It was that time of the year again. A time for warmer clothes, longer nights, and heaps of pumpkin spice dumped onto anything and everything marketable. For most of the staff, it was a complete nightmare; not only were the stressed-out students dropping everything to prepare for Halloween parties, but they were getting coffee stains all over the lecture halls.
One teacher in ERA didn’t seem to mind, however. She walked to the front of the music room, once most of the attendance had already begrudgingly arrived. The Fox-Raven—or as everyone liked to call her, the “Faven”—cleared her throat, ready to start the morning.
“Greetings, everyone. Instead of having a boring lecture like we normally do, I decided that we should have a fun day…” the teacher spoke up, wiping off her dusty, old book. She had brought it out only once before, on the first class of the semester when nobody had anything better to do. It foretold many legends and myths from the olden times—some ranging from simple creatures that stole your coins to mythical beasts who could lop your head off whenever they wanted to. And Merla, the Faven teacher in question, was about to tell the spookiest tale the book of fables held.
“Once upon a time, in a land far away from here, lived a Raven on top of a lone hill. He was an old man, one with a happy and fulfilling life… yet he desired more. He wanted to live forever. So, in his house on top of the hill, he practiced the dark art of alchemy in secret, hoping to discover the key to immortality. But then, one day… as his research dove deeper into the arcane and the dangers it held, something went wrong. He played too close to the fire, and got burned. In the old bird’s experiments, his mind snapped, and his body transformed into an ugly, bloodthirsty monster! He became… a Were-Raven. He clawed out from his house, ran down the hill, and took his feral rampage out on every other Raven in the land. With each bite inflicted, the cursed transformation spread like the plague, and when all hope seemed lost, with countless innocents infected… they all mysteriously perished, on the night of a full moon. Legend has it that every 100 years, the Wereravens rise once more to exact their revenge on the land…”
She flipped the book over to reveal what was on the page, and a demented, beastly-looking raven could be seen. “This is what we call a Were-Raven.” She pointed to the creature illustrated on an otherwise blank page. “Once bitten by these creatures, you slowly start to lose your mind, your body being covered with black feathers. Your body changes its features into more and more of a monstrous raven. What you become at first is what many call a Corvid.” She flipped another page, and a creature that matched her description of a Corvid appeared on the paper. And after you lose any trace of being a human or anthro, you become.. A WERE-RAVEN!” Merla raised her sharp wings up in a terrifying matter, laughing maniacally.
In the crowd of students was another Raven-Fox hybrid, significantly more Fox than Raven, shaking in fear, ice growing at his feet. He had never heard of a tale that was so scary! The thought of having your mind slip away as you slowly turn into a beast just sounded like a cursed nightmare to him. “H-Heh! N-Nice one, S-Sis.. Y-You weren’t lying when you said it was scary..” Leaf said with an overly nervous tone, his breath being very shaky. Leaf was known for being one of the most nervous and shy students in ERA, so it was obvious to most that he’d get frightened over a tale that wasn’t even creepy to most.
Merla let out a hearty chuckle, shutting the book and putting it away in her desk. “Heh! Thanks, little bro! Glad to see an old folktale was able to get you so scared that your shoes froze up!” The Faven pointed at the Rox’s frozen shoes.
Leaf’s cheeks gained a light red hue as he blushed with embarrassment, his paw reaching behind his back and rubbing it. “H-Hush, you know how scared I can get sometimes…”
Ah, sibling banter. It was always a delight to experience. Merla brought a wing up to her beak-shaped maw, letting out a small snicker. “Yeah, Yeah.. Anyways, seeing as we only have a few minutes of class today, I’m letting you all do whatever you want! Just don’t break any instruments, or else you’ll be paying every cent of it,” she said sternly, walking to her desk and sitting down.
The next fifteen minutes went by just like that. Technically, today wasn’t supposed to even be a short period, but the students knew Merla; she wouldn’t keep them around if she had nothing to teach that day. Half of the attendance hardly even showed up, and packed up as soon as she said “do whatever you want.” In a moment, the rest were out the door, leaving only the Faven and her younger brother.
Leaf never liked being in huge crowds anyways, which was the reason he usually decided to stay behind with his sister. “Where did you get that book anyways? Did you buy it?” He asked her, walking over to the desk and sitting on it.
“Well, it was a gift from our uncle, Korbin. He gave it to me years ago on this exact day. I kind of made it a tradition to read from it once this day arrives each year,” Merla explained to her little brother, checking the drawer where she supposedly put the book. A brow raised as she shuffled around in the drawer. “What the.. Where did it go? I could’ve sworn I put it in here..” Merla thought about it for a bit, looking around the room. “I must’ve dropped it somewhere, maybe it’ll pop up tomorrow.”
Leaf stared at the drawer. It was definitely weird for it to have disappeared, but he didn’t expect it to be stolen; most of his classmates didn’t exactly care about old legends. Besides, who would steal a dusty family heirloom with scary stories of birds anyway?
“Got the book?”
“Right here. Nabbed it right off that birdbrain when she wasn’t looking.”
“Set it down here.”
“Think we can turn on the lights? Can’t see a damn thing.”
“Just put it down, dumbasses. Flip it open.”
“Fine, geez.”
“This the page?”
“…Perfect. Whoever drew this knew what they were doing.”
“They’ll never see this coming.”
“Hell yeah. It’s time we made those fuckers pay for last year.”
The hallways were surprisingly barren. Classes were over for the day, and the sun had settled. The place should have been buzzing by now. Maybe everyone was just inside their dorms hanging out with each other. Who knows. The only exception to this was Leaf with his earbuds in, listening to music and walking down the empty hallway. He soon realized, however, that he wouldn’t be alone for long.
Looking up and stopping in his tracks, Leaf tilted his head to the side in confusion. In front of him was a lone student. They were leaning against the wall, their hands clutching onto their head. Something about them seemed… weird, to say the least. Leaf gained a worried look on his face as he slowly approached the student. “Hey… are you alright? You’re not looking so goo—”
He was cut off by an ear-piercing screech. The student turned around almost unnaturally quickly and glared menacingly at the Rox. They had somewhat loose feathers hanging from their body and clothing, a beak starting to form where their mouth was. The sight caused Leaf to back up, his icy breath becoming shaky and heavy before running away. What was that? Was it some sort of Electi ability acting up? Why did he look so demented—
It suddenly came to him when he stopped and hid behind a wall. A part from Merla’s folktale started to rush into his brain.
You slowly start to gain feathers and grow more insane over time.
The student had feathers, and it looked like his mind was starting to slip. Did they… get affected by the Were-Raven? Had it really been 100 years already? Was it even a full moon tonight? He looked to the night sky, but it was far too cloudy to tell. Just his luck.
Leaf had to think of what to do, but who could he go to? His first thought seemed the most obvious. Merla! She’s the one who had the book about the curse, so maybe the book also contains a cure for it!
At least he now had a plan. Getting back to the music room again was easy. He knew the way like the back of his mint-colored paw. The only problem would be getting past that… student. He summoned the courage to peek around the corner of the wall, gasping when he saw them still there, approaching. He couldn’t stay for long. He started running once more, taking a longer route around to the classroom.
He heard a scream at least a few blocks away. Then another. His heart started racing. His pace quickened. His fur frosted over. And that was when something tackled him.
“Ah!” Leaf and the figure met the pavement with a crash. He tumbled over, immediately wishing he hadn’t looked up to see what had bumped into him. Another Corvid. This one was bigger, and their mouth had almost fully closed over into a beak-like, bony structure. Black feathers were visibly falling off the body. The spaces between the arms and torso webbed over. Its eyes radiated insanity.
The monster shrieked a blood-curdling cry, and despite the terrified Rox covering his poor ears, more screeches around the campus responded. The sounds were hardly even human anymore.
“S-stay back! P-p-please, leave me alone!!” The ground exploded with ice. The monster jumped back, but the ice had spread too wide. It slipped on its grotesque, claw-shaped feet. And across from it, Leaf had gotten away.
Merla was the only thing in the poor Rox’s mind as he finally reached the music room with his life barely intact.
Walking inside, he noticed something. It was completely empty. No sight of Merla anywhere. Ironic that a music room like hers was completely silent. Closing the door and locking it for safety, Leaf started to pace around the room. Where could she be? The music room was the only place she usually stayed at. It was like a second home to her! The book was still nowhere to be found, so maybe she finally found it and took it somewhere? But.. She would’ve just put it back in the drawer, and looking inside of it, it wasn’t there.
All sorts of terrible thoughts kept rushing into his head. She’s a strong woman, sure, but can she even take on a Corvid? What if they kidnapped her? No… what if they killed and ate her?!
Ice surrounded the floor. He tried to calm himself down. Don’t think the worst, Leaf. She’s most likely okay!
But then again… where was she?
There was only one spot he could think of, the back of the school. Though would she really go there without notifying him? Yeah, she wouldn’t… He was out of ideas. It was clear getting Merla directly was out of the question for now, as much as he hated to admit it. Maybe another teacher saw her? The only other person who came into mind was Abigail— perhaps she knew. He really only knew her from what her daughter, Skyber, and that creepily charming substitute had to say about her, but he had to try. It was his best and only hope.
Unlocking the door and peeking outside to see if any Corvids were roaming the hallways, Leaf would confirm that there weren’t any to be seen.. Though, he still heard the shrieks and screams off in the distance. He shuddered, not wanting to know what was happening throughout campus. He stepped outside, heading over to the teacher’s lounge.
Running through a school full of Corvids was a stressful task for the small Rox! He had to be sneaky and silent, which… was really easy for him since he was part fox, but it was still stressful knowing these creatures could easily kill someone. Finally arriving at the door, Leaf walked in.
“Uhm.. M-Ms.Gail? Are you in here? I-If so, I would really appreciate your help right now…” The Rox called out, his body still trembling in fear.
And there she was, bright red hair and old-timey western clothes and all. Maybe his luck was turning around after all. Across the room, Leaf could see her in a heated discussion between some ERA security guard with shades and a prosthetic leg.
“For the last time, I don’t see why I can’t drink my whiskey during lectures. Class is full of a buncha lil’ shits, they don’t pay attention anyway,” the teacher snarked.
“Ma’am, we’ve been telling you why it’s against our terms for months, you just keep ignoring it,” the officer pinched the bridge of his nose. “You can’t just keep getting drunk whenever you stop caring about what you’re teaching.”
“Ya think I ever cared what the hell I’m teaching?”
“S-Sorry to interrupt, but I could really use your help right now!” Leaf ran up to them, clear worry being found on his fluffy face.
Abigail was the first to notice and say something to the helpless Anthro. “What is it, kid? Can’t ya see my hands are tied already?”
“A-Alright, so… S-Students in the school are being turned into these things called Corvids, and then they’ll turn into Were-Ravens, which are like big, bird-like creatures who are SUPER insane and will try to kill you on sight! I-I think the Were-Raven finally came out after 100 years, but I’m not even sure! A-And m-my sister went missing! U-Usually she’s in the music room but she wasn’t! S-Something tells me she might’ve gotten eaten, but I don’t know!! I could really use your help trying to find th—“
“Okay, okay, you’re gonna have to slow it down,” the officer said. “First of all, I have no idea what you’re talking about with this ‘WereRaven’ thing. I don’t know if you just woke up from a fever nightmare, but I can assure you those don’t exist. Second, if you’re having trouble finding your sister, I can help you look just as soon as I deal with this alright? She can’t have gone far.”
Abigail gave Leaf a weird look, shrugging off the officer. “I’ve seen and heard of a lotta things back in the Frontier. But I’ve never once heard of a damned bird monster eating people. Ya sure you’re not hallucinating?”
“I-I’m completely sure of it! L-Look, follow me..” The Rox lead them over to the door, slightly opening it while crouching down near it. It was silent for a minute, until… A loud, ear-piercing screech was heard coming from down the hallway. After hearing that, Leaf closed the door and locked it. “S-See?! T-Those aren’t noises a normal student can make! T-That was a Corvid!”
The two older adults exchanged a glance. “Well, I’ll tell ya one thing,” Abigail said, “these are some thick walls if we couldn’t hear that.”
“Wait, that doesn’t make sense,” the other adult pondered. “Even if there was some ‘Corvid’ infection, HQ would’ve been the first to relay it. Why haven’t there—”
Suddenly, his radio exploded with static before a panicked voice yelled through it.
“CHARLIE! You have to help us, big bird monsters are attacking the school!!!”
“Claude? Is that you? Respond!” Charlie held up the walkie-talkie.
“I’M CLOO! Claude’s too busy dealing with the students outside! He’s saying some of the wounded ones are turning into bird monsters too! The whole department is out trying to save the people! Me and Clad are the only ones guarding the office, but I dunno what to do if those things get inside! WE’RE DOOMED! DOO—”
The radio went dead.
“..I-Is that enough proof for you guys to help m-me?” Leaf asked, ice starting to form at his feet.
“…Alright, that sounds like enough evidence,” Charlie resolved. “You said your sister went missing. Normally I’d be on my way to defend the security department, but seeing how things are going, it looks like every man for himself. Can’t believe they gave administrative control to that idiot…”
“..S-So.. I have a plan.. Basically, we just need to find my sister. S-She has a book about old folklore that tells about both the Corvids and the Were-Raven. I-It’s most likely that it also h-has a cure for them..”
“You plannin’ on telling us her name, at least? Since she’s apparently this important to stopping those damn critters,” Abigail put a hand on her hip.
“H-Her name is Merla, s-she’s the music teacher…”
“Merla Evergreen? That annoyingly bubbly Anthro two buildings down?” She peered at the Rox. “Hardly see the similarities. Kin is kin, I guess.” Her voice slightly softened. “If she means that much to you, guess it won’t hurt seeing through the reunion.”
“H-Hey! Don’t call my sister annoying!” He growled at the teacher, which was pretty rare coming out of a small canid like Leaf.
Charlie folded his arms. “Looks like getting your sister back is our top priority. Come on. We can’t stay here forever.” The officer went over and opened the door, scanning the darkness of the campus before motioning the other two to follow.
“Y-yeah.. I-I suggest we go to the dorms first, m-maybe she went over there to check up on me..” Leaf stayed behind them as they led the way.
And so, into the scream-filled night, the party of three marched on with a thick air of uncertainty.
They arrived at the dormitory a while later, managing to stay relatively hidden. The hallway was like every other, barren and silent, except for a few feathers here and there. To their disappointment, they couldn’t find Merla, which brought on even more worry to the anxiety-ridden Rox.
“D-Dang it! W-Where could she be?” He let out a small whimper, gripping his shoulders. “W-What if we never find her…?”
Charlie put a hand on his shoulder. “She’ll be alright. We haven’t lost this case yet.”
“Not yet, at least,” Abigail added. “Pick yourself up. There’s no use cryin’ over something you don’t even know is true yet.”
Leaf sniffled, wiping his tears before standing up. “R-Right.. Maybe she asked Brown of my whereabouts? S-She knows that we’re b-best friends after all…”
“Dude, someone said your name out there!” A muffled voice exclaimed through the wall across from them.
“Bro, what?” A door clicked and unlocked behind Abigail, making her turn and step out of the way. The door opened slightly, and behind it was a boy all too familiar to Leaf.
“Oh my God. Leaf, what are you doing out there? And why are you with a police officer and the law teacher?”
“H-Hey, Brown? U-Uhm.. Can you help us with something?” the Rox asked.
“Y…yeah, I mean, I guess. But you gotta answer my question, dude.”
“W-Well… First, I’m running around because M-Merla went missing… and she’s the only way to get rid of the sudden spawn of C-Corvids around the school. M-Ms. Gail and this o-officer are helping me look for her. D-Did she come by here by any chance?”
“She wasn’t trying to look for you?” Brown rubbed his chin. “I dunno what to tell you, I’m sorry. We’ve been holed up in this room for at least an hour. You guys didn’t get bitten by those things, did you?”
“N-No, we didn’t… We’ve dodged every Corvid we came across!”
“Brown, get over here, quick!” Saki called from inside the room. Brown jerked his head over, letting them inside. They could see Saki looking through their window, trembling next to the aloof third roommate.
“Holy shit,” Xander said, “that looks painful.”
From outside the window, they could see a Corvid pinning the student down. They let out a loud screech, their sharp teeth being revealed as they opened their beak. The student was breathing heavily, struggling to release themself from under the beast. In the blink of an eye, the Corvid’s teeth dug into their arm, causing the student to yell out in pain. Now the effects were starting to kick in. The student’s pupils shrunk, their eyes becoming bloodshot. Jet black feathers started to grow from their flesh and their screams started to sound more raven-like. He was becoming a Corvid.
“Ugh…” a horrified Saki looked away, his hair getting into his eyes. “This is so much worse than those stupid snails.”
“About as ugly as them, too,” Xander chimed in.
“There’s no way we’re going out there. I’ve had enough Halloween-related disasters to scar me for two lifetimes,” Brown lamented.
“T-The only way we can stop them from spawning is to find Merla.. S-She had a book that has information about everything WereRaven and Corvid-related, but it went missing! She’s the only one who knows everything…” He explained, fiddling with his paws.
“Which these kids know nothing about,” Abigail reminded Leaf. “We’ll be wasting our time in this place.”
“Wait, hold on. What was in the book? Like, were there any drawings or illustrations of those Were-things or Cor-whatevers?” Brown asked Leaf.
“I think so… Merla showed us a page with the drawing of the folklore inside..” Leaf said.
“Huh. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it’s almost like how those guys brought those snails to life. Remember that one Electi ability, Saki?”
“You mean the one where they brought drawings straight out from the book? Don’t remind me.” Saki fidgeted.
“I think I remember something like that going in the files,” Charlie recollected. “It was in the library. Some delinquents used their abilities to duplicate acid-producing life-forms. You three were there?”
The boys nodded.
“I’m sorry… we thought we exterminated all of the snails the first time around. The kids were supposed to be expelled the month later. Regardless, the security knows them well. The one in charge of duplication is named Raphael, the acid-producing Electi goes by Gabriel. And the young man who animates drawings into real life is known as Edgar. He was the mastermind behind the snails. If we can find these boys, we may find the book.”
“And if Merla was the only one who knew how to stop it, who’s to say they didn’t take her too?” Abigail added.
“aHHH— I don’t like thinking about that! B-But it’s most likely true.. S-She’s a strong Faven, I-I don’t know how they could’ve overpowered her..” Leaf was getting more worried about his sister by the second.
“Maybe they had help from the raven-things?” Saki suggested.
“Gimme a break. How stupid do you think those bird demons would have to be to stop and take orders from a bunch of idiotic, snot-nose—” Brown took a minute to think. “—Ok. Maybe you’re right. Even still, we shouldn’t jump to conclusions. I mean, how do we know for sure it’s these guys, and how are we supposed to find them?”
“I know,” Xander said nonchalantly. “See ‘em in detention all the damn time. They always keep talking about ‘revenge’ this, and ‘we’ll show them all’ that. They also mention the abandoned building a lot, like it’s some sort of secret hideout. Not like there’s a dozen kids who wander in there every day.”
“S-So.. our next location is the.. a-abandoned building? Bleh.. I don’t like that place.. R-Reminds me of that storage facility, where me and a few students had to deal with some big.. crystal monster… P-Pretty sure its name was Bob? I don’t remember… A-Anyways! S-Should we plan out how we’re gonna approach them?” The Rox asked, ice forming at his feet.
“We’ve already stayed here too long for that,” the teacher gruffed. “The more we stand around talking about what to do, the more Were-critters are spawned tryin’ to destroy the place. And the longer it is until we get yer sister back.”
Charlie exhaled, thinking to himself that he’d have to question Leaf about that “Bob” incident. “She’s right. We can figure out the details on the way. Right now, our top priority should be locating and apprehending our suspects so no further harm can be done to the students and the school.”
“I’ll come with you,” Xander said seemingly out of the blue. “I’d be telling you to fuck off right about now, but I have some serious year-long beef to handle with those bastards.”
“Wait, Xander! You’re not seriously going out there, are you?” Saki’s eyes grew wide.
“Beats sitting here with you whining fucks all day.” He got up from his bed, moving towards the door. “Let’s go light some birds on fire.”
“I like this kid,” Abigail smirked, folding her arms and heading out the door with the indigo-haired boy.
Leaf was a bit hesitant before walking outside the dorm, looking at his shaking paws.
The officer looked at the rest of the residents of Dorm 3. “Thanks for the intel, boys. You’ve been a great help.”
“Uh huh. Don’t mention it…” replied a distracted Saki, looking out the window again.
“Just make sure to look after Leaf, will you?” Brown said to the guard.
Charlie nodded, shutting the door.
Leaf was the one to stay behind the whole group. He felt powerless. He couldn’t stand a chance outside without the rest of them carrying his dead weight. Despite having his electi ability, all he thought he could do was freeze himself up…
His insecurities worsened by the increasingly obvious Corvid threat. They were now on rooftops, inside buildings, running amok and screeching. Despite it being dark, everyone could see the disaster unfolding. They spotted several full-on Were-Ravens running across campus, one in the process of attacking a student.
“..g-god…” Leaf muttered under his breath, watching the process unfold in front of both him and the group. “..d-do you think we could try and stop it?” He whispered to Abigail who was the closest to him out of the group.
“Doubt it,” she dismissed. “Focus on the task at hand. We try to be heroes, we’ll never find your sister.”
“R-Right..” He replied meekly.
Everyone quickened to a jogging pace. The abandoned building was halfway across the campus from their current location. Luckily, they made more ground without attracting attention. It seemed the rest of the monsters were too focused elsewhere.
Or so they thought.
Charlie rounded a corner, immediately cursed under his breath, and held his arm back, halting the group in their tracks.
“Corvids?” Abigail said.
“Were-Raven,” he replied.
“H-he didn’t see you, did he?” Leaf cowered.
“No, I’m pretty sure it was looking right at me.”
“I’m gonna punch it,” Xander declared.
“Don’t you dare.”
“Fuck you. I’m punching it.” Xander dashed out from the wall, his arm ablaze in a rich cobalt blue.
The creature took a mere second to notice and pounce, stretching out its wings to look much larger and more intimidating. Xander brushed by its attack, jabbing his lit hand into the beast’s side. It recoiled and stumbled, Its long black feathers lit up abnormally fast, and soon spread around the torso. It screeched in pain, jumping after the reckless kid. This time it connected, pinning Xander down with its sharp talons.
“Guys, I punched it—agh, shit!” Xander’s celebratory remark was cut off by the piercing claws. The fire on the Were-Raven was spreading like crazy, almost consuming half of its body now. Nevertheless, it looked like it wasn’t planning on going down alone.
Suddenly, it let go. It screeched again, convulsing from the taser shot by Charlie from behind.
“Told you not to punch it, kid!” He called out, taking a canister from his belt and splashing water at its talons. It froze instantly, trapping the creature.
“Move, you’re doin’ it wrong…” Abigail muttered, aiming her revolver and firing off two shots into the Wereraven. The strangest thing about the encounter, besides the fast-burning body, was that it didn’t screech like usual. It howled. Then, like paper thrown into a firepit, it disintegrated into ash.
“…I don’t think that’s how birds are supposed to die.” Xander got up, brushing his jacket off.
“It better not be,” Charlie said. “If that thing was one of the students…”
“Bullshit.” Abigail blew the smoke off her revolver barrel. “Think about it. Say it came from that book y’all talked about. If that kid you said’s able to animate stuff from pages, wouldn’t it be made outta paper? No wonder it burned so fast.”
“Maybe. Let’s hope for everyone’s sake it was.” The officer turned to the only non-combatant, who was standing frozen up to his waist.
“..I-Is it gone? D-Did you guys get rid of the Were-Raven?” Leaf asked, turns out he had his paws over his eyes the entire time, so he didn’t see the group get rid of the beast.
“One of them, at least. Hold still.” Charlie put his hand on the ice, and it melted away. He collected some of the water into his canister.
“T-Thanks..” The Rox gave the officer a soft smile. It was short, but sweet enough to warm his heart. He looked ahead, rubbing his shoulder. “..A-Are we almost there?”
The answer didn’t come fast enough before a wave of howling commenced all around them. As if responding to the fallen Were-Raven. They knew this wouldn’t be good.
“We fuckin’ better be!” Abigail grabbed Leaf by the shoulder, hustling the boys along. “I know that howl anywhere, no matter what critter does it!”
“Okay, does that howling mean anything, wildlife expert?” Xander had to run to catch up to them.
“Means we oughtta haul ass to that building, pronto!”
“R-Right!” Leaf exclaimed.
And hauled ass they did. They could hear the howls get closer to them. Much closer. They sprinted past several twists and turns, stumbling on rocks and branches, dragging each other along, and finally, finally, the abandoned building showed itself in the pitch-black night.
Leaf stopped and caught his breath, looking up at the door. Planning time. “A-Alright, they’re inside there.. H-How are we gonna approach them?”
“Let’s make our minds up quick, they’re gaining on us,” Abigail urged.
“They burn easily. I say we keep punching them,” Xander suggested.
“Stupid, but not the worst plan,” Charlie said. “You’ll be our main firepower for this mission. No pun intended. Abigail and I will sweep the building with Leaf and find our suspects. If we’re lucky, they may be keeping Merla, too.”
“H-How many are there in the building? Leaf asked, rubbing his shoulder.
“Three, presumably. Edgar, Gabriel, and Raphael. If you’re asking how many Ravens, hard to say. Be ready for anything.”
“..A-and Edgar is our main guy.. if he has Merla, I-I should go after him.. a-alone…” He explained his plan, but Charlie cut him off.
“You know I can’t put you in that kind of danger. And you know that’s going beyond ERA guard code. We find them together, we stay together.”
“D-Damn it, I just want my sister back! M-Maybe if I find M-Merla and rescue her, t-then she can—”
“Snap out of it, Leaf!” Charlie shook him. “It won’t come to that. If we—”
“Can we discuss moral dilemmas when bird monsters aren’t swarming us from behind?” Xander pointed to the incoming WereRavens. They had stayed too long.
“What’d I just say?!” Abigail shouted, spamming the trigger of her gun. It only took a couple of them down, and they, too, disintegrated. The inhuman screeches were so loud now, it almost burst their ears.
“Go, go!” Charlie pushed Leaf along, taking out his own gun. Xander lit his leg on fire and kicked the door to the building down, charring the old wood.
“I-I’m sorry!” Leaf exclaimed, ice forming at his paws. Seeing this, he came up with a small plan of his own. He couldn’t quite control his stress-freezing whenever, but he could control where it happened on his body. Keeping them around his fists gave him a way to defend himself, and for once it managed to boost his confidence. The Rox readied himself to face the evil three.
The Were-Ravens barged through the opening where the doors used to be, clambering over each other to catch their next victims. They were met with bullets and a fist full of fire.
“They ain’t on this floor, get upstairs!” Abigail declared, reloading her weapon.
Xander kept most of the monsters away before everyone brought themselves to the second floor.
“A-Are they up here?” He asked, looking around frantically.
“Follow me, they could be hiding in one of these rooms,” Charlie warned.
As the two searched through the second floor, Abigail and Xander pushed back the threat still attempting to come upstairs.
The Rox followed behind Charlie, the stress of the situation falling upon him, which in turn, made the ice on his paws grow more thick. He was starting to grow more desperate. “W-Where could they be..”
“Shit, we got company above us,” Xander directed Abby’s attention to the top of the stairs, where more, even uglier Were-Ravens approached. Within seconds, they were being overwhelmed.
“They must be on the top floor. They’re trying to stop us, they know we’re here!” Charlie and Leaf ran back to aid the other two.
“D-Do we fight off these guys? I-I feel like there’s too many of them!” Leaf worried, starting to throw punches at the oncoming Corvids. Seemed their beak was their weak point, since they winced and backed up after being struck there.
“Which is why we need to fight through them!” Abigail flipped her gun around and whacked them on their beaks when they got too close, which was now happening more frequently than she liked.
“We need a distraction,” Charlie said, going back to his taser as his weapon of choice, “something that could open us a window upstairs. That’s all we need to get to the third and last floor.”
“I could be the distraction,” Xander proposed.
“Kid, that’s suicide!” the teacher yelled.
“Nah. This is just my workout!” His entire body ignited into blue fire, garnering the attention of the horde. He charged at them, kicking and striking every weak and flammable spot he could reach. Soon, almost all of them were after his blood alone. And the stairs, for just a moment, were left wide open.
“Now!” Leaf led the group, going up the stairs first. Seeing that the hotheaded student had apparently gotten this covered, the adults followed. When the remaining three got to the third and final floor, they expected to find the suspects there.
What they got instead, however, was a ground covered with acid. There was a room at the end, locked behind a steel door. It, too, was guarded by acid. They could guess who caused it.
“Shoot.. Do you think I could freeze the acid?” He looked towards Charlie, tilting his head to the side.
“Good idea, but it might take us a while. Abigail, cover us.”
“Since when did ya get to boss me around like that?” the teacher sneered.
“Nevermind, then. Let’s just save the Were-Ravens the hassle and turn ourselves in. I’d think we’d look neat as Corvids.”
Abigail groaned. “You owe me for this!”
As Abigail covered their flanks, some of the creatures’ attention returned to the intruders, rather than the kid on a one-man riot below. Charlie opened and dumped his canister on the floor, freezing it over as fast as he could. Now with the acid being frozen over, the two ran over to the door, repeating the process so they could easily break it open. The officer stood by one side of the frozen door, and Leaf stood on the other.
“When we breach this, you stay behind me. I’ll take care of the suspects, you extract their hostage. Don’t fall for anything they may have to say. Just focus on our task. Got it?” he looked at the Rox.
He nodded. “Alright, I’m sure I’ll be able to get Merla, untying a rope should be as easy as pie, right?” He whispered to the officer.
“Can y’all hurry up?! They’re starting to catch on that we’re about to have a chat with their boss!” Abigail shouted, running out of bullets. Charlie nodded, kicking the door open. Leaf followed his word and stayed behind him. Inside the room was something Leaf had expected to see this whole time, but was definitely not ready for.
Merla was tied up and kept hostage. Rope kept her bound to a chair. A thick cloth was tied around her mouth, keeping her muted. Leaf covered his maw, seeing the sight. Merla was a strong lady, yet they were able to keep her bound down to a chair? Those… Those evil people!
“Damn it, Damn it, FUCK!” Edgar, the leader, yelled out. It seemed he was trying to make the alchemy material that came from the tale. He was literally pulling beakers, powders and the like out of Merla’s storybook. Most of which burned away or crumbled the moment they were animated. Raphael, the duplication Electi, was seen watching over the bound Faven, while Gabriel was the first to notice the officer and his Rox companion.
“Forget the alchemy, boys, we got company!” Gabe cried out. Making the other boy turn their attention to the new problem.
“So it was you three behind this Were-Raven mess,” Charlie confronted them. “You should’ve learned your lesson last year. The administration won’t like this one bit.”
“Fuck the administration!” Raphael shouted. It was then that Leaf noticed him weilding a fire axe, possibly salvaged from inside the building. “You’ve kept us ‘students’ from what we’re truly capable of. We should be the ones in control, not sitting here in this school like prisoners! This whole place needs to pay!”
“Well said, Raph,” Edgar chuckled. “That might be the smartest fucking thing that’s come outta your mouth yet. We’re done being ignored. And we’re done listening to pigs like you. This is only the beginning.”
“S-So… Y-You wanna be in power? D-Did you have to hold my sister hostage f-for your d-dang… w-whatever this is?!” Leaf asked.
“What, Big Bird over there?” Gabriel mocked. “She’s got spirit, that’s for sure. But nothing a few Were-Ravens couldn’t stop. You’re just in time to see her live out her favorite tale!”
“Shut up, you idiot!” Edgar whacked his partner in the gut. “We can’t give away our whole plan!”
“..B-Big Bird?” More ice started to form around his fists, making the ice even more thicker than before. He bared his teeth and growled at the three. “LET MY SISTER GO!”
“Aww, that’s cute. The kid wants his sister back,” Raphael said, bearing his weapon. “You want her back so bad? Try and take her from us.”
“We’ll see about that,” Charlie responded.
He splashed the rest of his water out of the container. It flew through the air near boiling and letting off hot steam, hitting Gabriel, the closest target. The boy screamed out in pain and fell to the ground, and Raphael rushed the officer with his axe. He swung, but his target caught it by the handle with both hands.
“Now, Leaf! Get your sister!” The officer yelled.
Right!” Looking at the rope, he’d slam one of his ice covered paws against the wall, freeing it from its frozen shell. Forming a sharp, yet small icicle, he’d use it to cut the cloth that was over the avian’s beak.
“Finally!” Merla spoke, getting the taste of polyester out of her mouth. “Those damn fiends… Thank you for rescuing me, Little Bro..”
“Thank me later! We have some bad students to take care of..”
But before he could cut any more ropes, a cold hand gripped his wrist, the pressure making him drop his icicle.
“Just what do you think you’re fucking doing?” Edgar threatened. “Don’t think you can slip by me that easy!”
Out of instinct, Leaf socked the boy in the face. Edgar was blown back.
“F-Freeing my sister!“ The Rox exclaimed. From his peripherals, he saw Raphael and Charlie continuing to wrangle with the axe. The latter eventually got the student pinned. Just behind the glass pane window.
“Give up, kid! You’re only making this worse for yourself!” Charlie warned.
“Ghh! If I’m goin’ down, I’m taking you with me!” With one big heave, Raphael rammed the axe into the glass, shattering it on impact. Both men stumbled back, and both fell through the three-story window. Leaf couldn’t hear the impact outside, but he could hear the horde of Were-Ravens and Corvids alike screeching over each other. He wanted to believe they broke their fall—for better or for worse.
“Heh… where’s your bodyguard now, huh?” Gabriel mustered, getting back into the action. He helped his friend up, now pissed as hell.
“Nobody to save you now. All your friends are occupied…” Edgar mentioned. And he was right. Abigail was taking on an entire group of creatures in the main room, Merla was still tied up, and Charlie and Xander were who knows where! It was two powerful villains versus one meek Anthro.
Leaf looked at the two. They both kidnapped and held his sister hostage. His anger overwhelmed his fear, and consumed his body in a hot white rage. He aimed his paws at the two. “Get away, now… I just want my damn sister back…”
“What are you going to do about it? Throw some more ice at us? It’s over, you dumb fox.” Edgar slowly cornered Leaf, Gabriel following close behind. Acid was now oozing from Gabe’s arms.
“..I’m a Rox!!” Leaf slammed his paw on the ground, ice starting to form on the ground. Said ice would continuously crawl up the bodies of both Gabriel and Edgar. It was so thick, their mobility grinded to a halt. “I told you to get away, yet you didn’t listen… Now you’ll get to know the feeling of being trapped in your own frozen shell…” Leaf said, glaring at the two.
The two trapped delinquents struggled, but they couldn’t break free. The ice was too strong.
“Wh-where the hell did this come from?!” Gabe cried.
“Calm down! He has us now, but he’d never finish us off. He doesn’t have the guts.”
Leaf would place the tip of the icicle onto Edgar’s forehead, his ice-covered paw readying to hit it into his skull. “Reverse everything. Now.”
Edgar stared into the Anthro’s eyes. He smirked, shaking his head. “I know your type, kid. You talk a big game, but you’ll never have it in you to kill a man.”
“I do,” a voice said, as a revolver clicked its hammer back.
Abigail had her aim pointed at the frozen Edgar from the entrance of the room. Behind her, a pile of Were-Ravens laying motionless on the acid-covered floor, slowly melting away. On her, a growing coat of black feathers.
“No fucking way,” Gabriel exclaimed. “How are you still sane? You’re a goddamn Corvid!”
“Believe me, the pain is excruciating,” the teacher spoke through gritted teeth. “Enough for anyone to lose their mind. Lucky fer me, I’ve dealt with a lot worse.” The barrel of her gun was lined up to take both of the frozen kids out with one bullet. “Do what the kid says, or you’ll be having .45 caliber lead as your last meal.”
Ed and Gabe looked at each other with fear in their eyes. They knew they’d been beat. The animator concentrated, and the Were-Ravens, the alchemy set, and everything else spawned from the book turned to dust.
“Your police buddy got Raph. That moron was in charge of emulating the transformation spread with his duplication. Everyone our Were-Ravens infected will go back to normal by dawn.”
Abigail handed Leaf her pocket knife. “Now’d be a good time to have that reunion, I reckon.”
Most of the stress of the situation had died down, and the ice Leaf made had melted. The boys didn’t dare move with the gun still pointed at them. Leaf grabbed the pocket knife and smiled softly at Abigail. “T-Thanks..” Walking over and cutting the ropes that bound the Faven down, Leaf instantly went in and hugged her tightly. “..I-I’m really glad you’re okay… I-I was worried sick about you!”
Merla looked down at him, a soft smile forming on her beak. “Heh.. I was worried about you as well, I really can’t believe those guys were able to knock me down!” She exclaimed, wrapping her wings around her little brother and standing up. “I can’t thank you guys enough, especially you, Leaf… You stood up against those boys! Hell, you even threatened them for the sake of my safety! You’ve really grown to be a strong Rox. If Korbin were here, he’d be proud of ya..”
Leaf blushed heavily, hiding his face in her feathers. “…I-It’s not a problem, Sis. You were in danger, and I couldn’t let that slide!” He exclaimed, leaning up to nuzzle her. “I love you, big sis..”
Merla gained a blush of her own. A chuckle escaped her beak. “Hehe! I love you too, little bro…” She looked over to Abigail and smiled. “Thank you..”
The teacher shrugged. “Least I could do to help a family out.”
Then, the Anthros heard a pained chorus of groans from outside the building. It sounded like it came from the ground floor. Leaf and Merla approached the broken window and carefully looked out. It was hard to see in the dark, but the Corvids were losing their feathers. They almost looked like students again. And not a Were-Raven in sight. In the small crowd—and seeing this, Leaf sighed in relief—were Charlie and Xander, covered in the feathers.
“I should have just—_ow, dammit…_stayed inside with those losers,” Xander groaned, face down on the ground.
“Probably… We did—_urrgh…_appreciate the backup, though.” Charlie said.
The radio went off on his uniform. “CHARLIE! It’s me, Cloo again! The scary bird monsters went away! And all the students are going back to normal! It’s a gosh darn miracle, Mr. Walker! Halloween is saved!! SAAA—”
The officer threw the walkie-talkie away. “Ugh. Someone needs to get the chain of command at HQ checked.”
“Someone needs to get that asshole Edgar and his buddies’ library access checked,” Xander commented.
“I-in our defense—” a breathless Raphael with a broken axe began.
“Don’t even think about it,” the other boys said in unison.