"I will kill you this time…!" Hainesworth's form began to warp and transform.
Turning swiftly, Rifka wrapped her arms around Vandella and sprinted through the side door, pushing him as she turned back. "Father, get everyone out! Run!"
She ran back into the sitting room just as Allen and Kanda joined her before the Akuma. Behind them, the maid screamed and ran out through the main hall. Rifka drew her knives and bared her teeth. "Call me a whore and try to get away with it, you foul bastard! I'll send you beyond in a thousand pieces!"
There were mirrored expressions of outrage on the faces of her friends. "What did he call you?!" They demanded in unison.
"Something he's going to die for, right now." Rifka flexed her hands on the blades and closed her eyes with a low growl. Green fire erupted around her fingers and when she opened her eyes to glare at the Akuma, her eyes were green. She shifted her stance, glancing over her shoulders to Allen and Kanda. "Ready? Go!"
The three sprinted to corner the Akuma between them, attacking at once. Unfortunately things didn't quite go as planned.
"Kill you kill you kill you all now!" The Akuma was screaming madly as cannons seemed to form out of its shoulders. It began to fire rapidly at them, forcing them to run rather than take it on, and the glowing bullets were a sickly, blackish-red color.
"What's the rush?!" Rifka panted as she tried out outrun the bullets. "You can't get the partnership anymore, even if you kill us! Why not take your time?!"
She had been so sure the bullets were catching up to her heels she was unprepared for the one that struck the ground in front of her. With a yelp she blocked her face with her arms, which put her into perfect position. With a wild shriek of laughter, the Akuma fired dead at her.
Kanda and Allen shouted, but it was too late. A direct hit sent Rifka flying backward through the window behind her. Her expression was one of shock as she went airborne; seeming to float for a moment, and then her hair flew up around her face as she began to fall, letting out a sharp cry. She vaguely heard two more shouts from inside, and felt a flutter in her heart from the emotion in Kanda's voice. The shouting was drowned out by more explosions from the Akuma. The creature was preventing her friends from saving her.
She closed her eyes and arched her back. "Darkpaw, I'm counting on you!" Releasing her daggers, her skin immediately began to darken. She drew her arms in against her chest and twisted gracefully, flipping her body upright in the air. She relaxed every muscle in her body, steadied her breathing, and prepared for the landing.
The ground seemed to rush up to meet her. She struck feet-first and sank down into a low crouch, pushing off to the side and launching into a roll. She was unprepared for the amount of energy being transferred through her body, and let out an undignified squawk as she was sent sprawling through a plush courtyard.
Her momentum was halted when she slammed up against a large tree. Her eyes popped open from the shock of pain, and then the glowing green lights went out. Her body went limp, falling to lie face down in the grass.
She stood in the middle of a dense, familiar jungle, surrounded by the damp, oppressive heat. She could not see the sun itself, only tiny shafts of it cutting through the canopy. She heard the Darkpaw long before she saw her, a familiar low, hungry growl. Then part of the shadows detached themselves and she saw the bright green eyes and long, sharp teeth coming closer.
"Hey, this is rather advantageous, isn't it? I want to talk to you, Darkpaw!"
Darkpaw continued to circle her restlessly, and after a moment of trying to keep an eye on her, Rifka sighed and closed her eyes. "Doesn't that make you dizzy? No? Well, stop it anyway. I want your attention right now, not your sass."
The huge jaguar promptly sat down and arched her ears forward, gazing at her attentively. Rifka clenched her jaw, somehow sensing that she was still being mocked. She squared her shoulders and narrowed her eyes at the beast. "I'm going to get straight to the point. YOU are MINE! I am not Prey, nor are my friends! There are plenty of Akuma in the world for you to feed on; you should be more than happy with that! In fact, there's a really tough one in that building up there and it's hurting my friends! Wouldn't you like to help me tear it's innards out?!"
Darkpaw lunged at her with a roar and Rifka fell to her knees, reaching out instinctively, clutching at handfuls of the giant cat's whiskers. The cat let out a yowl of surprised protest, but Rifka did not let go, forcing the cat to look her in the eyes.
"Do we have an understanding?!"
The cat tried to thrash free but Rifka tightened her grin and bared her teeth, letting out an impressive snarl of her own. "DID YOU NOT JUST HEAR ME? MINE! You may have claimed me when I was five, but you had better believe I am claiming you right now! Now ANSWER ME!"
Darkpaw's eyes blazed, almost blinding her, but Rifka stared into them without a lick of fear.
"RIFKA…!" Kanda shouted out the window, searching the ground, but he was quickly forced to turn and face off against the Akuma as it charged him from the next room. His phantom blades were able to disable the demon's left cannon before he was thrown back by the explosion.
He skidded to a stop near Allen. "Were you able to spot her?"
Irritated, he got to his feet. "No, dammit, this bastard won't let me at the windows long enough! I think it's trying to find her, too!"
Inside the mansion, inside the ruined sitting room, the fighting had continued. Attacks from both Crown Clown and Mugen were only slowing it down. The Akuma had destroyed nearly everything in the sitting room, seemingly desperate to get out, and it was taking all of their coordinated efforts to keep it from leaving and spreading the ruin any further.
"I'm trying again!"
"Wait!"
They had managed to disable its cannons but it still packed a punch, as Allen soon found out – the hard way. Thinking he had a clear shot, he raced forward and sliced cross-wise at the Akuma, only to take a powerful sweeping blow to the gut. He went flying across the room and landed behind some debris. Kanda cursed and ran to check on him.
"Where is it now?" Allen whispered, struggling to sit up.
"It keeps running back and forth in front of the windows, the twitchy prick," Kanda growled, keeping his voice down all the same. He sat up to peer carefully over the top of the armoire they had taken refuge behind. Allen did the same. They glanced around the room and then saw it, running from the side room to the broken window. "It must be a Level Three."
"All those construction accidents Lord Vandella mentioned… how long has it been killing people?"
"Long enough to wipe out the outskirt villages… Vandella mentioned a lot of accidents surrounding all those construction sites this guy owned as a human. He must have been feeding off of all the workers that died there."
The Akuma stopped at the window again, staring out at something. "Oooh… Now who could you be…? Are you another Exorcist come to play? The Earl will be so happy when I tell him how many I killed today…"
Allen, Kanda, and even the Akuma felt the floor shudder beneath their feet. A shadow rippled across the windows as something huge and dark climbed up the oak tree. It scaled nimbly across an outstretching branch then drew back, gathering energy, and then burst into a run. Bounding off the edge of the branch, it soared through the shattered window.
Four large, heavy paws slammed into the chest of the Akuma, driving it down into the floor. The Akuma let out a shout of surprise, beginning to swing its arms, peppering the giant cat with blows. Several shots connected solidly, making her skid back a few feet, enough for the creature to be able to regain its footing.
Allen stared, shocked. "W-what… is that…?" He whispered urgently.
Kanda was staring at the enormous creature in disbelief. "Could it be? Darkpaw…?"
The cat's head came up sharply when she heard her name, and she put her paws down, releasing a roar that made the windows rattle and the color drain from the Exorcists' faces. She skirted the room, flanking the Akuma, and the two exorcists became aware she was on their team. Grinning, they brought their weapons to bear and started the fight again.
"The Earl will be so happy when I bring him your Innocence!" The demon was trying to taunt again, but the Exorcists ignored him. Coordinating their attack, Darkpaw drew its attention while Kanda and Allen attacked from left and right. Trapping the Akuma between them, they each took turns darting forward, slashing at it from different sides every time it turned to attack one of them. Gradually, they began to wear it down.
Finally reaching its breaking point, the demon screamed with rage and, upon turning to face Darkpaw's next attack, suddenly reformed the cannons on its shoulders and began to fire, taking her by surprise. Without any time to dodge, she was forced to take the shots.
She dropped heavily to the floor, but as she got up again it was eerily clear that, this time, she wasn't taking as much damage as she had before.
If fact, with a deep, snarling yowl she seemed to get even bigger. She paced from side to side, brightly glowing green eyes glittering murderously at the demon. Her tail lashed and her ears were laid back, her lips pulled back over all of her long, white teeth.
"Why won't you just die?" It screamed at her. Darkpaw's reply was a sneeze, mocking it carelessly, making it lose its temper. It screamed again and lunged at her, but just then Kanda launched his attack from the left.
Rapid-fire attacks with his phantom blades and netherworld insects drove the Akuma down to one knee. Just as it began to retaliate, Allen attacked with great swoops of his huge sword, knocking the demon to its back. It was dizzy, furious, and getting desperate. It had difficulty finding its feet again, but it turned to find and target Allen, its cannons getting ready to fire.
Darkpaw didn't give it the chance. With another reverberating growl she charged, claws out, and took the demon down again, mauling it viciously. There was a terrible crunching noise and the Akuma began to scream in terror so pure it made Allen and Kanda cringe. They watched as the cat's massive jaws snapped down onto the demon's throat and began to tear and thrash savagely.
Blood flew across the carpet and the screams abruptly ended with the Akuma's head tearing free of its shoulders. The huge cat leapt away as the remains exploded, and the floor shook when she landed, hard enough to make the Exorcists across the room stagger. She turned to face Allen and Kanda and casually sat down, lifting a paw and beginning to clean her whiskers.
When she was satisfied with her cleanliness, she gave her whole body a good shake from head to tail. She settled down, as though kneeling, and began to shrink. Her form became more humanoid, the fur and fangs receding. Rifka quickly became more recognizable, kneeling on the floor, and as the black stain slowly vanished from her skin she fell forward onto her hands, coughing and hacking and taking great gulps of air as though she had been underwater for just slightly too long.
Allen's shock switched to joy when he saw the transformation. Beside him, Kanda was still stuck on disbelief. Rifka climbed to her feet slowly, staggering, and fell sideways against the wall, reaching out with both hands to catch herself before sliding down onto her knees again. While she wasn't looking, Allen cuffed Kanda smartly on the back of the head.
The taller Exorcist smacked Allen's hand away and rushed forward, stopping when Rifka looked up at him. He checked her eyes as he knelt down, amazed that there wasn't the slightest trace of green. "Rifka, what did you do?" He took her hands curiously, seeing that instead of black fingernails, there was now a spotted pattern going up over her hands and arms, like the large rosettes of a jaguar.
"It was a long way down…" her voice was slightly slurred and there was blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, "I felt Darkpaw there with me. She told me how not to die on the landing… and then we had a long talk… it was a nice talk…" Slowly, she reached out to take hold of the front of Kanda's jacket, her eyes slipping out of focus. He blinked at her.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm… actually… A little dizzy now, and… I think I hit my head…" She dropped into his arms in a dead faint.