Oceana

"So why did you call us out here?" I asked, as we stood a block down from the Oathbreaker's meeting place, a totally cliché abandoned warehouse. Seriously, why do so many warehouse's get abandoned?

"Maria's taking her sweet ass time getting back to us," Ciel said. She was on stake-out duty, and had texted me and Terrence to come there. "And there's a meeting happening tonight. I say forget her, let's just go in there and figure out once and for all what these guys' plan is."

"How many are in there?" Terrence asked.

Ciel shrugged. "A manageable number."

"Meaning?" I asked.

"I dunno, like a dozen?" she said. "Nothing we can't handle."

"So do you have an actual plan here?" I asked.

Without speaking, Ciel pulled a hoody bearing the Stick and Serpent symbol on over her clothes.

"I'm gonna go blend in, and if you two hear anything, bust in and do your thing," she said.

I thought about that for a second, then let out a sigh. I then removed my scythe from it's loops and handed it to Terrence.

"Hold this," I said. "I'm going in with her. Be ready to blow something up when we give the signal."

"You don't have their symbol," Ciel pointed out.

"I'm with you," I said. "Won't need one. Besides, it's not like we wear our symbol constantly."

"Are you sure you wanna go in unarmed?" Terrence asked.

"I got my backup if I need it," I said. "So what are we waiting for?"

So after that, Ciel and I went up to the warehouse and walked in.

"A dozen, huh?" I muttered.

Ciel had understated a little. There were like, twenty people there. Fortunately, they didn't seem to pay us too much attention. I mean, they obviously noticed us, but they just kinda nodded in greeting then went back to their small talk. Nothing interesting seemed to be happening yet. Not for a few minutes, at least.

Then and man stepped onto a large stack of crates that they were using as an improvised stage. He spoke loudly, addressing everyone there.

"Thank you all for coming here tonight!" He said. A short cheer went up, but it silenced itself pretty quickly so he could continue. "We have much to go over tonight, but before we get to any of that, I'm proud to say that the guest we've all been hoping for has finally decided to grace us with his presence."

He smiled broadly and locked eyes with me.

"Reaper," he said. "Would you please come up here and introduce yourself?"

Shit. They had been expecting me. Not good. But my best choice was to play along with it. Things could go bad real fast otherwise.

The Oathbreakers all stepped to either side, clearing a path for me. Ciel drew out her cell phone as subtly as she could, prepared to message Terrence. I began walking calmly toward the stage. As I did, I became aware of something odd.

You know when you go too long without brushing your teeth, and then you eat something sweet and your mouth starts feeling all gross and slimy? I had that same feeling, but it was like, all over my body. That's when I noticed it out of the corner of my eyes. The Plague Doctor itself was lurking in the shadows, silently watching me through its beak-like mask. Fuck...

I reached  the crates and climbed up to face the man. He was tall, with dark hair, and weirdly blue eyes. Not one of the shades of blue I'm used to. He was dressed in a long-sleeved turtle-neck shirt, and khaki pants.

"A pleasure to meet you at last," he said. "You can call me Oceana."

"That sounds like a girl's name," I told him.

"I didn't pick it," he said with a shrug.

"You guys have been awfully active in this town," I said. "What exactly are you up to."

He just kind of chuckled at that, before speaking to me in a low, barely audible voice.

"I'm glad we get to speak face to face," he said. It felt threatening when he spoke like that. "I have a couple things I'd like to ask of you."

"Is that so?" I asked.

"First of all, regarding our 'plans'," he said. "I'd like you and your associates to stay out of this. It doesn't concern you. Mind your own business."

I grunted, neither agreeing to or declining his request.

"And?" I asked.

"The second thing," he said, "Is the watch."

My eyes widened. He wanted the watch? Did he know what it was?

"I know you're carrying it with you," he said. "I would like you to hand it over."

"And if I refuse?" I asked.

Oceana simply snapped his fingers, and the sounds of several guns cocking sounded below us. I fought back my instinct to panic and took a deep breathe, reminding myself of an important fact; I am a Timberwolf. Timberwolves do not fear death. I braced myself for what I was expecting to happen next. Wasn't sure when exactly it would happen, but I would be ready for it.

"Nice try," I said. "But your gonna need more firearms if you wanna intimidate me."

Oceana frowned.

"Is that so?" he asked. "You are aware that the Doctor is present, aren't you?"

"Congratulations," I said. "You've got exactly ne thing going for you."

And, with perfect timing, a large explosion went off. I didn't see exactly where the explosion was, but it served its purpose. Everyone was distracted for a second. And a second was all I needed to tackle Oceana and send us both falling from the crates. It wasn't a long drop, so we didn't get hurt much. We both got to our feet after, but I was quicker. I drew my backup weapon, a Japanese kama, and slashed at Oceana, tearing the front of his shirt a little. I think I saw something underneath it, but he covered up before I could really get a good look.

"Get him!" he barked angrily. "Get the watch!"

A bunch of the Oathbreakers charged at me while Oceana backed off. I kept my weight low, tripping as many of them as I could with my kama. But I felt someone grab the end of my coat briefly. I turned to see one of the Oathbreakers attempting to run off with the pickpocketed watch. I threw the kama at him, embedding it in his shoulder blade. He cried a\out in pain and lost his grip on the watch, sending it flying. It clattered to the ground several feet away.

"Justin", Terrence called out, running up to me, holding out my scythe. I took it from him and ran to get the watch back, but a group of three Oathbreakers beat me too it. One of them snatched it up and they booked it out the door. I ran after them. They got on some motorcycles and started them up before I could catch them. Damn it.

I stood there for a second, wondering what I should do, when I heard the sound of an engine revving. Not just any engine, though. My engine. Someone was stealing my bike!

I had left it parked down the street, and when I turned to look, I w\saw a woman driving it up to me.

"Where's Oceana?" She demanded, stopping in front of me.

"He bailed!" I said. "And what are you doing with my bike!?"

She scowled angrily, and looked into the distance and the guys who were getting away.

"Get on!" she demanded. "They'll know something!"

Didn't have time to argue. They were getting away with the watch. I got on.

"Give it the gas!" I ordered.

She obliged, and we went speeding down the street after those guys. My bike is a good bike, and we started closing the distance pretty quickly. I recognized the guy who had grabbed the watch at the front. As we got close to one of the others, I reached out with my scythe and slashed his back tire, causing him to lose control and go down. It also fucked with our balance, and the girl struggled to keep us upright.

"Are you trying to get us killed!?" She demanded.

"No, I'm trying to get them killed!" I replied.

"We need them alive so I can question them!" she snapped.

"We need one of them alive so we can question him!" I replied.

As we got close to the next one, I swung the scythe at his throat, slitting it open. She struggled to keep us balanced again, growling as she did.

"Great," She said. "So how do we stop the last one without killing him too!?"

"Dunno," I said. "I'll think of something."

Turns Out I didn't need to. A Molotov cocktail shattered on the road in front of him and he hit the breaks too hard, causing him to fall painfully off of his bike. We stop too and I got off. As I did, Terrence and Ciel emerged from the shadows. Perfect timing.

The Oathbreaker turned to face me and raised the watch at me, with an angry expression, and flipped it open. Nothing happened, which seemed to upset him. Not sure what he was expecting...

"Where's Oceana?" I demanded. "And what's the deal with the watch?"

Without saying anything, the man popped a pill into his mouth, then started convulsive, and then he dies. Damn it, I hate Oathbreakers.

"That sucks," I said, turning to Ciel and Terrence. "So how'd you guys catch up?"

"We, uh, had some help," Terrence said.

A man then stepped out of the shadows. I recognized his hooded coat immediately.

"I thought I said to keep that watch safe," the guy who bought me a drink at Sal's said.

"Sorry," I said, snatching the watch back up. "Shit got out of hand."

He sighed. "Try and do a better job with it," he said. Anyway, you should get that young girl somewhere safe. She looks ill."

I turned back to the girl who had stolen my bike. She did look feverish. Must've been the Doctor's doing.

Anyway, we got her back to Mine and Terrence's place. She's sleeping right now, and Ciel's looking over her. I've got some questions for her once she wakes up, but for now, I need some sleep too.