A homeless man stumbled back to the alleyway where he had been sleeping for the past three nights. He'd heard the talk of the giant lion that was eating people around these parts but he didn't believe it. Probably just the ramblings of some drunk. Besides, he had more important things to worry about. He wasn't interested in urban legends. As he approached the little pile of old blankets that he had scavenged he heard a sound that chilled him to the bone. A woman screaming. For a moment he panicked, not sure what to do, then the sound was replaced with a new one. A roaring that no humans voice could make. All the stories he had heard came back to him. Somehow, they didn't seem so ridiculous anymore. In spite of himself, he felt compelled to see just what was making the noise. Moving slowly, his bad knee sending jolts of pain up his leg with every step, he followed the sound round the corner to its source. There it was, huge and hideous. The lion was eating something, but he couldn't see what. He didn't want to know. Then it turned and looked at him. Behind it's eye's a pair of gashes appeared, as if something was growing there. The beast yowled and started thrashing about. The man watched, helplessly frozen. Then the gashes opened and a second pair of eyes came up in their place. The monster stood up. Pushing itself up onto its back legs. It towered over its helpless prey...

-

By the morning it had made the news. Gangland executions were impossible to keep quiet. Every TV news network in Hong Kong was crowding around the story like flies, and at the police station tensions were running high. That was the scene that greeted Li as he entered.

"Hey, do you know what's going on?" He asked the first person he came across, who barely had time to look confused before a bestial roar rang throughout the office.

"Li! Get in my office, now!" Chang shouted so loud that Li thought his lungs were about to explode. Li followed him. The officer in charge of the animal attack cases was also there.

"I know you Li; you've got this whole vengeance thing going. I'm not blaming you for that but the last thing I need is a vigilante on the loose. So I'd rather you heard this from me so that I know you've got all your facts straight. Last night Chu died"

"Died, how?" Li interrupted.

"Natural causes, 'Natural' being gravity after a 400 foot drop from his penthouse window"

"400 feet? Sir, are you sure your not exaggerating?" asked the officer who so reminder Li of Barney Rubble.

"When I want a second opinion I ask a doctor, not some half baked moron who for all I know may not be able to tie his own shoelaces in the morning" Chang spat. Li could see an ugly purple vein throbbing on his forehead. "Now those animal attacks are happening right in the one neutral spot between the two mob turfs. If they aren't connected somehow then I'm the Queen of Sheba. I want the two cases put together. What are you waiting for?" Barney ran from the office so fast Li barely had time to blink.

"Do we have any details of Chu's assassination?" Li asked

"No, all we know is that someone managed to get passed his security without anybody being alerted. And if the rumours are to be believed Chu was so paranoid that he even had guards for his trips to the bathroom".

"Han doesn't have anybody who can do that" Li commented "do you think he's hired someone independent?"

"Could be, but you're still on leave. Don't make me suspend you." Chang warned. Disgusted, Li left.

-

In the small apartment Li was renting Dante had moved the few chairs to one side and was stood in the bare space left on the floor, Alastor in hand. The sword twirled in his hands as he slowly ran through some moves. Spinning and weaving with unnatural grace. The sword was less of a weapon and more an extension of his body. From the tiny kitchen Erika watched him practice. She had been examining the stolen camera, trying to figure out just what the mystery man had been taking pictures of. So far it all seemed to be of Dante and the cat devil. Li stormed in, breaking the relative peace.

"If he didn't want me on the case then why the hell did he call me in!" He cursed, punching at the nearest wall. "What are you doing?"

"Look out, it's Super Cop!" Erika muttered. If Li had heard he gave no sign. Dante glanced at her before he replied

"Blowing off steam. Until I can figure out what I'm dealing with there's not much else I can do. You should try it". Li didn't reply.

"Hey, check this out!" Erika called from over in the kitchen.

"What have you got kiddo?"

Erika had reached the end of the camera's memory. The picture was completely out of place with the rest. It was of a young woman.

"That's Mai!" Li exclaimed

"Its dated three weeks ago" said Erika.

"I don't believe this, Mai always believed in the supernatural. She's the reason I knew about you, how your organisation works, the passwords. I never thought it was real until recently"

"What happened?"

Li waved his hand in an uneasy manner. Clearly he wasn't going to say anything else on the subject.

"Well, it's a pretty safe bet that he's some kind of devil hunter, why else would he be interested in our hairy friend? The question is; why is a hunter taking pictures of your wife?" Dante mused. Li shot him a piercing look.

"What? Your wedding ring? Her picture? I'm not stupid"

"All I know is this. My wife was murdered two weeks ago; the creature started its attacks shortly afterwards".

"Two weeks ago?" Erika asked

"The only people who could have been responsible are the mob lords, Han and Chu, and someone took Chu out of the picture last night" said Li, not listening to Erika.

"That leaves Han. I wonder if he knows anything" said Dante

"Why not ask him?" said Erika

-

Li left them to their plan. He still wanted to know just who had got to Chu, and how. So when Dante and Erika left to find Han he went straight to the building that had housed Chu. The entire building had been cordoned off by police officers. Li flashed them his badge as he approached. Clearly they hadn't heard that he was supposed to be on leave. Upstairs a forensics team were searching the office.

"I'm Detective Li, Who's in charge here?" He asked, again flashing his badge.

"That would be me" Said the Supervisor.

"Can you tell me what you've found?"

"Aside from the obvious? We found a gold chain, judging from the marks that were on Chu's throat it looks like it was used to garrotte him before he was thrown from the window. Its been sent to the lab, we'll find out more there. Other than that not much, no forced entry, no signs of a struggle. In my opinion this was a professional hit".

"You're sure of that?

"Didn't you hear? We also found the bodies of several guards. If this was an inside job why bother with the hired help?"

"You're saying that a professional hit man cut through Chu's bodyguards, choked him for no reason, then threw him out the window?"

"The choking could be for interrogation purposes. I'm saying professional because its so clean. We found nothing on the other bodies, just the chain. And I think it was left there just to spite us"

"Ok, if you find anything else let me know" Li gave him his mobile number then left.

-

"Something doesn't add up" Erika said to Dante as they stood in wait behind a nightclub that according to Li, was owned by Han. They had decided that it would be the best place to start looking for him. His rival had, after all, just been eliminated. It was safe to bet he would be celebrating.

"Explain" Said Dante.

"Li said that the attacks started..."

"Li again? Erika, I'm not blind. What is your problem with him?"

"Dante, listen! Li said that the attacks started two weeks ago, right?"

"That's right"

"Last night he said it was one week. I think he knows more than he's telling us".

Dante drew his guns. Now that he thought about it, Li did seem very on edge. That could be work related, detective sounded like a very stressful job. Either way right now it didn't matter. Making a mental note to ask Li about it later he turned to the girl.

"This is boring the hell outta me. I say we go in there and drag Han out. Life's too short to spend waiting for creeps like him".

Erika drew her own weapons in agreement. The easiest way in would be the fire exits. A quick smile at the thought of an end to the boredom and Dante was all business. He ran at the fire door, jumping at it and hitting both feet off it. The door broke under the assault and fell in with Dante still riding on top of it. As it slid forward a few feet he fired off a few rounds, taking out the lights above him and plunging the club into darkness. Screams filled the club as the herd of people inside stampeded towards the exits. Han's soldiers responded to the challenge. They opened fire at the space where they had seen Dante enter. He had already moved, diving for cover behind the tables that had been overturned in the madness. Flashes of automatic fire behind him told him that Erika had joined the fray. She used a pair of Beretta M93Rs, smaller and less powerful than his own 45's but more than fast and accurate enough to make up for it. They sang a different tune to Ebony and Ivory, yet they sounded good together. The guards answered with a choir of pistols and rifles, each gun sang it's own song. The music accompanied by the fearful cries of those who had not yet evacuated. Erika dived to join Dante.

"Having fun yet?" She asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Kiddo, we're just getting warmed up" Dante held before breaking cover. Some of the choirboys rushed towards him. Dante grabbed the first one and cracked his head off the nearest wall before throwing his prone figure back to his comrades. With the sound of the M93Rs providing cover Ebony and Ivory harmonised. The choir broke apart as its members scattered. Then a new voice joined the melody, the bass boom of a revolver. In the poor light left in the club Dante could just make out the figure of Li at the broken fire exit. Li ran to the table where Erika was positioned. Then his gun fell silent.

"Han's running!" He yelled above the chaos. He ran out blindly, chasing the mob boss. He didn't notice the soldier raise his gun and start to fire until a figure pushed him to the ground. Erika landed on top of him.

"You bastard, are you trying to get yourself killed?" She screamed in his face. Li pushed her off and resumed his chase.

"Dante!" She called out before running after Li.

-

Han was a fat mook, and fat mooks don't set speed records. By the time he had made it to a nearby alleyway he was ready to collapse. As he leaned on a wall, clutching at his chest, a silent figure approached him.

"Was it you?" Han had never heard that silky voice before, but the gun to his forehead got his attention.

"I swear to God I don't know what you mean!" Han said quickly.

"Not so tough without your army. Did you summon the best that killed my partner?"

"I have never seen you before, I don't know your partner" Han pleaded. At that moment a deathly low growling reached their ears. The Long Haired Man smiled a honeyed little smile.

"How poetic" He commented.

"Don't move!" Said a voice from behind them.

"Detective Li, how fortunate that you could join us" The Long Haired Man said in an airy manner.

"Who are you and how do you know my name?" Li asked, keeping his gun raised.

"Do keep back, I would hate to see you harmed"

The Long Haired Man grabbed Han by the arm and pushed him in the direction that the growling had came from. The beast stepped out of the shadows and seized hold of the struggling crime boss with those freakishly long arms.

"Now I must take my leave" Said The Long Haired Man politely as he turned away from the scene. Li watched, transfixed, as the creature extended it's hideous tongue and plunged the two barbs deep into the eyes of the crime lord. A chorus of sound and metal tore into the monster as Dante and Erika caught up with them. The beast dropped it's prey and ran. Dante went over to the prone form of Han while Erika shot Li a look of deepest loathing.

"You were gonna watch that thing kill him" She said in no uncertain terms. Li didn't answer her. Dante came over to them.

"The man's alive, barely" He said.

"Dante, this 'Brave Officer' was just gonna let that thing rip him apart" Erika spat

"That isn't true" Li argued.

"I've had it with you! Just because you've got a badge you think you can do whatever you want. You're all the same" She growled before storming off.