The Hellhound's Demon

Can't Win Them All

The Five Fingers of Poison

The five fingers of poison are an elite squad of venomous warriors. Each possessing a unique and treacherous poison...

Kali closed the book, tilting her head to the side and cocking an eyebrow at Xander. "Can I help you with something?" she asked.

"Nope. Just curious what you're reading," said Xander. "Haven't you read every book in this place already?"

"Clearly not," said Kali, turning back to her research.

Xander furrowed his brow and took a seat opposite her. "Do I have to address the elephant in the room, or are you going to tell me?" he asked.

"Your answer is right in front of you," said Kali. "I know you're slow, Xander, but not this slow."

"Oh. Touchy," said Xander, pretending to ease his wound. "I meant, why are you researching here at Root Core? Don't you have information on them -" he pointed at the book, "in Ocean Bluff?"

"Yeah, sure, I'll just hit the Ocean Bluff public library and ask them to point me in the direction of the Magical creatures section," Kali huffed.

Xander cocked his head to the side. "What's got your wand in a knot?" he asked.

Kali sighed and dropped her head onto the table. She wasn't sure why she was in suck a dark mood today, only that she had awoken early and couldn't go back to sleep, despite trying her hardest. She couldn't even blame her restlessness on the Hellhound this time, seeing as it had been quiet since she had arrived in Ocean Bluff three days ago.

"Kali?" Xander asked, his tone soft and full of concern.

"I don't know," Kali replied. "I guess I'm just... annoyed?"

"At what?"

Kali shrugged and sat up. "Everything. Anything. When I agreed to be the Black Mystic Ranger, and later the Hellhound, I didn't actually think that I'd still be them two years later. My life has been turned upside down more times than I can count, and I don't ever think it is going to right itself again."

"I thought you liked being the Hellhound?"

"I do. It's just, all the responsibilities that come with being the Hellhound have been dumped on my shoulders," said Kali. "I was never the 'responsible' growing up. That was always Joe or Ziva - Joe was a Silver Guardian, for crying out loud, he had his life sorted out from the minute he turned eighteen; and Ziva? She's only a year younger than me and she's a full-time carer for our little sister Molly and has been since she was sixteen."

"And that reflects on you, how?" Xander asked.

"Because I was her big sister," said Kali. "I was the one that was supposed to have stepped up after Joe disappeared, not her. I was the one that was supposed to keep my family together and take charge, instead I landed my ass in Juvie for 18 months, and then when I was finally set free I just took off and didn't look back."

Xander reached the cross the table and took her hand in his. He wasn't sure where this triad had come from, exactly, but it seemed that it had been building for a while now.

"And now, after all that, I'm responsible for looking after the entire Mystic Realm and trying to keep it from collapsing on itself?" Kali said, although it was more of a question than a statement. "How can I be a responsible guardian if I was never a responsible sister?"

"Well, for one, this time you're not alone," said Xander. "You have me, Nick, and all the others. We're a team, regardless of any magical hierarchy that says the Hellhound is at the top. You may be the first and last line of defence for this world, but we all stand the line with you. If they want to take it, they go through all of us."