Big Trouble In Little Wrath Chapter 3: Draw
Red flew down the street, carving a deep channel into the asphalt. The large demon rallied, his face drawn into a mask of utter shock. Smoke coalesced over him an instant later into the form of Steppenwulf. The demon streaked downwards, both his feet hard and glittering with Seraphim Steel. Red grunted in pain as Steppenwulf crashed down onto his gut with meteoric speed, kicking down as he did, smashing a crater into the ground beneath the larger demon. Red growled and grabbed the demon by the ankle, swinging him into the air and slamming him down into the ground. At the last moment, Steppenwulf disapparated into mist, reforming an instant later at the lip of the crater, a wide, fanged grin on his face as he looked down on the sea-demon.
"What's wrong, Red?" Steppenwulf crooned. "You look a bit flush! Not used to gettin' hit, are ya!?"
Red snarled and lunged at his jeering opponent, slashing a glowing, molten gash into the side of the crater in an explosion of heat, light, and dust. He looked about, mouth twisted into a furious snarl.
"Too slow!" Steppenwulf called out from across the street. "Ask me how I know you don't actually know how to fight!"
Steppenwulf vanished just moments before the red sea-demon was upon him, the side of the shell building he was standing in front of vanishing in a glowing cloud of atomized concrete.
"Getting faster!" Steppenwulf huffed, rubbing his throat. "Lost a few hairs that time!"
"How…?" Red growled, eyes glowing through the incandescent curtains of burning dust.
"All this time you've been resting on your laurels, Red! We've been training at the front!" Steppenwulf chuckled, holding out his hands as they atomized and reformed, suffused with miniscule glittering shards of Seraphim Steel. "Neat, huh? Ground up my old axes so I could embed the glitter in my own body! Surviving the war made me hone my craft! I could always turn into mist, but the fighting up there taught me to make myself hard as fuckin' diamond! I can–"
Red's taloned gauntlet slashed the air where Steppenwulf's face had been an instant before, the air splitting with a thunderous sonic boom as plasma trails followed the claw-tips.
"Jeezus!" Steppenwulf cried, some meters away, panting but smiling. "Fair dinkum, that put my balls in my throat! You got me monologuing, you asshole! Ha! You're right. Enough TALK!"
A glittering fist smashed into Red's face an instant later, staggering the demon. Another slammed into his ribs just as quickly. Red's hand snapped up and grabbed a third blow just before it caught him across the jaw, his other hand shooting out in a blade, Steppenwulf vanishing into a puff of smoke bare microseconds before being skewered.
"Alright, you're still plenty fast," said Steppenwulf from up the street, grimacing. "Tough, too."
"If that's the hardest you can hit, you can't beat me," said Red, outrage and fury dark on his bruised face.
"Guess I'll just have to soften you up before I make sushi outta you!" He chuckled, holding out his arms, dense mist extending from his hands and filling the street. "Funny thing about wolves, Red. They hunt in packs!"
Red streaked towards the T-posing gangster, taloned hand open to crush and shred. Out of the fog bank burst a demon, identical to Steppenwulf, eyes wide with feral rage. It slammed into his side, clambering, clawing. Red grunted, reaching to grab and eviscerate the attacker when a second and third copy of the Vee henchman sprang from the mist, tackling the mighty demon to the ground. The snarling, growling clones set upon their prey with unbridled ferocity, fists hammering down all over Red's body with cannon-like reports. Red cried out in surprise and outrage as the blows rained down on him from all angles like machine-gun fire. The pavement cracked and crumbled under his body, the furious assault quickly smashing the ground to rubble. His eyes went wide, glowing with fury as he swung out blindly, bisecting a clone, its midsection vanishing in a cloud of chunky mist. The clone dissolved into smoke, returning to the fog.
"Filth!" Red roared as he grabbed one clone by the foot, hauling it into the air while jamming his fist into the other's guts, his hand erupting from its mouth, wearing the replica like a sleeve. The impaled clone returned to the fog in kind as Red reached over, the dangling doppelganger ferociously gnawing on his knee, teeth shattering when they struck his spiked knee-guard. Red reached out and grabbed the clone's other leg and yanked outward, gorily bisecting the clone groin to sternum. "You think you can beat me with your cheap tricks, peasant?!"
Steppenwulf winced as bruises streaked across his body with the death of each clone, reflecting their injuries. It wasn't serious, but it still hurt.
"Step?" Stompah said, coming up next to him. "Step, 'e's too tuff! callit off!"
"Fuck that!" He snarled, summoning more smoke-clones to glomp the charging sea-demon. "Operation Whack-A-Mole is a go!"
Stompah glanced over at Red, Steppenwulf's smoke clones were about a third as strong and durable as his base-form, or about as much as he was before the war, but couldn't use his Shinehide. As such they were literally smashing themselves apart on the more powerful demon. He winced as a clone's jaws snapped shut on Red's head, losing several teeth in the process. Red's tentacle hair snaked out and wrapped around the clone's snout and face, crushing them apart in a shower of blood and teeth. Steppenwulf flinched as long, red welts blossomed on his snout and face.
"Now!" Steppenwulf snapped.
"Gotcha," said Stompah, turning to Pall, twirling his finger in the air. "'Ere we go 'ere we go 'ere we go!"
Pall gulped and nodded, activating his levitation charm, taking to the air, heading for a rooftop as he called up their airborne imp, hovering overhead in a quadrotor. "Puck, it's Pall. Whack-A-Mole is a go! I need dynamic portal coordinates for a cube ten-by-ten meters zeroed in on Red. Calibrate for standard aperture, with…"
Stompah huffed and shook out his hands, rolling out his neck, getting into the headspace. It took a lot to scare Stompah, in a way he loved the sensation, but it did put a damper on his usual revelry of combat. "'Ere we go 'ere we go 'ERE WE GO!"
Stompah bellowed and hurled himself at Red, whose arms were presently being pulled in opposite directions by Steppenwulf's 'pack', two a side as one hammered away on Red's midsection, to the irritation of the increasingly battered demon. Stompah cocked his pumpkin-sized fist back, his mighty shoulder and bicep bunching, building up power. He loosed a massively powerful punch to Red's gut, bloodily atomizing the smoke-clone standing in its way. Red's eyes went wide, a pained grunt escaping his mouth on a fresh jet of green blood. Stompah moved to unleash a follow up when he saw Red's eyes center, jumping back at the last second to avoid his shining gauntleted hands snapping shut where his head had been a few microseconds earlier. Satan's scrote, even after all their grind at the front, he was still so fucking fast! He withstood the shockwave generated by the bear-trap from Hell, heat and light flashing from between Red's hands as the air itself caught fire. The huge green Sinner braced as the two clones, still somehow clinging to Red's arms, smashed together on his boulder-like shoulders. The relatively flimsy clones literally splashed apart on Stompah's thankfully durable frame.
It still fucking hurt.
Red was on him in a moment, those killing, glittering claws reaching out for him. Stompah felt himself fall backwards, the flash of Pall's portals smarting his eyes. He spun about, mid-air, several meters overtop a nonplussed Red. Stompah roared and raised his arms, fists together in a double hammer-strike. The damnably fast demon leapt out of the way as Stompah smashed a fresh, huge crater into the street. Stompah saw the glint of Red's talons as they streaked towards his head, bare inches from crushing his skull before Steppenwulf streaked in, tackling the demon out of the air.
'Bloody close…' Stompah thought as Steppenwulf traded blows with the heinously powerful demon. His Shinehide sparking and crackling as it met Red's solid Seraphim Steel gauntlets, he could see chips and chunks fly as Red's arsenal scored the angel-metal enhanced tissue of his boss's hardened hide. 'Enuff foightin' fair! Now, I ain't s'posed t'bust dis fing out wivvout purmishun, but…'
Stompah's hand phased into his barrel chest, pulling out a thick coil of Seraphim Steel chain terminating in a cruel hook. He leapt into the air and through a portal courtesy of Pall. He emerged behind the fighting pair, swinging the chain out, uncoiling it. Steppenwulf ducked out of the way as the hook-end of the chain slashed towards them. Red reacted in time to avoid the hook, causing it to overshoot. Only for Stompah to grin and yank the chain, causing it to coil around the sea-demon, looping around his frame several times, the hook binding into the links, pinning his arms to his side.
"Give it to 'im!" Steppenwulf roared, lunging in. "All in!"
Steppenwulf and Stompah descended on the bound demon with desperate ferocity. The wolf-gator demon delivered blow after blow to Red's face and gut as Stompah landed chain-wrapped blows wherever he could, pulling his punches as the holy-metal links would damage his own knuckles in turn. But that was a minor concern. They had to keep pouring on the damage if they wanted to survive. Red jerked and shuddered under the assault, not bothering to try and break the chain. Instead, he withstood blow after blow as he reached up, his talons inching towards the bound hook. Despite Steppenwulf's efforts, he could not stop him. Every attempt to swat away the offending hand, the faster demon would weave out of the way, accepting a hit on some other part of his body. With a flick, the chain was unbound.
"Shit."
Red unleashed a terrible, reverberating roar as he wrenched off the chain. His already large form expanding, his shoulders broadening, arms extending, his trunk and torso becoming thick and thew. The chain was sent hurtling through the air by the force, spinning like a thresher. Stompah fell through a portal a mere instant before the chain streaked through the space he'd been, slicing clean through a garbage truck and embedding into the building behind it. He tumbled out of the portal a ways down the street, boggling at what he saw.
Red Nightmare, the real Red Nightmare, the Butcher of the Azathoth Casino, stood before them. Over ten feet tall and ape-like in build, the monster that had made his gruesome debut that infamous night panted and growled, armored hands clenching and unclenching. Red's formerly handsome countenance had shifted into a flat-faced horror, his mouth a snarling, lipless maw of multiple rows of sparkling white teeth, his eyes lighthouse lanterns of green glaring out from behind a writhing thicket of long tentacles lined with toothy suckers.
"'is unleashed form," Stompah croaked. "Bugga me…"
Red Nightmare snarled before rearing back, bellowing in a voice that must have carried across all of Hell. "I̷͖̝̻̝̺͌́̏̎̚ ̴̫̲̗̺̋͊͊́͜͠H̵̺̣̱͓̠̒̀̒̇̐A̷̧̩̫̺͖͋̈́̂̂̀V̷̘̜̘͙̰̏̊͆̌̕E̶̤͔͚̱̝͐́̍͝͠ ̴̡̲̩̲͍͊͆̑̀̌H̵̱̝̯̞̠͑̉͠͝͠Ą̴͎̬̝̦́́̌̕͠D̴̢̬̬̬̻͐̿̀̍̑ ̴̺̞͚̻̞̑̀̀͑̄E̵̡̢̱̥̖̊̆̈̋͠N̵̰̤͓̤͖̒̒̉͝͝O̵̡̥̪̺̻͊̎͑̌́Ù̶̡̼̲̖̅̇́̓ͅĢ̴̛̜̖̗͔̋̅̏̽H̶̫͇̹̝̙͒͛̓̈́̕!̴̨͙̪̤̝͂̈́̀̊̃!̴̜̱͍̯̽͑̀͆̌ͅ"
"Stompah!" Steppenwulf called out. "Time to bust out the big guns!"
"But–"
He pointed at the immense, furious demon. "DO IT!"
Stompah swore under his breath and reached behind him, summoning a blessing-tipped M-61 Vulcan. Not Carmine blessing-tipped, mind, as they weren't here on business, but they'll still hurt plenty.
…He hoped.
This was going well.
Well, they were still alive, anyway, the pain wracking his muscular body was proof of that
His body ached, his lungs burned, a side effect of overusing his Shinehide. His newfound ability to alter his density and hardness combined with millions of tiny shards of Seraphim Steel, suspended in bubbles in his flesh. It had broken his heart to grind up his axes, but the results spoke for themselves! Shinehide offered him the best protection outside of solid plate while also turning any part of his body into a lethal-enough weapon! All it took was finding a mage skilled enough to enchant the dust to the control ring Shoresy had left him, and he could freely move the stuff anywhere on his body from strategically placed packets.
There were draw-backs, of course. One, moving the dust from its in and out of his body as he shifted densities required perfect timing and a lot of concentration, ditto getting the dust to move along with him in his smoke-form; fuck it up once and he could rematerialize with microscopic shards of Angel metal in his flesh. Ouch. Two, while the cavities he made in his own body limited the amount of contact with the purifying stuff, there was still some, and overusing Shinehide ran the risk of purifying too much tissue for his demonic resilience to manage. As such, after prolonged use, Steppenwulf always felt like he'd gone too hard at the gym. Doctors warned him pushing it too hard could require amputation.
To achieve greatness, to become a bigshot, requires sacrifice. And he was well on his way, if this scrap was anything to go by! He was proud of his team, of their progress and improvement. Their time at the front had molded them into a fearsome fighting force rising through the ranks of the Vees army. Pall and his virtuoso portalmancy combined with Puck flying overhead, feeding him exact coordinates, could turn any battle space into a portal rollercoaster. Steppenwulf, with his Shinehide and pack, and Stompah, who only got stronger and faster the longer he fought, could do the work of fifty demons! And when they combined their efforts, they were practically unstoppable!
Practically.
Steppenwulf would admit to having maybe bitten off more than he could chew with this one. It was obvious to the veteran gangster that Red had been coasting on his strength and speed, not bothering to hone his technique, or even form a technique, really. His punches were sloppy, telegraphed, and his combat awareness was laughably amateur. The big lug didn't seem to plan ahead, just hurling himself at his enemies to rip them apart in a feral rage. Easily baited, easily countered. The fact they couldn't so much as lay a finger on him before spoke volumes as to how far he and his boys had come in these past few months.
But Red was still Red. Even though they could now actually land hits on the guy, demons of their caliber could still only rough him up, even with Shinehide! If they had their proper kit, the guy would be sushi, but the Vees didn't let their soldiers take war gear to friendly neighborhoods. Red was still strong, outrageously, monstrously strong. And fast. So damned fast, even now! It was only his complete lack of fighting experience that allowed Steppenwulf to keep out of his grasp with his smoke, and even then only just. Red would only need to land one hit, and it would be over in a squall of gore.
And now, they'd gone and pissed him off. Gotten him to lapse into his unleashed form, a form most demons could only manifest when in the deepest pits of utter rage. This was going to get interesting.
'So, he's popped his lid,' Steppenwulf thought, grimly, staring at the heaving beast in an increasingly rumpled suit. 'Damn, that suit's still in one piece? Doesn't even look damaged. Wonder who his tailor is–No! Focus! He's unleashed, so that means he's at least stronger, but he's also off his rocker with rage. That means he'll be an even sloppier mess when fighting! Besides, he's huge now! No way he's as–" A gauntleted hand the size of a yard rake ripped through the air where Steppenwulf's head had been, the air flaming with sheer friction as a thunderclap sounded. Steppenwulf reappeared across the street, panting, his eyes wide. 'Fuck! He's just as fast!'
Red Nightmare roared, launching himself at the shocked demon, the ground exploding behind him with the force of his leap. Behind him a portal opened, revealing Stompah, roaring alongside his blessing-tipped vulcan as it belched fire and depleted uranium. Red Nightmare spun about, his hands a blur as he scattered the hail of bullets like swatting flies. Steppenwulf rushed in, landing a glittering fist into the giant demon's kidneys. It was like punching Wrath steel. It had the desired effect, though, as the hulking beast snarled in pain and rage, kicking backwards. A blow that would have pulverized the smaller demon hit only air as Steppenwulf brought a doublefisted hammer-blow down on the back of Red Nightmare's tentacle-strewn head. The tentacles lashed up, wrapping around the offending limbs, toothy suckers biting into the hardened flesh. Steppenwulf vanished in a cloud of smoke, reappearing next to the huge greenskin.
They shared a look, nodding.
Stompah dropped into another portal as Steppenwulf rushed at the larger demon. The smaller, nimble demon darted about, peppering Red Nightmare with kicks and punches, barely avoiding blisteringly fast counters by vanishing into clouds of mist. Stompah leapt from a portal overhead, letting off a short burst of 20mm rounds. The beast snarled and swatted the hail of bullets away, only for Steppenwulf to slam two glittering fists into his exposed throat. Red Nightmare squawked and stumbled backwards, a hand to his bruised neck. Steppenwulf moved to push the assault, only to be sent hurtling backwards with an off-handed swipe. Steppenwulf streaked across the street, smashing a huge hole into the side of a shell building.
'F-fuck!' Steppenwulf thought as he rose from the rubble, pawing at his bleeding chest. He'd only just managed to put his Shinehide there to intercept the blow, but his hardened body had still cracked under the force. His flesh split and bones cracked, every breath was agony. 'Yeah… might have bitten off a bit more than I could chew, here.'
He looked out and saw Stompah as he portaled in and out all around the creature, letting off short bursts for the huge, speedy demon to swat away. He growled, gritting his teeth, hands clenched into fists. They just needed to tag him a few times and maybe, just maybe, they could land a fight-ending blow. They hadn't come this far just to die here! Not to this fucker!
Pall watched the battle with a grimace, casting entrance and exit points as fast as he could think. With the coordinates provided by Puck and his sensors overhead, a lot of the guesswork had been removed. All he had to do was memorize every line of coordinates for every vector within the scanned area. Not a problem for a portalmancer of his caliber. He'd always been good with numbers.
God, what a mess.
There was no other word for the shit they were in right now. Damn that Steppenwulf and his damned bloodlust. Picking a fight with those superpowered brats was one thing, but transferring the Duel over to Red? Madness. Sure, Steppenwulf and Stompah had shown their growth, in that they could actually hit the guy now, but nothing they could do seemed to do much more than pissed the hideously powerful demon off! Still, regardless of his feelings on the matter, Steppenwulf was his boss and friend, and Pall would do his job come Hell or high water! He would keep his friends alive as long as he could. Right now he was focusing on keeping Stompah out of that maniac's clutches, allowing him to pour on firepower from multiple angles. Steppenwulf, for his part, was doing an admirable job of distracting the huge demon, hoping to distract him enough for some of the blessed rounds to actually hit. So far, Red Nightmare had done a frustratingly good job of deflecting the short bursts, all the while swatting at Steppenwulf like he was a huge, muscular gnat.
'Hold on,' he thought, biting his lip. 'Let's try that trick we pulled in the Ba'al District!'
Stompah set down on the ground, obviously expecting a portal. Pall thought up the entry and exit coordinates, opening a portal to the left of the green-skinned Sinner.
'Pleasegetitpleasegetitpleasegetit!' Pall thought, frantically.
Stompah took aim at the portal without a moment's hesitation, the hail of bullets streaking from a portal that opened behind Steppenwulf. The demonic gator-wolf turned to smoke just before the bullets hit. Dozens of blessed 20mm rounds streaked through the fog towards the towering archdevil. His hands were a blue as he scattered as many as he could, roaring in pain as a half-dozen rounds found their mark, punching deep bloody holes in his chest, dark green blood gushing from them. Red Nightmare bellowed and stumbled back with the impact.
"YES!" Pall cheered, punching the air. "GOTTEM!"
Red Nightmare, disappointingly, didn't seem too put off by the wounds, or was presently too enraged to care. Oh well! They'd hit him once, they'd do it again! Steppenwulf pushed the offensive as Stompah prepared to lay down another barrage. Pall smirked and prepared to set up another round of portals.
"Hey…" A voice sounded from behind him.
Pall froze, turning around. Standing, no, floating before him was the girl, Setty, her rose eyes glinting coldly.
"Sup, pussy?"
"Shit."
Stompah exited a portal, squeezing off another burst of cannon-fire. Red Nightmare deflected these while fending off Steppenwulf, naturally, but the big grot was definitely slowing down. Stompah grinned. 'Dat wuz a good call from Pall! Dat trikk did a treet! Ooh! We shuld name it! Hmmm… oh! Da Ba'al Dukkblind! Dat's a good–'
Stompah was ousted from his thoughts as he smashed headlong into a concrete wall, the portal apparently having not manifested. The large, muscular Sinner plummeted some two stories to the ruined street, groaning as he shook his head. "Wut da fukk, Pall…"
A snort drew his attention. Red Nightmare had noticed him, flicking an attacking Steppenwulf away.
"Fuck me."
The huge demon flashed through the air, armored hands extended, Seraphim Steel talons flexing. Those claws slashed the air bare millimeters in front of Stompah's face as Red Nightmare halted in mid-air, his feet in the struggling grasp of Steppenwulf's smoke-clones. The clones hauled back, swinging the demon about through the air before collectively letting go, sending him flying over the shell buildings of the dueling park.
Steppenwulf was at his side in an instant, helping to his feet.
"Pall?"
Steppenwulf pointed a block down the street, to a rooftop where glowing ribbons of energy flashed and sparked. "It's the brat! Go help Pall, I'll hold him off!"
"Step…?"
Steppenwulf reached into a trench in the wall behind them, pulling out Stompah's Seraphim Steel chain and hook. "Go!"
Stompah nodded and readied his vulcan cannon, leaping up onto the roof of the building behind them. ' I 'ope ya kno what yer doin' Step!'
Sure enough, there was Setty, hammering away at Pall's Satanus Sanctorum, the shield flickering more and more with each blow. Stompah thought back how Steppenwulf needed to bust out his Shinehide to even scuff the kid up, hoping his blessing-tipped cannon would do the trick. He took aim and fired, just a short burst. The blessed bullets thudded into the girl's side, sending her tumbling away with an alarmed cry.
"Bully!"
Stompah leapt the block or so separating them in a single leap, setting down on the roof. Setty groaned and rallied, not visibly harmed by the barrage, but shaken. He loosed another burst, knocking her flat, grinning. "'Ullo luv! Nevva got 'round t'crumpin' ya!"
He blasted her again, pinning her, approaching. "Wut's rong? Why aintcha doin' dat gost-fing y'can do?"
Another blast, pinning her against the parapet.
"Dere's always a drawbakk wif dese fings, I foind. Sum can only do it so many toimes. Uvers, dey can only gost froo shite wot ain't aloive," he said, letting her try to get to her feet before knocking her off them with another blast. "But yoo? I figger itz ya breevin'. If a bloke can wind ya, ya cant do dat fing, den, roit?"
He pulled the trigger and the barrels only spun: out of ammo.
Setty roared and launched herself at him, fist cocked. Stompah snorted and lunged forward, swinging his blessing-tipped cannon like a battering ram, driving it into her gut. She groaned and wheezed as the cannon shattered, hovering backwards, holding her belly. Stompah swept up behind her, one of the cannons blessed barrels in his hand. He reached around and, in a single fluid motion, bent the blessed barred around her, pulling the ends tight.
"Dere we go, luv," he crooned in her ear, pulling her close to him. "Wut's rong? Cant katch yer bref? Gost out, den! Wuzzat? Yer gonna hafta speek up if'n ya wanna be herd!"
He yanked on the barrels, hearing the crisp 'pop' of her ribs cracking; music to his ears.
To his surprise, the girl did say something. Or, rather, she screamed: "REEEEEEEED!"
He was in it now.
Steppenwulf swung the chain, whirling it about, ready to send that sharpened hook flying at a moment's notice. He'd never tried to use his Shinehide while putting out his clones, it always felt like stretching himself too thin, risking serious injury. Those concerns were for later, though. If he was alive enough to be injured then, he'd be happy! The building across the street bulged outwards like a balloon, flashing orange-yellow-white before vanishing in a huge blue-white explosion, Red Nightmare standing at the end of the blocks-long molten hole he'd punched into the city-simulacrum. His clones were vaporized by the blast of heat and light and shock, leaving only a barely hardened-enough Steppenwulf. Claws slashed out of the razing light, and another, and another, the gator-wolf demon only barely able to form and reform in time to avoid the blows. Steppenwulf yanked the chain, sending the hooked end hurtling at the demon.
Red Nightmare caught it and yanked.
Rather than have his hands and, likely, arms go along with the chain, Steppenwulf turned to mist, reincorporating behind the mad demon, catching the supersonic end of the chain with Shinehided hands.
It still hurt.
Steppenwulf formed another trio of clones, the near-feral things clambering on the huge demon, pounding away with increasingly pulverized fists. Steppenwulf spun the chain, aiming to wrap it around the big galoot's neck. He could hold on for a few seconds, riding him like a bucking bronco. He hoped he could, anyway. Just a few seconds. He just needed to hold him off for a few seconds and they'd be back on the offensive. Then they'd win.
Red Nightmare swatted at the clones on him, literally smearing them against his body. Steppenwulf prepared to attack when a cry rang out over the din.
"REEEEEEEED!"
The effect on the beast was galvanic, his head snapping over to the source of the sound, his circular eyes widening as his snarl faded into a grimace.
"Ŝ̶͎͙͈̤̱̓̽̀́ẹ̶̳̘̆̑͒̀͜͜͠t̷͇̣̤̙̲͆͒̽̇̀t̵̡̟̠̞̯͋̈́́̀͘y̵͍̘̤̱̟̎̽̇̕͝?̴̬̻̺̮͊́̅́͜͝"
Steppenwulf saw his chance, vaporizing and streaking over, his misty tendrils hauling along the chain. Just as he prepared to re-incorporate, Red Nightmare reached his arms wide, his bleeding chest bunching as he snapped them shut again, clapping his hands together with an explosive shock of heat and light, Steppenwulf's discorporated form scattering on the resulting shockwave. Steppenwulf screamed soundlessly as he felt his essence spread out far beyond his known limits. With every last scrap of willpower, he reigned himself in, pulling back as much of himself as he could. Steppenwulf reincorporated a moment later, gasping and panting. Everything hurt. Hurt like electric acid and sandpaper. Even if Red Nightmare was before him, winding up to turn him into a stain, at that moment Steppenwulf couldn't muster the energy to spit on his shoes.
Wait.
Where was Red Nightmare?
Stompah was confused for a moment. If she had breath enough to scream that loud, why didn't she use it to–wait. Red? Did she really expect Red Nightmare to…?
A thud and a deep snort drew his attention.
He turned around to see Red Nightmare standing before him, panting growls emanating from his maw, now curled not with a snarl, but with a dangerously focused, hateful grimace.
"Fukk dis."
On instinct, Stompah passed the girl to the heaving monster, stepping back, his hands outstretched. He caught her and gingerly set her to the roof, peeling the blessed steel barrel from her like a twist tie, gently cajoling the barely conscious girl. Stompah slowly made his way over to an equally baffled Pall, gesturing for him to get a portal ready. When Red Nightmare had managed to get a reaction from the brat, a feeble pawing at his taut, leathery cheek, he returned his focus to them. Those formerly wild, lantern eyes narrowed to focused green slits.
"Pall."
"Y–"
The pair set down next to Steppenwulf, Stompah gathering his friend off the ground. "–ep."
"You okay, Step?"
"F-fine…" Steppenwulf groaned. "G-get ready for–"
Red Nightmare was already upon them.
Pall activated his Satanus Sanctorum charm just as the beast's armored claws snapped shut, the barrier protecting them from his fury. His fists smashed down on the barrier, again and again, the shield flashing, flickering, fading with every blow. The enchanted amulet around Pall's neck flickered and shorted, the gem inlaid in its gold livery cracking before going dark.
The shield collapsed.
The claws were almost upon them
A voice rang out. "Hey!"
Red Nightmare stopped, turning around. Down the street was an imp in a bowler cap standing outside a quad-copter. At his feet was the semi-conscious form of Setty, a Seraphim Steel dagger tucked under her chin, the razor sharp tip pressed against her carotid.
"Back off, Red!" Puck called out. "Now! Or the brat gets it!"
"Puck!" Steppenwulf snarled. "What are you doing?!
"By the authority vested in me by Overlord Valentino, I hereby assume control of this duel," the imp exclaimed, a flash of green Pact energy snapping between him and Red Nightmare. "There. Now… I propose a draw."
"Since when does he outrank us?" Pall grumbled.
Red Nightmare cocked his head to the side. "A̪͇̘.̢͔͎.͓͖.̪̟ d͙͙r̫͕̻a͉͎w̞̞͕?̢̙͉"
"What?!" Steppenwulf exclaimed, furious. "Puck, what the fuck–?!"
Stompah wrapped a huge hand around his snout, shutting it. Puck nodded and continued. "Thank you, Stompah. These are my terms: we both call it a draw, I let the girl go, and you let us leave unharmed. Agreed?"
The beast snorted, steam streaming from his slit nostrils. "O̡͕͔r̢̞͓,̙͔͎ I͕̞̟ c̢̙̼o͓̟͜u̪̦͕l͇̙͎d͓̦̘ k̢̢i̫͙͇l̡͖͓l̡̢͙ y͍͎o͚̼̞u̻͎̟ a̪̫̦l͎̺͜l͚͉͍ a̝͉n̺͓̫d̡͉̫ w̢̺̫i͔͔͇n͍̙͜.̢͚"
"You could. But do you think my pals will let you get to me before I turn this little tart into a Pez dispenser?" Puck pressed the blade in, the tiny bit of pressure broke Setty's skin, the hiss of her blood boiling on the blade underscoring the pained yelp from the awakening girl. "You're fast, but not that fast."
Red Nightmare glared at the imp, a low purring growl emanating from deep within his throat.
"What's more, you kill us, fine, it's a legal duel, but the Vees have friends in Little Wrath. Powerful friends. Friends who could make life real shitty for you and the rest of your brats. You ain't exactly Mr. Congeniality 'round these here parts, pal." Puck said, tapping his head and pointing at the sea-demon. "C'mon, Red! Think with the big head! You didn't want this, I know that much! This was all one big misunderstanding. So why don't we just call it quits and leave this beef for another day, yeah?"
"Red, no! Your rep!" Setty cried, groggily. "I'll be fine! Kill these idiots!"
"Shaddup, brat," whispered Puck. "I'm saving your ass here, too."
Red Nightmare looked down at the girl and heaved a heavy sigh, his monstrous unleashed frame receding back into his handsome, though admittedly battered, normal form. He held up a hand and brought it down. "I agree to a draw."
Green energy flared between them as the pact was sundered. With that, Puck withdrew the knife and shoved the girl forward, scampering back over to the little quad-copter, watching warily as Red approached. The copter whirred as it took the sky, camera trained on the larger demon as he gathered her from the ground. Red turned around, glaring at the Vees, saying nothing. With that, he leapt high into the air and was gone.
"Y-yeah!" Steppenwulf said, his growl sounding more like a whimper as he tried to rise to his feet. "You better run!"
Pall loosed and explosive exhale and keeled over onto his rump, hyperventilating for a few seconds. "That was close. That was so fucking close!"
"We wuz doin' gud 'til we wuzn't," said Stompah, helping Steppenwulf to his feet. "Yoo alroit, Step?"
"F-fine…" Steppenwulf sputtered, his face pale but his smile triumphant. "I j-just gotta catch my breath. But w-we did it! We won!"
"Wouldn't call a 'draw' a win," said a voice overhead, the quad-roter hovering above them. "And you're welcome."
"Fanks, Puck!" Stompah called out, grinning and waving. "Dat wuz sum qwik finkin', lil buddy!"
"…We coulda taken him…" Steppenwulf grumbled, hanging off of Stompah's shoulders.
"Quick thinking is a full-time job with you clowns!" Puck scoffed, angling a rotor at Pall. "Pall, whip us up a couple portals. I'd say it's time we head home. Step has a date with the vet!"
"I'm fine! Really!" Steppenwulf said, his ears flat as Stompah walked him to toward the portal to Vees territory. "No vets needed!"
"Aw jus' gitcher arse froo da portal, ya big babee…" Stompah muttered.
"…Fuckin' hate needles…" Steppenwulf whined as they walked through.
The quad-rotor hovered for a bit, camera swiveling about as it took in the destruction. A sigh could be heard over its speakers. "Fucking mess…"
It slipped through the portal and was gone, leaving the Little Wrath dueling park to smolder and settle.
It was over.
Kabby wrung his hands as he waited anxiously. Most of the kids had been sent back to the 'Donna, save for the ones he'd wrangled to load up their truck, Syx and Setty's accomplices. Now he just had to wait. Wait for Red to return with Setty, who'd stayed behind to help. Because of course she did. What a mess. What a damned mess! Setty's crew had returned some time ago, telling him what was going on. A Duel with the Vees, the same Vees who'd tried making a move on their turf all those months ago. Stupid fucking kids actually thought they stood a chance against battle-hardened Sinners just because they had Stands! Burglarizing was one thing, but actively picking fights, and with Vees no less! Setty should have known better! He'd make damn sure she knew better by the time he was done with her, and no mistake!
"Look!" Barkley cried, his red eyes wide. "Here they come!"
Kabby looked up to see Red doing his 'hop-skip-and-a-jump routine through the skyline, the small shape growing as he leapt closer and closer. The Sinner set down on the sidewalk, Setty in his arms, walking toward the truck. He set the girl down as the drew near, Setty turned around and tried to say something but Red brushed past her, scowling. Kabby gasped: they both look beat to Hell! Setty looked about as bad as when she'd first come back from the Vees, her clothing tattered, one eye almost swollen shut, her lip split and bleeding as bruises, cuts, and scrapes marred every inch of exposed pink skin. But Red… Red looked like he'd been worked over! Bruises marred his light pink skin, small puncture wounds that could only be bite-marks bled all over his face, neck, and shoulders. His fancy suit rumpled, tattered, with split seams about the shoulders, a scattering of bleeding holes soaking his chest and belly in flowing green blood. The Vees had actually… hurt Red? Since when did Red get hurt?!
"Red!" Syx exclaimed through his Stand, his dour mask broken, open shock on his face. "What–?"
Red said nothing, brusquely brushing by the blind kid, making a beeline for the cab of the truck. Kabby didn't bother asking his boss what happened, the Sinner's face told it all: he'd gotten his ass kicked, and didn't know how to process it. The old imp turned to Syx, who's demeanor hadn't yet recovered. The boy looked confused, stunned, and more than a little hurt at getting brushed off.
"Setty!"
He looked up the street to see the trio, Barkley, Barrel, and Hanzel clustered around Setty, pawing at her, their concerned babble overlapping. Setty, the little tart, pushed past them and headed straight for Red, her face set and defiant, as though she had a viable explanation for all this shit!
She approached the truck, moving to push by Kabby. "Red, look, I didn't–"
A crisp clap cut through the air as Kabby planted a hard, open-handed slap across her bruised cheek. It probably hurt like Hell, but the look on the girl's face was that of shock as she turned to the imp, hand to her smarting cheek.
"What did I tell you?" Kabby growled, jabbing a finger at her. "What did I tell you!?"
"I–"
"No, no, this is the part where you shut yer yap!" Kabby barked. "I told you no more burglaries. I told you to stay outta Little Wrath! And what do you do? You do a fuckin' burglary in Little fuckin' Wrath! And then, you go and pick a fight with Sinners! With Vees! What the fuck were you thinking?!"
"I just–"
"You what? You what? You wanted to prove yourself? Show you were hot shit?" He jabbed a finger at the trio, who were clustered together, looking distinctly uncomfortable as they each found something else to look at. "Look at them, Setty! You were their leader and you almost got them all killed! Not only that, but you just royally fucked us over in this turf! Every kid we send out here is gonna have a target on their backs now because of you! Syx wouldn't have pulled that shit! That's why he's the Head Kid out here! He does his job and does what he's told, especially when he gets told not to do something! You're just lucky Red was there to pull your raggedy ass outta the fire! He'd have been well within his rights to let those Fallers do the lot of you!"
Setty said nothing, looking plaintively over at Syx. The blind boy crossed his arms and looked away, a more symbolic gesture than anything. Setty flinched when he switched off his [D5H], unwilling to perceive this scene any more than he had to.
"You wanted to prove yourself? Show us all you had the stuff?" Kabby continued, his tone low and icy. "Well, you sure showed us. Showed us you're impulsive, reckless, and arrogant. Showed us you're a danger to yourself, to others, and to this operation. You're off Acquisitions. You're through out here."
"What?!" Setty cried, turning to Red. "You can't–"
"Hey! Don't look at him! Look at me!" Kabby snarled, snapping his fingers in her face. "He won't help you! He told me no more burglaries. He told me to stay outta Little Wrath. And I told you all that and you went and did it anyway. You disobeyed direct orders and torpedoed our whole operation out here. You almost got yourself and other kids killed, or worse. We don't need someone like you out here. As soon as we get back to the 'Donna, you're going somewhere you can't fuck everything up for everyone else! Now, get in the truck, I'm tired of looking at you!"
"B-but…" Setty said, cheeks glowing with an ashamed blush, her eyes glossy with threatening tears. "Red, please! Please, I'm sorry! I'll do better! I just–"
Red said nothing, turning his back to her and stepping into the cab.
With that, the last bit of fight went out of the girl, she visibly slumped, looking almost unsteady on her feet. She turned back to Kabby, embarrassment and anger glowing in her eyes, but under that was a cold, bitter front of regret and shame. She turned away from him and stormed off towards the back of the truck, jumping in with the stored loot. Kabby sighed and shook his head; would she forgive him for that? Maybe. Eventually. At that point in time he wouldn't care if she swore revenge. He just wanted to get the fuck out of there. He looked up and noticed the other kids, standing there, staring at him, their eyes wide and shocked.
"Alright, slackjaws, smarten up! Show's over!" He barked, clapping his hands sharply. "In the truck, all of you!"
The kids nodded, silently filing past him. He held out a hand as Syx set off for the box. "Syx. Keep an eye on her."
Syx shot him a sour look.
"You know what I mean," said Kabby, his tone apologetic. "Keep her out of trouble."
"Klk."
Kabby headed for the cab and opened the door, hopping in behind the wheel, heaving a heavy sigh. "Fuck this day. Red, what the Hell happened out–"
The words died in his throat as he turned to his boss, the huge, terrifying Overlord-in-training was hunched over, his face in his hands, his breath coming in quiet, ragged sobs. He turned to Kabby, tears spilling down his bruised, bleeding cheeks.
"Red?"
"It happened again…" Red sobbed, his tone and expression that of utter despair and simple, childlike terror as he touched the tattoo on his forehead. "I've lost them. My powers, Solido, h-he did it again! I-I can't… I can't see the future anymore! I can't erase time! I don't know what's happening to me… I… I'm scared."
In that moment, Kabby didn't feel scared. He was terrified. Without Red Nightmare on his A-game, what would happen to them when real trouble turned up? If a few Vees benchwarmers could tune him up like this, what would happen when Valentino swung by to repair his rep? What would happen to him? What would happen to the kids?
Red turned away from the imp, shame joining despair on his face. In that moment, Kabby sincerely pitied the madman. There was something going on with him, in his head. It didn't take a genius to conclude that the big galoot wasn't all there, but in this particular moment, he seemed almost like a scared little kid. In many ways he was. From his honest lack of awareness of morality, to his sometimes charming cluelessness in certain situations. When Red had highjacked the imp's life, he was like something out of a horror story, casually bending reality to his inscrutable whims. But then he lost those powers, somehow, then today he'd lost what he had left and was now sobbing like a frightened child.
'I really should get the fuck outta here…' Kabby thought. 'This shit's above my paygrade. And with [Bridge Over Troubled Water], I absolutely could! And Red, he's coming apart at the seams, there's no way he'd be able to track me down! Yeah! I should git while the gittin's good! Yeah… but what about the kids?'
Kabby sighed, fingers digging into the wheel. When, exactly, did he become a bleeding heart? Him and Red, they'd already done so much for these poor kids, and that felt… good. Really good. So as long as that vicious goat-headed sow was running the 'Donna, they'd be doomed to short, brutal lives of exploitation. He couldn't leave a job half-finished, could he? Mama and Pops raised him better than that!
'Fuck me, I'm already wrangling a couple hundred brats…' He thought, glancing over at Red, who was staring blanking at his feet. 'What's another one? Shit, I might actually make this one less of a cunt while I'm at it.'
"Hey…" Kabby said, after a while. "So what?"
Red reared up, turning to look at him as though he'd grown another head.
"Yeah." Kabby shrugged. "So what? So you lost your other powers. Big deal. The plan's still on, right? You'll just have to crank out some more Stands. One of these kids'll have one that'll put you back on track. Like, that was the plan, right?"
Red blinked, sniffling, his brow creasing as he thought about it. "Yeah… yes. Yes, that's right! One of them will have a Stand that can restore my powers! That was the plan, yes!"
"You're just a lot more motivated now, yeah?"
"Heh!" Red barked, smiling uncertainly. "You could say that. But how am I going to… without my powers I'm…"
"Hey," said Kabby, reaching over and patting him on the shoulder. "We'll talk about it more when we get back to the 'Donna. Looks like you got tagged with some Shiney Shit. What say we get you to the Doc, he'll patch you up, and we'll go from there, maybe?"
"Yes. Yes, good idea." Red inhaled deeply, held it, and exhaled, calmer now, reassured. "Thank you, Kabby. You're a good… well, thank you, anyway."
"Don't mention it, Red," said Kabby, turning the key and putting the truck in gear. "You hungry?"
"Starving."
"We'll grab something on the way back, then."
