummed and placed the rectangle in the wallet they'd given me. "Duval, you'll enjoy the bonuses. They're very generous."

I set her on her own feet, and walked into the Small Asian restaurant, sniffing for all the best food.

I paid for the buffet, and then began hunting down the best of everything in the bar, piling my plate high. I sat down, and scarfed it down with no problems, eating the plate of chicken and fried dough almost the size of my head in a matter of minutes.

Duval snorted in amusement at me, and ate a more reasonably sized plate, going back for one other plate, and then nibbling on wontons while I ate all the chicken they had.

I finished off their last drumstick, crunching the bones, and smirked at Duval's shocked expression. Then I nodded and stood. "Well, that's one place cleaned out." I thanked the confused chefs, and dragged Duval to a Hibachi restaurant across the way in the strip-mall, sitting down and ordering four servings of the full five course meal, and some sushi for Duval.

---

I leaned away from my empty plate, and groaned in happiness. "Perfect... that might hold me till dinner." I nodded.

Ducal laughed. "What's dinner like?"

"About ten pounds of grilled steak for me, plus some fruits for the necessary proteins, and about half that for my baby brother." I responded simply.

She blinked slowly. "Wow... okay then. Let's go, then, before you make this chef commit seppuku because of your words." She patted my shoulder and walked out with me right next to her.

I blinked slowly, tired, and hugged her instinctively, closing my eyes. "Oi! Wake up! You can sleep at your house." She snapped, and surprised me by hauling my massive form onto her shoulders... and then promptly dropping me on my skull.

I grumbled in mild annoyance, and stood, grabbing her and slowly walking in the direction of my new house.

She gave up escaping eventually, and I found my bed, (a Double King mattress on the floor,) collapsing into it and cuddling the smaller person.

She sighed. "Are all dragons giant cuddle bugs?"

"Yes." I answered tiredly, and curled around her more.

I fell asleep in that position, content with a full stomach and a warm body next to me.

---

I blinked slowly, annoyed at the loud noise, and looked around, hissing.

Four officers were standing next to my bed, laughing at something. My fangs made them rethink waking me up.

"What do you want?" I snarled.

One of them, who smelled of Giant, sighed. "Duval requested assistance getting out of your bed? We thought she was joking, but... yeah. You realize you can't kidnap people, yes?"

"Kidnapping?..." I hummed sleepily, and looked down between my arms to the very small woman's who was glaring at me. "Hmm... I confess, no one has ever been displeased to have slept in my arms before. You may go, I suppose." I hummed again.

She wiggled out of my arms and off the bed, dusting herself off, and then straightened her clothes. "We have a job to do, Max." She said simply.

"Hmm... another riot?" I asked lazily, stretching languidly.

"No, just a supernatural crime scene."

"Those aren't our job, Duval. We handle active situations, not crime scenes. The rest isn't our jurisdiction." I said clearly.

The officers nodded, agreeing, and she grumbled. "Well I'm a detective, so I go where I want. Let's go."

"I'm serious, Duval. We are not allowed to investigate crime scenes. That's the Supernatural Forensic Team's job." I said simply, staring at her.

She pouted. "Then what do I do? You handle all the crime-stopping."

"That's my job. Yours is to make sure I don't hurt anyone or go outside my parameters. You should study up, because when I know more than you about our rules, that's a problem." I shrugged, and laid back down.

She sighed and rubbed her temples. "Urgh this is so not what I pictured when I signed up."

"What did you expect? Ghost busters? The Winchesters? Dave,Gene,& the Apocalypse?" I snorted derisively.

She blinked. "What's that last one?"

"Obscure 80's film. It doesn't matter. The point remains, that we aren't anything more than Combat Assets. When a Supernatural decides to get rough, they send us. Everything else, they can handle." I shrugged.

She sighed. "Fine... do you have coffee in your kitchen?"

"Probably not, I've never drank it before. The Agency stocked the place, though, so who knows." I shrugged and curled up, shivering. "This isn't going to work. I need something warm and female." I snagged one of the other female officers, and cuddled down into the giant's warmth.

She chuckled. "I'm flattered, but also married. Release, dragon."

I grumbled and released her. "Grrr... Duval!!"

"Not my job. Buy a hooker if you want someone to cuddle you." She snapped from the kitchen.

"A prostitute... now that's a great idea!" I grinned and picked up my communication device, finding Haven's number in my contacts, then dialed.

"Is he serious?" One of the Giants murmured.

I shooed them. "Alright, job done, get out if you're not going to be productive and help me sleep."

They left, talking amongst themselves, and the line opened. "Hello? Who is this?" Haven asked.

"Haven! It's Maximus, how are you?" I grinned.

"... honey do you need a cuddle buddy?" She sighed.

"Indeed."

"You realize you need to learn to sleep alone someday? And your brother as well. It's not healthy to be so codependent." She huffed.

"All dragons are codependent on someone to cuddle with, but most adult dragons have mates, alright? And I'm the 'forever alone because I'm too aggressive' type, so me getting a mate in this or any human city is completely hopeless." I refuted her statement.

"Hmph. Fine. I'll have a girl sent to you nightly, but no funny business unless she wants to, darling, you know my rules. I'll get the most cuddly one I can. Around 10:00 should be late enough for you to go to sleep every night? And an extra cuddly one for Raymond, I suppose, one of my older girls?" She started writing.

"Sure. Thanks, Haven. Oh! And I have human currency now, though I'm not sure how it works just yet." I informed her.

"Oh? Finally got a job? Good. Your girl will be there on time, then, darling. Caio!"

"Good night, Haven." I chuckled, and she ended the call.

Duval leaned against the doorframe. "Seriously? You're going to spend your money on a whore?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Not a whore, her fairies aren't sex workers. All dragons have that need to cuddle things. Especially when we don't have a hoard to sleep on. You know those stories about dragons keeping beautiful women as pets? They're mostly true." I shrugged.

She sighed. "Still... paying someone to cuddle?"

"Probably not paying her. Haven owes me her life, and most of her girls as well. I killed and ate a Dragon that was being particularly nasty a long time ago. Moving on. Do you still have a job to do? Because if you go to that crime scene, I can't go with you." I hummed and walked over to a wall of boxes, unpacking one filled with white shirts into my dresser.

She chuckled. "I'll be fine. I'll see you in the morning."

"All available NTF Units, 10-65 in progress at Lawton's Gifted Academy, please respond."

I grabbed the receiver. "Agent Aurelius contact, 10-9, please repeat location? Specifics?"

"Lawton Gifted Academy, 10-65, attempted kidnapping."

I sprinted out of the room, grabbing Duval swiftly and leaping out of the open front door, surprising the giantess who was currently closing it. I grew my wings, ignoring my shirt shredding, and launched myself towards Raymond's school with a magical boost.

The school was only a mile away, so I reached it in moments at my top speed, and crashed down into the expansive courtyard. I set Duval down, and sniffed, searching for the scent of gunpowder, and found none beyond her own weapon, surprisingly.

"Agent Aurelius and Detective Duval, responding, arriving at the scene... repeat full report, please?" I said, and started walking towards the border. I'd crashed through a barrier on my way in, though it was rather oddly constructed. It allowed me in for some reason, though I had to break it for Duval.

"Armed male, Supernatural origin, described to have red eyes and black hair, uses a sword of some kind... and he's currently, -according to the report,- barricaded in the Culinary Arts building. A teacher is fending him off, though how is not explained."

I darted towards the building with the smell of spices, and slammed through the barred door with a absent waved of my knuckles, then started stalking through the halls.

Duval raced after me, and drew her weapon. "Officer on scene, as reported, requesting permission to use NTF Asset?"

"Permission granted, but the boss wants this one very, VERY dead. Seems it's confirmed as a Hostile Demonic Entity."

I hissed and started walking faster, smelling for Hellspawn. I found the scent of a Demonborn, and tsk'ed. "Updating report, High-class Demonborn, Metal Clan, located on the second floor."

"Uhmmm... what?"

"It's only half demon, and it's demonic sire is of the Metal Clan. It is very powerful, but not a full demon, and therefore doesn't require killing. I will subdue it if possible, and keep death as an emergency measure." I specified, and leapt upwards, crashing through the ceiling and landing on the second floor.

A humanoid Demonborn stood there, holding Raymond by the scruff. He seemed to be in a food coma, and was far too content to defend himself. I chuckled. "He is adorable sometimes, I'll admit it..."

The Hellspawn glared at me, sensing the power that radiated from my very bones, regardless of how much I contained my power. "A drakon... why are you here? Come to join in? No can do. This is my hunt."

"Demonborn, surrender now, and I'll let you live, if hobbled for the rest of your life." I said lazily, stretching my wings out and growing a tail, as well.

He pointed a sword at me that glowed with non-natural energy. Not Hell, but also not Earth... "Ahhh, you're from Jotunheim! That explains it. You're Norse, Metal Clan Demonborn, yes? That explains your power and that sword swimmingly!" I nodded.

He nodded. "I am! I am of the noble clan of Anduvious-"

"Yeah yeah yeah. I don't really care. I'm the son of the Aurelian Drakons, you don't see me flailing about with my dad's sword, do you? Fuckin' amateur. Alright then. You're probably not going to surrender, as you believe you'll go to Valhalla... will you surrender? I had to ask, you know, legalities and all." I hummed.

"Never!" He snarled, eying the hole I'd made as an escape route.

I nodded and darted forward, disarming him, then slipping away from his powerful counter. I tossed his sword in the hole, out of our way, and Duval shouted in surprise.

My distraction caused a gap, and he closed in, dropping Raymond in favor of a better challenge.

I took the first hit, then dropped, and summoned my knife. As he leapt over me towards the hole, I slit his hamstrings, then impaled one of his knees, pinning it to the floor.

He turned with a snarl, and my fist clocked upside his jaw, laying him out with the force and speed of a bullet train. I retrieved my knife, sending it away, and then tossed Raymond to the elderly woman who had been hiding behind the Giant in one corner, with what must be his students.

He held a pair of savage looking carving knives, and a murderous expression, but seemed to recognize me, so he relaxed.

I grinned and spoke into my receiver. "Agent Aurelius, reporting a mission complete, Demonborn Subdued and unconscious, wound to the left knee, and both hamstrings, inflicted by the Agent. Damage to the school, inflicted by the Agent as well, in the pursuit of suspect. Situation is to be logged as all clear as of... damn, I'm not wearing my watch. The one time, huh?" I chuckled.

"Good job, Agent, the time is exactly 3 o'clock, and it should be time to get out of school for them, so you're free to leave."

I nodded and leapt into the hole, stopping Duval as she reached for the sword. "That's a Demonic Artifact, my dear, I wouldn't touch it if I were human." I gripped the hilt, and slowly pulled it from the ground, sheathing it in the black glass sheath on the spawn's hip.

Then I sent it into the same dimension as my knife, and shook my hand to clear the tingling sensation. She blinked. "Where did you put that? You realize you can't keep it, right?"

"Spoils of war." I shrugged. "My father will melt it down, destroy it. Simple." I explained to her outraged expression.

To pacify her, I contacted the Dispatcher. "Permission for destruction of dangerous demonic artifact?"

"You have the means?"

"Yes."

"Log: Permission granted, for destruction of 1 demonic weapon/artifact: Sword; color: black, sheath color: black/obsidian, 3:04, by Agent Aurelius, Non-Natural Task Force, Badge 091-12-6632."

I nodded and winked at Duval. "Read up on the rules, doll. Now let's get out of here, so the Forensics team doesn't-"

"Now what in the hell did you do this time!?" An easily recognizable voice sounded behind me, making me groan in annoyance.