The Hellhound's Demon

Now the Final Fury, Part II

Kali looked around as she led the Mystics and Ninjas down a deserted street. Many cars had been overturned or destroyed, while several stores had had their windows put through and things stolen. The only downside to an attack on the city were those who would take advantage of the chaos and loot stores in the middle of the ruckus.

"Are you really going to open the gates?" Hunter asked.

"I'm going to try," said Kali. "I've done it before; I can do it again."

"I thought the gates were sealed when you closed the abyss the first time," said Blake. "Wouldn't they be destroyed this time, what with it collapsed in on itself?"

"The Gates are the doors to a spiritual nexus," said Kali, shaking her head. "They can't be destroyed. The only problem is, the last two times I opened them, I wasn't in control."

"What do you mean?" Vida asked.

"Nikki walked me through how to give myself to the Hellhound the first time," said Kali. "And the second time, the Hellhound took control itself. I don't know to summon it."

The two teams shared hesitant looks.

"Then maybe we shouldn't do this," said Tori. "Especially if you don't know how to do it safely. We should go back and help the others, while we have a chance."

The others nodded their agreement.

"I can't," said Kali, shaking her head. "Before we destroyed Scorch, he said that the reign of the Hellhound had come to an end, and he would stop at nothing to make sure that I was the last of my kind."

"I'll kill him," said Nick, gritting his teeth.

Kali grabbed his arm, preventing him from going back and dealing with Scorch. It wasn't that she didn't think he would be able to, but she knew that Scorch had more than enough power from his brief stay in the Netherworld.

"I have to try," said Kali. "I have been the Hellhound my whole life, and I have grown stronger since accepting the power. How hard can it be to harness something that has always been mine?"

"Maybe it's like our magic?" Chip suggested. "The more you believe in it, the stronger it is?"

Kali smiled and nodded. "Maybe you're right, Chip," she said. "It's like RJ told Casey, when he lost his Tiger spirit - My Spirit doesn't make me stronger, I make it stronger - maybe that logic applies here."

Chip grinned.

Nick sighed. "Alright. Fine," he said, caving. How could ever say no to Kali? "We'll try it, but if it doesn't work, even once."

"Then we'll find another way to stop the Beast War," Kali agreed. She nodded and stepped back, shaking out the tension in her shoulders and arms. She took a deep breath, met each of her friends gazes, and then closed her eyes. "Okay. Let's do it..."

~X~

Blu Raynes took a deep breath as she meditated by the lake. She smiled as gentle breeze blew her hair across her face but opened eyes as a cold chill descended over the whole area. The last time something like this had happened was when the Demons had been released on Mariner Bay.

Looking around, Blu heard the faint howling of a wolf - no, that wasn't a wolf. That was a Hellhound. And then, behind her, in the same place they had appeared several months ago, the gates to the earthly plane appeared. She watched them steadily for a moment, gasping as they cracked open, issuing a faint grey light from the other side.

"I don't know if you can hear me," came the voice of the current Hellhound, Kali Briar. "But Dai Shi has started another Beast War. We need reinforcements."