Youkai High (NO POSTING HERE.)

[Demon Lord Gira]

Youkai High

Chapter 1: First Encounter

September 3rd, 2012

Youkai High stood tall against the trees behind it. It was early morning, and the bells were chiming that class was about to begin. A low fog hung over the school, shrouding it in darkness. To one looking at it from afar, it more resembled a haunted manor with the congregation of the dead heading toward it than an actual school building. The windows were broken in places, and holes riddled the walls. The top of the school had a giant bell tower, with 18 bells of different shapes and sizes clanging away, rustling the sleeping birds from their nests. Among the vast courtyard leading up to the bronze doors was a sea of students all heading in for the first day of classes. However, this wasn’t a human congregation… this was a student mass of monsters, demons, witches, and other supernatural entities. One looked like a frog with a tortoise shell and a pool on his head. Another was dressed in demonic armor and seemed to distance himself from the others. Yet another looked perfectly human, and yet around her sparks and hearts seemed to spring up with a snap of her fingers.

But, watching these students enter into the school was a lonely figure gazing from behind a window. She was a short figure, with short pink hair and a blue shirt with a pink skirt extending underneath it. A pendant was on her chest, one that resembled an eye, with cords running from it into her wrists. A black cat with two burning tails purred as it rubbed against her leg. The girl looked down at it and smiled.

“No need to worry about me, Orin. This might be my first day of classes here, but I am familiar around the premises. Please head back and make sure that the others are still okay.” She said as she reached down and petted the cat behind the ears. Orin purred in content and dashed off, heading down the long hallway and away from the girl. She sighed. So many students coming here from all over the world. It was no surprise, really. Youkai High was one of the few schools for the supernatural, and it was also the best, offering many of the best courses and faculty a demon wanting to succeed at life could want. But to her, it was simply yet another place where she would be living out her life. She turned…

And came face to face with herself. Or rather, someone who looked just like her. Same hair, same height, same eyes, same everything. It was like looking at an identical clone. Whatever surprise she had, she hid it with a mere raised eyebrow. “You are-“

“Satori Komeiji. Freshmen. One younger sister and several pets. No living parents and responsible figure in household. A member of the Satori species and a powerful mind reader. And you are-“

“Gall Signiuur. Freshmen. A member of the Fey species and a skilled shape shifter. Pleased to meet you.”

The shape shifter’s eyes narrowed as its form seemed to melt into something else. Now there was a tiny child with icy hair and eyes, and what seemed to be a perpetual frown. “I prefer if you didn’t mention my kind. Please don’t do that.” He said, his voice icy in tone to match his appearance. I take it you’re not a people’s person? “

Satori nodded. “Indeed, I’m not that good around crowds. Most people hate the fact I can read their minds like an open book. And yes, you yourself are also not one, especially for your own species. I can see why.” She said, both her eyes in a half-dazed look while she stared at Gall, who stared back at her.

“Well, seeing as we are both Freshmen and are taking the same courses, I figured we could get to know each other a bit more.” Gall said, and Satori was about to respond, when something flashed out of the corner of her eye.

“WATCH OUT!” A voice called, but it was too late, something engulfed Satori and sent her flying to the side, the girls form smashing through the window as she plummeted down to the courtyard below…

[Demon Lord Gira]

Chapter 2: First Day of Classes

Huh? Where… where was she? Satori slowly opened her eyes. The last thing she remembered was falling out the window and into the courtyard. To her surprise, she was now in a bed with a curtain running along the side. She reached up and felt her head. She expected there to be pain, to be bandages, to be SOMETHING that told her that what had happened actually happened… but there was nothing. She had fallen from the third floor, and yet she hadn’t even been hurt…

“So you’re awake now. I must say, that was quite the fall you had. “ A voice came from the other side of the curtain. Before Satori could respond, the curtain was pulled back, revealing the school nurse. She was a tall woman, with blue hair that was done into two Chinese style loops held in place by an unusually large hair stick. Her clothes were blue in color as well, and matched her azure eyes. “I will say, you were lucky that young man was there to catch your fall. You would have died had that not been the case.”

“Young… man? “ Satori repeated as a question. There was something odd about this woman, something that didn’t seem right. For some reason, she was unable to read into her mind. She could hear the thoughts of her new friend and the culprit of the accident right outside the room, but this woman right infront of her… it was as if a thick cloud obscured her, a cloud that couldn’t be penetrated through. Never had Satori met someone immune to her own mind reading, aside from her sister, but atleast that had a reason.

“Why yes. A Senior at this school by the name of Fatalis. You collided with him on your way down. Thankfully, neither of you were harmed by the impact, but you seemed to have blacked out from the fright of it all. The burns you received from whatever nailed you weren’t too severe, so all I did was heal off the damage. If you feel like your powers are acting odd for any reason, it’s probably just a side effect of the magic I used.” She said, before a look of shock came over her face. “You’ve only been out for an hour or so, and missed the opening ceremony. But that’s all right. The principal took into account your little accident and made an exception for you. By the way, the name’s Seiga Kaku, though you can call me Nurse Kaku if you wish, or Nyan Nyan.” Here, she made a purring sound like a cat, which Satori tried not to giggle at. “Now, seeing as you’re doing better, you should hurry off to your homeroom class. It is about to start any minute now.”

“Alright. Thank you.” Satori said, before she slipped out of the bed and rushed out the room. Outside, Gall seemed relieved to see her awake so soon, and beside him was a pale girl, a Junior by the looks of her, with dark blue eyes and white hair, aside from a bit of purple on the sides. She wore a bright colored t-shirt and skinny jeans, which showed off her rather gifted figure quite well. “Please forgive me. I honestly didn’t mean to do that to you. It was an accident, I swea-“

“You were trying to use a simple spell to have bubbles form around me and Gall, but the spell backfired into an exploding fireball that blasted me out the window. Your apology is accepted, Luna.” Satori said, her eyes still in the usual half-open manner she had them, as if she didn’t care about it at all. “Nurse Kaku seemed certain that the fireball’s damage wasn’t that grave.”

Luna breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. I’m glad I didn’t hurt you that bad. Wait… how do you know my name? I’m not exactly a popular student…”

“I have the power to read minds. And yes, the fact that the nurse here is a different one than the one that was here for the past years, Miss Eirin, with no reason for her retirement is out of place, but it is probably not a big deal. Miss Kaku seems to be a nice enough nurse as it is. “

A snort came from behind the three of them. Satori turned her head just enough to see a tall figure starring at her. He was dressed in armor that seemed draconic or demonic in nature, and only his bright golden eyes visible under his armor. He simply walked away without a word, leaving the three alone again.

“That was Fatalis, the man who was there to catch your fall. He’s not much of a talker, and prefers to stay alone.” Luna told Satori, who nodded.

“I see. Well, classes are about to begin, so we should get going. We don’t want to be late.”

With that, Luna said goodbye once more and went off in her own direction, letting Gall and Satori head off to their first class. “So, a new nurse out of nowhere? How was she like?” Gall asked Satori.

“Tall, Beautiful, Huge… tracks of land.” Was all Satori responded with, which brought a chuckle from Gall…


“Okay class. Allow me to introduce myself.” The teacher said as she tapped the board once. She was a tall lady, with dark skin and short white hair. She wore a skin-tight suit that was black in color, and had jewelry all over her hair and fingers. “I am Persephone Auziras, and I will be your teacher for the rest of the Freshmen year. Now there are a few rules here at Youkai High that our dear principal forgot to mention.” She stated as she tapped the board again for emphasis each time she spoke out a rule. “Rule number one. The purpose of this school is to give our students knowledge and understanding of the human race, so that when the day comes that our real, this demonic realm we live in is discovered, we can coexist with them peacefully. As such, you are forbidden to transform into your non-human form while you are here. Rule number two. Fighting on the school premises is forbidden. Rule number three. Use of your powers are forbidden, unless you are unable to turn them off.” Here, she glared over at Satori, who merely gazed back at her. “And rule number four. You are to obey whatever I or your TA Mara asks of you. Failure to follow these rules will follow in detentions, suspensions, and worse. Do I make myself clear?”

The rest of the class, a large group of over 250 students, nodded in agreement. Satori and Gall were seated next to each other, paying strict attention.

“Good. Now, Mara will lead you off for today’s first discussion.” Persephone ordered. She stepped to the side as her familiar, a tall golden-haired woman with nine fox tails, walked over to her side and cleared her throat.

“Okay, you heard the teacher. You listen to me for now. Your first activity will be getting into groups of two and discussing everything you know about the human race, understand?” She barked, her voice horse and gruff. Most of the students starred at her, but when she began to growl, they quickly went to work. Satori and Gall were already talking, which at first brought a smirk to Mara’s face. So the troglodyte was doing what she was meant to. Perfect. However, that smile turned into a frown when she saw Satori glancing back over to her every now and then. At first, it was just annoying, and then she snapped. She marched over to the two of them. “Excuse me, but what is it that makes you feel like looking at me so often?” She growled, eyeing them both.

Satori was the first to respond. “It’s nothing. We were just comparing our view of humans to your view we got from your mind. Apparently, you hate humans quite abit, and men in particular. And yes, your husband is still searching for where you are even after you tried to kill him a few weeks ago. And yes, there are female students in this school that have a larger bust than you, a graduate from college, have.”

At first, there was silence, and then, laughter shattered it like a hammer laced with explosives. Everyone in the class laughed at the information Satori had leaked. Even Gall found himself unable to resist a few giggles and snorts. Mara’s face reddened with rage and embarrassment, and she grabbed Satori by the throat, electricity surging through her eyes and tails. “Oh, so you think it’s funny to just go out and spill someone’s secrets, you worthless ass ridden troglodyte of a cu-“

“Mara, that’s enough.” Persephone ordered. The fox looked back at her, surprised by this. “You walked yourself right into that by trying to talk to her. I expected better from you. Now ignore her and continue the exercise and discussion.”

“But master-“

“I said continue the discussion.” Persephone said, her voice tightening with the depth of the command. Mara let go of the girl and growled , but glared back at her, as did Persephone. Satori simply ignored the glares and turned to Gall.

“I must say, that was well played. Never thought I’d see a freshmen like you have the balls to pull something like that on a teacher so soon after an accident, and on the first day, no less.” Gall whispered into her ear.

Satori merely sighed. “It’s nothing special. Me and Persephone have never been on good terms. Her mother helps keep me and my family afloat, and Persephone doesn’t see why that is necessary. She views me as a drain on her resources, as a leech sucking away what would otherwise go to her. So naturally, she and her familiar despise me.”

Gall nodded. “I see. Well hasn’t this been quite eventful already. I can already tell this is going to be a fun school year.”

[Demon Lord Gira]

Chapter 3: Class Leaders

September 10th, 2012

Several days had passed since the beginning of the school year, and Satori was finding it to be easier than she had expected. Mostly, the homework was easy enough to do, even if she needed her third eye to be taped shut to prevent her from cheating off her classmates. Even with that, some of them deliberately thought of the wrong answer to throw her off guard, but she still was smart enough to answer them on her own. What they had learned so far about the human way of life was a surprising window into how they worked and lived. Many of the students here had thought that humans were vile, evil creatures that would bring an end to their existence, hence the reason for the separation of the demonic realm and the human realm. But from what they were learning, apparently it was more out of self-preservation and misunderstanding than anything. You feared what you didn’t understand, after all. During class, Satori noticed that both Persephone and Mara kept glaring at her when the other was teaching. She ignored it. They tried anything on her, she’d be certain to spill out more precious secrets they had to the entire class. Nevermind the fact that one of her pets was the primary source of nuclear energy in the demonic realm.

Today, however, was different. Neither of them were glaring at her as they stood before the students. They were now in the school gymnasium, with the other three divisions of classes. The teachers for those classes were oddly absent, bar a tall, muscular man with 4 arms and a suit. He had a scar running down the left side of his face, and each of his arms seemed different from the others. “Okay, you have all gotten a chance to get to know your classmates and how they are like.” The man ,Craefr, judging from what Satori could dredge up from his mind, announced, his voice booming and filled with authority. “Now comes one of the most important moments this early in the school year. The day you all choose your class representatives. These are people you can trust, who have leadership, who know how to voice the concerns and cares for their class while at the same time knowing when to reject the shitty ideas. You are to decide amongst your grades, and when time is up, your representative will stand before me. Do I make myself clear? You are allowed to use your magic and powers to help dispute this, but no fatal powers or magic are allowed. Now get going and prepare your class presidents! ”

The entire student body nodded, and began their discussions. Both Satori and Gall sighed in unison. Their class had nothing all that special going on, just some students arguing and bickering over which of them had the better qualifications for class president. “I think it would be more interesting if we looked over at how the other groups are going. If we’re lucky they’ll be deciding just as we get back.” Gall said. Satori nodded, and they walked over to the Sophomore group.

“So, who do you all think would work best for our group?” One student asked. He was oddly not that human in comparison to his contemporaries, appearing as a giant humanoid frog with a large turtle shell on his back and what appeared to be a pond on his head. “I think I could work well as Sophomore Representative. I sorta know how the main responsibilities go.” He said as he chewed on a pickle.

“Yeah, no way, Cucumber.” A girl retorted back at the kappa. She had short crimson hair, and cat ears and a tail sticking out. “Remember what happened last time you tried to lead anything? You ended up taking all the credit for yourself and left us with rashes and acme for a full day. Need I tell the principle of that little incident?” She sneered, pulling out a notebook.

The kappa began to shake his head. “Now wait just a second. I was merely joking. It’s a joke, you see? A joke, Sarah.”

Sarah laughed as she put the notebook away. “That’s better. How about you, Tycho?”

The person in question, a young man of somewhat short stature, snorted. He wore a massive trenchcoat and pants, with a blank white shirt that had the quote, “I’m gonna punch your face in the face,” on it. She seemed bored, with a 3DS in his hands. “No interest. I’m not exactly that big of a fan of the whole rules thing, so you can be our rep.” He said without peeling his eyes from his device.

The Junior group was abit more lively. “Come, my fellow juniors. Fight me to see if you are worthy of becoming class representative!” One junior, an unusually tall and muscular kid with dreadlocks and a sweater growled, cracking his fingers. “Or are you all too wimpy to take me on-“

His words were cut short as he found himself enveloped in a bubble. The bubble began to float up, with the teen bashing his fists against the side of it, shouting profanities and swears that the bubble kept in. Luna chuckled as she looked up at her handiwork. “Okay, with mister violent nature out of the way, who would be the best for class rep?” She asked, knowing the bubble spell would last until they made a choice.

The first to respond was a boy with a black suit and pants, and a blue tie and hair. “Good. I don’ t think we need the animal freak as our rep.” He said, spouting the word animal as if it were some venomous toxic, his pale face masking a sense of fear that only Satori could sense.

“Yeah, Ghoul LaRoux. I think I might be the best bet. I’m sorry, but I don’t really trust anyone but myself when it comes to this sort of thing.” Another boy, this one with a scar running across his face and white hair fluttering across it, contrasting with his blue and black clothing.

“yeah, I suppose your right in that regard, David. “ Luna said, thinking about it. It was only then that she noticed Satori and Gall watching her. She gave them a secret wink, then resumed the discussions with her classmates, allowing the two to head over to the Senior group… and there, things were getting even weirder.

“I’ve told you once, and I’ll tell you again. I do not want to become class rep.” The armored figure called Fatalis said to his classmates despite their pleading. “I don’t wish to handle the stress of it all. Now leave me be, before I start getting angry!”

“yeah, you guys. When the big guy in armor says no, he means no.” a cloaked figure said as she appeared through the crowd of fans that were pressing around Fatalis. Only her blue eyes and a tingle of her scarlet hair were visible from beneath the cloak. The crowd began to back away from this woman as she eyed them all. “He said no, and he’s going to stick by it. So excluding Fatalis, who wants to become rep? If no one does, then I don’t mind being it, if only to troll the teachers…”

“Well in that regard, I myself don’t think I’d enjoy it as well.” A short man with a scarred face and muscular build said. His black mustache and roughed up appearance with his sports clothing gave him an aged appearance amongst most of the other students, making him look older than he was despite his short height. “I think miss Kadru here is a most fine candidate for us to choose. She’s cool, calm, and has a good head. I know. I’ve known her for the last three years, and she’s always been the rep for those years here at Youkai High.”

“Thank you, Sal. In that case, does anyone have objections to me boing class representative, and why?” Kadru asked to the crowd. Satori and Gall, deciding to head back to their own group, didn’t bother to hear what the end result was. As they returned to their group, it seemed as if they had come to a conclusion.

“Miss Satori.” A girl slightly taller than Satori herself said as the two came back to the group. She had two cherries hanging from the side of her head, pink and red clothing, and a box that matched her cherries. “We would like for you to become our class representative. We’ve been thinking and… you just seemed like the best choice. None of us had ever seen a teacher’s assistant get told off like that, especially by a fellow classmate.”

Satori let a weak smile spread across her face. “ I thank you for the nomination, Rin Satuski, sole Kirin of Youkai High. I will try my best to be a good class rep.” She said, to which the Kirin blushed.

“Yeah, you’ll make a fine class rep, humiliating everyone who tries to ask you to do something and spilling out their darkest secrets.” Gall whispered into her ear. This caused Satori and Rin, who overheard it, to giggle.

But before Satori could respond, the voice of the male teacher boomed out over the gym. “Alright, it is now time for our representatives to stand up before the classes. Come now, and let us see who we have.”

Satori looked over at Gall, who simply nodded. She took in a deep breath, and walked out toward the teachers. To her surprise she saw Luna as well walking out, meaning she had been chosen, as did Kadru and Sarah. An all-female group of class leaders… now wasn’t that odd? She could hear the others all thinking that as well. But to Satori, it was almost pleasant… and yet, odd.

“Well students. These are our 4 class representatives. Satori Komeiji of the Freshmen, Sarah Westin of the Sophomores, Luna of the Juniors, and Kadru of the seniors. Please give your class presidents a warm applause.” Craefr announced, and the entire school body clapped. For Satori, it seemed out of place. They were clapping for her… cheering for her. It was an odd experience, having dealt with being hated and despised for most of her life. Here, she was liked. She was respected…

Through the cheering, Satori could hear the teacher’s thoughts behind her. They were leaving for… what? She looked back to see Persephone and Craefr leave the room. There was something fishy about this… and she wanted to know about what they seemed so concerned about, if it meant leaving the room. She went after them, unaware that Mara, who had been left behind to watch over the students, was watching her. The fox licked her claps as she hissed in delight.

“My my… one little cave troll wandered off alone. Time to go get her back, and teach her some respect.” She growled as she snuck out, following the girl, the rest of the students too busy talking to their new representatives to notice… aside from Luna and Gall , who took off after the fox in return, all the while Kaos was still stuck in the bubble, shouting and fuming in rage…

[Demon Lord Gira]

Chapter 4: Leaked Nightmare.

Satori trailed behind the teachers at a safe distance. She hid behind a wall as they entered into a room, then when she heard the door click shut, she moved in close. There was no doubt about it. There was something big happening. The room they had entered into was the principal’s office. She edged slowly closer, seeing if there were any cameras or anything watching. When she was sure there were none, she pressed her ear against the door and closed her eyes. The fact she could read the minds of those in the room, as well as hear what they were saying, meant she had a near perfect picture of what was going on…

Inside the room, Persephone and Craefr took their seats on a comfy sofa that was facing a pair of large desks. It was a large room, one with its own personal fridge and two bedrooms attached. At the desks sat the two principals of Youkai High. One of them was Yukari Yakumo, a tall, blonde-haired woman were violet eyes and an extravagant dress that mashed together both western and eastern designs. The other was Eurynome, who was slightly shorter than Yukari, and had emerald eyes that matched her green shirt and shorts. Her hair was long and blue, and her shirt bore both the images of a duck and a giant sea serpent on them. Why that was no one knew, not even Yukari. These two were among the most powerful entities at the school, and for good reason. Yukari was a reality warper with the power to bend and manipulate whatever boundaries she wanted. Wherever they were literal or figurative, she could do it. However, she was also notoriously lazy, and spent more of her time sleeping than actually doing anything. Eurynome was a different case. she was energetic, sadistic, and torturous, being the real face of punishment at the school. She had a very unique and powerful ability. Normally, she dwelled outside of space and time and reality, within what was known as an omnilock that kept her safe from all things. However, here at Youkai High, she had no need for such, and thus was actually there, and not as a mere avatar of herself. Because of this, she possessed ungodly power, power that even Yukari dared not to try and mess with. However, right now she was neither sadistic or basking in her glory.. she was upset and worried, as was Yukari.

“So one of our spies to the outside world returned injured? What happened to cause that?” Persephone asked the two principals.

“It wouldn’t be of any concern if she simply came back injured… “ Yukari said, leaning in close. “She was found out and shot at with anti-demon weaponry.”

“what?!” Craefr stood up, eyes burning in flames. “How could this have happened? Humanity should be hundreds of years away from developing such things!”

“Indeed, they are.” Eurynome calmly said, signaling Craefr to sit back down. “The problem is, according to what she said, she was found out with scanners…”

Both Persephone and Craefr looked at each other, and then it hit them. Their eyes widened in horror and shock. “No… you don’t mean they-“

‘Yes. Someone, somehow, has been sneaking into the human realm and giving them our scanners and our weapons. Not only that, but someone must also be teaching them how to use these, and what they are to look for. We send our spies out into the human realm to gather information, and now they-“

“Wait one second.” Craefr cut off Eurynome. “What makes you think they know what to look for? All we know, the spy you sent out was clumsy and drunk and let themselves be known. “

Eurynome slammed her fists down onto the table, silencing Craefr. “This spy is one that has been doing her job faithfully for the past 300 years. She has been gathering her information without so much of a hitch, disguising herself as whatever she can, and pulling it off perfectly. Never in her career has she blundered once. Mind explaining, in that case, how she could have been caught and nearly killed? Or are you perhaps suggesting that your own children can do the job better?”

Craefr snorted. “Of course. These humans shouldn’t be able to understand how to operate what we have, or be able to locate this realm. My child Pandemonium is out there spying as well, and he does a far greater job at it than Persephone’s familiar would.”

Persephone glared back at Craefr. “Well that’s because I don’t pay Mara, while you pay your own children to do as you wish. My familiar needs no money. I am all that she needs. Nothing more, nothing less. As for this issue, it seems it is only a matter of time then before it becomes too risky and dangerous to gather information from the human realm this way. It’s almost like that escaped convict from Hell I heard about a few weeks ago. A real pain in the ass for us.”

Yukari had a weak smile spread across her face. “Oh yes. I remember hearing the Yama bitch on and on about how some hermit’s been giving her Shinigamis the slip. Apparently, that hermit fled from the human realm into the demonic realm, so we’re supposed to remain on guard in case we find the culprit.”

On the other side of the door, Satori was processing everything she heard. How odd, for humans to be hunting down and killing demons with technology developed at this school. Someone was leaking it to them, telling them how to use it. And an escaped convict from Hell… how inter-

“Well well, what do we have here?” powerful hands grabbed Satori by the back of her neck, catching her off guard as she was hoisted up to Mara’s face, the kitsune’s rancid breath blasting into her face. In her eavesdropping on the conversation, she had failed to notice Mara sneaking up on her. “One little whelp strayed away from the group, and now I’m going to have to punish you.” Mara snickered as her hands crackled with electricity.

And yet, to her surprise, Satori seemed unafraid, and merely stared back at her with uninterested eyes. “I overheard them talking about you, and I don’t think you’d like what they were saying.” Satori said, a plan coming to mind.

Mara raised an eyebrow. “Wha? What were they talking about? What was it about me that you heard?!” She snarled.

“You don’t want to know. You’ll only get angry and enraged at Persephone and Craefr.”

“I SAID TELL ME!” Mara shouted, smashing Satori against the door. Well, now the adults inside were gonna come out at any moment… but Satori had a feeling this was going to work…

“They said that you weren’t paid anything, while Craefr’s children were paid for what they do. Apparently, their services are far better than yours. You are, as they would say, expendable.”

Mara let go of Satori, and the girl used the chance to run down the hallway and around the corner. Mara gritted her teeth, and balled her hands into fists as the door opened up . “That’s a lie… that’s a damn lie… She has to be lying, that bitch HAS to be lying!”

“Mara, what are you doing here?” Persephone’s voice called out from behind her. The fox whirled around in her rage, and saw her master, Craefr, and the two principles starring back at her. “I said you were to stay with the class and oversee them. Was our business that interesting to you?”

“So you decide that I’m not worth paying a dime to? That Craefr’s mistreated brats deserve more credit than I do? I am your familiar, damnit!” Mara howled, jabbing her finger into Persephone’s face. “I have done everything you asked of me, and yet you don’t think it right to pay me more than he does with his own bastard children? What the hell is wrong with you, you lazy selfish bitch?!”

Silence met the 4 teachers and principals, and then Eurynome spoke. “It appears someone’s familiar needs a time out. Eavesdropping on a delicate matter as this and disobeying your master’s orders are not something to take lightly.”

“Indeed, Persephone, Craefr, mind helping is set Mara here straight? I think she needs some discipline.” Yukari motioned to the two of them.

“Mara, I am your master, and do not question my orders. Punishment is needed for your direct insubordination and disobedience.” Persephone snapped, as Craefr, who seemed oddly calm even despite Mara’s words, prepared himself for battle.

“Oh? Me needing to be fixed? You 4 idiots need to be fixed. I don’t care if your my master, I deserve better treatment than this!” Mara howled as she charged, mouth frothing in rage and eyes crackling…

As Satori stopped, she could hear a detonating BOOOOM echo from behind her. Sparks of electricity, flames and dark energy were flying all over. “Oh my god… what the hell did you do?” Luna cried out as she and Gall ran up to Satori as the sounds of battle waged on.

“It was nothing, really. I just made Mara angry enough to forget about me and focus on her master. What I overheard is very interesting information.” Satori said, a slightly smug look on her face.

“Well in that case, we’d be interested in hearing it. Now let’s get going before they realize something’s off.” Gall said, and the three of them ran off, as blood splattered against the wall, and a howl of pain rang out across the hallway…

[Demon Lord Gira]

Chapter 5: Gourmet Race

September 12th, 2012

School was cancelled on the 11th, no doubt because the teachers were still trying to figure out how to deal with this incident. On the 12th, classes resumed, but it was a different schedule. The Junior teacher still wasn’t there, and both Craefr and Persephone were absent, most likely from Mara’s outburst and punishment, so all the classes were to be handed by the senior teacher. As the students filed into the gymnasium’s stands, Satori and Gall found that they could sit wherever they wanted , with no need for them to sit with their respective class. They chose their seats near the front, next to Luna and another student with short brown hair, a black dress, and 6 odd wings coming out of her back, 3 of them metallic and sharp, and the other three blue arrowtails. Satori noticed that the student seemed to bear several severe burns across her face and on her arms, and they were fresh, most likely within the last few days or so….

“Class has already started, and yet the teacher still isn’t here.” Gall said, disrupting Satori’s thoughts. “Has class been cancelled and someone forgot to inform everyone?”

Luna was about to say something, but Satori cut her off. “No it hasn’t. I can hear multiple students wondering where the teacher is. The seniors and juniors all know where she is… she’s apparently on her way from breakfast.” She said, her deadpan tone masking whatever surprise she heard from reading those thoughts.

Indeed, as soon as she finished, the door swung open, and in came, or rather, floated the teacher .“You have got to be kidding me.” Gall said in the same tone as Satori, with the same half-closed eyes. The teacher was a tall woman, with short pink hair, and a blue kimono with formless spirits on it. She wore a hat with a similar style, and had on a simple, almost innocent look to her face.

“So this is everyone gathered here today for class.” The woman said as she stood behind a table she had carried on. On it were a vast array of various meats, fruits, salads, snacks, and other foods that made the students eyes water and their stomachs growl. “For those of you who don’t know me, I am Yuyuko, and I am normally the senior teacher here. However, the other teachers are absent for various reasons, so I will be teaching you all day. This class session will be dealing with my favorite aspect of human culture, their cuisine.” She said as she pointed out the various foods. “We supernatural base a lot of our foods off of what humanity has made, and indeed, their development has-“

A hand rose up in the back of the class. Satori knew immediately without looking it was Tycho, and she knew what he was going to say. “Excuse me, Cow Ghost, but don’t you have no need to eat? You’re a ghost! Ghosts don’t get hungry!” He shouted, bringing a whack of the cane from Goolaroo, who was sitting behind him.

Yuyuko tilted her head in confusion. “But food is where enjoyment in life comes from. If there is no food, then there is no joy. I might not NEED food… but I enjoy it a lot.”

“I see.” Tycho sneered as he kept playing his 3DS. “Then your nothing but a fat whore cow. A glutton that simply want to get even bigger ti-“

What happened next came as a shock and surprise to everyone bar Yuyuko. A steel blade sliced through the 3DS from top to bottom, before the end of it pointed at Tycho’s neck. Where there had once been an empty seat infront of him, now there was a girl standing there, katana in hand as she had the blade of it against the nervous superhuman. No one had seen her come in, she had just appeared as if out of thin air. She was slightly taller than Satori, but still rather short, with short silvery hair and a dark green and white dress. Her eyes were stone cold grey, and her voice was disciplined, chiseled, and dead serious. “You will give the mistress the respect she deserves. If I hear so much as one more insult toward her, you will be killed before you know it.” She hissed, pressing the blade against Tycho’s throat. Blood dripped down from the cut, and everyone knew she was serious.

“S-s-s-sorry. Just get away from me, please.” Tycho managed to spit out, both in fear and in anger. The girl glared at him, before sheathing the blade. Just as quickly as she had been there, she was gone again, this time by Yuyuko’s side. Had she… warped? No. Satori’s eyes widened as she realized she wasn’t looking at a teleporter… but at a very, VERY fast being…She had moved at nearly the speed of light.

“Youmu, you didn’t have to harm him. We were simply talking.” Yuyuko pouted at her servant, who sighed.

“If that was just a normal conversation and not a one-sided insult barrage, I wouldn’t have stepped in and threatened him.”

“Those were insults? But they seemed so colorful and creative…”

“My apologies, but such base words are not for your ears to here, mistress.” Youmu bowed, then stepped away. “Please resume your teaching. I will merely observe.”

“If you say so. “ Yuyuko said, before turning her attention back to the class. “Now then, were did we leave off… Oh yes.”

As Yuyuko resumed her lecture, Satori used the opportunity to probe into everyone’s minds. They were all focused not on Yuyuko, but on Youmu, the half-ghost swordsman staring back at them, her hand on the hilt of her blade. Even Tycho, growling in rage and with his hands on the grip of his guns, dared not do anything so long as she had her eye on them.

Suddenly, Luna nudged Satori in the elbow. “Hey. I got a little something for the ghost princess…” She whispered into Satori’s ear. This, as Satori noticed, caused Youmu’s attention to be drawn to her, but the mind reader pretended not to notice. Only when Youmu looked away did she whisper back into Luna’s ear.

“That is a very poor choice. And no, you will be seen and caught doing it, and no, it won’t be worth it, but if you insist, then go ahead. I won’t stop you.”

Luna chuckled, and she looked at Yuyuko, who was holding a pumpkin pie, and snapped her fingers. Yuyuko “POOF’D” into a puff of smoke, and when it was cleared, she had become much… shorter. Now she was a pink puffball with stubby arms and legs, with only her hat remaining on her head, the pie now on the floor. The class and Youmu stared at the Kirbyfied princess, who starred back at them…

And then, she leapt into the pie and began to eat it. This caused a burst of laughter and hysteria among the class, with Luna chuckling the hardest. Gall and Satori couldn’t help but snort and giggle as the ghost princess continued her eating spree..

Or atleast, until Luna felt the cold steel of the blade against her neck. “You will return the mistress to her natural form, or I will behead you.” Youmu coldly ordered, knuckles white against the hilt. "Use of magic is also prohibited during school."

Luna laughed nervously. How had she been caught so quickly? “It’s just a joke. There’s no harm coming of it.” She teased, only for Youku’s eye to narrow. “Okay okay! I’ll change her back.” She shouted, before snapping her fingers.

Once again, Yuyuko vanished in a puff of smoke, and this time she emerged as her normal, clothed self. As if unaware that she had been changed back, she continued to indulge herself in the food, stuffing an entire roast lobster into her mouth, shell and all.

“Mistress, please stop. You’re embarrassing yourself.” Youmu said as she reappeared next to the ghost. Yuyuko stopped, the lobster still half-sticking out of her mouth. She swallowed it, and her face twisted into a sadder, unhappy expression.

“But Youmu, I was having so much fun… “ She pouted, but the swordsman simply shook her head. Turning away from her servant, Yuyuko pointed to Luna, taking the witch by surprise. “Excuse me, but would you mind helping me out? I would like for you to enlarge this piece of ham here.” She asked, pointing to the sole remaining food that hadn’t been eaten.

Luna stood up and walked forward off the bleachers. “Yes, of course.” She answered, before pointing her finger at the ham.

At that moment, Satori heard a single word uttered. A word that came from no one in the class, not Luna, not Yuyuko, not Youmu, a word that came as if from a ghost.

“Change.”

“KYAAAA!” Luna shouted as she was engulfed in a puff of smoke. The class gasped as they saw it blow away…

And where there had once been a Junior girl, there was now a goddess. Luna was now over 7 feet tall, and with the form, curves, and appearance of a supermodel. She had long legs, wide hips, sultry breasts, bold shoulders, a lean neck, and a face so delicate it might have been carved by a sculptor. Her curly white hair now billowed out past her knees. And her clothes that had once fit her so well… Now her shirt’s buttons had popped, revealing the tight pink bra she had on, and her skinny jeans had ripped and now resembled far too small jean shorts on her. Silence filled the room, with Yuyuko looking indifferent, Youmu hanging her head in her hands, and the whole group of students starring back at the equally surprised and horrified Luna…

And then, somewhere up in the crowd, several of the boys, led by David and Goolaroo, let out a low, happy whistle. Luna glared at them, but then she saw Satori and Gall. For the first time, she noticed that they didn’t seem indifferent or bored… Gall seemed furious, knuckles popping in his fists as he looked away, and Satori… she had a look of pity to her face, a look that said she was sorry for this.

“Well class, when you eat up your foods and drink your milk, you end up healthy and plump like Miss Luna here. Now why don’t we have a lunch break so that she can get a fresh change of clothes?” Yuyuko said. That was Luna’s cue to dash out of the room. Satori and Gall hurried to catch up with her, yet stopped as they heard laughter from behind them.

“Yes, oh yes. This is a scoop. A real good scoop. Magic malfunction causes knockout beauty! I can see the headlines now!” Sarah grinned as she was madly scribbling down notes. “Aya’s gonna have a heyday with this news, oh yes she-“

A tap on her shoulder caused the cat girl to look up from her notes. Satori and Gall were standing there, the former’s eyes twitching, and the latter having changed into Sarah’s very likeness, flames sprouting from the shapeshifter’s hands…

“is?”

Meanwhile, in the shadows, a figure chuckled as they melted away. All was going as it wanted…

[Demon Lord Gira]

Chapter 6: Kaos of Destruction.

Kaos grumbled to himself as he saw the shape shifter known as Gall scream and run around in circles, trying to extinguish the flames that were on his hands. Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. Were he to fight him, he’s rip his skull straight off. That’s what he got for obeying his pathetic brain rather than following the laws of nature. Kaos sneered. Oh yes, infact, this whole school was stupid for not having the only rules be those of the wild. Why use intelligence when sheer instinct could win the day? Why bother inventing when wolves, bears ,and dragons survive well enough with no need to innovate? They follow their instincts perfectly, and they not only survive, but thrive, at least in some areas. This damn thing called sentience… it was a blight upon the world! He wanted to rid of it, to pave the way for a future that relied on pure instinct! He walked away , down a long disused hallway leading from the room. When he was alone, with no one else watching, he stopped. “I know your there, Novetris. And yes, I accept your offer.”

“Good” A voice hissed from the shadows, and a pair of crimson eyes glowed from the darkness of the forgotten hallway. “If that is the case, then we humbly welcome you to the Legion of Destruction, Kaos. That Luna thinks she can spruce herself up to replace yours truly as the Beauty Queen of the school? I think it’s time we burst her bubble… or both of them, if you know what I mean.”
_________________

“I must say, I am perplexed by this case.” Seiga said as she looked over Luna. “I have no idea what could have happened to do this. I’ve heard of spells misfiring and having various effects, but for one to do this is unheard of.”

Satori looked over at Gall, who was still trying to blow on his hands to sooth the pain. They were all now in the nurse’s office, and apparently, Gall had forgotten he was afraid of fire. This had allowed Sarah to escape with her news while Satori had helped Gall put out the flames. “I hate fire… I really, really do.” Gall muttered, vowing to never again do something like that. “So, is there a cure for Luna’s… condition?” Satori asked Seiga, who sighed.

“Well, She’s already tried as many spells as she knows to try and undo it, but nothing’s worked. I do have something that might reverse it, but it’s still experimental…”

“Try it! I don’t care if it hasn’t been tested! If it can undo this, I’ll gladly take it!” Luna exclaimed. Her voice was now more mature, slightly more deep to fit her new adult appearance. She didn’t like it one bit, any of this! She wanted to be back to normal, back to her teenage self, and not this supermodel titan.

“Okay.” Seiga sighed as she pulled out a syringe and plunged it into Luna’s wrist. She pressed down on it, and a blue liquid flowed from the syringe into Luna’s arteries. She removed the syringe, and prepared to wait.

However, none of them had to wait long. “Hey, I feel sorta funny… “ Luna groaned as the effects of the potion began to work. Everyone watched as her body began to vibrate…

And she shot up half a foot in height. Everyone merely starred, and Seiga smashed her face into the nearest wall, several times. “Well, I guess it needs more work to be do-“

“NOOOOO! Why me, why do I have to suffer like this?” Luna cried, hugging herself tight. Now her bra looked like it was struggling to hold in her figure.

“Wait, can’t you just make yourself some clothes out of magic to preserve your modesty until you can get some more fitting clothes when you get home?” Satori asked.

Luna slapped herself on the head. “Oh yeah. I atleast can do that without it blowing in my face.” She said, and with a snap of her figures, she was once again fully clothed in what looked like her old clothes, only this time fitting her new figure. “I’m definitely going to need to go shopping to get some new clothes, though, at least until this either wears off, or a cure is made.”

“Well, at least we now have a temporary answer. And hey, you might just work out well on the basketball team. I heard they need an extra tall woman.” Gall joked. Satori, Seiga, and Luna starred at him, and then they too burst into laughter.

“Okay, that was funny. Maybe if I was interested in sports, I would try out for the team.” Luna said, rising off the bed. It was rare for Gall to make a joke, but he was usually very serious, but in this case, it was needed. “And I might just get nominated as beauty queen of the school.”

“I can definitely see you taking that position.” Seiga noted. “Well if that’s all there is, when I hope you all a good day. I will notify you when I get a cure developed, Luna. I know some friends who are more skilled in such things than I am, so they may be able to help.”

“Thank you, Miss Kaku” Luna said, as she, Satori, and Gall left the nurse’s office. Outside of it, the three noticed David, Tycho, and Goolaroo slumped against the wall, unconscious. Standing over them was Sal, the senior in his usual jersey and sports clothes. “Um, what is this all about?” Luna asked as Sal threw the three boys into the nurse’s office.

“Oh nothin, just these three peeking toms trying to get an eyeful of you. I noticed them with the door slightly open, giggling and laughing. I’m a simple, honest kind of man, and I hate it when people like them use the misery of a fellow student for their own enjoyment, so I gave ‘em a piece of my mind.” Sal said, his voice deep and relaxed.

Luna blushed. “Oh… well thank you in that case.”

“It’s no problem. Now why don’t we have a chat over lunch? I might know how to fix that condition of yours.”

_________________

The 4 were all seated at a table, with their lunch trays filled. The lunch today was blueberry corndogs, pepperoni pizza, and applesauce with the usual normal and chocolate milk mini-cartons on the side. It was a large table they were seated at, able to seat two other people at it besides the 4. At first, it had seemed that the seat would be unable to carry Luna’s weight, but after a painful groan and what they thought was cracking, it held. “So, you say you know how to fix this?” Luna asked, scarfing down the corndog in one bite.

Sal was the only one without a lunch tray. Apparently, he had eaten a big meal earlier and wasn’t hungry. “Yes. I’ve seen magic backfire before, and while this particular case is unique from what I have heard, I do possess the power to channel the energy of animals and what they represent on my tribe’s totem pole. A mere backfire in magic is nothing I can’t fix.”

“That is because it was no mere backfire in magic.” Satori said, getting everyone’s attention. “Someone sabotaged the spell as it was being cast. I heard the word, ’change’ being uttered by someone not in the crowd. I couldn’t read their mind or sense their presence otherwise, so whoever did it has great power in masking their presence.”

“So someone wrecked the spell on purpose, eh?” Sal snorted, then turned back to Luna. “Well just alow me to take care of this with the healing powers of the bear.” He announced as he placed his hands on hers. Green waves of energy flowed from his hands and into Luna’s body…

But then Sal grunted as he was blasted back by an invisible force. All those in the cafeteria stopped what they were doing and starred as he slowly rose up off the ground. “Well damn, someone’s got quite the lock on that magic. I can’t tamper with it for nothing.”

“Oh, are you needing of assistance?” The voice of Yuyuko brought the four to face the Ghost Princess, who had come in from the cafeteria line… and then at the giant tower of food she had on her tray. Apparently, she had taken whatever was left at the counters, because the food tower reached up to the ceiling, and she balanced it perfectly in her finger as she sat down. She made sure to hold the tray in her hands, so as to not shatter the table with its weight. Her TA Youmo, with a far more modest proportion of food on her tray, sat beside her, so now the table was full as Sal got back onto the seat.

“Yes, I think we do need your help.” Gall said. “You see, you know what happened to Luna, and because your one of the most respected teachers here, we were hoping if you could help us fix her.”

But before Yuyuko could say anything, a new voice boomed through the cafeteria, causing all the students gathered there to look around in confusion. “Well too bad for you, kiddies. There will be no help coming to you, only your demise!”

Youmu unsheathed her blade, and locked onto the location of the voice: the ceiling. She was about to lunge, when Yuyuko ordered, “No. Do not attack.”

“But mistress, they are-“

“I know, but perhaps this could be entertaining.” Yuyuko said. This caused Youmu to sigh, and sheath her blade. She was Yuyuko’s servant, and whatever orders she gave were of top priority, even higher than the school rules.

“Thank you. It’s good to see someone here wants a show, and what he have packed is a REEEAL treat!” The voice shouted, as a jet of flames descended from the ceiling and onto the ground below. Gall backed up, the flames scarring the boy. Soon enough, they died down, and 4 beings were in the middle of the room. One of them was Kaos, in his usual human form that looked like a Predator with a human skin on it. The second person was slightly shorter than him, but more muscular, and with a single horn sprouting from the middle of his head that identified him as an Oni. The third was scrawly, with had 4 additional arms coming out of the sides of his body and 6 additional eyes on his head, identifying him as a spider. The fourth, was completely robed, and was just as tall as Kaos.

“Identify yourselves! Who are you, and what do you want!” Sal ordered, slamming his staff against the ground as he rose. So too did Satori, Gall and Luna. Yuyuko and Youmu remained seated though.

Kaos grinned as he cracked his knuckles. “We come only for one purpose: to bring a Famine of good luck and prosperity to you, and to drive sentience to extinction!” He howled.

The Oni snorted, flexing his muscles against his Powerthirst shirt and torn jeans. “We bring War to you and your friends, Luna of Junior year, for daring to defy us and our leader! So I, Hermiles, shall break you apart!”

The spider youkai chuckled as he planted his fists against the ground. “Those in the future will look back on our Conquest of our enemies and see us as champions and gods, spared of the torture that is to come. So allow Juves to consume your flesh for the greater good.”

The robed figure looked up, and crimson, serpentine eyes locked onto Luna and Satori. “With all things come Death. With you daring to take away my position as the Beauty Queen, and with my chances as becoming Senior representative of the school shattered, I-“

“It was you.” Satori cut off the robed being from her speech, her voice getting tense. “It was your voice that I heard during the accident. It was you that caused Luna to become what she is!”

“How very observant of you, Satori Komeiji of the Freshmen class.” The figure snickered as she tore off her robe and hood, revealing a tall woman with long crimson hair that reached down to the waist, a green shirt and blue jeans on. Her never blinking eyes seemed to shine as she laughed. “I am the Beauty Queen of this school, Novetris Squama, and as the head of the Legion of Destruction, it is our job to bring pain and misery to whoever we desire."

[Demon Lord Gira]

Chapter 7: Battling the Werebeast.

“There is more to it than you’re letting on.” Satori called out. “Why is it that you changed Luna’s shape? What purpose was there to that?”

Novetris chuckled as did the other three Legion members. “You see, we have lost our most influential member last year, our old leader. Because of this, there are many who think we are but a shell of our old glory. We seek to show them wrong, that we are as dangerous as we have always been. So we picked an appropriate target, and now, you and your friends will suffer to our glory. We will be leaving you all in the hands of Kaos here. This is his first outing as part of our group, and he wishes to prove himself. Ta ta for now.” There was a puff of smoke and fire, and where the other three members had been, now there was only Kaos, who grinned madly as he cracked his knuckles.

“Smart people need to die… Intelligence plague upon existence. Animal instinct triumphs sentience everda-“ The rambling words of the Legion member were cut off short as a bubble appeared around him. His eyes went wide with rage, and he pounded and slashed against its sides, but to no avail. AGAIN!?! The second time this year, and he was stuck in this infernal bubble!

Luna smiled as she flew on her finger tip. “What was that again about animal instinct? Oh yeah, it doesn’t help against magical bubbles.” She said, which brought a chuckle out of the students there. Even Youmu cracked a smile at what she saw. “Well that was pathetically eas-“

“Watch out!” Gall shouted as he ducked. The others only has seconds to react before the bubble burst apart in a brilliant explosion of raw power and energy. The floor thudded as Kaos landed, his form no longer human. Now he was a whole different assortment of creatures mashed together into one, most of his body and face bear-like in appearance, though with reptilian features as well as a lion-like mane around his neck. His arms were of those of a tiger and a lion, and his legs were muscular and scaly, with the right one having a giant sickled claw on it. Scars covered his body, from the top of his snout to the end of his crocodile tail, and all across the jagged spines on his back. The titan towered above them by heads and shoulders, easily 16 feet high. There was a look of terror and fear on Satori’s face as the beast stepped forward, the ground thudding beneath his massive bulk. Luna and Sal readied themselves with their magic, and Gall transformed into a giant ogre just as large. The beast howled as he charged, and Gall charged at him at the same time…

And then, the room quaked with the two giants colliding together. Both foes groaned as their heads smashed into one another, but as Gall staggered back from the horrendous hit, Kaos recovered faster than he did, shaking his head as he swung a fist right into Gall’s gut. The shapeshifter stepped back, clutching his stomach as he dropped to his knees from the force of the blow. Kaos raised his hands up high, ready to smash Gall’s face in…

But he was stopped as a blast of fiery magic nailed him outside the head. The werebeast snarled as he twisted around, his jagged fangs bared at Luna as he charged at her as well. The magician leapt out of the way at the last second, allowing Sal to come in from behind her, the spirit of the ox channeling through him as he brought his staff up into Kaos’s face. The beast howled in rage as fangs shattered from the hit. The werebeast staggered back, and Sal swung his staff again, this time hitting Kaos in the side of the head, causing him to be sent onto his side. He caught himself at the last second, all 4 limbs bracing him as he smashed into Sal, the creature’s bulk sending the shaman flying right into Luna, knocking both of them head over heels. Kaos then whirled around, striking Gall before the shapeshifter could hit him, knocking him straight to the floor.

At this time, Satori could only stand and watch as Kaos fought her three friends. Her eyes were wide, and she wanted to do something, anything to help them, but she couldn’t. She herself was no match for a physical brute like him. But that wasn’t what had her on the edge. It was something about his mind, his thoughts… or the lack of them. “He… he isn’t thinking. He’s relying on pure animalistic instinct.” She gasped. If he had been thinking, she could easily alert her friends as to what he was going to do next, but because there was only a blank void of animalistic impulses, it was like trying to read a book with no text.

Suddenly, she felt strong, rancid breath blasting into her face. She looked up, and tried to step back, only for Kaos to grab her by the throat and hoist her up in the air. She had been so caught up in her mind, she hadn’t noticed Kaos defeating Luna, Gall, and Sal. Their bodies lay on one of the tables in the cafeteria, groaning and scratched up and bruised. The werebeast snarled, its massive fangs mere inches from Satori’s face. Fear was running through her mind, yet she tried her best to stay calm. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Kaos’s free hands was flexed into a fist…

Which was about to smash into her face. No mind reading was needed to realize that would no doubt kill her. As Kaos roared and brought the fist forward at full strength. Satori did the only thing she could… she reached her hand forward and placed it on Kaos’s forehead. It would normally have been a futile jesture, a vain attempt to stop the deadly blow, yet something else happened. All those that were watching saw that, the second her hand touched Kaos’s forehead, the beast seemed to stop, and its grip loosened. It slumped over on the ground, it’s eyes closing, yet Satori didn’t move. Visually, it seemed as if nothing was happening. All those watching seemed confused… except for Yuyuko. The ghost let a tiny smirk edge across her lips…

If she was right... then things were definitely going to get interesting now.

[Demon Lord Gira]

Chapter 8: Your Darkest Fears.

Kaos’s eyes snapped wide awake. The werebeast rose off the ground, and shook his head. What the… what had just happened? The last thing he recalled, he was just about to grind that little girl’s between his fists, when everything had gone dark. Now that he could see, he realized he wasn’t in the cafeteria anymore. He was on a waterbed, slightly larger than he was, in the middle of the ocean. Kaos rubbed his eyes and blinked rapidly. There had to be a mistake of some sort. His senses were screwing with him. They had to be. There was no possible way this could be happening. But sure enough, what he smelt was the salty ting of the sea, he felt the cool wet air against his now human skin, and he swayed back and forth as the waterbed kept afloat amongst the sea of water.

“Are you enjoying this?” A certain voice said from behind him. Kaos swirled around, careful not to send the little waterbed toppling over, and gaped at what he saw. A titanic battleship loomed overhead, one far larger than any he thought existed in the human world. Numerous array of guns, missles, and torpedos were armed upon the mighty war vessel, and on the bridge, donned in an admiral’s outfit, was Satori, a black patch over one eye. From how high up the girl was, Kaos strained to see her against the intense glare of sunlight coming from behind her, but he could tell the mind reader didn’t seem as confused as he was. No, she seemed perfectly calm…

Which only enraged him. “What the hell did you do to me?” Kaos roared, grabbing hold of the tiny waterbed to prevent it from capsizing. “What sort of bloody witchcraft have you done to have this happen?”

Satori let a tiny smile spread across the corner of her mouth. “I will admit, even I was surprised when this happened. I only tried to stop you from hurting me, but apparently, I managed to interact with your brainwaves and gain access to the deepest parts of your subconscious. We are in your mind, Kaos, and I can’t say I’m not disappointed by how small your brain is.” She said as she held out her hand, and tilted it, letting something fall. Kaos made a grab for it, and caught it. It was a brain, but one so tiny and shriveled, one could mistake it for a pebble. “All instinct, and no intelligence. That is what you are. You never were one to think before you acted, were you?” She stopped, and then turned, as if pondering something.

“What is it? What are you looking at?” Kaos snarled, before lunging up. However, though he thought it was a jump he could make, it was as if the ship seemed to stetch up at the last moment, just out of reach. He plummeted back down onto the waterbed, a massive spray of water jettisoning up everywhere. The werebeast curled up in the middle, shaking off the water.

It was then that Satori turned back to face him, and though the look on her face was the same, Kaos could sense something dark and malevolent about it. “You’re not really a werebeast, are you?” She asked, leaned over to look down at Kaos, who had been taken off-guard by the comment. “Let me elaborate. I’m reading through your mind, and what I see, is the past of a creature, raised by werewolves, yet, you were never really a werewolf. All the others shunned you even from a young age, and your parents, they treated you as the runt of the litter, and kicked you out of the nest earlier than everyone else.”

“SHUT UP! YOU LIE!” Kaos snarled, his body beginning to change as anger and rage overtook him.

“Oh, but I only say what is written in the depths of your heart and soul. You wandered alone, searching for any purpose, any true meaning in life, but there was none. You were forced to fend for yourself, hone your own skills, and raise your intuition enough to survive. That was when you came across Youkai High. You passed the test on the first try, only because of your sharp intuition.”

“SHUT UP, WENCH! I WILL END YOU IF YOU SPEAK ANYMORE!”

“Has it not occurred to you, Kaos, why it is you look so different from the rest of your kind? Why it is you have powers far beyond that of a normal werewolf? Why you don’t transform on the full moon? It is obvious. You are no werewolf. You are a chimera, a shapeshifter abandoned at the front door of a werewolf’s home. You could have far more power, but since you were raised as a werewolf so long, your own powers are inhibited in that way. You can only change between your two forms. That is what you are.”

“I SAID SHUT UP!” Kaos bellowed, and with that, he leapt once more, this time higher and farther than previously. He was now level with Satori, and so close. He swung at her face… but yet again, it was as if the very laws of physics failed him. She seemed to stretch back at the last moment, and his claws only sliced through air. He fell once more, and this time, he went straight through the water bed. The coldness of the ocean enveloped him, and he struggled to stay afloat. “I will end your existence, bitch. I will see to it once I get out of this nightmare that you and your friends are deader than dead.”

“Oh? Is that what you think?” Satori asked, as she turned her back, and turned her head to face where Kaos was. “You see, this place is a result of your mind at work. All your dreams, all your passions, all your goals lie within here… and so do your fears. So tell me, what are you afraid of?”

Those last 5 words plunged into Kaos’s heart like a knife. Fears? His fears were here? “Oh no…”

Suddenly, a noise from behind, he turned, and saw a knife-like object sink beneath the waves. The knife in Kaos’s heart sunk even further as his eyes widened. “no… no no no… please no. Anything but that!” Before him, the knife-like fin rose back up, and slowly approached him. It rose higher and higher, till it dwarfed him. As it got closer, Kaos could feel the warmth spread from his pants, but he didn’t care. His irises shrunk, and his jaw hung slack as the massive fin stopped just short. A massive shadowy image loomed beneath the surface before Kaos. The werebeast could only shake as the front of the shadow rose up out of the water… and revealed twin fiery orbs staring at him. It wasn’t the head of an ordinary shark. It was more like a skeletal dog head, with long gray hairs spreading from the back of the head. The head transitioned straight into the main shark body, as if it had been jabbed onto a headless shark. The skeletal head looked at Kaos, and Kaos could only wimper in fear as he stared back.

Then, as if it had grown bored of the starring contest, the Pocket/Great White Hybrid let out a booming, deafening roar, and the hairs along it’s head light up in flames as it lunged...
___________________________________

Satori slowly opened her eyes, as the sound sof things breaking and screaming reached her ears. She rubbed her eyes, and squinted at the odd scene infront of her. Kaos was tearing across the cafeteria, his eyes closed and his form still monstrous ranting and raving in a tongue she didn’t understand. He seemed… afraid of something, but of what she didn’t know, for he was hurtling around blind. The rest of the people in the cafeteria were simply staring the same sense of awe and curiosity that Satori had. The beast was throwing chairs, tumbling across tables, and throwing vending machines around.

Suddenly, he stopped, and turned toward the darkness of a hallway that was behind him. His lips curled up , and his muscles flexed as his very mind deceived him. “There you are, you damn triclops! You will pay for messing with my mind!” He roared, before lunging into the darkness. Less than two seconds later, a deafening boom echoed from the hallway, and Kaos’s limp body flew over Satori and crashed into the side of the wall, before slumping to the dead. His chest heaved up and down slightly, signaling he was still alive, but it was obvious he was knocked out.

“Satori, are you alright?” Luna’s voice caused the mind reader to turn just in time to receive a hug to the face from the larger magician. Beside her, were Sal and Gall, all three of them still bruised and injured, but otherwise alright. Gall let a tiny crack of a smile slip, showcasing a broken tooth, while Sal had numerous bruises along his body. “We were worried about you as soon as we saw you and Kaos fall asleep. What… what happened?”

“I… I don’t really know. I tried to stop him, but as soon as my hand made contact with his head, it was as if I slipped into his conscious. I’ve never been able to do that before, and I wasn’t expecting that to happen. It felt like a dream, and I… I never felt so good as in there, being able to tamper with his mind, and his fears. It… actually scared me abit, seeing myself relishing over tearing him apart like that.” Satori said, and though her voice was the usual deadpan tone, there was a hint there, a slight tone that showed that she was truly worried.

“Well, whatever happened, we’ll be sure to have the nurse check you out about it.” Gall said, as he spat out a second chipped tooth onto the ground. “But still… what happened to him just now?” The shapeshifter asked, pointing to the still form of Kaos.

However, none of them got a chance to ponder it, for at that moment, Yuyuko shouted to them, “What a wonderful fight and performance. I knew you 4 wouldn’t lose to a pampered hound like that.” They all turned as the ghostly ruler of the Netherworld smiled and tilted her head. “The damage done can be easily repaired by David the janitor, and I especially loved how our dear Satori here unlocked some hidden potential to turn the odds. But I must say, I wasn’t expecting you to interfere with the fight, Sariel.” She said, turning to face the hallway.

“I’m impressed you knew it was me without even seeing me.” An male voice said from the shadows. The group watched as two figures stepped out from the hallway. Both were tall figures, around 7 feet in height, and were easy to identify as angels, for they had 6 wings sprouting out of their backs, and carried scepters in their hands. They both had long white hair, and deep blue eyes, but while one wore a simple blue dress with white sleeves and more traditional angelic wings, the other wore a crimson dress overlaid with red robes, and her wings were like leather and scales, purple to the color and interlaid with glowing red lines. The blue dressed one spoke, and it was clear it was a male figure. “We were simply interested by what was going on, and found ourselves attacked by that thing. I merely defended myself, and I made sure not to use lethal force, right sister?” The male angel, Sariel, asked his counterpart.

“Yes, yes. Just what was that all about anyway? Let me guess, the Legion of Destruction again?” The female angel asked.

Yuyuko nodded. “One of their members tried fighting these kids here, but he got beaten and thrown into a blind rage. But disregarding that, it’s great to see your both back from your vacation.” With that said, she turned to the students, and cleared her throat. “Now, up until this point, I’ve had to teach for both the senior and junior classes at the same time. However, I am afraid I will have to say goodbye to you juniors, for your teachers are back from their vacation. Please welcome Sariel and Shinki .” At this, the student body present clapped, and the two fallen angels found themselves swarmed by their students.

“Okay, okay, lunchbreak is over, so back to your classes. You don’t want detentions handed out to you, do you?” Shinki ordered. With a rustle of her wings accompanying the order, the student body began to leave the cafeteria. As they flooded out, Shinki placed her hand on Satori, stopping her and her group. “Not so fast now, you four. We would like to hear a little more about what just happened, and then you can go to the nurse’s office. I’ll be sure to write you all up slips to excuse you for your tardiness.”

____________________-

“What the hell was that gong show?” Novetris hissed as she slammed her fist into the wall beside Kaos’s face, missing it by mere inches. It was later that day, and the Legion of Destruction members was managed to drag the unconscious Kaos to their lair and slap him awake. Hermiles and Juves merely stood back and watched as their leader expressed her discontentment with Kaos. “It was just a simple task. Beat up four students, get everyone else to be afraid of you, end of story. But you fell asleep during the beatdown and woke up rambling and ranting about some skeletal dog shark! What the hell?”

“But The Pocket… that thing scares me to no end. And great White sha-“

“You were afraid of a damn illusion! I should just gut you apart right here and now.” Novetris hissed, her hands extending into claws as she prepared to eviscerate Kaos.

“Wait just one second.” Juves cried out, causing Novetris to back off. “I don’t think Kaos is the problem here. He was doing his best when the Satori girl somehow put him to sleep. I think she tampered with his nightmares, which caused him to wake up kicking and screaming.”

“Is that what you think?” Novetris narrowed her eyes and stepped toward him. Her hands here held behind her back, and she stood at eye level with the spider, her own eyes locked onto his. “I heard her sister has that kind of ability. Perhaps the information you supplied me with was inadequate?”

“Oh no no no no no.” Juves rapidly stated, backing away from the formidable figure. “my facts were perfectly fine… up until today. Yes, her sister is the one that can mess with your subconscious, but even she hadn’ tbeen reported to do this. Messing with your dreams is unheard of among the Satori kind, so this kind of development must have occurred within the last few days.”

“I see. Kaos, your off the hook.” Novetris hissed as she turned to address her three teammates. “We Legion members have been humiliated today by a little girl. Now tell me, what will that bring to us? We will not be feared and respected like we were under the lordship of our old leader. Those days are gone now. We must make these students fear us by force, and to do that, we must exact revenge on Satori Komeiji and her friends. This is no longer a mere threat… it is very personal now.”

[Demon Lord Gira]

Chapter 9: Meet the Insects.

Satori collapsed onto her bed, the warm, fluffy mattress embracing its master with open arms as she sunk into its depths. It was later that same day, after school had gotten out, and she had invited Gall and Luna to her house a few blocks away. What she had neglected to tell the two was that her “house” was a gigantic gothic palace, towering above many of the buildings around it, or that the inside of the palace was adorned with her many pets, rare and wondrous animals from both the supernatural and the human realms, from dragons to lizard, from emus to Rocs, and even a sole Unicorn that wandered the halls, all perfectly happy and caring for their master. The interior of the mansion was unlike any the two had ever seen, specious and elegant, with spiraling corridors and many rooms branching from the hallways, along with murals adorning the walls of even more exotic creatures, both living, dead, and fantastic. Even her room was beyond the norm, a vast library covered with shelves and books that stretched from one distant wall to the other, with a small bed and closet in the far corner. And it was here that Satori and her two friends were at the moment, with the latter two watching the former as she lay on her small bed, before she twisted up to face them. “A long, exhausting day is always best ended relaxing in bed.” She sighed, her aching muscles being eased away by the soft clothes of her bed. “I’m happy both your parents agreed to let you two stay the night over here. Since I really don’t have a parental figure to take care of the house and the pets, that all falls on me to do, as well as the sole servant we have, though he’s a little eccentric at the job.”

“Wait, you don’t have any parents? You’re the one keeping this place up and running?” Luna asked, the girl’s face twisted into shock at what she had just head.

Satori didn’t nod, but simply had her gaze locked into its signature half-closed state. “Indeed. Both my parents died when I was young, but Persephone’s mother, Shinki, was kind enough to help me for a little bit. However, I learned everything I needed to keep this place from falling apart while both my parents were alive, so I took over the cooking, pet care, family matters, and house maintenance, while Shinki was obliged to just handle the various bills, and even now I’m working on amassing enough money to take care of that myself. Of course, you already know Persephone is not happy with this arrangement, but it won’t last too much longer.”

“That’s quite impressive.” Gall said, the shapeshifter looking around the massive room. “So, why exactly are we here anyway? I’m sure the League of Destruction had NOTHING to do with this slumber party.”

Gall’s sarcasm earned a slight chuckle from the mind reader, but she didn’t answer him right away, instead waving her hand slightly to the side. Gall, knowing what it meant, stepped to the side, and just in time, for a gigantic armor-plated earwig creature lumbered between him and Luna before halting at the bed of the mind reader. It was an olive-green color, and around 13 feet high at the top of the head, with the massive pincer tail looming another 10ft above that, and 6 spear-like legs supporting the hulking mass. On top of its back was a beetle with mantis-like bladed arms, around the size of a man, with the same coloration, but far smaller than the titan it rode on. “Oh, so Utsuho forget to feed both of you again. Well let’s head on down to get you some food.” Satori said to the pair of large insects as she got off the bed. Not even enough time for a brief nap. There was always something that needed to be attended to. As she headed off out of the room, she signaled to both Luna and Gall to follow her, which they did, while keeping a large gap between them, and the giant insects. “Don’t worry, they won’t harm either of you. They’re perfectly safe.”

“Um, was that addressed to us, or to the killer bugs?” Luna said, keeping an extra foot away from the insects than Gall was. Both Satori and Gall noticed that there seemed to be an edge of fear in the girls voice, and to the mind reader, she knew her mind was racing and her heart pounding.

“That was addressed to both groups. And no, Gera and Arshe aren’t arachnids, so there’s no need to be afraid of them. And no, they are not of separate species. They are infact male and female of the same species, Gera being the giant female, and Arshe being the smaller male. Normally, Gera would be with Arshe until she got hungry, then eat him, but thanks to my care, they’ve lived together for several years without so much of an argument.”

That caused Luna to nearly collapse, both in relief from the fact they weren’t arachnids trying to kill her, and from the mind boggling sexual dimorphism at work. “That’s… That’s really something.” Luna said as the group left the room and entered into the main hallway, where the various other pets were gathered around. “So, as Gall was trying to ask earlier… Why are you giving those two insects dog food?” Luna trailed off from her original question as Satori had walked over to a mural, pushed it to the side, took out the bag of dog food behind it that was as large as she was, then poured it into a bowl in the middle of the floor. Gera and Arshe waited for her to step back, then dug in, the smaller male flying off the back of the giant female and waiting patiently for her to finish gorging herself before diving in.

“The answer to that is that the dog food I use is not really dog food. It’s a special mix me and my sister made that contains chunks of meat and proteins in them. All the pets here love feeding of them, and its relatively cost free to make, so we use it all the time. And no, I don’t know where my sister is at the moment, and for that matter, where Utsuho is as well. Normally, they’re around here somewhere, but I can’t hear their thoughts, or that of one of my more favorite pets. But I’m sure there enjoying themselves in a different part of the palace. As for your question of why I brought both of you here… well, the reason why is right behind you, trying to ambush you but failing.

This prompted both Luna and Gall to turn, and sure enough, there was a tall, dark colored dragon standing right behind them, looming over them in the most stereotypically ominous pose one could do. Razor-tipped wings stretched from his back, and a scythed tail swung back and forth. The eyes burnt like crimson fire, and teeth like daggers glittered in the light. The dragon stood there, like a statue, watching them for several moments, and they stood there watching it, uncertain as to how to react. Finally, the dragon slumped, and put a clawed hand on his face. “Really? I can’t even get a chance to try and be the ultimate evil that I am? Not even a chance to scare some little kids and wet their pants? Must you ruin all my attempts at being awesome?” The dragon spat venomously as it tried to rear upright, only for a CRACK to sound across the hall, immediately it fell down onto all fours, howling and cursing in pain. “Why now of all times must my back give out when I’m trying to impress these fools as to how great I, Black Dragon, truly am?”

Luna, who had previously been taken back by the imposing figure, could only now laugh at the plight of the drake before her. “Not so much of an evil and imposing force now are ya? You certainly have seen better days.. or have you always been this pathetic?”

“Yes, he has always been this pathetic.” Satori said as she cut off the dragon’s attempt to explain. “This here is Black Dragon, or as his name really is, David.” This got her a hiss in disgust from David, but she ignored it. “He is the sole servant of this palace, and I enlisted his help just last year. He once worked as the janitor of Youkai High, but was fired for failing even the most basic of tasks. However, he is doing a marginally better job here, if only by a small bit. Now David, I must ask you, what do you know about the League of Destruction?”

David snarled as he once more got onto his hind legs, this time supporting himself with the mural from the wall, either not knowing or caring that he was smearing it up with his filthy hands. “Ah yes, I know of them. The League of Destruction are a group of crooks who think they can bully the rest of the student body around as they wish. The teachers and principals allow their roughhousing and bullying to go on, for reasons I myself am unclear of. Assuming their old head wasn’t held back a grade and went off to one of the colleges here in the supernatural realm or in the human world, their current leader is Novetris Squama, a bitchy woman who is as vain with her looks as any gorgon you’d met, pre transformation.”

“Wait, you said old head before.” Luna interrupted him. Something was now scratching away at the back of her mind, and if it was what she thought it was…

“Oh yes, Novetris wasn’t always the leader. The year I retired, was the year their old head was a senior, though I left before the class in case could graduate. But boy, was that woman something else. You think the current League of Destruction is bad, you haven’t seen evil until you’ve met their old leader. She made the League into a name that is feared and reviled across all the campus, and even intimidated the teachers, to the point that the old senior teacher ended up quitting his job and running, and the ghost princess there was hired SPECIFICALLY to keep that woman in place. I dare not speak her name, otherwise I fear a repeated ruination upon the greatest evil that exists, that being myself. She also was the school gardener, and was known for torturing whatever poor student that got on her bad side with whatever plant she had in mind.”

“That does not sound pleasant.” Gall said, trying his best to mask the fear he was feeling. This person, whoever she was, sounded like a complete nightmare, a terror that was now sound asleep and far away from them. “it sounds like you yourself got a first-hand taste of her power.”

David glared down at the shapeshifter. “Indeed. Back during her freshmen year, I had been hired to help clean up the campus. I went a little crazy with the work I was doing, and ended up tearing across the local school garden. “ Here, he twisted around, and pointed to a long, jagged scar running from the base of his neck, down to his outie belly button. “I underestimated that gardener… she tore me apart so fast, I thought I was being assaulted by the principals. She stopped my charge with a single hand, threw me into the sky, and blasted my insides out with a single beam. I survived of course, but only barely. As for the other members, they aren’t as dangerous, but Novetris definitely followed in the footsteps of her old leader, and I can see her trying to be just as nasty as she was. Why do you ask of them?”

“The purpose is because I believe they inflicted me and my friend with strange ailments. Luna here has become more mature than she should be, as you can see.” Satori said, pointing to the adult figure of Luna. “And I somehow was given the power to manipulate people’s dreams.”

David grinned, then let out a loud, boisterous laugh that was cut short by him coughing and hacking up a large black pit. “That’s the last time I try to eat any of those oversized cherries. Anyways, None of their members have that kind of power. This I know for a fact. If they indeed were able to do it to you, then they have gotten their power from an alternative source. Someone is aiding them, giving them more power than they should be tampering with. The power to manipulate dreams is a dangerous tool, able to drive people to the edge of insanity, or even kill them should the dream created be terrifying enough.”

“Thank you, David. That is all we needed to know.” Satori said, before pointing over to the bowl that Gera and Arshe had eaten from. The giant insects had left during the exposition drop, and had left their bowl with various fluids covering it, which reeked of an odor that caused both Luna and Gall to back away from it. “Go and clean that up now, derp.”
“Who are you calling the derp? I AM NO MERE DERP, I AM BLACK DRAGON!” David roared, but instead of staying to argue with Satori, he went over to the bowl to clean it out. Much to the surprise of both Gall and Luna, the dragon tore off its own left arm and began to sweep up the goop that was on the bowl with it, while blood was dripping from the wound and only making the mess worse.

“He’s hopeless.” Was all Satori said as she walked off, prompting Gall and Luna to follow her. “But seeing that Black Dragon had to say did give us some foresight into what is going on here.”

“Yes it did.” Luna said, a slight smile on her face. “The LOD is getting help from the outside, since we know for a fact Kaos can’t do that sort of thing himself, and the others can’t as well. But who could be helping them out?”

“There’s only one way to find out.. Confront them and take them down, no matter what. They tried to hurt us, so I’m not afraid of dishing the pain back at them.” Gall said, his own eyes narrowing as they all made their way back up toward Satori’s room.

“Indeed. However, it is starting to get late, and we should all get some sleep… unless you all want to play some Pokemon Black and White 2 with me?” Satori said as she pulled out 3 3DS’s from her pockets.

“I’m certainly up for that tonight. I ain’t loosing with my hail team.” Gall heard himself boast, which only caused Luna and Satori to chuckle at him.

“Uh, no, my team of Sun is taking you down easy.”

“Stealth Rocks. That is all.” Was what Satori said as they headed into her room and closed the door.

____________________

Meanwhile, in a different part of the palace, Kaos chuckled to himself as he watched the three enter into the room. Just what he was hoping for, all three of them in one spot so he could take them all out. Breaking into this place had been child’s play for someone of such instinct as he was, and the hell raven and twin-tailed cat that had tried to stop him had been pathetically easy. He had managed to ambush them while they weren’t looking, and knocked them out with a single hit each. The two in question were lying at his feet, still, but breathing slightly. He hadn’t killed them… but that was only because they weren’t his prize. Oh no, his prize was the three fools who had made a laughing stock of him. This time, revenge was to be his, and his alone. This time, the brutal animalistic nature of things would overtake any planning or intelligence at work here.

He crouched on the railing on the highest part of the mansion, and was about to leap off, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. “Not now. Kaos busy planning.” The tap came again, and he swatted away the appendage. “I said not now. I am busy Interrupt me aga-“

This time, there was no tap, but instead a sharp pain spiking into the chimera’s shoulder. Kaos gritted in pain, and whirled around, snarling in rage. “Are you picking a fight with… me?”

Standing right there, looming above him, was a giant green armor-plated earwig that towered above him, and on its back was a mantis-like beetle, the scythed arms it had dripping with blood… Kaos’s own blood. The titan earwig let out a loud, deafening roar that nearly caused Kaos to lose his footing, then reared back onto its hind legs.

“Come at me then, guards. Show me a fight only Kaos can relish and enjoy!” The chimera boasted as he leapt toward the bugs, just as Gera came crashing down ontop of him…

[Demon Lord Gira]

Chapter 10: Battle in the Chireiden Palace.

The night was only beginning in the Demonic Realm. Far off, away from the rest of demonic civilization, lay Chireiden Palace, Satori’s home. It was a grand, marvelous building, more like a gothic church than a house, surrounded by old abandoned buildings. Twisted gargoyles glared down from above watching as 4 students were making their way toward the building. They weren’t normal visitors, but the gargoyles, very much alive and watching, didn’t care in the slightest. They were only here to watch, and keep an eye out for intruders, a job which they were horrible at, seeing as Kaos was already inside the building. As it would have been, the 4 incoming people were people Satori would have known, but she hadn’t sent them a formal invitation. Nonetheless, the barred gate at front was open, so they walked in nonetheless. “Um, are you sure it’s a good idea to be entering into her house without permission? I mean, she owns this place… she could have us kicked out.” Cucumber nervously gnawed on the pickle in his mouth, all the while his shivering sending the goldfish bowl on his head splashing. This place was giving him the spooks, with the crimson sun’s rays just vanishing behind the horizon, leaving only the dark twilight and the rising rays of the moon as their guide. A shrill screech caused him to twist to face where it had come from, and for a second, he thought he saw something large moving amongst the courtyard darkness… large and serpentine, all the fore terrifying for a kappa like him.

“Oh get a hold of yourself. You volunteered to come with us for a full bag of pickles, so don’t go running off like a wuss now. No need to be a chicken… and besides, I don’t think you want me to show miss Yukari what you’ve been doodling in class, right?” Sarah sneered as she held up a drawing in the air. It was too dark for Cucumber to see, but he knew what it was, and baled his hands up into fists. “I thought as much. Now be a nice little turtle and don’t squeal. We’re only gonna be here for a few minutes to see what the big fuss was with Satori earlier today. I know I read her profile on the school front page, but there was nothing about there being , well, what she did back there!”

“That is the ONLY reason we are going” Kadru said, much to Sarah’s irritation. “What happened during the fight with Kaos was not normal… someone developing those kinds of powers on the fly, and such dangerous ones at that, would be hard pressed to convert to a more human style of living. It also leaves me worried that, if Satori developed these powers right then and there… then what else might be happening at the school? What might the teachers be doing behind our backs? “

“Beh. I’m only in this because I need a new 3DS. Crazy gardening bitch sliced mine apart, and I hear the 3-eyed freak has a few spare copies she don’t use.” Tycho said. He gritted his teeth at the thought of what had happened earlier that day… not his fault the fat cow was what she was. No need for her personal swordsman trainer to go all apeshit on him and cut what was his in half. If he could, he’d file a complaint against the school then and there… the only problem was, who would dare file a complaint against a school run by a reality warper of all things? “Regardless, I never actually seen what’s inside her house… or heard what’s in it.”

By now, they had reached the massive, bronze front doors. All 4 students craned their head upward, amazed by the sheer scale of the building. It was absolutely HUGE, atleast 300 meters tall, and who knew how much square footage it had inside. But as Cucumber reached for the massive doorknob to knock, he stopped as he heard a loud CRASH booming from inside. “Hey… did you all hear that right now? I think she may be throwing a hissy fit.” Cucumber said, wanting to back away from the commotion.

“Are you kidding me?” Sarah said as she whipped out her notes and pen. “It’s obviously she’s having some personal fun time with a boy in there, maybe Gall, and they’re going nuts over it. Just the kind of scandal Aya and I love to report.” That caused Tycho to chuckle as he began imagining the scene.

“No, It’s none of those. It’s Kaos in there, fighting something. That’s what it sounds like. Only Kaos could fight so loudly, and so sloppily.” Kadru pointed out, as she kicked open the doors. What lay inside, caused the other three students to gasp in awestruck wonder.

To say what they saw was glorious, perfect wonder was to have undermined the sheer beauty of the Chireiden Palace. The insides of the halls were specious and elegant, with spiraling staircases ascending all the way up to the top, and no end in sight as far as they could see. Moonlight filtered in through the windows, giving the grand mansion an almost otherworldly feel to it. But it was something else that was drawing their attention… High up on one of the banisters, was Kaos, and he was pinned underneath a giant earwig like creature with a beetle on its back. Kaos delivered a powerful jab to the right hand of the beast, causing Gera to stumble, giving Kaos just what he wanted. The chimera kicked up with all his force, flipping the dual bugs over the railing and down toward the floor below… which would have proven fatal, had Arshe not grabbed onto Gera with his scythe like arms and legs, and barely manage to give her a safe landing on all fours. But the bugs had no time to recuperate, for Kaos leapt down upon them, only to be greeted by Gera’s massive pincer tail grabbing him where he was. Kaos groaned as his sides were cut into from the sharp serrated edges within both pincer halves, as Gera them smashed him into the ground again and again, each thud cracking the marble flooring, before Gera tossed the aching and bleeding chimera into a pillar, causing it to crack in half and collapse under his weight.

“You know, I thought you were joking when you said Kaos was in here fighting something, but this is a little odd even for me.” Sarah nervously chuckled, her hair standing on end. “Just why on earth is Kaos here at Satori’s place? I doubt she’d invite him over after what he did today…”

“He wasn’t invited. He was an intruder who came to settle the score, and those bugs are the guards that keep all intruders out.” Kadru said, coldly and with little emotion. Sure enough, Gera turned to face them, and the earwig’s eyes turned red with rage. The arthropod let out an inhuman roar at the new intruders, and was about to charge them, if it weren’t for Kaos leaping out of the ruins of the pillar and smashing back into the insect, throwing her and Arshe off balance and onto their sides.

“That is what weak guards get for forgetting about Kaos. You will suffer like the 3 eyed one will, and I will crush you underneath feet like insects!” The chimera boasted as he took on his true form, and charged. Gera had no time to recover as Kaos leapt upon her, delivering punch after punch into the insects face, denting and cracking the facial armor. Gera hissed, and a massive gust of liquid fired from her maw, striking Kaos in the chest and propelling him backward. Likewise, Arshe latched back onto his wife’s back, and pointed his horn downward to the floor. Then, Gera charged, the very earth shaking as she plowed into a recovering Kaos, stabbing him through the chest….

But killing a Chimera wasn’t that easy. Kaos swung his arm down at Arshe’s horn, and broke it off, bringing the welcoming sound of a cry of pain from the beetle. Spinning around, his tail swiped Gera off her feet, and a follow up double kick sent her smashing into a pillar, the earwig groaning weakly as her armor splintered from the hit and she slid onto her body. “WEAK! SO VERY WEAK! KAOS CANNOT BE KILLED LIKE THAT!” kaos laughed, as he cracked his knuckles and moved in for the kill after he ripped what remained of the horn from his chest…

“That is enough! Stop this fighting at once!” Cucumber’s voice reached the Chimera. Kaos turned, and glared as he finally noticed the 4 of them rushing toward him. “You have no right being here at all, and your only causing pain and trouble for those here! What did the bugs ever do to you?”

“They are pets of my enemy, and all is fair in war. I live only to fight, so these weaklings deserve to die. Only the wrong and animalistic survive, and-“

“Yeah yeah, we get it. You came here picking for a fight ,and you got one. However, school rules say not to pick fights with other students unless the teacher allows it, and though we are not on school property, you are still attacking a fellow students property, which can get you expelled.” Cucumber steamed, as Kadru and Sarah were over trying to help Gera up. Arshe and his injured wife groaned weakly, but they were able to stand with some help.

“Yeah. Plus, attacking a student while they’re at home? That’s just all sorts of wrong, you jerk! I at least do things fairly half the time, while you just don’t care.” Tycho jabbed, a large pistol now in his hands as he aimed it at the chimera, who just laughed.

“Kaos is amused by your bravery, but it is futile. I want revenge on Satori, and I shall get it, no matter what, so get out of my way, or I will crush all of you pe-“

The rest of what he had to say was drowned out by a shrill shriek. From above came down a Roc and a Griffin, both flying monsters perched upon the balconies above as they glared down at the prey gathered below. From the doorway behind the group, emerged a unicorn, its horn glowing brightly as electricity shocked the very ground around it. Leathery wings signaled the arrival of a pair of massive wyverns, one red and one green, flames churning from the insides of their maws as they hovered above. A loud snarl came from the side, and a pack of saber-toothed cats emerged from the shadows, their leader snarling at the group. “Well… I think we just got the royal welcoming committee.” Cucumber gasped, as he hid behind one of the towering legs of Gera. The massive insect in question was looking around at the incoming pets, but was too weak to say anything. The fight with Kaos had drained her and Arshe of their energy…

“Great… now we are gonna have to deal with the rest of Satori’s pet brigade. Nice job there, ya dumb lizard, you had to make a stir here.” Kadru snapped at Kaos, who growled back… but then, the ground began to shake. The pets on the ground floor moved out of the way, and the shaking intensified. Kadru’s eyes widened, and she braced herself. Realizing that what was coming was most likely certain doom, Kaos, Tycho, and Sarah all readied themselves as well for what was to come. “And even better, we have to join forces with you to get these guys to listen.”

“Nor is it my liking to team up with you…” Kaos started say, then his mouth dropped as he saw what was coming. All the way on the far end of the hall, a side door burst apart, and a reptilian, serpentine head emerged from the hole. It was a bluish color, and covered in backwards curving spikes… and enormous, five times as large as Gera. The snake head twisted to face the group, and hissed in delight, a pair of jagged long fangs emerging from the viper-like maw… and then, the rest of the creature broke through the wall, sending debris crashing down. What had seemed like a snake body turned out to be just a neck, which swelled into a thick, muscular body with two giant clawed arms that dragged the wyrm across the ground. The wyrm raised its neck up, the head brushing against the ceiling a full 300 meters up in the sky as its crimson red eyes locked down on the group, the forked tongue flickering in and out as the monster braced itself, each clawed arm grabbing one of the pillars on each side of the room. Cucumber was shaking in uncontrollable fear, his fish pond on his head sloshing water on the floor. Sarah had her hands flamed up, Tycho had his pistols at the ready, Kadru and Kaos had their respective fight stances ready, and Gera had withdrawn to the safety of under a banister to avoid what was to come. The rest of the pets merely watched from a safe distance. No one moved… all was still for what seemed like hours…

“That… that is a huuuuge snake.” Cucumber finally burted out. As if in response to it, the giant wyrm, Dara Amadyura, let out an ear-splintering screech that rang across the palace, and lunged toward the group…

_____________

“Did you hear something go on?” Luna asked. She could have SWORN she had heard a noise… but these headphones made it hard to realize… perhaps if she took a look out the door.

“Don’t go anywhere. My Garchomp needs its sweep.” Satori bluntly said, prompting Luna to sit back down. As she did, she looked back at her game. Swept AGAIN. This was no longer getting fun.

“One more match, me against you, Satori. I got a feeling my team is ready to see you go down.” Gall said as he readied himself. “Metagross and Conkledurr vs. Garchomp and Gyarados. There is no way I can loose now.”

“I wouldn’t bet on it. I still have Stealth Rocks.” Satori monotoned, as she then set the battle in motion…

[Demon Lord Gira]

Chapter 11: Those who Redeem a Thousand Blades

“KAOS DOES NOT FEAR YOU, SERPENT! FIGHT ME ONE ON ONE!” Kaos shouted , fangs bared and eyes locked, upon the massive serpent that was charging toward him and the group that had come in to stop him. Every muscle in his body was tensed and ready, his reflexes at their peak, and a manic smile on his face. “ FIGHT ME!”

His words were rebounded back at him by the sheer volume of the wyrm’s roar, an earth-rending blast of air that sent Kaos flying back , and rattled his empty skull , a shaking that only stopped when he collided against one of the many pillars in the room, cracking it with the impact.

“Hey, big and slithery! Over here!” Kadru shouted at it, having leapt onto the highest banister in the grand hall. The serpent twisted its head up to face the hooded woman, and bared its fangs, each far larger than she was. . “That’s right, keep your eyes on me.”

Kadru dropped down, avoiding the massive clawed hand that swept across the level she had just been on. As she did, her body twisted, and her clothes melted into the shadows, turning into something that was clearly not human, but as reptilian as the wyrm that was both confused, and enraged. She landed on all fours, her elongated body ending in a flail formed around the multiple tails she had. The great serpent lunged forward, at the red dragon that as still dwarfed by it, but Kadru twisted around the massive head, and brought the flail down upon the creature’s head. Though the blow failed to do much to such a huge creature, it still felt the hit, and the brief bite of pain that had brought to it.

Kadru’s attempt to get in a second hit was denied by the serpent’s head swinging up into her, knocking her to the side like a ragdoll. Before it could capitalize on it, Sarah bolted in like lightning, her movements and small size drawing the snake away from the dragon, or the injured form of Arshe, who was being helped to safety by Cucumber. Just before the serpent could lunge at the speedy girl, bullets hit it right below the eye, causing it to flail its head and snap at the air angrily as it shook off the pain.

“Yeah, know the pain I felt when I lost my 3DS, you oversized worm!” Tycho shouted as he and Sarah ran circles around the creature, bombarding it with bullets and claws. As it was, Tycho was having the better day of the two, as he could atleast hit the sensitive parts of the monster. Sarah had to get up close to make the best with her claws and fire, and against such a massive creature, most of what she had simply bounced off. She ducked low, avoiding a lunge from the titan, then rolled to the side as it brought its head and neck down upon where she had been just moments before.

“Tycho, some more support fire over here!” Sarah shouted, as she backflipped away from the serpent’s claws.

“Yeah, I heard you!” Bullets rang out, and hit the roof of the snake’s mouth, causing it to snarl in rage. Blood now dripped from the roof of its mouth, and when it saw its own blood, the creature’s eyes glowed a deep crimson red, and its mouth twisted into a scowl.

“Wait! Please stop this! I, the great Black Dragon, demand that this conflict end at o-“ David, who had dashed out between the combatants, was flung away by the creature’s claws, right into a wall, before falling flat on his back, the air knocked out of his lungs, and his eyes glazed over. Now Kadru and Kaos had managed to recover from their earlier hits, and the two shot quick looks at each other, before they charged the snake. The monster failed to register their presence until it was too late, as twin blows rattled its skull, both from above. Their combined force, a meteor strike and a double punch respectfully, had knocked the snake’s head straight into the ground, causing the entire mansion to shake from the impact.

The whole time, Cucumber nervously watched, now beside Gera beneath the banister, with Arshe still on the Kappa’s back. Why? Why were they even fighting that thing? They couldn’t do any real damage to it, and it was only in such a state because they had attacked it and intruded here in the first place! If they had just left then and there, this entire mess wouldn’t have been a thing, but NOOO! Kaos’s mere presence seemed to have driven the rest into some sort of blood frenzy. “I just don’t get them.” He muttered under his breath.

“YOU WILL REMEMBER KAOS’S NAME, WORM! REMEMBER IT!” Kaos screamed as he lay punch after punch into the serpent’s head. Each hit went off like a gun shot, and on anything else, would have crippled, if not killed the victim… but for such a massive creature, it was merely a series of bee stings.

And now, it was ready to remove the stinger. And the bee.

A simple flick of the head was all that was needed to launch Kaos away. The chimera howled as he was sent flying through the air, but the snake wasn’t finished with him. Blue fires burned within its mouth, and Kaos’s eyes widened in horror as a single fireball was discharged, before impacting him. His flesh and fur burned, and Kaos screamed as his body was overwhelmed with pain, a pain unknown to the chimera as he was propelled through an open window, and out into the horizon of the demonic realm.

“Well, at least there goes the instigator.” Sarah half-heartedly joked.

The snake turned its head back down to the group, and the flames continued to build in its gut. It arched its head back, charging up the fiery death within for release.

“Dara, that is enough.” A voice cut through the air, a voice both the serpent and the group recognized at once. The snake closed its mouth, and lowered its head, so that it was at eye level with Satori, who was glaring back at it. “ The one you meant to deal with is gone, and if he tries to return, then feel free to attack him as you see fit. The others are to be left alone. They are my unofficial guests, and this goes for the rest of you.” Her voice wasn’t boomed out, but it was projected, so that all the animals could hear it. From their places, the creatures nodded in understanding, then left. The last to leave was the serpent itself, who slithered away, leaving the group alone.

Alone with Satori, and Luna, and Gall, both who were beside her and looking at the four curiously.

“I suppose we have a lot to explain to you.” Sarah nervously said, hiding behind Kadru, who had resumed her more human form.

“No. You do not.” Satori coldly said, as she walked over to the pair of injured bugs. “Kaos wanted revenge, so he tried to attack. Gera and Arshe fought him, but he was too tough for them. You four came, wanting to know what had happened earlier today, and found yourselves caught up in Dara’s wrath.” With that, she turned to the two bugs. “Do not worry. Orin and Okuu are on their way to patch you two up. You’ll be fine.”

“We’re sorry for barging in without warning.” Cucumber said, letting the large male bug off his shoulders, all the while trying to balance the bowl of water on his head. “We just… never saw anything like that… and what’s with all these pets here? Why is this place so huge?!”

“Because, this building was given to me by Persephone’s mother. The pets are my own. Dara was a gift given to me by my late parents when I was One. The rest came naturally, some from abused owners, others seeking shelter from hunters. As for my condition, I have no concrete answer. It manifested today, same as Luna’s current condition. We think the League of Destruction is behind it, but none of their members have power like this, or would give me such a power.”

“So there is a second agent at work here, is what you think?” Kadru asked. “Someone with their own agenda, playing both you and the League . Is it the teachers, or someone else…”

“Whoever it is, it ain’t right, and it’s clearly trying to undermine what our school stands for.” Sarah butted in. “I’ll expose just what is going on, and with Aya’s help, there will be nowhere for this fiend to hide!”

“Yes. The sooner this is stopped, the better.” Luna looked down at the rest of the group. “I want to get back to normal, and not be…. This. “

“All in do time. However, we still have more matches to do. David can clean up the mess here. As for you four, your parents know you are out for the night, because you told them you were staying the night at my place, a lie to do this thing.” Satori said, her eyes burning embers into theirs. “But… I’ll make it the truth.”

“So, we can spend the night? And can I get a new 3DS, please?” Tycho asked, eyes widening and glittering.

“Sure… if you can beat me in Pokemon. My Garchomp needs more souls.”

That night, only three moaning voices could be heard echoing across the demonic realm: Kaos, licking off his wounds given by Dara, David working at repairing the damage caused by the fight, and Tycho’s ego deflated and ruined as everyone around laughed as Satori’s Garchomp slaughtered his team thirteen times in a row, with Gall’s chuckling not helping in the slightest.