"Have you found the targets yet?"
"Not yet, and these ponies aren't making it easy."
"Keep looking, we don't want to keep the boss waiting. I wish it didn't have to come to this, but start rounding up the guests and start stripping the rooms down. I want them to be torn apart."
The griffon nodded as he went to inform the rest of the gang. Meanwhile back in the hiding spot with Flurry and Ollie, the former was still trying to process the sudden reveal that was dropped on her out of nowhere. The yellow earth pony mare had seen a lot of things while living in Manehattan, most of those she wished she could forget due to the interference of Silver Beak's gang, however meeting a princess had to be in the top five.
"Princess Flurry Heart," she said quietly, "but, what are you doing here in Manehattan? Shouldn't you be in the Crystal Empire right now?"
The pink princess chuckled nervously, "Hehe, I guess you could say I'm on a little vacation."
"I don't believe it. I actually met a princess! Is your plan to use your powerful magic to blast those creeps away?" Ollie said in an excited whisper.
Flurry's face fell a bit. Use her magic? She might be an alicorn but she wasn't on her mom's or even her aunts' level. She doesn't even know any aggressive spells, not to mention to even cast them. he most she could do with her magic is levitate and teleport, and MAYBE a few transformation spells. Other than that she was extremely under equipped to take on a organized gang of griffons!
"Uh, yeah about that," Flurry said nervously, "I...don't know any combat spells."
"Oh...uh...then what was your plan?"
"Well, these griffons don't know that I don't know any aggressive spells. So I was thinking of bluffing our way to Marcus."
"As much as I think that would be a decent plan. It won't work, Silver Beak's gang aren't stupid. If anything they'll try to make you do a spell against them to call your bluff."
Flurry sulked, "So what now?"
Ollie peeked and whispered, "We need to sneak to the first floor, which means we need to find an opening to make it to the stairs or elevator."
"Which means we need a distraction."
"Maybe not a distraction more of a disguise, do you know any transmutation spells?"
Meanwhile the squad of griffon gangsters searched almost every room on the floor, terrifying and harassing most of the guests to tell them any information on their specified targets. They have already been informed that the group in the lobby had already engaged the ape-like creature and they should be able to take him down easily which their magic enhanced weapons. However finding Ollie Sheen and whatever accomplices with her, proved to be more difficult than they thought. The one named Ollie Sheen has been a regular client with Silver Beak, however she's smart enough to stay under their radar and if she and the ape were not alone then whom knows who is working against them.
As most of the griffons continued to search, two familiar ones discreetly made their way through the halls. One was a bright pink griffoness with a purple and blue highlights, while the other was a bright yellow griffoness with smooth black fur. The two quickly moved through the halls passing other griffons who nodded their way as they nodded back.
"We need to move quickly," whispered the disguised Flurry, "these forms won't last long. We need to find who's leading these guys."
Ollie gave her a confused look, "Why would we do that? I thought the plan was to find Marcus and get out of Manehattan?"
"It is but something isn't right. I don't know if I'm over confident in Marcus' abilities, but he should have taken these guys out by now, with his hammer."
"So, what are you thinking?"
"Either Marcus was overpowered and we need to save him or something is blocking his connection with his weapon making it harder for him to fight. If it is the ladder then it would make sense for the leader of these guys to have whatever is limiting Marcus' powers."
Ollie looked a little stunned, "Wow....that was....really planned out."
Flurry only shrugged, "Well, my dad was the Captain of the Royal Guard in Canterlot, and is now Prince of the Crystal Empire. Not to mention he also commands the entire Crystal Guard, so I learned a thing or two from him."
"Well you are a princess after all. Not to mention that you're going to lead the Crystal Empire someday, so it makes sense why you're so good at this."
Flurry said nothing to Ollie's compliment, how could she? The only reason why she's so knowledgeable with this was because her parents forced her to know these things, for when she took over as ruler. She felt conflicted; a part of her wanted to honor her parents and respect their wishes on becoming a great princess, but another part of her knew that being a princess wasn't who she was. She couldn't tell Ollie this, at least not yet. Maybe if they make it out of this-"
"Hey! You two! Get over here!" shouted a deep authoritative voice, causing both griffonesses to freeze in their tracks.
"O-Ollie," nervously whispered Flurry, "What do we do?"
"Just keep calm," replied Ollie, "Just follow my lead."
Flurry nodded as the two turned around to face the griffon that called them. The griffon was obviously male and bigger than your average griffon. He had dark feathers with yellow fur, and the most noticeable feature was the glowing blue gem around his neck. The two disguised mares instantly knew that this was the griffon they were looking for, and that gem confirmed Flurry's suspicion that the griffons are using a power source to limit magic.
It was then Flurry started to break a sweat. She didn't think that the closer she was to that gem, thee more strain it would be to keep the spell up. Ollie glanced at Flurry and seemed to know the situation well. The two could make a run for it, but with how many griffons are on this floor alone it'll be impossible. Which meant that they had to deal with this lead griffon quickly and go find Marcus.
"I've never seen you two before. What are your names?" asked the griffon with a suspicious expression.
Ollie quickly answered, "My name is Blitzwing, and this is my friend...uh...Scarlet Beak! We just came out of our rooms to see what the commotion was about."
The larger male griffon sternly looked at the two before answering, "That is none of your concern. You two just-"
The griffon stopped himself as he took a closer look at the two female griffons and gave them a smirk that sent a chill down the two spines, "As a matter of fact, how about you two stay close to me? I'll keep you safe."
He staked forward as the two carefully backpedaled making Flurry gulp,"W-We're really fine. W-We'll just head back to our room."
"How about I join you?" ,insisted the griffon, "You two cuties shouldn't be alone."
"No..thank you!" blurted Ollie, she's no unicorn but she could feel the spell draining, "but we need to go."
"Now hold on a minute!" growled the griffon as he grabbed both of their talons. The two closed their eyes as the spell was about to break. This was it, they were going to get caught and sent who knows where! Where was Marcus when you needed him-
A sudden crash echoed through the hallway as the door to the stairwell bust open and was sent flying. Flurry and Ollie quickly jumped out of the way, but unfortunately for the large griffon he was hit face first and was sent spiraling to the floor knocked out cold. Flurry and Ollie looked at the now knocked out griffon and saw that the gem around his neck was shattered. Flurry let out a breath of relief as her transmutation spell finally gave in, returning her and Ollie to their original equine forms.
"Talk about luck," said Ollie standing up, and then helping Flurry to her hooves, "you doing alright?"
"Y-Yeah," stuttered the pink alicorn, "I'll be fine, but what the hay happened?"
"I finally made up those goddamn stairs, that's what happened." said the familiar voice of Marcus as he stumbled out of the door frame. Ollie and Flurry would be happy to see him if it weren't for the fact that the human looked like he had seen better days. He was definitely exhausted judging from his sporadic breathing and the small wounds leaking out blood was a great concern. He had taken worse back at the Crystal Empire when he was fighting that black mare, who tried to kidnap Flurry, however these magic weapons were different then the ones that those raiders used. He didn't know if it was because of the magic limiter butting his connection from Minnie or if those griffons used a different type of magic that was more lethal.
"M-Marcus!" Flurry snapped out of her trance and ran up, "A-Are you ok! What did those jerks do to you!"
"Silver Beak's crew did do a number on you..." stated Ollie as she looked over Marcus' wounds.
The human winced and fell to his knees, "Y-Yeah...those assholes used magic bullets. Caught me off guard, not to mention one of them has something that's limited my powers."
Flurry smiled, "Well, you don't have to worry about that, because I think you just beat the one who was limiting your powers."
Ollie nodded and pointed at the downed griffon with the broken blue gem beside him. Marcus chuckled, "Well shit. That takes care of that then. I actually feel myself slowly going back to full strength too."
"We're aren't out of the storm yet though," stated Ollie, "there's no doubt that the rest of Silver Beak's gang heard your little entrance and are rushing here as we speak. We need to get out of this hotel and get on the train out of Manehattan."
Marcus nodded, but then was surprised as Flurry levitated one of his arms over her withers supporting him up. He could see the concern on her features as well as a faint blush on her cheeks.
"You...you are still too weak to run on your own," Flurry explained, "Me and Ollie will help you walk until you have your strength back."
He felt his other arm being lifted up and saw Ollie on his other side, "Don't worry, once we get to the train station we can get you help."
Marcus nodded, 'Alright, but hold on, I can't forget something."
Marcus lifted his palm and the sound of walls breaking and ponies screaming could be heard. After a few more seconds Mjolnir, now dubbed Minnie, burst through a nearby wall and he caught the handle in his grasp before strapping her back on his hip.
"Alright that was pretty cool. Besides the unnecessary damage to the other guest rooms."
Marcus shrugged, "They'll be fine. they're not the ones running for their lives."
"Good point."
Marcus supported himself on Flurry once again as Ollie stayed in front, to keep a look out for any danger. The three then carefully and slowly entered the stairwell and continued their escape out of the hotel.
'You just couldn't leave without me, huh?'
'Well, you do give me my lighting steroids. Not to mention that, other than Flurry and Ollie, you are my only friend here.'
'Awww, you're making me blush!'
'Don't get used to it. I'm still pissed that you didn't tell me that magic was one of my weaknesses. Once we get back on that train you are going to tell me everything about these powers.'
'Yeah, yeah. Such a big baby you are.'
'Just keep talking Minnie.'
'I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT'
The black 1967 chevy impala cruised down the empty highway, carrying it's four passengers as the bright full moon illuminated the earth with a pale light. Dean and Sam in the front, while Devon and Serena was in the back. After their meeting with the King of Hell, also known as Crowley, Devon somewhat felt that his chances of ever seeing is friend again as plummeted a drastic amount. From what Sam and Dean told them, their are barely any Angels, God is missing and finding an ancient artifact is like trying to a single dime in a large swimming pool.
"So what's next?" asked Serena.
Dean kept silent as Sam gave a deep breath and answered, "Well, first we need to grab supplies and then we need to do some research on some spells powerful enough to cross dimensions."
"Which is going to be a bitch to find," replied Dean, "But I already sent a message to our friend Cass and he's looking into it as we speak."
"So what are we doing?" asked Devon.
"Right now, we wait. I ain't gonna lie, this could take weeks, months, and even years. If you want to bail out and go back to living a normal life then feel free. Just to let you know once you start this there is no escaping it, take me and Sammie here for example."
Devon thought about it for a second. Even though they didn't say it verbally he knew where they were getting at. If he wanted to save Marcus he would have to get involved with supernatural elements, and from the Winchesters' experience, these elements follow you wherever you go. So it was either be the hunted or the hunter. However he still had a chance to forget about everything, go live a normal, have a wife and kids, and maybe do some other incredible things.
He chuckled, but how could he just give up on his friend like that? Marcus better be alive when he finds him.
"I'll do anything to save Marcus. He's been like a brother to me our whole lives. Even if that means joining whatever this is." stated Devon with a determined look. He could feel the curious gaze from Serena but he ignored it and continued to stare at Dean through the rear view mirror.
"Alright then," he chuckled, "then we better get you two geared up."
"Why's that?" asked Serena.
"We're going on a hunt or as we say it a case." said Sam.
Devon's eyes widened, "Wait, this early. Don't I need to do some training before I go fight monsters."
Dean scoffed, "Who needs training, all you need is some good experience under your belt and you'll be just fine."
"So what's the job?" asked Serena.
Sam took out his phone and pulled up a recent article that he was looking at, "Seems like there was an accident in Los Angeles, a woman's body was found totally ripped apart behind a dumpster. The LAPD assumes it was an animal attack-"
"An animal attack?" questioned Devon, "In LA? Really?"
"That's not the weird part. Sources says that there were traces of oak around her body."
"Oak? As in wood?" asked Serena.
Sam nodded, "To be honest this is new to me and Dean. So we would have to look up on lore to see what we're dealing with."
"So how do we go about this?"
Dean spoke up this time, "Well first, we need to find out the identity of the victim and see if they have any loved ones, enemies, co workers; anything that could help us know what kind of monster we are dealing with. After that we go undercover to get access to the body and do an examination."
Serena gagged a bit, "Y-You mean we actually have to...touch the body."
"Well, how the hell else are we going to figure out what killed this person?"
"Am I really ready for this?" asked Devon. To be honest, he wasn't expecting to start hunting things right away. He thought he was going to go through some regiment or something. Like a kind of right of passage.
Sam, turned around, "You are willing to sacrifice everything. Your normal life for this nightmare, just to save your friend. I say you're as ready as anyone."
"The lobby is clear, this is our chance." informed Ollie
Flurry nodded as she continued to support Marcus, who was limping beside her. Something wasn't right with her human companion, he had said that he felt his strength returning but his usual dark skin was starting to become pale. Not to mention that he feels like he's coming up with a fever.
"Marcus? You doing okay?" she asked.
"I'm fine I think," groaned Marcus, "I feel like shit though. Almost like I need a trip to the bathroom after food poisoning."
'I was afraid of this...'
'Afraid of what?'
'Don't be alarmed but I believe you were hit with poison magic.'
'I GOT FUCKING WHAT?!'
'Calm down! If you get yourself hyped up, it'll spread faster. Those griffons must've used poison enhancements on their weapons to slow you down.'
"Well, that's just peachy." started Marcus gaining the attention of the two mares.
"What is it?" asked Ollie.
"I...I think I was poisoned with some magic."
"Then we have to stop."
Flurry looked at her, "Why? We're almost out of her and we need to get him to a doctor!"
Ollie shook her head, "That'll only make things worse. If he moves too much it'll just spread through the rest of his body."
The sudden sound of shouting could be heard and the three of them knew what it was. It wouldn't be long until those griffons catch up to them. He looked at Ollie who had a frustrated and concerned expression, but Flurry was the one that affected him more. She looked like all the hope was drained from her persona and terrified beyond belief. The two could escape, he was sure this poison wasn't meant to kill him but to only slow him down. Which meant that these griffons were here for him and not them.
"Shit....what if-" started Marcus only to be glared at the two, "What?"
"No," sternly said Flurry, "You are not doing some cliche heroics, so you can give us time to escape."
"She's right this isn't some fairy tale, where the hero always win." added Ollie.
'Get fucked.'
'Shut up Minnie. We're having a moment.'
"Marcus I can't do this little adventure without you," said Flurry "I...don't know what I'll do."
Marcus weakly chuckled, "And you think I know what to do?"
The alicorn shrugged, "I don't have many options."
"Wow...fuck you."
"Your welcome."
Ollie cut in between the two, "If you two love birds are done chatting-"
"WE ARE NOT TOGETHER!" they both screamed.
"-I think I have a plan. Silver Beaks gang won't give up chasing us, which means we have to take this out from the source."
Marcus and Flurry was now engrossed on what she was saying,"So what's the plan? I'd rather get this poison taken care of before....something bad happens."
Ollie nodded, "For us to truly escape and Marcus to be healed.....we need to willingly be captured and take care of this problem at the source. We need to take down Silver Beak."
Marcus grinned "Shiiiit, I game."