When she'd first seen the body of Professor Broom, she'd felt frozen.
Like her blood had frozen into spikes in her veins and was pricking her with guilty thoughts.
You could've saved him if you'd stayed…
You could've done something…
Once her blood thawed, her energy had lashed out like blades from her skin in instant denial, but…
There was so much blood…
And he wasn't moving…
Denial soon turned to tears, and she would've ran if she didn't know how much more pain Hellboy was in.
Instead of her reaction, he actually fell into a silence spell.
Not saying a word, seeing him hugging his father, she managed to hug his arm.
At the funeral, the sky seemed to be crying, cleaning her salty tears from her cheeks.
Her and Hellboy couldn't actually GO, but they watched the car as it left with the Professor's body.
Normally, she wouldn't stay out in the rain.
She was part cat, after all, and hated it with a passion, but she decided that some 'punishment' for not being there for that wise old man was in order.
She eventually went inside, but stayed in her hammock, alternately staying silent and crying.
The only thing that dragged her from her state was a mission to Moscow.
Feeling it was more of a chance to redeem herself, she spent a whole day setting out all her weapons.
Her katana, the blades in the heels of her boots, the shin, thigh, and arm guards in her leather jacket and pants, sharpened needles in the device she'd modified to put on her wrist, hidden kunai in pouches on the inside of her jacket and boots, two hand-held guns filled with bullets, and a sharp-tipped black whip curled up on her belt.
She even took the time to sharpen her large claws to dangerous points.
What she REALLY didn't enjoy was being in a crate with Hellboy, on a VERY bumpy road while on the way there...
"Sparky to Big Red and Pink. How are you doing back there?"
Both demons look confused.
"Sparky? Who came up with that one? Myers?"
Kit snickered, looking back at her Superman comic book.
The crate bounced, and both hit their heads on the wood.
"OW!"
Ears back, she rubbed her head.
Suddenly, they stopped.
Before Kit could ask what was up, one of the walls was pulled off.
"You'd better come out and see this." Liz stated in the snow.
The cat-girl jumped out, shivering at the breeze, before looking at the mighty gate guarding the cemetery.
"…WHOA…"
She glared at Manning before jumping over the wall.
Dusting snow off her shoulders, she looked around.
"Now where is Rasputin's mausoleum…?"
She rolled her eyes as Manning tried ordering them, and leaned on a tree.
"Let me ask for directions."
Manning seemed confused as Hellboy walked off.
"…What did he say?"
"You'll see." She answered, carving a design into the bark with her pointer claw.
After a while, the red demon came back, the top part of a corpse on his back.
"…Do you have a dead guy on your back?"
"Yep."
"Good…I thought I was going crazy…"
"Sixty feet further, comrades."
"And three rows in."
Kit sighed.
"…To think that talking dead guys still freaks me out…But I sure as HELL am not getting close enough to smell him!"
"What? Are ya scared?" Red teased.
"No! But it smells disgusting!"
To make her point, Kit wrinkled her nose in disgust and covered it with both 'paws'.
He shrugged.
"What do ya say, Evan?"
"That way, Big Red Monkey!" The body shouted in Russian.
The cat-girl smirked.
"I like him already…"
SMACK!!
"OW!!"
Rubbing the back of her head, where a certain stone hand had swatted her, she pouted.
"I was kidding! JEEZE!"
"Just come on, kid."
Ears back and still rubbing the sore spot, she followed her large red friend towards the strange building.
"He says there's a maze of tunnels down there that go on for miles…" Hellboy informed as everyone followed him down the stairs.
"Is it safe?" Myers asked worriedly.
"As long as we stay together."
Kit, now standing in the room next to Hellboy, IMMEDIATELY felt jinxed…
The walls pointed with spikes flew up quickly, and she had to jump onto Hellboy's side to avoid being pierced.
Tail wrapped around her waist as the spikes came out of the wall, she breathed out.
"…Thanks for the jinx, Red…"
He just rolled his eyes at her, making her stick out her tongue.
"Ya okay, Sparky?"
"Yeah. What now, Red?"
"Tell everyone to turn on their locators. We can meet up on the way. And if there's trouble?"
"I'll say 'Marco'."
"Polo."
Kit just smiled, finally putting her feet on the ground.
"Do you think this'll work?" Myer's voice asked.
"On a scale of one to ten? Two. But don't worry, Boy Scout. She'll take care of ya. She's a tough one."
Looking through the only door, Kit walked through warily, looking at the stone bridge and the empty space around and below it.
"Okay, rule one…NO ONE makes me jump…"
She glared at Hellboy, whose free hand was poised to grab her tail.
"'Cause if I go down, I'm bringing you with me…"
With that said, she moved out of the doorway, standing near the middle of the stone bridge and looking around.
Hearing something creak, the half-demon looked back to see Hellboy looking over the edge of a rusting railing.
When he took his weight off, it did a free-fall onto stone.
'…Note to self: Don't touch anything…'
"How ya doing up there, Evan?"
"If I had legs, I'd kick your ass!"
Kit snickered as the demon rolled his eyes, turning to the agent behind him.
"Would ya mind holding him for a while? He's SO negative…"
The entry they'd just passed through seemed to close itself off, much to Manning's panic, and Kit turned to walk in the other direction.
"You! Stay put!"
She stopped, only to turn her head to give the man a disbelieving look.
"And get killed? No thank you!"
The agent couldn't seem to decide who to obey, even as Hellboy went to join her.
"We go back! You two can take that door apart!"
"Whatever it is, it's coming for us! We've got to move forward!" Red argued.
"Trust us on this one. We've been on more field missions than you, Manning."
The man seemed to grow red in the face, stepping toward them in a supposed-to-be intimidating fashion.
"I'm in charge! And I am not afraid of you!"
Kit quirked an eyebrow.
"Who said anything about scaring you? I'm trying to reason with a very angry man."
"We go back-!"
A weight, like a giant pendulum, smacked the stone, agent, and corpse right out from behind him, scaring Manning.
Her ears perked when she heard the far door start closing, and she grabbed him.
"Come on!"
Turning, she ran as fast as she could, luckily sliding through under it.
Hearing the pendulum crash through stone, she waited worriedly for Hellboy.
That is…until he slid in and crushed her against a wall…
"Can't…Breathe!"
Getting up, he sighed.
"Baby…"
"You were crushing my lungs!" She retorted, lowering her voice when her sensitive ears caught the sounds of music.
Putting a finger to her lips before he could retort, she stood up, looking down the strange hallway.
The walls and ceilings had spikes, but there was a thin passageway to go through, and Kroenen was sitting there, listening to music on the far end.
Her ears went back, and her fangs bit into her lip.
"HB, you go first."
"Why me?"
"You can take punishment, and can use your big-ass gun in an enclosed space."
"…Darn ya and yer logic…"
She just grinned, waiting for him to go in first.
With Manning behind her, she tried to keep a constant pace, when a startled 'OW' made her cringe.
Both demons turned to glare at the human.
"I'm NEVER taking you on a stealth mission." Kit whispered, turning back around.
She noticed something was wrong, and followed her friend into an 'empty' room.
'You can't fool me…' She thought darkly, 'paws' on the hilts at her waist.
Hearing Manning cry out, she whipped around.
'Dang it!'
She blocked his blades with her own, throwing him off.
"Why not fight someone who can hit back?"
Twirling her blades, she smirked.
Metal clanged against metal, causing sparks to fly, and the two moved so fast, everything became a blur of movement and sound.
There was a pause, showing the cat-girl with a slight cut on her cheek, dripping only a single ruby tear, and Kroenen with his stomach cut open, sand pouring out.
His blade went for her neck, but she bent back until her hands hit the floor, dodging it.
Bringing her feet up in a scissor-kick, the blade flew from his hand and clattered to the floor.
Standing up again, she heard him laughing.
"What's so funny, you Nazi son of a-?"
The floor opened in the middle of the room, sending Hellboy and Manning nearly falling, the latter clinging to the edge and pulling himself out, as the former caught hold of a rope.
"…HELL no…"
Hearing spikes appear, she turned to make sure no one was hurt.
That earned her a cut above her eye, which bled heavily.
Closing her eye and feeling slightly blinded, she bared her fangs in an angry hiss as her open eye darkened to obsidian and her hair shimmered to black.
"You just wrote your will, buddy…" She growled, blades glowing.
"Sakura Heika…"
Positioning herself, she crossed her blades.
"Sakura Rendan!"
The attack sent him flying back, and into the hole, which Hellboy had managed to pull himself out of.
Stuck on the spikes, Kit looked down at him, glaring, as the sound of sifting sand filled her ears.
Red came up behind her with a giant gear held over his head.
"Nighty-Night, pinhead…"
He threw it in, and there was a clang as it hit the spikes.
The cat-girl breathed out, her hair turning silver as her eyes turned more blue.
A pink glow lined her cuts, and the blood seemed to flow back in before closing.
Looking up at her comrades, she smiled softly.
"Some ass, huh?"
Hellboy shrugged.
"At least he's gone."
She couldn't help but agree, but she knew so much more was ahead; she felt it twist in her heart like a struggling snake.
With a sigh, she stood up, wiping some sweat off her forehead as Hellboy tried to light a cigar.
She watched silently as Manning helped him, giving him a wooden match instead.
The smallest of smiles crossed her face, but she turned around before anyone saw it.
"We've gotta look for the others."
"Got it, kid."
The two started walking, but Manning seemed confused.
"What about me?"
Instead of the irritated look she'd adopted giving to him, she just smiled.
"You stay here and out of trouble. We'll search for the others."
The passageways were dark, but her eyes seemed to glow as she looked around.
'Night-vision SO rocks…'
Faint voices reached her, and her ears perked, seeming to widen.
"Found 'em, kid?"
"They're close…"
Moving as silently as she was able, she was able to identify voices as they got louder.
"We found Liz and Myers…"
She stopped, smirking.
"We're right on top of them…"
Still moving, she skidded to a stop when she heard Liz's voice.
"Marco! Marco! Get your big red butt over here!"
"Below us!"
A large stone fist started smashing through the ground.
'No need for dynamite…'
Hearing the debris hit water…
Actually, she HOPED it was water…
Made her pull out her claws and pull rock away.
Then the stone gave way, sending both demons down.
Kit herself was lucky enough to miss the piles of rock, and rolled head-over-heels in…green water?
"…EW…"
She stood up, tail and ears dripping, to glare at the many Sammael.
With a feral grin and needles poking over her knuckles, she took a stance.
"…Bring it…"
Movements were blurred, blood was spilled, angry cries tried to be heard over the splashing water.
Even with all of her blades, she was still mortal…
Destructable…
Even with her energy healing her wounds, she was losing too much blood…
Pain from numerous bite wounds and claw marks jolted her numbing nervous system…
She heard Liz's panicked shout, heard the snarling creatures…
Closing her eyes, she did the only thing she felt would work…
"Sakura Toku…"
Pink, like wavering smoke, shielded her in time…
But from what, she never really knew…
--
Blue eyes fluttered open to the sound of rattling chains, and her ears perked drowsily as her vision tried to come into focus.
"It seems the little Halfling is finally awake…" A Russian-sounding voice said near her.
Trying to move, she found her wrists and ankles bound with stout chain, and strange markings written on her skin.
Her jacket was so torn it exposed her armor and weapons, which were now gone and replaced by the strange black letters.
Looking up, she saw who she suspected was the cause of all this trouble.
Ears laid back and tail bristling, she hissed, fangs bared.
She felt something…wrong with him, felt it deep inside, and she cringed back as he tried to touch her.
"Don't be afraid, dark angel…"
She glared.
"I'm a half-demon, for future reference." She snapped.
He seemed to find that amusing.
"But your other half?"
"Human."
"I'm afraid you're mistaken. You are what most call a 'Kuro-Mitsukai', a 'Dark Angel'. You are a mix between light and dark, good and evil…Angel and demon…"
Her ears stiffened as she tried to inch away.
"And you, in particular, are the last barrier to the gate."
Confused and wary, she saw the stone on the other side of the room, her two bound friends, and an unconscious Liz.
"Your energy is meant to keep you alive and protect the gate from being opened. Once you fail, however…"
"You will die."
Blue eyes narrowed on the German woman, claws unsheathed.
"Then I won't. And if I die, I'll gladly take you down with me."
She looked dead serious, even pissed, but Rasputin shook it off like snow.
"We'll see…"
Kit looked down at the heavy chains, and first tested them with her fangs.
'Hmmmm…kinda tough…'
She smirked, even though she heard Hellboy wake up.
'Nothing my claws can't handle…'
Managing to get a claw in, she tried pulling up through the metal.
She cut pretty deep, but didn't dare move as words floated into her ears.
"In exchange for her soul, then?"
"…No…"
"…Very well…"
Looking up, she felt her blood run cold again.
'Lizzie…'
With a barely-suppressed growl, she started ripping through the chain, seeing him suck the soul out of her.
Once free, she scrambled to her feet, trying to get there in time…
She was too late…
"Lizzie…"
Eyes darkening with hate and hair shimmering to black, she felt something close to power pulsing through her…
"How DARE you?!"
She lunged, blinded by rage, but a well-thrown hammer caught her in the side.
Flipping through the air, she landed on all fours.
Seeing her swords leaning on the wall, she pulled them from their sheaths.
"…Sakura Heika…"
Her eyes glowed with her blades.
"Sakura Rendan!"
The attack seemed to hit a wall, and eventually faded away.
"I don't have time for this…Ilsa…"
The woman nodded, and Kit turned only to have one of her own needles hit a pressure point in her shoulder, immobilizing her.
Falling back, almost lifelessly, she raged in the cage her body had become.
A prison for her very soul, until it decided to once again obey her.
Kit was too busy with this to realize what an ordeal this was for Hellboy, but she felt something twist in her when she felt him give up…
Even her voice wouldn't obey her, but a tear escaped her, looking crimson thanks to the fiery moon.
He walked up to the stone, and she felt something shift painfully inside her.
A cry escaped her, and pink energy swirled around her like a silent storm.
It was being from her, trying to bring her soul with it, and her cry of sudden pain became a scream of agony as her body fought for life.
Kit had often thought of what she looked for in a hero…
Was it their strengths, their weaknesses…?
Maybe it was what made them her equal, her other half, what made her a whole person…
But, in this whirlwind of pain and confusion and screams, she felt she realized what a hero was…
It wasn't superpowers or weaknesses, or even if they compared with her…
Being a hero meant knowing that, no matter what, you'd always have someone who believed in you…
And, after years of looking, Kit had found HER hero…
Though not someone she would've guessed after he'd pulled her tail…
"HELLBOY!!"
She felt a pause, like the energy escaping her was attaching to the world outside her bubble of agony.
She couldn't hear anything, couldn't even feel anymore, as her life seemed to die away…
"Hellboy…"
Eyelids fluttered over pure sky blue orbs…
"…You're still my hero…"
Something snapped, she felt it in her heart, and her strength rushed back into her body almost dizzyingly.
A hand touched her shoulder, and she looked up at Myers…
"Hey, newbie…Where are my swords?"
She tried a weak smile, but winced as she sat up, the needle in her shoulder giving off annoying spasms of pain.
Ripping it out, she accepted her swords from the agent.
"It's okay…I think I can walk…"
Her legs shook beneath her, and she nearly fell against John.
"…Okay, maybe I can't…"
Kit closed her eyes, ears closed against sound, and let Myers guide her.
She wanted to leave that room, this place…
They stopped, and she opened her eyes to an empty corridor.
"Time to rest, kid…"
Smiling slightly, she leaned on the stone, sliding down to her butt.
Breathing out a sigh of relief, she looked up at her red-skinned friend.
"There's trouble, isn't there?"
"Yeah…"
Thinking for a moment, she looked to her right, seeing Liz.
"…I think you can handle it on your own…"
Hellboy nodded, turning to Myers.
"No matter what happens, don't leave them alone."
"I won't."
"…Yer okay, Myers…" The demon admitted.
"Stick around."
After Myers gave him his grenade belt, Hellboy paused in front of his roommate, looking unsure.
"…Did ya really mean it? When ya said I was yer hero?"
She smirked slightly, eyes closed.
"Who'd do a better job? Myers?"
He chuckled.
"…Are you going to be okay?"
"How big could it be?"
Something really BIG grabbed him, and Kit jumped.
"WHOA!"
Once the sounds of shattering glass and pained grunts dissipated, she turned her head towards her pyrokinetic friend.
"…Is she alright, Myers?"
The agent proceeded to check the girls pulse, and if she was breathing.
Those two minutes went by achingly slowly, and her eyes shined wetly when he shook his head sadly.
"Oh no…"
Hearing heavy footsteps, Kit turned to send Hellboy a sad look.
"…She has no pulse, Red…And she's not breathing…"
He kneeled in front of the dark-haired woman, and whispered something into her ear.
After a moment, it was like Liz came back to life.
The two embraced, and Kit sat back.
She wouldn't spoil such a sweet moment for anything…
"In the dark…I heard your voice…What did you say?"
"I said 'Hey…you, on the other side…let her go…because…for her, I'd cross over…And then you'll be sorry…'."
The warmth that reached her skin made the cat-girl smile, relaxing…
'…I hope, one day…I find a love as strong as theirs…'