Gingee collapsed, Jeffrey dropping to the ground as the devildog started panting. After everything it had done for their mission, Luizitine was happy enough to give his steed the praise they deserved. He scratched it behind the ears.

"You've done well, Minion Gingee," he said.

"Bark."

Looking to the rest of them, he felt the same amount of pride. Karla's illusions might not have worked against Felissa, but it had bought them precious time. And Jeffrey had held his own against that magic user for a while. Thanks to him, they had a better understanding of the power of their enemies.

"You all have, done well," Luizitine said. "This has been a very fruitful endeavor."

Karla smiled at that, Gingee's tail wagging against the dirt. Now that they were safe in the junkyard, they could finally decompress after a hard day's work. And it certainly helped that their wards kept the rain away. So long as they were in the junkyard's perimeter, his subjects would be warm and dry even in the most frigid conditions. Something that evidently hadn't gone unnoticed.

He squinted at a nearby pile of vehicles, a small cluster of the feline animals resting atop them. At first, he assumed they were Karla's creations, but the ghost herself seemed surprised to see them.

"When did those cats get here?" she asked.

Gingee flicked its ear. "Bark. Master, we have intruders."

"Indeed." Luizitine approached the swarm of felines, watching for their reactions.

Of which they had none. Not like he would have assumed from the videos he saw, at least. One was fast asleep. Another grooming itself. And yet another scratching its back against the broken metal. Not one of them reacted to the hellspawn's approach. Even as he stood directly in front of them.

"You're sure these aren't your doing, Minion Karla?" he asked.

"I mean...I don't think so," she called.

He reached out a hand, the grooming cat finally reacting then, its eyes looking straight at him. They shined a bright green, though the cat itself didn't move.

"Oh, that reminds me," Karla said. "Lui, the weirdest thing happened earlier."

"Weird how?" he asked, raising the cat.

The fact his hands could touch it meant it couldn't be an illusion. Nor could he write it off as an advanced trick of the mind as the wards prevented such outside interference.

The cat bellowed in greeting, giving little reaction as he turned it over to no avail. Even with his knowledge from the videos, it was impossible to tell if what he saw was an outlier or the norm. A few cats who'd gotten lucky or the first emissaries of an invasion. To truly grasp the complexities of an unknown lifeform required more study than he could possibly perform on his own. Angelas was a city he'd come to know, yes, but the world he lived in was frighteningly unfamiliar.

He barely listened to what Karla was saying.

"I was trying to find you guys when that secretary lady showed up," she said. Felizzy or some crap."

"Hmm. Yes. Do go on."

When he set the cat down, he noticed the glow in its eyes fading, though they remained the same green color.

"Anyway, we started fighting," Karla said. "And I kinda lost. But then this weird...thing happened."

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He poked at the sleeping cat, who continued to snore at the prodding.

"Like one minute I was screaming my head off and the next Felizzy was on the ground."

The scratching cat had finally finished, though it hopped off the vehicle before Luizitine could examine it closer.

"It was really weird. Like...Hang on."

The groomer prodded the sleeping cat with a paw. It jerked upwards, letting out a low yawn. One that was quickly drowned out by an even louder shriek from nearby.

Nails dug into his ears, Luizitine dropping as he immediately shoved his hands over them. By the underworld, what is that? He managed to follow the sound to see Gingee writhing in pain. Jeffrey wide awake. And Karla. Floating through the air with her mouth wide open. The most ear-piercing shriek he'd ever heard coming from the phantom's lips.

"Karla!" he shouted.

She finally stopped then, the noise subsiding as the ghost covered her mouth.

"Sorry," she said. "It was something like that."

Gingee whimpered, Luizitine still hearing a slight ring in his ears. Not since he'd assaulted Queen Revivion's castle had he heard such a damnable scream. Like the souls of the underworld crying out in unison. It was a wonder he could still hear at all after such an attack.

"Bark, " Gingee whined. "Ghost friend is too loud."

"I have to agree." Luizitine massaged his ear drums. "Minion Karla, please do not let off random banshee cries without warning."

Karla blinked. "What?"

He felt the ringing dissipating, his own thoughts audible once more.

"A banshee cry," he said. "That's the name of the attack you just used. It's a high-level dark spell. So named by the creatures who love to use it most."

He rubbed his ears. Karla didn't seem like she understood, but she at least seemed to grasp that screaming was bad. As useful as the technique could be, it was as likely to incapacitate a friend as it was a foe. Hence why he rarely employed banshees in his armies. Not without sufficient earplug quantities.

"Well on the bright side," Karla said, "I didn't scare away the cats."

Luizitine looked over, spotting the trio as they were walking towards the makeshift castle. Considering their unusual nature, he still wasn't quite sure if their being around was good or bad.

But then, the same could be said for many things he'd accomplished in his short tenure in Angelas. Though their mission had proved his team could operate efficiently, the kingdom was still far from what he'd consider a proper force of power. They were still but refugees in a hostile environment. That would need to change soon considering this most recent assault by the humans.

If it hadn't been for Gingee...He looked over his people.

"Minion Karla," he said. "Minion Gingee. Minion Jeffrey. I'm afraid I must be frank with all of you."

They all seemed to notice the change in his tone as even Karla grew serious. Luizitine sighed, the memory of that human still fresh in his mind. Her bat his hand. His thirst for blood. How close had he been to ruining everything he'd been building? To dooming them all.

"This mission today," he said. "If not for Gingee, I would have let the blood frenzy take over. It would have meant plunging us all into a war with the humans. Something I've tried to take great care to avoid."

He looked at their faces. The minions who had all been targeted for his carelessness at one point or another. Gingee who'd been trapped and risked everything to save him. Karla who'd almost died because he chose to run at the first sign of danger. Jeffrey who'd just joined the kingdom and already had his life threatened by humans. Twice.

No. Hiding in the junkyard. Avoiding the humans. It wasn't something that could sustain their kingdom forever. Not even in the short term. It would never allow them to grow.

"Jeffrey is but the first of our soldiers," he said. "We will gain more. Build our army. Raise castles. But for us to reach that goal, we can't afford to wait for the humans to strike first. We can't afford to wait for them to wipe us out one by one. If they come to the junkyard in force, then it'll already be too late."

He shook his head, the image of that wizard and his armies too much to bear so soon. Not yet. Not when he'd died only months ago.

Somewhere out there the wizard was anticipating his return. Waiting. Watching. But Luizitine knew he couldn't hide from that human forever. He wouldn't. His subjects deserved a better king than that. A true king.

"Bark. Master. What are you saying?"

Gingee was on its feet again, everyone looking to him. His loyal minions. His knights. He smiled back, his voice conveying all the authority he had as their ruler.

"It's time for us to expand our territory," he said. "No more hiding, my minions. Our next mission will be to take that mayor's head."