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inally!
A young girl ran through city streets, clutching the blackened book of magic to her chest. A smile actually was on her face. She had done it! True, she had to burn down a large part of the school in the process, but she had done it. The truest book of dark magic was now hers.
The city guard and the security at the magic school were probably after her, but she knew this city like the back of her eyes. Every twisted alley, every shortcut through a refuse-strewn sidestreet, every nasty and horrible place nobody bothered to go were her paths. It was so easy to get things done if you went places others didn't dare to go... and the things you could do there! She was smart enough despite her young age to see how it all related, both disregarded city slums and dark magics others dare not touch. It was probably ironic. Her literature teacher would be proud she had made the connection.
No, they wouldn't find her. She wasn't going home again, to her empty apartment home, which hadn't seen proper cleaning in three years. She was going to her workshop.
At one time, the building had been a factory for smelting iron. The nice thing about it was that all the metal structures acted like a natural buffer to muffle her magical experiments from the rest of the city, and most importantly, from the guard. If they knew...
But idle thoughts could wait. She had a purpose, after all.
Shoving open the rusted door, she ran up to her main lab, to the magical pentagram. It was an inverted one -- much more powerful than the standard ones, but tended to be more unstable. Unstable, that is, if you lacked control. She had the control. And now she had the book.
The title roughly translated to 'The Dark Lore', and it was reportedly a field manual for the Mazoku themselves. It was captured by some of the more prominent students of the sorcery school during the last Mazoku war, and kept secure in the most ward-riddled room of the library. She had spent years studying in class for the express purpose of beating those wards, and today, had succeeded. In this book was the one spell she had been wanting, wanting for three long, nasty years.
She shoved some meaningless experimental materials aside, making room on her desk. The book opened roughly, the pages warped and crackling beneath her fingers. A quick skim through the book found the spell she needed. She found the right ingredients, which she had estimated would be required beforehand, and started the chant, wrapping herself in black magic like a blanket of cold.
"Words spoken on a dark wind of will, spread with wings and let my call be heard," she spoke, reading each symbol and translating as she went. "Deep-Sea Dolphin. Hellmaster Phibrizo. Chaos-Dragon Gaav. Dynast Grauscherra. Beastmaster Zelas-Metallum. Come. Come all, I beg thee, allow me to supplant at your feet for the favor of Shaburanigdo, the demon king of all. I have prepared the way for my power to become your power. Come. Come all, I beg thee. Allow--"
"We heard you the first time," a gruff voice responded.
The girl whirled around, facing.... three perfectly ordinary people.
One of them was a tall warrior-type, with tanned skin and fire-red hair. Another was a young boy, perhaps her own age, with a pleasant smile and wide eyes. The third, staying near the back, was an older woman, wearing the finest city clothes, fashions available for large budgets from the best tailors.
The warrior looked at the others. "This is a first. Some kid's applying to be the Knight of Shaburanigdo. How old was the last idiot that tried this?"
"Twenty four," the boy smiled. "I like this. It's funny."
"We don't have time for this," the woman said. "Let's kill her and leave."
The girl stepped forward. "W-wait! I spoke the words. I deserve to be heard! I know how the spell works, and you guys need to hear my claim and decide!"
The warrior studied the tiny girl, sniffing the air... and frowning. "I can see in her mind. It's older than it looks by years, this isn't just some stupid kid. She knows what she's doing and wants to do it. The brat's going to put up a fight, isn't she?"
"I think it will be fun," the boy smiled. "We don't get together often and we don't have entertainment when we do. Let's hear her. My name is Phibrizo, and this tall person is Gaav. The woman is Zelas-Metallum. The other two were busy and couldn't come, sorry, nice girl."
The girl immediately got on one knee, despite her school uniform getting in the way. "Please... I want to be the Knight. The Knight of Shaburanigdo."
"Kid, let's be frank here," Gaav said bluntly. "Shaburanigdo's toast. He's been chunked into seven parts and isn't likely to pop his head up to let you be his representative. The Mazoku don't need some screwy human gumming up the works by pretending to be the unholy Knight. This position's gone unfilled for about three hundred years, and we're not really interested, you know? We have our own agendas and problems to deal with. So if you ask nicely, we'll just tear your head off to put with the other morons who've tried this and call it a day. However, if you insist on wasting our time, we can be less merciful..."
"You have to hear me out," the girl said, voice on edge of cracking. "You have to!"
"Don't be mean," Phibrizo warned the older Mazoku lord. "She's a funny little girl. I wanna hear her."
The woman, Zelas-Metallum, stepped up beyond the others.
"Words are inefficient..." she said, darkness flowing down her arm, gathering over an outstretched hand. "I will open her mind instead."
The girl froze. "What--"
She was born eleven years ago, and named at birth Lara Benzedi. It was her mother's last name and her father's choice for a first name. She showed exceptional ability, even at a young age, learning to read before any other children her age, able to do basic math early with numbered blocks. Her mother guarded her and tutored her, keeping her safe from all harm, rarely letting her out into the urban metropolis of Zefielia's capital city. She--
"Boring," Zelas-Metallum said, echoing from outside Lara's memory.
"I have a million and one things I could be doing rather than watching some kid's memories," Gaav commented. "She shows promise, for a human, but is she special in any way?"
"I'll move on."
--tapping magical powers when others were riding bikes, studying books of magic. Lara had no problems staying indoors and playing, because the times she went out, the people were idiots and called her names and made fun of her mother, whom she loved.
But she did enjoy exploring the city at night, because there were a whole bunch of places where nobody lived that had fun things in them. Some homeless people lived there, as well as bandits and thugs, but that just meant more practice, and practice made perfect. Mommy said so and mommy loved her.
Her daddy didn't think the same way, she thought, but he didn't talk much. He didn't show up much. He was a traveling merchant and could only see her when he was in town, but he always had a smile and a nice gift and that's all Lara wanted from him. He made mommy happy too, which was good. Mommy loved Daddy. She was very happy with the pearls he gave her today, and they spent a longer time together upstairs than usual.
"Now remember, Lara," her mother smiled, that afternoon. "Black magic is the only real power. White magic is useful and Shamanism is funny but only by specializing strong black magic can you hurt people you need to hurt."
"Okay, mommy!" she smiled. Because her mother was always right. And the next day, she decided to practice by crushing those people next door who kept talking about her mommy behind her back, saying how she shouldn't have been let out of the hospital and was a danger to the community. And then she hurt the people who came asking how those people got hurt. But eventually this got boring, so--
"Fun family," Gaav mocked. "You know, it's true. Humans can be total freaks if you drop them in the right environment. You think we should start a genetics program?"
"It would be a waste of time," Beastmaster Zelas-Metallum said simply.
"I like her," Phibrizo said, smiling mentally. "But she was a nice kid then and now seems adult. Why is that?"
"I'll ask her."
--found out that her daddy wasn't just her daddy, he was some other kids' daddy too. But Lara didn't care, because she was the most special one to him, and he always had a smile for her. And today, he'd smile best of all! And mommy would hug her and be very happy.
She had amazing news!
She was accepted to the magical school! The youngest student yet. She showed how good she was by throwing her testing professor around the room when she got bored with the tests. He said she had the strongest power he'd ever seen -- and in Zefielia, a land known for exceptional sorceresses, that meant a lot. It meant Lara was more special than anybody else, even Daddy's other daughters, anybody in the world!
"Mama! Mama!!" Lara called out, running up the stairs that led to her mom's apartment. Her certificate of admission was tightly wadded in her hand, her fingers gripping it proudly. She threw open the door, and entered... and saw them fighting.
"If I don't go, Jessica's going to be suspicious! She already is!" Daddy shouted. "My daughter was kidnapped, for crying out loud. It's going to look bad if I don't start doing the good father thing immediately to make up for this. I can't come to the city anymore, and that's final!"
Lara ran to her room to get out of the way of the fight. They had fought a few other times, and her room made a good place to stay, reading her magic books and waiting for it to stop--
"When does this get interesting, Zelas? I've got things to do."
"Be patient, Gaav."
--had to wait an hour or three before Daddy left. She heard Mommy crying, but assumed it would all be okay, because Mommy got very emotional from time to time. Emotional was one of the important words she knew well.
Once everything was nice and quiet, she decided she'd go show Mommy her certificate. Then she'd be happy and everything would be fine. It was a very good plan!
Lara hopped off her bed, and ran to her mother's room, twisting the knob and entering.
"Mama, look at me! I'm going to be the best sorceress ever!" she declared.
Her mother was busy adjusting some kind of bedsheet, hanging from a ceiling beam. She had to stand on a stool to reach it.
"That's nice, honey," she said absently. "I'm going to go now. Excuse me."
Lara's mommy stepped off the stool, and hung in the air. Lara didn't quite understand why--
"WHA-hoa!!" Gaav cheered. "Sweet. Kid's mom commits suicide right in front of her. That would break the human mind, wouldn't it? That whole psychology thing really sticks it in and breaks it off."
"Can I keep her?" Phibrizo asked. "She has a lot of pain and hatred. It tastes very good. Maybe I could enjoy that for a few years. She's funny and I like her, like my little devil I made for the prison."
"There is more here, but this is taking too long. I will summarize," Zelas said, patient and calm. Her memories span through in a blur, running in the city, more magic, pretending to take classes and pay attention, learning and hating... "She seems to wish to destroy the world and everybody in it, especially the other girls her father spawned. The usual trite human will."
"She's strong," Phibrizo said. "She could serve."
"We don't NEED a Knight of Shaburanigdo. It's a stupid idea," Gaav sulked. "And I don't trust anybody you'd approve of, Phibby. Besides, what would a human be able to do that a Mazoku can't? I don't care how strong she is, it's not merited. Let's just kill her and go have dinner."
In a winding motion, Zelas skimmed back over one detail... and smiled widely.
"You know I hate that look," Gaav warned. "Spit it out."
"I will ask her one question that will convince you all, regardless of allegiance to our individual causes," Zelas said. "One moment while I release her mind."
The room snapped back into sharp relief. Lara sank to her knees, all the breath sucked from her lungs, weak in front of the three Mazoku lords.
Zelas-Metallum gestured, unseen force tugging upwards on Lara's chin, to raise her eyes to meet theirs.
"Tell me, little thing, who is your father?" the Beastmaster asked her prey.
"Os-Oswald Inverse," Lara said.
The other two Mazoku looked thoughtful.
"You're right. This mungs things, doesn't it?" Gaav asked. "Inverse. The man's little more than a comma on the pages of history, but his family name isn't. Inverse... it's the same as that blasted Knight of Ceipheed."
"Not to mention the younger one, Lina Inverse," Beastmaster said. "The one who cast the Giga Slave. I have my top man, Xelloss, looking after her. I suspect she will develop in interesting ways..."
"Lina and Luna are funny humans," Phibrizo agreed. "Lina has the Giga Slave. She interests me. The illegitimate Inverse daughter as the Knight of Shaburanigdo would also be very neat. I like this a lot."
"S'got a ring," Gaav admitted. "If those two little kittens prove to be a pain, we'll have an antidote ready. Shaburanigdo isn't going to be talking to her anytime soon, so she'd be ours to control. All three of us, not just any one of us. The other two can find their own pet human. This is assuming she survives the testing and modifications, of course..."
All three Mazoku looked at Lara Benzedi Inverse, sizing her up. They were smiling.
"I'm going to have a lot of fun," Phibrizo said. And meant it.
One year she spent in the care of Zelas-Metallum. The Beastmaster changed her into a rabbit, and hunted her relentlessly through Wolf Pack Island, taking the form of a ravenous dog hungry for her flesh. Lara learned how to hide and evade, and eventually, how to set traps and be clever. All the whole, a slow bitterness seeped into her.
"This is the Slow Poison, child," the wolf spoke into the rabbit's mind. She had a strangely loving voice, of a predator that cared dearly about the prey. "It's a key component we feed any human we catch. You'll learn to embrace it eventually."
It was a year spent in fear, with Lara sometimes unable to remember who she was. But she kept her burning desire, her wish to be the Knight of Shaburanigdo, and let the Mazoku lords play with her. That she wouldn't let Zelas-Metallum destroy or dissuade.
The next year she spent in the care of Chaos-Dragon Gaav, but he didn't have any real use for her.
"What am I supposed to do with some human female I don't need or want?" Gaav complained. "You're no knight, you're just some kid the others wanted to have fun with. They're that bored with life. Fine, fine; you can be my servant. I suppose it's as good a job as any, and maybe you'll learn something."
So Lara joined the servant's staff, which lived in mortal terror of Gaav, being captured humans themselves under the command of a Mazoku headmistress. Lara never caught on why they hated Gaav and spoke of him like they did in hushed tones. Lara understood Gaav, how irritated he was with how things were, and would blow off steam by lashing out. He was at least the most bluntly honest person she had ever known. She picked up many interesting skills working on his staff, as well.
The next year was spent in the care of Hellmaster Phibrizo, and he turned out to be even more honest.
"I don't think you're much of a knight," he explained. "So I don't care about training you, I just want to play with you until you die. It'll be fun, and I don't think the others will really care."
He condemned her to the prison he had created in his name, Hell, where humans, Dragons and Mazoku who had displeased him were incarcerated. There, Lara spent a great deal of time doing little else than suffering in a variety of ways. Phibrizo personally handled most of this, since he was about as bored as the others. He made it his goal to grind down Lara's desire to be the Knight, desire to burn the world, any motivation she could have.
He very nearly succeeded, given his mastery of such things. Lara might have been strong, but she was human, and the Mazoku had been learning methods to break humans for longer than history remembered. She slowly lost herself and everything she stood for, worked on constantly by Phibrizo in his boredom, to the point where she simply was waiting to die...
Then the Dark Lord was resurrected.
Lara remembered that day most of all the days she spent in the prison. It was the best day she had ever had in her life.
She was in her cell, curled up in the ball she usually assumed when sleeping, drifting in and out of bad dreams when the voice spoke to her.
I have returned, he said, a voice booming like evil on top of hate on top of madness. I, Shaburanigdo, have been reborn through the eyes of Rezo. Awaken, child.
Lara sat up straight, the voice like a cool drink of water in the desert. "L-Lord? Is it you?"
They have treated you very badly, Shaburanigdo growled. As humans should be. But their disrespect to me in the process, ignoring your intended position, will not be tolerated. You are not a toddler, a joke, or a plaything. Awaken. Arise. You are the Knight of Shaburanigdo, and will serve your purpose well, whether I am here or not...
And she finally saw the face of her lord, the twisted monster's face... and it almost seemed to smile at her. A fire-crackling hand reached out, caressing her cheek... she screamed from the pain and the delight, like a father bestowing a kiss as a reward for a job well done.
Lara stood up tall. Her mind broke free of the black poison it was being fed, and she felt more sure about herself than she had in years, her will, her desire returning to her. Her wits and her mind were free and her independence solid. Sentience.
"Thank you," Lara said, smiling for the first time in years. "I won't let you down."
No. You won't. Now go, and do as you wish.
On Wolf Pack Island, Beastmaster Zelas-Metallum was busy reviewing notes from Xelloss. Interesting reading material... if this was accurate, and the Mazoku priest had rarely been inaccurate, Shaburanigdo was reborn... and no less than a day afterwards, Lina Inverse had--
The doors of her throne room simultaneously imploded and exploded, torn to subatomic particles by a blast of darkness.
The bodies of Gaav and Phibrizo were tossed into the room casually. They weren't fatally injured, but had enough scrapes and bruises to show they were muscled, and muscled by someone stronger than they were.
Lara Inverse, Knight of Shaburanigdo, stepped into the throne room after them.
"Your pals needed a lesson in manners," Lara said, stepping on Gaav's back as she approached Beastmaster. "Your Lord doesn't like you playing with his daughter like some common human, you know. And now that he's back, there's going to be some changes acknowledged. You want to handle this the easy way or do we have to get into one of those climactic magical battles that lower the property values? It's a nice island, and I've got some fondly bad memories of it. Hate to see it burn."
Zelas-Metallum frowned.
"You are not Lara," she said. "Lara was a stupid little girl. Clever, but weak--"
"I'm new and improved," Lara smiled, posing. "My dark lord's given me the juice. I don't exist in your hierarchy, and I'm not your toy. That okay with you? Last chance to answer."
Beastmaster held out the written report. "Your lord is dead. Lina Inverse crushed him shortly after his arrival."
The Knight froze. She trembled, feeling a loss she couldn't explain. "D-Dead?"
"Seems your rival is not a trivial matter any more," Beastmaster said. "I have no problems with your place in things. You've certainly given the boys something to think about regarding it. But now what will you do, without Shaburanigdo to guide you, left hand of darkness?"
"I'll KILL HER!" Lara shouted, hands balled into fists. "The SECOND time she's taken away my... MY--"
"Not yet," Zelas-Metallum said. "We need to know more about Lina first. I have my top spy on the job. I realize I cannot order you, but I can suggest as an advisor that you wait. More important things are afoot. Now, I ask again. What will you do?"
Lara trembled with rage... barely suppressed, contained, controlled. Calming, ordering herself down.
"Just because he's put to sleep again doesn't mean he won't return," she said, through tight jaws. "Even Lina Inverse can't destroy Shaburanigdo. I'll be around. Working for his causes. You'll see me again, Beastmaster."
ears went by without any word from the Dark Lord, but Lara didn't mind. She was too busy.
After all, didn't she have His cause to promote? She started out small, just stretching her legs after what felt like years as a worm, a crawling thing that had no power and no mind. Lara had already given Gaav and Phibrizo a roughing, and decided to call it even; she dropped in on them from time to time for favors or just to annoy them. Gaav was busy with his own plots and plans, and usually shouted at her until she decided to leave (usually deciding to when he finally stopped shouting). Phibrizo still looked down at her as a human plaything, so she tried to make herself as much of a nuisance as possible.
As a result of her meddling, she now understood why the Mazoku tended to fight and argue and occasionally assassinate each other. They had nothing better to do. By standing outside things, she had a clearer view.
The Dragons and the Mazoku were in what essentially amounted to a staring contest. Every now and then one would strike at the other or launch some amazing plan of action that didn't amount to much, but neither had the strength to start up the Mazoku Wars again. Shaburanigdo slept in seven pieces, and as for Ceipheed... who knew? If he wanted to support his ranks, he'd show up more. As is, nobody had heard from him since the last war.
So here was Lara, enjoying amazing freedom that came from having such power and immunity. She could taunt the Mazoku at will, who really lacked any faith in the demon king when he wasn't looking, and occasionally harass the dragons. She took up a residence, more or less, in Evilania and tried to convince the fools there how to properly serve the dark lord. (They never quite caught on, mind you.) Every now and then, for fun, she'd sabotage a human community or two. Sometimes small things, like destroying trust between friends, and sometimes meddling in politics -- an amusing game. Life was good.
One year or so later, she heard word... Gaav and Phibrizo were dead, supposedly at the hands of Lina Inverse.
Lara had no real attachment to the two. She hated them, but she knew that hate was just love with its back turned, a tidbit told to her long ago by an acquaintance... so, when their respective minions chose to hold mourning services (what a joke!) she was there to attend.
Zelas-Metallum, the only surviving Mazoku lord with any sway over the population, was there as well.
"This limits us," she said. "Dynast and Deep-Sea rarely get involved in the affairs of the Mazoku. Am I to be expected to direct all our efforts now that these two fools killed each other in a quest for power? They lacked the graces of a true predator, and now we all suffer as their blunder puts them in Lina's deathgrip."
"You have someone watching Lina. Why not just have him assassinate her?" Lara asked. "If not him, I'll do it."
"It's not that simple. First of all, he has grown.. an attachment for her. I can sense it without even asking. My prey is playing games with me now, losing his focus. In addition, we still don't know her role in things. What part could she possibly play? Her sister Luna should technically be the crux of our problems, but we rarely hear from the so-called Knight of Ceipheed. None of this makes sense, and until I know for certain, I will not make dangerous moves. We are too weak to take risks now."
"If I hear anything or learn of anything, I'll tell you," Lara promised. "I hate you dearly, Beastie, but anything that promotes our Lord's cause is key."
"You may be the only one among us who actually seeks to promote a cause other than their own," Beastmaster said. "Myself included. And the irony is that you aren't even Mazoku. Surely you recognize this paradox?"
"I recognize Paradox," Lara nodded. "And he taught me not to give a damn about things like that."
Months passed. Lara's seventeenth birthday came and went without a family celebration, since her human dad had disowned her, her mom hung herself and her true father was still asleep in the dark hearts of man. That's exactly how she phrased it to the cafe waiter who served her the cupcake she asked for.
"Ah... interesting," the man said. "Excuse me."
He swapped her table with some waitress, who Lara decided to scare by setting fire to her bill in protest of the high prices. Overall, a pretty average evening, but she got no pleasure out of it.
It had been more than three years since the only time she heard her father's voice, urging her out into the world to do as she pleased -- and it pleased her to help her father spread fear, terror and destruction. That's all she had done with her life, and felt satisfaction knowing that she was so completely devoted to Shaburanigdo. The problem was not how she felt about her life, but how she felt about her work.
Perhaps she wasn't taking large enough risks, or making big enough plans. Of course, people to make large risky plans are idiots and die in nasty ways -- like Phibrizo. Stupid little brat tried to subvert the Lord of Nightmares, which is just stupid. Even Shaburanigdo answers to Her. At the moment.
But if Lara really was going to fill her pledge to the final cause of the Mazoku, that being the complete destruction of everything that exists, she was going to have to aim higher.
She hated the world, true, but that's not why she wanted to see it go boom. No, she wanted to make father happy. To show that even though she had the handicap of not being born Mazoku, she could out-Mazoku any of those scheming, self-interested bastards at their own game. She'd be the chosen one! Well, she WAS the chosen one, but she'd show the whole world eventually.
For fun, she let herself be arrested for setting fire to the cafe. Besides, she had been evicted from the inn for not bothering to pay the man. She intended to threaten him into a free stay, but never got around to it, too busy causing havoc and despair around town.
A jail cell wasn't a comfortable place to stay, but it was a solid roof and had all the luxuries she needed; flat surface to sleep on and a roof. Lara had herself thrown behind bars with nary a frown or a grumble, and caught some Z's.
Her dreams were the usual round of Nightmares, of nooses and screaming, and of the various ways the Mazoku lords kept themselves entertained with her. She had learned to ignore the things by now. After all, once you recognize such obvious dream symbolism and themes, it's just like reading the same bad novel over and over; you shut it out, been there, done that, got the t-shirt.
Then, halfway through her dreams, she heard His voice again.
Her soul filled with joy, feeling the presence of the demon king. This time, he came to her in vision and sound, the malformed beast of all, gigantic beyond gigantic, his power overwhelming and crushing to her mind.
The scenery was odd... Shaburanigdo hovered inside a world of perfect lines, silver streaks of such perfect right angles, forming a four dimensional matrix of gridlines. Tiny gray, white and black lights ran in mathematical patterns along the lines, forming and reforming with each other in patterns she could identify...
But it was definitely Shaburanigdo. He didn't seem to fit in here, but who was Lara to say what He could or could not do?
"Lara. Knight of Shaburanigdo," the beast recognized. "I greet thee."
Lara was on her knees immediately. "I'm pleased to see you again, father. Tell me your will, so that I may manifest it in your world."
Shaburanigdo got right down to business, no caring words or emotions whatsoever. "You must locate the pieces of the Most Important Thing In The World. With that, you alone can destroy everything as you always have wanted. I will guide you first to the manacles, which are held underground by a tribe of chimeras. Obtain them at any price. Follow this vision to find them--"
--her mind reeled away from her jail cell, across the lands and seas, into a cave and through a network of tunnels and into a large underground city--
"--that is all. I will contact you again," Shaburanigdo said.
"I will do this for you!!" Lara declared. "I have waited long for this moment. Thank you, father!"
The vision left her quickly, task complete. Lara felt a pang of disappointment.. no encouragement, not even a threat. Nothing. Strange.
But His will was His will. Her mind had the path burned into it. She'd have to make a trip across the sea to Pleasantville and into the cave, then win the confidence of the tribe and sneak out the object... no need to endanger it by blasting her way to it.
And if it really could end the world, fulfill her wish...
She smiled.
Wouldn't Zelas-Metallum just turn GREEN with envy?
As usual, Lara didn't bother announcing her arrival in the throne room of the Beastmaster. She simply appeared in place and started talking.
"Shaburanigdo has spoken to me," she smiled. "He--"
"Impossible. He hasn't been resurrected," Beastmaster said, not looking up from her written reports from various spies. "I would know, given all the networks I have."
That's not the reaction Lara wanted. She whipped out a lance of black power, and slashed the table carrying Zelas-Metallum's paperwork in half.
"It was HIM," Lara emphasized.
Beastmaster sighed. "Fine, fine. What did he supposedly say, little human?"
"I'm going on a quest to recover items of power," Lara explained. "Ones that can smash the world apart and finish the Mazoku cause."
"And what items are these?"
"The Most Important Things In The World."
"An absurd name for an absurd notion," Zelas yawned. "Why wouldn't--"
And Shaburanigdo was there! Framed in the glowing quicksilver lines of math, he appeared in the throne room. Just like that. He reached out, striking Zelas-Metallum, flashing a pulse of the most amazing agony ever seen in the world down her spine... just enough to be convincing.
"You will work with Lara," he said, and vanished.
Lara looked positively smug.
Beastmaster struggled to return to her throne, clutching at her heart. She glared at Lara. "How... how did you do that?!"
"Me? I don't recall doing anything. Now, Shabby, that's another matter..."
"That was NOT Shaburanigdo!!"
"Can you afford to be wrong?" Lara asked honestly. The whole situation was really amusing, though; making the Beastmaster crawl for her! The very thought!
"I don't see what I can do," Beastmaster stated, glaring at Lara as she regained her composure. "If it's a quest for you, it's a quest for you alone. You've never worked with one of us."
"I'm not going to take stupid chances like your pals do," Lara said. "And we're not going to let the Inverse Wonder Kids stomp on this. You are going to help me think of a way to keep them at bay while I get the goods."
"Lina is busy on some foolish quest. I already have an agent named Bugger tailing her," Zelas-Metallum said. "As for Luna... I don't even know where she is. This is something I will admit to, as Luna is not easy prey. How do you plan to keep her out of your hair, human? I have no ideas."
Lara sat in thoughtful repose.
And eventually, the idea came to her. Just as simple as that.
"It's easy," Lara said. "We threaten the humans and raise enough ruckus to make nobody even consider looking elsewhere for trouble. We do the unthinkable, the greatest threat ever to be seen in a millennium. Namely... you're going to start the Third Mazoku War. Congratulations, General Zelas."
It was worth the stunned look on the predator's face. Yes... Lara thought. I'm in control now. Not you. Me.
It took more arguing than that, but the decision had been set; the Mazoku were going to war... at least, the semblance of a war. Zelas could spare enough troops to tangle with the Dragons, target large human resources and cause damage. It would be more than enough to set the home fires burning, if not enough to be considered a full apocalypse. They'd delay the start until after Lara had the manacles, just in case she failed somehow; less loss that way. Lara would go alone, to attract less attention, and would keep Zelas updated.
Step one... the manacles. Likely just one part of many, Lara figured. But she'd get them, get them with style, and get them successfully. Lara knew that to pull off a true deception, one had to do unthinkable things.
Her first stop was to visit a Mazoku known as the Costume Queen. She was a very special purpose Mazoku, covering the realm of hideous fashion and clever deceit, helper to spies and thieves everywhere. C.Q. was also Zelas-Metallum's personal advisor on all human fashion trends, which Beastmaster had an abnormal interest in -- childish, Lara considered.
C.Q. was only happy to help.
"Daaahling, you have no idea how much I've wanted to work with you," she smiled, vaguely feline appearance radiating cozy comfort. "To have a human aligned with us that would hold still while I experimented with clothing... truly a maaaarvelous thing!"
"I can't stay long," Lara warned. "I just need your help assembling a costume. You'd be directly helping Shaburanigdo."
"Who?"
"The demon king!"
"Oh! Oh, sorry. I had forgotten the pronunciation. No offense intended, mais oui?" C.Q. smiled. "Very well. I'd simply love to assist. What do you need?"
"What do you know about the Hi'Chi'Orld?"
"The chimeras?" C.Q. asked. She fehed with as much contention as she could muster. "Fashion nightmares. Totally unimaginative. They haven't changed fashions in years--"
"Are they friendly? Generally loving of life? Would they take in a perfect stranger, for instance?"
"Why ask me? There are cultural study Mazoku you could consult."
"I heard once you could learn a lot about a people from their arts," Lara buttered up. "Such as... fashion. In fact, I bet fashion is a wonderful indicator. And if anybody knows fashion, it would be you, the world's foremost expert... right?"
C.Q. preened proudly.
"Why, of course. Yes.. yes, I'd say they're stupid enough to take in a stranger. But to REALLY embrace one with open arms, it'd have to be a hard luck case."
"That's what I figured," Lara said, confirming her idea. "Here's what I need you to do. I want an outfit that just screams 'refugee from a thousand terrors'. You know, shredded clothes, fake bruises, messy hair, the whole nine yards. Kicked puppy feeling. Someone they'd immediately take indoors and nurse back to health..."
"...after which you'd turn on them. Delightful!" C.Q. agreed. "But they're a perceptive race. Not in terms of emotions or motives, but appearance. They'd spot fake bruises immediately, being so fact driven as they are. No, no... for a true costume, you WILL have to go the whole nine yards."
"What do you mean...?"
"I know a Mazoku named Glonk. He's large and mean looking, but very precise," C.Q. stated. "I'll direct his efforts like a painter with a brush. Then I'll have a specialist in famine handle draining your energy and muscle to keep you feral... surely you aren't afraid of a little pain, Knight of Shaburanigdo?"
Lara hardened. "Of course not. Whatever it takes to make His will into reality."
And she meant it, too. Unlike the other Mazoku, hypocrites all, she would do anything required. Anything.
taggering, Lara reached out blindly in the dark, finding only the jagged rocks of cave walls to help her.
How long had she been wandering down here? One day? One hour? One week? Disorientation kicked her in the head every time she tried to clock it. C.Q.'s friends had done good work. For the first time since her initiation rites under the three Mazoku lords, she was miserably weak, and wracked with genuine pain.
She swallowed any complaints. It was for the cause. Father would be proud of the lengths she went to. She just needed to rest a little. Yes, to rest....
And her world went from vertical to horizontal, body collapsing to the ground. The chimeras had better find her. Lara did NOT intend to die down here from these obligatory injuries. Dead souls that failed the Mazoku sometimes go to Phibrizo's realm, and she had visited Hell once already, without finding it to her liking.
Time passed. How much, she didn't bother to check.
Finally, a boy.. it was probably a boy... came into her fuzzy view. Seeing her, he quickly went to her side.
"Miss! Are you okay!?"
Perfect. Relieved, Lara let go of her consciousness, and drifted away...
Lara knew exactly what part to be playing here. You take one part vulnerability, one part nervousness, two parts thankful humility, one part meek, one fake name (Luna was her favorite) and mix 'em up... bammo, Instant Victim(tm). Even when she faded in and out of consciousness, the chimera doctor using magics and potions and healing methods to revive her, she made sure to fit her role with coughing she didn't need, scared looks she wasn't feeling and mumbled words which could be constructed in ominous ways.
After a day or two of this, she was strong enough to sit up, talk and stay awake. Nobody suspected that Lara was faking her illnesses and injuries, because she wasn't faking them; she actually was ill and injured. While she got back the energy to walk so that she could really case the town and see what she was up against, she started to learn a few things about her 'saviors'.
The one who had found her was a boy named Chi'Bi. He was a scrawny sort, unable to find the right words to say in any situation and very nervous around her. She figured he was about the same age as her, but since she felt she was at least ten years older in her head, that made him a boy.
"I'm real glad to see you're okay," he said. "You had us all worried."
"I was worried too," Lara smiled falsely. "All those monsters... but you look strong enough to handle them. I wish I had taken a bodyguard with me, or something, instead of exploring that cave myself."
Chi'Bi blushed. Lara couldn't see it very well through his stone skin, but it was something in the eyes that gave it away. "Gosh, miss... well... when you gotta go home, I could bring you back! I'm okay with a sword and I'm learning new stuff every day."
"That would be great!" she said, relieved.
Relieved, mostly because she had found her weak link to work on.
Chi'Nai wouldn't serve her purposes; the girl was pretty vacant, without a strong reaction to anything. In fact, most of the chimeras were emotionless, from what she saw once she could walk under her own power. It was like a tribe of machines. She sat in the same sidewalk cafe for three days to check this theory, and saw the same chimeras running the same errands at the same times, day in, day out.
So far, the only ones she had identified as being possible patsies were Chi'Leas and Chi'Bi. Chi'Leas was a senile, doddering old fool, constantly rambling about this thing or another, and taking this whole 'worship chaos' thing way too far. He liked to stop by and 'talk' at Lara, and she'd have to put up with every boring minute of it. No, Lara couldn't see any angles to work on there. But Chi'Bi...
The boy was emotionally dead, like the others. From what she was able to observe when she spied on him from her temple guest room window, to other chimeras, he was as routine as the rest of the lot. But whenever he came in to supply her with food or fresh bandages, he tripped over himself to try to contain emotions. Clearly, she had triggered something in him and being such a psychological baby, he was having trouble coping with it.
Now all she had to do was identify it and exploit it.
The first step happened entirely by itself; the second seemed immediately obvious.
The mission had taken a week. Time was hard to measure in this underground city, but she had an internal clock like a Daratan Watch, and kept tabs. She had made a few check-ins with Zelas-Metallum, more out of who-cares generosity than any genuine desire to keep the Mazoku informed. Lara could handle things herself without their help.
But there was still the Chi'Bi situation. It seemed so obvious, so ordinary that she was clearly overlooking it by probing too deeply into the boy's psyche. In a sweaty, nasty afternoon of frustration, Lara decided cooling off and approaching from a new direction was the only way. Fortunately, these chimeras had heard of indoor plumbing, so a private bath was all hers to relax in.
Unfortunately, they had yet to figure out what 'Privacy' meant, and put that bath in the main guest room.
Chi'Bi walked on in carrying her dinner tray.
"Hello!" he greeted, spreading a smile he only kept for her. "I brought you your WAARGHGHHH!!!"
Needless to say, the dinner would have to be enjoyed by the carpet rather than Lara.
"Don't you know how to knock?" Lara demanded, grabbing a towel. It was a rare slip to her usual speech, but suitable.
"Sorry!!" Chi'Bi apologized, turning--
No, wait. He didn't turn right away. No... he got a good eyeful.
Oh, of all the...! Lara was thankful for the revelation and grumbling internally at the same time. Of course. Some recluse who's never seen a human before, much less an attractive and female one, who's probably got a bit of a twitch to him to begin with. Naturally that's what his angle would be. Such a stupidly simple thing!
On the plus side, it would be very, very easy to take advantage of. On the minus side, Lara didn't particularly care to take advantage of it. It was, after all, so typically evil to do and typically 'wicked wanton sorceress'. If word got out about this, she'd never live down the jokes, becoming a living anecdote of villainy. Of course, none of that truly mattered, she simply liked to complain before acting.
Unlike the other Mazoku, she would do anything required. Anything.
Pasting her best purrrring feline smile on her face, she stepped out of the tub. "Now now, no need to apologize..."
There was one flaw in her plan, but she only saw it in hindsight.
The chimeras clearly had underdeveloped emotions. But they weren't dead feelings, simply submerged... and when you deliberately pull one out of the mire using every tool and technique you have, you can expect it to be a bit uncontrollably strong. And wild.
Not that she couldn't handle the brat physically, but his psyche started getting whacked out from word one. He spent far, far more time hanging around Lara than before, and unsure of exactly what was happening to him, was clumsy with handling every emotion he had left. If this kept up, others would notice how the reclusive guy suddenly was a spastic, nervous wreck who seemed to be addicted to something... and that would inevitably draw attention to Lara. So she decided to accelerate things.
First, she got him as hooked as she possibly could, until he was little more than an emotional wreck, dependent on Lara. It was surprisingly easy. Then she simply let the disguise drop, one night.
"You'd do anything to help me, right?" she soothed, playing with the kid's sharp, pointy hair.
"Of course!!" Chi'Bi blurted.
"I'm actually here to steal something," Lara said. "It's a set of clasps, silver in color. Do you know where they are?"
Chi'Bi concentrated. Thinking was harder for him now that most of his memory registers were occupied with Lara.
"The elder.... yes! I know!" Chi'Bi declared. "They're the holy relics the Lord of Chaos gave to our protection. Chi'Leas keeps them in a special cave off to the side of the temple."
"What kind of security?"
"It's locked and barred with iron, no guards. But it doesn't matter. Nobody can touch them, according to the scripture."
"Nobody who isn't human," Lara explained. "If you lead me to that room tonight, I can bust down the door and take them."
Whatever spell-without-magic Lara had on Chi'Bi, he proved to have at least one limit.
"Wait, wait... I can't help you," Chi'Bi said, simply. "It would be wrong. I would be betraying Chaos and my people, and--"
Lara got out of bed, and stretched for maximum impact. "Okay. I'm a fair person. I'll simply find some other guy who's stronger and more willing to help me. I'm sure he'd enjoy our little games as well..."
Exactly the right lever to use. Primitive jealousy over mate selection flared in Chi'Bi's eyes.
"You're mine," he weakly insisted. Lara tried hard not to laugh. "I'll help you get those things. I'm strong enough!"
"That you are," Lara smiled. "Very strong. And we'll have a bright future together. I think you'll actually like changing sides, the Mazoku are much more powerful than you can possibly--"
"MAZOKU!?!"
Caaaareful... calculate words and postures, guide things where you want them...
"They're not so bad," Lara said, putting as much casual emphasis in her voice as she could. "They have SUCH fun. Fun like you and I have. And they're more exciting than anything you can think of, even in your wildest imagination. I'll make sure you're rewarded for your trouble."
Chi'Bi still had some doubt on his face. This was going to be a hard sell.
"But for now," Lara continued, playing a trump card, "There's something new I wanted to show you that we can try."
Yes... she was definitely going to have to keep word of this from getting back. Stone wasn't all that comfortable, but the embarrassment would be far worse. Instead of worrying, she formed a plan of how to deal with it... a plan she could execute any time she wanted, once Chi'Bi stopped being useful.
That night, she stole the clasps.
Lara almost had to laugh and kick herself. If she only knew where the blasted things were, she could have stolen them herself a long time ago. But Shaburanigdo's vision stopped at the doors of the city, and some kind of guide was required. Still, this was a lesson to be learned; why go through all the bother of corrupting some guy she didn't even like to find out the information when she could have simply beat it out of someone? Very inefficient. She'd have to endeavor to stop wanting to be so Dramatic. It never got him anywhere, either.
Once the clasps were safely away, she felt Shaburanigdo touch her soul again.
"The next item is here," he said.
Her mind reeled through a vast maze of caverns. Perfect. The next item would only be a long hike through the underground to get to. She thought she recognized the final destination, but it was blurry and the vision ended right when she reached it... no matter. Her mind had the map memorized to get there.
Still, now on the lam from the city with the silvery glowing things in a backpack, she had this guy to deal with. He slowed down her progress greatly, since now -- naturally! Sheesh -- he wasn't even able to get to sleep without his fix. To get rid of him now might not be wise, though, since who knew what kind of trouble they might hit along the way? So, she kept the fastest pace possible in all things, and moved right along.
The journey still was taking an inordinate amount of time. What's more, at her last check-in with Beastmaster, it seemed that Luna and Lina Inverse were onto her scam. Of all the luck! But Lara refused to worry. It was about time she faced down those two, now with a legitimate reason to scrag them back into the stone age... Lina especially.
Days of boring travel passed. Lara dropped all pretense of being this shy, innocent girl and felt free to be as nasty to Chi'Bi as she actually wanted to be... and annoyingly, he didn't seem to care, as long as she kept him satisfied. Eventually she just stopped talking to him completely.
And days later, she had arrived at her destination.
Instantly, she recognized why she felt like she had seen it before.
They were now standing at the gates of Hell.
ell, named after its creator Hellmaster Phibrizo, was not a place where you had fun. It was a place where you had everything except fun, and in vast amounts.
The cavern kingdom could easily be entered, via the gaping maw of the gates, which actually were tastefully decorated. In a bit of mock humor, someone had dropped a doormat in front of the entrance, reading 'Welcome to our Happy Hell. Please wipe your feet.'
"This place seems sociable," Chi'Bi commented.
"Sure, they welcome anybody who wants to come in," Lara noted. "The trick is getting out again. Nobody does, in fact. There's only one entrance, and there are no exits."
"But.. isn't this door a way out too?" he asked, gesturing to the simple looking wooden door.
"Work with me here, Chi'Bi. I know what I'm talking about," Lara said. "This is Hell, after all."
"You mean... the place where dead souls go when they've been evil?!" Chi'Bi asked, horrified. He was picking up on emotions well; as long as you didn't mind his total overreaction to everything. "We're doomed! We can't go in there, the vicious demons will eat us! I didn't do anything bad enough to spend forever in Hell!"
"You're wrong about one thing," Lara said, putting her hand on the doorknob. "This isn't where evil people go."
"It's not?"
"Nope. It's where anybody who pisses off the Mazoku go," she said. "Good, bad, neutral... nobody said it was fair. The Mazoku don't do fair. Now hold your breath."
She twisted the knob, and opened the vortex, bracing for the rush...
Lara and Chi'Bi were sucked into the front door of Hell like ping pong balls into a tornado. The door slammed shut behind them, doorknocker clacking a few times from the inertia.
Lara didn't remember the journey that took her here the first time she visited, so many years ago. All she remembered was opening the door she was instructed to open, and waking in her cell, her new home...
This time, she wasn't expected by anybody. She simply snapped out of the trance, touching down outside the main city of Hell.
As usual, the decor was red. Very, very red, with lots of black thrown in for variety. The ground was a red dirt, the rivers ran with glowing red lava, and the roof of the cavern -- very visible, so nobody had any doubts that they were in the underworld -- was red with lots of sharp stalactites that threatened to crack off, fall, and impale you. Which they did from time to time. (Lara grew used to the sound last time she was here, so that wouldn't be a problem.) In the distance, the screaming of whoever they were working on at the time was readily apparent, magically enhanced so that plenty of people could listen in. Naturally, all the activity was inside the gates of Hellhaven, the main city of Hell; it'd be too unorganized to let the damned wander around outside its gates. Besides, the enclosed stone maze that separated the plains from the city was something of an obstacle.
Things hadn't changed much.
Truth be told, a tiny pang of fear shot down Lara's back on arrival. The last time she was here... fortunately, Shaburanigdo helped her forget most of the last time she was here, when he freed her from the prison of Hell. But enough semblance of memory remained to be as nervous as a cat in a dog factory. Not that she would show it to anybody.
Chi'Bi overreacted as usual. "I want to leave! I want to leave right now!!"
"Give it a rest," Lara said. "This place isn't scary once you realize it was designed to scare you. It's just an evil looking city underground and nothing more. Obviously they're going to do their best to freak you out, and frankly, they're not very original about it... there's only so many ways to cause pain, you know, before you just get tired and uninterested of it. This place is about as frightening to me as navel lint."
"It's safe?" he asked.
"The city is relatively safe. It's the people in it you need to worry about," Lara said. "Stay behind me and hang on and if anything grabs you, kick it. If it doesn't let go, speak up and I'll make it let go. But otherwise, shut up and let me handle this place. We clear?"
"C-clear," Chi'Bi agreed. "But.. why do we have to do this?"
"I've explained this--"
"We could just go back," Chi'Bi said. "Forget this quest. I could go home! It's not so bad there. I mean, what's so imp--"
Lara backhanded him casually, sending the boy sprawling.
"Don't question this quest again, okay?" she politely requested. "Because I don't have time to deal with stupid questions. Father wants it done. I AM father's will. Even if it means diving headfirst back into a Hell I intended never to return to... besides, I told you to shut up and let me handle this, and if you say one more word, I might consider leaving you here. Now... are we clear this time?"
Chi'Bi almost said 'clear', but considering his orders, returned a shaky nod instead.
"The road leading up the city usually takes two years to follow," Lara stated, focusing her magic. "I'd prefer to get this mission over with sooner than that. We're taking a shortcut. Cover your eyes."
Two standard issue Hellfiend Mazoku were on guard duty at the gate, to taunt the damned souls that filtered down here through Hellhaven's gate maze. Things had been slow lately... with two of the Mazoku Lords out of commission, including the master of this domain, few folks were being damned. All the better; it gave them more time to play poker.
"I'll see your fingerbone and raise you a toe," the First of the Guard said, adding to the pot, which doubled as lunch for later. "Call."
"Four of a kind, all knights," his companion grinned, razor sharp teeth gleaming. "And you?"
"Crap," the First grumbled, tossing down his cards. "You're cheating, aren't you?"
"Yeah. You wanna make something of it?"
"Maybe after lunch," the First shrugged. "I'm too hungry."
A low but powerful rumble shook the card table, sending 'chips' toppling. The rickety, ancient thing finally came to a painful demise, one of the rusted iron legs buckling, dumping the soup on the floor.
The Guards were up in a flash. "What the--"
A nearby part of the stone maze shattered into fine powder, the powder blasted away by a wind spell. Through this nice circular door stepped a black sorceress.
"I hate it when the damned get cocky," the Guard spat. "You know how hard it is to fix that stupid maze after one of them decides to get impatient? You'll pay for those damages eventually, morta--"
His head exploded.
"I'm not here looking for a residence, I'm here on business," Lara said, pointing a smoking hand at the second guard. "Problem?"
"No ma'am," he said quickly.
"Who's running this place now that Phibrizo got fried?"
"F-Fiori, ma'am."
"Don't know her. Don't care that I don't know her. Make sure she knows I need an escorted ride in to see her, and if you leave me waiting more than ten minutes for it, I'd suggest just killing yourself and saving me the trouble of cutting bits off over the span of several days."
"But--"
"I could start with your butt, if that's what you want," Lara suggested.
The demon ran as fast as it possibly could, darting inside the city gates.
Lara, satisfied with her task, kicked one of the folding chairs to the side so she'd have a good vantage of all entrances to the area. She gave her legs a well deserved rest... and looked at the pensive chimera.
"Fine, talk," she allowed.
"You're... jeez! You're BRAVE!" he said, in visible awe. "That you could stand up like that... and what a cool threat! It--"
"Was wholly unoriginal, and overly Dramatic," Lara said. "But that's the only garbage that works against these people. I know them inside and out, and if I just told them to go get the headmistress of Hell, they'd laugh and taunt and we'd be sitting here for hours playing Hero and Bad Guy. If you just cut to the punchline things go faster. Please don't confuse what I just did with clever wit. Unless you mean clever application of pseudo-wit."
Chi'Bi wasn't quite able to understand her, but nodded along anyway.
Lara allowed herself a sigh, a visible sign of annoyance. "Sometimes I wish father's minions were smarter. Closest one to intelligent I've seen is Zelas-Metallum and her ex-crony, but that's not enough. If all of them had more brains, maybe they'd have destroyed the world properly by now. Lord, I hate the Mazoku."
Phibrizo's throne room was the only part of Hell that Lara had noticed changes to.
For starters, it was loaded with randomly scattered toys. There were building blocks a plenty with unholy sigils and numbers carved on them, lots of books, more plush dolls with tentacles and claws than the law should allow... and the throne itself had been decorated to death with red ribbons and sparkly glitter.
As had the headmistress of Hell, Princess Fiori.
"Golly gee!" Fiori smiled, radiating cuteness and innocence like an aura. "If I had known the Knight of Shaburanigdo was here, I'd have set up a parade! We could make the damned drag huge floats of the demon king, and there'd be ticker tape and ice cream and cookies! And everybody would have a good time inside entertainment."
"What a shame," Lara said dryly.
But to be honest? She wasn't surprised. Phibrizo often took the guise of a child, and certainly spoke like one. Why not leave one in charge of the works when he left? Although she was confused as to how this would be an adequate source of pain and nightmares...
She was short, with golden curls and trusting blue eyes. Her pretty red dress had nary a wrinkle in it, and her little red shoes were nice and shiny. The only things keeping her from looking just like some irritating human moppet were her slitted Mazoku eyes, and the plushie demon king doll she carried around.
"Don't worry, Lara-chan! We'll have fun anyway, even if we don't have a parade. I'll--"
"I don't have time for a parade or any kind of fun," Lara interrupted. "I'm looking for a chain made out of silver, which is somewhere in your kingdom. No Mazoku can touch it without being burned, so it shouldn't be lost. Where can I find the place where it rests?"
Fiori paused, not liking the interruption, waiting for Lara to finish. Waiting a few moments, she continued herself. "I'll just arrange a little fun while we talk it over, and maybe you can stay and we'll have a lot of--"
"No fun!" Lara said. "I'm on an important mission here."
The little girl started turning red, like her dress. She hopped off the throne, and stamped her foot. "I WANT TO HAVE FUN! I don't care about your stupid mission! I won't help you until I get entertained and that's that, you stupid little human! You keep being mean and I'll cry and then you'll be really, really sorry!!"
Lara didn't back down. Shaburanigdo gave her power before to deal with Phibrizo and Gaav; now that he was back, he'd help her here in a pinch. But it was still better not to screw around, no matter how much she preferred the direct approach.
"Fine... fun. Fun's good. A little fun, okay?" she asked.
Fiori's mood skyrocketed back to manic cheer. "YAAAAY! Fun!" She clapped her hands twice. "Bring out the entertainment!!"
Lara quickly learned why Fiori was just right for her job.
The little girl, despite her harmless looks, was a pure sadist. True, she did it in a childlike innocent way, gleefully dropping rats into cages around the heads of the damned or hopping over close to examine what a burn looked like, but make no mistake -- she had the tried and true methods of torture and general nastiness down.
"Aren't these fun games and toys?" Fiori asked, twisting the handle on one of the contraptions she had hauled out. "Here, you take that end and I'll take this one! It works better from two directions!"
Lara played along at first, but after three hours went by (Chi'Bi passed out from fright and nausea early on) she began to theorize that the little girl could be entertained for days at a time without sleep. Something was going to have to give.
"Look, Fiori..." Lara reasoned, trying to talk over the sound of the people Fiori just had shipped into the throne room. "I'd love to come back and play more, but you know, Shaburanigdo has this quest for me... very important. Shaburanigdo. You know, like your dolly?"
"Shabby-chan is my friend," Fiori giggled.
"Riiight. Anyway, I really need that chain, so if you could--"
"It's under my throne," Fiori said, pointing to the large cute chair. "Phibrizo-sama had the chair built over it because he thought the thing was important, but we never figured out why it was. You can have it, I don't think it's very fun."
Lara kicked herself for not casing the room earlier. She walked behind the throne, and squinted into the dark recesses underneath the bloody thing... and sure enough, there was a faintly glowing silver length of chain, just sitting there. Probably had been sitting there for thousands of years, too.
She grabbed it without a thought and stuffed the thing into a pocket on her cloak.
"Thanks," Lara thanked. "I'll just pick up my chimera and head off. Sorry to be a bother."
Fiori fidgeted from foot to foot, barely able to contain a happy surprise. Smiles coated her.
"Oooooooh, I don't know..." she said, teasing. "What makes you think I'll let you head off?"
Lara's eyes narrowed, but she let the girl speak.
"You escaped from my big brother Phibrizo once and that made him very unhappy," Fiori accused, still grinning. "You hurt him and he was really, really unhappy then. You're one of the only mortals to ever, ever escape Hell. So why should I let you go, when I've got you now? The only way to leave this place is with the blessing of its owner, and you won't twist my arm like you did big brother's. I wanna finish playing with you like he did. He said you were fuuunn..."
Lara had had enough by this point.
"I'm the daughter of Shaburanigdo, you pint sized glass of sugary stupidity," Lara said flatly. "You think threats scare me? He's your lord and master, and he's not going to put up with you treating me like this. That's why he busted me out of here in the first place. He cares for HIS daughter and won't let her get hurt."
"I don't believe in Shaburanigdo," Fiori said simply. She gave her dolly another hug. "Shaburanigdo is dead and he can't do anything for the Mazoku. But I believe in Shabby-chan. Shabby-chan is real and alive and my Shabby-chan says it's time to play with you. Guards?"
Hellspawn started to flow into the room, thick as thieves.
No more playing, Lara thought, and tapped the power of Shaburanigdo directly, as she had done years before......
...and found nothing there. He wasn't present in the world, not in the place she remembered him being. But that was THE place... he couldn't move, he was there for her before! Where was father now? He helped her against Zelas-Metallum!! Why wasn't he helping her escape Hell again?
Lara was powerful, but not powerful enough to bust out of Hell on her own.
"I'm going to have a lot of fun," Fiori said. And meant it.
But Lara Inverse wasn't in terror. She was calculating. Anything it took, she'd do. Without fear of being struck down, moving with confidence enough to fool anybody for the right number of seconds, she reached out and yanked the Shabby-chan dolly away from Fiori.
The reaction was instant. The little girl's eyes went wide with horror, as Lara grabbed two limbs of the doll and threatened to tear it apart.
"We're leaving," Lara reiterated. "Me and Chi'Bi. Or Shabby-chan gets it."
She quickly cast a spell to revive the chimera and kicked him awake; a few dark looks got the boy to keep behind her as he had promised. Lara slowly, very slowly, backed out of the throne room, keeping the doll hostage.
The seas of demons parted for her, all the way to the gate of Hell, which Fiori opened for her. Lara tossed the doll behind her and closed the door fast... escaped again.
The pair marched along the caves dejectedly, as they had for the last two days. Lara refused to say much of anything, except order Chi'Bi to help her get to the surface. She never let on that she didn't know where she was going.
Her father didn't return to guide her. He didn't help her against Hell. Something was wrong. But Lara tried not to care... she was her father's will, and eventually, he would guide her. He would.
"Where are we going?" Chi'Bi finally asked.
"Shut up and walk," Lara ordered.
It was a quest that took her almost a decade so far, but she'd please her father in the end. The end of everything wasn't far away, and Lara fully intended to be there, laughing at the daughters that distracted her father away... laughing, while she burned the world. That was a thought that kept her confident, despite the silence of the demon king.
It would only be a matter of time now. Then, she'd be happy.
Finally.