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The whole city was currently going through a heat wave but the night was warm and luckily not sticky. Havasu lounged in the shadows of a tree in a empty park, relaxing after an uneventful night of patrolling. He had come across a few muggers, scaring the crap out of at least one of them, but there wasn't anything worse than the typical mundane city nightlife.

He casually surveyed the park and noticed that the daffodils were already starting to wilt and fade away. They had bloomed only a few weeks ago, it was hard to believe just how fast time progresses. Light filtered in from street lights, creating strange and sometimes eerie patterns across the lush grass as the golden glow filtered through the trees and bushes. In summer there would likely be firefly a flickering on and off, adding to the ethereal feel of the night. He wondered if or when the crickets would be coming out, with them chirping and the near silence of the park Havasu would have no problems believing he was somewhere far out in the countryside. Away from the responsibilities of being a knight, a college student, an employee, and a son.

Summer really couldn't come fast enough.

Havasu was lost in his own thoughts contemplating class, family, Delilah, friends, the weather. His mind bounced from topic to topic with no rhyme or reason and it was only until a flare of chaos tinged power did he focus on the area around him. Havasu climbed to his feet and stood ready for a fight. He knew that the nega he would be facing would be stronger but Havasu was no slouch in the fighting department himself so he was already relishing the challenge of once more proving his skills against the forces of evil.... The young man had a large gap in his reasoning and like most young males he had no sense of his own mortality which was about to get him in more trouble than he realizes.

Havasu could see the figure fast approaching and was about to charge into battle himself when a dark shadow at the nega's side had him pause and even take a few hurried steps backwards. The dog, the term was used lightly, was so close to the creature that had attacked him the night he had become a page that Havasu instinctively shied away. He still had nightmares of the hellhound's glowing red eyes and incorporeal appearance. Like a demon from the night it had attacked and Havasu was lucky to escape with his life. The creature rushing upon him now was so similar to the youma from his memories that Havasu froze for an all critical moment, unable to move or even think as the demon and it's master.... All but forgotten..... Were nearly upon him.

Havasu howled in pain as his hesitation led to the demon dog latching into his leg like a freaking pitbull. He stifled the instinctive reaction of pulling his leg from between the youma's teeth since it would just lacerate his leg further. He beat on the head for a moment but when he caught unexpected movement out of the edge of his eye he turned his head to see what else he would had to deal with.

The negaver officer coming right for him was familiar but now he was stronger, in a spiffy new outfit, and looked like he was going to spear him like a fish. He grabbed the standard that the nega had swung at him and gritting his teeth against the pain from the youma bite. Havasu pulled the flag towards him and sneered. "Nice jacket fly boy." He would be damned if he showed just how much pain he was in.

Havasu wasn't expecting the order the nega gave so when the demon dog re-bit him Havasu wasn't able to stifle his shout. The creature turned it's head straight as it dropped forcing the page onto his knee or risk a broken leg. Now kneeling awkwardly, his left knee on the ground while the youma munched on his calf, his right bent but still upright, like he was proposing, but unlike in the typically romantic move his right leg was slightly off kilter and didn't provide a lot of stability. When fly boy yanked the standard away from the stabilizing grip Havasu had on it he pitched forward catching himself with his arm, if he wasn't pinned down to the ground by the dog it wouldn't have been a half bad position to spring into a tackle.

"Not so strong without your pup holding me down are you?" The pain was very noticeable as Havasu tried to put on a brave front. He kept his eyes on the nega even though his hat had shifted and Havasu had to stretch to do it. He shifted slightly, a sharp indrawn breath cut through the eerie silence of the park.

He gritted his teeth as he shifted further to at least get his right knee under him so he could spring up at the nega if the chance came. Once able he released his weight from his hand and grabbed the dog's ear. If it was a real dog he would never had even attempted to do it but he needed the youma off him sooner rather than later. With internal wince, it still went against his nature to hurt an animal, Havasu dug his nails into the soft tissue of the dog's ear, pinching the cartilage between his fingers. A girl's much longer nails would have likely done more damage but his had to have a bit of a bite too. His free hand rested on his right knee, ready to block what ever was coming next

Havasu growled as the youma ground it's teeth deeper into his flesh. Apparently something as simple as a little pain wouldn't be enough to get the creature to let go. He would have to do something drastic.... Just one problem, he had no weapons.

His mind was scrambling, trying to find a way out of the situation when flyboy screamed something about letting the dog go. Havasu wasn't too worried about what he was yelling, the boot heading right for his face was of much greater concern. Using his free arm he did his best to block the strike, rather the boot striking his face it was defected by his forearm and clipped his shoulder.

Once again he howled in pain as his whole arm felt like it was on fire then faded into numbness. His vision grayed out for a moment and streaks of silver fire obscured what vision he had as he tried to breath through the pain, succumbing to the blackness of passing out was not an option. The occasional muscle spasms and spikes of pain crawled up his collarbone calling him back to reality. Mentally Havasu prayed that the nega had just hit a nerve cluster but he feared the force of the kick dislocated his shoulder. It was an injury he had suffered before so he knew the signs and he had a sick feeling that he had just lost the use of his right arm for a while... If he survived the fight.

His right arm hung limp on his knee and when Havasu tried to close his fingers into a fist he saw with dawning horror as his digits twitched and formed into a barely there fist. His breath hitched as silver burst once more behind his eyes and he fought back the blackness once more. "That.... That...All... You...got..." He was breathing heavily, his one working hand clenched in the scruff of Iudiael. Never one to admit defeat out loud, Havasu huffed out a flat, pain laced laugh. "My grandma kicks harder than that." His arm had lapsed into a numb void and the sharp pain in his leg from the dog was really the only thing keeping him in the here and now.

Unbeknownst to either of the fighters the sound of the scuffle, and shrieks of pain had a concerned samaritan calling the police. Even now they were racing to the park, lights and sirens blaring. If Havasu had been focusing he might have picked up the faint wail of the cops coming ever closer.... But it was hard to hear even his own thoughts over his harsh breathing.

Havasu had to shake his head to get the ringing out of his ears before he realized the sound was actually sirens coming closer. Cops would make things worse was all he could think when to his surprise flyboy stepped back and called of his pet youma. Havasu gave a halfhearted sneer and growled back at the dog. "What no schwarzenegger?" The terminator's iconic line was pretty perfect for the moment as the nega teleported away.

Havasu waited a heartbeat later before he transformed himself. He could hear the cops clearly now, their blue and red lights flashing through the trees. It would be so much worse if they caught him still powered up rather than the as a civilian. Once more in his tshirt, shorts, and tennis shoes Quinn painfully climbed to his feet. Blood trickled down his leg, and he gingerly held his arm against his body as he wove towards the cops. He wouldn't be able to escape like the nega so why not let them patch him up. He was nearly free when he tripped and went down hard. Quinn groaned into the dirt and this time couldn't push back the blackness that swallowed him just as the sound of footsteps approached.

{[FIN]}
((Quinn continues in this Solo))