Ones Who Bump Back ~ A Hellboy Fanfic (Abe Sapien x OC)

Chapter 11: Labyrinth

The sound of an oncoming train horn rang through my ears before speeding away behind us. Abe was leading the team, stretching out his hand to sense his surroundings, followed by Clay and Hellboy, who had lit up a cigar.

I trailed behind them just in case something were to come behind us, as I was one of the more cautious agents who could easily fend off a supernatural creature, unlike Agent Quarry and Agent Moss, who also tagged along. Even though they were experienced and were some of our best human agents who hadn't been killed yet, we still didn't want to risk their safety with a god-like creature on the loose.

Abe thought for a moment before proceeding forward, waving his hand in front of him to signal for us to move forward, "Over here."

"You said those eggs need it dark and humid? Well, they hit the jackpot," Quarry stated, "The subway lines, they all converge right around here. Right below us is the old Vandeveer reservoir, which was abandoned in the mid-thirties."

As I began to shine my light in the corridors, I caught sight of Abe's still wandering hand, feeling for a presence that would lead us to the eggs. I, too, tried using my senses to see if I could find a disturbance, but nothing seemed to come to me. It could take forever to find them in this labyrinth.

Fortunately, I stood corrected as Abe paused, pointing to one of the brick walls at Hellboy. "There's a pulse. There, a cistern on the other side. Most of the eggs are there." Red knew what he was asking him to do, sauntering towards it. Abe glanced over to me and I nodded, ushering Clay, Moss, and Quarry away.

Clay ticked up a brow as he looked at me before turning to Moss, "There's no way in. We should go back and request a special permit, type two--"

A long clash rang through my ears, and I saw my demon friend bursting the wall open with his stone hand. When he finished, I almost laughed at the sight of the other agents' bewildered expressions, and Red smirked, "You guys coming or what?"

Abe and I followed with ease while the others hesitated for a moment. I saw a cover that led to the reservoir, and my face scrunched up at the thought that came to me, "Are the eggs in there?"

"Precisely," Abe verified, with Red grasping onto the lid, pulling it off to release an intrusion of cockroaches from below, which I flinched at the sight of as they scurried away in hiding. Abe observed the situation, knowing that he was the only one who could breathe underwater, having to swim in what had now become a dirty pool of water, possibly even sewage, to find the eggs. He looked at the large demon with defeated eyes, sarcastically stating, "We lead a charmed life."

Red and I hummed in agreement, with the former cracking two light sticks before dropping them into the dark waters below. I watched as the bright orange glow faded away as it sank further down.

Abe got down to business, stripping down to just his skin-tight black shorts and belt, as it was easier for him to swim when his fins and webbing weren't constricted by clothing. I put my hand to the side of my face to avoid watching, but I had to admit I caught a glance once or twice out of curiosity. 

Thankfully, throughout the years, we had adjusted our belts to be water-proof, as well as adding a tracking beacon and distress call which became helpful when agents were far away on missions and had no other way of communicating. These upgrades even helped save some of our agents lives occasionally.

My eyes wandered across Abe's figure, remembering every marking that ran along his torso, observing the muscles across his whole body. Despite not reaching Hellboy's state, he was still fairly fit, and could potentially be just as strong as Red, holding his own just as easily. 

Many of Abe's attacks involved kicks and spins, which was reasonable as his legs were undoubtedly the most powerful part of his body. This was mainly due to the endless hours of swimming he does daily. I made note of his unique fighting style, which was quite elegant and almost looked like a form of dance. Abe was always in motion, which was quite effective in many battles he took part in. He liked to describe this style of his as being part martial arts, part ballet. He called it the 'Way of the Water,' which I thought was a pretty accurate name for it. I'm sure if he were to come across Sammael when he was down there, he would put those skills to use.

I seemed to break out of my trance when Red dug his hand in one of his coat pockets to pull out a small container attached to a string. "Here you are, Doctor, this should cover your tail fin," he said, handing it to Abe, "Reliquary, straight from the Vatican."

I cleared my throat, "What exactly is it though?"

"A bone from Saint Dionysius. Looks like a pinkie," he clarified as Abe tied the string around his wrist, "As long as he has it, he should be able to get out of there in no time."

I nodded my head as Abe sighed, having finished tying the string, "Remind me why I keep doing this."

"Rotten eggs and the safety of mankind?" Hellboy offered, making me chuckle. Abe would pretty much do anything for either of those. Abe shrugged as he turned on his locator. He looked at us one final time before disappearing into the nearly black waters below.

"Hey, Quarry and I are going to scout around the train tracks. You three can look around the cistern," Moss called to us before they walked away as I gave them a thumbs up.

After wandering around some of the nearby halls, I returned to see Red throwing the light sticks around the place to both give us some light and to hopefully ward off Sammael from causing havoc.

I let my tail swish behind me steadily as I observed Clay running his fingers through his dark hair, "This doesn't really look like doll's hair. Red, Wolf, be honest, what do you think?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "Well, it doesn't look bad if that's what you're thinking."

The corners of Red's mouth curled in a smile as he cracked another stick, tossing it aside, "I'm thinking about doing it myself." He clicked one of the channels on his belt, turning on his radio, "Hey, you guys find anything or what?"

"No eggs yet, Red," Moss' voice came through the receiver.

"What, are you on lunch break?" Red joked. 

I began to zone out of the conversation, feeling something approaching us. It was an unfamiliar presence, and it wasn't who we came looking for. As I began frantically turning, catching the attention of Clay, my sensitive ears caught the sound of gears winding together.

I looked up to see a dark figure standing in front of Red, who hadn't even noticed them yet. The figure tilted its head as I stared at its expressionless mask. Red glanced over and saw my terrified face, the fur on my ears and tail standing up, "What is it, Viv?"

I couldn't find the words, but only gesture to look in front of him. He soon bolted after the figure, who rushed down the hallway.

"Hellboy wait!" I called, trying my best to keep up with him, and Clay not far behind me. Something seemed to take over me. I didn't know why I chased after Red, as he could take this thing on by himself. I should've stayed behind and made sure Abe, Quarry, and Moss were alright while Clay could go after him. But, I told myself I'd be fine going against my gut, knowing that they'd be fine without us. I was convinced that it would be better if I stayed with Clay rather than leaving him to fend for himself in this labyrinth.

Something just seemed wrong. Why was a guy in a dark suit, breastplate, and mask down here? Was he trying to divert our attention or lead us to something as we chased after him?