Ink hadn't expected to activate so many of his Marks today and it was starting to take a toll on him.
No matter how many times he dumped energy into the spiral sigil to amplify his aura, eventually the cycle broke down, leaving him empty of energy. But while he had it, Ink was using every bit of auric power he could dredge up to augment his and Priest's physical battle skills.
None of the Hares they were fighting were that impressive. Many of them seemed to be panicking, looking for someone else who should be in charge. It seemed that they were lucky to arrive while the real muscle and brains behind this place were gone. Ink was still recovering from the mutiny and battle with Agent's Hares a few days ago. He'd scraped up everything he had for that and hadn't gotten back to full power yet.
But that wasn't going to stop him from kicking these Hares asses and dismantling what he could only describe as a zoo. They came across tom after tom in cages, put on display
Frog left a few hurdles for his fellow Fates to jump through before they found him. Having already broken the rules that kept reality from unraveling by saving Nickel from dying so he could in turn save Agent whose yarn was supposed to be cut that day by Frog himself... To say he was in trouble was an understatement.Purl and Tarsi would have to track him down and he would atone for his infraction. Frog laughed to himself morbidly. That was a quaint way to put it. He'd be lucky to escape complete annihilation.He had enough faith in the other two of the Three to trust he hadn't caused the apocalypse or at least they could bring reality back from the brink of it. But the punishment for picking at the threads was bad. Frog had no doubts about that.So he might as well just go all in and help his Champion from all those years ago win, get back the power of Chaos and King, his Innehavre. And maybe before the worst happened, he could discover where his own Innehavre
Agent was remembering how frustrating dealing with the Fates could be and why they were a huge part of the reason he'd abandoned his duties to throw himself into the reincarnation cycle. They were always talking in vagaries and trying to manipulate everyone they met. It wasn't cute, not like when he did it as the God of Chaos. That was specifically his job. They were supposed to be impartial, not malicious."I'm sure I can guess the price, Frog. You've got a one-track mind."Frog was going to demand to know where his mortal was. This particular Fate had been chasing after his Innehavre for generations. And while it had been a dirty trick, Tricksy was the only one who knew where that soul was and where it kept ending up. As a Fate, Frog was not allowed to search for him. He was only allowed to come upon him by chance, just like that first meeting.The rules that the god avatars lived by were stupid, Agent decided. He remembered how many of them he hated. If it wa
Tarsi was the youngest of the Three Toms. This did not mean he was new to his role as a Fate, just the newest. But even in his centuries of service, the tom had never seen anything like the yarn monster he and Purl had just barely managed to defeat.The alarms - different ones than before - that were going off now were much louder and shriller. The emergency was not contained. The yarn creature was a mere warning, then. A harbinger.Without Frog, they had to run to the next logical place of concern. There was an ages-old rule that made no sense to Tarsi, especially now. Only when the Three are One can they wield their true power.Which meant they couldn't portal around like they did in the mortal realm unless they were all together.So Tarsi's portly form was having to climb the celestial stairs to the Meeting Room and he was starting to wonder if Fates could die of heart attacks."Is that sound really what I think it is? We've only ever done one s
Lexi moved quickly, heading right for Jinx just like Spitfire had told him to do. Which under regular circumstances would be fine, but this was something else. It was a feeling Lexi was far from unfamiliar with and one he wasn't fond of.No Demon was.In his many centuries of life, Lexi had been both contracted to toms and reprimanded by the Black Devil. The latter happened as recently as his ill-fated tryst with Hades. Ol' Blackie had made him pay for that. Especially when he interfered in the Underworld master's short battle with the Elementalist.Demons could lose their will and be aware of it the whole time. They had to do whatever the holder of their contract or the Black Devil commanded without rebellion. And if they fought against it, even a little, the pain was unspeakable. If they kept fighting through that, they risked losing the entire personality they had when not under the influential command. They became empty husks and very good little so
"Fuck."All of the pieces were starting to fall into place for Jinx. Spitfire's control of the Black Sand, a distinctly Underworld sort of magick. The Hell Portal opening around the no-fur when he'd confronted the circus Hare. The Underworld aura circling the pirate ships where Spitfire had been held hostage. Demons just galloping off back through the Hell Portal at a simple command from Spitfire.And now his ability to control Lexi so completely.Spitfire was either possessed by the Black Devil or... Even worse, the no-fur was becoming the God of the Underworld the same way Jinx was becoming the God of Chaos."But how did that happen? When did he have time to overthrow the Black Devil?" Jinx asked out loud, trying to pinpoint when it was Spitfire had changed.He couldn't nail down a moment where it happened. For all he knew, the no-fur had been the Black Devil from minute one. He hadn't spent as much time with him as the others had in the few shor
Doll dreamt of the past. It was part memory, part fantasy, though it was now hard to tell one from the other. He dreamt of that first, almost forgotten, time with Hades. The pain of his magick awakening was now a different kind of pain. The young Hades's brutality and yet gentle awareness of him was being rewritten in his mind and heart as the coming together of future Innehavres.He dreamt of times yet to come as his kits and Spitfire's played together as he and his three mates looked on, cuddling. Proud and so very much in love. And safe. The no-fur dreamed of a time when the danger had passed.It was lovely until a profound sadness seeped in the cracks taking him out of both places. He felt the nothingness all around him. The little lives sleeping within him slipping out of his reach. Fading away.The no-fur awoke with a start. His hands instinctively reached for his growing darlings. What was the stuff of nightmares passed as he found the opposite to be true. His belly was fat wit
Agent frowned into the cave, regarding Doll with narrowed eyes."What do you mean you don't have that anymore? That doesn't make sense. The injections should have bonded with your blood and body." Agent tilted his head with curiosity. He could feel his tom ears flicking with irritation.Doll didn't seem inclined to come out of the shadows. His distrust was in every word. "I'm not sure I should tell you. I don't know a lot of what's going on because I did go straight from being rescued from you and your crazy to healing Priest to winding up here with very little explanation.""That's fair." Agent settled down to consider what Doll was telling him. "I don't know what happened with thehealing you did. I was busy fighting that Orangelo menace. But from what I've seen since I arrived, you took in an aura that your system wasn't equipped to handle. Probably has something to do with Hades trying to control the Underworld aura. He's a Black-fur but he's not made f
The Throne of the Black Devil was prepared. Had been for some time.As soon as it had completely discarded the idea of Hades trying to challenge it, there was no blocking where the power was flowing, toward the arrogant and surprisingly strong no-fur the Black-fur now called his mate. One of two no-furs that carried Hades's kits. Apparently, its troubles would continue to be Hades-adjacent.The Throne wasn't worried, not in the least. This Spitfire would either accept his new role and bow to its power or burn up in the flames that created the Underworld itself. And if that were the case, he would be a delicious distraction to obliterate slowly.There was only one place to begin a formal challenge and Spitfire would know where it was by instinct. The Throne's room, its seat of power. Spitfire had been disrespectfully bold the last time he stepped foot in here. He would pay for that if the Throne could crack the code to his guilty conscience.But that was what the Throne was made for. N