CHPT 128: Full of Surprises!

Claude and the rest of his Training class jogged silently under the starry night sky for a little over a mile. In this time, he was able to get an understanding of where the University of the Phoenix was located.....his understanding was that they were in the middle of absolutely nowhere. In their time running, all they passed were fields, small patches of quiet forests and small mound like valleys. He didn't even know if they were still in the Angelos District.

"Everyone slow down and hold on to the rest of your energy. We're nearing the Tangent entrance." Prof. Raizen yelled out to the line of students behind him.

After speed walking for ten more minutes, they entered another small patch of forest. There was an almost absolute absence of natural ambience in the forest, all Claude could hear were the students' elevated breaths.

"[You going to be alright?]" Arne asked, in reference to his trauma involving Tangents.

"I have to be." Claude told Arne— more so himself.

"[Very well.]" Arne responded as they walked deeper into the forest.

"Ok, let's establish positioning and set ups." Claude said to his group after they walked for a few more minutes.

They all slowed down to hear what he had to say.

"Ok, since their grouping numbers average our team numbers— if not more, it's going to be a lot of one on one and one on two's. That being the case, we all need to keep them off Warren so he can shoot from a distance and even the odds for us. But, that's not our sole advantage." Claude said.

The group stayed silent, non verbally telling him to continue.

"Erhm. Whenever someone's struggling, Frosty can help you." He said while gesturing down to the large PitWolf trotting next to him.

"That's oddly.....comforting." Warren commented. Frosty sneezed after his comment, causing him to Yelp while jumping slightly.

As they neared the Tangent, Claude continued talking to his team when a certain pleasantly unpleasant smell ripped its way into his nose, causing him to stop dead in his tracks and bump into Prof. Brennan who was slowly walking behind him.

"Cleaning supplies....leather.....female with male-like scents..excited fear. Sh—"

"[Shes here.]" Arne finished.

"Well I'll be. Your senses are good." An Irish accented voice said from behind him.

"What's the matter, Claude?" Ursula said as the rest of the group slowed down while the other students continued onwards.

"He can smell her. Can't you?" Prof. Brennan said from behind him.

"Smell who?" Warren asked as they walked over to him and the Professor.

Claude opened his mouth, ready to say it was nothing when Prof. Brennan spoke again.

"The Detective."

"Detective?" Isaac said in confusion.

Claude ran a hand through his long black hair with a sigh. "Fuck."

***

After they continued walking to catch up with the group, Claude filled them in on the psychotic Detective hired by the twins family to uncover if he was man or monster. He obviously left out a large number of details, deciding it was for the best. Even so, they all looked angry to hear that she was going to be joining the Tangent run.

Another couple of minutes of walking and Claude could see a glowing blue light bouncing off the trees that surrounded it. It seemed other students saw it as well because the fresh and potent scent of fear surrounded him like heat in a sauna.

He wasn't disconnected from the feeling either. As they closed the distance between themselves and the blue light, he saw flashes of the Heroes that helped him get back into the Tangents. He had to clench his hands to stop them from shaking after a few seconds.

Next to him, Ursula and Warren looked like they were in shock.

"[You need to help them.]" Arne pointed out.

Claude sped up and stepped in between them, startling them both. "Remember, we have no choice. We have to go inside to get stronger, because if we don't we'll have to deal with things much worse— being much weaker." Claude said, reminding Ursula of the HellBreeder.

"They're just big rats. They're not sly, they're not cunning. If we keep a plan and firm understanding of our surroundings we'll be fine." He added, noticing Ursula and Warren cling to the phrase, "Theyre just big rats."

After their spirits were lifted, they found themselves looking ahead of the students and into the Tangent. Their eyes soon fell on the person standing next to it.

"Everyone. This is Det. Cyrene, I'm sure you've seen her walking around the University for a bit now. Anyway, Prof. Brennan and I are well aware of the....trauma some of you have sustained— so in this Tangent you'll be accompanied by three overqualified individuals who are more than equipped to deal with whatever shows itself inside." Prof. Raizen said as the students warily crowded around the Tangent entrance to face Det. Cyrene, Prof. Raizen and Prof. Brennan.

"Now. Your journey towards being Heroes is back in full swing. Follow me." Prof. Brenna said, before students slowly made their way inside.

VWOOMP!...VWOOMP!.....VWOOMP!

Det. Cyrene slid away from the Tangent after Prof. Raizen stepped inside and walked towards Claude and his group.

"Tsk...Tsk...Tsk." She sucked her pure teeth and shook her head— causing her long blond ponytail to sway, in disappointment saying, "I'm surprised you have so many friends, Claude."

He glared at her unblinkingly as Frosty stalked silently behind him. "Me too." He replied.

"Not the answer I was expecting." She said after laughing silently. In the following seconds of silence, her eyes fell on Ursula who held a similar facial expression to Claude's.

"Well what do we have here? You must stick out like a sore thumb in SkyHaven." Det. Cyrene said as she approached her.

Ursula stayed silent while Warren tried his hardest not to move next to her.

Det. Cyrene studied the muscular female student for a few seconds before speaking, "As your Professor said, I'm Det. Cyrene. It's nice to meet you." As she said it, she outstretched a silver clawed hand.

"Don't." Claude suddenly said, the Lupine underneath creeping into his voice and getting a scent of fear out of the Detective.

"I wasn't planning to." Ursula replied, in reference to shaking her hand.

For a flash of a second, Det. Cyrene's eyes went wild as she looked at Claude and went back to staring at Ursula.

Fwoo!

In a split second, Det. Cyrene's hand disappeared from its position in front of Ursula only to reappear with the female students hand in hers.

Claude had to stifle a growl after watching Det. Cyrene force Ursula to shake her hand. Frosty lacked the self control Claude had and hopped in front of him, growling deeply while showing her his sharp white canines.

Det. Cyrene glanced at the PitWolf, "Impressive—" before she could say anything else, she turned and looked at her hand as Ursula lightly began to squeeze it.

She looked up and saw Ursula's eyes flash from brown to completely white a few times before she pulled her hand away, "A female Berserker...Hmph."

The group silently watched her back away towards the Tangent smiling brightly and aiming her violent black eyes at everyone individually.

"Well. Aren't you guys just full of surprises! I can't wait to see how you perform inside." She said before throwing up a peace sign and jumping into the Tangent backwards.

VWOOMP!

"I'm convinced she's scarier than the Ratmen." Warren said after shaking himself off.

Ursula chuckled at his comment.

"How long have you had to deal with that?" Isaac asked.

"Too long. Now let's go." He said, forcing himself to be the first of the group inside the Tangent.

VWOOMP!

Claude and Frosty emerged on the other side, feeling the heat of the sun on his face and the smell of the wild all around him.

They were in a forest— a woodlands habitat to be exact. He stood in long grass with tall light barked trees spaced out around them. In the distance, he could see that certain areas became pure grasslands while others became thicker forests housing different kinds of trees and even rock formations.

Before he could look any longer, Ursula barged through the Tangent— bumping into his back.

"Ouf! Sorry." She said, rubbing her forehead.

"It's all good." Claude responded as the rest filled in.

"Awe GOD! If you guys were that scared, don't come next time." Samuel yelled back to them from in front of the group of students.

"Feel free to question our fear again after we kill the Boss, dick." Claude blurted out angrily, startling some of the students and getting a collection of raised eyebrows from the Professors.

"Well. It sounds like some of you are more than ready to begin. So, by all means, FIGHT!" Prof. Raizen yelled as the teams of students jogged off deeper into the Tangent.

"The Boss?" Warren asked.

"Yep. Let's get to work." Claude said quickly as the rest of the group slowly nodded and started moving.

While they ran, another student found herself among their ranks, "if you're going after the Boss, id like to join." Maris said from beside Ursula.

Claude made sure not to face her— still paranoid of her recognizing him when he responded, "Sure. We could use another member."

"[Careful Claude. The more time she spends around you, the more you risk the chance of being found out. Keep your distance.]" Arne reminded him.

"I know."

He led the group into a deeper portion of the thick forest, since he'd be able to use his Element better there than in the grasslands. Slowly, the sounds of students yelling and deep rat-like squeals fell on his ears.

They continued to run deeper into the forest following Claude and Frosty who used their senses to find the enemy when an odd mound in the ground caught Claude's eye.

"Stop." He said as the group skidded to a halt behind him.

"God damn! That's a nest?" Warren complained at the size of the dirt mound.

"Looks like. Isaac can you flame it?" Claude asked.

"Hell yea." He said, stepping in front of everyone with an already steaming hand raised.

Fwoosh!

Soon after the flame surrounded his hand, he threw it at the mound.

Kpoof!

The fireball hit the mound with a burst of dirt and dust particles that smelled burnt to a crisp. The top was blown immediately, revealing a large angled hole of pure darkness facing them.

"Anybody home?" Warren asked nervously after a few seconds of silence.

In response, Claude heard a light shuffling beneath the ground. Suddenly, two small black eyes reflected the light of the sun above them. Right after he noticed the eyes, it breached the surface.

It hopped out clumsily, snickering and chittering violently as it clawed at the ground and shook the dirt from its thick oily black and gray hair. He soon realized the name Ratman fit the physical description of the species perfectly as it rose onto its pink hairless hind legs.

It's hairless human skinned arms flexed and tensed as its humanoid clawed hands rose up in an odd mannerism. By the time he realized it was smelling the air, it was already chomping its overgrown teeth angrily and running at them.

SKSKSKSKS!!

The Ratman was on Isaac in seconds, gnawing on his shield while more Ratmen left their nest to join in on the fight.

"Warren get back and shoot!" Claude reminded him as Isaac, Maris and Ursula fought their own Ratmen.

The last Ratman stepped out, sucking its yellow teeth angrily as it looked at Claude. It was taller than the rest at about six feet with a thick pink tail that moved like a naked snake behind it.

"[That must be one of the Dominant Males.]" Arne noted.

"Come on you smelly bastard." Claude said as it walked through the battle scene taking place around it.

"GrrrRRR!!" Frosty growled as the Ratman ran towards them.

Claude met the charge, moving much faster than the Ratman and shoving his sword into its chest.

Shlck!

The Ratman ignored it and clawed at his armored shoulders and chest.

"Clck!" Claude made a clicking sound with his mouth and Frosty circled around behind the Ratman, repeating a command he taught the PitWolf when sparring with Chase.

After Frosty was behind the Ratman, he shoved it off his blade with a front kick.

Crck!

The Ratman stumbled back with blood running down its greasy fur. Before it could try anything else, he sliced its neck open— causing it to spin around and face Frosty.

"GRAGH!"

Frosty lunged at it's already open neck and ripped the rest of its throat out viciously as it was wrestled to the ground.

[+ 35 EXP]

The rest of his team were just finishing up their opponents when his died.

"Ugh!"

Chop!

Ursula yelled as she swung her axe into the Ratman's head, splitting it down the middle like smashed watermelon.

Isaac's Ratman fell with stab wounds visible all over its body.

Maris looked almost finished with hers when an arrow was shot straight into its head.

Thwip!

Shck!

The Ratman fell before Maris could deliver the killing blow, causing her to spin around and look at Warren like he just stole something very important from her.

"What? I'm doing my job!" Warren said with his hands raised.

"Don't worry Maris. This place is filled with these.....Rodents." Ursula said as she came up next to her.

"God— they look even worse when they're dead." Warren commented as he joined them and looked at the dead Ratmen.

"True." Claude said as the Ratmens blood soiled the dirt.

Warren shrugged replying, "Well, at least we've got Fros— AH! Shit!" He jumped away as he turned to face Claude and saw Frosty's blood covered snout next to him.

They laughed for a moment before the sounds of battle reminded them of their goal.

"Alright, onto the next one." Claude said, leading them deeper into the forest.

Claude and his team proceeded to kill 4 more Mischiefs of Ratmen while traversing the forest. Warren's fear slowly faded in this time, allowing the rest of the group to notice how much better he'd become with his bow.

Maris fought her opponents with a focused level of urgency and anger to make sure any kill she wanted was hers, while Ursula and Isaac simply overpowered their opponents. Claude and Frosty took on the Dominant Males and Females, overwhelming them with their combination of speed, strength and raw ferocity.

After their last fight, they found themselves at a sort of natural crossroads. A path went off to the right and left towards the grasslands, while a path split in front of them leading up a cliff side or down a hill of sorts.

"Which way should we go?" Ursula asked as she came up next to him.

"Well. I think we'd find more Ratmen if we went low...but we might find the Boss above. Let me listen." Claude said as he calmed his breaths and activated, (Sensory Focus.)

...SKSKSKSRRR— Shlck!

"Haha! Can't believe people were scared of this sorry sack of trash!"

Claude's eyes snapped open as he heard Samuel coming from the left side of the path.

"He must've been in the grasslands." Claude thought as his footsteps became easier to hear.

Soon enough. Samuel and Tai could be seen moving on their own as a two man team.

"Dammit!" Warren cursed as the twins saw Claude.

"Heyyyyy! Claude, this one looks like you! Haha." Samuel said— hinting at his damaged ear, as he raised the dead Ratman he was holding by the neck.

"W-what the hell?" Claude said as he looked at the state of the Ratman. It's fur was burned off in dozens of places where small purple flames still ate away at its black burned skin. It was also missing its legs.

"Your brutalizing them." Claude realized as green sparks glimmered in his eyes. Samuel wasn't just killing them and moving on. He was torturing them and probably drawing out his battles for the fun of it.

Even though he was training to be a Hero and protect people from species such as the Ratmen, it felt wrong to see. Terribly wrong.

Samuel stopped and looked genuinely angry at Claude's statement.

"Of course I am! You wouldn't happen to be sympathizing with monsters, would you? Humans don't do that you sicko." He said as he slammed the Ratman corpse into the dirt and slammed his foot into its face.

Crunch!

Claude felt his canines filling with anger— which somewhat confused him.

"Don't think nobody knows— hell I bet your friends know deep down. You filthy animal. Det. Cyrene will deal with you soon. All it takes is one slip up." Samuel said as he sent another purple fireball at the Ratman corpse, causing it to erupt in flames one final time.

"Alright man. It's dead." Isaac said firmly.

Samuel scoffed and walked down the trail, going to the right of them with Tai spitting on the corpse before joining his brother.

"Oh. By the way." Samuel said, stopping in his tracks for a moment.

"What?" Claude replied flatly.

"Be careful. All these furry creatures running around, I might not be able to tell the difference between them and your smelly ass mutt." Samuel said, erupting a chaotic cold flame a hatred inside of Claude.

His eyes flicked over to Samuel, glowing green brightly. "You touch him and I'll gut you like a fish." Frosty snarled in agreement, understanding his anger through their link.

The primal challenge in Claude's tone brought the Lupine inside of the twins to the surface for a fraction of a second before they went back to normal.

"We'll see. Good luck finding the Boss before us." Samuel said before him and Tai took off.

"Oh yea. We're definitely getting to the Boss first now." Isaac said, now determined to shut up the twins.

"That's the plan." Claude said as he led the group down the hill.

***

In the distance, a glowing red blade slid through a Ratman's head from behind like a pencil stabbing through paper. It fell to the ground with its position being replaced by Det. Cyrene, watching Claude lead his group in search of the Tangent Boss.

"Yes. Today's the day I'll make you reveal yourself. Hell I may get to kill all three of you tonight..." she said before following after him.