The Witchblade EqG: The 13 Artifacts

Sour Sweet still couldn’t remember what happened at school yesterday, why she was on the floor was a mystery to her. However, she didn’t really care because the rest of the time, and even today, was fantastic. For the first time in a long while, Sour Sweet didn’t hear the voice of the Blood Sword, at all. It was so freeing to not hear that despicable voice and all its wanton blood lusting. Sour knew she had a bipolar condition, but the meds had helped her keep everything in check, but ever since the Blood Sword came into her life, it had just made her condition worse, because between the imaginary voices in her head, and the actual demonic voice, it was getting close to breaking her mentally.

“That’s not my problem anymore! Don’t know why, but I’m not looking a gift horse in the mouth!” Sour Sweet spoke under her breath.

“What was that?” Sunny asked.

Sunny Flare was driving the two of them back to Sour’s, the two girls had hung out together, and for Sunny, it was a nice break from having to deal with her mother. Plus, Sour had been completely lucid, no little episodes or anything. And it seemed Sour was happy about it too, despite Sour’s ailments, it was still fun to be around her, out of their entire group she loved hanging out with her the most. There was a commotion at the mall earlier today, but thankfully they weren’t anywhere near that mess.

“You sure your parents won’t mind my staying over tonight?” Sunny asked.

“Ha! Doesn’t matter really, they’re not home to begin with, and even if they do, they couldn’t care less,” said Sour in a matter-of-fact tone.

The girls pulled up to Sour’s home, stopping in front of the garage. When they exited the car and entered Sour’s home, they went up to Sour’s room. It had been a while since the last time Sour had Sunny over, most of those times it was when their group was together, but now it was just the two of them.

It’s just the two of us…just the two of us…in my house, in my room…alone…SHIT! I-I-I should say something to her! Yes, tell her how I feel while I don’t have that fucking demon rattling around in my head! N-N-No I shouldn’t, if I told her it might freak her out! Hell, I don’t even know if she likes girls!

These thoughts kept rattling around in her mind all the way up the stairs and into her room. She let Sunny Flare in first and followed behind her, Sour sat on her bed and went into deep thought about what her next action should be.

C’mon Sour Sweet, this might be your only chance to say something while your mind is free and clear. Sour Sweet looked up and watched as the object of her affection went over to her sword collection, she was the only one of their group who didn’t find her hobby disturbing or weird, which only endeared Sunny Flare to Sour even more.

Sunny slowly walked the length of the wall, looking up and down the impressive collection of bladed weaponry. “Did you add a few swords since the last time we were over?”

“A few yeah…” Sour answered absentmindedly.

Sunny Flare’s eyes were drawn to one sword, for some reason, it drew her attention. It had a strange air about it, which only heightened her curiosity. Sunny began moving closer to the katana, her hand unconsciously reaching out towards the weapon. It was right around that time that Sour Sweet finally noticed what Sunny Flare was doing and gasped in shock. Before she could say anything, Sour Sweet jumped off her bed and scrambled towards Sunny Flare.

“Sunny, wait, don’t touch that one!” Sour warned as she reached out for the sword in question.

No sooner did she place her hand on it did the sword react. Releasing a burst of scarlet energy that threw Sunny Flare back a couple of feet and onto the floor. Unfortunately, that same energy anchored Sour Sweet’s hand right to the sword’s sheath.

~*~*~*~

The world melted away in Sour Sweet’s mind, leaving her in a dark mindscape. The metaphorical ground that Sour Sweet stood upon was soon replaced with an ocean of blood as far as her eyes could see, the “sky” above her went from black to salmon colored, Sour Sweet panicked as she tried to move around, tried to run, but the blood ocean was only rising and now reached her knees. The thick liquid made it hard for her to move around, but it wasn’t as if there was any place for her to go.

Just then, something rose from the blood, herself. The demon within the Blood Sword rose from the ocean, made entirely of the red ichor that surrounded Sour Sweet, its eyes were pools of darkness, and at their center were red slit eyes that burned with fury. The demon rushed towards Sour Sweet with unnatural speed and was upon her in mere seconds. The creature grabbed Sour Sweet by her throat, squeezing down as it choked her, Sour Sweet thrashed about, splashing blood around and staining her body and clothes in the red essence.

“YOU LITTLE SHIT! DID YOU ENJOY YOUR FREE TIME?!!!”

“Y-You…You…!”

“YEAH, ME! THAT FOUR-EYED FUCKING WHORE PUSHED ME OUT OF YOUR BODY AND BACK INTO THIS DAMN SWORD! Oh, and what did you do?! You just went about your fucking day all hunky-dory! Well ain’t that just PEACHY!” the demon raged as it squeezed even harder.

Sour Sweet began to spasm as she felt her throat contract, unable to draw in breath. The veins in her eyes were beginning to bulge and break, staining her eyes with blood.

“I should drown you here and use your fucking body as a meat puppet from here on out!” the demon started to lower Sour Sweet, pushing her back until they both splashed into the blood ocean. Sour Sweet’s head was only barely above the blood, her mouth trying to spit out the irony liquid. However, the demon stopped and brought her head up above the blood. “But I need you alive, a living wielder is much better than a dead corpse! Oh, look, the girl you shlick off to at night is looking at you with concern.”

“S-Sunny?!” Sour Sweet looked in the same direction that the demon was. A window opened and showed Sour Sweet what was happening in the real world. Sunny Flare was getting up after being knocked down by the shockwave, she seemed genuinely scared, but it seemed her fear was not for herself, but more so directed at Sour Sweet.

“Maybe I should kill her now, get rid of your distractions, or make you finally break enough so that you’re more useful to me!”

“N-No…! P-Please…! Don’t…I…I don’t even know…what…happened!” Sour confessed.

The demon’s eyes widened as she released Sour Sweet, letting her plop into the blood. Sour Sweet emerged from the blood and took in a deep gasping breath, she coughed for a few seconds before finally looking back up at the demon.

“You’re serious…?” the demon reached out with its right hand and grasped Sour Sweet’s head. The demon searched her memories and then realized with an annoyed snarl that Sour Sweet was telling the truth. “Well…that’s disappointing…how can I properly punish you for something if you don’t even have any memory of it.” The demon released Sour and crossed its arms over its chest. “That’s a buzzkill, I was ready to give you the business. Oh well, I’ll just take this anger out on that slut!”

“S-Slut…? Who are you…talking about?” Sour inquired.

“I’m talking about that pigtailed, four-eyed, cock sucking, muff munching, S! L! U! T! Otherwise known as SUGARCOAT! We’re killing her, tonight!”

Sour Sweet looked up at the demon upon hearing that declaration. “WHAT?! NO!”

The demon reached out again and grabbed Sour Sweet by her collar. “It’s either the slut, or it’s your crush over there! Someone’s gonna die tonight, and while I’d prefer it to be the one who pushed me out of your body, I’m happy to get my kicks with whoever’s close by! You got to the count of three! One…Two…Thr–!”

“OKAY, OKAY! WE’LL KILL SUGARCOAT!” Sour Sweet cried out in desperation.

The demon smirked. “Good girl.”

~*~*~*~

Sunny Flare stood just a foot away from her friend, she had been listening to Sour Sweet talking for well over a minute now, one eye was shining red while the other was normal. When she talked, two voices came out. One was Sour Sweets, while the other sounded like Sour Sweet’s, but more demonic and maniacal. She listened as the two parts had a conversation, one about killing Sugarcoat. It seemed that the demonic sounding voice was forcing Sour Sweet to make a choice between killing her or killing Sugarcoat. Also, it appeared that Sour Sweet harbored some feelings for Sunny, which…honestly…Sunny was trying to process.

But after Sour made her decision, she was wrapped in scarlet light. In less than a second Sour Sweet was clothed in blood red samurai armor. Sunny Flare took a step back out of fear, wondering what – if anything – she could do. “S-Sour…?”

The demon warrior turned her head towards Sunny. “Sorry, Sour’s taking a backseat, I’m in control right now. Be a good girl and sit here and wait for our return. Don’t make me have to chase after you, because I don’t want to hear this bitch whine and moan about killing you. I’m already going to hear her complain about Sugar Slut. Later!”

Blood Sword opened the window and jumped out of it, clearing several feet in one bound, and nearly disappearing from Sunny Flare’s sight. The popular girl ran to the window to try and find Sour Sweet, but she couldn’t see her anymore.

Sunny Flare couldn’t understand what she just saw, but one thing she did know, was that Sugarcoat was in danger. She didn’t particularly like Sugarcoat, especially after she sided with Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle, but she wasn’t a monster, she wasn’t that much of a monster, unlike her mother. Sunny Flare hurriedly pulled out her cellphone and dialed Sugarcoat’s phone number.

“Please, for the love of god, answer me,” Sunny pleaded.

Sugarcoat paced her room back and forth, she didn’t know what she should do, especially after what happened with Sour Sweet yesterday. Her throat still felt soar from the strangling, but thanks to wearing the Heart Stone, the accelerated healing powers it possessed allowed the bruise that formed to disappear after a few minutes, but she came close to dying that day. Had Sugarcoat not grabbed the Heart Stone and used its power to make Sour Sweet release her, she’d be off to see her grandmother sooner than she wanted to.

Still, was this something to get Sunset involved in? She’s got enough to worry about when it comes to Twilight…I know I told them what I saw, but…I don’t want to rely on her…But we’re friends now…real friends…doesn’t that mean I’m supposed to rely on her?

This was Sugarcoat’s dilemma, but the more she thought about it, the more the answer was becoming clear to her. It was better to at least inform her friend of the trouble, because there was no telling if Sour Sweet would turn her attention to Twilight, and if she didn’t tell Sunset then she wouldn’t know to protect Twilight from the threat. With her resolve affirmed, Sugarcoat took out her cellphone and prepared to call Sunset, but paused.

“Shit…I forgot to get their cell numbers…” It was at that moment that her cellphone went off in her hand, she grimaced at the name that popped up and let out a dejected sigh. As easy as it would be to just ignore the call, it was better to just tell off Sunny Flare now and be done with it. So, she answered the call. “Listen, Sunny, I don’t know what you want, but whatever messed up plan you want me to be a part of, I’m through with you and–!”

{Just shut up and listen to me! Sour Sweet is coming to kill you!}

At the mention of the bipolar girl’s name, Sugarcoat froze up. “W-What did you just say?”

{Sour Sweet is coming to kill you! She’s on her way right now! She’s possessed or something, she’s got powers – I don’t know how to describe it! I swear to God that it’s not a joke or anything, she literally jumped out of the window and into the distance like some fucking comic book character! I don’t know where you are right now, but you need to run, be anywhere but at your house! Go to the police, anywhere! Just RUN!}

Sugarcoat hurriedly put on the Heart Stone, grabbed her keys, slipped on her shoes, and rushed down the stairs. She didn’t say a word as her parents asked where she was going dressed in her pajamas, she didn’t even say a word when she threw the door to the garage open and got into her car. Even when her mother and father pleaded with her to tell her what she was doing, Sugarcoat only responded. “You’re in danger if I stay here! I’ll explain later!”

Once the garage door opened, Sugarcoat put her car in reverse and peeled out of the garage, tires screeching as she punched the gas pedal and took off down the road. Sugarcoat didn’t really know where to go, the police did sound like a good idea at the time, but even Sugarcoat knew that they were no match for a demon, especially given the recent events that transpired in the city between angels and demons. And then there was those Mystery Murders as well.

Can’t go to the police, can’t go to Sunset because I don’t know where she lives…where can I go?! After a moment to think, an idea popped into Sugarcoat’s head. Ugh…I hate to do this, but there’s no other way…

Sugarcoat turned at the next street and hurried as fast as she could, if she did this right, then there might be time for both to get to safety. With every stop sign she passed through, and every red light she ran, Sugarcoat was surprised that she hadn’t been pulled over yet. But that was for the best, the last thing she needed was to explain to the cops that she was being pursued by a demon possessed classmate. Sugarcoat finally spotted her destination and pulled up to the sidewalk, almost jumping the curb. The four-eyed girl bolted from her car and right to the front door of the house she stopped in front of.

Once she was there, she frantically knocked on the door and pressed the doorbell at the same time. Sugarcoat stopped when she heard noises on the other side, after a few seconds the door opened revealed a man in his mid-forties opening the door. “Can I help you, young lady?”

“Mr. Night Light, I’m sorry, but I really, really need to talk to Twilight! It’s an emergency!” Sugarcoat pleaded. “I’m one of her classmates!”

Night Light’s expression became neutral for a moment, and this brow furrowed slightly. “Listen, young lady, I’m well aware of the abuse my daughter has sustained while at Crystal Prep, and at the hands of your fellow students. Whatever little prank or scheme you have planned for tonight, you can shove it! And if you don’t get off my property, I’ll call the police and have you arrested for trespassing!”

Sugarcoat couldn’t blame Twilight's father for being suspicious of her, especially after what has happened to Twilight at school, it was only natural for him to protect his daughter. However, Sugarcoat didn’t have time for the papa bear routine. Sugarcoat shoved her way past Night Light and ran into the house, she stopped at the stairs and ran up them, skipping two steps at a time as she reached the top of the stairs. She could hear Night Light yelling at her, along with the sound of his thudding footsteps as he too bounded up the stairs. Sugarcoat started yelling out Twilight’s name as she opened all the doors, after about the third door was when she found the person she was looking for, unfortunately it wasn’t in the way she wanted to.

Twilight was apparently getting ready for bed, her shirt and bra were on the bed along with her pajama top, she was wearing some blue cotton pajama pants, and that was all that was on her. The teen genius’ face turned bright red as she let out a screech of embarrassment and shock, she quickly covered her breasts and turned around to hide herself, but it was right around that same moment when she turned her head and said in shock, “Sugarcoat?!”

“Twilight!”

“Gotcha!” Night Light caught up to Sugarcoat and grabbed her by the arm hard. “How dare you barge in here! You’re going to jail!”

“Twilight, please listen to me! I need your help, more specifically, I need Sunset’s help!”

That caught Twilight’s attention. “Daddy, let her go!”

Night looked at his youngest child with a confused expression. “What, but Twily she–!”

“I know, but Sugarcoat’s my friend! She really is, I promise! She wouldn’t do something like this if it wasn’t important!” Twilight begged. “Please let her go!” Twilight watched as her father looked between her and Sugarcoat, and after a long minute, released Sugarcoat. “Thank you, now…please leave I’m still changing!”

“Oh, yep! Sorry,” said Night Light as he hurried downstairs.

Twilight took this moment to put her pajama shirt on and turned to face Sugarcoat. “Sugarcoat, what’s going on, and how do you know where I live?”

“The student directory, I have a photographic memory, I know the homes of all the students in the school, at least those who bothered to make their addresses public anyway! I would’ve gone straight to Sunset myself, but she hasn’t been updated in the directory yet! But, seriously, I need Sunset’s help, honestly, I don’t know how much help she can be, but I don’t know who else to turn to!”

Twilight walked up to Sugarcoat and took a good look at her. She was dressed in her pajamas as well, and judging from the look in her eyes, Sugarcoat was scared. “Why do you need Sunset’s help?”

“Sour Sweet, remember when I told you I felt like there was something off about her?” Twilight nodded a “yes” in response. “It turns out she’s possessed by a demon – and no I don’t mean that in a metaphorical sense, I mean it literally! She’s possessed by a real demon and she’s coming to kill me!”

“Wait, what?!”

Sugarcoat held out her wrist and showed the Heart Stone to Twilight. “This bracelet, it’s called the Heart Stone, it’s what allows me to see ghosts, auras, and it’s what also allowed me to push the demon out of Sour Sweet when she attacked me yesterday! I guess the demon took exception to that because she’s on her way now! Like I said, I don’t know if Sunset can help, hell, I don’t even know if you’ll believe me, but I–!”

“Sugarcoat!” Twilight interrupted. She spotted Spike walking up next to her, picked up the dog, and presented Spike to Sugarcoat. “Hold Spike.”

“W-What?! Why?!” Sugarcoat asked in confusion.

“It’s well known that animal companions can reduce stress and have a calming effect, sit down on the bed and pet Spike, now!” Twilight ordered.

Sugarcoat gingerly took Spike into her hands, the purple dog looked up at Sugarcoat, tilted his head, and then licked the side of her face. Despite the imminent death that was following her, she smiled. The pigtailed girl sat on the edge of Twilight’s bed and began petting Spike, as ridiculous as it was, petting Twilight’s dog was helping her to calm down.

Satisfied that her new friend was calm, Twilight quickly got out her cellphone and dialed Sunset’s phone number. A couple of seconds passed before her girlfriend answered. {Hey, Babe, what’s up?}

“Sunset, we have a situation!”

Blood Sword leaped across rooftops; her vision focused on the death of one individual. When she left, Blood Sword knew that Sunny Flare was going to call Sugarcoat to warn her, as much of a bitch that she knew Sunny Flare was, even that bitch wouldn’t let Sugarcoat die. Whether it was out of past loyalty or just because it was the “right thing to do” was another matter, regardless, it wouldn’t impede her, not when she was just one leap away from getting to Sugarcoat’s house. Blood Sword landed on the roof adjacent to Sugarcoat’s home, she paused there and watched as the garage door opened and her target’s car peeled out of the driveway and onto the road. For a moment Blood Sword thought about going into the house and slaughtering Sugarcoat’s parents, but then she’d lose her.

Oh well, kill ‘em later.

Blood Sword chased after Sugarcoat, while it would be easy to disable the car and kill Sugarcoat, she was curious as to where the little slut was going. There were few places she could go for safety, she knew that Sugarcoat was smart enough not to go to the police, they wouldn’t stand a chance against her power and Sugarcoat didn’t seem to be the kind of person to put other people’s lives in danger unnecessarily. Especially after the Twilight kidnapping incident. Blood Sword kept her distance, sticking to the rooftops and to the shadows as best she could, she didn’t want to give away her presence, not just yet. Actually, it was better this way, letting Sugarcoat’s fear build up the longer she dragged this out, like basting a turkey.

Before she proceeded to violate said turkey.

I’m gonna fuck me a fear turkey tonight!

“What is wrong with you?!”

I’m a fucking demon, don’t kink shame me!

After a few more leaps it seemed Sugarcoat had made it to her destination, which turned out to be another residence. Blood Sword delved into Sour Sweet’s memories, but she couldn’t find any memory pertaining to this house. She watched as Sugarcoat bailed out of her car and rushed to the front door of the residence, where she proceeded to frantically knock on the door. A man opened the door, unfortunately, Blood Sword wasn’t quite close enough to hear what Sugarcoat was saying to the man, but whatever she did say, she could tell by the man’s expression that he took exception to it. Then in a rather bold move, Sugarcoat pushed past the older man and barged right into his house.

“Huh, does Sugarcoat have herself a Sugar Daddy?”

“I don’t know…it wouldn’t surprise me though considering all she did at school…”

“Whatever probably wanted to get one last fuck in before she died. Ooooh, now that would be sick! Sneak in while they were doing it and just stab ‘em both right as they finish!”

“You’re completely sick…!”

“What part of ‘I’M A DEMON’ do you not comprehend?! I love killing, I love blood and carnage! And I like to get creative with my kills! Besides, I consider it a good send off, at least I’m letting them die in the throes of ecstasy, as opposed to the usual way I kill them, which is normally in the midst of agonizing pain.” Blood Sword waited about a minute, then a minute thirty, and then a minute forty. “Well times up, hope he has a trigger!”

Blood Sword jumped off the roof and landed in the front yard of the house. She walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell, waiting patiently for someone to answer. The door opened and revealed the same man from before, completely dressed.

“Can I…help you…?” Night Light asked before he noticed the katana in Blood Sword’s hand.

“Huh, would’ve thought she was banging you by now. Eh, I gave her a chance.”

Night Light quickly slammed the door in Blood Sword’s face and backed away, but in a series of quick slashes, the door was cut to pieces, the wooden remnants falling to the floor and leaving the entrance wide open. Blood Sword walked in slowly, causing Night Light to back up as she did.

“Honey, what was that?!” came a voice.

“STAY BACK, VELVET!” Night Light shouted from the living room.

Blood Sword looked to her left and watched as a woman exited from an office space, strangely enough, she looked as if she could be Twilight Sparkle’s older sister, there was a strong resemblance. “Oh, I get it. That’s who lives here, she came to the Whipping Girl, probably hoping that her badass girlfriend would protect her from me. Heh, now that’s funny.” Blood Sword looked up towards the stairs and smirked. “Let’s make this easy for everyone, hmm? I can just kill everyone in this house tonight and turn it into a real bloodbath in here. But if you just give me the girl who came in here, I promise to just kill her, I have a bone to pick with her, several of them as a matter of fact.”

Velvet looked to the demonic warrior and said, “That girl…Twilight’s friend?!”

“Why do you want her?!” Night Light asked.

“It doesn’t really matter why, not to you anyway. What you should be concerned about is whether your family is going to live tonight. Now tell me, is all of you dying worth that girl’s life? She’s not a nice person, she’s actually one of the girls who helped in messing with your daughter, you really don’t owe her anything,” said Blood Sword.

Night Light looked from the demon to the stairs, it wasn’t like he denied that that could be the case with that girl. However, the way Twilight looked concerned for that girl, he hadn’t seen that level of concern for anyone except one other girl she called her friend a while back, and then once again when it was Sunset Shimmer before she became her girlfriend. Now…

“Okay, I’ll show you mercy tonight. Mostly because that little bitch pissed me off and I really want to skin her alive, so I’ll just go up there and drag her out. There, aren’t I nice?” Blood Sword sped up the stairs before either parent could say or do anything. She cut down the first door on her right, but it was just a guest room. Then another door to her left, a linen closet. She did the same for another on the right, a bathroom, the next door on the left, a boy’s room. “Fifth time’s the charm!” With another series of slashes, she destroyed the door and found her target. “Bingo!”

Both girls screamed at the sight the demonic samurai, Twilight dropped her phone and Sugarcoat held onto Spike, mostly because she was scared, and because the little dog was trying to get out of her clutches, no doubt wanting to go and defend his owner from the obvious threat in front of them, but the last thing Sugarcoat wanted was to see her new friend’s dog get massacred, that, and bringing a psycho demon to said friend’s home.

“Hey there, Sugar Slut, did ya miss me?!” Blood Sword mocked.

Sugarcoat gulped and stood up. “T-Twilight, take Spike.”

“But…”

“DO IT!” Sugarcoat ordered.

Twilight quickly took her dog back, once that was done, Sugarcoat put herself between Twilight and Blood Sword. “I’m the one you want, don’t hurt her!”

Blood Sword scoffed. “Oh, I’m not, tonight I just want you!”

“Stay back!” Sugarcoat warned as she held up her right hand. “I sent you away once, I can do it again!”

Blood Sword hesitated, she still didn’t know how or what Sugarcoat did to push her out of Sour Sweet and back into its sword prison. Personally, she’d rather not do that again, for the first time in a long while she had to be careful. “Huh…you have me at a disadvantage, that’s never happened to me before, bravo.”

This is good, Sugarcoat thought. She doesn’t know that I used the Heart Stone to push her away. If I can stall her, or make her back off then maybe…

“Tell me something, do your abilities protect only you? Or others? For instance…” In a flash of incredible speed, Blood Sword disappeared and then reappeared right on top of Twilight’s bed, sword ready to cut down the purple skinned teen. “Can it protect the Whipping Girl from getting her head cut off?!”

Before that question could be answered, an intense pillar of fire shot down from the roof and right on top of Blood Sword. Twilight and Sugarcoat jumped away from the pillar and landed right at the foot of the door as they watched the flames pour down and then suddenly stop. There were scorch marks left behind by the hole it burned through, but miraculously, nothing else had caught fire. Down below, Blood Sword laid on her back in the middle of the master bedroom, she was aware of a pressure on her chest, when she looked up to see what the source of it was, she was surprised to see Ember there, looking all kinds of pissed.

“Oh, didn’t expect to see you–”

Ember blasted Blood Sword with a fireball to the face, interrupting her. The fiery heroine grabbed the demonic warrior by her armor and shot straight up into the air. Once in the air, Ember threw Blood Sword right towards the street where she impacted hard, creating a body sized crater.

“Wow…” Blood Sword spoke as she dragged herself out of the pit. “Someone is pissed off tonight…”

“Oh, ‘pissed’ doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel right now! There are no words to express how ‘pissed’ I am! So, in lieu of that, I’ll express them in a more primal way!”

Flames erupted around Ember, transforming her into her Dragon Form. The mighty dragon roared with great fury into the air, shaking houses and setting off car alarms from the sheer force of it. Blood Sword charged her blade and slashed the air, releasing a crescent energy wave straight for Ember. Dragon Shimmer ignited her claws and swatted the crescent away as if it were an annoying fly.

[b]“Shit…that’s not good,” said Blood Sword.

The gaps in Dragon Shimmer’s armor-plated body released more flames, those flames then took the form of serpents which then shot straight towards Blood Sword. The demonic warrior back flipped a few times and slashed at the closest ones with her sword. However, each time she cut them down, two more sprung up in its place. Eventually, there were dozens and dozens of them, all of which were hissing embers and bearing down on her. The first few sunk their fangs into the armor of her arms and legs, a few others wrapped themselves around her body, and one around her neck. Dragon Shimmer lifted the Blood Sword into the air and then drove her into the street, the flaming dragon roared again as she charged forward, pushing Blood Sword through the road, upturning the asphalt and concrete as she did so.

Sugarcoat and Twilight got out of the house to see what was happening, but then Sugarcoat ran for her car, which was amazingly untouched amongst all that chaos. Twilight followed Sugarcoat and asked, “What are you doing?!”

“She’ll kill her, I don’t think Sour’s doing this of her own free will! That demon might be forcing her to fight, or worse, taken control of her!” Sugarcoat held up the Heart Stone on her right wrist. “This thing, it has the power to get it out of her, I did it once by accident, maybe I could do it again!”

Twilight, with a determined look, got into the passenger seat. “I’m coming with you.”

“It’s too dangerous!”

“I wasn’t asking for permission, besides, in Sunset’s current state, I may need to talk her down!”

Sugarcoat couldn’t argue with that, she’d have a hard time convincing Sunset to stop even under normal circumstances. “Buckle up, I’m about to put all those action movie chase scene moves to use!”

Sunset didn’t know how it ended up like this, but somehow it did. After their epic laser tag win, and takeout dinner at her place, they ended up doing it again. Although it felt a lot different this go around, perhaps it was because there wasn’t a lingering fear of death the next day, or that this was victory sex. No, this was different, this was something that normally happened on date, some dates anyway. Coming back to your home with the person you love to share a night of passion after a fun first date, although it had a minor hiccup, it wasn’t all that bad.

Both girls lied in the hanging bedroom, Pinkie was cuddled up against Sunset, resting her head in the crook of her arm, while Sunset had her right arm draped around Pinkie. Sunset sighed in content, this was how things were supposed to be, no bad stuff happening, just her and her girlfriend.

Pinkie Pie stirred a bit as she opened her eyes and looked up at Sunset. “That was fun.”

“I’m glad,” Sunset replied.

“I’m starting to think you have a breast fetish, Sunset.”

The former unicorn blushed and looked away with a pouting face. “I do not!”

“Uh-huh, you were making out with my dirty pillows a little more than my lips, both of them,” Pinkie teased.

Sunset snorted, a habit she hadn’t kicked, snorting was usually a way to show that a pony was annoyed or angry, or just being stubborn. While it wasn’t very ladylike Sunset didn’t really care. “Ugh…okay, fine, I admit it, I do! But give me a break, in Equestria, the only time a mare’s teats are as big as ours – or even close to it – is when they’re pregnant or if they modify themselves with magic…So I may have gotten a little too into them…”

Pinkie giggled and leaned up to kiss Sunset on the cheek. “I don’t mind, it felt really good. But answer me this…do you suck yours when you masturbate?”

Sunset’s face was even redder. “I plead the fifth.”

“Knew it!” Pinkie, with surprising swiftness, maneuvered herself so that she was now straddling Sunset’s hips. “But you don’t have to do that anymore. You have me now, and I’m more than happy to suck your fun bags! See!”

“Pinkie wai – aaaaaahh~” Sunset moaned as Pinkie latched her lips around her right breast and began suckling. “Oh shit…that feels good~”

Pinkie stopped her suckling and used her right hand to grope Sunset’s left breast. “Hmm, you know, a little whip cream, and I can turn you into a nice Sundae.”

“That…was so corny,” said Sunset.

“I didn’t hear a no~”

“I don’t have any whip…” Sunset cut herself off when she saw Pinkie reach into her puffy curly locks and pulled out a can of whip cream, “…cream. Shoulda known.”

Pinkie shook the can and smiled deviously. “Yeah, you shoulda.”

Unfortunately, not a dollop of whipped cream was able to be applied, as that was the time the Witchblade shined. }}} Sunset, I sense a great anger! {{{

“It’s probably me because I’m having a really good time, and some little shit is about to get their ass kicked for ruining it!” Sunset threatened.

“What’s wrong?” Pinkie asked.

“Witchblade senses something bad is going down…I gotta go…”

Pinkie nodded and got off Sunset, the flame haired girl swung her legs over the edge and stood up. The moment she did, the Witchblade activated, wrapping Sunset’s body in the revealing, mystical, living armor.

“Did I ever tell you how hot you look in that?” Pinkie asked.

Sunset smirked as she looked at Pinkie from over her right shoulder. “Yes, but I never get tired of you telling me.” Just then Sunset’s cellphone rang, she saw Twilight’s name appear and quickly answered it. “Hey, Twi, what’s up?”

{Sunset, you have to help! Sun’s fighting that demon, Blood Sword! It turns out that she’s a student from my school who’s possessed! I think we have a way of separating the two, but you must get to Sun before she kills Sour Sweet!}

“Oh shit! Y-Yeah, I’m on it!”

“That bad?” Pinkie asked.

“Yeah,” Sunset got onto the bed and gave Pinkie a passionate kiss before pulling away and smiling. “I love you.”

Pinkie blushed and happily replied, “I love you too.”

Sunset dashed out of her room, leaped over the staircase railing, and burst out of the backdoor. Metallic bat wings grew from her armor, and with one flap she took off and zoomed into the air. It didn’t take her long to spot where her little sister was having her rumble, the flickers of flames were a dead giveaway. With her destination fixed, Sunset jetted in that direction with a great burst of speed. Houses turned to blurs, the wind howled all around her as she continued on her trajectory, and in less than a minute, Sunset managed to find her little sister and their apparent victim/enemy.

Dragon Shimmer was bellowing flames upon Blood Sword, with the latter using their blade to cut the flames in half. Blood Sword used her left hand to make a hand sign and called out, “Raijingukurēn (Rising Crane)!” Blood Sword slashed upwards with her sword, creating a vertical energy wave that rose and cut the street as it traveled forward. Dragon Shimmer cut off her fire blast and quickly dove to the right avoiding the attack, however, that just put her in position for Blood Sword’s next attack. “Chimamire no Tsubasa (Bloody Wings)!”

Blood Sword’s back sprouted scarlet light wings that flapped as one and propelled Blood Sword into the air. Those same wings wrapped around her and wrapped into a spiral. Dragon Shimmer took the attack straight to her broad chest, the spinning light tornado drilled against her chest armor, scraping, and grinding, tearing at the armor as Blood Sword drove her attack forward. The infernal dragon roared as she released a huge burst of flames from her body, making Blood Sword’s attack skid off and away from her. Dragon Shimmer hissed in pain, seeing a gash on her chest that leaked molten ichor. Thankfully, her healing abilities kicked in and sealed the wound, Blood Sword halted her attack and let her wings flare once again.

“You’re really stubborn, you overgrown lizard! But I have a girl to kill and you’re annoying me!”

Before Blood Sword could do anything, Sunset appeared behind the demonic warrior and punched her in the back of her head, sending Blood Sword flying and into a building. Dragon Shimmer saw this, reverted to her humanoid form, and flew over to Sunset. “Sis, you’re here! How?!”

“Twilight called me, said you were fighting Blood Sword, and that Blood Sword was actually someone from your school,” said Sunset.

“Seriously?! Who?!” Sun asked.

“She said…Sour Sweet, I think?”

Sun’s expression became aggressive again as she turned in the direction that Blood Sword flew. “Oh, this just gets better, that’s the bitch that tried to mutilate Twilight! This is my lucky day!”

“Hold on!” Sunset put her hand on Sun’s shoulder to stop her from going. “Look, that sword might be controlling her, and if it is, we have to help her!”

“After what she almost did to Twilight?!” Sun spat, along with some flames from her mouth.

“Look, I’m not saying you have to forgive her, but if it turns out that that was because of her being possessed, then you’ll kill an innocent–” Sun raised an eyebrow at that, “semi-innocent girl.” Sunset corrected.

Sun growled but shook her head in understanding. “Fine, but I’m going to hit her really, really fucking hard!”

“I’m okay with that. We need to hold her down,” said Sunset.

“That should be easy enough.”

Sunset and Sun charged straight for Blood Sword, the demonic warrior dragged herself out of the rubble, but only to get struck by two uppercuts at the same time that sent her straight up into the air. Sunset and Sun flew in opposite directions, circling around and intercepting the demonic warrior in the air. In unison, both Sunsets laced their right and left feet, respectively, with flames and came down with a double flying kick. They drove their heels into the chest of Blood Sword, sending all three of them falling straight back down to the ground once again. Sunset and Sun jumped out of the crater they had created, and at the same time, they jumped out the crater along with Blood Sword, the latter looking quite perturbed.

Sunset formed chains that snaked off the armor and zoomed straight for Blood Sword, at the same time, fire serpents coiled around Sun’s arms just before she thrust them forward and launched the fiery snakes at their target. The chains quickly latched themselves around Blood Sword’s left arm, while the snakes wrapped around her right arm. The two constricting constructs continued to coil until they wrapped around Blood Sword’s chest and legs, effectively immobilizing the possessed teen.

Just about then they spotted a car in the distance, that same car – which had several dents in it – came to a screeching halt a few feet from where the three were standing. The twin Sunsets immediately saw Sugarcoat as the driver, and the passenger, Twilight, was in the middle of death gripping whatever she could get her hands on. Sugarcoat got out of the car and began walking towards them, Blood Sword immediately began thrashing against her restraints.

“Sweets, what the hell are you doing here?! Get back!” Sun ordered.

“It’s alright, I think I can help! She came after me because I did something that made that demon go away!” Sugarcoat fixed her gaze on the possessed Sour Sweet with determination burning in her eyes. “If I can do it again, then all we have to do is deal with that sword!”

“Fucking whore! Like I’d let you push me out again! That’s it, I was saving this move because it takes a lot of power, but dammit, you’re all worth it!”

Suddenly, blades of blood erupted from Blood Sword’s body, dicing her up and allowing the severed parts to slip through the chains and fire serpents. This caught everyone by surprise, and in Twilight and Sugarcoat’s cases, made them throw up a little in their mouths. The severed pieces released ropes of blood that connected each of them back to each other, pulling the pieces up and away from both warriors and put her in the middle between Sugarcoat and the two Sunsets. Blood Sword reassembled herself and took her stance, the air grew heavy as thin scarlet light outlined her form.

“Die all of you…Higurashi–!”

“NO!” Sugarcoat shouted as she thrust her right arm forward. As soon as she did this, the Heart Stone glowed bright orange and released a pulse of energy that washed over Blood Sword. The moment the pulse hit her, Blood Sword paused in her actions, her eyes shifted from their red color to orange. “Sour Sweet, I don’t know if you’re in there, but please, fight back against this thing!”

“Sugar…coat…?”

“NO! This bitch belongs to me!” Blood Sword asserted.

Sun moved closer readying herself to attack, however, Sunset put herself in front of her little sister and shook her head in the negative to not to interfere, at least not until something went sideways.

Sugarcoat could feel the demon’s will fighting against her, this evil entity was trying to regain control of Sour Sweet. The good thing was, Sugarcoat could feel that Sour Sweet wasn’t willingly doing as the demon wanted, this was against Sour Sweet’s will, and so long as that remained true, then there was a chance to separate them. But how…? How do I do this?! I don’t even know how I’m keeping her still like this!

~ You’re more talented than you think, Sugar. ~

Sugarcoat’s eyes widened when she heard that voice. Her eyes shifted to the right and there she saw the ghostly form of her deceased grandmother, Candycoat. “Grandma…?”

~ The Heart Stone responds to your will, Sugarcoat. You banished the demon from your friend when you wanted it to go away. And you’re restricting it because you don’t want it to hurt anyone. It took me months to learn how to manipulate auras like that, it appears you resonate with the Heart Stone more than I thought, ~ said Candycoat happily.

“This thing is strong, last time was a fluke, its guard was down! It’s resisting me now!”

~ You can do it; you are my granddaughter. Plus, your friends seem to believe in you. ~

Sugarcoat looked behind her and saw Twilight, she had a confident look on her face as she said, “You can do it, Sugarcoat!”

“Twilight…”

“C’mon, Sweets!” Sun shouted as well. “Get that demon out!”

“Sunset…” Sugarcoat furrowed her brow and gripped her right forearm with her left hand. The Heart Stone crystal began to shine brighter and brighter, coating Sugarcoat in an orange aura, and making her eyes glow the same color. “You don’t own that body; it belongs to someone else! Get out of Sour Sweet’s body, I COMMAND YOU!”

Another pulse of orange energy rushed forward and crashed against Blood Sword, followed by a third, a fourth, and a fifth wave. Pulse after pulse of the Heart Stone’s energy continued to hit Blood Sword, like waves crashing against the face of a cliff, and for Blood Sword, it felt as much. It felt as if the demon was going to be washed away and taken by a riptide, however, its lifeline, Sour Sweet’s soul, managed to keep it just barely hanging on.

“You little bitch, fight back! Resist her, or I swear I’ll kill everyone you care about, and then save you for last!” Blood Sword threatened.

Sour Sweet growled in anger, enough was enough. “I’ve had it with you!” she furiously stated. “I’ve been your plaything for long enough! Get out! GET OUT OF MY BODY YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!!!”

Another pulse hit Sour Sweet’s body, and now the demon held on by a mere thread, a thread that was rapidly dissolving with each passing nanosecond. Sour Sweet’s body tensed up as Blood Sword stated, “Fine, keep this weakling bitch, but I’m taking some compensation before I do!”

The armor around Sour Sweet disappeared, revealing Sour Sweet back in her normal clothing. However, when that happened, cuts started to form around her body, and from those cuts gushed out blood in streams that made Sour Sweet scream in pain. The blood coalesced into the shape of a female, with curved horns and glowing red eyes. Sour Sweet’s body collapsed onto the ground and released the katana, upon doing so, the blood demon opened her hand, and immediately the sword flew to the blood demon’s hand.

“This is my compensation for my departure! Sayonara assholes!” Blood Sword mocked as she jumped to the side and struck the ground with the sword, sending up a plume of dust into the air.

“SOUR SWEET!” Sugarcoat shouted as she ceased using the Heart Stone’s power and rushed towards Sour Sweet’s body.

“Sun, get after that thing, I’ll take care of Sour! Go!” Sunset ordered.

“Got it!” Sun hurried off to look for the Blood Sword, all the while planning to do so either way. I’ll find that damn sword and add one more Artifact to my vault! And…I need more info on what Sugarcoat used to stop that demon, if I’m lucky, it’s another Artifact, which, at this rate, it probably is! Things are looking up!

Once Sunset saw Sun go after the blood demon, she rushed over to Sour Sweet’s body, sliding in on her armored knees and stopping right before the teen girl’s body. Sour Sweet’s breathing was erratic, blood was still pouring from her open wounds, Blood Sword had sliced her from the inside around her major arteries to ensure that one of them would have to stay behind and tend to Sour Sweet. Convening demon. Sunset hurriedly placed her armored right hand onto Sour’s chest, the ruby gemstone at the center began to shine brightly, releasing healing energy waves into Sour’s body.

“Hang on, you’ll be okay, I promise!” Sunset stated.

“C’mon, Sour…” Sugarcoat prayed.

Twilight came up next to Sugarcoat, placing her hands on her friend’s shoulder in a show of support. Right now, she wasn’t sure how to feel about all of this. Sour Sweet was top among the girls who tormented her during her time at CPA, but from what she could tell from this whole incident, it seemed as if she was under the influence of a demonic force. How much of that was the demon, and how much of that was Sour Sweet herself was something that Twilight needed to determine before she could say for sure how best to regard Sour Sweet, so for that reason, she hoped that Sunset was able to heal Sour Sweet, if for only the opportunity to answer Twilight’s questions.

The miles were long, but the goal would soon be in sight. Adagio, Sonata, and Aria managed to steal a RV, to the delight of Sonata, without having to kill anyone. The poor guy just forgot his keys and forgot to lock his doors, one could call it a stroke of providence, but Adagio just called it dumb luck. Still, they had already left the city of Manehattan, and were far out of the state, so now they were on the long road back to Canterlot City.

Sonata was in the back making a late-night meal for the two of them, while Aria took the first shift of driving. Adagio sat at the table and stroked the top of the music box, despite her calm demeanor, on the inside, Adagio was nervous. Her endeavors up until now have ended in failure, trying to bring Equestria under their control ended with them getting banished to this goddess awful world. Her second scheme ended with their gemstones getting shattered to pieces, leaving them completely powerless. Her third, albeit not really a plan, ended up with the three of them becoming common whores and nearly ended up with all three of them becoming sex slaves, or worse, dead.

Three failures, three sisters, and now this was Adagio’s fourth, and quite possibly, last plan. To fail meant either death or a humiliating defeat, but Adagio didn’t want to think about that, all she wanted to think about was how to win, how best to strike against Sunset Shimmer and her friends. How best to use the power of the music box to make that pony bitch obey Adagio’s commands. And how best to deploy the music box’s power should Sunset Shimmer refuse to surrender to them.

The music box’s power amplifies based on my emotions, and when we sing together, the range of its power is amplified. It would take time for me to start the song, which could give Sunset Shimmer and her lot time to rush us and stop me from singing. I’ll have to have Aria and Sonata act as the distraction, stay close by ready to sing.

However, her plans were still evolving, especially since the introduction of the city’s new guardian, Witchblade, and the fire wielder. Adagio didn’t know the full extent of their powers, nor did she know how they’d react to her and her sisters. Witchblade had been shown to dispatch monsters with lethal means, there was no doubt that if Witchblade saw what they were doing, she’d kill Adagio or her sisters on the spot.

That scared her more than losing to Sunset, Witchblade was the wild card, Adagio lost because she didn’t take into account Sunset’s presence. If she didn’t plan for Witchblade’s possible interference, then it would mean their death.

Calm down…there has to be a way to ensure that we come out on top, just go through the variables…but I don’t have enough information on Witchblade to know what she’ll do, or if she’s close to Sunset Shimmer!

“Hey, Dagi, you alright?” Sonata asked.

Adagio snapped herself out of her thoughts and nodded to Sonata. “I’m fine, Sona. Just trying to think of how we approach Sunset Shimmer and her little group.”

“Well I hope so! I don’t want to be driving all this way just to find out you made something up on the spot,” Aria called out from the front.

Adagio rolled her eyes, but she knew Aria was right.

“What if we trick them?” Sonata suggested.

“And how would you – HOLY SHIT – ARIA, LOOK OUT!” Adagio shouted.

Aria looked back at the road and someone in violet colored robes was on the street. The tomboy of the group slammed the brakes hard and made everyone lurch forward, the tires screeched to a halt, and threw some items about the cabin. Aria’s heart raced as she tried to slow her breathing, when she looked back up, she saw that there was no one.

“The fuck…?” Aria looked back behind her and asked, “You guys alright?!”

Sonata, who had been thrown to the floor, slowly got up and rubbed her head. “Ow…that’s going to leave a bruise…”

Adagio slid herself out of the seat, rubbing her stomach as when Aria hit the brakes, her body went forward and hit the edge of the table. “Ugh…I think you just crushed my uterus with that fast stop…”

“Not like you were using it for anything anyway,” Aria snidely commented.

“Ha-ha, funny.” Adagio got up and walked towards the front, she and Aria looked out the front window, but spotted no one. “Did we hit that person?”

“It didn’t feel like we hit anything,” said Aria.

“Aria, hit the outside lights.” Aria did as she was told and flipped a switch on the console that made the RV’s outside lights turn on, illuminating the sides and back of the vehicle. Adagio scanned the area but could see nothing through the front window. “Sonata, can you stand?”

Sonata slowly got up and nodded. “Head still hurts, but I’m fine, I think.”

“Okay, I need you to look out the back window and see if there’s anyone out there.”

Sonata carefully made her way all the way to the back of the RV, she climbed onto the bed and moved the curtains to see outside. “There’s nothing back here!”

Aria and Adagio looked at each other with confusion, Adagio was sure she saw someone there, Aria definitely saw someone too otherwise she wouldn’t have braked like that. Adagio, keeping the music box close, walked towards the door, but was stopped by Aria.

“What are you doing?!” Aria demanded.

“I’m going to go and check outside,” said Adagio.

“I don’t like this, Adagio, it’s freaky!”

Adagio rolled her eyes. “Please, don’t go thinking this is one of your slasher or monster movies, lest I remind you that we’re the ones with the box that brings death, and we’re technically considered monsters ourselves. So, if there’s anyone who should be afraid, it’s the one outside that door.”

“Won’t mean much if you get stabbed in the throat, or through the heart, or shot!” Aria rebutted.

Well…she does have a point there. Adagio walked over to the kitchen area and drew out a butcher’s knife, while keeping the music box cradled in the crook of her left arm. Aria didn’t seem happy, but she was satisfied that her big sister was better armed. The two little sisters watched as their big sister opened the side door, letting it gently swing open. Adagio walked down the steps, keeping the knife pointed outward to make sure if there was someone, they knew to back away.

Once she made it to the bottom step, she took a quick glance to the left and then the right, there was nothing. Adagio took one more step and was now on the ground, still on alert, she quickly looked under the RV, but could see no one hiding underneath, nor any legs that indicated someone was on the other side. The eldest Siren made her way towards the front of their procured transportation and inspected for any damage. However, when she did, there was nothing. No blood, no dents, no nothing.

I know I saw someone there, thought Adagio. Maybe I should sing to make sure that there’s no one waiting to try and kill us.

Before she could do that, Adagio got a feeling. A feeling as if someone just walked over her grave. She started to go into a cold sweat, and for some inexplicable reason, she turned her head to the left. There, in the distance, in the middle of the grassy clearing, was the same violet robed person who was standing in the road not a second ago. Adagio furrowed her brow and quickly walked towards them, she stopped about ten or so feet away from them, watching this unknown person closely.

“What the hell do you want?! You almost became roadkill!”

The figure did not respond.

“Why were you standing out there?! Do you have a death wish?! If so, I’m more than happy to grant it!” Adagio threatened.

The figure had its hood up, unfortunately, due to it being nighttime, it was hard to make out the person’s face amongst the shadows cast by their hood. The same could be said for the figure’s feet, the grass was tall, and made it hard to see the figure’s legs.

“Hey…are you listening to me?” Adagio asked cautiously.

The figure’s head tilted upwards, and from the shadows of that hood, violet colored eyes shined. Before Adagio could utter a gasp, her eyes shined violet as well. She dropped the knife, and then dropped to her knees. Adagio took the music box into both of her hands and for some unknown reason, the box’s lid cracked open ever so slightly. Adagio began to sing again, but the song was different, it wasn’t the same death song she and her sisters were singing when they used the box’s powers.

“Hear my song~
Rise up from the depths
Your sufferings been long~
With hate in your heart
You’ll soon depart~

Return to this world
Heed my command~
Rise up I say
This I demand~!

Rise up! Rise up~
Your time has come
Rise up! Rise up~
Your heart will thrum!

Rise up for hate
Rise up for fate
Rise up! Rise up!

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisssssssseeee…Uuuuuuuuuuup~!”

The robed figure’s eyes ceased shining, the box’s lid shut, and Adagio’s eyes returned to normal. Aria and Sonata ran out of the RV, clever and knives in hand as they rushed out to help their big sister. Upon arriving to Adagio’s side, all they found was Adagio on her knees with a spaced out look in her eyes.

“Adagio! Hey, Sis, what happened, why did you start singing?!” Aria asked.

They received no answer.

“Dagi! Please, Dagi, say something! You’re scaring us!” Sonata pleaded.

Adagio’s eyes fluttered, she then shook her head, feeling as if a fog had lifted from her mind. “What…What happened?”

“You tell me?! We started hearing you sing, and we saw some freaky dude in purple robes, that same one I almost ran over! But when we got out here, he was gone, and you’re spaced out! Did you use the box?”

Adagio looked down at the music box, she did remember something. “I did…”

“Did you kill him with it?” Sonata asked. “Did it vaporize him or something?”

“I…I don’t know…the song…it didn’t sound the same as the one that we used during our experiments. But…I think I know what this is now,” said Adagio.

“Really?” Sonata and Aria asked.

“It’s called ‘Pandora’s Box’,” said Adagio.

Sonata blinked and thought about that name. “Wait…during that time we were in Greece, wasn’t there a story about something called Pandora’s Box? Something about hope?”

“Close,” Aria corrected. “The story went that a princess named Pandora was given a box by the goddess wife of the god who created her. She was basically pissed at her and tricked the girl into opening it, unleashing all kinds of spirits that represented all types of destruction. She managed to close it and kept the last spirit safe inside, hope. That really can’t be the same box, that was just a legend!”

Adagio stood up and turned to her sisters. “As far as Equestria is concerned, we’re legends, and all legends have a core of truth at the center. Throughout the centuries, we’ve heard and seen things that are later distorted through either word of mouth or due to inaccurate accounts and record keeping. And sometimes they’re just done to embellish or hype up an event that was really less mundane or just extraordinary.”

That much neither Siren could deny, they had witnessed this many times over, the only ones who lived long enough to know what was false and what was true were the three of them. Although if they tried to correct anyone, they’d be called liars or trying to spread false information. The curse of immortality.

“Okay, but if that’s the real Pandora’s Box, what was it doing in some pawn shop in Manehattan?” Sonata pondered.

“It’s probably been handled through the centuries, changing hands from the wealthy and powerful, and then ending up in a pawn shop through no fault of its own. Now I’m starting to think that it was destiny that I happened upon that shop, I walked by it every day when I came home, I always felt a connection to it, and now I know. It’s a powerful magical artifact, as ancient as the stories behind it.”

“Okay…but what did that last song do?” Aria asked.

“No clue, I’m curious myself, but let’s not ponder it here.” Adagio looked around to make sure that the robed figure was gone. “I don’t want to take the risk that that person is just hiding and waiting for us.”

The Siren sisters hurried back to the RV and drove down the road, all while that same robed figure watched them drive away before disappearing in a whisp of purple glowing smoke.

The burning river of Hell, Phlegethon. In it many tortured souls clawed their way towards the surface to try and escape this searing pain, all of it would break any soul that was thrown in. But not her, Suri wasn’t going to let something like pain get in her way, nor was she going to let these – literally – damned souls stand in her way. She was robbed, robbed of her victory, robbed of her prestige, and robbed of her life. Why should she get sent to Hell? She had talent, wealth, and clout, she was going to become a famous fashion designer, known the world over, boys would throw themselves at her, girls would worship her, and all the power she would wield, able to deem what is popular and what is not, that was her destiny, but it was ROBBED.

“Sunset – fucking – Shimmer! Fucking, Rarity Belle! Those two took away my win! I SHOULD HAVE WON! That public school, trashy slut is nothing compared to me! And that punk, bad girl wannabe, how could anyone think she’s model material! The only place she belongs is in a back alley on her hands and knees!!!”

Another of the tortured souls grabbed at her ankle, but Suri kicked the man’s soul in the face, many times until she caved it in. Once he had let go, Suri climbed up, digging her nails into the back of the soul in front of her and leaving long bloody scratch marks as she climbed over her. Another soul did the same to her, but it only managed to get halfway before she elbowed the soul in the gut, followed by another kick to send it into a pile of others.

Suri had been making this climb again and again, she didn’t know how long she had been doing this, but each time she was getting a little closer. The pain was excruciating in the river of fire, every second of every minute it felt as if she was being burned alive. What made it worse was the healing, whenever her body burned up enough, it would just heal right back, and worse than that, her ability to become numb to the pain was gone. Which meant that the pain was fresh and new to her body every time her flesh returned. But that didn’t matter, she took the pain and used it as fuel.

This time, this time she was going to make it. Why was that? Because she could see the top of the river for the first time she didn’t know how long. Suri kept biting, clawing, punching, and kicking, breaking bones and getting some in return, but with each soul she pushed aside she got closer. After smashing the faces of two more souls, Suri did the impossible, she breached the surface of the Phlegethon River, she gasped as if taking in fresh air after holding her breath for a long time. Not wasting a moment, Suri dug her nails into the dirt of the dead land of Hell and dragged herself out of the river. Some of the souls tried to cling to her and pull her back in, angry that she made it out, or trying to use her to get out themselves.

“FUCK ALL OF YOU! I MADE IT OUT MYSELF! I WILL NOT BE USED AS A STEPPINGSTONE, YOU’RE ALL MY STEPPINGSTONES! NOW LET! ME! GO!” Suri demanded as she kicked the last soul back down into the river.

With that done, she crawled her naked self from the riverbank and onto land. She kept crawling more and more until she was sure that she was far enough away that the river couldn’t rise up and take her back, or that any wayward soul would try and drag her back. Suri flipped onto her back, her chest rising as she panted from the effort, but then she laughed, a victorious, maniacal laugh. “I did it…I did it! I got out of that river! I beat Hell! Aha hahahahahahahahaaha…ha……ha……”

Suri’s laughter died out when she saw a pair of bulky demons. One had a giant cleaver looking weapon in its right hand, while the other wielded a pitchfork, the tips were arrow shaped, while the shafts that connected them to the staff were barbed. The second demon, without a word, turned its pitchfork around and stabbed Suri in the gut with the weapon, driving it all the way through her. Suri let out a painful scream as she felt the razor-sharp barbs tear at her insides, a pain that was made even worse when that same demon lifted her off the ground. She was held up in the air by the pitchfork, the demon used gravity and momentum to make Suri slide down the weapon further, blood spilled from her wound and her mouth as she threw up her life ichor onto the demon’s large hand and weapon.

Despite the pain she was in, Suri managed to give the demon a look of defiance. “Fuck you…I made it…I got out of that river…! I beat you…! I want out…!”

The two demons chuckled at the human soul’s demands. There was no demanding anything in Hell, there was only pain, sin, and schadenfreude. Perfect example of which was displayed by the demon as it walked towards the bank of the Phlegethon and held Suri aloft over the burning river by the pitchfork, as if it was roasting a hotdog. Suri struggled against the demon’s pitchfork, trying to get herself loose, but every movement only tore her insides more and more, the blood loss weakening her and making her efforts all the more pointless.

“I won’t…go…back!”

Just as she said that a song echoed around her. A song that even the demons seemed to hear as they too looked around in confusion, there were no songs in Hell, the only music was that of the screams, roars, and shrieks. However, it was undeniable that it was music, a song sung by a beautiful voice. That song suddenly took on form as black, purple, and blue energy wrapped around Suri Polomare, that same energy snapped the pitchfork in half and released a wave of energy that blasted both of the demons and turned them to dust. The wound on Suri closed, revitalizing her.

“What’s…What’s going on?!”

Suddenly she felt a rising motion, and the landscape of hell was quickly shrinking beneath her. This was it, she was finally leaving this place, Suri looked up towards the metaphorical sky and grinned evilly.

Blood Sword had finally lost Ember, she had dogged her quite desperately, but she managed to give her the slip. However, that was only one problem solved. The blood from Sour Sweet was wearing thin, and her current form wouldn’t last much longer. If the demon wanted to continue to move about, it needed a host.

“More specifically, I need a willing host, I’d be far stronger if that little whiny bitch hadn’t been fighting me on every single thing!” Blood Sword complained.

At that moment, a figure appeared in the alley Blood Sword was walking down, this figure wore violet robes and had glowing violet eyes that shined in the darkness of its hood. Blood Sword brandished its physical container and growled at the figure.

“What are you?! A friend of Witchblade?!” Blood Sword received no reply. “Speak damn you or I’ll cut you down where you stand!”

The figure remained silent, it’s only reply was to raise its right arm and point down the alleyway to its right. Blood Sword couldn’t see its hand, its long sleeves kept its hand hidden, but the demon could make out a finger pointing from the outline of the sleeve. After pointing that way, the figure turned and walked down that same way.

“Not afraid of me…are you helping me? HEY!” Blood Sword called out as it dashed towards the intersection and turned down the same alleyway the figure did. “What?!”

But just as mysteriously as the figure appeared, it disappeared too. Not long after arriving in that alley, the ground beneath the demon cracked. A large fissure opened as an angry orange glow rose from the crack.

“Huh, I know that heat, that’s Hell. But why is a portal to Hell opening here?”

The demon’s question was answered as a sphere of black, purple, and blue energy rose from the crack. As soon as it did, the crack sealed itself back up, as if nothing had happened at all. The sphere dropped to the ground and dispersed, revealing a naked teenage girl with long curly hair. Blood Sword raised an eyebrow, figuratively speaking, upon witnessing this.

The girl rose to her feet and looked around, she then took in a deep breath of air and reveled in it. “I’m back! This is real air! Not sulfur or burning ashes, real fucking air!” The girl shivered a bit but still reveled in the sensation. “It’s cold, I can feel cold air on my skin, not burning flames! HAHAHAHA!” her elation stopped when she noticed Blood Sword standing there and staring at her. “Who are you?”

“Who am I? Who are you?! You just came out from a Hell portal!”

“Suri Polomare…Oh shit, don’t tell me you’re here to drag me back?!” Suri picked up a discarded glass bottle, took it, smashed it against the wall, and held out the broken end in a threatening manner. “I’m not going back; I’ll kill every demon I come across!”

“Okay, first, I like your spirit. Second, I’m not here for you, I quite literally just got here as you appeared,” said Blood Sword.

“Suppose I believe you, why are you here?”

Blood Sword stabbed the ground with her vessel and sighed. “Don’t know, I was following someone, they disappeared, and you pop out of the ground…Now I’m starting to wonder if that freak in the robes wanted us to meet.”

“How strong are you?” Suri asked as she threw the bottle away.

“What’s that?”

“How strong are you?! Are you a powerful demon?” Suri asked again.

Blood Sword smirked. “I am, but right now I’m in search of a host. I need one to get my revenge on some humans!”

Suri smirked as well. “Guess we have something in common, I have some scores to settle too. I was possessed by a demonic spirit before, I liked it. I liked the power, but I was killed by Witchblade!”

Blood Sword’s smirk widened. “I see, then we have a common enemy. Suri Polomare, was it?” The teenage girl nodded. “Perhaps this is fate. Our meeting was destined, tell me, after you’ve killed those you’ve wanted to kill, what do you plan on doing after?”

Suri sauntered over to Blood Sword, giving the blood demon a half-lidded gaze as she did so. “I don’t consider myself human anymore, not after the pain and suffering I went through down there, and I certainly have no intention of giving up on power. I want that back; I want the power I felt when I was merged with an existence that was powerful.” Suri stood before Blood Sword and placed her hands on either side of its face. “I want every human in this world to feel my pain, things like fashion and status aren’t real power. You, and others like you, are what power is.”

Thanks to the demon being made of blood, it was able to make its smile comically, and scarily, bigger than what was possible. “Oh, sweetie where have you been these last few years?! Are you sure you want this? You were already sent to Hell after bonding with a demon, do you want to risk going back there again?”

“I don’t plan on going back, but with that being said, I was going to be sent there one way or another. I wasn’t exactly a ‘good girl’ before I died and considering that I plan on murdering a couple of people, it’s inevitable. But I’m betting that with you, I can keep that from happening for a long while,” said Suri. “What do I have to do?”

Blood Sword, reluctantly, stepped away from Suri. “I will return to my vessel, and once you take hold of it, we will be one. Are you ready?” Suri nodded. In all honesty, as much as Blood Sword was liking this human, it was still skeptical, there was no guarantee that Suri wouldn’t just leave it there once the blood demon returned to its sword vessel. But this girl was different from those she had before. She was like those rare few it was able to bond with that reveled in murder. “Okay then.”

The body of blood broke down and slithered into the sword itself. The weapon glowed with a scarlet light, waiting to be drawn. Suri didn’t hesitate in the slightest, she wrapped her right hand around the hilt of the katana and drew it from its sheath. The moment this was done, the covenant was made, allowing the power of the Blood Sword to flow into Suri’s body. Years of fighting experience, killing techniques, and bloody memories melded themselves to her body and mind, and during this process, Suri could feel her soul and the demon’s merge together in a joyous union that was pure ecstasy to the both of them.

Dark red bandages wrapped around Suri’s chest, forming a makeshift bra, atop that was black and red, bearing the symbol of the Blood Sword. Her arms were covered in black sleeves, and upon her shoulders were pauldrons that were in the shape of demonic oni faces, with two horns each jutting outwards. Gauntlets wrapped around her forearms, the knuckles were spiked, and the fingers were sharp like claws, along the gauntlet were three razor sharp blades. Black leggings appeared, covering from Suri’s mid-thigh all the way down to her feet. The same bandage wraps materialized to form makeshift panties. A skirt formed around her waist, decorated with black flames, and embroidered with golden oni faces. Atop of that was an armored kilt, that also bore the same symbol as on the chest plate.

When the power began to form a helmet, Suri stepped in and said, “Don’t cover my face. I want them to see who it is that’s killing them, I want them to see the pure elation in my eyes as I end their lives!”

“Oh-ho I definitely like you better than that whiner!”

The energy reworked itself, creating a helmet that bore oni horns, it protected the sides of her face, and the back of her head, while allowing for a hole that allowed some of her hair to thread through in the form of a ponytail. When it was over, Suri looked over her new outfit, and she liked it. “Wow, I like this better than what I had last time.”

“What did you have last time?”

“The demon I let possess me transformed me into a spider monster, let me turn blood and flesh into sewing materials for my dresses.”

“Oh, I like that. But I think you can do a lot more with me than some lowly minor demon,” Blood Sword replied. “So, what’s first on our agenda?”

“Well, first I want food, and a lot of it! Seriously, Hell had a huge lack of edible anything. Then we’re going shopping. As much as I love this new outfit, it’s not exactly subtle for walking around in.”

“Fair point.”

“And then we’ll get you something to eat as well, build up your strength. And once we’ve done all that…The real bloody carnival will begin.”

The night I got the Witchblade was the beginning of everything.

The night Sun and I exorcised the Blood Sword demon from Sour Sweet…

That was the beginning of the end…