Out of the kids that had arrived at camp, Cleo and her friends, Luke and Elena seemed to be the only one that shared Candice's enthusiasm. Zick had a sneezing problem, and Trudy was apathetic, lingering in the background in an attempt to avoid camp activities. Some even noticed she sat alone on the sidelines a lot. Zick was sneezing like mad when around the squad's more monstrous members.
"We're still on terra firma, ya lug." Gydeon said, carrying Zick up, the poor boy flailing like hell.
"Keep going, Trudy!" Mystle yelled up to the purplette. "You'll love the zipline!"
Trudy tilted her head to one side. "What's a zipline?" she scoffed, glancing down at her phone. "I'm just trying to get cell phone reception."
"Okay, kid," Roman told Luke once he got set up for him to go. "Whenever you're ready, just stop off the-"
"Whoo-hoo!" Luke cheered with a laugh as he started to zip.
"Platform..." Roman then finished, confused, as he saw Luke zipping through the woods, as Roman got started with setting Nom-Nom up to head down on the zipline.
While that was going on, Neo, Furina, Brit, Draxulac and Randall were helping Ladd and Graham make food.
"So, how is it?" Furina asked.
"Hmm..." Ladd sampled some. "There's something missing in my Five Alarm Gnocci."
Just then, two men suddenly appeared, one was holding a guitar.
"What did you just say? Did I hear it right? There's an H between the letter C and letter I. Gnocci is wrong, so please repeat with me. It's gnocchi, say it right." The man in the white shirt sang, as the man in the blue shirt strummed the guitar.
"Maybe it needs one of the hottest peppers on the planet." Graham suggested.
Furina picked up a green pepper and then ate it.
"Oh crud, babe, I think that's too spicy!" Neo spoke up urgently, but it was too late.
"Okay..." Randall bowed his head. "I suggest we duck."
"We need water." Ladd said.
Everyone backed up as Furina started to have fiery hot breath, included with smoke, and Neo turned on the sink faucet to cool the poor archon down from her fiery pepper episode. Everyone all kept their heads down until it would be safe. And after a while, Furina let out most of the water.
"Eh, you okay?" Ladd asked nervously.
"Yeah." Furina nodded before burping out some smoke.
Graham coughed and waved away the smoke. "I think we should take it easy on the peppers, though not the flakes." he then chuckled lightly.
Furina nodded with a chuckle. "Now, pizza!"
"Okay." The blue shirt Italian said.
"Pizza." Furina stacked pizza rolls on top of a pizza
"What?" The white shirt Italian said.
"Pizza." Furina stacked a pizza slice on top, then stacked pizza bagels on top.
"Wait, stop!"
"Pizza!" Furina stacked a pizza slice on top and stacked pizza Pringles on top.
"I think it's enough."
"Pizza!" Furina stacked pizza slices on top.
"Basta!" The two Italians said.
"Pizza!" Furina stacked hot pockets on top.
"That's it! That's it." The Italians said.
"Pizza!" Furina stacked buffalo chicken pizza slices on top.
"I think you're gonna be sick!" The white shirt Italian said, before the blue shirt Italian strummed the guitar, and the white shirt Italian got out a wooden spoon. "Mamma Mia! That's a pizza overdose!"
"Now, for the appetizer!" Graham said, getting a large ball of dough out, and started spinning it, the dough getting bigger and bigger.
"Mamma Mia, what is that? That piece is bigger than a sombrero hat! Approved!" The Italians sang, as Furina dragged out a giant bag of candy.
"Why are there so many candies around?" The white shirt Italian asked, as Randall poured a lot of chocolate spread on the pizza dough, adding candy versions of sushi on it.
"They're making sushi pizza with Nutella!" The Italians said.
"This is terrible!" The blue shirt Italian exclaimed.
"おじいちゃん! Come here!" The white shirt Italian said, as an old man appeared suddenly.
"Signora, no!" The three yelled.
"何してるの?" The old Japanese man said, as Furina dumped a lot of sugar onto the candy sushi pizza.
"Respect the sushi." The old Japanese man said.
"And respect the pizza too." The Italians said.
"Oh, Dio mio! Look how much chocolate she's putting on the pizza!" The blue shirt Italian exclaimed, seeing Neo add a lot of chocolate candy on the pizza.
"Chefs, I think you're exaggerating a little bit!" The white shirt Italian said, as Ladd pushed it into the oven.
"And now he puts this monstrosity inside the oven!" The blue shirt Italian said, as Ladd got it out, as they saw it was burnt at the edges.
"He looks so happy about this chocolate mappazzone!" The white shirt Italian said.
"Now, for the entree!" Draxulac said, putting a head of cabbage on the table.
"What is he doing?!" The Italians yelled, as Furina dug a hole in the center, as the old Japanese man disappeared.
"Take cabbage and make a hole in the center." The white shirt Italian said, as Graham stuffed meat in the center.
"Stuff the cabbage with the meat." The blue shirt Italian said, as Ladd put all sorts of cheese in the center.
"Find the worst cheese in your supermarket and then pour it inside this cabbage bowl." The white shirt Italian said, as Draxulac started wrapping ground beef around the cabbage.
"Ah, now my favorite part. Wrap the whole cabbage in meat so we will have a huge meatball." The blue shirt Italian said, as Furina started wrapping it in bacon.
"Now, since we are Americans, let's cover everything with fresh bacon." The white shirt Italian sarcastically said, as Neo put the salad meatball in the oven.
"Put it for 12 hours inside the oven and hope it won't explode." The blue shirt Italian said, as Furina sped up time to get it out.
"And now we made the bowling ball of the devil." The white shirt Italian said.
"Now, for another entree!" Furina said.
"I wanna drop!" The blue shirt Italian yelled, as Furina got out more ground beef, as Neo got out spaghetti. "Oh Dio, no!"
"She made a boat with the meat and she put the spaghetti inside." The white shirt Italian said, as Neo put pasta sauce and mozzarella into the beef boat.
"Why do you use the fresh mozzarella? It's yellow." The blue shirt Italian said, as Furina tossed Parmesan and rosemary into it.
"Signora, the parmesan that you buy at Walmart is not fresh." The white shirt Italian said, as Ladd poured barbecue sauce on the beef boat.
"At this point, the question is, why do you hate Italians?" The Italians yelled, as Graham put more bacon on the beef wrap.
"Bacon, bacon, bacon. Americans love bacon." The blue shirt Italian said, as Randall pushed it into the oven.
"I really don't want to see this abomination." The white shirt Italian said, terrified at what the squad made.
"Signoras and Signors, this is so ugly. You should be banned from the kitchen." The blue shirt Italian said, as Ladd smiled at the wrap.
"Well, this is an MM. Meat mappazzone." The white shirt Italian said.
"Now, for the main course!" Furina said, before proceeding to put pizza dough in a giant metal bowl and putting pasta sauce, spaghetti and lots of cheese into it.
"That's a lot of cheese." The blue shirt Italian said, as Furina put dough on top.
"I don't understand what they are making." The white shirt Italian said, as Furina stacked sauce and pepperoni on top, even breaking some of the spaghetti.
"It's a giant spaghetti Chicago Deep Dish!" The blue shirt Italian said, as the white shirt Italian glared.
"Get the cross!" The white shirt Italian said, as the blue shirt Italian got a cross out, as Draxulac cringed at the cross.
"Signora, what's wrong with you?!" The Italians yelled, before the blue shirt Italian started strumming his guitar. "One way ticket to hell!"
Time went by faster than anyone and where Alessandra began to use her skills with an umbrella sword, which seemed to get everyone's attention.
"Well, you got skills..." Laura said.
"That was so cool!" Luke smiled.
"Oh, this?" Alessandra smiled back. "This is nothing for someone like me."
"Could you teach me?" Luke hoped.
"Well, we can try, but isn't Candice your camp counselor?" Alessandra asked.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't learn from more than one camp counselor." Luke smiled.
"I guess that sounds fair." Alessandra said.
Alessandra laughed a little before she started to teach Luke some techniques. Luke smiled as he paid close attention to Alessandra's moves and became very excited.
"I don't mean to brag, but I was Little Moose Fire Starting Champion for six years," Candice said, as she started a fire as it was getting dark. "And with a little practice, you too can master this skill." She was soon outclassed again as another campfire was started and where she looked to see it was from Masaki, who was standing with one hand outstretched, a ring bearing an arrow-shaped jewel gleaming on one hand, wearing a light blue tunic and trousers with a short cape, as ghost dragon slithered out of the resulting portal. "…Burt, how long have you been offering magic classes?" An astonished Candice asked, she came over to roast marshmallows.
"I didn't teach him that!" Burt insisted.
"Well I sure as hell didn't!" Drakus shouted. "Oh damn, maybe I should…"
"Oh my Oum… Masaki, you're a wizard?!" An incredulous Chuluun shouted.
Surveying his surroundings, Shendu's eyes soon locked onto Sabrina. Taking in the hair, clothes, and the eyes looking at him in shock. Shendu had to guess the was around the same age as the damn girl that followed Chan around, the same one that also destroyed his physical body with his own dragon Talisman!
The thought made Shendu release a vicious snarl as flames escaped his mouth. Though this also presented Shendu a chance to release some of his boiling anger, and perhaps even use the girl as a host in this wretched realm, before his siblings found him.
"Really, Masaki, a ghost dragon? Well, at least we have a free campfire lighter." Hibiki said.
While normally something like that wouldn't scare her, given she knew ghosts and dragons are real. But given the fact this was one looked beyond pissed at her, for some reason.
The large snake-like dragon slithered in the air, surrounding the group here with a sinister chuckle.
"Hm, a ghost? I suppose in a way I am dead, but here I am in the flesh…so to speak." Shendu said with a faint smile, that was anything but good.
Quicker than anyone could react, Shendu launched forward and wrapped around Sabrina tightly, as he thrashed around, trying to escape; but Shendu was stronger than he looked. Shendu brought his prize to his face, his smile becoming bigger and more frightening.
"If it's any consolation, this isn't anything personal, but your appearance brought up rather painful memories for me. But don't worry, I'll make sure your suffering is nice and slow." Shendu hissed, taking sadistic glee as he tightened his hold on the poor girl, making Sabrina yelp in pain.
However, before Shendu could lung forward and kill the girl, he was stopped when a flash of red light struck him. The dragon was sent reeling as waves of agony hit him; he felt the light forcing itself into his very being as he was sucked into Sabrina's body. This also caused him to release his grip on the girl, who landed on the ground with a grunt and breathed in deeply.
"Okay…don't know what that burst of energy was…but at least it…huh…" Sabrina trailed off when she saw something strange.
A glowing red light surrounding her body and extended out, connecting to a greenish-amber light with red flecks.
Sabrina wasn't the only one confused, the Demon Sorcerer, through Sabrina's eyes, looked at the lights in stunned silence, but also had some recognition.
"Well, it would seem for once fortune is finally favoring me." Shendu said in Sabrina's head.
"Get out of my head, foul serpent, or I'll…I'll…" Sabrina said, while struggling to think of something she could do.
Sabrina wasn't the only one confused, the Demon Sorcerer, through Sabrina's eyes, looked at the lights in stunned silence, but also had some recognition.
"Even if you could by some chance harm me. As of now, you can no longer escape me than I can you. Our energies, no, our very essences have become one and the same." Shendu said.
"And what exactly do you mean?" Sabrina asked.
Shendu gave a wide, fang filled smile as his tail reached up and poked Sabrina on the forehead.
"You have become my new vessel."
"…"
"…"
"…so you're basically possessing Sabrina's body?" Louise asked.
Shendu's smile dropped and he looked at the girl that said that with what could be an exasperated look.
"I'd have thought someone talented enough to open a portal to the Netherworld would know what a vessel is." Shendu said.
Given the fact the girl with pink hair and the brunette boy were both young and yet talented enough to open a portal to the Netherworld, Shendu couldn't be faulted for thinking the two must be magic prodigies.
"Hey! Most of us know what a vessel is and I didn't even mean to bring you here!" Masaki said, while crossing his arms with a huff, not willing to be talked down to by this jerk.
Shendu shook his head and muttered something under his breath that everyone couldn't hear.
"Regardless, a vessel is a being that serves to assist wizards and sorcerers in their practice of magic, often having spirits possess suiting bodies to get things too dangerous for humans to handle. However, for Demon Sorcerers such as myself, they serve a far more important task." Shendu said, with Sabrina shivering as he wrapped himself around the girl once again, albeit not as tightly or painfully.
"They act as an anchor between worlds." Shendu revealed, with his face beside Sabrina's own, while sporting a knowing smirk.
"And that means?" Sabrina asked, looking calm.
"With you, I'm now able to keep away from the cursed Netherworld and remain on Earth." Shendu answered.
'Oh dear.' Sabrina thought, now feeling the full weight of what happened.
She's basically become a doorway for a demon to walk the Earth.
"Yeah well, as if I'm gonna help you. And if you're trapped here, then that means there's someone that can just send you back here." Sabrina said calmly, while on the inside she was very nervous.
She didn't know how long this demon had been trapped, it could have been hundreds of years and the person who trapped him could be long dead. Not to mention from what she's read, the Familiar Bond between Master and Familiar is one that no one has ever fully understood or knew how to break. A vessel bond between a human and a demon was practically unheard of.
"I doubt that very much. Even if that annoying Chi Wizard and his damn ilk managed to find me, with you as my anchor, they cannot send me anywhere I can't just escape. And the vessel bond is one of the most advanced forms of Chi Magic in the world, so the chances of it being broken are nigh impossible." Shendu said, with Sabrina now completely confused and baffled at his words.
'Chi Magic?' Sabrina thought, having never heard of that form of magic before.
Then again, she also never thought she'd meet a demon and become its Familiar, so who knows what other types of magic there are. For now, she couldn't do anything, especially with the bond keeping her bound to the dragon.
The next few minutes were filled with nothing but silence, as Shendu looked around as if searching for something. Then without warning, he suddenly stopped, though Sabrina didn't see anything that could have caught his attention.
"So, are you really a wizard, Masaki?" Roman asked.
Masaki sighed, as if he didn't just cause someone to become linked to a literal dragon demon. "No, I'm an alchemist."
"But you cast a magic spell, like a wizard!" Rayco protested.
"It was an alchemical formula."
"And have a magic ring, like a wizard! Specifically, Kamen Rider Wizard," Momoko pointed out.
"It's an Alchemist Ring."
"And wear wizard's clothes, like the Mystic Force Power Rangers!" Kamdor added.
"It's an Alchemist Uniform."
"I don't really see a difference," a skeptical Shendu said. "Isn't alchemy another kind of magic?"
"Well, it's the art of creating something from nothing and giving life to the lifeless, so yes," Masaki admitted. "But you don't have to be a wizard to be an alchemist!"
"Does it help?" Lune asked.
"…Yes."
"So, you're emphatically not a wizard," Mystle said. "But you dress like a wizard and have a ring like a wizard. Kinda sounds like you wish you were a wizard but can't be and are in denial over it."
Masaki sighed. "We… very well might be."
"If you're an alchemist, does that mean you can do awesome stuff like the Elric Brothers?!" Satsuki asked eagerly. "Like transmute matter or create Homonculi or Chimeras or Philosopher's Stones?!"
"What? No! That franchise wildly misrepresents what alchemists can do!" An offended Masaki declared.
"How so?" Varian asked.
"Well, for one thing, we aren't nearly that cool," he admitted. "And we don't make that other stuff."
"Well, that's probably a good thing, considering the methods used in Fullmetal Alchemist," Satsuki admitted.
"But didn't ancient alchemists create the Alphas and Devourers?" Rayco pointed out. "And I believe Wiseman used a Philosopher's Stone, didn't he?"
"Yes, and look how well those turned out," Masaki snarked.
"Ah, a fair point." Miratrix said.
"I mean, the closest we come these days are Chemies, but those are usually accidents," Masaki admitted.
"What's a Chemy?" Philia asked weakly, finally taking part in the conversation.
"Artificial life forms created from inanimate objects come to life that possess supernatural powers that defy the natural order, so we seal them in cards whenever they get created," Masaki explained.
Momoko gasped. "And then you use them to battle each other in absurdly high-stakes children's card games to decide the fate of the world?!"
"No, that would also be much cooler than what we actually do," Masaki grumbled.
"Nice going, kiddo!" Angel praised the young boy.
"Who's got the marshmallows?" Roman asked with a chuckle. "And when and how did you become a wizard-"
"Alchemist."
"And why didn't you tell anyone?"
"Well, you know all those extracurricular activities I've been taking?" Masaki asked.
"Yes, and we know your dad and mom are very proud of that, it will definitely make your college resume look that much more impressive," Rayco said.
The boy fidgeted. "Yeah, pretty much all of those are lies except for basketball. I've been attending a secret Academy hidden beneath my school where promising students are taught to be alchemists."
"What?! How did that never come up during PTA meetings?!" Neo signed.
"This is just as much news to me as it is to you," Burt insisted.
"That's because the whole thing is a secret. None of the other faculty know about it, and the teacher said we can't tell anyone about it because the world of alchemy is supposed to be hidden from the rest of the world," Masaki explained.
"… But… Isn't the existence of magic and alchemy pretty well known by now? I mean, there's tons of schools, everyone knows about the Mystic Force Power Rangers and Wizard, and there's the White Hive Ranger…" Momoko pointed out.
"That's what I said," Masaki complained. "But the teacher got all huffy and asked if I really thought I knew better than the Alchemy Association, so I stopped talking."
"What?! Tell me who he is, and I'll make sure he gets reserved a seat in Hell, maybe even Fraud!" Ridley said angrily.
"Okay, but it won't go better than the other half dozen times mom talked to him," Masaki said wearily.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"This isn't the first time any of my classmates, my teachers and my mom have found out I'm an alchemist, and every time they do, they get their memories wiped," Masaki said uncomfortably.
Everyone gasped.
"Okay, have you been screwing with their memories?!" Ora demanded.
"I haven't," Masaki emphasized.
That just made the squad angrier.
"Dude, are you in a cult?" Rayco asked. "Because it kind of sounds like you're in a cult."
"It's not a cult!" Masaki protested.
"Which is exactly what someone who was in a cult would say." Shendu pointed out.
"I'm outraged this has been going on right beneath everyone's noses this whole time!" Roman said angrily. "On a related note, are they accepting new students, and how big a bribe does Anubis need to make to make the teachers not wipe the squad's memories of alchemy?"
Rayco groaned. "You're really like my mom, aren't you?"
"Masaki, from what you said, you're spending a significant amount of time every day with other children in a subterranean area with a powerful and controlling man telling you what to do and what to think and insisting you keep this a secret from your parents and other teachers and abusing power to make sure it stays a secret," a very concerned Burt said, kneeling down to look Masaki in the eye, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Please answer me truthfully: do you feel safe with this man? Has he done or said anything that makes you uncomfortable?"
Drakus pulled out a lovingly crafted doll of Masaki. "Mini-Elric, if he's touched you, please indicate where on the doll did he touch you. This is a safe space."
Masaki groaned. "This is why I hate it when people find out, we have to go through this every time, they get all worked up and try to get my hopes up, and nothing matters in the end because he'll just make them forget it all again."
"This time will be different," Drakus promised.
"People said that before and they've always been wrong," Masaki countered.
"This time, things really are different," he insisted, gesturing to himself and the squad. "Please, Masaki. Who is he?"
Masaki hesitated. "… Fine. It's-"
"Zero Barrier!"
"As from the One, are all things born!"
A shimmering magical barrier formed before the squad and campers, the chains and metal bands made from nearby desks and chairs striking it with resounding fury… And ultimately failing to penetrate.
A pale Masaki gawked as a somewhat dumpy man with large jowls, a sour expression on his face, and uniform like his own but in black and gold stormed into the room, the ring on his finger glowing. "Professor Itami?!"
"Professor – hang on, that's the alchemy teacher guy you were trying to tell us about?!" An outraged Rayco demanded. "The one who keeps brainwashing us?!"
"Not only that, but he's also the camp's janitor!" Burt realized. "I always thought he was stealing my lunch from the fridge, not something like this!"
"Actually, I was also stealing your lunch," Itami admitted, not even sparing a glance.
"Did you really need it, though?" Minami snarked, looking at the teacher's waistline.
"Masaki! What have you got yourself into this time?!" Itami demanded, ignoring the nurse as he glared at the cowering boy.
"Mr. Itami, I hardly think the Woodsman is his fault-" Maria protested.
"Not that!" Itami said dismissively. "That's nothing to do with us! I'm talking about how Masaki has, once again, broken the law by revealing the existence of alchemy to outsiders!"
Everyone stared at him.
"I'm sorry, what?" Grim said.
"But… I think most of us already knew alchemy existed?" A confused Kanade pointed out.
"I mean, it's basically common knowledge?" Satsuki agreed.
"There's tons of magic schools all over that teach it, dedicated alchemy schools, Ariel Ozu uses it in her acts all the time, and I'm pretty sure there's a bunch of regular universities that teach it as well since it's something even people with no magical spark or aptitude can use," Yuina added.
"There are several hundred websites dedicated to teaching alchemy, a significant fraction of which are legitimate," Maria reported. "The Hyde App Store even has an app to allow the usage of alchemy. I am literally downloading it as we speak."
"Silence! This is about Masaki's infraction, you have nothing useful to say!" Itami angrily dismissed them.
"What infraction… Professor, are you talking about how I used a formula earlier?!" Masaki asked incredulously.
"Yes! You used alchemy in front of the unworthy and didn't erase their memories afterwards!" Itami practically shouted at him.
"But… You haven't taught me how to do that," Masaki protested.
"That's no excuse!"
"Hey, if he hadn't done that, we wouldn't have marshmallows!" Hosshiwa protested.
"Then he should've let you starve," Itami snapped, much to their horror.
"I would've starved too," Masaki whispered, aghast.
Itami sneered. "No great loss there. You're a terrible alchemist."
Everyone gasped at this.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH! NOBODY TALKS ABOUT MY NEW WARDS LIKE THAT!" Arius screamed.
"What do you know, you're nothing more than a madman," Itami said dismissively.
"You can't talk about our counselor like that!" Philia shouted.
"This is why I hate children. You don't even belong here," he spat in disgust.
She stared at him, trembling. "Because I'm an alien, or because I'm not human?"
"Take a pick." Itami glared at Masaki. "Boy, I may be a janitor in my side job, but I'm tired of cleaning up after messes. Erase their memories this instant."
"But I told you, I don't know how-"
Itami furiously growled at Masaki. "I said DO IT!"
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Chuluun shouted, and she was not the only one who shared that sentiment.
"None of you try anything, or I will kill them," Itami said harshly. He glared at Masaki, as he stared up at the older alchemist in sheer hatred. "Just as I will do if you do not erase their memories this instant!"
"You mad? Lets…" Roman said before feeling a suction. "What the…?"
Kirby was the one who caused it, and Itami couldn't escape being sucked right into Kirby's mouth and swallowed, the man being spat out, his ring now larger and on Kirby's head, as Kirby was wearing a black and gold Alchemist Uniform.
"Okay….that was something unexpected." Shendu said.
"Yeah. This guy can eat." Drakus said. "Not only that, but Kirby has the ability to copy any of the abilities of the enemies he swallowed. In this case, he's now Alchemy Kirby!"
"So that was the Copy Ability at work. He may be a pink ball, but Kirby's pretty unique." Gemina said.
"Yeah. The puffball's got moves." Peacock said.
"According to the records, there's no limit to what Kirby can copy and use. I heard once that he even wielded a giant sword that could cut anything in half in one slice." Drakus said. "We gotta see if he can do it now. But still, he's pretty good without it. I've even recorded the abilities I've heard he can use."
"Shendu!"
The sudden shout made Shendu freeze at hearing who had spoken and twisted his neck to see who it was, with Sabrina doing the same. Seeing the two beings approaching them made her gulp in fear.
Itami blinked. "What-"
Suddenly, a black armored punched the alchemist in the face so hard his jaw broke and his teeth shattered, blood and tooth fragments flying as he was hurled off his feet, crashing into the wall several feet away.
Everyone stared at their unexpected saviors in disbelief. The first was a relatively small creature with greyish-blue skin and long, dangling arms that ended in sharp claws. It wore a tattered cloth around its waist, covering its private areas, along with having long legs and talons. The most notable feature though, were the large bat-like wings it was using to fly towards them.
The second looked like a demonic, blue-skinned mermaid, with a long serpentine tail, fins, webbed hands, and tentacles in place of hair. It also had a somewhat feminine build.
The last was a towering figure in black armor with sculpted muscles on his chest, Wolf claws on his shoulders, white fur on his elbows, clawed nails with three protrusions resembling claws on his feet and knuckles, a spiked collar, a white fur loincloth under a belt with a round buckle with a symbol resembling a tomoe on it, a spiked collar, a black facemask with white claws on the sides, claws growing from the sides of his head, horns vaguely resembling wolf ears with a wolf-head crest on his forehead, and a long white mane flowing down his back.
And the first two were both looking at Shendu and Sabrina with the same featureless red eyes as the former.
Masaki gasped, staring up at the man in wonder and disbelief. "Dad?!"
"DAD?!" Everyone else shouted.
"Your dad's a Kamen Rider?!" An incredulous Rayco demanded.
Masaki frowned in confusion. "Yeah. I said as much, didn't I?"
"You said he was an oni!" Zick protested.
"That is an oni," Trudy pointed out.
"An oni Rider, I thought he was a literal ogre," Zick admitted.
"Oh, I guess I should have been clearer," Masaki admitted. "If it helps, he's actually part wolf Makamou?"
"…He has lycanthropy?" Sabrina asked.
"In a sense," the man admitted. "I am Kojiro Oogami, also known as Kamen Rider Toboki. One moment."
He raced over towards Itami, who'd been starting to recover, and stomped on his hand hard. The janitor and alchemy teacher howled in agony as Kojiro broke his hand, and then stomped harder and harder, cracking his bones, and rendering the appendage permanently useless. "That was for my son," he said darkly.
He started punching Itami very hard very fast, blood splattering as he slammed him into the wall again and again.
"Mr. Oogami!" Yuina gushed as Kojiro finally dropped the bloodied, hardly breathing Itami to the ground, glomping her idol. "I can't believe you're here! I thought you were supposed to be up in the mountains killing Discordians!"
"I was," Kojiro said as his helmet dissolved, revealing a rugged face with truly impressive sideburns and eyebrows and incredibly intimidating eyes, like the protagonist from Lone Wolf and Cub. "I killed them."
"Well then, Mr. Oogami. We are gratified for your timely rescue, but what are you doing here?" Snatcher asked.
"After I finished slaughtering the Army of 108 Discordians, I heard what was going on and rushed right over," Kojiro explained. "I wanted to be there to protect my family, and, if necessary, die beside them."
He paused, then glanced at Itami's almost-corpse. "Y'know, I'm starting to wonder if this is really the right environment for you to work in, Burt. The reality show watching everything me and the squad do is creepy enough, but a janitor who's secretly been abusing and grooming children in an underground alchemy facility? You really need to clean house before someone gets sued."
"Everyone okay?" Yuma asked, flying into view alongside Trifa, a kid in explorer gear and a scorpion-like alien.
"Thanks to you," Varian said, smirking at Itami's almost-corpse.
"That's my husband!" Sporde, the scorpion alien, cheered, pointing at Yuma.
"Mr. Jetstream, I believe I have something for you," Kojiro said, dumping the badly beaten and battered form of Itami at Yuma's feet.
The bat Faunus regarded the janitor/alchemist with mild interest. "And what do we have here?" He asked, kicking him slightly and causing him to groan.
"Well, that's Itami," Rayco explained. "He's a camp janitor but was also secretly running a literally underground alchemy school. He forced Masaki to attend and threatened to kill all of us if he didn't erase our memories after we found out that he had alchemy. And it's apparently not the first time he's done it to us, too!"
"Did he now?" Yuma said, now looking very interested, kicking Itami much harder now.
"Then… That means he's a member of that Alchemy Association?" Trifa realized. "Y'know, the renegade alchemist cult that's been running around unchecked for at least a century, creating Homonculi only to enslave them and recklessly erasing people's memories to cover their tracks?"
Masaki nodded gloomily. "Yeah, that sounds about right. I tried telling people about him or asking for help lots of times, but he always caught me and erased everyone's memories." He fidgeted. "I'm, I'm not in trouble am I? I didn't even want to be an alchemist…"
"He'd better not be, Kirby shouldn't either, because they did nothing wrong!" Varian insisted. "And yes, Masaki, I'm gonna teach you how to actually do alchemy, don't sweat it."
"And no, son, you don't have to be an alchemist if you don't want to," Kojiro assured his son. "I've honestly always hoped you would follow in my footsteps and become an oni…"
Masaki smiled hesitantly. "I… I'd like that too, dad."
Sporde smiled. It was not a nice smile. "Don't worry, you're a victim in all this. You have nothing to be worried about. Mr. Oogami, did you manage to stop this brat from erasing his own memory? All the Association alchemists we've managed to find so far have had a nasty habit of doing that when they realize they can't escape."
"I'm pretty sure the puffball ate this guy's ring, and I broke most of his hand," Kojiro revealed.
"Good. Good," Trifa crooned, stomping on Itami's broken hand and causing him to gasp in pain. "Congratulations, Mr. 'Alchemist,' you've managed to piss off the OVDF by threatening one of the best groups we got. Take heart in knowing that after Sporde's through with you, you will give us everything we need to know to take down your entire corrupt, inefficient, elitist secret society."
"May I help?" Even asked, grinning. "There are quite a few experiments I've been wanting to run. I just needed the right test subject."
"Of course!" Jemmica, the girl in explorer gear, said with a terrifying grin. "The more the merrier! So, you want in on this too, kids?"
"Can I eat a little bit of him?" Ridley asked.
"Can I join in? I have new styles in mind that I'm certain will look good on him!" Drakus said.
"Normally those two would be a bit of a red flag, but sure!"
"Sweet."
"Hey, we can torture him as a family later, look!" Philia called excitedly, buzzing in the air with joy. "Big sis is here!"
The giant incredibly feminine and attractive arachnid robot that appeared on camp grounds lowered a pincer to the ground, a pair of humanoid arthropods standing on it. One was a huge, burly, incredibly muscular, purple scorpion man who looked like he'd survived many fights and could defeat an entire army with one pincer tied behind his back – and that you should really have seen the other guy every time, and considering all his scars, probably had fought off entire armies on more than one occasion. The other…
"SIS!" Philia shouted, flying into the waiting arms of the ridiculously attractive black spider woman wearing a red web cloak and not much else.
"Philia! I finally found you!" The spider crooned as she hugged the bee to her (quite sizable) bosom, her voice sultry, soft, and the sort of tone that would make people throw money at her to do ASMR.
Trifa and Jemmica had a horrified look. "Oh no," Trifa whimpered. "She's hot."
"The stories and pictures did not do her justice," Jemmica moaned.
"Mrs. Jemmiore and Trisha Webbaline?" The beautiful spider asked as she strode over, the immense scorpion man looming over her as an elated Philia continued clinging to her chest.
"Who?" Trisha asked, dazed.
"That's you," Mugu reminded her.
"It is?" Jemmica asked, trying not to pass out or suffer a humiliating nosebleed.
"I am Princess Aranea of the Arachide Ascendancy, heir to the throne of the soon to be restored Arachide Imperium, adopted daughter of Queen Apista XCIX of the Hive, and beloved big sister of this little honey glutton you've had the indignity of having to look after all these months," Aranea introduced herself, earning a huff from Philia, who wasn't really offended. "Thank you very much for watching out for my little sister, we were all so worried about her, stranded on this side of the universe on a planet full of insane mammals. Er, no offense."
"You're not wrong, though," Roman admitted.
"I almost infected a whole school once," Sporde bragged. "And Jemmica almost enslaved the world she was from twice."
"…Right," Aranea said, deciding to forget she'd heard that, although the scorpion, Antares, looked interested. "Anyway, my mother will be here shortly, and will shower you with riches and reward you greatly for caring so much for her heir." She reached out and brushed their cheeks with two limbs, sending shivers down their spines. "And I, too, wish to reward you."
The couple trembled. "Just to be clear-"
"Yes, my lady is propositioning you both, as you are definitely her type," Antares confirmed.
Both women made excited gay noises.
"Hello brother, sister. Have you come to see me off?" Shendu said, causing everyone to look at him with wide eyes, that he just called these things his brother and sister.
"What is the meaning of this Shendu?! How can you open a portal when none of them have been opened in the human world?!" The mermaid demanded, while pointing a claw at the dragon.
"I have my new vessel's alchemist friend to thank for that." Shendu stated, showing the shocked girl to his stunned siblings.
"Since when did you have a vessel? I thought out of all of us, you'd be the last one to rely on another's power." Said the winged demon with a raised brow, with Shendu giving his equivalent of a shrug.
"Never look a gift horse in the mouth as the humans say. And as you can see, I took my leave." Shendu said, causing the mermaid to growl and get right in his face.
"And leave us trapped in this pit! I think not brother, I'd sooner destroy you!" Hissed the mermaid.
"Bai Tza, are you so quick to judge? I have already formed a plan to return you all to your former glory." Shendu said, having forgotten how hot-headed his sister could be, despite her element ironically being water.
"Because for the last nine hundred years, you left us to rot here. What makes you think that we believe you'll release us this time?" Retorted the smaller demon, while looking at his brother with contempt.
"I'm not without honor Hsi Wu." Shendu assured. "Besides for too long the humans have ruled the land that was once ours. They've desecrated it with their numbers and polluted it with their technology. I believe it is time they remembered their place, and to that end, I swear to release all of you once I have escaped."
The demons looked at their brother, while mulling over his words, taking them all with a healthy amount of skepticism. Shendu was always a sneaky one, always looking for ways to further his own plans. One good thing though, was he always stuck to his domain and never transgressed on his siblings' territory, unlike others. Hsi Wu and Bai Tza looked at each other before nodding, then raised their hands and blasted Shendu with rays of green energy. Shendu's body twisted in agony, with his tail wrapping tightly around Sabrina, who winced in pain.
"What trickery is this?!" Shendu demanded, while watching the glow surround his body.
"Consider it leverage dear brother, that you keep your promise." Hsi Wu said, while Bai Tza smiled at him smugly.
"A simple spell preventing you from summoning your dragon minions or opening any portals. We'll lift it once all of our siblings have been freed." Said Bai Tza.
Shendu growled in anger, that they'd dare put such a spell on him! But in hindsight, Shendu would likely do the same if their positions were reversed.
"Very well, I will go and seek out your doors, which apparently are all somewhere in this area. And once I have kept my end, I expect you to keep yours." Shendu said, before going through the portal he created, bringing the still confused Sabrina with him, as she was still processing everything she had just learned.
Once she did, she could only shout the first thing that came to mind.
"Those are your SIBLINGS!?"
The Water and Sky Demons simply looked at each other as they turned to their brother and his newly made vessel.
"So, how long do you think the girl will last with our dear brother?" Hsi Wu asked, looking at his sister who smirked in amusement.
"I'll give her three days, five tops." Bai Tza replied, while crossing her arms.
Sabrina turned to Bai Tza with a smirk. "I'll have you know I liberated Skylands from the Lich King's clutches, and made her my girlfriend. So, wouldn't that imply I am suited to being Shendu's familiar?"
Bai Tza and Hsi Wu's jaws dropped in shock.
Furina opened the oven. "Huh... We need firewood... If we don't get enough soon, the Gnocchi will be too chilly to eat."
They then saw Randall tearing up, as he saw the Italians, who they learned were named Matteo and Emiliano, making spaghetti and a crucifix pizza.
"Aw, don't cry, we can just get some more wood from the woods." Neo soothed.
Ladd looked closer, and saw that Randall was chopping onions. "Oh, onions. Good thinking." He approved as he took the wooden cutting board with the onion slices and added them into his gnocchi pot.
"But seriously, someone needs to get some firewood." Graham said.
"Me and Furina will get it." Neo smiled.
"I shall come along too." Brit said.
"Good." Ladd nodded, as the two got out of the kitchen.
While those three went out to get firewood, the others were out searching for moose.
There were screeching bats all around in the dark sky.
"Me and Furina will get it." Neo smiled.
Roman quickly brought out a flashlight and turned it on and then flashed it on the tracks to see what they really were. "Those aren't moose tracks, those are footprints." he said.
"He has a point," Rayco also took a look. "They look pretty small for moose tracks."
"Oh, fuck." Candice said, facepalming. "Everyone, back to camp," Candice led the others away, as she felt really stupid now. "It's arts and crafts time!"
After they left, Furina and Neo decided to take their wood back to the kitchen, with Sabrina going with them.
"Now before anything else, it's time I reclaimed my Talismans." Shendu said, while his eyes glowed brightly as he flew beside Sabrina.
"Your what?" Sabrina asked.
"My Talismans, the source of my power and what will return me to my full glory. Each grants me the power of one of the twelve Sacred Animals of the Chinese Zodiac. Levitation and telekinesis, strength, invisibility, speed, astral projection, animation, regeneration, shapeshifting, immortality, heat vision, balance, and my personal favorite, combustion." Shendu said, while smiling wickedly at the thought of having his Talismans back.
Though normally he wouldn't divulge his Talismans' powers to a potential enemy, but given the girl was his Familiar and could do nothing to harm him, he saw no reason to keep her ignorant.
Sabrina raised a brow at that, if she was anyone else, she'd be awed at having that much power. But given what she's learned during the Skylands adventure, she knew most of that stuff could be done with magic. The only ones she was surprised by were the ones that granted regeneration and immortality.
What people wouldn't do for immortality.
Still, she was impressed that Shendu had twelve items that granted him all that power.
But for the past hour she's been walking, she's learned a couple things about Shendu. The first being he was a vicious dictator and a master of the demonic mystical arts, but most of all he loved to complain.
When she originally pictured a demon, she didn't think she'd ever meet one who could whine so much, but Shendu proved her wrong. Every step of the way since they returned to the human world, the dragon has done nothing but complain the entire way to their destination. Sabrina had to resort to covering her ears just to block out the endless rant of self-pity and replay Shendu's plan.
The Dragon wanted to regain his old form, this was a given, as at the moment he's little more than an invisible specter who's only power seemed to be to whine and whine about how terrible his existence is, how he's been wronged and stripped of his power, along with how much he hated his siblings for what they did, and blah, blah, blah…
"Um, Neo, you hear that?" Furina asked, as Neo nodded, as they turned around.
There was then a moose shown and was peacefully munching on some grass.
"Phew!" Furina wiped her forehead with a relieved chuckle.
"It was just a moose." Neo sighed.
"Yeah..." Furina agreed.
"Foolish girl, you clearly aren't well versed in the mystic arts." Shendu sneered.
"So you can think." Sabrina retorted, which Shendu pointedly ignored.
"The Talismans are not just tools of great magical power; they are part of me. The centuries I lived in my stone prison; I have tuned my senses to the point where I can locate them anywhere across this world. And I have located all twelve Talismans." Shendu said, with Furina looking at him in surprise.
"Really? That was fast. Where are they?" Akane questioned.
The demon closed his eyes and began focusing on where he could sense the Talismans. He stayed motionless long enough that Sabrina started tapping her fingers impatiently, before his eyes suddenly snapped open with an eerie crimson glow, before fading to their normal, but still terrifying glow.
"They're near!" Shendu hissed excitedly, while pointing his tail at what Sabrina saw was behind the moose, who immediately ran off.
"It seems all of them are gathered in that area and I can feel their continued use." Shendu said.
"Oh well that's goo-wait what was that last part?" Neo asked, as she looked at him in confusion, just as an explosion went off.
BGM: The Fire Within (Within Temptation)
'Oh, come on!' Neo thought as she ran after Sabrina, Furina and Shendu, while wondering why things involving magic can't just be easy for once.
The five then saw showed a rather frightening figure with green skin, a razor sharp axe with glowing yellow eyes, staring down a bat-like monster with a hellish red color, thin, leathery wings protruding from his dark red clothes, and razor-sharp claws, which equaled his demonic face. His upper teeth stuck out, his long ears twitched, and his red, beady eyes stared down his adversary with a fiery glare. An army, filled with members of many other races, all wearing black, rusted armor, surrounded the Woodsman.
"Now that is scary." Neo said, Hush at the ready.
"WOODSMAN!" Furina yelled, getting her sword out.
"Is that a rogue Shadowkhan?" Shendu asked.
"No, worse, a zombie back from the grave." Brit said, getting his sword out.
"No, it's someone who took some bad DMT, and thinks he's running around battling the damned with only an axe, when he's actually just terrorizing the local furries." Reggie said, as Brit's armor glowed green, as the Woodsman charged forth, swinging his axe, as Furina blocked it, as Neo kicked the Woodsman, who ducked and kicked Neo back, as Brit charged with his sword out, as the Woodsman blocked and smirked.
Reaching the Woodsman, Akane hid behind a nearby armored truck as a giant boulder was effortlessly thrown into what looked like the smoldering wreck of a car, with a noticeable crack, likely from whichever Talisman granted super strength. Peeking out, the four saw probably one of the most wild fights ever.
There were four guys using the Talismans, one a short Asian guy was throwing OVDF officers around like nothing, a big grey skinned guy was either moving really fast or turning invisible while shooting heat beams from his eyes, an Irish guy was flying around, picking up the shocked bank employees and dropping them from a considerable distance in the air. The only one who didn't seem to be using any Talismans was a giant red haired guy, who apparently preferred using his bare hands and martial arts.
It was like looking at a warzone.
"Those worthless fools."
Sabrina looked away from the fighting to Shendu fuming.
"My Talismans were meant to conquer nations, not used by these pathetic excuses for warriors!" Shendu growled.
"Heh, really? Well, I never thought I'd fight a knight, it's a thrilling experience. Now then, surrender or your bones are gone." The Woodsman said, in an oddly human voice, as Furina blocked his ax as Neo ducked a punch as Sabrina went for an overhead swing with Fate's Will.
The bat creature spoke in a high-pitched, screechy voice. "You really think you can stand against the mighty Nightcrawler Bandits? I've heard of a death wish, but this is beyond suicidal!"
The Woodsman stood firm. "Your goons have taken valuable treasures from their owners, pillaged entire planets, and murdered more than enough residents to get what you want. The crimes you've committed ain't going unpunished any longer." He took the stance of a man about to head towards a bloodbath. "I will give you another chance, Redfang: surrender your forces and come quietly, or I'll have no choice but to stop you."
Redfang simply screeched with laughter in response. "Really! You, stopping us? With just 4 misfits? No one has ever stood up to our numbers, let alone survived! What makes you think you're any different? Come on, time we show this fool what happens to vermin when they cross our paths!"
As the powerful bandits soon lunged towards their opponent, the Woodsman simply chuckled...
"Shame, but don't say I didn't warn you..."
The Woodsman dragged Furina down as he ducked under one rat bandit's axe, then decked the rat with an uppercut that sent him flying out of the fight. The rest of the bandits proceeded to attack regardless, which would turn out to be the biggest mistake of their lives. Some reptilians attempted to swing their clubs at him from all angles, to which Brit dodged each one and simply let them all hit each other on the head. A few minotaurs tried to charge at Neo from behind, which she countered by sliding right behind them as she kicked them into unconsciousness. A good number of harpies opted to fly above Shendu and shoot at him with poison-tipped arrows, only for the vampire to catch every single one they fired, breaking each one in half before he jumped up to them and kicked them all to the ground.
As Shendu landed, an incredibly large ogre swung his ax at the Woodsman, landing a clean hit to the side...unfortunately for the latter, however, though his coat bent from the impact, the man himself didn't even feel a thing, whereas the ax had been dented greatly from hitting it. The ogre, realizing his mistake, began shuddering with fear as his foe looked towards him.
"Are you done, yet? You could have torn my coat." His hair began to stand up on end, as if a black flame had been lit, as the Woodsman laughed. The ogre just stood silent, unable to bring himself to move. "Here, let me give you a crash course on how to really use an axe!"
The Woodsman tossed his axe the ogre, which sent the ogre into the air, then the Woodsman leapt up and landed a powerful punch to his face, sending him falling straight to the ground in a cloud of dust. With the bandits unable to get up, the Woodsman stood over his last opponent and looked towards their leader.
"This is your final warning: surrender, or get a mudhole stomped in ya!"
Furious, the minuscule menace bared his claws and fangs, ready to take a bite out of the Woodsman. "You...you'll pay for humiliating the Nightcrawlers! YOU'LL PAY!" He flew around his adversary at incredible speeds. "This is my true power! You can't possibly find a way to counter this, but I'd like to see you try!" The bat laughed even more maniacally than ever, as he lunged towards the Woodsman.
He responded by grabbing him by the head, letting the creature flail about in his hand. "If your mouth didn't give you away, then your lacking the element of surprise would have. Even a newborn would have been able to react fast enough."
Sabrina wisely stepped aside and let the possessed rat walk forward, flames emerging from his mouth and releasing a sound no normal human could make.
It almost made her feel sorry for anyone dumb enough to stand against Shendu when he's angry.
Shendu released a snarl, before opening Sabrina's maw and unleashing a torrent of flames that knocked the flying guy back to the ground and burning his pants.
"Geez, Chow! Watch where you're aiming!" The guy shouted as he put the flames out and saw his burned pants.
"…That wasn't me." Chow said, before yelling in surprise and jumping away, just as another blast of flames came dangerously close to incinerating him.
"How observant." The Enforcers eyes immediately turned to see a figure walking towards them, that being a young girl who looked tired from this whole ordeal, with one of her eyes being an unnatural glowing red eye and flames escaping her mouth.
"Now, kindly return my Talismans before I burn you all to ash." Shendu demanded in the familiar hissing voice that the Enforcers immediately recognized.
Combined with the breathing fire and the red eyes, it didn't take long before they recognized just who they were dealing with.
"Shen-dude?!" Finn said shocked, with Shendu growling in annoyance at the nickname.
"All that time working under me and you still use that annoying moniker. Perhaps I'll save myself the trouble and just kill you all here and now…" Shendu said as the flames in his mouth cast a menacing shadow over his face that made the Enforcers, save Hak Foo, step back.
"Wa-wait Shen-du, I mean Shendu, listen we'll…" Finn said, before stopping partway through his words as his eyes widened in remembrance and then smirked.
"Wait just a minute, the Talismans aren't yours anymore…" Finn said, while levitating into the air with a smug smirk.
"…They're ours now."
Shendu's eyes widened in anger, as they gained a burning crimson glow. The demon roared as flames escaped his mouth, casting dark shadows across his face. All while Sabrina stepped back, as for all his complaining, she shouldn't forget Shendu is still a demon, a dragon demon at that.
"YOU WORTHLESS INSECTS! YOU WILL SUFFER A DRAGON'S WRATH!" Shendu roared.
A torrent of flames shot forward at Finn, though missed him by a wide margin. Shendu prepared another blast, only to grunt as he was hit by heat beams which pushed him back slightly, much to Ratso's surprise.
Angered further at being attacked with his own Talisman, Shendu launched a blast of fire at Ratso, only for it to be destroyed by his heat vision. Charging forward, the Demon Sorcerer prepared to give the man a devastating punch, only for Ratso to vanish with the Snake Talisman, and his attack to impact the wall behind him, causing cracks to form all along it and his fist to smash through the wall.
Grunting in annoyance, Shendu pulled his arm back before lashing out with a kick at Chow, who tried sneaking up on him.
"Underestimating me will be your last mistake. As even confined to mortal flesh, I'm more powerful than you fools could ever hope to be." Shendu said, while deflecting an Ox-powered punch from Chow, before sending him flying back with a punch to the chest.
Shendu ducked under a fire hydrant and trash can lid, with Finn being the source as he grabbed and threw everything he could at his former employer, eager to see the demon fail. With some effort he managed to lift an armored truck into the air and threw it as hard as the Rooster Talisman allowed. Seeing the truck coming towards him, Shendu scoffed and unleashed white hot flames that burned through the truck reducing it to sizzling melted metal.
"Wow…talk about firepower." Finn muttered, before flying to the side to avoid another fireball.
Shendu grabbed Chow, who had once again tried charging the dragon again, and brought his knee up into the man's chest. He then brought his elbow down for a painful blow to his back, before watching in satisfaction as he fell the ground groaning and coughing.
Sensing another attacker coming, Shendu raised his arm to block a hard blow to his right that sent him skidding back. The Demon Sorcerer hissed in pain, while his host body was slightly enhanced from his presence, it could still feel the attacks from strong enough humans.
"You fight well Dragon, but now you face the Black Tiger." Hak Foo said, while getting in his stance.
"You foolish human, what is a tiger compared to a Dragon?" Said Shendu, as he got in his own loose stance, while Hak Foo's eyes widened in concentration.
"We shall see! Tiger Pounces Dragon!"
The fighter shot forward unleashing a quick chain attack at Shendu, pushing him back, with the dragon ducking down and giving a leg sweep to knock his opponent down.
"Eagle Takes Flight!" Hak Foo yelled, jumping high into the air, higher than any normal human should be able to, it actually made Shendu raise a brow at his physical prowess.
"Hawk Dives for Fish!" The Enforcer shouted, diving towards Shendu with both fists held out.
Flipping away from the attack causing Hak Foo's attack to impact the ground, leaving behind several pieces of concrete. To Shendu's surprise, he didn't appear even phased by the impact, though he shook it off and growled menacingly.
"Bull Charges Matador!"
Shendu dodged the charging head smash, causing Hak Foo to ram straight into a wall dazing him. Snarling in anger, the Enforcer once more charged the dragon.
"Bear Claws in Fury!"
Getting annoyed at both the attacks and constant shouting, Shendu growled and brought his knee up into the human's stomach. He smiled nastily as the mercenary nearly folded in half from the blow, removing his knee he followed up with an axe kick to Hak Foo's face sending him skidding across the ground.
"Is this really the best you traitors can do, even with my Talismans." Shendu said mockingly, as he approached Hak Foo, intent to put an end to this farce.
"Let it be known, you never cross a dragon and live."
Glaring down at the stunned man, Shendu prepared to unleash a torrent of flames to incinerate him.
"Hey Shendu!"
Stopping his attack, Shendu saw that Ratso with his arms wrapped around Sabrina's struggling form.
"One move and the brat here gets roasted." Ratso threatened with his eyes glowing a fiery yellow to show his ex-boss he wasn't messing around.
The Enforcer might not know why the kid was following the demon around, but she had to be important as the next moment, Shendu snarled in anger before extinguishing his flames. While Shendu cared nothing for the girl, her role as his familiar meant she was too valuable to lose.
This was all the opening Chow needed as he sent Shendu flying with an enhanced punch, sending through the side of an armored transport vehicle, leaving a gaping hole.
"Uh, oops. That was ours, wasn't it?" Chow asked sheepishly.
"Doesn't matter." Finn said, as he floated to the ground, grinning victoriously at taking down the demon that always bossed them around.
"Big V can buy us a new one with the withdrawal we just made, plus whatever ransom we can get with that br-"
"Light, to me!"
"Aaah!"
The Enforcers turned to Ratso's scream of pain and saw the girl holding a scythe with a bright light at the end pointed straight into Ratso's eyes. Losing his grip on the girl to cover his eyes, Ratso doubled over in pain when Sabrina followed up with a painful kick between the legs.
Seeing he dropped three Talismans, Sabrina rushed over and grabbed them, knowing at least two granted invisibility and heat vision. What the third one did became clear to her, as she vanished in a burst of speed.
'Okay Snake, Pig, and Rabbit grant invisibility, heat vision, and super speed. Impressive.' Sabrina thought while smirking.
Speeding straight towards Chow, Akane used her momentum to jump into the air and deliver a kick straight to his face knocking him down. Chow yelled in pain as he was sent flying into a car, dropping his Talismans as well, which were picked up by Akane.
'Ox, Dragon, and Monkey equal super strength, combustion, and I'm guessing shapeshifting; after all, monkeys see, and monkeys do.' Sabrina thought, grinning, as she turned invisible just as a sewer lid impacted.
"Argh! No fair! How can I hit you if I can't see you!" Finn shouted, while flying into the air as he tried searching for the invisible girl.
'Well let's see what happens if I combine them. Ox plus Snake plus Rabbit plus Dragon equals…' Sabrina thought while running and jumping off the roof of a car, before delivering a flame covered punch to Finn's side, that sent him flying back to the ground.
'…one deadly punch.' Sabrina thought, while grabbing the Dog, Horse, and Rooster Talismans from Finn, who groaned in pain at feeling the effect of the punch without the Horse and Dog Talismans.
With the Rooster, Akane flew into the air and took the last three Talismans from Hak Foo; the Rat, Sheep and Tiger.
"Shendu!" Sabrina called out, while launching all twelve Talismans into her hand, just as she felt herself become a hostage again.
"Lion Catches Antelope!"
Sabrina struggled against Hak Foo's much stronger hold, she couldn't even reach her wand as he held her arms down. It also hurt that he was cutting off her airway, and Sabrina knew that if she didn't escape soon, she'd blackout.
Everyone's attention then snapped in the direction of the vicious laughter, as a loud screech tore through the air, then the sound of metal being ripped apart as deadly sharp claw gauntlets appeared on Sabrina's hands, as a helmet of a golden bronze scaled dragon appeared.
"I HAVE RETURNED!" Shendu exclaimed as he threw his head back and roared as he was returned to his true power.
"Woah." Sabrina muttered with her eyes wide open as she saw that she wore armor resembling Shendu, she was suddenly very grateful that he needed her alive.
Now grinning, Sabrina flicked her hand up, lifting Hak Foo into the air; with another flick, Hak Foo felt his arms forced apart against his will, while Sabrina fell a few feet back to the ground with a small yelp.
Sabrina then pulled Hak Foo forward, who somehow managed to remain stone faced against the vessel of a Demon Sorcerer. Though a trail of sweat did fall down his face when Shendu's flames licked the corners of his mouth.
"You'd do well not to touch my things." Shendu growled.
The remaining Enforcers looked at Shendu and then at each other, before deciding to make a break for it. They didn't get even five steps away, before they too were lifted into the air against their will.
A large OVDF ship flew overhead and landed near the battlefield. Several people of different species, sizes and colors, all clad in standard OVDF attire, rushed out to greet the Woodsman. A light gray pegasus with a turquoise mane and two crossing blades emblazoned on her silver chest armor landed right next to him. "Agent Woodstock, sir! We've finished freeing the bandits' prisoners, just like the boss ordered."
The Woodsman, now known as Agent Woodstock, chuckled at this news. "Thank you kindly, Aqua Marine. You're right on time, too; I'd like you to round up the bandits in front of the fleet. Make sure no one goes unfed, got it?"
"Understood, sir!" Aqua turned to her subordinates and barked her orders. "You heard him: round up the enemies and keep them from making anymore trouble!"
Just then, Redfang felt his body changing, as the bat grew taller, and their clothes started resembling that of a clown.
"What is happening to me?!" The bat yelled, as his voice changed from a raspy, squeaky, voice into an almost clownish and deeper voice, Redfang 's soul being flung out of his body. "I AM AN ELDER GAWD MADE FLESH!"
"Oh no, are you guys seeing this or am I going crazy again?" Gydeon said, seeing the new bat clown.
"No, you're dead! I saw pigs eat your flesh! No, no, no, this is not happening!" Kremy sputtered, scared that Chuckles is back and alive.
"Oh, I watched the whole thing myself, hovering above my corpse that had withered away from alcoholism long before I expired!" Chuckles explained. "I knew this happened to Klutzy, and when I sucked him back to hell, I didn't think what happened so soon!"
"This is what happened to me. The rat's stuck inside of Chuckles' mind right now, watching all this happen." Frost realized.
"Um, Chuckles, please don't haunt us. I'm having a very lovely time. And Hootsie needs to become the Monarch of Little Moose." Gricko said.
"I feel like I wear bat flesh pretty nice. While I can't warp it into reanimated clown flesh in a pinch, it actually is a nice substitute." Chuckles said, taking a liking to his new bat form. "Oh, hey Gydeon, what's your favorite animal?"
"Oh god, I hate this guy. You know what? It's a pig!" Gydeon snapped.
Without another word, the rest of the OVDF agents gathered the defeated bandits and cuffed them, before carrying them all inside the ship. Most of them came quietly, while the ghost of their loudmouth of a leader continued flailing and cursing as Woodstock walked inside with him in tow, with Neo, Brit and Furina tagging along.
"Contact Anubis and tell him you'll be on your way," he said as he placed the ghost runy into a tiny, glass box (with air holes), as he chucked the box to Aqua Marine, as Woodstock, Furina, Sabrina, Neo and Brit walked out. "Let them know that the Nightcrawler Bandits have officially been disbanded."
Aqua saluted, then went straight to the ship. "This is Captain Aqua Marine to Lord Anubis. We have detained the Nightcrawlers, and will be heading back to base shortly."
END BGM
Woodstock laughed as he dusted his coat off as the ship took off, as the four looked at him confused.
"Oh, sorry, forgot to tell you. Name's Daniel Woodstock, officer of the OVDF." Woodstock said. "And apparently, you're the X-Squad, correct?"
Neo, Furina and Brit ran into the kitchen, with Sabrina and Woodstock walking in as well.
"Okay, when you, Furina, and Brit went out to get wood, we didn't know you were gonna bring it back one piece at a time." Randall said as he stirred the gnocchi.
"The Woodsman's an OVDF agent!" Furina said.
"Oh, sorry, forgot to tell you. Name's Daniel Woodstock, officer of the OVDF." Woodstock said. "And apparently, you're the X-Squad, correct?"
Neo, Furina and Brit ran into the kitchen, with Shendu, Sabrina, Chuckles and Woodstock walking in as well, a shadowy figure behind them.
"The IRS!" Chuckles yelped, as he got on guard.
"I saw smoke from the chimney, figured I'd check on you all." Burt replied, revealing himself.
"Thanks, Burt," Graham chuckled at the camp ranger. "Dinner's almost ready."
The campers and counselors all came in, along with the Enforcers, Burt and Woodstock, as they sat down, very eager and hungry to have their dinner right about now.
"Well, I hope you're hungry," Ladd said as he came in with the pot. "'Cuz I'm about to serve up my Five Alarm Hole in the Bowl Gnocchi."
"Trust us, with the ingredients we put in this, it really is a five alarm gnocchi." Matteo said.
Cell scooped himself up a spoonful and tried it, then yelped out as he could see where the recipe got its name as he felt like he was breathing fire. "Spicy..." he said as his face turned red slightly.
Drakus licked his lips as he started to eat the chili, but then saw there was a hole in his bowl which made the others laugh, except for Trudy.
'Really? Not even a giggle?' Drakus thought to herself as she soon noticed Trudy wasn't laughing along.
Trudy glanced at Drakus, as she felt she was being talked about through the Drakonian's mind.