Hell on Earth

Kana stood in a room surrounded by the leaders of the Special Zone, explaining her need for their assistance. So far, she had very little luck. “There have been reports of zombie-like creatures appearing throughout the Special Zone, however they have all been explained.” One of the men announced. She sighed heavily and nodded, “Yes, because we have beings for that, who alter memories to cover up the creatures that have been seen! I’m being deathly serious, everyone here, and anywhere, is in danger now! This war isn’t going to be held off for long!” she argued. “I have seen something… Plague Givers, I think they were called. They attacked my house, and Coven, killing most of the humans in the area.” Zelman nodded, seemingly taking her side.

“Plague Givers?” a larger and older looking vampire scoffed. “Yeah, givers of the plague.” Kana answered.

“And what do they do?”

“They give, the plague… thus the reason we named them Plague Givers?”

“There is no need for disrespect, it was a simple question.”

“This isn’t disrespect, this is urgency that is being disregarded by your houses and company!”

“You come into the Special Zone, and that is when all of this starts. What is to say you aren’t the one leading this ‘war’ against us?” he demanded, now standing.

“Of course, I’m the one trying to give Crimson-Eye Zelman the plague! I have no resistance to fire, idiot! I don’t control flames! Would I be standing here, facing all of you if I wasn’t on your side?!”

“Calm down, Kana, you’re losing your composure.” Zelman reminded smoothly, though keeping his smile, obviously amused by the situation.

“It could easily be a plot to take out the leaders of the Special Zone.” The other vampire announced, getting nods of agreement form the others around him. Kana’s eyes went black instantly. “Do you want me to show you what you’ll be up against? Are you asking for armies of monsters to rip you limb from limb?! Because I can easily do that, I could do that myself or I can summon others to do it for me… or perhaps you’d like torture? I’m very skilled in torture, a snap of my fingers and you’ll be on the ground withering in pain!” she snapped, now walking over to him, ready to fight.

Zelman’s smile dropped instantly as Kain used the Hide Hand to send her flying across the room and into a wall. She shot up and glared at him with soulless, black eyes before moving at a speed even he couldn’t catch, and pinning him to the nearest surface, gripping his neck, drawing blood with nails that were now like claws. “Is this what you were hoping for?” she demanded, but got no answer as he threw her off again and got ready to charge.

“Enough!” The child-looking vampire ordered as he sat a few feet from the near brawl. “But Lord Dragon,” Kain argued, but was silenced. “You’ve changed since you first entered this meeting. Something is different about you, Kana Ishikawa.” He pointed out. “What would you know? You can’t see the fate you’re choosing, how would you see the difference in a demon’s personality?” she spat. Her disrespect for Lord Dragon set Kain off again, leaving her thrown into a table, now bleeding from her head. “Do not disrespect the Lord Dragon here.” He ordered.

“A terrible mistake, Kain.” Zelman grinned as four places in the room burst into flames and Arashi appeared with three others like him. “I was right, an attempt to wipe out the Special Zone’s leaders,” Kain announced as nearly everyone else in the room watched in terror. “They will only hurt you, Kain. No one else attacked her.” He explained as Arashi walked closer to the irritated vampire.

“Arashi,” Kana ordered as one of the creatures helped her to her feet. Arashi stopped dead in his tracks, but kept his eyes on Kain. “Go back, Arashi, and take them with you. I didn’t come here to murder our only hope of survival.” She ordered, and within seconds all four demons were gone.

“I’m done here. Enjoy your city while it lasts, soon it will be hell on earth. I’m leaving tonight, there’s nothing here worth protecting.” She announced coldly and walked out the door, but was stopped half way down the hall by Zelman. “When is this war going to start?” he demanded. “Soon, I don’t know how soon, but within the next few months.” She answered.

“And it will start here?”

“The ashes of the Kowloon King are here. The Kowloon want his return, as I’m sure you know. The demons we are going against have the power to revive him effortlessly. This Special Zone, will be the first to be destroyed.

“I’d leave if I were you, Zelman Clock, chances of your survival are near zero percent.” With that she walked away from him, expecting him to walk back into the meeting, however she was wrong. “I have no plans of leaving the Special Zone, especially to this fate. If you have any sense of decency you’ll stay and defend the innocent people who dwell here as well.” He announced with a hint of anger in his voice.

“You’re asking if I have any sense of decency? You’re a villain here, remember? You’re one who is feared by several of the ‘innocent’ people. As for me, I’m a demon sent back after death, with my own special pits of hell, what sense of decency do you expect me to have?”

“You’re not the same woman who came to ask for my help last night… what’s happened to you? What has made you decide that this all suddenly isn’t worth your time, and now you’re going to leave us all to our deaths?” he asked, eyeing her carefully as he tried to figure out what caused this change. “It isn’t safe here, we have to leave. I have no need to stand here and explain every detail of my person to an eight-hundred year old vampire, with the mind of a spoiled child.” She scoffed and stormed away, ignoring his comments until she found herself engulfed in flames.

“Stop! Stop it! Stop!” Mei squeaked as soon as she heard her sister yelling, and ran to investigate. Zelman looked furious, and Kana was crumpled on the ground burning to her second death. Without giving it the first thought, she took one of the silver daggers out of her boots, and threw it at Zelman, sticking it into his shoulder with expert accuracy. “Don’t, Hurt, My, Sister!” she ordered sharply. He went from fury, to shock as he watched the small child storm up to him without a hint of fear, “Do it again and zombies will eat you and I will laugh!”

“Quite a disturbed mind she has, you know that right?” he asked, smirking at the fact Kana was unable to answer him as she tried to recover from being burned so badly. “She’s not disturbed, you’re just a pussy.” She smirked as Mei cut his thigh, since that was really the highest she could comfortably reach. His eyes darkened and Kana was once again engulfed in flames, and he was getting stabbed repeatedly until he stopped and threw Mei into the wall to make her stop.

“Don’t,” Kana breathed from her place, crumpled, burned, and defeated on the floor, “Don’t hurt her, please. Please don’t hurt her!” she begged weakly. Mei crawled from where she had landed, to her sister and tried to hold her. However, anywhere she touched was heavily burned and caused her terrible pain. “Why, Zelman Clock? She didn’t hurt you but you burnded her bad! Look-it her!” she cried, not knowing what to do with her physically tortured sister.

His eyes chanced yet again when he saw how much pain Kana really was in. When he was burning her he felt whole-heartedly that she deserved it; she had completely worn his patience. However, now he was looking back on their argument, and was having a second opinion; though he still felt she deserved it in the end.

“We have to leave, this place will be crawling with death in the next few days. I have to get you somewhere safe, Mei.” Kana grunted, forcing herself to stand and ignoring the searing pain through her still burning flesh. “These people need us, though. They will die!” Mei argued.

“We can’t help them, they won’t let us help so forget we ever came here, Mei. There is nothing we can do.”

“But Kana, Kotaro will die!”

“Mei, his brother will take care of him.”

“Will not because he will die! Miss Katsuragi will die, Mister Motchiduki will die, Zelman Clock, and the big man with the gray hair, and the funnyman with the purple hair! They will all die! We have to help them!”

“We can’t, now let’s go Mei.”

“NO!” she screamed as tears poured down her face, and ran up the hallway she and Zelman had just walked down, using all of her strength to throw open the big doors and crash the meeting on the other side of them.

“Let us help! Let us keep you safe, you need to tell her a yes! She is going to leave, and I don’t want you t-to die! No more dying! NO MORE!” she cried, running straight for Kain. “Say sorry! Say sorry to her and make her come back! M-make her stay because… I d-don’t wanna let you die!” she sobbed, falling to her knees and gripping his pant-legs as he stood there awkwardly where he was once speaking to the others around him. “Who are you?” he demanded finally. “M-my name, is Mei Ishikawa. My s-sister is Kana, Ishikawa… and we came h-here to help you not die.” She answered, sucking in her tears and holding herself as straight as possible.

“So it’s true then, the creatures of the underworld are coming to attack the Special Zone.” Lord Dragon said calmly. Mei nodded tearfully. “But why? Why here, of all places?” Kain demanded as a hum of concern fell over the meeting. “To get a king. My sister says there is a king here, a dead one. She says his children wanna bring him to life again and then work with the bad demons and monsters to take over the whole planet, and kill everyone!” she answered. “She can’t be talking about the Kowloon King,” one of the Human men stated blankly. “That’s him! That’s what she calls him!” she nodded excitedly, but also with a great deal of purpose and concern. “Why didn’t your sister tell us this when she was here?” Kain demanded.

“I tried, but you threw me across the room.” Kana announced weakly as she stood in the doorway, leaning her weight on Kouki as Zelman walked past them and reclaimed his seat. “The Kowloon Children are involved in this?” one of the men asked, ignoring her condition and receiving a nod as an answer. “May I speak, Master Kana?” Kouki asked quietly, also receiving a nod.

“My kind, are of the lowest class in the Underworld, but we are also the most loyal. With Master Kana, would follow hundreds of my kind to your aid. She has more than us Ghouls, though. She has Ravagers of two hundred, Wraiths in the thousands, and is in alliance with two other Demon Leaders. The Kowloon Children stand no chance against an army built of the Order Coffin Company, the followers of the Leaders of the Special Zone, and our own forces of the underworld. However, without us, you will face not only the Kowloon Children alone, you will face Ravagers, Wraiths, the Plague, and Reapers… Death itself will come to your gates, and claim this land as it’s own.” He announced. Silence followed as Kana pulled away from him very slowly and limped over to her sister. “You can find us in the large mausoleum that used to be empty, marked with Celtic knot work, and guarded by a fanged, red eyed, gargoyle. Just stand outside it and call my name. If I don’t answer, leave a note; I’m not home.” She announced, and tugged her sister out of the room by the shoulder of her shirt.

“What happened to her skin?” Kain asked Zelman once she was gone. “We had a bit of a disagreement, but everything’s sorted now. If you’ll excuse me, I do have other business to deal with tonight. Gentlemen.” He nodded, and left as well.

“Kouki, find Aimée and see if she can help me, please.” Kana muttered as soon as they returned to their home. “Of course,” he nodded and crawled into the ground, returning moments later and announcing that she would be there shortly.

Less than a minute later, a tall woman with blonde hair and a white dress appeared out of nowhere beside them. “Dear god, Kana.” She sighed with a slight French accent. “Don’t tick off Crimson-Eye Zelman.” Kana smiled weakly. “I’ll take that to heart.” She laughed and knelt down beside her, placing her hands on her shoulders. “Deep breath,” she ordered as Kana’s burns healed, and clothes mended.

“Thank you. How in hell did you end up being a Demon?”

“In a blind fury, I killed my lover after finding him in our bed with another woman.”

“Thou shall not kill.”

Aimée nodded with sad eyes.

“But you obviously have a chance for redemption, you became a Demon with a heart.”

“And I will use this second life to help anyone I can.”

“Which is such a good thing for us… can you imagine our luck if you wanted to kill us?”

Both women laughed as Kana stood up and followed Mei to their Mausoleum. “Do you mind if I stay with you? It’s been nearly two hundred years since I’ve watched the night sky.” Aimée asked as Mei fell asleep in her coffin. “Of course,” Kana nodded and closed the door, sitting on top of the mausoleum beside her Demon friend until sunrise.