Episode 9: Mirage and the Crew
One afternoon in Imp City, Amara is walking down the street and is rather bored. Since there haven't been many clients for a few days, Amara decides to go explore and probably buy herself some lunch. Roy stays behind with the others.
Amara sighs, "Another day with not much work to do at the office. There hasn't been a client for three days and we still hang out at the office. Maybe something to drink can help me get my mind going. Plus, I promised to get everyone food and drinks."
After a distance walk, Amara is walking inside the coffee shop, but unaware that someone is monitoring her from afar. Someone or something is spying on her through binoculars.
A muscular male voice says, "So this is where the Owl Girl is?"
"I can't believe that it took us a few fuckin years to figure out where she went," A scruffy voice answers.
"Yes, but our bosses wanted us to find her. And it has taken us this long to find out, not even they could find any traces of her," A Raspy female voice adds.
"At least we found out where she is. We need to capture her and bring her to the bosses," The scruffy voice character answers.
"Right," The other two answers.
In the coffee shop around ten minutes later, Amara walks out with a bag of food with two holder trays of beverages. Amara then walks down the street to get to the office and bring the food and drinks to the others. Sensing something off, Amara turns her head around to see no one is around, and continues to walk down the sidewalk with a shrug. The Owl girl continues to walk down the sidewalk and suddenly hears a crashing sound, making Amara turn around to see a trash can that's been knocked to the ground.
"That's weird," Amara replies to herself.
Unknown to Amara, someone has sneaked something onto the holder trays. Amara then walks down the sidewalk without realizing it. Then another Imp takes pictures from the other side of the street.
Sometime later, Amara has delivered the food and drinks to everyone.
"Thanks for bringing us food and coffee, kid," Blitz says, and drinks his coffee.
"It's no trouble. I was bored hanging around in the office doing nothing anyway," Amara says.
"These cookies taste good," Roy says as he eats the cookie.
Amara chuckles and says, "Remember not to eat too much and save some for me."
Amara then turns to the window and becomes confused. A mysterious shadow from the top of the building across the street quickly ducks back down. Amara is confused and has an odd feeling. Amara thinks it's nothing and brings her drink to her. She then turns her head to see someone quickly hides again.
Amara thinks, "That's odd... I could have sworn someone is spying on me."
Amara then continues to have her beverage, but quickly turns to see the mysterious shadow ducks away.
"Am I imagining things," Amara says, confused.
Amara then continues to drink her beverage and eats her food until she finishes it. She then packs up one of the trays to toss it in the trash, until she notices a small black box.
She then picks it up to observe it, "Is that... a microphone?"
Amara becomes even more confused, and unknown that three odd looking Imps are spying on her.
"She found the microphone," The raspy voice says.
"Looks like we'll just have to follow her to where she is and catch her by surprise," The scruffy voice says.
"And if that doesn't work, we'll soon go on the offensive, blasting those annoying Imps and that Hellhound, and take the female owl," A calm, male, and yet, lustful voice says.
Since there hasn't been work for the rest of the day, Blitz decides to call an early day so they head back to their homes for the night. Moxie and Amara walk back to the apartment after grocery shopping.
"Thanks for helping me with the grocery," Moxxie says.
"No problem. We better get home before it gets dark. Well, as dark as Hell can get," Amara says.
Unknown to them, one of the spying Imp has a missile launcher aimed at Amara.
"Now to capture the Owl girl and take out that dumb Imp at the same time," The Raspy voice Imp says.
Amara then has an idea, "You know. We can get back fast if I fly us there."
"Are you sure?" Moxxie asks.
"Relax, it's perfectly safe. I've done this for my deliveries back at home," Amara says.
She then uses her abilities to levitate herself, Moxie, and the groceries in the air as the Imp fires the missile launcher. Amara flies away with the others as the missile flies past them and hits the alley wall that is part of a building. The bricks fall down to reveal a group of imp playing poker and gambling.
Throughout the trip back to the apartment, the mysterious group has been trying to use different opportunities to capture Amara, but they are either blasted off, beaten by Imps and Hellhounds, dragged away by a truck, and run over by a few cars. At the same time, Amara has been sensing someone has been following her and it makes her feel very uneasy and her feathers feel like they're standing on end.
Later in the night, Amara and Roy are sleeping in the bed of their apartment and unaware that they are soon to have a group of unexpected guests. The window secretly opens and three figures sneak inside. One has a sack and the other has a cloth and rope. They secretly walk towards Amara without making a sound. The group secretly sneak quietly until Amara senses something off. She then slowly opens her eyes and turns her head forward to see four mysterious beings in the room. Seeing them, Amara quickly sits up and lets out a scream in fright. The Imps quickly run away seeing that she is awake, and her screeching is too loud for them to handle.
The next day at the I.M.P meeting, Amara has explained to them about what happened yesterday and last night.
"You saw someone sneaking into the room, are you sure it wasn't some bad dream?" Blitz asks, not really giving a care.
"Are you sure it's not Blitz again?" Loona asks, playing on her phone.
"Hey. I already learned a lesson about sneaking into Amara and Roy's room," Blitz says.
"But you still do it, no matter how many times Amara kicks you out or throws you in the dumpster," Roy replies.
Blitz groans and rolls his eyes in reply, "Don't remind me.
"Trust me, it's not Blitz in my room and it's no dream. There were four Imps and I have proof," Amara says, and brings out the small device she had found the day before.
Blitz, Moxxie and Millie look at the small device.
"This is a bug that's been used to listen in on conversation," Moxxie says.
"So it wasn't a dream or something?" Blitz asks.
"Of course not! When I found that thing I believed someone was spying yesterday, and after what happened last night and the flight home, I knew someone was spying on me. Whoever it was is following me everywhere," Amara says.
"That does not sound very good," Roy says.
"It's not," Millie says, who is unhappy.
Then turns to Blitz, "Blitz, we gotta do something about this spying spree."
"Unless they do something that is considered very drastic, there's not much we can do. Whether they reveal themselves to us, or we catch them in the act," Blitz says.
"Then what do you supposed to do?" Moxxie questions.
"Either they come here or we try to get them to come out from hiding," Blitz says.
Suddenly, something explodes and causes a big hole in the wall. That makes the group be pushed back and crash into the wall.
"What the fuck?!" Loona exclaims.
Seeing the damage to the wall, Blitz angrily shouts, "Seriously! Who is fucking up my wall this time?!"
Just then, four different Imps jump through the open hole and land in the office. The first is muscular with red-color skin, has a black mustache, black horns, and is wearing a black suit.
The second has light red skin with black and white stripes and white hair, wearing a white t-shirt with a black vest, and black jeans.
The third one has dark red skin with black and white striped horns and spikes on his back and the back of her head. She is also wearing a black shirt and pants, and has a black scar over her left eye.
"I think we know who busted the hole in the office," Roy replies.
"Who are you and what the hell do you want?!" Millie demands and brings out her axe.
"And why did you blow up my wall?!" Blitz demands in rage.
"It's quite simple actually..." The fourth voice speaks up.
Stepping into the building from the hole is a tall and slender looking Imp, almost like a female, but upon a closer look, the Imp is male. The Imp has long white hair with white and black striped horns. The persona also seems to be wearing a little bit of makeup, and wearing a suit outfit that seems fit for women and boots. Seeing the slender looking Imp, Amara feels a strange sensation and starts sweating bullets.
"We're here for the lovely owl girl. We like if she comes with us, unless you want to get messy with it," The Imp says.
"Who the fuck are you?!" Blitz demands, gritting his teeth.
"If you must know, my name is Mirage. And I have to assume you're Blitz," Mirage says.
Then turns to Amara, "And this lovely tall Owl demon is Amara."
"Yeah. And?" Amara says, confused and feels tense.
The Imp, Mirage smiles and says, "You look adorable dressed up in those Western attires. You actually almost look like a boy. Especially with those tail feathers of yours... I want them..."
Amara feels a chill up her spine, and thinks, "What is up with this creep? Who is he?"
"Hey! If you think you can fuckin blow my wall or try to kidnap one of my employees you're dead shit! You get the fuck out or I'm going to off your A's!" Blitz angrily says and brings out his gun.
Mirage smirks, "Amara is really cute, but you're really sexy yourself Blitz, especially when you get angry."
Blitz and Amara feel very uncomfortable. To Blitz, it's worse. He thinks having one demon giving him passionate affections is enough.
Blitz then angrily asks, "Nobody minds that I blast his head off right?"
"No..." Amara says, with a deep frown on her face.
"So sorry, excluding the owl girl, the rest of you are not going to get out of this alive," Mirage says, and shows a vicious and evil grin.
She then brings out a strange looking gun that has a particular glowing round ended arrow. What's more, it's black and has a glowing white pattern on it. Amara suddenly feels like her face is going pale, or paler than usual. Then her legs begin to shake as she slowly steps back, and the others notice.
"Amara?" Moxxie asks, confused
"Just hold still my dear, you'll be coming with us now," Mirage says.
She then fires at Amara, but the owl girl quickly dodge out of the way. The arrow lands at the wall, and sends some kind of strange electric pulse on the wall.
"What the..." Loona asks, confused.
"Like my little Electric Arrow. One shot and hit from this, and it will cause anyone to be paralyzed. And it's more effective since it's made from angelic weaponry," Mirage says.
"Paralyzed?" Millie says, stunned.
Completely petrified, Amara mutters, "Angelic weapons?"
"Oh crap!" Blitz says, shocked.
Then shouts, "Run!"
Amara quickly grabs Roy as she and the others hurry out of the meeting room.
"Alright boys, let's begin our little hunt," Mirage says.
The I.M.P crew hurries out of the office and down the hall.
"Hurry, down the stairs!" Millie says.
Blitz open the door to the stairs and everyone runs inside. Then Blitz closes the door behind and is able to lock it. They all hurry down the stairs from the upper floor to get to the ground floor.
Loona turns to Amara and asks, "Amara, do you have any idea who those guys are?!"
"No, honest. I have no idea who they are. But I have a feeling they're the Imps who were spying on me yesterday and tried to capture me," Amara says, stunned.
"It's obvious, they're after you and do not plan on any negotiation," Moxxie says.
"But why? I've never met those Imps in my life. I never did anything to them. At least, I don't think I did," Amara says.
"I don't think it matters who they are or what they're planning, those creeps are planning on kidnapping Amara and killing us in the process," Blitz says.
Soon, the group reaches the ground floor and is heading to the door to get out of the building, but they soon find themselves in front of the muscular Imp who has two large rifles that can hold a lot of bullets. Along with the Imp with the white t-shirt and black vest.
"Looks like I got a few rats, a mutt, and an owl," The muscular Imp says.
"Let's shoot some suckers!" The Imp wearing the vest says.
The I.M.P crew quickly hurry off as the muscular Imp begins to fire his guns at them. Moxxie and Blitz quickly bring out their guns and fire back as they take cover.
"You guys go on ahead, we'll cover," Blitz says.
"Okay," Amara says.
"Careful Moxxie," Millie says.
Moxxie then nods his head. Then before he fires at the enemy with his rifle.
In the hall, Millie, Loona, and Amara, carrying Roy, continue to run to find another way to get out of the building.
"We gotta help Blitz and Moxxie," Millie says.
"We will, we just need to find a way out of the building. Maybe we can catch the Imps by surprise," Amara says.
Suddenly, something small black, and round lands in front of them and it explodes. Soon, they see Imp with the black scar in front of them. She is holding a bomb in her hands.
"So this is where you went. Are you ready to hand over this little Owl before I blow you all to pieces," The female Imp says.
Millie then brings out her two knives, "You'll have to get through me first."
Millie then charges as the female Imp begins to throw bombs at Millie. Millie continues to dodge the attack, and tries to slice her with the knives. The Imp then dodges the attack and continues to throw the bombs at Millie. Millie continues to try to stab the Imp with her knives as she dodges the bombs.
Amara, Loona, and Roy watch how the fight is going. Sensing someone from behind, Amara and Loona turn their heads to see Mirage, holding the same weapon from before.
"Well, well, it looks like you didn't get too far. Your boys are handling two fire armed Imps, and your knife wielding Imp is handling our bomber. And I'll deal with you, my alluring little bird," Mirage says, with a lustful look on his face.
"Great. And now we have to deal with this guy," Loona says, annoyed.
"Let's make this quick. I'm already sick of it," Amara says, and holds out her gun.
"Don't need to tell me twice," Loona says, and growls with rage.
Suddenly, Mirage begins to run at top speed. Amara tries to fire at him, but isn't able to get her target. Loona also charges at Mirage, and the two nearly collide with one another. Loona raises her claws and tries to scratch Mirage, but the Imp continues to dodge, and then kicks Loona in the nose. He then uses his tail to tie Loona down to the ground. Then throws her at the wall.
"Loona!" Amara exclaims.
Amara pulls out her gun and about to fire, but Mirage uses his tail to swat the guns away, and coils the tail around Amara's wrists together. Then have them tied around her upper body where her chest is. Then pulls Amara close enough for him to grab her tie.
"Well then, my boss will be pleased to have you," Mirage says.
"Your what? Who are you..." Amara says, confused.
But Mirage places his finger on her beak and says, "Sorry, but that's a little surprise for later. But first..."
He then brings out one of his electrical arrows in her hand as it lets out some sparks. Amara becomes stunned to see it.
"You will need to be unconscious first," Mirage says.
Amara becomes stunned to see the angelic electric gun pointed at her, and becomes petrified. Suddenly, she feels a strange pain in her head and laces both of her black claws on her head to feel pain in it.
Suddenly, Amara remembers when the Imp has pointed a weapon at her and fires. That causes Amara to fall and clutches her stomach in pain as blood flows out of her. Amara's parents hurry over to her in deep concern, then glare at the Imp. Amara slowly opens her eyes to see Imp standing before her, but can not remember his face. She doesn't know why she suddenly brings it back to him.
Before Mirage can put the arrow on Amara, he feels a hard kick. He looks down to see Roy punching and kicking Mirage's leg.
"You leave my sister, you bitch!" Roy shouts and continues to punch and kick.
Mirage laughs and says, "Ain't that cute. The little Imp thinks he can take me on. Sorry little guy, but..."
"You'll have to be put out of the way," Mirage adds, and brings out a sharp arrow.
"Roy!" Amara says, shocked.
Mirage then kicks Roy to the ground, and is about to use the arrow on him. Amara soon begins to feel like something snapping inside. Amara's eyes begin to glow as a red aura surrounds her body, Mirage soon loses his tail grip on Amara as it slips off, and untying her.
Amara then clutches her fists and says, "I think you just made a big mistake!"
Then Amara pounces at Mirage with full rage.
Meanwhile, Blitz and Moxxie continue to fire at the two Imps. The two Imps continue to fire at them, and it feels they have an endless supply of bullets.
"Mox, cover me. I'm going to get close to these two assholes," Blitz says.
"Are you sure, sir?" Moxxie asks.
"Got any better ideas?" Blitz sternly asks.
"No," Moxxie answers.
"Then you cover for me and get close enough to blast them," Blitz says.
Moxxie simply nods his head in reply. Moxxie then fires his rifle at the Imps as Blitz tries to dodge the attacks. Blitz speeds to find as much cover as he can, even though there's close to none. Before one of the Imps can shoot at Blitz, Moxxie quickly fires his gun, to knock the weapon out of his hand. Then, Blitz fires at the Imp, giving him a head shot, the Imp falls to the ground instantly. Before the other Imp can point his gun, Blitz kicks the gun off his hand, and Moxxie performs a headshot at the Imp.
"That was too close," Moxxie says.
"That what those shits get for fucking up the wall of the office and are trying to kill us!" Blitz says, angrily.
"Don't forget they're after Amara too," Moxxie says.
"Yeah. That's true. Let's find the girls and the kids and find those other two Imps," Blitz says.
"I do hope they're okay," Moxxie says, as he and Blitz head off to find the others.
Back in the hall, all Hell is breaking loose. Millie continues to dodge the attack as the Imp throws the bombs at her. Millie bounces from wall to wall at full speed.
The Imp angrily says, "I hate this chick."
The Imp then runs as Millie gives chase. The Imp continues to throw bombs at her, but Millie is able to dodge the attacks. When the Imp throws the other bomb, Millie then uses her knife like a tennis racket to whack the bomb back at the Imp. The bomb explodes at the Imp and is sent back flying. Millie takes the opportunity to run to the Imp and stabs him on the left chest. Then fall down to the ground dead flat.
Millie sighs, "Phew. That was one tough Imp."
Meanwhile, Loona and Amara are fighting against Mirage, and the tall Imp has been proven to be a tough fighter. Amara uses her claws and speed to try to attack Mirage, but Mirage dodge the attack and tries to stab Amara with the electric arrow. Loona then pounces at Mirage and is able to knock the electric arrow off of Mirage's hand. Then Amara kicks Mirage in the stomach and sends him back towards the wall. Mirage groans as she looks to see Loona and Amara approaches him. Then Millie joins them with Roy close behind.
"Well, it looks like we got one Imp to question," Millie says.
"And it looks like we're in time to get some answers," Blitz's voice answers.
The others turn their heads to see Blitz and Moxxie walking towards them with their guns.
Blitz then holds his gun towards Mirage and angrily says, "Alright you bitch, I want some answers and I want them now! Why did you fuck up our office and try to kidnap the owl girl?"
Mirage simply smiles as he stands up and dust the dress.
"You really want to know?" Mirage asks.
"We do. I've already got one group of Imps who attack me with weapons," Amara says.
"Oh I know. I was itching to talk to you while you're restrained. Yet, I know you'll find out eventually. About my boss who wants you," Mirage says.
"What boss?" Loona asks, arching her eyebrow.
"Oh, I don't know. The boss wants Amara for special purposes. He really wants your little owl friend so much he'll do anything, to get her and her blood," Mirage says as he secretly reaches to the back of the dress and holds something from behind.
"Wait, what? What are you about?" Amara asks, confused.
"This fucker is more trouble than he's worth," Blitz angrily says.
Then brings out his gun, "I say we blast his brains out."
"Go ahead, you can shoot me with that silly little gun. It won't have much effect. Of course, if you do decide to kill me, then how will you know who wants her, and what really happened to Jake and Cassandra," Mirage says with an evil smirk.
"Jake? Cassandra? Those are my… my…" Amara says, stunned.
"Your parents' names," Mirage says with a smirk.
Hearing this makes Amara more stunned that she becomes petrified.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Blitz demands.
Then is ready to pull the trigger of his gun, "Are you saying that you know the one who killed Amara and Roy's parents?"
"You better answer or you're going to wish you never crossed with us," Millie says, bringing out her axe.
Moxxie also brings out his crossbow and is ready to fire.
"Sorry, but I can't reveal much. All I can say is that my boss really wants the little owl girl, her power, her agility, her beauty. In fact, he has wanted Amara for a long time now. Of course, having headcounts doesn't matter as long as he gets what he wants," Mirage says.
"Wha… you mean that…" Amara says in a state of shock.
"Sorry, but that's all I can tell. However, I can't help, but have a little taste before I go," Mirage says.
Suddenly, he speeds to Blitz before he can fire, and kicks him by the back. Then Mirage grabs Moxxie and swings him at Millie. Then punches Loona in the face. Before Amara can attack, Mirage slides his leg across the floor, tripping Amara and pins her arms on her back as he pins her to the ground.
"I'm sure my boss won't mind if I have a bite," Mirage says.
Mirage then leans to Amara's neck and reveals that two of his teeth are sharper than the others, almost like fangs. Before Amara can react, Mirage actually bites her and begins to seep some of the blood from her body. Amara is so stunned that she isn't able to speak or scream. In about a minute, Mirage lets her go. Then possess Amara so her back is against the wall.
"Your blood tastes even more divine then I imagine. I do hope I'll be able to have some more if my master permits it," Mirage says.
Mirage then stands up and suddenly spreads bat-like wings matching the skin. Then flies out of the building before anyone can react. Overwhelmed by everything that has happened, Amara has passed away.
The Next Day:
Still unconscious, Amara is sleeping in the bed of her apartment. Soon enough, Amara opens her eyes with a groan and tired expression on her face. She soon opens her eyes and wakes up. She turns her head to feel a pan in her neck. Amara quickly sits up in shock and feels her neck to see that it's bandaged up.
Amara cringes to feel the pain, "Fuck. That Mirage… he… he bit me."
"Amara?" Moxxie's voice asks.
Amaa turns her head to see Moxxie in the opening that leads to the room.
"You're okay. We were very worried and I uh, brought you something to eat," Moxxie says.
He then presents Amara with a plate that has two eggs, two bacon strips, and a toast.
"Moxxie? Wha-what happened? Where Mirage go?" Amara asks.
"We don't know. He escaped before we could do anything, and he did a number on us," Moxxie says.
"Yeah. My neck feels sore," Amara says.
"Are you okay, sis?" Roy's voice asks.
Amara looks down to see Roy looking at her from the side of the bed as Blitz, Millie, and Loona walk into the room.
"Hey guys," Amara says.
Then turns to Roy, "Yeah. I'm okay. I think."
"You don't sound okay," Loona replies.
Amara sighs and admits, "To be honest, I'm not really okay. I mean, we were attacked by Imps who were after me, Mirage partly exposed who wanted me and wanted my parents dead, and he… he threatened to shoot an angelic weapon at me and my brother, and he… he attacked us so fast and he… he…. He bit me and sucked some of my blood."
Amara shivers and wraps her arms around herself, "That Mirage is no normal Imp, a strange light shines in his eyes… and they don't suck blood like that."
"She's right. That Mirage fella is not normal. I mean, he actually sprouted wings. I know some Imps can have wings, but not like him," Millie says.
"And weapons like angelic weaponry are hard to come by. How the fuck did Mirage manage to get one," Moxxie says.
"I'm more worried about those bite marks on your neck. I mean, what the fuck was all that nonsense that was coming from his mouth. I mean, the guy is fuckin crazy," Blitz says.
"I think we're missing the biggest issue. The guy knows about the reason why Amara and her family were attacked and her parents were killed," Loona says, typing on her phone.
"She's right. I can ignore the bite mark I got… okay, maybe I can't… They attacked us at the office and were going to kill you and abduct me. What's worse, whoever Mirage's boss is, is responsible for my parents death. I… I can't just… hit here and do nothing," Amara says, clutching her fists on sheets.
"So what you're saying is that you plan on revenge and avenge your parents. I say you just got yourself an opportunity. And since you're a fellow employee, I think your payment can be 50% percent off," Blitz says.
Suddenly, Loona punches him on the head making Blitz cry out, "Ow! The fuck!"
Then turns to see Loona holding her fist,
Blitz says, "Okay, how about 75% percent off."
"Sir, Amara is our fellow employee, plus, we're targets in this assault as well," Moxxie says.
Millie then hugs Amara, "Yeah. We'll do it for free. Plus, we can get even on the suckers who are trying to off us."
"I can actually agree to that. Let's get those bitches and whoever is the boss of Mirage," Blitz says.
Amara groans and says, "I don't know. We don't even know where he went."
"No, but if he still has his eye on you, then he'll try to come after you in the future. Then we'll be ready to teach that fuck a lesson about blowing up the office. And you can get answers from him," Blitz says.
"You're right. He might try again, and this time, he has made things more personal…" Amara says.
She takes a deep breath and calmly says, "I'm tired of running…"
Meanwhile, Mirage is inside a motel room and is talking on the phone.
Mirage says, "I wasn't able to get the girl and lost some of your men, but don't worry, I'll be sure to grab her next time."
"I do hope you will. She's very valuable to my plans. After all, an Owl demon of her status and power is very rare. It has taken me a long time to find her the first time, and wait for the opportunity to have her in my clutches," A voice says, that sounds like a grown man's.
Then suddenly, shows a sharp fang, "I love to sink my fangs into her neck."
"Understood," Mirage says, and hangs up the phone.
She then evilly smirks and says, "Well Amara, you've proven to be a difficult catch. I'll have to keep a close eye on you, and your group of assassins."