Pride Sucks
Lucky was studying with Koru and Mihi when they first heard the rumbling. They rushed out of Lucky's dorm and followed the noise to the Abyss, and discovered a giant red hand.
Mihi latched on to Lucky's arm. "That's what Lord Satan said grabbed Ina!" she squeaked.
Lucky and Koru looked at each other. Both knew that they were incapable of fighting this thing. Suddenly, Koru pointed. "Isn't that Slade?" he hissed.
The girls looked, and sure enough, saw the white-haired fifteen year-old riding on the head of a monster.
"We're getting out of here," Lucky decided.
"Amen," Koru agreed.
"What about everyone else?" Mihi demanded as she tried to keep up with the running teenagers.
A piercing scream cut the air. The three turned and saw Satan's corpse land headless on the bridge, and then roll of and vanish. Pride was bowing to the Beast, and Lust was off to the side, useless and sobbing. Of all the Sins, she had been Satan's closest companion (in all meanings of the term…)
Lucky and Koru didn't waste any more time. They had been surrounded by strange creatures made from the stone surrounding them.
"Mihi, just hold your power ready," Koru ordered, "Lucky, like in class?"
Lucky nodded, and swept a whip of poisoned fire out of thin air. Her school clothes seemed to run together into a tight suit. Koru merely folded his hands and the creatures began to crumble.
Fiery creatures emerged, and Lucky destroyed them with ease. The two young adults* slammed wave after wave of power into the opponents they faced, losing power.
It took them almost a full day, but finally the Beast must have decided that the three were dead. Mihi sat in the middle of a circle of destruction, huddled and confused and tired.
"C'mon, honey. We've gotta get outta here," Lucky said. "Koru – you're sneakier than me. See if you can figure out if anyone's coming."
Koru nodded and shut his eyes. A moment later, they re-opened. "Everyone's been either killed, or herded into…into slave pens."
"Mihi, you're fully charged as far as power goes. Can you pop us out of here?" Lucky met her young, demonic friend's eyes.
Mihi nodded. "We have to get to a different place – I can't do it with the wards here."
"I'll carry you," Lucky said, offering a piggyback ride to the girl. Mihi clung to the tall woman's back.
They wandered back to one of the areas where there were no wards, dodging odd patrols of strange creatures.
"Here," Lucky hissed. "Quick!"
Mihi built the spell quickly, hiding it. They slammed out of Hell.
*
Sythandra Jones jumped. The test tube she'd held above her head shattered and doused her hair. Swiftly, her hair changed colors – from carroty to pink and blue.
She turned, ready to yell at whoever had interrupted her, but deflated when she saw the two battered adults, her friends, and the small daemon teen they supported.
"What happened?" she demanded of Lucky. "I thought you said it was safe!"
"It wasn't. Remember Slade?"
Syth nodded.
"He betrayed everyone. He brought the Beast back," Koru said, his deep voice not able to mask his anger.
"He did what?" Syth hissed, too surprised to be loud.
"Brought the Beast back," Mihi mumbled from between them.
Syth peered at the girl. "She's unharmed, just upset," she informed her friends.
"Good," they chorused.
"Lucky, I'll deal with you first, since you have four broken ribs, and your side is bleeding."
"Oh, so that's why I feel so dizzy," Lucky said, sitting obediently in the chair Syth gestured her to. The strange teenager waved a hand that glowed blue and pink over Lucky's side. For a moment, bone became visible. Syth, peering intently, maneuvered the bones back into place, wrapping them with magic to heal. The magic sank into the bone, and with a crack, each bone became whole again. She used magic to 'stitch' up Lucky's side, and floated her over to the spare bed. "Just stretch out, I'll heal Koru over there too."
Lucky smiled and fell asleep within seconds. Koru sat next to her, and talked with Syth while she healed his injuries, all less critical than Lucky's.
"Well, you won't need to sleep like she does," Syth said as she finished. "But I'd still recommend it."
"I'll go to sleep in a few," Koru said, "But I'll unbraid her hair first."
"Unbraid – what…?" Syth yelped.
"What? I'm just unbraiding her hair. She has a chain braided in there, you know, to make it a weapon. She could kill herself in her sleep with it. So I'm unbraiding it."
"Ok…" Syth said, smothering a giggle as she watched Koru dismantle Lucky's hairstyle. Her jaw dropped when he unwound a chain from underneath her hair. "She really does that…Oh wow."
"Scary, I know," Koru said absently, still playing with his best friend's hair.
"You two make such a cute couple," Syth giggled.
"Oh, shut up," he muttered, blushing.
* - Koru and Lucky are in the Eighth Form, which essentially means that they are twenty or twenty-one years old at the time of the story. They are both twenty-one, and, if it weren't for this 'interruption' of the Beast, would be done with the Academy in a year. Why yes, I have put WAY too much thought into this.