The Raven 310 VTOL aircraft would fly swiftly out of the hanger from the Central Administration Building, even if it was damaged. The pilot was able to adjust the their Y-axis and maintain stability, even if the Raven would eventually have to make an emergency landing.
"We should be good for now, darlin" the pilot said in the back of rear cabin.
"Thanks, by the way. I didn't catch your name" Adriana asked.
"Name's Apollo. I've been serving your family since you were a little tyke. I met you before, but I reckon ya don't remember" Apollo stated.
"Wait, weren't you the guy who let Grief and me go on that one trip flight before?" Adriana said.
"Yup! That was me, of course Ivan wanted to come along with the ride, but I chauffeur " Apollo replied.
"Thanks, Apollo. What made you stay in my brother's Order anyways?" Adriana asked.
"Well quite frankly, I just enjoy flyin. It's nice and peaceful up here, not much for the hustle and bustle of the big city below" Apollo stated.
"Don't worry, if you can get me down safely, you won't have to worry about that city for very much long" Adriana replied.
"So uh, where do you want me to land?" Apollo asked.
"There's my apartment south of here, it's around the park with that shiny monument my brother made to his own ego" Adriana said.
"Right, I think...oh dear, we got multiple bandits incoming!" Apollo stated.
Adriana would look out the window to see in her terror two Order Inferno interceptor fighter craft closing in from the distance. These next generation fighters easily were able to keep up with an aging VTOL gunship as her heart would suddenly begin to race.
"We need to land, now! I don't care where, just get us downwards!" Adriana demanded.
"Rodger!" Apollo said as he would try to lower and make a vertical drop.
The one advantage Apollo's old Raven had over the infernos was that it could stop in mid air and proceed to land. However, it wouldn't be long before the Infernos would fire upon the Raven in strafing runs and used their advanced speed and maneuverability to turn around for another attack run.
"Hold on, I'm gonna give her an emergency landing!" Apollo said as Adriana would grab onto the safety brace and immediately buckled her seatbelt.
Adriana would look out the side to see in her horror, one of the Infernos had almost immediately turned around within moments and aimed before firing lasers at the second thruster on the other side. This would cause the Raven to spiral out of control and begin to dive towards the ground.
"Oh no! No! Grab onto somethin we're gonna crash!" Apollo let out as Adriana would clutch the book to her chest and brace for dear life.
Almost everyone in the city could see the huge spewing fireball of metal as it hurdled down for the street below. Thousands would look up in horror as this gunship was spiraling out of control and going to fall from the sky.
Apollo would pull back on throttle and try to make a crash landing in the middle of the roadway down below. In a last ditch effort, the pilot would yank back the throttle to make the Raven skid on it's belly as it landed. However, as he did so the impact of belly of the aircraft impacting the street would cause a shake so much that he would suffer a heart attack.
SCREECH! CRASH!
After several moments of screaming and closing her eyes, Adriana would open them to find that they were on solid ground, but the entire cabin was filled with smoke. She would grab the book and use her newly acquired enhanced strength to rip off the seatbelt before she would make her way to the cockpit.
"Hey, Apollo! I'm okay! I think we ma-" she called out before seeing his body hunched over.
"Apollo? Old man, can't you hear me?" she coughed as she tried to free him from his harness, only to find his eyes wide opened and his hand colds.
"No, no no no! Not now, Apollo! Wake up!" she tried to get him to wake up, but then as she moved her vixen ear over to his chest she'd realized his body was out cold.
"Dammit Grief! He was one of your own!" she let out as she punched a whole in the canopy.
Adriana began to tear up. She had no problem with people dying, but this man. He was truly loyal to her father. He saved her life, just for being Ivan's daughter. A tear went down her eye as she would move through the back cabin and use her enhanced strength to burst open the side hatch and crawl out of the wreckage while coughing.
She had little time, it could be very soon that the Civil Authorities would arrive on the crash site. The Raven didn't fall far from the C.A.B. Adriana would grab her book and try to stand upright before scurrying over towards a nearby alleyway. She wanted to help the pilot out, but she knew if she was fount she'd never get back to see her Sabrina ever again.
"Do not trouble yourself, bambina. His spirit has already left his body. There was, nothing you could do. Except, put all your anger into good use, si?" Aurelia talked into the back corners of her mind.
"With all due respect Nonna, shut up" Adriana said as she wept and would grab onto the side of the alleyway's dirty wall before trying to get her land legs back.
"So this is it Grief? You care about nobody but yourself. Not your sister, not your own loyal veteran soldiers. No one. Well then, let's see you care about your precious city once I'm done with it" Adriana muttered herself as she would grab the book and begin to walk deeper into the alleyway.
"Thanks for saving my life Apollo. May you rest well in the afterlife, you served my father until the bitter end" Adriana said as she would stop and glance at the wreckage which now had on spotlights from ahead on it.
Adriana would try to get some distance, but now she was lost and didn't know where her apartment was. She had to lay low and avoid the cops until she could ensure her darling Sabrina was safe. She lived in the southern part town, but she forgot which way the south was. She would head down deeper into the alleyway and begin to hop over the fence, but when she tried to climb the fence would completely collapse under her weight causing her to fall to the ground with a crash.
"Oh right, I have Grief's powers but all his inhibitions as well" she told herself as she would grab her book and get off the ground.
As nightfall fell, Adriana would try to cover the book in her hands with her tattered cape and come out of the alleyway. The issue was now Order patrols were heightened and she had to evade them so she could find a way back home. She wanted to make Grief and the Order suffer, but so long as Sabrina's life were in jeopardy she couldn't risk being caught in another firefight.
"Maybe if I take the subway. I mean I would be in an enclosed space, but the Order wouldn't suspect it" Adriana muttered to herself that eve as she would head towards a nearby subway terminal.
Adriana would head towards the subway station while clutching the book. While it was normally very dangerous for a lady such as herself to travel alone that night, she was not a normal lady. She had no fear in her heart as she traveled that cold night, just anger in her heart. Anger at Grief, anger at Sherly, anger at Herman, and anger to every one who who simply pissed her off.
Eventually, she would reach the subway terminal. Adriana walked up to the terminal she could see a darker pigmented cat man standing at the fare booth. He looked bored and clearly unhappy to be there at that night, but neither was Adriana as she walked right towards the sliding bars of the turnstile. As she tried to step forwards he stopped her.
"Hey lady, you got to buy a ticket first!" the feline man said.
"Oh, do I?" She said as she would clutch her book and reach down before she grabbed the metal turnstile and literally bending it and ripping it off with a loud noise.
"The hell?" the man said
Screech! Crack!
She would then walk back up to the booth while carrying the bent chunk of metal that was part of the metal turnstile. She placed it right outside of the booth and gave him a stare. The man was in awe that she was able to just rip that huge chunk of steel right off.
"What do you think?" she said she turned her head and gave him a sassy tone.
"I mean, go on through" he simply said.
"Good boy" she said as she simply dropped the turnstiles' husk of metal and simply walked over and right over to it before enlarging to ten feet and simply ripping the turnstile right off as she stomped angerly towards the subway.
"I don't get paid enough for this job" the man stated to himself.
She would revert back to normal as she would open the door of the subway and get aboard it. Adriana would sit in the middle and away from a window as to not be easily seen as the subway would automatically close the doors and take off. She needed some peace and quiet, everything has been going far too fast now and she just wanted some peace to formulate her next move.
"I'm coming Sabrina, I'll make that squirrel pay for separating us two. I promise you" she said to herself as she relax and begin to read her book.
Because Adriana was a anthro fox, it meant that she was nocturnal and thus the night was still very much young to her. She would begin to open the book and read some pages in order to enter a meditation like state. While this wasn't the best place to study the power of the book, she needed something to put her mind at ease.
However, eventually a hand would reach out and grab the book ending her trance. It looks like some scum have laid their hands on the book and tried to yank it away from her.
"Whatcha got here, doll? Why a pretty thing like you reading an old thing like that?" she heard from one of them.
There where three men, one a weasel, the other a bobcat, and one was of course, a rat. She looked up at the bobcat who grabbed her book and gave him a cold death stare. Clearly they were more hooligans looking for trouble. She didn't want them to damage the page, so she looked the bobcat right in the eye.
"If you want to continue living in the next ten seconds, you will take your hand off this book, and walk away. I will be counting" Adriana stated.
"Ooh, little girl got sass" the bobcat stated.
"One" she said as she reached out and grab ahold of his arm
She simply grasped onto his arm, letting her anger and the power she stole from Grief do the talking. With a simple twist of his arm the man would let out a loud cry.
"Fuck!" the anthro bobcat called out as he let go of the book and reeled back.
"Fuck bitch, what you doing to my homie?" the weasel asked her as the rat would take out a pistol, but a crudly made kinetic one.
"Two" Adriana said as she would stand upright and suddenly enlarge enough to where she would be around eight feet tall, making her head barely touch the ceiling of the train.
"Y-you're a freak like Grief!" the rat said pointing at her with his pistol
"No, I am beyond Grief now. Three" she said as she slapped the pistol right out of his hand.
"Run,now" Adriana stated coldly.
At this all three of them took a hint and began to flee into the other train cars. The train was stopping however, and instead of going after the hoodlums', she decided it was time to make her stop. She'd grab the book while slightly enlarged and wait for the train car to come to a full stop before kicking down the door with her extra-large red heel as she did with the ones in the C.A.B.
"This is my stop" she said as she leaped out of the train with the book and onto the walkway.
People would begin to stare at this amazon size of an vixen. However, she would revert back to her normal 4ft size and place her ruined cape over her book as she would continue to walk down the walkway, with the park she would speak to the birds in sight.
"I'm coming Sabrina" Adriana muttered to herself.
Eventually, Adriana would make it to her apartment. However, upon entering her room she'd find a note on her kitchen table. She would pick it up and read it.
"Adriana, this is Alicia. We need to talk, I have Sabrina with me. Please, just stay calm and meet me in the alleyway where 'you know what' happened."
"Damn that squirrel! I will make her pay for this!" she said as she crumpled up the note and stormed out of her apartment.
Adriana would head down the walk way between her library and her apartment. She wanted to leave her book in her apartment, but it was clear the Order knew where it would be located now. No, no more hiding Adriana thought. It was time to settle the score with that scrawny princess turned Grief's lapdog. If Alicia harmed one hair on Sabrina, Adriana would make her suffer just like Grief will.
"I'm coming for you, princess" Adriana muttered to herself as she would head down the alleyway.
Adriana would watch the catwalks and skyline, she half-way expected snipers or a setup, but with her powers. That wouldn't be a problem anymore. She just tore through twenty of Grief's finest stormtroopers, what was a few measly cops to the now enhanced witch?
Eventually, Adriana would see her in the corner with Sabrina. Yet there was no sign of her gun drawn, or any backup. Adriana would still put her book behind her as she would walk up to meet Alicia.
"L-look Adriana. I know you're mad. I just want to have the chance to talk to you is all. There's nobody around me, I promise" Alicia said shivering half-way in the cold of the night.
"Sabrina, hand her over to me now" she said as Adriana's eyes began to glow bright green and her hair would flow in a supernatural manner.
"Sure thing, Sabrina g-go to your mistress. You two have been separated for far too long" Alicia stated as she let go of Sabrina and the chao would hover over to towards Adriana.
Adriana would quickly wrap Sabrina around her arm, if Alicia had any sort of funny trap. She'd be willing to react in a moment's notice. Sabrina would begin to cuddle the bosom of her master. As much as Adriana wanted to pet her after this horrible night, she had business to deal with.
"I heard and saw the crash Adriana. Y-you must have been through a lot this night. Quite frankly I'm surprised you're still alive" Alicia said.
"Alive? HA! I'm better than ever, now no one can stop me! Not Grief, not his little pink cat bitch Sherly! Not his soldiers, and not even you! Sabrina, hold onto the book. Madre is about to get a little payback" she said as Adriana would give Sabrina the book and let her go before stepping forwards.
"Don't even think of attacking her, I have Grief's powers now. All of it. I can grind your bones to make my bread!" Adriana said as she neared and would slowly begin to grow larger as Sabrina watched in confusion.
"Chao?" Sabrina said, now even scared of her own owner.
"Wait Adriana! Stop!" Alicia said, as she would begin to cower and get onto her knees.
"I'm not your enemy anymore! I-I want to serve you! I took good care of Sabrina, honest! She was fed the best food I could get on the force! Y-you were right all along Adriana. Grief is a has-been, serving under him has been a nightmare even for me! His power, it's much more deserving for a woman such as yourself!" Alicia replied.
"So, you want to serve me?" Adriana asked.
"Y-yes, Scourge and Grief are nothing compared to you!" Alicia said while she shivered.
"Sabrina, please hand me the book"
"Chao" Sabrina then hovered over and gave it to her.
"I summon you, Aurelia"
"Chao dearie, what is it now?" Aurelia stated as she was suddenly summoned.
"See this mortal? She shall make a fine host. She's all yours, nonna Aurelia" Adriana said.
"Molto Bene!" Aurelia said as she would hover around Alicia.
"W-wait, what are you doing? Who's Aurelia?!?" Alicia asked.
"You are now, I hereby bind my nonna's spirit to your body, and soul" Adriana said as she smirked
"W-wait! No! You can't do, whatever you're doing you can-!" Suddenly, Alicia would feel something enter her. Some sort of dark presence.
"You wanted me to show you my magic Alicia, whelp now you get a taste" Adriana said as she smirked fiendishly.
Alicia's eyes would glow red, she would shiver and spasm as she cried out in terror, if only for an instant. In a blink of an eye, she would simply stand there as a marionette on a string. Alicia would soon twitch and spasm as she would begin to stand upright and smile in a creepy manner with her eyes glowing bright red.
"Oh bambina, this is a surprise! A gift for a gift indeed!" Aurelia said within Alicia's body.
"Of course, while everyone else in this miserable world has betrayed me. You have stayed loyal to our families true destiny, so now you may walk among the living nonna Aurelia".
"Grazie dearie, it is good to be able to move after so long" Aurelia stated.
"Indeed, just know. If you ever even get a second to contemplate to betray me. I now have the power in me to simply dispose of that weak mortal body you inherit" Adriana, threatened.
"Si si, bambina! After all, it is di legacy of your familiga that you crush these worms! I will merely sit back and enjoy di fun!" Aurelia said while laughing and flexing her fingers to fully get used to the articulation.
"Good, stay loyal to me and we'll not only tear this puny world apart, but even that other one as well" Adriana replied as she would go over and cuff Sabrina in her hands before hugging her and giving her a kiss on the forehead as she teared up.
