Ashsib and the Cat Beast

Chapter Nine

"Hich Hich Hich!" He laughed that horrible laugh as the projection reached its conclusion for the shocked audience.

Ashsib couldn't believe it. His vision had sharpened to crystal clarity on the grainy footage. He watched Elian, with no hesitation, stab Namere. Blood ran down her side, she fell to the ground and was motionless. The lack of sound made it even more surreal, but it didn't look fake.

"So, you see," The featureless, but for a smile, Smile concluded, "You are all alive because one is dead. Isn't that wonderful?"

The flickering screen went dark.

A rage like nothing Ashsib had ever felt before sparked white hot inside him. It engulfed him like a wildfire catching in a dry summer and it felt good. More than the exhaustion and the fear, the anger was powerful, it made him powerful.

"How is it wonderful?" Ashsib roared, rushing the smiling figure, "You brought us here, made us play your stupid games and now we're supposed to be happy one of us is dead?"

"Ash, calm down." The captain warned.

"*@%$ that!" Ashsib leapt at the Smile in a way that felt completely natural, as the anger grew hotter inside him. If he had been thinking rationally, he would have realized it was most definitely unnatural. The claws that wanted to rend flesh and the fangs that wanted to pierce veins were also out of the ordinary, but Ashsib used them freely. Blood was all his parched tongue wanted to taste.

Stunned, his crewmates watched Ashsib rage and charge the masked man.

"What do we do?" Challah asked, her purple eyes wide with shock.

"Namere said normal reason needs to be returned. She said she'd take care of Ash, but now with her being-" Quinn abruptly stopped, "Well, her suggestions for herself were a hard punch, or something else physically jarring, like being thrown off the ship into the ocean."

"And how can we do something like that when Ashsib is like that." Challah gestured at the man.

"Leave it to me." Vel proclaimed, charging in.

"Vel, I don't think-" Challah tried to say, but the man was off.

"No use, Challah, he won't listen." Quinn said, "I'll help him, that way we can protect each other, at least."

The Smile wasn't slowing it's evades, but it's cloak was heavily shredded. The face seemed even more like a mask than usual, and as Ashsib raked elongated claws across the silver visage, it gave off sparks. The figure itself didn't seem to notice the damage, much like the red light/green light combatants, but it seemed irked not to be in charge.

Ashsib roared after the man in frustration. He had already grown several feet and his muscles bulged against his tattered clothes. He was alike and unlike to Emishere in the minds of the two who'd seen her go from person to beast and all the stages in between. Ashsib was bulky instead of lithe as a catperson would be. Even his fur seemed coarse instead of silky. Driven by rage and instinct, his fur-covered face looked nothing like the flustered Ashsib. Gray and bristly, he was more dog than cat, even his tail was thick like a bottle brush. As he lunged again, snarling through fangs a finger length long, his allies hooked him by the armpits and tried to pull him to the ground.

"Ashsib!" Vel slapped his hairy face, but the man-Beast's eyes hungered after the Smile-man still.

Quinn tried a gut punch.

Vel ripped out a chunk of fur.

Quinn pulled on a surprisingly soft ear that had sprouted from Ashsib's head.