A/N: hello! we wrote this halloween chapter but i forgot to upload it. i hope yall are still in a spooky mood regardless. this introduces some new characters to the story!

—

The known universe, with its heroes and marvels, but what of the darkness? In our modern world, this is where monsters dwell, alongside those who hunt and slaughter them with pride. None more prolific than Elsa Bloodstone, who previously fought her way into controlling the powerful supernatural relic, the Bloodstone, a weapon unlike any other. But now, this weapon is lost to the hands of a new wielder, for Elsa Bloodstone has been arrested. Tonight marks her arrival behind the bars of The Raft. Supernatural killers have gathered with their sharpened shivs, enemies until this night, to avenge their vile kin massacred by Elsa. Woe to the woman who finds herself in their grasp

—

The barred gate that led deep into the heart of The Raft slowly drew open with a painfully loud clang clang clang, the sound was as if it would break off its hinges any moment now. Elsa Bloodstone's heartbeats drummed in her chest, as a child she was told she'd be sealed in a tomb if she misbehaved and in a way that's exactly what was happening. Already today she'd been stripped naked and poked, prodded, and asked to perform practically every indignity possible all for the intake guard's amusement, so it seemed to her in this tomb things would only get worse. The cells stood daunting all around, eyes fixated on the English monster hunter, as she was led in. The women within the cells, some human and some not, longed for her with a ravenous madness, lust for blood growing the longer they had been sealed within the violent environment of the prison. Most wanted to see her lying in a puddle of her own blood as the life slowly faded out of her agonised eyes, or made their personal bitch where they'd sell her body out for cigarettes (a fate Elsa considered significantly worse).

At last they reached her cell and Elsa was shoved inside and the guards abandoned her to the whims of whoever else lay within. The monster hunter struggled to regain her balance as she stumbled forwards.

Elsa was quick to notice the hunched over shadow in the corner of the cell. The harsh UV lighting from the hallway that had casted a eerie darkness inside, illuminated the figure barely. Elsa swallowed heavily to prepare what kind of horror she was roomed with when the figure turned around and faced her.

The girl had beautiful, dark, though somewhat matted curly hair which framed her intelligent eyes and tan face. Along her left eye was a strange tattoo that bore resemblance to The Eye of Ra, with a long curl that extended down to her cheek. She was pretty, Elsa noted, which wasn't something she expected to find in this prison.

"Hello." The girl spoke in an accent of unclear origin. "You look familiar."

"Do I? You don't" Elsa replied rather bluntly.

The stranger nodded. "Elsa Bloodstone, isn't it?" The girl's eyes widened animatedly. "The monster hunter." She grinned.

Elsa stared at her unamused, she was hoping that people wouldn't recognize her. She had a lot of enemies. "Right, that's me. Which of your loved ones exactly did I kill?" she jumped to being defensive fast. In her line of work people that recognized you wanted to gut you alive and then feast off your flesh. It was practically a daily occurrence to come across some revenge driven brood.

"None. We've actually often been chasing the same lead." Her roommate said. "My name's Layla. Layla El-Faouly." Layla extended her hand formally.

Elsa shook her hand with caution, wary of Layla pulling out a blade of some sort. "Okay, Layla. How long are you in for?"

Layla laughed in her face. "Does it matter?" She had been arrested months ago for stealing ancient artifacts and breaking the Accords, but that was none of Elsa's business.

"Fuck see if I try and get to know you again" Elsa replied only half-jokingly. She didn't socialise very well so this entire exchange was painfully awkward for her. She almost wished Layla had just tried to kill her.

"How did you get caught?" Layla asked, unaware of the other's awkwardness.

"Turns out killing people puts you on a wanted list" Elsa said dryly

"Yeah, you won't be popular here." Layla smiled, she had a pretty good idea of what some of the more supernatural inmates would want to do to a monster hunter. She motioned towards the bunk bed, the top one which was empty. "That's yours."

"Thanks" Elsa nodded. "So I take it you're…I dunno…not going to try and make me your bitch or something?"

"Oh, no. I wouldn't dare." Layla smiled. She was slumped against the wall on the bottom bunk in a relaxed manner. "That's not the kind of job I have in this prison."

Elsa sighed as she didn't really care, but she felt obligated to ask; "What's your job?"

"I take favours and payment in exchange for sexual companionship." Layla said casually. She challenged Elsa with her eyes.

Elsa stared at Layla with muted bewilderment, she didn't think she seemed like the prostitution type. Good for her Elsa supposed. She shrugged and said: "Whatever keeps you alive"

Layla was trying to discern what Elsa was feeling, but she was hard to read. She cleared her throat.

"If you want, we can be friends." To be quite honest, she had admired the monster hunter's work from afar for years and wanted to hear about her travels. But obviously she couldn't say that out loud, because that would make her seem weak. This prison wasn't the place to freak out about meeting your hero. On top of that, like she had pointed out, Elsa was not loved here. Many creatures and humans alike had suffered personal loss because of her. It was going to be hard for Elsa to survive here.

"Well seeing as practically everyone is going to want me dead, that sounds…fine" Elsa sighed. "Sorry this really isn't my area of expertise. I would like to be your friend" she corrected herself.

Layla smiled. "Okay." She laid down comfortably in her bed, happy to have succeeded. "Tell me how you got caught. In detail."

"Fine, but you have to tell me about what you did as well" Elsa sat down at the foot of Layla's bed trying to recall the mental haze that lay over the past few weeks. "I've spent the past few months tracking one of Dracula's last remaining brides through the woodlands and rural villages of Eastern Europe. Took awhile but I cornered her, only problem was that she was hiding out in a cemetery just outside Novi Grad. The dead started rising from their graves and I was forced to use more attention-drawing means to force my way out. Killed the bride but local police weren't all that thrilled by the undead horde. They were able to link me to a town I'd previously killed…don't ask that's a long story…and I was sentenced to a lifelong stay here"

"Wow." Layla said. "Dracula…"

"Well just one of his brides"

"That's so interesting!" Layla smiled at the idea. "I love shit like that."

Elsa smiled slightly, she never got complimented for her work. "So how did you get caught?"

Layla shrugged. "Stole some shit and became the avatar of Taweret."

Elsa wasn't as surprised by that as most would be. "Sure. Makes sense"

Layla grinned. "Tomorrow is gonna be rough for you. I'm just saying."

"Oh I'm sure it will be" Elsa found herself rather apathetic about the whole thing. If this was her last night alive she didn't really care. She either died a gruesome death (something she'd expected for most of her life) or spent the rest of a long life rotting away miserably behind bars. Neither was very promising.

"Cool. Goodnight." Layla hoped Elsa was a quiet sleeper, because she hated having a noisy cellmate

Elsa retired to the top bunk as the lights went out, and ever so slowly, with the thoughts of her own demise narrowing moment by moment, her eyelids fell shut and she drifted off.

Deep in the darkness of that night, when even distant moans of intimate inmates had long since fallen away, and the only sound should have been the crashing waves outside, four cell doors slowly drew open. The women within lurked in the shadows of the prison like shades in the night as they converged upon one with a terrible plot. A hint of light fell through as the entrance rustled open. Elsa Bloodstone jolted awake to a piece of fabric being shoved in her mouth as she was pulled down and dragged off her bed, hitting the ground with a soft thud. "Some help Laya is" she briefly thought. Her eyes moved about frantically in the void as she tried to gain some glimpse of who her kidnappers were.

Elsa kicked and attempted to scream as loud as she could through her cloth muzzle, anything to escape their grasp or alert a guard, but it was no use. Her screams came out as muffled murmurs. As they left her cell she managed to lock her foot between the bars but one of her kidnappers grabbed her leg and forced her to comply. When they arrived at the exit, a solitary guard stood watch and she emotionlessly spoke: "Take her to the showers. It'll be easier to clean up the blood"

So into the showers they went. The hand that held Elsa's cloth in place fell back as she was pinned against the tiled wall, which came with a punch to the gut. In a pained and fearful haze she looked up and in the flickering light she could now see the five that stood before her; a vampire, werewolf, demon, and a couple witches (Agatha Harkness stood at centre) all ready to see her die. A hand clasped her chest and she felt the cold air of the room embrace her breasts as the front of her jumpsuit was undone. Elsa briefly considered whether this was done to make carving her chest open easier or were the inmates just perverted, or possibly both.

With a last burst of energy she broke an arm free and nearly elbowed a lycan woman in the chin, but a shiv was raised to the monster hunter's throat. "Try that again" taunted the otherworldly voice of a vampire by the name of Verlaine.

"I expected her to be taller" Agatha bemused, letting out a loud cackling laugh at her own unfunny joke that echoed off the walls and made several others cringe outwardly.

"Sorry to disappoint" Elsa said, trying to mask her fear with a veneer of wit. The blade at her throat pressed closer until all it would take is one push to cut into her soft flesh.

"Oh I promise that nothing is disappointing about you…" Agatha remarked, creepily eying the monster hunter over.

From the shadows cast by the flickering light a beautiful half-succubus woman emerged, Satana. Her fair skin was nearly deathly pale and from her long pure platinum white hair emerged two long ram-like horns. There was a demonically entrancing vibe to her blood red eyes that reflected the Hell within her as her gaze bore deep within Elsa's soul. "Elsa Bloodstone, butcher of beasts, we have gathered here tonight to gain retribution for all that you have done." She strangely spoke softly. "Consider yourself on trial on behalf of all monsters. I can't say that this will be much of a fair one. Well girls, is she guilty?" She flamboyantly gestured to the other four as if presenting Elsa to them for the first time.

The monsters around Satana all jeered in agreement.

"Well that's sorted, we all agree you're guilty!" Agatha chuckled and then with a wide grin on her face she spoke "We hereby sentence you to death! Everyone, get what you want to say to her out before we slit her throat…or worse."

Elsa couldn't help but roll her eyes as everyone gathered around her all began throwing every possible accusation, insult, and remark imaginable. Finally she yelled "Kill me if you're going to kill me. But if I am forced to hear one more bloody thing from you lot"

"You heard her." Satana smiled. "What are we thinking; heart carved out, throat slit as Agatha suggested, gut her alive, or all of the above?!"

Her eyelids fell low as she looked over her sanguine nails and then she looked up and her smile fell slightly. Elsa felt Verlaine's shiv move away from her throat and her soon-to-be-executors all looked to the entrance at once.

"How about none of the above?" Layla's voice echoed from the far end of the showers. Elsa took this moment of distraction to take the blade from Verlaine and she slashed her way free.

—

The full moon gave way to sunrise and Elsa remained in the showers, beaten and bruised with a few horrid cuts that would probably leave some scars (but nowhere near as many scars as she'd given to her captors), standing in the crimson pool that slowly gurgled down the drain, taking a long moment to catch her breath. Somehow she'd actually survived the night. All thanks to Layla of course. For now it was over. Agatha's group had been forced to flee, humiliated and bloody, back to whatever gang they came from saying that they'd failed to kill one person. Elsa didn't imagine that news would go over well with their leader and knowing her own luck more problems would probably arise from this, but for now she was ok and that was all that mattered.

Slowly she opened her eyes and…a witch, the one that had held her against the wall, was standing in the corner. Elsa only sighed and gripped the blood slicked shiv in her hand again and started to walk towards her, but it became apparent that she wouldn't have to kill her after all as the witch fearfully screamed:

"I-I just wanted to make myself available to you!"

Elsa smirked "Brilliant. You can start by cleaning all this shit up"