Chapter 1: King Crimson

Shang Mu, October 2009

A green feminine feline stood on top of a building, looking at an apartment complex in front of her at a distance. Her outfit was a dark blue cloth bodysuit with a dark red scarf wrapped around her neck, her green eyes staring rather intently at the complex. It seemed to be nothing special, a concrete foundation holding up an apartment building, though it was what was within the apartment complex that caught her eye. Or rather, what wasn't in there. People. The building seemed to be a facade for something else.

The feline then set down her binoculars and looked at the note given to her.

To Scimitar,

There is an apartment complex located on the intersection between 9th Street and 16th Avenue. The Crimson King is often in the lowermost level late at night, with very few means to get there without being obvious about it. Your best bet is to use the vents to get there. Destroy this note when you are ready to do the deed, I rather this not be traced to me in any capacity.

Good luck. You will certainly need it.

-Legate

"...Well, Legate, your efforts are appreciated." The feline sighed. "I can only wonder what you have to gain from this, but you've intercepted plenty of operations before." With that, she took a match and burned the note, its ashes scattering to the wind.

Scaling down the building and gingerly approaching the complex through the security of the shadows, she finds a vent and climbs through, the feline's lithe body landing without as much as a single sound. The sides of the vent were incredibly dusty, though that was to be expected regardless. The job was the only thing on her mind at the moment...

...And for the safety of the Scarves, her friends, and especially her family, she intended to follow through on it.

A white dog wearing green robes and a black muscular feline would be playing cards within a classy break room, the feline tapping his foot as the hound stared calmly at his cards. A set of four cards lay revealed before them, a Queen of Hearts, a 4 of Diamonds, an 8 of Clubs and a King of Spades

"Right, so if you aren't gonna fold…" The feline spoke, before taking another card out and placing it face up. 9 of Diamonds.

The dog revealed his hand: a 10 of Spades and a Five of Clubs

The feline smirks. "Then read 'em and fucking weep, you mute bastard!" He laughs before revealing his hand. 10 of Diamonds and Jack of Hearts.

The hound growls before glancing at the vents for a brief moment.

"...Oy, somethin' wrong?" The feline asked.

The hound looks at the feline and shakes his head.

"...Eh, fine. Catch ya on the flipside." He shrugs before leaving, taking the cards with him. The hound then stands up and walks out, his brow furrowed…

A mountain goat wearing yellow robes was seen playing an electric guitar in an auditorium, his strumming such that the notes seemed to blend into each other seamlessly, creating entirely new sounds seemingly impossible for the guitar to make. Somehow, he found a way to make it work.

"Fuck this 9-5 Office bullshit, I got places to go! A fire to start, a city to burn, a life to live!" He screamed into the microphone. "I got no time for dissatisfaction, it's time to GET SOME ACTION!"

A large blue ox in thick armor stood at the back, listening to the music being played. However, a small thud in a vent nearby caught his attention. Turning around, he grumbled to himself.

"Oy! Big guy! Get us some drinks, why don't ya?!" The goat shouted at the ox, though not into the mic. The ox turned to the goat and nods, exiting the auditorium and allowing the goat to continue to play.

The feline got down into the depths of the base, an oppressive atmosphere hanging over the air. The air was stale, dust hanging throughout as no light was seen. However, Scimitar's senses saw a figure on a bed, reading a book. The vent she was in had an opening behind him. The situation was perfect. Unscrewing the vent cover, it silently opens, the feline right near her target, a dragon enveloped in pure darkness, distracted by-

"Are you sure you wish to attack me, Tea?" The dragon asked, flipping a page. "Attacking me, the one and only Crimson King? Such a mistake would be the first and last one you attempt."

Sharply inhaling, Scimitar launched herself out of the vent and threw her kunai at the figure. The weapon pierced the book, effortlessly gliding through… And striking naught but the sheets on his bed.

"Are you aware of just how many gems I had to spend on those? Parusan thread. Somewhat sad you value your life that much, I say it's lower." The dragon remarks behind Scimitar. The feline jolts out of the way, getting into a defensive position and taking out yet another kunai.

"My life is worth far more than yours, you scaly bastard! How many of my friends and family did you kill?!" Scimitar spat.

"I lost count. Such frivolous details do not matter to me." The dragon idly responds. "And clearly yours is not worth that much if your best attempt to kill me is to throw simple gardening tools at me."

Scimitar slashed at the Crimson King, yet the dragon dodged the slashes with minimal effort, if any at all, before striking her clavicle. Screaming, Scimitar fell, clutching her shoulder as she tried to recover. The break was severe, the pain infinitely more than anything her training or prior missions could have ever prepared her for. Wincing, taking sharp breaths, she tried to crawl away, but the King stomped on her shin, breaking it before crouching down. "I will admit… You made it rather far. Infiltrating my headquarters and apparently managing to get into my room without arousing suspicion from any member of my Court… Perhaps as your last bit of pride…"

The dragon raised his hand, Scimitar watching helplessly as it reached its apex. "You will die knowing you were the closest to killing the Crimson King."

A scream echoed throughout the facility, and then…

Silence. Blood dripped from the dragon's hand, none of which being his. The dragon stood, staring at the corpse beneath him.

The ox burst open the door, looking at the scene. "My king!" He shouts. "What happened here?!"

The Crimson King glances at the ox. "Ah… Cerulean Samurai… Such opportune timing." He spoke, approaching his armored subordinate. "Clean up this corpse, and please, find some new sheets to replace the ones this worm decided to damage in her foolish crusade."

"Y-Yes, sir!" Cerulean Samurai nods, quickly picking up Scimitar's corpse and getting out. The King looked at the book, picking it up and noting the damage. "Shame. I was actually enjoying this…" He then left the area, throwing the book in the garbage…

Shuigang, The Next Morning.

A figure slept between two buildings. Lean, gaunt, matted fur and cracked horns, with thick clothing to protect against the cold autumn air. He was in a fetal position, trying to keep himself warm…

"Oy, wake up." A gruff voice spoke, prodding a baton into the stomach of the figure. A bovine police officer stood tall above the of the homeless figure. "You're loitering."

"Mmh?" The figure asks, getting up and clutching his head. "S-Sorry sir, I… I have nowhere else to go… P-Please, I already gave all I ha-"

"There's a homeless shelter a few blocks down, you could've gone there and made yourself productive, you mutt." The officer snorts, before dangling a pair of steel handcuffs. "Now, if you don't min-"

"Oh, grandpa! There you are!" A young, female voice spoke, approaching the duo and getting to the homeless man. "We've been looking for you all over! Guess you blacked out for a while, huh?"

The officer looked at the girl. A white falcon, wearing a purple t-shirt and a black hoodie with matching shorts and shoes where her talons stuck out. She couldn't be older than 16. "…Hey, you two related?" He asked.

"Oh, biologically? No, I'm adopted." The falcon dismissed. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll be taking the old man back home, everyone's been worried sick."

The homeless man looked somewhat confused. Who is this woman? Why is she claiming I'm her grandfather? Is she-

"Well, if that's the case, you won't mind providin' your identities, right?" The officer asked. "Your grandpa was caught loitering." He mocked.

"Oh, really? Well then, my name is Nunya." The falcon answered, before grabbing the homeless man's hand.

"Nunya? Nunya who?" The officer asked.

"Nunya Business." The falcon remarks before beginning to pull the homeless man from the alley. "Come on, we have to-"

"Hold on there, smartass, if you think you're gonna act as this guy's getaway, you're gonna be arrested alongside him. In fact, aren't you supposed to be in school?" The officer grins maliciously.

The falcon dropped the act, growing serious. "You know what? Yeah, I am. And if you think you're going to mess with me, you've got another thing coming." She spoke, stepping forward. "Old man, if you wanna get out of here and not wind up in the pokey, now's your chance." She spoke, glancing at the mutt.

"Wait, but what about you?" He asked. "You shouldn't have gotten yourself involved in my mess!"

"Yeah, well, I am now! Go!" The falcon responds before glaring at the police officer as the homeless man ran away to hide somewhere else.

The officer let the man go away, staring at the falcon. "Now, listen here, missy, I got a big badge, a big baton, and a big gun." He spoke, twirling a standard-issue pistol in his finger. "You have no idea who the hell you're dealing with."

The falcon glanced at the gun. "Yeah, I know exactly who I'm dealing with. Some asshole with an inferiority complex who bullies the homeless into either paying him or throwing them in the slammer for trying to survive." She spoke, clearly not afraid. "Says a lot when you're threatening to kill some kid for pointing out your bullshit. So go ahead, try and shoot, you don't scare me."

The cop snorts, raising the pistol above his head and attempting to pull the trigger… But failing to do so. He blinked for a few seconds. "What the-"

"What's the matter, cold fingers?" The falcon snarks before the cop notices what was wrong with his trigger finger: it was completely frozen, and the freezing was so swift he didn't feel a single thing.

"G-GUH?! WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO MY HAND?!" The cop screamed, trying to shake the gun off but to no avail. "G-GET THIS THING OFF MEEEEE!"

"Sure you want that?" The falcon asked. "Because I can happily oblige."

The cop snarled viciously at the falcon, raising his pistol. "ALRIGHT, SMARTASS, YOU WANT A FIGHT?!" He spat, raising his pistol before attempting to slam it on her, only to be halted by an icy hand swiftly catching it.

"Now you just turned this into a self-defense situation. Hope you didn't need this hand for anything." The falcon snarks before the gun suddenly twists in the icy hand's tight grip.

BANG!

The cop screamed in pain, curled on the floor with his hand twisted violently and dropping the weapon on the floor. The bullet fired embedding itself into the brick wall of a building nearby. The falcon approaches calmly and crouches down, staring at him.

"Listen, wise-ass, I don't give a shit what sort of debts you have to pay, but if I catch you or your cronies harassing anyone again, I'll leave you with waaaaaay fucking worse than a broken hand." She snarled. "Get out of my sight."

The cop slowly got up, clutching his hand and running off, the falcon left to herself before she too leaves the alleyway, only to find the homeless man looking at her.

"M-Ma'am, you… You saved me…" He breathes. "…Why?"

The falcon looks back. "This place isn't safe. Not just from the cops, but the drug trade and the Scarves. Last thing I need to do is stand back as someone is being shaken down for no good reason." She spoke. "That being said, get out of here. You don't need to risk getting thrown in the slammer by association with me." She then turned around and began to walk away.

"S-sure thing…" The homeless man breathed. "But if I may… What's your name?"

The falcon glances back. "Yuki." She simply answers before continuing on her way out, separating herself from the situation.

Unbeknownst to the pair, however, was a single figure observing them, a black feline with yellow eyes and white hair wearing a white two-piece suit with a red undershirt and clean black shoes leaning against the front of a nearby deli. Perhaps most curious about him, however, was a metallic device at the end of his tail.

"Yuki, huh..?" He mutters to himself, placing a finger to his ear. "...Found a potential candidate. Solid moral profile, strong Affinity, mild criminal history. Female falcon, 16 years of age, Water element. Permission to pursue?" The feline was silent for a few moments.

"...Yes sir." The feline nods before making his approach.

The Crimson King attacks once more! After years and years away from the Fanfiction writing game, I have returned to bring a newer take on my one and (so far only) completed story, Frosted Wings: Fall of the Crimson King. With more experience under my belt, hopefully now I can make a truly compelling story that fits to my own standards. Next week, Yuki is thrown into the fold with Chapter 2: Start Me Up!