Seth was pacing his office. He'd been doing that quite a lot recently. Too many thoughts were flooding into his mind. Max, money, travis' predicament, Rose's storming out, this battle, etc.

The only way he knew to keep his mind busy was to work on a gun. He inspected that ivory handled pistol. The crafstmanship was remarkable. The slide stuck a little, but other than that, it worked fine. A little grease would take care of that.

Now that he did that, Seth sat back, mentally preparing himself.

Rose walked into his office.

"Knock knock."

"Hey Rose. What's troubling you?"

Years of leading troops gave Seth a reasonable amount of skill at reading peoples faces.

"All of us are going to die."

The small vial felt like it was burning a hole into her skin.

Seth looked up at her. What a pessimistic cynic.

"Rose, you've lived for a long time, yet you've learned nothing about the human race. So we don't have that power you can boast. What we have is versatility and determination. Surely you've seen miraculous victories." Seth let the slide of a pistol slide forward.

"And those two are old friends of yours. I'll go down myself before I let them die."

"I'm not planning on any of you staying alive."

She pulled out the serum, holding it up so he could see.

"Rose, no offense, but you are the most pessimistic, hopeless, unwise immortal I can imagine. Put some faith into us. You'd be amazed at what two humans, a lycan, and a mix can accomplish. Especially when big guns, adrenaline, and perserverance are involved."

Rose just sighed.

"My god Rose. We lived for this moment. Our entire fight has been about decapitating the head of the snake. You knew this moment would come."

"I thought I'd be ready."

Travis moved slilently. Of all the animals he would become, this was the most ironic. An odd though crossed his mind. He pushed it aside. His eyesight was sharp, and the cold night air did little to hide the activity of the city. He could hear babies crying, gentleman laughing, and several conversations he shouldnt have listened too.

His paws were soft, and he tread so silently, they never heard him coming. Even though he was the biggest one he had ever seen, he was quieter than a mouse. He could see the door creaked open. Seth and Rose argued inside.

He half smiled, half growled. He sniffed the air and his whiskers shuffled. He could smell...fear. It was coming from Seths office. He became worried. They doubted the mission...or maybe they doubted him. He slunk over the the door, his massive striped body blending so seamlessly with the dark night, he was invisible, although his white fur should have stood out.

His green eyes shot toward the door, and he heard Seth insulting Rose. He grew angry, but figured Seth had a good reason. He decided to drop onto his honches and listen to the conversation.

"None of us are ready. But we're still going to give hope, and we're still going to act." Seth hadn't meant to get this angry, but he couldn't help it.

Rose stayed quiete.

Travis couldn't let the the two of them flip out on each other. He nudged the door open with his great white head and purred.

They seemed terrrifyed at first that White Siberian Tiger ahd just tromped into the the room, but by the look on Roses' face, she had a vauge idea it was Travis.

"H-Hi."

She knelt down, eyes wide.