Written for the Darkstalkers Fanzine, which you can download or look at for free through the link. This project was a labor of love, so please check out all of the gorgeous artwork within and give some love to the other contributors!
To fit within the zine's pages, this drabble was limited in size and scope. I wanted to use this opportunity to show some appreciation for Lilith and express hope that, somehow, she might be able to return to the canon roster if the series ever continued. It was my first time writing these characters, so consider this a test run, but I've loved the Darkstalkers series for a long time and I'd really like to write more of this cast in the future!
"Everybody to your stations!"
Streaks of white fur rushed across the big top tent to assemble for practice. Grace tossed Alto into the air high enough to spin, flip, and strike poses before gravity propelled her back into her friend's arms. Lucy and Piko applied gymnastics and formed bridges that the twins, Nana and Mimi, could weave through while Nonno rolled in her orange ball.
Felicia followed the troupe's coordinated performances with childlike wonder. The twins passed Nonno's ball to Alto while she was airborne and Felicia clapped as Grace managed to juggle both children with ease.
"You're all amazing!" Felicia cheered. She looked over her shoulder and gave a smile. "Don't you think?"
Jon Talbain set down a heavy wooden cargo container before answering Felicia at all. "You say that no matter how well they do."
"Because it's true," Felicia stuck her tongue out at the wolfman. "Are you sure you won't join us on stage? I think it'd be good for you."
"I've no interest in the spotlight," Jon groused. "My task is this equipment, nothing more."
"And thank you for it!" Felicia grinned. As much as Jon refused to be involved with their performance, he was notably hesitant to decline when Nana, Mimi, and the other girls supported her request. "I just feel like there's something missing in our act..."
"Such as?" the werewolf asked on his way to retrieve another box.
"Something that'll really electrify the audience, you know?"
"I don't," Jon dismissed.
"Some fresh faces wouldn't hurt," Felicia offered with a flick of her tail. "Catwomen aren't the only nice darkstalkers out there, after all."
Canine eyes met feline as Jon threw Felicia a stony look. She quickly raised both paws and gestured soothingly. "I know, I know. I'm not pushing you."
Jon grunted his approval and set the next container down.
"Hsien-ko has the right flair," Felicia lamented. "She can pull anything out of her sleeves!"
"Any type of weapon," Jon corrected while unloading equipment.
Felicia pursed her lips. "Hmm… What about Victor? He's a gentle giant! We could use a Strong Man in our performance."
"That gentle giant could fry half the audience with one poorly aimed punch."
Felicia sighed.
The lead catwoman clapped her large paws together and gathered everyone's attention.
"Take five, everybody! Great work so far." Felicia's smile dimmed as she watched everyone disperse around the tent. "But at this rate we might have to delay our debut…"
"Wait!"
A soft voice echoed from the rafters, followed by a screeching horde of bats. When the cloud of wings and talons reached the floor, it revealed the shape of an eager young woman.
"Can I be in your show?" Lilith clasped her hands in prayer.
The catwomen crowded around to inspect this newcomer. Pink claws raked through a mane of blue hair as Felicia's tail swished with unmistakable curiosity.
Lilith shuffled impatiently. "Please can I join instead of just watching?"
"You were watching?" Grace sneered. "For free?"
"Never mind that," Felicia waved one large paw. "What can you do?"
Lilith's red eyes lit with excitement. "I've got just the electrifying performance you need!"
Without hesitation, Lilith flew center stage. She plucked a bat from her leggings and formed it into a black tophat. The succubus' wings covered her body and formed into a red bunny suit, complete with a pair of white rabbit ears. Other bats split off and melded to form a circular enclosure of bright red curtains beside her.
Felicia and the young catgirls clapped. Lilith bowed with delightful showmanship.
"I can put on a puppet show," she winked. "I just need an assistant!"
Lilith sent the tophat sailing over the girls' heads. One quick pull of the curtain cord revealed a round pedestal decorated with lights. Atop the platform stood Jon―aghast at his sudden displacement―donned with the tophat, a white bow tie, and cane.
Felicia watched, mystified, as the werewolf's body moved against his will beneath the spotlight. Jon snarled in displeasure; his legs shuffled, arms raised and cane twirling in a strange dance. Baleful howls rejected each step while the audience of catwomen observed with wonder sparkling in their eyes.
Then Lilith produced a large white sign from behind her back and turned it around to reveal a jagged yellow symbol. The puppet show paused with Jon's final step―a shrill howl filling the tent as a current of electricity shot through the wolfman, standing every hair on end.
"No!" Felicia cried, rushing forward. "Don't tase him!"
Lilith nearly dropped the sign in all her flustered urgency. She fumbled, quickly flipping it around a few times before settling on a flame symbol.
Pyrotechnics shot from the platform, eliciting shrieks from the catwomen who scrambled away from the sudden blast of heat. Grace hurried over with a fire extinguisher and hosed Jon with a blast of white foam. His fur and clothes singed, Jon coughed a puff of black smoke and fell forward. Felicia caught him just as the bats broke away from their appointed roles, returning to the succubus en masse. She, too, sunk to the ground in defeat.
The cats huddled around their lycanthropic friend, inspecting him for damage.
"I thought you wanted an exciting performance," Lilith pouted.
"We do!" Felicia lifted Jon to his feet, "But we want the audience to feel safe. An act like that's just going to scare them…"
The eldest catwomen escorted Jon to the infirmary, with the youngest trailing behind.
"But what's more exciting than the thrill of pain and fear of death?" Lilith protested.
The young succubus hid her face against her knees. Felicia joined her on the floor while Nana and Mimi chased each other around the big top.
"Listen… I don't think you mean any harm but humans don't want to be in real danger. They like to experience that thrill from a safe distance."
Lilith frowned. "Isn't that boring?"
"When humans are afraid of something, they'll try to run away from it―and if they can't escape what scares them, then they'll fight it. Humans already have a lot of hate for us darkstalkers because of fear. We don't want to make that worse…"
The wings atop Lilith's head drooped. Felicia's ears flattened to match. One large white paw overtook Lilith's petite shoulder.
"But, hey," said Felicia, "Wouldn't you rather make people smile instead of cry?"
"I don't know…" Lilith mused, "I've never tried that before."
"I think you'd be good at it. You've got a lot of potential."
A small smile spread across the succubus' lips. She set her chin upon her knees and watched the young twins fondly; they were identical in every way, completely in sync.
"Oh!" Lilith gasped suddenly, startling poor Felicia beside her. "That's it!"
Applause filled the tent upon conclusion of the troupe's opening act. Their enraptured audience's cheers soon shifted to curiosity as a dense cloud of bats gathered overhead, then coalesced into a set of familiar red curtains.
Felicia stepped up to pull the cord. The curtains parted to reveal Lilith, bunny ears and all. The succubus waved to the audience then struck a pose; her body split into an array of color that morphed into an exact duplicate of herself. This spectacle alone sent the crowd into an uproar. Lilith teased them with a wag of her finger.
Artfully, she flew back and tossed the tophat onto her Mimic Doll.
At Lilith's command, her mimic followed the actions of her fellow performers. They improvised a variety of acrobatic maneuvers that were copied or challenged by her doppelganger. Her bats kept the audience on the edge of their seats by transforming into an assortment of obstacles, from perilous spike traps to blazing rings of fire.
The audience couldn't decide whether to hold their breath or gasp in shock with each new danger, shrieking in support of every acrobatic triumph. This vicarious thrill won the crowd over and the performers took their bow amid a standing ovation.
"They loved you!" Felicia cheered with their audience.
Lilith laughed, unable to contain her delight as Grace and Lucy lifted the jubilant succubus on their shoulders in celebration. Alto led the younger catwomen to toss balloons overhead then deftly popped them, raining colorful streams of confetti.
"Can I stay?" Lilith beamed at the crowd. "I want to make humans smile more."