Every step made a wet sound as he walked through the sea of blood and viscera that painted the floors and walls and everything around. He walked onward, never ceasing his pace as he carried Stahs. Wherever there wasn’t already blood Bex left a trail of Stahs blood in his wake as he carried him, staring straight ahead as he moved. Bex continued on, knowing he had a limited amount of time before Wagner regenerated, picking up the pace a little but trying to be gentle as he carried Stahs’ limp form. “Almost there.” He said, knowing Stahs couldn’t hear him but he said it anyway as he plodded onward as quickly as he could without jostling Stahs too much. “Please don’t leave me. Please. We’re gonna get out of here. Gotta get out.” He mumbled to himself as he walked past the row of doors that had been slashed open. Glancing at the empty cells as he passed.

Slowly the flower Bex had thrown began to expand and open. Wagner pulled himself out of the flower with a growl, carefully getting to his feet and moving to the nearest console, swiping some of the blood off the screen as he looked. 24 was almost out. He could still get him if he tried. He didn’t though. He knew Azazel was close, instead turning to go find the demon. Wagner walked down the scorched hall, looking around until he spotted Azazel against a wall, seeing Mariel a little further down the corridor. “Looks like you survived.” Wagner said as he approached Azazel.

Azazel leaning on the wall with burns all over his body looks to Wagner “get that thing back into its cage with fresh new collar. Don’t forget the runes.” He push off the wall. ” then we are having a long talk pet….just you and I.” Azazel grab his radio ” where is 24?”he ask

“Y-yes, sir. The doors of the cages in the holding cells are damaged, I’ll collar it and put it into the cages just off my surgical wing.” Wagner nodded, he knew better than to refuse that or their “long talk”, knowing he was in deep shit and no help would be coming from Voltaire as far as he knew.

The terrified intern in the monitor room (who were more or less the majority of the staff that were alive) had jumped at Azazel’s voice. After a moment a voice would come through. “It’s trying to break out of the elevator shaft.”

Azazel arch a brow “how?” He ask “how are all the cells damaged?” He then heard thr radio. “Get fucking guards over there and gas him out!” He ordered

Wagners eye widened, shit. He reached to Gears to delete the footage as fast as possible. He couldn’t lie, but he didn’t have to let Azazel see it had been him that made Stahs escape possible. “Bloody Massacre came for 24.” He admitted as he moved to do as instructed and pick up the angel.

“U-uh sir. Their dead! Oh God everyone’s dead!” The intern wailed.

Azazel head turn at Wagner ” excuse me?” He look to the radio. Then He looks to Wagner ” intern….who is with 24?” He ask in the radio never taking his eyes off Wagner.

“It’s hard to see, he’s holding someone covered in blood.” The intern answered.

Wagner could feel Azazel’s eyes burning into him as he picked up the angel. Oh he was so fucked. Azazel spoke into the radio ” give a order, tell all shapeshifters that anyone who brings me 24 and his bloody companion can have freedom of this life.”

“Yes, sir.” The intern said and in a moment their voice came through on the intercom.

“All experiments, the first to bring 24 and his bloody companion to Azazel will be given their freedom of this life.” The intern said, and then repeated themselves again after a moment.

Azazel shook his head as he head to the staff room. To grab weapons “I swear…” he growled. Wagner lifted the angel onto his shoulders as best he could, smiling fearfully as he heard Azazel stalk off in the direction of the staff room. He carried the angel in the the direction of his surgical wing, knowing how deeply fucked he was. He’d be lucky if Azazel took him back to his lab and turned him into an experiment, knowing that was only the beginning of the horrific possibilities in store with them. But Virus was safe. Gears was safe. That was what mattered.

Wagner carried the angel to the cages in his surgical wing, setting the broken creature down in a cage but didn’t close it yet. Snatching a spare collar off a shelf and locking it into place around the angel’s neck, beginning to cast the runes into it. When he’d finished working the runes into it he made sure the angel’s limbs were in the cage. Then stood debating on what to do. There was no point in trying to delay the inevitable, so he started in the direction of the lobby. “May as well face it head on..” He murmured, smiling painfully tight as he walked.

Mariel was an absolute mess, and offered no resistance as the collar was fixed. He remained unconscious in the cell, and for all intents and purposes looked quite dead save for the occasional twitch in his eye or lips. His body still sported the bruises and claw marks he’d not yet healed and couldn’t heal with the collar back on, but now his hands were burnt beyond recognition, down to the bone on his hands where were merely skeletal remains held tenuously together by charred tendons. There was still meat on his elbows and skin on his shoulders, but even that showed a dark charr to it. His wings were almost completely black save for a few desperate silver feathers trying to keep their color; the rest were jet black with sapphire rachises. The black tears stained his cheeks in long streaks, but his facial expression was strangely placid. He’d killed the demon. Totally burned him to a crisp. Yup, nothing left of him, and now he was floating on that painless cloud in deep shock as he waited to pass out of existence – he was quite sure he was dead, and that was just fine.

Azazel manages to walk into the staff room and grabs a gun and gas bombs. “I swear…if we lose all these experiments.” He hissed. “Wagner going to pay.” As he head out and worked his way towards the lobby. Azazel tried to run in a hobble to the lobby, he make sure the gun was load and spoke into the radio “tell the main office we need soldier here asap.” Knowing it be a minute, but ge hope he could subdue long enough.

“Yes, sir. I’ll inform them immediately.” The intern’s voice came through the radio, the sound of whimpering and crying in the background as he spoke.

When Bex reached the main lobby he stopped, looking at the shifters that had huddled together, waiting for recapture when they realized they’d hit a dead end.

“Move.” He said quietly, probably looking completely mad as he stood there holding Stahs.

The other shifters moved out of his way as Bex stepped forward to the elevator. He’d either make it work or find a way to break it.

Azazel press against the wall outside the lobby. He the spins intonthe door way and starts gunning down shapeshifters. “Its not to late to do as your told!” He yelled.

Bex could hear gunfire and Azazel voice beneath him, climbing faster now as the creatures below him screamed for him to hurry. Some taking the form of humming birds or dragonflies, clustering beneath Bex as more tried to get into the elevator as they were gunned down.

Reaching the top of the elevator shaft Bex forced his body through the doors, ripping apart half the shack in the process as he emerged. Stepping into the elevator he moves to the panel, looking at it for a long moment. He looked up, debating if he could break through the ceiling. Deciding the ceiling was a better option he held Stahs close as he returned to his crystalline form, barely fitting in the elevator, in facy his tail hung out the door. Shielding Stahs with his smooth underbelly as he began to bash the ceiling with his horns. Blood just dripped off him. As bex held him close bashing to get out. He grit his teeth. The ceiling gradually giving way as the metal started to buckle. The shifters crowded around in awe.

Azazel roared as he kept firing. Oh he was definitely looking footage over. He would so make Wagner for this. A clump of unfortunate shapeshifters at the base of the elevator didn’t make it out, not quick enough to avoid Azazel’s gunfire, but some did, taking off in all directions. Bex looked around for a moment. He couldn’t walk the whole way, that would be far too easy to track. He needed to fly, but normal wings would be far too heavy for this form.

He focused a moment, trying to feel out his new powers still. With a bit of a shock his back split as it shifted, massive dragonfly like wings bursting from his back. With wings that large its was impossible to be quiet, it sounded like the buzz of helicopter blades. He looked to the oldest steadiest looking tree, climbing that to get above the canopy and then taking flight. He had to get Stahs home. That was all he knew or cared about. Bex heard the intercom, expecting to be swarmed by shifters but it seemed the realized more of them getting out without the labs permission was better than one of them getting out alone.

Bex continued bashing his head against the ceiling til its frame gave way with a metallic pop. The shifters cheering at his success As soon as he had an opening he sprouted an extra set of arms. Using his main set of hands to hold Stahs, he dug the claws of the other hands into the sides of the elevator, beginning to drag himself up the elevator shaft. The shifters clustered beneath him as he climbed, awaiting their escape.

Azazel moved to look up the broken elevator shaft. Shooting up, but then the gun ran out of bullets. He stared up the shaft for a while, then calls the radio “call home off. Send the kill squad. I want all escaped shapeshifters terminated.

“Yes, sir. Will have it done immediately.” The intern responded.

Wagner walked, keeping his head up even as his nerves twisted his gut into knots. There was no way this ended well for him. Wagner could feel the tension gathering in his throat as he walked but he kept his gait steady. Wagner felt like he was on death row as he walked, trying to mentally prepare himself for whatever Azazel would do to him, though he knew there was no chance of actually being prepared when it came to Azazel. Wagner walked a little quicker now, eager to get it over with. Though he knew whatever punishment Azazel chose it wouldn’t be pleasant or over quickly. Wagner glanced at the damaged cell doors as he passed, trying to keep his nerves in check as he walked smiling through the destruction. Wagner braced outside the door, steeling himself before stepping through and looking to Azazel.

Azazel walks out of the elevator looking around ” pathetic.” He hisssed.

“The angel has been collared and caged, sir. I’m ready for our talk.” He said, trying not to let the fear show in his voice.