Bedeze was a problem. He wanted what I'd built and had made a very ham-fisted attempt to attain it. He was the first, but I knew he wouldn't be the last. Success to the degree I'd achieved inevitably drew others looking to claim it for themselves. He was the first, but he wouldn't be the last. Unless I wanted others to follow in his footsteps, attempting to strong-arm me, I needed to make a clear statement with him, and I needed to do it myself.

With that said, I'd recently had a conversation with my sister about keeping those I cared about in the loop about what was going on in my life. For that reason, and to explain why Medea would not be supplying any product for us in the foreseeable future, I'd come to my office building shortly after issuing orders to my peerage members, asking Kuisha and Magdaran to meet me in the large meeting room we'd set up in our office.

Latia was in the office when I arrived, so I'd invited her inside as well. Bedeze's pressure might spook her and make her run. He wasn't the most influential devil in the Underworld, but he was firmly above Latia on the social hierarchy due to his strength and connections. I didn't know if she would want to be in a position that made her his enemy. If she decided to leave, I'd rather it happen sooner than later. I valued loyalty more than ability. She didn't know I had plans to deal with Bedeze, so perhaps I'd be judging her unfairly, but it was what it was.

Medea sat at my side, Magdaran, Kuisha and Latia seated around the same circular table. My Queen refused to allow me to leave without her. I couldn't refute her argument that Bedeze might try something again, so I hadn't put up much resistance to letting her accompany me. In the room around us, skeletons carried snacks and drinks to each of us.

The rest of my peerage was absent. They were all carrying out my orders to prepare for our coming confrontation with Bedeze. Aqua was on an exhibition that would hopefully set up something I could use later. Coal was guarding the manor to ensure Shang Tsung wasn't disturbed while Shang Tsung himself worked on a couple projects. I wasn't sure if my newest Pawn would be ready in time, but he'd assured me he would do his best.

"What's wrong, Bal?" Kuisha spoke first, eyes narrowed as she studied me.

"It was that easy to tell, huh?" I asked.

"I practically raised you, Bal. Now tell me what's wrong."

Her words made the others focus on me. Magdaran no longer played with the seed in his hands and Latia sat up straighter, looking between Medea and I.

"I'll just come out with it then. Bedeze Abaddon trespassed on my lands recently. He all but explicitly stated he would be coming to take everything I'd built and to lead our house as the 'true' Lord Abaddon. After some exchanged words and pleasantries, he fled." I briefly summed up our encounter with Bedeze. "We are expecting him to make further moves against us in the near future. This has the potential to create problems for the three of you, so I thought it was only fair to warn you. In addition, all products we have been supplying will halt as we deal with this."

There was a flicker of unrestrained demonic power that lanced away from Kuisha before it was quickly snuffed out. My sister looked furious, slowly and deliberately taking a deep breath. "That bastard has some nerve. He ignores every request I ever sent him for aid only to resurface when we're finally standing on our own two feet?" She paled, her fury momentarily forgotten. "Bal, if he tries to force you into a Rating Game…"

"He can't really force me into one. I can just refuse any challenge he sends my way, but I won't. Once I have made preparations, I'll be meeting him head on."

Magdaran had a frown on his face. "Is that wise? I have seen many of his matches. Not to discredit your abilities, Bal, but…"

"We have determined that this is the simplest solution." Medea said. "We are preparing. Once we are ready, we will face him."

"No," Kuisha said. "Do not fight him, Bal. You can't win. Coal won't be enough for you to beat his peerage."

"It's quite rude to dismiss someone sitting in front of you as inconsequential." Medea said, frowning as she stared at my sister.

"Let's calm down for a second." Magdaran said, cutting in before anything else could be said. "There might be another way out of this. Bal, Bedeze is a…acquaintance of my ancestor. I can talk to him and see if we can sort this out."

I smiled. "Thank you for the offer, Magdaran, but I doubt it would change much. I'd be grateful if you spoke to your ancestor to help smooth things over, but fighting Bedeze is inevitable." Even if it weren't, someone else would come along. Bedeze was the first. He wouldn't be the last. I'd use him as a demonstration to show why you shouldn't come after me.

"Do you really think you can beat him?" Latia said, a complicated expression on her face.

"We have some tricks up our sleeve." I answered non committedly.

"Tricks won't help you against our uncle." Kuisha said coldly. "Your peerage can't beat his. Discounting that, you can't beat him, Bal. You're strong, stronger than I expected. But he is old and powerful. We need to think of another way."

I shook my head. "While I appreciate the willingness to help, I didn't call this meeting to go over ideas for how to sort this out. I already know what I'm going to do. I just wanted to let you all know what was going on and let you know why we won't be making any money for a while."

Magdaran sighed. "I don't think it's a good idea, Bal. But I'm going to let it drop for now. I'll talk to my ancestor and my father, see if there's anything I can do or learn that might help. If you need anything, let me know."

"I appreciate that." I said, nodding at my friend.

"Balthazar, this is not a good idea." Kuisha said, eyes narrowed. "You're playing right into his hands. You have no experience in Rating Games. He is ranked third in the entire Underworld. With the exception of Coal, your peerage doesn't have any fighting experience."

"You're wrong." Medea said, voice sharp. "And this is not a discussion. My master has made his decision."

Kuisha glared at Medea. "And as his Queen, it is your responsibility to highlight the foolishness of his decision."

I rubbed my forehead. "Kuisha, I don't want to fight about this. It's not likely to happen any time soon, so you'll have plenty of chances to convince me not to go through with this. For now, I still need to talk to someone else about this whole thing.

"I can tell Sairaorg myself."

"That wasn't who I was referring to, but I'd appreciate it if you did." I pushed back from the table and stood. Medea rose with me. "Thanks for hearing me out. Sorry we have to shut down operations for a bit, but needs must. I'll see you all later."

"Bal, wai–"

A Hole pulled Medea and I away before Kuisha could stop us.

We hadn't gone far. Just across the street. Medea and I stood before the door to a large, official building.

I pulled my brand new phone out of my pocket and smiled. "This'll be the first call I make with this thing."

"It will certainly be a memorable one." Medea said, a smile tugging at her lips.

I punched in a number and held the phone up to my ear.

The phone was answered after two short rings. "Who is this and how did you get this number?" a suspicious voice demanded.

"It's Balthazar Abaddon. You gave it to me."

"Oh!" The voice suddenly turned warm and welcoming. "Hey, barbel! How's it going?"

I stared at the door in front of me, tilting my head in confusion. "Did you just call me barbel?"

"That's your new nickname! You're a baron. Your name is Balthazar. Take the front of both of those and you get barbel!"

"But…you actually don't?"

"Barbal isn't as fun to say. And barbel is close enough anyway. So what's up?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose. I had been expecting a modicum of decorum and professionalism when I called her. Evidently, it was a false hope. "I'm outside your office right now. I wanted to talk to you about something."

"We can't talk over the phone?"

"My uncle showed up at my house and attacked me."

There was silence on the other end.

"Um… Hello?"

The line went dead.

I held the phone in front of me and stared at it as the number disconnected.

"Did she hang up on you?" Medea asked.

"I think she did."

The door in front of us was thrown open.

Standing in the doorway wearing a professional suit and white shirt with the top button undone was Satan herself.

"Come up to my office." Serafall Leviathan ordered, eyes serious.

X

Serafall paced in front of her desk, hand gripping her chin. Medea and I were sitting a short distance away on a couch that wasn't here the last time I'd been in her office.

"You're sure he was trying to hit you with the explosion?" Serafall asked.

"He would have hit us if I hadn't moved us." I said.

"Okay. It's good you brought this to me. I'll deal with Bedeze and–"

"Respectfully, I'm planning to handle this myself. I would like some help though."

Serafall narrowed her eyes at me. "Bedeze is incompetent in anything that doesn't involve fighting. If he were the one pulling mithril out of his ass, he'd have sold it before now. Put those two things together and I know that you are the one finding those materials and he's trying to muscle his way in which could really screw things up. You're too important for me to let you come to blows with someone significantly stronger than you just because he wounded your pride."

"Pride is part of it, but it's a very minor part. If you scare him off, all that does is show everyone that I'm important enough to have a Satan fighting my battles for me. At some point, you will be preoccupied and someone else will try something. I need to deal with this personally. It'll let me show that not only do I have a Satan's backing, but that I am not someone to be taken lightly."

Serafall raised an eyebrow. "People have already tried to come after you. I've dealt with them. I'll deal with the rest."

"And when you can't?" Medea said, looking the Satan in the eye. "Your support is welcome and we are grateful for it, but we need to be able to stand on our own."

"You can stand on your own against someone else." Serafall said. "What exactly is your plan? Smack him in the face with a glove and throw it down in the middle of the street? Bitch though he may be, Bedeze is strong. I don't know if you can beat him, barbel."

"I'm expecting him to take care of the challenge himself." I said. "He ran when we fought him where we were strongest. He'll fall back to what he is comfortable with, somewhere he is confident in his strength."

"A Rating Game." Serafall surmised. She shook her head. "Now I'm firmly against this. Bedeze himself is one thing. With your peerage's help you can beat him, but I don't see you beating him and his peerage all at once. I don't remember them all, but I do remember his Queen. Former valkyrie. Daughter of a minor Greek God and a valkyrie. She was a political landmine a century ago. Ousted by both factions because of stupid grudges but neither of them wanted us to have her either. I had to put up with a lot of bullshit because of that girl, but she's good. One of the best Queens the Underworld has seen."

"The Underworld has yet to meet me." Medea said.

Serafall's eyes snapped to Medea. She frowned, consideringly. "You're impressive, but I don't know how you measure up when compared to other devils."

Medea made a humming sound. "Balthazar told me you had surmised my heritage. I would have assumed you'd determined my identity by now."

Serafall pursed her lips. "Greek witch. There were a lot of you so I don't know which one. You had to have some power to stay alive long enough for Balthazar to reincarnate you so that narrows the list down a bit, but I have other things to occupy my time than to track down the history of random individuals."

Medea smiled knowingly. "You couldn't find anything, could you?"

Serafall's eye twitched.

"In that case," Medea levitated off the couch to her feet. "Let me save you the trouble." She bowed shallowly. "I am Medea of Colchis. It is a pleasure to properly meet you, Lady Leviathan."

Serafall froze. Her eyes were fixed on Medea. Her gaze snapped to me, then back to Medea. "That's…I wouldn't have expected that. Evil Pieces can't reincarnate fully divine entities. If what history says about you is true, you're barely mortal."

Evil Pieces were an amazing invention, but they had their limits. They were limited by the power of the user. Restricted by the power of each individual piece. And they couldn't bring back anyone who had been dead for too long. Another fact of their use was, as Serafall had just said, that they were unable to reincarnate divine entities.

Gods, demigods, sufficiently empowered diving champions – all of them were off limits. How then did I reincarnate Medea? Her mother was an Oceanid. Her father was the son of Helios. Between her mother being a direct child of the Titans and her father being the grandson of a Titan. As Serafall said, she was more divine than mortal. She was positively brimming with divine power…only she wasn't. When she'd lived the first time, that had certainly been the case, but I'd reincarnated Medea when she was a Heroic Spirit. A Heroic Spirit lacking divinity due to how every trace of her divinity was imbued into her Noble Phantasm Rule-Breaker. She still had access to all of her power, but it hadn't prevented me from reincarnating her due to the very specific interaction between her half-dead state as a Heroic Spirit and how her Noble Phantasm functioned. Maybe the Evil Piece could have worked on her before her death, but it was a non-factor regardless due to the roundabout way she was reincarnated.

"It is the truth." Medea said patiently. "I would appreciate it if you did not inform my distant relatives of my current whereabouts. They will likely learn soon enough, but I would like to savor my peace while I have it."

Serafall looked simultaneously excited and like she didn't know what to do. "I thought you were supposed to be dead. Where have you been for thousands of years?"

Medea smiled. "Here and there."

Serafall actually pouted at her. "That isn't very helpful."

"It wasn't meant to be."

"Did you reincarnate after your death as a human and Bal found you then? Is that why you were mortal enough for the piece to take?"

"I was not wholly myself, but the only reincarnation I have undergone was at Balthazar's hands."

"Still not very helpful."

"It was still not intended to be."

Serafall let out a long sigh. "Okay. Medea is your mysterious Queen. Damn. This is going to be such a pain in the ass. You just dropped a political nuke in my lap."

"A political nuke capable of putting a delusional uncle in his place." I said.

Serafall frowned at me. "I concede that your Queen is powerful. I never would have expected to see a day where Medea was reborn as a devil, but Bedeze still has a full peerage. You don't."

"No, but I have faith in my peerage, and I have plans to grow it a little before our fight. That's why I'd like your help. If you could maybe help me buy a couple months between now and when I have to fight Bedeze, I would appreciate it. Preferably keeping him from attacking me again as well in case that wasn't implied."

"I can't risk anything happening to you, Bal."

"No, you can't risk anything happening to the mines I have access to. If I lose the Rating Game, I will tell you where my adamantium and mithril mines are. It's certainly better than the idea of Bedeze getting a hold of them." I said.

Serafall pursed her lips. "He'll put conditions on the Rating Game. There'll likely be wagers. You might not be able to fulfill that promise if he takes control of everything."

"He won't, but I'll write the locations down somewhere and tell you where to find the dead drops right before the fight."

"You would trust me not to grab the locations immediately and secure the mines while you're fighting Bedeze?"

I just smiled. "I don't think it'll be an issue." She literally couldn't get to where the mines were, so even if I told her where they were, she wouldn't be able to use the information.

Serafall pursed her lips. She still didn't look convinced.

I sighed. "Look, Bedeze isn't going to stop. If I'm not an available target he might go after someone else. The only people who really come to mind are Magdaran, Sairaorg and Kuisha. He'd have to be an idiot to try to mess with Magdaran, but I wouldn't put it past him to go after Kuisha after he tried to attack me at home. This way, he is given enough of what he wants to be satisfied and I am simultaneously able to set a precedent."

"I can protect your sister as well." Serafall suggested.

"I appreciate the offer, but it defeats the purpose of doing this on my own. I want to be independent. I am happy to ally with you as long as it is to our mutual benefit, but I do not desire to be subservient to you."

Having Serafall's protection was a good thing, great even, but I did not want to be under her thumb. I needed the Underworld and the wider supernatural as a whole to recognize me as my own entity, not just Serafall's pawn. I would never be able to achieve that level of separation if she fixed all of my problems for me. I was more than willing to do business with her and to do the occasional favor here and there, but I didn't want to be pulled into her faction. Now when I could grow my own.

Serafall was silent for a long time. "I can't keep you from acting as you will. I'll see what I can do about stalling for some time so you can prepare." She turned to Medea. "I hope whatever you're working on will be enough."

Medea smiled knowingly. "I believe we already have enough. But it is better to be over prepared than not."

Serafall made a considering sound. "Did you find more Sacred Gear users?"

"Something like that." I said. "I expect Bedeze to challenge me soon. If he doesn't, I'm going to challenge him."

"If you change your mind about fighting him, let me know and I'll deal with it." Serafall said.

"Thank you for the offer, but it is unnecessary."

Serafall turned to Medea as I stood. "Any chance I could convince you to work for me part time? The Greeks would be a lot easier to handle if I had you in my corner."

Medea scoffed. "I would sooner cut out my own tongue."

"Figured." Serafall said tiredly. "If half of the legends about you are true, you probably hate 'em more than most. Although…" Serafall looked at Medea in a new light.

"Yes?" Medea said, guarded.

"It's not business related. You were one of the first true witches. I… kinda have a magical girl show I do. Havingarealmagicalgirlonitwouldbecool." she finished all at once.

Medea thought for a moment. "Miracle Levia-tan, yes? Balthazar and I have watched some of it. It is enjoyable. I will not be a pillar of good and love who conquers evil through the power of friendship, but I would be amenable to appearing as a villain."

My ears must not have been functioning correctly because I could have sworn the walking apocalypse that was the Satan Serafall Leviathan squee'd.

"I'll be in touch!" Serafall said excitedly. She dashed around behind her desk, frantically typing away at her computer.

Serafall looked up as we were leaving. "Be careful, barbel. Remember, I'm here if you need me."

"I appreciate it, Serafall. I really do." I paused, a thought coming to me. Maybe I could pay her back for having my back? "Actually, would you be interested in more Sacred Gear users for your or Sona's peerages?"

Serafall's eyes narrowed. "Provided they are interesting enough, most definitely. You don't have the White Dragon Emperor hidden away too, do you?"

"Nah, that guy's a dick. I have some other ideas though. I'll talk it over with Medea and let you know later."

"Hold on, you know who the White Dragon Emp–"

"Thanks for meeting with me. I need to go make some preparations now." I opened a Hole around Medea and I to bring us home.

"Hey, master!" Coal called, waving from where he sat on the porch. He had an open bag of beef jerky in his hand.

"Did anything happen while we were gone?" I asked.

"No. Aqua's still out. Shang Tsung's still locked away in the basement. No dumbass uncles have stopped by. It's been pretty quiet."

"Thanks for looking after everything."

"No problem, master."

My phone buzzed. Confused, I pulled it out of my pocket and opened the message I'd received. I hadn't put Serafall's information into a contact yet, but I recognized her number. She'd sent me a message that said, 'Heads up' with a link. The link took me to a live interview on the devil net.

I growled in the back of my throat. Medea watched over my shoulder and laid a hand on my shoulder in support.

On the screen, Bedeze was seated next to a silver-haired woman I recognized to be his Queen. They were talking to a brown-haired woman with a microphone in a lavishly decorated room. I'd never been to Bedeze's home, but I'd seen some pictures and other videos from other interviews conducted there. A caption at the bottom of the screen read, 'Trouble in the House of Abaddon?'.

Bedeze did these interviews from time to time. A lot of highly ranked Rating Games competitors did. Rating Games were to devils what sports were to humans – entertainment, a gambling opportunity, a way to show off the supremacy of you and yours.

During my early years, I'd watched a couple of Bedeze's interviews to try to get a better picture of the man I was related to. I didn't like what I saw. He was arrogant, impolite and just didn't seem like a fun guy to be around. From what I was able to piece together from the comments of this particular interview, it had started out just like any other. Bedeze had been talking about his Rating Game plans for the near-future then the conversation changed to his family troubles. He probably not-so-subtly dropped a hint about me or my business. Hell, maybe the reporter had brought it up. I was news now, and she looked like she was eating his words up.

"I wasn't expecting him to go on TV." I said.

"We can use this, master. We need time to prepare to face him. He has given us a medium to speak with him where he cannot twist our words. You can challenge him now. We appear and disappear just as quickly so he does not have time to plan or react. The whole Underworld will see and his pride will force him to accept your terms."

"We'd planned to wager my baronship and our lands to get him to agree to put his own holdings on the line. The whole Underworld will see us say that."

"It won't matter. We will win, master. Even if by some cruel twist of fate we do not, I can always free us from our obligations." Rule Breaker appeared in her hand with a flash of energy.

"I thought we were keeping that a secret?"

"Serafall Leviathan knows who I am. It is only a matter of time now." The dagger vanished in a flash of light.

"I'm not exactly comfortable with putting my face on every screen in the Underworld. There's also the fact that we would be dropping into his home where he is strongest. He underestimated us and we surprised him. He may be arrogant, but he'll definitely have defenses. I'm not teleporting us into his house."

That just…was not a good idea. I could appreciate Medea's desire to talk to Bedeze when he couldn't spin our words in whatever way suited him, but going to his home was a bad move, cameras or no. I wasn't sure if I wanted to approach him now either.

I wanted more time to prepare to face him. I was confident in the strength of my peerage, but Bedeze's peerage had tested themselves time and again in Rating Games. They were strong, and they had us outnumbered. I had Aqua working on some projects to even the odds, but those projects needed time to come to fruition. We'd need at least a month, ideally two. I'd planned to go after another peerage recruit, but I wanted time to let them adjust to the peerage before the fight. A month wasn't enough time to do that.

Medea pursed her lips. "We do not have to appear in person."

"Talk through a Hole? That could work."

"Those viewing the conversation could see it as cowardly."

"Let them. The only reason I would do this in the first place would be to secure a Rating Game date he couldn't back out of. We'll set the precedent we need in the Rating Game."

"Perhaps we move to a second location and taunt him into appearing before us? A place where we hold the advantage."

"That could work."

On the screen, the interviewer had asked several probing questions about the Abaddon's family situation. She drew my attention back when she said, "I'm sure you're proud of your nephew's recent success."

Bedeze scoffed. "Success he has built on my name and effort. He would not even do me the decency of welcoming me into my own home."

I frowned as Bedeze started recounting a less than true interpretation of his arrival at my unfinished castle.

"Coal!"

The black-haired dragon looked up from where he was lazing on the porch. He had bit halfway into a jerky stick when I'd called out to him.

"Keep an eye on the house. I'm going to take us to Lucifaad. If we have to meet Bedeze face to face, I want it to be somewhere where we hold the cards, but I don't want him having access to our lands."

Coal waved, chewing quickly so he could say, "Will do, master. Give him a good punch in the face for me!"

A Hole swallowed Medea and I. We reappeared in the small shop Magdaran and I were working out of before Serafall gave us our new office building. We still owned this place, and the wards were strong enough to screw with Serafall's teleportation, so it would serve us well. I would have taken us to the office, but Magdaran and Kuisha were likely still there. I didn't want them caught in the middle of things if things devolved too far.

On the screen Medea and I still watched, Bedeze sighed dramatically. "Yes, after all the care I gave him and his sister as they grew, he acts as if I am an invader in my own lands. He parades himself as 'Lord' Abaddon when I am the true lord of our house. I will need to correct this misunderstanding soon lest he grow too arrogant."

On the screen, a small black orb appeared in the space behind Bedeze's head, unseen by all three figures on camera.

"Please don't play the loving uncle," I spoke through the orb. "You're really not suited for it."

The reaction to my voice suddenly appearing in Bedeze's house were mixed. Bedeze conjured a Hole around himself, whisking him away to somewhere off camera. Say what you would about the man, but he'd fought in Rating Games for a long time. His instincts reflected his experience.

His queen, likewise, leapt out of her seat. spinning around and summoning a shield and spear to her in a flash of light. The white gown she was wearing transformed into metal armor with fur decorating it and a bronze helmet with wings, a stereotypical valkyrie's armaments.

The reporter let out a surprised shriek as she clambered away, causing her chair to fall back and spill her onto the floor. When she realized she wasn't under attack, she stood and straightened out her apparel as quickly as she could, shooting embarrassed glances at the camera.

"My lord, this is…" the Valkyrie said. I hadn't remembered her name when my peerage and I looked over Bedeze's own peerage members to start outlining our plan. I'd come across it when I watched Bedeze's old Rating Games, but she hadn't struck me as important enough to remember. I knew it now, just like I knew all of the publicly available information on Bedeze's peerage members. My peerage and I had poured over every piece of information we could to glean whatever advantage was to be had.

"Balthazar," Bedeze growled, appearing back in frame through another Hole. His back was to the camera, blocking a good half of the due to his proximity to the camera.

"There's the vicious stranger I know you to be." I said. "Your clothes are tacky by the way. Way too much gold trim. At that point, just wear tinfoil. The shiny will be more manageable."

"I did not invite you here, nephew. Leave and we will reconvene at a–"

"Because that stopped you, did it?" I cut him off. I had him on the back foot right now. He hadn't expected my presence, physical or not, at this interview. He was reeling as he tried to regain his balance. I couldn't let him build up any momentum. "I saw you spreading lies about your poorly-planned assault on my lands and decided I would not allow you to slander me."

The reporter seemed to have regained the majority of her composure. There was a wary look on her face, but she still approached the Hole I was speaking through, cautiously holding the microphone towards it. "This is surprising. I had not expected the Bastard of Abaddon to make an appearance. Could you tell our viewers–"

"My title is Baron Abaddon." I cut her off. "'Lord Abaddon' and 'my lord' are also acceptable methods of addressing me." Honestly, I didn't care much how people referred to me when we were talking, but right now, I needed to make sure there was no way to misunderstand where I stood. I was Lord Abaddon and Bedeze was the pretender.

The reporter shot a quick glance towards Bedeze before saying, "Of course, my lord. I apologize. You seem to have a different perspective of the events Lord Abaddon just recounted."

I let her calling my uncle 'lord' go unremarked upon. I'd already made my position clear, and she was caught between two opposing lords with powerful backing. I knew she wouldn't take either of our sides. Her angle here was to make as much money off the drama as possible. I planned to exploit that.

The reporter finished by saying, "Could you please tell our viewers your side of the story?"

"Yes, dear nephew," Bedeze said in a strained voice, his back still to the camera. I couldn't see his face. "You have already entered my home uninvited, but I would be a poor host not to show family proper courtesy. I, at least, will extend that to my kin. Please come and sit with us."

"While I appreciate your offer, dear uncle, I must respectfully decline." I said. "I cannot be sure I will leave after entering your territory, not after how you attacked me in my own home."

The reporter's face lit up as if she'd just uncovered buried treasure, her eyes flicking between the Hole in front of her and Bedeze. "Baron Abaddon, are you insinuating that Lord Abaddon attacked you during his visit?"

"I am insinuating nothing. I am outright stating a fact." I said.

"Lies." Bedeze countered immediately.

"If you would like to discuss our contrasting recounting of events, you are welcome to meet with me face-to-face, uncle." I said. A second, much larger Hole opened next to the smaller one I was speaking through, paired to one just in front of the door to my office. I was seated behind the desk with Medea standing right behind me. If Bedeze attacked, she would be able to bring the defenses laid into this place down on his head in an instant. "You are, of course, invited along as well, Ms…?"

"Natalia Braceforth, Patron's Blood Publishing." the reporter answered. I watched her on my phone screen as she made hand motions towards the camera. The camera shifted, then was lifted up. The reporter kept a cautious eye on Bedeze as she slowly approached the larger Hole I'd opened, the camera's view drawing closer with her as her cameraman joined her. Bedeze and his Queen were out of frame now.

"Lord Abaddon," Natalia said slowly, "This presents a unique opportunity for you to clear the air with your nephew."

"I do not need cameras present to–"

"Why the hesitation, uncle?" I cut Bedeze off. "Afraid things will not go as you expect? Perhaps you're still suffering the trauma of being trapped immobile in a bubble after trying to kill me? You have my word that I will not discipline you again so long as you behave."

I heard a snapping sound through my Hole. On the livestream, the reporter flinched, eyes fixed on something out of frame. It appeared Bedeze was throwing a temper tantrum. Good.

Bedeze was strong. Unfortunately for him, he was also an arrogant, prideful prick. He wouldn't take my comment lying down, especially not when I'd called him out in front of a digital audience that was certainly recording our conversation to distribute later. Backing off now would make him look weak. If he really wanted my lands and holdings, he couldn't allow himself to be viewed as weaker than I was, which just played into my hands. He would be forced to come meet with me at my behest and I'd kick him out just as quickly as he arrived. I didn't plan on having a long conversation with the man.

Natalia backed up as Bedeze slowly reentered the frame. His Queen was at his side. Neither of them spared the reporter so much as a glance as they walked through my Hole into the office. The reporter and cameraman, a short young woman with green hair that was doing her best to seem small, followed right after.

I caught a quick glimpse of how things looked from the camera's perspective before I closed my phone to focus on Bedeze. Bedeze and his Queen on one side of the room. Me, sat at my desk with Medea's hooded figure looming behind me. It was a proper faceoff.

"I would offer refreshments, but you don't deserve the courtesy." I said, holding Bedeze's gaze.

My estranged uncle was fuming. His eyes were filled with hate. His hands were balled into fists that hummed with power. "Nephew, we–"

"I don't have the time or the energy to deal with a drawn out spat with you, Bedeze." I cut him off again. "While you whine about your nephew achieving everything you were incapable of, I am forced to halt production on all goods my business deals in. Lords and Ladies across the Underworld will have to wait for their items because I would be a fool to produce them while fearing my uncle shoving a knife into my back. You are wasting not only my time, but theirs, so let's sort this out quickly and cleanly."

Bedeze said, "What a wonderful–"

"A Rating Game." I cut him off. "It will be three months from now. Between your experience and numbers advantage, I am the weaker party, so I am allowing myself time to prepare."

Bedeze's eyes narrowed. "We wouldn't want to keep the Lords waiting on my products. Two months should suffice."

"Two it is." I said before he could backtrack. Three would have been preferable, but two should still be more than enough. "Are there any stipulations you would like to set as the challenged party? Type of Rating Game? Rewards for the victor?"

"One Day War. When I defeat you, you will relinquish your holdings to me."

"Everything I hold? I would assume you will match that wager then. Should I defeat you, everything you own will become mine."

Bedeze snorted. For the first time since I'd surprised him, he was smiling, eager. "I will match the wager. There will be no more doubt that I am Lord Abaddon."

"Wonderful. Thank you for coming. Now leave. I have work to do." I waved to the Hole behind them, still connected to Bedeze's house, and pulled a stack of papers out of a drawer in my desk, already looking over them and filling them out. This was normally Magdaran's job, but pissig off Bedeze with how rudely I dismissed him was too good of an opportunity to ignore.

"I will see you on the field, nephew." Bedeze growled, spinning around and walking back towards the Hole.

I raised an eyebrow, looking up at the armored, silver-haired Queen. "That dismissal was for you as well."

She spit on the floor. "I'll carve my lord's name into your chest, you ungrateful brat. I will make you beg for the honor of kissing his boots."

Medea's gaze, which had been fixed on Bedeze's retreating back, snapped to glare at the valkyrie.

I put a hand on her arm. "Caster, not now. We'll deal with them in two months."

The valkyrie barked out a laugh. "That's right, heel like the little leashed bitch that you are. Tell me, are you worth anything as his Queen or does he just keep you around to suck his dick?"

I felt a burst of enraged power where I held Medea's arm and gently squeezed her forearm.

"Do not speak to my Queen that way." I said coldly.

Bedeze's Queen kept talking. "What will you do to stop me, false lord? My lord will not even need to dirty himself with your blood. I will destroy you on his behalf."

"You would be wise to cease speaking." Medea said.

The valkyrie grinned. "I am Runa, Boreasdóttir. My mother is Hildr of the Valkyries. I will be the one to cut you down, you dolled up slut. If you prove to be obedient, I might allow you the pleasure of worshipping my lord's feet on your knees next to the bastard you serve."

I felt the temperature around us drop several degrees. Natalia had been eating up the drama, looking like a kid in a candy store. Not anymore. She paled, backing away from Medea. The girl with the camera was actually shaking in fear.

In the silence, Medea's words echoed. "I will take savage delight in meticulously tearing everything you are from your body. I will ruin you. I grant you the privilege of leaving today. Enjoy your last two months." Medea flicked her hand.

The space around us came alive. Shadows swam up the walls, along the ceiling and floor, stealing away the light. Tendrils of violet energy grew from the shadows. One emerged directly behind Runa, wrapping around her waist and pulling her backwards.

Bedeze held his hand up…but nothing happened. A look of true fear was born in his eyes.

Medea's tendril threw Runa like a ragdoll, sending her colliding into Bedeze. The two of them tumbled through my Hole in a heap. I closed it behind them.

The shadows receded. The tendrils vanished into motes of energy. The office space returned to normal.

The girl with the camera was cowering in the corner, hugging the camera to her chest like a plush toy. The people watching the feed were probably getting a wonderful view of my ceiling right about now.

Natalia, the reporter, was slightly more composed. She'd only plastered herself against the wall, trying to appear small. When Medea's eyes landed on her, she flinched backwards.

"The two of you are free to leave at your own leisure." I said with a warm smile on my face, completely at odds with how I'd addressed Bedeze.

The camera girl couldn't leave fast enough, sleeping from the room before I could get another word in.

The interviewer nearly followed her, pausing at the door's threshold. She turned around. "Baron Abaddon, would you be amenable to an interview in the near future?"

"I will be busy for the next two months. After I defeat my uncle, I will have time. If you are still interested, approach me then."

Her eyes narrowed. "You really think you can beat him, don't you?"

"Thank you for facilitating my meeting and challenge with him, but I have things to do. When I win, I will offer you the first opportunity to interview me as thanks."

She pursed her lips then bowed shallowly. "Thank you, my lord. I will see myself out." She turned and followed her cameraman. I'd have the skeletons show them out, but there were very few left in this store now. We'd moved most of our skeletal labor force to our office. Besides, the building was small enough that it was hard to get lost.

I looked up at Medea. My Queen was still glaring at the space Bedeze and Runa were tossed through.

I ran my hand down her arm to weave my fingers through hers. "Are you okay?"

"I am going to do terrible things to that woman and the man she calls King. It…" She trailed off. "It might cause problems for you. I won't do anything if you…" She stopped talking as I pushed my chair out and pulled her towards me, she sat down in my lap and leaned back into me.

I pulled her hood down and kissed her cheek, hugging her against me from behind. "I will be the last person to come to their defense. Despite how other devils view their peerage, you're not my slave, Medea. Do what you need to do. We'll deal with whatever happens together."

"I'm going to tear her apart and leave her with nothing. Murder would not be satisfying enough. I will have to get creative with that wench"

"Okay. We'll need to prepare first though. And… Could you maybe do something for me when I beat Bedeze?"

Medea shifted to look back at me, silently waiting for me to continue.

"He has something that he shouldn't. It's the reason he's so strong. I'll tell you when we get home. Everyone needs to hear this."

She nodded, then leaned back, laying her head against my shoulder. "Once more, we were fortunate that Bedeze is a fool. His Rating Game selection favors us."

I smiled, nodding in agreement.

Rating Games had various different forms they could take. The more variety, the easier it was to keep the fights interesting. Some were straight brawls. Some were bastardized capture the flag. There were matches where one team had to assassinate a specific peerage member within a time limit to achieve victory. There was a wide variety. Most of the matches ranged from one-three hours, leading to lots of fighting in a brief period of time and many pieces retiring rapidly.

Bedeze had selected One Day War. This mode did away with the short hour-long time constraints. As the name implied, the match would last for a full day and aimed to simulate a true war. The arena would be far larger than normal to simulate a true battlefield. Part of the challenge of these matches was finding your opponent as much as it was fighting them. If your opponent found you in no man's land before you saw them, they could take you out easily. Supplies, exhaustion, small skirmishes – there were a number of factors normal Rating Games didn't have to consider in a One Day War.

Bedeze likely thought that my reduced numbers would be a hindrance in this type of battle. Normally, he'd be right. He could use his forces in waves to exhaust mine then finish us off. Unfortunately for him, he had severely underestimate my peerage.

Coal was practically built for sustained engagements. The powerful dragon could get by without resting for multiple weeks. A single day would do nothing to him, and his power prevented a war of attrition from defeating him.

Medea would be able to easily survey the field no matter how large it was with a combination of her familiars and scrying, giving us real-time information on the entire battlefield. Not to mention her combat prowess.

Then there were the projects Shang Tsung and Aqua were working on for me. If they could get them to work, Bedeze would be the one on the back foot.

Medea and I sat like that for a time, just enjoying one another's company.

"We both have work we need to do." Medea finally said, not sounding happy with that fact.

"It can wait for tomorrow."

"It could, but it shouldn't." She gently pulled my arms off of her. "I have projects I need to work on. And the sooner you reach out the better. I do not want to be learning to fight with someone a week prior to when we will be facing Bedeze."

"You think I should go for it now, then?"

"Better now then later. Whether they accept or refuse, we will need to model our plans around them."

I nodded. "Alright. I'll track down Aqua and give it a shot."

Medea pressed her lips against mine, savoring our kiss before pulling away. "Do not take too long. Even with the Rating Game approaching, I still expect to be treated to movie night."

I smiled. "Wouldn't dream of missing it."

Medea's form slowly faded away as she teleported.

I sighed, standing up and stretching. A Hole pulled me back to my manor.

"Did it not go well?"

I looked up. I hadn't even realized Coal was still on the porch eating his jerky.

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"Medea just came through mumbling something about stabbing a bitch."

"Ah. Bedeze's Queen is a bitch, but other than that things went alright. We have two months before we fight them. You'll be ready by then?"

Coal grinned. "Hell yeah I will be. You gonna go get us some more firepower?"

"I'll try. They might say no like Talion did."

Coal shrugged. "Makes no difference to me. It's not like any of Bedeze's pieces can put me down. At worst, it'll turn into a war of attrition where our side doesn't tire."

"I'd rather prepare for the possibility of them somehow beating you and have nothing happen than be surprised."

"Fair enough. Tell the new recruit that we've got good meat."

I smiled. "I'll be sure to add it to the recruitment pitch. When Aqua gets back, please send her to find me. I'll need her help getting there."

"You got it, master."

A Hole opened around me, pulling me away.

X

She was enraged.

She had left them alone. She had never given them any trouble they had not sought themselves. This was how they repaid her for her restraint?

Some of her siblings had fought the humans, hunted them. She had never seen the point. She had always left them be. They did not matter to her one way or the other. She enjoyed the time she spent roaming free, laying in the sun and climbing to high places. There was the occasional 'hero' who sought her out to defeat her. These and these alone did she kill. They sought to harm her, so she defended herself, but she did not seek conflict. She avoided humans as much as she could. They were all more trouble than they were worth. Their battles were not hers. She left them to squabble amongst themselves while she roamed and enjoyed the comforts of her freedom.

Then another human came. He wore red armor. Dark hair hung down from his head flowing wild and free in the wind as he ran.

He fought her.

Forests rose at his command. Gates that stole away her strength fell from the sky at his word. She could not beat him. She tried to flee, but he did not let her. He was too strong, the strongest human she had ever heard of. Why had he hunted her?

She was trapped, locked into a wooden figurine carved into a mockery of her beautiful visage, her fire snuffed out. Scripts of sealing ink covered the figurine, resisting her attempts to free herself from this degrading prison.

She was aware of little that transpired beyond her cage. In her true body she could smell her prey from a great distance. She could hear the goings on of the forest around her. Her eyes could see as perfectly in the dark as in the light.

Now, all of her vast senses were muted, locked away. It was a struggle to perceive anything at all. She was only partially aware of things which transpired directly outside of her prison. Even that much took great effort.

She heard humans talking. She was passed between them. She heard the clink of coins.

She thrashed violently against the confines of her prison. These humans were selling her, trading her in a transaction as if she was a thing that they owned, their property.

She would not stand for this. She would not.

Try as she might, she could not manifest her claws to tear open her cage. Despite her great effort, she could not summon blue fire to burn away her cage. She threw everything she had against the seals binding her, but the wood and ink siphoned away her strength until her awareness faded. She'd exhausted herself.

Her awareness returned slowly, hampered as it was by her prison. She was somewhere else now. Whatever human was holding her was moving fast. The humans outside were speaking, but she couldn't make out the words. They were transporting her somewhere.

She prepared herself, readying to thrash against the walls of her prison once more.

The humans outside let out surprised yells. Something was happening. Most of the presences she felt disappeared, leaving only one left. A second presence, shining through the walls of her prison like a star, dwarfed that of the human that held her prison.

The human screamed. The human disappeared, leaving only the star. The star spoke. Unlike the humans, its words weren't muted. She could understand it clearly.

"That can't be comfortable for you. Let me unlock this cage so we can talk."

Glowing lines of energy enveloped the ink scribed into her wooden prison. The ink burned away. The wood stealing away her power went inert.

She did not waste the opportunity.

Blue-black fire fled from the wooden figure like smoke, solidifying into a gargantuan feline form with massive jaws and two long tails. Black patterns mixed with the blue fire.

The great creature growled as she stared down at the small wooden figurine beneath her. An enormous paw made of fire ending in razor-sharp claws slammed down atop the figure, shattering it into shards. She looked up, putting her senses to work tracking down the rest of the disgusting humans that thought to own her. She could not find them. She was surrounded by darkness. There was little sound in this place. The only thing she could smell was the lone individual here with her.

He looked human, but he certainly did not smell like one. Hair like gold framed a young face. He wore black and red clothes.

"Where have you taken me? Where are the humans? I will have my vengeance upon them." she said, her voice low and dangerous as she glared down at the man. Her form dwarfed his, yet she could not shake an instinctual feeling travelling down her pack, prickling her senses and priming her to fight or flee. This small man felt like a predator, a strong one.

"You are in a safe place of my making. Be at ease," he said, holding up a hand as she began to growl. "I have no intention of keeping you here. I merely want to talk to you and thought that this would be the best location. All I ask in return for freeing you is that you hear what I have to say."

The cat breathed out through its nose, blue flame billowing out of its nostrils. "Return me to the humans. They must pay for what they did to me. After I have dealt with them, we will talk."

The man frowned minutely before nodding. "As you wish." He waved his hand.

The darkness around them disappeared. Her vast senses were assaulted by the world around them. It was night. They were standing in an open plain. Insects sang into the night. A small group of humans was huddled together under a tree. The darkness could not hide them from her sight.

"It's free!" one of them yelled as the cat dashed towards them. She pounced, tearing into them with her teeth and claws before they could flee. Those that escaped her initial assault fell to her fire as she snapped her tails around, burning the darkness away with her flames. There were twenty of them at the start. When she was through with them. There was nought but spilled blood.

The cat rolled its neck and shoulders, stretching the stiffness from them. She did not know how long she had been trapped in that carving, but she was elated to be free, able to move under her own power once more.

She walked slowly, dignified, away from the bodies of those who had wronged her. The strange man was waiting in the same place he had been standing when she'd attacked. She studied him as she approached, trying to determine what manner of creature he was. Her yellow and green, heterochromatic eyes both were fixed intently on him.

She stopped a short distance away, sitting proudly before him, her tails flicking through the air behind her. "I find myself indebted to you. You have earned my ear."

He nodded politely. "Thank you. My name is Balthazar Abaddon, devil lord of the House of Abaddon."

She tilted her head. "Devil? A demon?"

"Yes, I am a minor lord of Hell. Though that place is far removed from here. Forgive me, I didn't ask your name."

She lifted her chin proudly. "I am the Two-Tails."

"That is your title, much the same way 'Baron' is mine. Would you tell me your name?"

Her eyes narrowed as she stared down at the devil. He did not flinch under her gaze. He was interesting if nothing else. She could not remember the last time someone asked for her name. "I am Matatabi."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Matatabi. I have a proposition for you if you would hear it?"

She supposed she owed him that much for freeing her. "I will hear it."

"I wish to be clear so there are no misunderstandings between us. I am a devil. We are a selfish race. I freed you for my own reasons aside from seeing you free."

Her tails slowly stopped twirling in the air as she regarded the man, preparing herself. "What was your reason?"

"I want to take you back to my home with me, though I will not force you. My kind has developed a way to reincarnate those of other species into devils. You would be my servant. I would–"

Matatabi growled threateningly. "You seek to use me as the humans did?"

The man held her gaze. She could sense no fear from him. "No. They planned to make you a slave. I want to make you my ally. You would be beholden to me, but in exchange your strength would be magnified significantly. You would be free to roam my lands at your will, hunting as you please. I would call on you for certain tasks, but you would have no duties outside of that."

"I do not need to be stronger. I am already among the strongest."

"In this world perhaps. Even so, Hashirama Senju was able to seal you away."

Matatabi's claws bit into the dirt. The grinning face of the man who'd battled her atop a living forest flew to the forefront of her mind. "You know the one who imprisoned me?"

"By reputation only. He is strong. And he is determined. By freeing you, I have undone a peace agreement he made with a foreign power. He will not allow this to stand. He will track you down and seal you again to maintain the peace he desires."

"He will not defeat me twice."

"Yes, he will. You cannot beat him. His power is a direct counter to yours. Even if it weren't, he is the strongest shinobi to live in generations. He will track you down and give you back to Kumo."

Matatabi growled. "And this is supposed to scare me into fleeing with you? Why should I trade his cage for yours?"

"I will not force you. I have no interest in reincarnating an unwilling servant. That will only cause me problems. If you do not agree, I will leave. You will be free to do what you will, but Hashirama will find you sooner or later."

"And you would not free me again?"

"I would have no reason to."

The flames along Matatabi's body flickered. "I have heard you, devil. I have paid my debt to you. Now you are irritating me." She raised her paw and swatted it towards the devil, intending to bat him away so she could leave.

Her paw was stopped cold against a shield of shimmering red energy. It was like no technique she'd ever seen.

The devil sighed. "I suppose that is that. Thank you for your time, Mata–"

Another shield of energy appeared to deflect her tail away from him.

His eyes narrowed. "Please do not attack me agai–"

Matatabi lunged towards him, biting at him.

Several points of great pressure hit her in the side of the head, knocking her to the side and sending her scrambling to her feet. A small dark orb was held in each of the devil's hands. His eyes were narrowed at her.

"I had hoped we could get along, Matatabi. It seems I was wrong. I wish you well." he said, lowering his hands. A point of darkness opened behind him.

"If you survive this," Matatabi said. The devil stopped as he walked towards the darkness. "Then I will consider your offer."

The darkness vanished. The devil turned to fully face her, a considering expression on his face. "I am ready."

Matatabi opened her mouth wide. Dark, crackling energy ignited between her teeth, rapidly expanding into a Tailed Beast Bomb.

Something about this devil was interesting to her. He was nothing like the humans she'd met. His scent made her certain of that. His presence demanded attention, respect. It was like a great mountain standing amongst a field of pebbles. Matatabi had never felt a presence like his before. Her siblings and her father all had distinct auras. The aura of the devil was entrancing, like two separate shadows woven into one, dancing to the same tune.

Still, her interest was not enough to become his servant. She was proud. She did not serve.

With a roar, Matatabi sent the Tailed Beast Ball flying towards the devil. Violet energy crackled away from the bomb, scoring the plains around them and lighting up the night. Wind tore branches from trees and sent smaller flora flying as the bomb approached its target.

Balthazar Abaddon, devil lord of the House of Abaddon calmly watched the Tailed Beast Bomb approach at speed. Before it could strike him, a massive point of darkness appeared between him and the bomb, rapidly growing to absorb it before snapping shut.

Silence.

Slowly, the animals and insects that had fled in the face of her power started to make their presence known once more. Matatabi paid them no mind.

She sat down once more. "Explain the details of the arrangement you suggest."

He was silent for a moment, watching her. "I will use an artifact created by my race to reincarnate you into a devil. The artifact will enhance your strength and durability considerably. It will also bind you to my service. You will not be able to leave without consequences, but I will not require you to do much outside of occasionally fighting on my behalf. My uncle is trying to take what is mine. I will fight him soon, and you will fight with me, but following that, you will likely be free to do as you will for the most part."

"I am attached to my form. Will becoming a devil change me?" Matatabi would outright refuse him if her beautiful blue flame and tails were lost to her.

"Yes and no. You will gain a devil form similar in appearance to a human, but you will be able to switch between that form and your feline form as you please."

Matatabi made a considering sound. "Is that the truth, Balthazar?"

"It is. My Pawn is a dragon named Coal. He regularly changes between his devil form and his draconic body." He smiled. "He also told me to tell you we have lots of meat if that peaks your interest."

Matatabi did not believe that he was lying. That did not mean she would accept this offer though.

Her eyes narrowed. "Meat, you say? Do you have fish?"

Balthazar seemed surprised by the question. "We do, though not as much as we do meat right now. If that's something that interests you, we can easily get more."

Matatabi's tails froze in the air.

She liked fish. It was tasty. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to eat it very often. She tried hunting fish herself, but it was hard. The fire of her body would heat the water. She was so big that she made big waves whenever she stepped, scaring away the fish. The only fish she'd been able to successfully hunt were in small rivers or ponds that she could burn through all of the water and leave them flopping on the ground. The humans regularly caught fish, but Matatabi had avoided humans. She doubted they'd have given her any even if she'd asked.

Matatabi did not want to be imprisoned again. The shinobi that trapped her would come for her again. Balthazar's words had not seemed to be lies, and they matched with Matatabi's experiences. She had not been bothering anyone and the man had hunted her down anyway. He was using her for something. He would come after her again to complete what he'd been trying before.

Matatabi did not serve, but she did not have to. There were many house cats she had seen from afar that lived among the humans. They'd taken the humans as pets, allowing them to see to their needs and provide them with meals.

Balthazar was strong. A Tailed Beast Bomb could sunder mountains. He had disposed of it without any damage at all. He had fish. He had land for her to wander and hunt in. He could get her away from the forest shinobi. He would make a suitable pet for a cat as great as herself.

"Very well. If I discover you were lying to me, I will eat you."

He seemed surprised. "You agree?"

"Yes. I am tired of ninjas trying to hunt me. They have all failed except for the last one. I do not want to bother with them any more. If I don't like this, I will just eat you."

"You said that twice."

"Because it is true."

Balthazar considered her for a moment. A glowing red object appeared in his hand. He held it up for her to see. It looked like a small tower. "This is the artifact I will use to reincarnate you. I have to press it into your body. From there, it will change you into a devil."

"How long will the transformation take?"

"It is near-instantaneous."

"Good. I do not like waiting. Let us be done with it."

The devil approached her. He looked up to meet her eyes once more before pressing the item into her leg.

Matatabi twitched. She felt a strange sensation spread through her body. She hissed in discomfort as her body changed. She was engulfed in light.

She fell to the ground. She stared down dumbly, looking at the human-like hand pressing into the grass. Matatabi sat back, looking down at herself. She was wearing a simple blue robe. Her body was like that of a human. Two arms and two legs with black tattoos like the dark markings on her true body. Hair the same blue as her fire fell down her face.

She looked at her hands, curling her fingers. Razor sharp claws grew from her fingers at her command. She felt as two tails grew from her back to sway in the air. Cat ears appeared atop her head. Balthazar had been correct. She could control her form. It was a strange experience.

"Is everything alright?"

"I am experimenting." Matatabi said through near-human lips. It was a unique experience. Slowly, she rose to her feet, unsteady on legs she'd never used. Her body shifted and grew. Fire replaced flesh as she assumed her true body. Even now, she was different. She was easily twice as large as she was used to. She felt like she could grow even larger…or shrink.

Her body shrunk down to the size she was used to, then continued to shrink. Her body shrunk until she was the size of a housecat. She was still on fire with her two tails waving through the air behind her, but her size had drastically decreased.

"Are you feeling alright?" Balthazar asked, watching her.

"I am fine. You did not lie. I will not eat you yet." She jogged up to him. Her claws dug into his pant leg as she began to climb up his body. Her claws tore into his clothes as she climbed until she was perched on his shoulder. She sat down, digging her claws into his shoulder to stabilize herself.

Balthazar looked down at his clothes, a small frown on his face. "This suit was expensive."

"Wear more protective apparel next time. Now let's leave before the shinobi return. I have had enough of them."

A point of darkness appeared in front of them, opening until it consumed everything. As soon as it appeared, it was gone.

Matatabi looked around. There was a small structure surrounded by rolling hills, trees and a small stream. She nodded, content. This was acceptable.

"Hey, master!" Matatabi looked up to see a smaller humanoid man with black hair sitting on a porch. He smelled like a lizard. He was eating dried meat. Matatabi felt hungry. "How'd it go?"

"Coal, meet Matatabi. Matatabi, that's Coal." Balthazar introduced them.

"I was told you have fish." Matatabi said, dignified.

Coal doubled over, howling with laughter. "You're gonna fit right in!"