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The moon hangs high tonight, reflecting off the cool water of the ocean near the pier. Dozens of unattended warehouses line the area, more than likely full of goods imported from the mainland. Squatting near the edge of one of these warehouses is a duo of demons. One appears to be a short pink cat-rabbit creature, while the other is a towering canine-like being with fur matching the night sky and almost glowing golden claws, horns, and fangs.
“This is the spot right?” whispers the pink demon. “I don’t see anyone.” He looks up to his partner who towers above him, but he doesn’t utter a word. Instead, he seems intently focused on something as he closes his eyes and bows his head. His pointed ears flick and rotate, searching for a sound, any sound, before giving an annoyed sigh through his nose.
“I don’t hear anyone either, Half-Breed.” He crosses his arms as he leans coolly along the warehouse’s outer wall. His massive, fluffy tail sweeps around to cover and hide his glowing toe claws. “However, Kein has never been wrong before. Something is off.”
“Perhaps we should look around?” Without waiting for a response, the cabbit falls down to all fours and starts slinking around the corner. As he proceeds, his body shifts and morphs from a bipedal form to a quadruped creature with pitch black fur. His bright blue eyes vanish as his face elongates and horns bloom from where his eyes used to be, alight with an eerie bluish glow. The half-breed zooms through the pier, sniffing the air and stopping only long enough to hold his head high to turn his head as if searching for something with his nonexistent eyes.
Eventually, he seems satisfied by something and silently dashes back to the other demon. “I found something. It’s afraid. It might be what we are looking for.”
The taller creature reaches down and pets the head of the half-breed and even idly brushes his hand against one of its horns, sending a shiver down its spine. “Good boy.” He coos, almost mockingly. “Lead the way.”
The creature does retaliate with a snarl but still silently walks away, only stopping to turn his head and make sure his partner is following. The duo quietly make their way past several shut warehouses until they stop before an unassuming building, no different than the rest. “In here.” The half-breed whispers.
The taller demon nods then places a hand on the building’s shutter. He closes his eyes and the ink splatter-like markings that adorn his body shift and flow down his arm and coat the wall with a large pentagram that once existed on his back. When he opens his eyes, the sigil shatters and reveals a large portal with a peculiar golden rim that falls like stardust. Through the portal, the two can see into the warehouse and spot a blue, seemingly melting creature tied up and leaning against a pillar of boxes. It notices the two, its large ears flopping as it turns its head in shock.
“It looks…” The tall demon begins his thought as he turns to the half-breed. However, the feral creature doesn’t return the glance, but rather the glow of its horns flicker before he rears up and tackles the demon to the ground.
“Look out!”
Just as the two hit the ground, the portal closes and an explosion of fire takes its place. The half-breed jumps off the demon and takes a defensive stance in front of him as he growls at the creator of the surprise attack.
A fox with sandy blonde fur slowly claps his hands as he walks forward, out of the darkness. He looks down at the two of them with a look of superiority and flicks a strand of his curly mane out of his face. “Good reaction. Bad foresight.”
“A trap.” The half-breed barks back with a snarl, his twin tails flicking like mad.
“Obviously.” He says with a roll of his eyes. “While I’m glad I get to meet the massive thorns on our side, I’m surprised to see exactly who is involved.” A spine-chilling grin flashes across his face. “There’s no use hiding, love. I know you’re there.” A silence befalls the three.
“What?” The tall demon rises to his feet and looks down at the fox. “Who are you talking about?”
“I’m not talking to you!” A flash of frustration is the only warning the two get before he leaps up and comes crashing down upon them with a palm engulfed in flame. The half-breed manages to react in time and grabs the taller demon by the arm with his maw and drags him out of the way. The fox stands up with a sigh and brushes off his hand against his jeans, scattering cinders in the process. “Come on, hun. The cold shoulder treatment isn’t very nice.” He turns back around with a gentle smile that doesn’t fit the malice in his eyes. Even the half-breed whines while backing away from him. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten me after all this time. I haven’t forgotten you. Not even for a moment. My dear, Asmo-.”
My fist collides with his muzzle and drives his skull into the concrete. An explosion of dirt and dust coat fills the air as I lift my hand up just enough to grip him by his neck and drag him through the mini crater I created and form a canal as I drag him through the ground before gathering a bit more inertia with a twirl and throwing his worthless body into the warehouse.
“You have no right to call me that!” I watch as his body crashes through the warehouse, busting down the door and revealing the goods and gooey creature inside, who naturally jumps at the sudden intrusion. I can feel every strand of burgundy fur on my body stand on end as fury flows through my veins. I look back at the two demons who stare at the vixen that had suddenly appeared before them.
“Azalea?” The half-breed breathes a sigh of relief as he looks up at me rather innocently. “I’m guessing you know that guy?”
"I wish I didn't." I bark back. He flinches and cowers under my aggressive presence to which I sigh and calm down a bit. "Sorry, Kadin. You two should probably stay out of this." I turn back around and stare down the rising fox. As expected, he's unphased by my attack and brushes off a bit of the dust from his body. I steel my body as I squat down to prepare for a fight. "This is personal."
I feel the concrete below me give way under each step as I bolt toward the fox with a head on assault. "Luci!" I roar as I rear up for a punch. I'm not stupid enough to think such a telegraphed attack would connect. While he smirks as he side steps me, I keep the momentum going and swivel around to give a fierce kick to his side with enough force to send him barrelling into a pile of crates. I give a nod to the gelatin creature who immediately understands and runs as fast as he can away.
"So, you go by, Azalea now?" An intense wave of heat makes me flinch as a ball of flame flies at my face. With no time to dodge, I bear the brunt of the attack. It singes my fur and burns my face, but the real pain comes from the sheer force of the attack, nearly knocking me off my feet. "Does that mean you hate the name I gave you, my dear?" I brush the ash from my face and glare at the advancing fox. His arms are wide open as he smiles while walking towards me.
"Obviously." I say through gritted teeth. "It's your fault I was locked up in that damned flower. Why would I keep that name as a reminder of the man who stabbed me in the back? Honestly, I wish I had never seen you again!" I grab a nearby box and lug it at him only for him to easily swat it aside with a dismissive flick of his wrist.
"As happy as I am to see you again, I'm afraid the feeling is mutual." He raises his hand as it's engulfed in a sinister purple and black flame. His eyes direct towards my side, an easy tell. In an instant, he throws a fan of flames at me to the opposite side forcing me to dodge to where he glanced. A kick rises to meet me, but I preemptively hold my hands out and grab his leg. "Ah." He manages to squeeze out before I pull him towards me, knocking him off balance. While I go to deliver another punch to his pretty, perfect muzzle, I notice a flash of purple from behind me.
"Azzy! Look out!" A voice calls out and from the fox's eyes, I see a pink, long eared creature jump in the path of the scorching fire. He cries out in pain and I can't help but wince myself, his pain searing my own chest to a lesser degree. However, it's not enough to stop me from finishing my attack and I pummel the fox into the ground. I can't keep him here though, I need to create distance so that I can make sure Kadin is okay. So, I grab the fox by his ankles and fling him out of the building and into the harbor.
"I thought I told you to stay out of it!" I turn to the rabbit who's curled in a ball on the floor. "Why do you keep doing stupid stuff like this?" I groan and kick him in the back. Not harshly, but just enough to elicit a groan from him.
"Are you okay?" He growls through gritted teeth.
"No! You're hurt. Of course I'm not okay." I shake my head and kneel beside him. He just laughs amidst the pain. "I don't get you sometimes."
"Ditto." He groans as he turns over. "I didn't think it would hurt this much."
"Really?" I turn to face this other voice, and as expected, Satan stands before us wet but unphased. His tail whips behind him in broad, agitated strokes. "Have you forgotten what hell is like?"
"Alright, this is getting ridiculous." I lay a hand on Kadin's side and take a deep breath. "Sorry, I didn't think I'd ever have to do this." I begin to concentrate and feel a warm pulse reverberate through his body before its pace quickens to align with my own. Once we are in sync, the warmth turns into a raging inferno that seeps out of the rabbit's form and into my own body. His twin feline tails vanish into an explosion of embers and leave behind a small little bunny tail. I, on the other hand, can feel his- no, my energy return to me, coursing through every muscle in my body and two of my tails return to me.
My senses enhance and I can see more of what's around me. The tall nameless demon from earlier is hunkered down with the gooey creature that was locked in the warehouse not far from here. Feral seagulls stare at the odd chaos happening at the docks. A single dragon races through the harbor. A golden fox watches as his old friend stands up to face him, her three tails lashing wildly with fury.
"Oh, I see." The fox claps his hands with a smile. "You gave up the majority of your power to that pitiful demon!" He looks to the rabbit, whose fur is now pitch black as he lays unconscious on the ground. "Now I wonder why you'd do that."
"You can keep wondering." I throw my hand out to the side and flames engulf my grasp before spreading out to form a sheathed fiery katana. I grab the handle of the blade and take a stance. "Go back to hell, Lucifer." He can't even manage to blink before I've unsheathed the blade and cleaved the
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entire space in two. He gasps as the sea divides in half and creates massive waves on each side. The ship behind him groans as it sags and slides apart as it begins to fill with water and sink to the bottom of the docks. I sheath the sword and with a sigh
revert the world back to normal. What once was a sinking boat seems unperturbed by the world around it. The water is as calm as ever. However, the fox falls to his knees with a smile.
"Good ol' Asmodeus." He looks up at me, the towering vixen who looks down on him with disgust and disdain. "Even after all these years and only at half of your usual power, your ability over perception is still honed to the same sharp edge as your blade." My eyes narrow and my hand never moves from the handle of my blade, ready to cut him down again within a fraction of a second. "This has been fun, my dear. However," he stands up straight and stretches his arms above him as his tail trashes and seems to leave copies of itself as it becomes nine different appendages, "play time's over."
He snickers as he holds his arms out to the sky and within an instant, a massive ball of blistering heat appears before us, easily dwarfing the size of the entire city and blotting out the moonlit sky. "Witness the combined power of hell and blessing of Suzaku!"
"Sora!" The moment a new voice calls out, the sun-sized ball of infernal fire disappears. Both of our heads turn to face a female dragon skidding to a halt near the destroyed warehouse. Her scales are dark gray which is contrasted by her almost glowing horns and fins along her tail. What's most interesting is that she's not the usual quadruped Royal Dragon, but rather a biped one who more resembles Kadin and I. "Cease this at once!"
Lucifer, or I suppose it's Sora now, groans and drops his arms. "Summons from Her Majesty?" The dragoness nods. "I suppose it's for the best. I had nearly gotten carried away." He places his hands in his pockets and calming walks away. "This will not be the last we meet, Asm- I mean, Azzy." He throws his head back and looks down at me with a wicked grin. "Kay? Love you, bye." In a sudden whirl of flame, he and the dragoness are gone, leaving me and my unconscious companion in a quiet pier.
How troublesome. He must have gone far too, I can't see through his eyes anymore. I feel a mixture of relief and unease, but decide to stomach them for now and pick up the unconscious black hare. With another deep breath, his feline tails return along with his usual vibrant pink fur. "Here you go, little buddy." With my abilities back in his grasp, he stirs in my arms for a bit.
"Please don't be sad, Azzy." He murrmurrs. "No. Carrots are fine in my salad. I can eat them…" I smile as he turns over in my arms and nuzzles himself into my grasp. Such an innocent child. I wish he didn't have to get involved in this. Yet, it seems our problems are intertwined after all…