TEA SHOPPE TRANQUILITY, East City - Earth.

Hachi lifted his tea-cup to his lips and took a long sip, finishing the last dregs. He set it down gently as he stared at the mystical words etched upon the pages. They were displayed a variety of multi-colored inks. The magical nature of the inks made them bleed into each other, sometimes blurring the line between symbol and idea. The spell's instructions leaped off the page and into the mind, part of their encoding and activation. Even technology didn't have a way to do that.

There were VR simulations, but they still didn't train the mind the way a good spell-book did. The bucket-hat wizard raised his pen and etched the last bit of notes into his own personal journal. The translations were done, but now he was working on the subtleties of the spell. Being an alien, Bibidi didn't quite do magic the same way that most Earthling spellcasters did. It was quite exotic and unorthodox. The spells on the pages were as much riddles as they were formulas.

I got the big picture now, Hachi thought. Not sure how happy Lute will be with this though.

There was a measure of gratitude Hachi had for the Namekian retrieving the Book of Bibidi from the Demon Realm. But, at the same time, Hachi had been expecting a bit more from it. Mostly, he had been looking for a way to break the demonic pact he currently had with the foreboding makaioshin that trapped his soul and made it their puppet. The makaioshin was quite the powerful being, possessing ancient and powerful magic that Hachi couldn't dream of defeating. It made sense that he had covered all his bases. There wasn't a way around the pact it seemed, even the type of magic that made such pacts didn't hold the magical legalese he needed to shatter it.

He dropped the pen and leaned back, lacing his fingers behind his head and closing his eyes. Hachi had seen so many people come and go, life and death all moving past at an alarming rate. Agelessness had its huge downsides, it seemed. The day he died and made the pact, he had been a young man eager for more life and for power. Now, he was very old and despite the youthful appearance he kept. the rest of the grave is what he wanted now.

Kuueru had left minutes prior, probably to get something to eat. The demoness had been intrigued by his magical collection. No doubt she had been seeking answers. Hachi had each book marked and enchanted. He knew the ones she touched and what pages she flipped to. She was searching for power, as most demons did. Quite predictable. Everyone wanted power.

For what? Hachi mused. Power is fleeting anyway. It can only get you so far before it becomes redundant. Power begets more power.

Yet, he couldn't help but hope that Lute found the power he was looking for. The Namekian had agreed to free him of the makaioshin. That would be one hell of a battle. Hachi also had a strong feeling that his master would draw him into it, unwillingly. No doubt the fate would be Lute cutting Hachi down. That made for an interesting relationship.

The door jingled open and a looming viridian figure entered.

"Lute," Hachi said. "The book's translation is done."

---

Lute could see Hachi pouring over the Book of Bibidi. It made him feel better at least. The last few times he ran into the wizard, he had gotten the ill news that it wasn't done yet. He couldn't complain much about it though. At least it had given him time to secure the resources he needed to conquer Hollow. However, the two plans weren't mutually exclusive.

He wanted power. The book had been his first option. Lute hoped that there was a way to make a demonic pact, to get power from the Demon Realm that way. If that meant he needed to bind himself to a wizard, so be it. There had been other instances he read about in ancient libraries across the galaxy of demonic pacts that gave warriors untold strength. These warriors were given the name Majin--a title usually only reserved to the most powerful creatures in the Demon Realm. It was a testament to the potency of such an agreement.

Hollow, on the other hand, was a city containing vast amounts of dark energy. It was the type of raw ambient power that Lute could siphon away. He had inadvertently learned to do during his two years trapped there. It would be a good start, if any towards his aims.

"What did you learn?"

Hachi had his eyes closed and was casual as ever, like it were nap time. Lute felt it unsettling that the wizard refused to look him in the eye. So, he slapped his big green palms on the counter, leaning over it at him.

Both of the wizard's eyes flickered open and he sat up, shoving the book towards Lute. "You can make a demon pact, all right. Mark someone and amplify their power with yours. I fear though that this is an inferior spell. Bididi was a quaint wizard, he did some things that were amazing. But, the spells in here are really ancient and-"

Hachi paused with a strained look on his face. "Outdated. that's probably the best way to explain it. I don't think it's red herring though. It could prove quite useful for you, if you have minions under your command. You could bind them to you and lend them untold power. But, the issue I found here is that the caster of the mark would need to be strong already for the other to benefit from it."

Lute flipped through the pages. To him, it all still looked like gibberish still. He closed the cover and gave Hachi a fanged smirk, pointing to the handwritten journal beside it. "Very well. Once you're done with your translation notes, I'll take them off your hands. I'm sure I can make good use of this magic after all."

Lute turned as if he were going to walk away, but stopped. "Was there anything to help... your predicament?"

"No," Hachi said. "I've been searching for centuries Lute. I think it'll have to be done the hard way."

Lute knew what that meant. There weren't even any words he had to say. Only, that he agreed to help Hachi and wouldn't go against his word. Now, getting power meant even more, as someone else was riding on it.

"I am going to need your help with something else then," Lute said.

"The Hidden City," Hachi stated, his voice flat. "I figured you would. I heard they have some strong magic users there."

"I also will need Kuueru," Lute said. "I can feel her presence nearby, do you know where she went exactly?"

"Follow the smell of meat."

---

Kuueru would feel Lute's presence coming a mile away. Big and foreboding, dripping with malice and anger, edgelord supreme. The Earthlings packed into the restaurant had no idea. Auras were a foreign thing, something very few of them were in touch with. Yet, you could tell the way they shirked and adverted their gaze that some part of them subconsciously picked up on Lute's presence. The hostess didn't ask him where he was to be seated, nor greeted him upon his entrance. The woman stood, mouth agape as seven feet of green man strode past.

There was an open stool beside the demoness and Lute sat in it, elbows coming to rest on the polished wooden surface. The chubby business man on the stool beside Lute got up and shirked away, cupping his beer with both hands he did.

"You've gotten stronger," Lute said. "Seems you're putting the power I've awakened to good use."

The bartender asked him if he wanted a drink. Lute hand-waved him away.

"I know where Hollow is now. Looks like Kouzi wasn't lying to us after all."

He shifted, facing her. "Are you ready to conquer a city?"

WC: 1,358 | TWC: 2,166
Queen Kuueru

HYPERSPACE, En-route to Rendezvous Point

Shortly after their departure, Lute sent the encoded message out for the others to meet up with them at a jump point a few light years away from Hollow. Sure, the Namekian planned on doing most of the heavy lifting, followed by Kuueru and Hachi. The three of them were more than enough to take down the military forces within the city. It's just there were more complications than Lute first imagined with Hollow.

It wasn't like attacking a typical military objective. No, this was a city inside of a demon monstrosity's skull. It was was a veritable fortress. To make things worse, it was a source of untold dark energy, which could be siphoned and brandished by anyone smart enough. Lute fully intended to absorb as much of it as he could once he was there. But, he doubted he could get it all, not without harming himself.

The denizens of Hollow were mystical. Lute had learned from Marte that Prince Uno had been the name of the man that attacked him in the East City spaceport. He had also brought with him an entire guard of wizards.

The hours dragged on during their flight. 

Hachi sat in one of the passenger seats towards the back of the vessel, hat drawn across his face. He napped, his ripping snores filling the tiny chamber inside of the ship. Lute tried to ignore it, to be patient. Yet, each passing moment he found his nails digging into the leather of his seat more and more, even if the wizard was doing him a favor by being here.

Looking to break the silence, he swiveled in his pilot chair around, regarding Kuueru for a long moment with crossed arms and a furrowed brow.

"It's going to be a three part plan of attack," Lute said. "I've hired a crew of mercenaries from the Crusher Corps (Cam ). They have ships and guns we need to pose a threat, to make a show. They're going to serve two real purposes. The first is to distract and lure away Hollow's large military fleet. The second is to provide us with support troops after we land and capture. They will keep the sheer numbers off of us and when things are settled, help us secure our foothold and takeover."

Demons like herself were often flighty folk, more concerned with action than talk. Kuueru probably was glazed over and bored at this point. Lute felt it still important to brief her on the situation. 

"I imagine they will have some sort of of palace or citadel, where the rulers live. My goal will be to storm that and secure it. I already have a man on the ground there, someone I sent to do a little reconnaissance."

That person he sent was Marte. The kid would be there now, scoping it out and staying on the low. Lute had taught him a lot of the assassin arts, so he was fully confident in his pupil's capabilities. Upon arrival, the Namekian would rely on Marte's briefing to make last second decisions on the battlefield. So it was utmost importance that he not fail.

"You and Hachi are here to ward against the magical. Prince Uno was able to incapacitate me with a spell, when I was caught off guard. So, their magic is quite potent. I imagine it will be the least boring of the jobs, that's why I've decided to give it to you."

After a warning chirp from the nav-computer, the ship dropped out of hyperspace. The swirling vortex outside of the primary view-port dissipated into the vision of a graveyard of drifting ships and tattered rubble. Some random fleet engagement happened here centuries ago. They were in the middle of space-nowhere, a forlorn and abandoned jump point on the way to the storm-wracked nebula that Hollow called home.

Blips popped up on the scanner. Lute's stealth ship zipped through a large gap in the cross section of an ancient destroyer and they came into a clearing in the center of the ruin. Seven ships were adrift among the wreckage in a tight formation, fully intact and alight with activity and heat-signatures. Most were outrunner vessels, lightly armed and fast battle corvettes. They were meant for hit and run engagements and breaking through blockades. There was also one sizable Capsule Corp war cruiser with a large insignia of the Crusher Corp splashed across the belly its hull.

Lute had never seen one of the older models like that. It should have been sitting in a museum on Earth, not out in the black fighting space battles still. The thing had a smaller engine block than modern variants, but the entire front end looked like a battle tank--reminded him of the stone-beak sharks of New Namek. Bbristling rows of plasma cannons lining its back indicated the sort of firepower it was packing too. With a veteran crew aboard, he felt good about the deal.

Hiring the Crusher Corp was not cheap, after all.

The war cruiser hailed them under the name Dortmunder. Lute brought up a face on the holo-console.

"You must be Lute, out newest Namekian client I've heard so much about," the ship's captain said. He had a hooked nose, almost like a beak and a tuft of hair upon his head--one of the Litt race. An older model scouter sat over his eye, dinged and battle damaged. He looked every bit the hardened merc stereotype.

"You must be Hureo?"

"In the flesh."

"Good. You know the plan then. I want to make this swift and as painless as possible. If you can, try not to destroy too many of their ships. If all goes well, I will run this city and those will be my ships."

"War is war," Hureo replied with a shrug. "We'll try to keep it in mind. Emperor Carambolis sends his regards, by the way."

"Does he now?" Lute said, a fanged smirk crossing his lips. "I went through Sly (Sly ) for this one. I guess it reached Cam's ears after all. I'll send you the jump coordinates."

Lute sent the data over and gripped hold of the controls of his ship, passing Kuueru a furtive glance. "There's a turret control next to you. Feel free to help out. Just grab hold of the joy stick and move the cross-hair on the screen. It's like one of those Earthling video games."

He had no idea if the demoness had ever played video games. Hachi was still asleep. Lute didn't bother warning him after having to deal with all his snoring for so long. 

WC: 1,080 | TWC: 3,246
Queen Kuueru

HOLLOW, the Hidden City

The pieces were all in place. Hureo got the Crusher Corp ships moving, peeling away in a staggered formation from the graveyard of ships and flickering from motion as they entered hyperspace. Lute's stealth ship followed close behind as the Namekian waited for his smaller nav-computer to calculate the jump.  It wasn't easy, they were plunging into a place densely packed with debris and gravity wells. 

The swirling vortex of light lasted a moment. Then they emerged into a vista of swirling color and light. The gasses of the nebula churned and undulated through clouds of space dust. Lightning crackled like phantom fingers through the storm. Lute saw it with his eyes for the first time, Hollow. An enormous skull floating among the storm, glittering with lights in the ports of its eyes and the slit of its mouth. And he felt it too.

Dark power, lingering--the last legacy of whatever the colossus was that died here and had its severed head left behind. It was a bit concerning that its body was no where to be found. And it was even more so that something had the power to leave it in a decapitated state. Lute wished he could go back in time, witness its glorious and violent end. But, it was too late for that. There was a battle to be won.

The denizens of Hollow were ready. A fleet seven black warships prowled and broke formation to engage within seconds of the arrival. Each one was a cruiser shaped like a spade bristling with cannons and missile bays. Lances of energy shot through space, flickering and popping against the Crusher Corp shields.

The first few moments of battle were often the most important. It was when the steel and mettle of each warrior was tested. The fleet of Hollow showed their inexperience by going head on into the smaller Crusher Corp fleet. It was a charge, one both desperate and violent. They were going to use their superior firepower to win as quickly as possible. Except, the Crusher Corp ships were ready for that. The quicker corvettes spread out, threading between the Black Fleet's cruisers. Being lighter and faster made them capable of evading most of the death being spewed from the enemy gun bays. Also, they were close, meaning the Black Fleet had to avoid firing solutions that threatened their own allies.

Fighters and bombers poured forth from the bellies of the cruisers. The corvettes took to them immediately, chipping away at the numbers with their point-defense guns. Lute skirted the entire tangle of war, Kuueru dissolving even more unaware foes with the turret on his stealth ship. 

The Dortmunder was key in the Crusher Corp grand strategy. Its armored carapace and reinforced shields took plasma shot and missile head one after another. Great panels of ablative armor turned to ash and dust, peeling away like decaying flesh. It didn't sit idle, shooting back. The veteran gunner crews aboard worked like a well oiled machine, singling and converging on targets one at at time with their focus. It was all professional, and quite embarrassing to the enemy soldiers. Support fire from the corvettes also added to the mass of damage being pushed out all at once. The Black Fleet was frantic and bloodthirsty, shooting at anything that moved, and getting little done with it. 

The Crusher Corps actions remained contained and precise as the minutes wore on. Two of the black war cruisers exploded in bright novas, hurling debris across the void. Bombers aces had done their jobs well with the fighter escorts keeping them alive. The other Black Fleet ships realized that they had fallen into the enemy hands and began to back off, cautious with so much loss early on.

Despite that, Hureo called the retreat and the corvettes disengaged. One went down with the chasing gunfire, a loss felt but not anticipated. It was war after all. Death and pain was an inevitability. The big Capsule Corp cruiser made its wide and slow turn, engaging its engines and rear shields as shots pattered against it. It kept its broadside on the enemy as it moved away, chunking the enemy ships close enough.

The Crusher Corp were worth every penny. (Cam )

All the heat and bluster of the first few moments had ended. Lute knew that the two fleets would continue to battle, but it would be more of a cat and mouse game. Meanwhile, it was time to get the ground invasion off. They just had to reach Hollow first. 

The distraction worked perfect. Lute was past the Black Fleet. That didn't mean he went completely undetected. A dozen or so fighters lent chase after. Grimacing, he jerked the controls on his ship to sway in and out of the crackling bolts that threatened annihilation. In the distance, the massive skull loomed as they approached, its peerless grin a reminder that death awaited anyone who got too close.

Lute cared nothing for the threat, punching his engines to full speed as he tried to put some distance on their tails. The pilots in the small fighter vessels would prove elusive as Kuueru fired back on them. Lute hoped she could at least get a few down before all was said and done.

Glancing over his shoulder, Lute he wondered what Hachi was up to. Sleeping--still. Somehow. It didn't make any sense. Was the man in a coma? 

And then boom. The ship jolted and shuttered. Lute gritted his teeth as he jammed the controls back to change direction. All he felt was resistance. In fact, he couldn't see anything outside of the view-port. Only inky writhing darkness had encompassed them. It didn't make any sense--the skull had been within sight. Unless--

"They've gotten us with some sort of entrapment spell," Lute said.

Reaching out, the icy tingle of magic rushed down his spine. He glanced to Kuueru with a grimace on his face. "Can you take care of it?"

WC: 1,007 | TWC: 4,433
Queen Kuueru

The few remaining fighters that Kuueru didn't manage to shoot down broke formation, sweeping over what appeared to be a writhing mass of inky darkness floating in the middle of the void. Beyond, the grimacing skull of Hollow loomed, its gleaming "eyes" peering towards battle ahead. A battle that was turning into a game of hit and run. Hureo and the Dortmunder were definitely starting to put the Black Fleet to work.

They stayed just outside of gun range. Still, the spade-shaped warships fired lances of plasma after them. With the gap the attacks were easy enough to detect and avoid for the small outrunner corvettes. Desperate, the enemy turned to using direct energy weapons--high intensity lasers. But, the lasers were easily reflected countered by experienced crews. The outrunners deployed chaff missiles, which filled the vacuum with loose bits of sand and debris. In aeons past, could wipe out a ship that flew into them at high velocity. But, modern energy shields made that nonsense. However, the clouds really hurt the potency of lasers, turning them useless within an instant. The weapons were better used for mining these days anyway. 

The Crusher Corp fighters and bombers still continued to dog-fight and harass the Black Fleet, chipping away bit by bit. Missiles were next on the agenda, the Dortmunder unleashing a storm of them like some kind of ancient army's arrow volley. As the parade of them descended, the point-defense guns of the enemy warships snapped to life, intercepting them. Yet, numbers were numbers. A few were bound to get through-

-And they did, with violent consequence, exploding massively on impact. Another Black Fleet ship went down as one collided their engine block, popping at the seams with a great plume of flame and atmosphere.

---

Lute cut the engines as his ship strained against the constricting mass of blackness. The more it drove, the closer the ship came to being crushed. In fact, he could hear popping and creaking from the hull. Grimace on his face, he turned to see Kuueru preparing to break the binding magic. Hachi on the other hand remained deep asleep. Lute started to wonder if there was more to his little coma than let on.

Wizards had strange ways. He wondered if it were some sort of variation of a mystical trance, the sort he used to heal himself and prepare his body for battle.

Words of magic escaped the demoness's lips. The guttural tone and reverberation of the incantation sent shivers of excitement down Lute's spine. Both of her eyes shone with an eerie light, something not from this world. Her feet levitated off the ship's deck.

Lute had unleashed her potential, that much was true. But, in that moment felt more power there than had ever been there before. It filled the tiny vessel, threatening to blow out the walls from the inside as well. All the vibration and stress from both sources wasn't good for the ship. Lute prayed it would hold together, as the sounds turned to shrieking metal. Kuueru didn't even seem to aware of the presence inside of her, proceeding with the cast as if it were an usual occurrence.

She's drawing upon the dark energy in Hollow. It flows so freely into her. Because she is from the Demon Realm. It's like oxygen into her lungs.

The counter-spell obliterated the binding magic that trapped them. There wasn't even a challenge, it simply stopped being once she cast. The mass of inky tendrils turned to soft ash, flaking away in a great flurry as if they were instead trapped in a snow storm.

Lute checked the instruments and scanners. The fighters following them had written them off, flying away to support the bigger battle. That meant he was in the clear to proceed forward. Punching the engines, Lute's stealth ship shot off at the direction of the skull's left eye-socket. Unlike the right socket, nostrils, and mouth--it appeared to be an actual open port. No doubt this was the main way in and out of the city for its own ships and visitors.

The defenders of Hollow wouldn't let it be that easy though. Inside of the socket a set of intersecting door panels began to close inward, much like a valve. The closer the ship got, the smaller and smaller the entrance shrunk.

"Sit down Kuueru."

Gripping the controls, Lute leaned forward--kicking the engines into overdrive. The twin exhaust ports at the rear of the ship flickered white and hot. The ship rumbled with the sudden acceleration. Hachi, flailed in his sleep, luckily strapped still in. Lute held breath for a moment, uncertain if they would make through the tiny hole in time.

And they sure did. Kinda.

It cost them the ships wings, which snapped off upon entry. It was rather unfortunate too, as there was a bubble of pressurized atmosphere beyond the socket. The ship armor panels ignited with a flash at its great speeds, plummeting into cranium. Within seconds it was pulled downward by artificial gravity.

The inner part of Hollow was where the brain of this great monstrosity once had been housed, now turned into a sanctum. Buildings, foundries, universities, and enclosures were stacked all around the inner surface of the cranium. All things defied logic, pulled by the gravity force towards the outside. The center was open sky, all but for a single platform. If it could be described as such, the actual scale was far beyond that, making it larger than most cities on Earth. It bore lush gardens, ponds, and forests--a bit of nature among all dense industry that marred the outer walls. At the heart the greenery  rose a great palace of white stone and glittering silver. Above the palace was a single mass of mystical light, churning and swirling. It cast its glow like an artificial sun  to all corners. 

Lute couldn't do much to steer the ship, firing the engines in short bursts. The palace was probably where the leaders lived. So he wanted to go there. But, despite his best efforts the ship kept falling.

A few drawn out heartbeats later, it collided with the urbanized area directly below the left-eye socket. The ship plowed through several buildings--shaking, shrieking, and crumbling. It bounced back into the air only to strike a monorail bridge, tearing the vessel in half. The straps holding Hachi snapped and he was sucked out the great hole--hat and jacket fluttering away. As the stub of a ship continued it touched down again and skidded, obliterating duracrete, metal, and brick.

Lute unbuckled his restraints and rolled out of the tattered husk. Using his ki, he managed to course correct his tumbling body and slide to a stop on a nearby street. Smoke rose from the gash of burning destruction left behind by the crash landing. After a few hundred more yards, the battered fragment finally skidded to a stop and exploded into a single fireball of heat, flame, and bits of super-heated metal.

Crossing his arms, the Namekian levitated up as he surveyed Hollow's vast metropolis. Sirens wailed in the distance. The skull-city was on full alert now, no doubt. He saw citizens, of various xeno races, manly clad in mystical robes and exotic clothing--fleeing the crash scene. They were wide eyed with terror.

He hoped Kuueru had gotten out unscathed too, waiting for her and Hachi to catch up.

WC: 1,241 | TWC: 5,674
Queen Kuueru