Lana Graystone/Madeline Davis
The door was surprisingly thick and heavy for such a small, innocuous doorway. This was only accentuated by the comically small handle, which made getting any grip to pull open the door practically impossible. After a few tries and enough cussing to make an Irish sailor proud, Lana eventually managed to yank open the door a crack, shoving her foot in the crack before it could close and send her back to square one. Overall, wasn't the best omen for what the two of them could find within this shady back-alley room.
"One more thing," Lana said, turning towards Madeline as she slid the pistol into the holster underneath her jacket. "Wear your hood. There's probably some folk in there that don't really approve of your...condition."
"Wha...what do you mean!" Madeline exclaimed, quickly hushing up as Lana indignantly placed a finger to her lips, jerking her head towards the sliver of the room that was visible. "I don't have no condition!" she whispered, her eyes bugging out. "You told me that bat wouldn't give me rabies!"
"What...no! Not that condition, your...feline areas." Lana clarified, much to Madeline's confusion and anger.
"That ain't a condition, it's who I am! Can't believe you'd say that, thas' just disrespectful. Shame on you." she said, visibly upset. She had been bullied enough about her cat ears and tail in elementary and middle school, she didn't need other people treating her like she was...diseased or sick! It was who she was, and even though it made her life difficult at times, she was proud of her abilities. Plus, who else could make fire? Not a lot of people, but bakenekos could do it with the greatest of ease.
"Alright, alright, I'm sorry. Just, it might make some people suspicious, so just cover it up, please?" Lana practically begged, looking over her shoulder to see if anybody had heard or saw their little scuffle. It was dim, so she couldn't see much, but the noises were enough to make her sick. There was a thick wall of murmurs and the occasional yell, laugh or cuss, but the worst was the animals. Barking, snuffling, licking, whining, and what sounded like...tearing. And the growls. The growls were terrible. They practically vibrated in her chest. She wanted to investigate this, do what she had to do, and get out.
Madeline muttered angrily under her breath, but relented, shoving her raincoat's hood above her ears to cover them. With a nod and pat on the back, Lana slipped through the door, motioning for Madeline to stay behind her. The door shut with a light thump after Madeline, but no attention was brought upon them. They were too focused on...something. The room was much larger than the small door implied, a large, circular, amphitheater-style room, with escalating wooden bleachers ringing a central dais, shaped roughly like a wrestling ring, or maybe an MMA octagon. The walls were plain beige drywall, the ceiling was classic white popcorn, with a central ornate chandelier lighting the entire room. A balcony ringed the entire room, thin silver rails barricading it from the bleachers, only broken by four long staircases at each corner of the room. The bleachers were packed with mostly men, a mixture of typical rough gangsters and surprisingly well-groomed men, some with rings on their fingers. But the worst was at the centre of the room, the dais.
In the center was two dogs, around the size of Dobermans or German Sheperds. They were powerfully built, muscular, with sharp eyes, sharp fangs, sharp claws, sharp everything. Almost like tanks. They were locked in what seemed like an embrace, claws upon each other, heads snuffling each other's necks, teeth gnashing, subtle movements. In another context, maybe a painting or some sculpture by a dead Italian guy, it could be considered beautiful, but in this context, in a dark shady room in a dark shady alley, this was nothing but a dog-fighting ring. A highly illegal dog-fighting ring.
The battle continued, but one dog, a brown-furred one, was losing ground. It tumbled to the ground, sinking onto its haunches. Its grey-furred opponent took its chance, leaping towards its exposed head, neck, and shoulders. The brown dog attempted to claw at the grey's belly, but it was too slow, only nicking it before being shoved back. The grey dog pounced a second time, this time not missing. It's jaws and teeth clamped around the brown's dog neck, its claws sinking into its back and sides. The brown dog cried, whimpered, practically yipped in pain, but the grey dog merely growled, sinking its teeth further, a crushing and crackling noise beginning to emanate. Many men rose out of their seats at this, yelling, swearing, laughing, or even screaming in anger as the brown dog writhed, before going stiff and flopping to the ground, eyes dim, blood gushing out of its neck and staining its ragged brown coat. Modern dancer, fold. Off the stage, exit to the right. The audience applauds, dazzled at gory R-rated sights. The main star and his agents are paid their handsome salary.
Lana simply gritted her teeth as she gripped the rails, trying not to hurl at the sight of the dog bleeding out onto the sawdust coated ring. Her knuckles were going white from the strain, but it was all she could do to prevent herself from going postal. Meanwhile, Madeline was ghost-white, eyes bulging at the horrific sight. Poor girl, she was always too innocent. Trembling, Madeline leaned over, whispering into Lana's ear.
"So, we get to beat up these guys, right?" she said in a fiery whisper, a renewed look of determination on her face. Lana cracked a smile at these words, sliding her pistol out of her holster. "Definitely. We'll wallop them so hard their grandparents'll feel it in their graves. Now, can you light a fire for distraction?"
"I can do one better."
Without warning, Madeline charged up a blue fireball in her hands, before lobbing it towards the east side of the stands. The ball exploded as it hit the stands, sending several men flying from the impact, fire licking their coats and shirts. The fire roared, rising in a massive column towards the ceiling as it blazed with dazzling light and smothering heat. The men screamed, turning to see the source of the flames, so preoccupied that they failed to notice the duo rushing across the balcony. Loading her pistol, Lana opened fire at the wall, attempting to distract attention further. Simultaneously, she willed open a portal in front of Madeline, a portal that lead to the sunken dais. With a shove, she pushed Madeline inside the portal, with the pistol-packing catgirl popping out seconds later as the portal closed behind her.
With a screech, she fired off at least three more, slightly smaller fireballs, the stands lighting up with blue fire as men were sent scattering, rushing for the only exit. Smirking, Lana opened a new portal, with one end opening at the heavy door, and leading to the ring at the bottom of the room, a portal that men would blindly rush into before they realized it was trouble. It did the trick, as at least five men mistakenly hopped into the portal, collapsing over each other in a massive heap at the bottom. Whirling around, Madeline noticed the five men, jumping towards them with an animalistic yell. She grabbed the first man by the scruff of his neck, slamming him against the nearby ropes of the ring before punching him in the face, letting his slack body drop. The second man attempted to grab her leg, but she shook him off, whipping him in the face with the butt of her pistol.
The third man was pinned underneath the weight of his comrades, leaving him helpless for Madeline's attack, as she grabbed him by his shirt, claws cutting the thin material. He was thrown against the ropes, hitting the top before flipping off and hitting the ground with a moan. However, the final man and a woman with blue hair managed to get free, the man lunging towards her waist. Luckily, she drove her knee into his stomach, sending him reeling before punching him and leaping atop him, neck in her hands. The woman crept up behind her, knife in hand, but Madeline could hear her footsteps, smell the metal. Her bakeneko senses taught her well, and her instincts told her to jam her elbow into the woman's face, before driving the heel of her hand into the woman's chest. Thank Lord Jesus that her dad had taught her to fight, or she would've been dead by now.
By this point, several had noticed Lana, pointing and yelling with animated expressions. While most attempted to dash for the exits, the portal now closed by Lana in an attempt to conserve energy, five or so attempted to run for her, drawing knives and bare fists. Frantically, Lana opened up a portal in the floor and one in the ceiling, sending three of the men flying from the ceiling and slamming hard into the floor. With a lunge, she shoved one that was attempting to jump parkour-style over the rails, sending him tumbling back into the floor portal and onto the wooden bleachers headfirst. Luckily, no breaking noises, or she'd have other problems to solve besides this chaos. However, the final one was too close to portal or fight, charging towards her across the balcony with a yell, bald head bowed like a bull. Silently pleading to whatever God was listening, she cocked her pistol and fired off a shot towards the man's chest as he lifted his head to swig his fist, landing straight in his breastbone. The man gargled, slowly slowing down before falling to his knees, clawing at his chest. He'd live, but it wouldn't be pretty.
Suddenly, a shriek emitted from the dais. Lana looked up, only to see Madeline, claws extended, swinging from the chandelier, having abandoned her gun in favor of firing off more of her fireballs. Her vision in the dark gave her great accuracy as she burned her way through the final few individuals that were trapped between Lana, Madeline, and the roaring fires. Cursing, Lana aimed her pistol and launched cover fire, attempting to corner off the final few individuals. But despite her efforts, a second gunshot rang out, one man firing at Madeline, causing her to let go of the chandelier in terror. Shrieking, Madeline crawled back the final three individuals chasing after her.
And then, a sound of thunder.
A sudden bolt of yellow lightning arced out of Madeline's outstretched palm, leaping between the three individuals as they were tossed in the air, plumes of smoke and thin sparks chasing after them with glowing tails. Madeline looked confused, but her wonder was interrupted by Lana roughly grabbing her arm, tugging to her feet.
"WE HAVE TO GET OUT, NOW!" she yelled, pointing to the ceiling as chunks began to rain down from fire. With a swirl of her hand, Lana opened a silvery portal and the duo leapt inside, their hearts heavy.
