Young Writers Society

Kratzer leaned back onto his heels, surveying his surroundings. The man wore the long trench coat and silver mask of der Silberfuchs and was as silent as the grave. The wind tugged at his clothes as his gaze wandered across a sleeping city. The blizzards were unprecedented this early in the year, and had set record lows for Berlin, much to the surprise of scientists and citizens alike.

The assassin was perched atop the very building Aegeas was hoping to seek refuge within. It was mostly vacant aside from the second-to-uppermost floor, in which sat Taipan, the Viper, Diamond, Sieben, and, perhaps most importantly, Cornyx Blackthorne. It was a twisted turn of fate that had pulled them all together. Hell's recent rebellion against Boomslang had gotten quite out of hand. With the Gates open, Hell's denizens now wandered the streets, terrorizing the mundane humans that wandered across Earth. Cornyx, as king, was in the best position to rein such things in but couldn't do so without assistance. It was in Diamond's, Viper's, and Kratzer's best interest to aid him sheerly out of wanting to protect the humans and Boomslang had sent Sieben and Taipan to help because she couldn't maintain power over a fragmented nation torn by civil war.

One could say that things had gone to Hell in a handbasket. There was a certain irony in Aurick's words from so many years ago - "The gates will open when Hell itself freezes over. Don't worry so much, lad."

He ran his fingers over the pommels of his blades as he scanned the snowy roads. There - figures, several of them. Something about them made him nervous. There was something different. Wrong.

Kratzer put a hand up to his earpiece. "It's Silberfuchs. We've got six strangers on the west side, one unconscious. I'm going to investigate. Stand by."

The piece buzzed as a static response came in, the voice even and cool. "It's Cornyx. Taking up watch."

Der Silberfuchs clambered down the side of the wall, a shadow in the moonlight before alighting on the ground and striding towards the group, mask and all.

"Hallo," he greeted. "Bitte geben Sie hier Ihren Namen und Zweck an." ((Please state your names and purpose.))

Hero, Lorcan and Second instinctively moved to form a tighter group, darkness dancing at all of their fingertips as they watched the strangely dressed newcomer. He spoke a language that they couldn't completely understand. If Hero focused, he thought he could make out a word or two, but even that was uncertain.

He glanced over at the other person from their world. Kartiel's eyes settled on a color: purple. His glasses had been lost somewhere in the teleportation, but it wasn't like he had truly needed them. Black scales had begun to line the sides of his face and the back of his hands, a soft hiss punctuating the air as wild strands of darkness licked at the air around his feet.

"He said hello," Lucifer quietly said, his tail nervously wrapping around his legs. "He wants to know who we are and why we're here."

"...It's Der Silberfuchs," Magic suddenly commented from Hero's arms, shifting with a groan. "...First, not second..."

Magic unsteadily got to their feet. God moved to stop them, but they staggered over to where the man was standing-

-only to promptly lose their balance and go tumbling into him.

"I'm sorry, Engel," they weakly whispered. "...My body's still adjusting..."

They grabbed for a nearby lamppost trying - and failing - to steady themselves. They glanced at the others present. "It's alright," they reassured the group. "Most of you have met him."

They looked back at the masked man.

"You should take off your mask, Engel," they said. "You're scaring them."

"I'm so sorry!" Taber said, stepping back from the man in the cape and mask. "I didn't mean to intrude. I'm Taber, and this is Aegeas I'm holding."

Aegeas waved awkwardly, then looked over at Magic. "I think I'd know if I'd ever seen him before," the otter said, gesturing to the man and his mask.

"Oi, careful zere, mädel," he said, this time in English, concern instantly in his voice as Magic stumbled and he leaned forward to steady them. He looked up at the rest of the group and hooked a thumb under his mask, pulling it off. "You might know me better as Kratzer. Or Engel Jäger, but Kratzer's the preferred name." He recognized Magic, Dean, Lucifer, Taber, and Kartiel. The tall one and the green-haired one were both familiar but he couldn't place them, where he had no frame of reference for the otter. He glanced around, then put a finger to his earpiece and switched into into Demonic.

"Silberfuchs. All clear. Escorting the group in. Viper, meet me at the front. Repeat, Viper, meet me at the front." He looked back to the group and switched into English once more, his German accent all but gone entirely. "If you have any weapons, I'm going to have to ask that you surrender them and once we're in we're going to have to request that you consent to a search. The Viper will meet us in the entrance and we've got a dragon on the roof. You're a nice enough group, from what I know of you, and I'd like this to go smoothly. It's all just protocol - nothing personal. If you resist, we will use force."

"Wow!" Taber said. He set Aegeas down and run up to Kratzer. "I knew I knew that voice!" Beaming, he reached out a paw. It seemed like Kratzer had a job to do, but maybe he wouldn't mind a handshake (or a hug, but Kratzer didn't seem like the type of person to like that). "I haven't seen you since that masquerade! Actually, since we couldn't see each other's faces, I guess this is the first time I've seen you!" Taber laughed. "How have you been?"

Kratzer took it, mostly out of politeness. "Ah, well, as good as one can be when there's civil war and a rebellion," he answered with a wry smile. "We'd best keep this quick - it's dangerous on the streets." He pulled his mask and hood back over his face as he spoke.

Taber shook Kratzer's hand vigorously, then let go. "Oh no!" he said. "Even with a dragon and everything?"

“No matter how powerful a soldier, numbers may always overrun them,” he replied simply, turning to the rest of the group expectantly. He couldn’t bring them inside until they surrendered their weapons.

"Are we just going to go with him?" Kartiel hissed into Hero's ear; his voice had a distinctively enderman-esque tone to it. "We don't even know him, and I don't like the idea of consenting to a search."

Hero turned and stared at him. "Do you have anything on you?"

Kartiel faltered. "No."

"Then it's not a problem," Hero pointed out.

"Yes it is!" Kartiel replied, his voice still little more than a whisper. "We don't even know them, and I'm sorry if I have a little trouble trusting someone who says to give up our weapons. I'm not going to walk into a situation that can get me killed again - the first time was bad enough."

Hero just gave him a look before turning back to face Second and Lorcan instead. Kartiel stifled a groan, refusing to let up any of his defenses - the scales, the darkness or the color of his eyes. He might not have been to Berlin before, but he could figure out his way around the city. He could even be their teleporter, if the need arose. They didn't have to go with these strangers.

A short distance away, God crossed his arms.

"Normally, I'd accept," he said. "But, given our history - and given who you work for - I'm not sure I feel safe leading this group into your base."

Lucifer glanced over at his brother, then gave a small nod.

Magic's grip on the lamppost tightened. "I can feel it," they said, their voice quiet. "Your reality's wrong..." They narrowed their eyes, deep in concentration, then gave a small nod. "...Demons have escaped Hell...They're the danger, aren't they?"

They glanced back at the rest of the group.

"We should go with him," Magic said. They were gaining a little bit of strength in their voice, and standing a bit straighter. "They're safe. We need safety until I can hop again."

Aegeas reached for his scimitars, stepping away from the Kratzer. "I'm not sure I'd be any safer without my weapons," he said. "Even if it's protocol and all. And Taber can vouch for you, but Taber vouches for...everyone."

Taber sighed, frowning. "I'm so sorry," he said, turning to Kratzer. "I can convince him, I just need a second. Also, I have claws. Is that going to be a problem? I can't really get rid of them; they don't really retract like some cats I know."

"Look, Dean," Kratzer said, "what happened last time was unfortunate, but at the moment, we have greater concerns to worry about than who's on which side. Boomslang, Cornyx, and Viper are all working together - and, as agents of them, I, along with a few others, are also a part of it. Hell's broken loose. I'll explain more inside - but right now we've got to get off the streets before we get found. Claws aren't a problem."

Lucifer glanced over at his brother. God was mulling over what had been said; he recognized the look. They had to be careful. They had an entire group of people to worry about, especially with Magic slowly regaining control over their magic. The people with them were their responsibility.

...And he knew God was growing tired of watching mortals die.

He was, too. He absentmindedly fiddled with a stylus he had conjured with a spell, his tail gently swishing from one side to the other. He never liked war. God always looked so tired and old during a war, and Lucifer wished there was more he could do to help.

God let out a sigh.

"We'll go with you," he said. Lucifer nodded in agreement, taking a step closer to his brother. "None of us are carrying weapons - we've been relying on other things to get this far. You can search me if you like, but it's been a very long time since I last did any major hunting. I'm too busy running Heaven these days to be chasing after bad guys with my bat."

"Am I the only one with a weapon here?" Aegeas said, taking a step back. "I'm feeling a little singled out."

Taber sighed. He really didn't want to have to do this, but Aegeas was being a bit too stubborn for comfort. Hopefully he'd be able to ask for forgiveness later.

"Very sorry about this," Taber said as he walked up to Aegeas.

Before the otter could reply, Taber yanked out Aegeas's scimitars, turned around, and ran for the building.

"Taber, no!" Aegeas screamed, running after him. "Get back here!"