The Court had stood empty for years on the outskirts of Allusia. Once, when a king had claimed the city and put it under his iron fist, the Court had been used as a seat of power. In that time, lawbreakers as innocuous as those who stole a loaf of bread might be seen hanging from one of the many gargoyles and grotesques.

Eventually, that king was draped over the very statues that he loved so much.

In the time after, it fluctuated between austere emptiness and chaotic overfilling. Sometimes a waste site, sometimes a refugee camp, sometimes nothing at all.

Right now, it was a battleground.

Ah Dan was hindered in its walls, his mana could not find purchase and so he had to rely on his traditional vision and hearing. It made the world feel quieter, less vibrant. More deadly. Around each corner, Dan flinched. The sounds of battle were everywhere, echoing through the hard stone building.

Flinching was not enough as a fierce grip closed around Dan’s throat. “More of you, are there?” A furious female voice hissed in Dan’s ear. With a heave and nowhere near enough time to brace himself, Ravage slammed Dan into the floor. His throat crushed, his back felt like it had exploded. “Bloom! Got the one you like!”

A chill ran through Dan. He had felt Bloom’s eyes upon him on the Barracks rooftop and it had almost felt as though those eyes had not left his back since. Feeling them upon him again had a visceral, genuine effect on Dan’s body. “Ooh, that’s the healer? Isn’t it, Ravage?”

“Was it?” She asked casually. She released Dan’s throat and he took a painful gasp before his breath was smashed out of him again. She had grabbed Dan’s ankle and whipped him aggressively down the hall. The pain was a new pounding on his back, ribs and lungs. He hadn’t drawn a breath in what felt like forever and his vision was starting to dim.

Dan raged at himself silently as he begged his lungs to start again. How could you be so stupid? Walking straight into enemy territory, focusing only on his own senses. This was the result - instant and overwhelming ambushes. Dan could hear their laughter, so careless, as they approached his huddled form.

Dan could also hear the pounding on the floor, the claws scratching to find purpose.

Calliope arrived in a burst of fur, fury and fangs. She pounced and flipped in the air, planting both of her feet into the chest and face of Ravage. The collision sent the crimson skinned majaal soaring down the hall where she crashed hard into the wall herself. Dan had time to turn his laboured breathing into a small laugh as she rounded on Bloom.

Dan had enough ambient mana in the air to see the fight. He had his eyes closed, wincing from the pain, but was able to keep himself aware all the same. Calliope, again, looked like the battle had nearly finished her. Her ability to fight at one hundred percent, no matter her damage, was invaluable. She slid her foot backwards towards Dan’s position and he knew exactly what to do.

It was not perfect, nor was it as well fueled as Dan would have liked, but he sent a new wave of healing mana into Calliope. Seeing that she was being healed, Bloom let out a guttural noise of anger, followed by a growling collection of saliva which he spat at Calliope. Anyone else might have been hit but Calliope was on edge and her reflexes were heightened, she avoided the lightning fast bullet of spit and hissed at Bloom.

Dan could not heal himself but he was not out of the fight yet. Seeing Calliope’s unstoppable nature had given Dan an idea and while he healed the wounds that he could, bringing Calliope back to something approaching healthy, Dan drew from her in turn.

Calliope’s mana ran through Dan like a wild animal. He felt it clash into his mana channels, kneading and pawing at him to find comfortable spots to fit into. Dan could almost hear it purring as it curled around into small bundles within himself. From those small thrumming nodes, Dan felt power surge. His muscles grabbed every ounce of energy from Calliope’s mana.

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He felt himself bulge, he felt his back ripple and small, ethereal strands of fur starting to cover his skin. Not quite like Calliope herself, Dan’s version of the technique did not create actual hairs but slivers of mana which danced on Dan’s skin. It was like an infusion of lightning and primal rage was shot directly into his core and all of it wanted to fight back.

Dan flipped to his feet, surprising everyone including Calliope. “What do we do?” Dan asked. He had already put her and Shade into a bad situation by getting caught off guard. Her saving him was just pure luck but something that he would use to all of their advantage.

“Got a preference?” Calliope asked, her voice a low growl. Dan looked between the two majaal but he knew who would be his battle. Stepping forward, Dan did not let his eyes leave Bloom’s. Dark green pits, surrounded by black sclera. Dan could almost see his own remade silver eyes reflected in them.

“Yeah,” Dan rumbled back, his own voice a feral thing, “I know who I’m after.” The feel of Calliope’s energy pushed Dan’s feet forward, until he stood side by side with Calliope. Dan flexed his fingers and felt pressure in the tips, claws starting to poke through. His mouth began to feel too full and the desire to tear Bloom apart continued to rise.

No more words needed to be said as suddenly the world was a flurry of action. Dan’s normally fierce reaction times exploded in scale, so when Bloom made his first twitch, a back muscle tightening, Dan launched into a full scale assault. Dan could still not cover his enemies in the mana coating he would have liked but his senses were improved by Calliope’s power. It was close enough.

Dan’s fist caught Bloom in the forearm, his punch blocked. The speed of Dan’s movement and the solidity of his muscles surprised even himself, however, and Bloom was blown back from the force. Dan grinned, feeling fangs press over his lips. This power felt good. Dan simply watched as Bloom pulled himself to his feet, the majaal’s eyes shaking and unfocused. “You were looking for me, right?”

Dan did not wait for a response. He tensed his legs, the muscles like iron cords, and threw himself forward. As he did, Bloom filled his mouth with spit again and fired off his super pressured shot. Dan was also able to dodge for the most part, though the bile did graze his cheek. That only served to make Dan more angry.

Dan could feel the spittle sizzling on his cheek, an unwelcome distraction. Still, he let himself revel in the immense pain which it caused, allowing it to make him feel even more angry and destructive. Dan could not tell whether it was Calliope’s influence or just something inside of himself becoming unfettered but the rage felt like power.

So Dan let it unleash him.

This was not his normal fighting style. If he had a fighting style, it was usually misdirection. A diverted blow giving him access to a vital point, a dodged swing that left his opponent open.

Dan did not want to wait for that. He did not give Bloom an opening to attack. The majaal’s arms were in a defensive position, so Dan blew them apart with strength. He clawed at the green skinned spitter, ripping shreds from his arms and causing his to howl in pain. It still wasn’t enough. “Fight back, you coward.” Dan roared, each syllable punctuated by a punch and a growl. The majaal did eventually slink out of the way. Dan let him, happy to let his prey take a running start. Dan was good at chasing things normally but with his senses, muscles and mind in the state that he currently found it, he was unavoidable.

Like a guided arrow, Dan jumped from the floor after Bloom. His strength sent him soaring down the hallway after the running majaal. Both of Dan’s hands and feet hit the ceiling before pushing off again, an acrobatic explosion of speed. Bloom looked over his shoulder and must have seen a terrifying version of Dan because his wide eyes opened wider, a choked noise from his throat. Before Bloom could beg for forgiveness, mercy or anything else that he didn’t deserve, Dan caught him again. This time the claws of Dan’s fingers tore through Bloom’s neck muscle. Dan held him like a puppet with cut strings. His fingers tightened, the claws dug deeper.

Mixing with his blood, Bloom once again filled his mouth with liquid and shot it forth. Dan was ready, twisting his own body and aiming Bloom away from himself. Such was his strength right now. The spittle missed. “You’re disgusting,” Dan said, feeling righteous in his fury, “any last words?”

Dan surprised himself with his anger. Dan was also surprised by the fist that connected with his jaw. It was not Bloom’s hand but, instead, a large blue fist which seemed to jump in and out of existence. Dan’s ambient mana in the air helped him get a sense of what happened but it was a few more seconds before his head stopped spinning.

Another attack, this time from behind. Another undodgeable punch, this time right into Dan’s already injured spine. He buckled slightly, looking around frantically for his attacker. Dan saw the huge majaal at the end of the long hallway, blue skin and derision on his face. “You like that?” Void asked Dan loudly.

As he spoke, Dan watched. With his eyes and his mana, Dan saw and felt an energy surge. The huge, muscular majaal punched from his position, dozens of metres down the hall. As he did, a rift formed in the air and a second fist, a copy of the original, swung straight into Dan’s ribs. The force sent him back, spluttering. On the floor, Bloom was gathering himself as Dan was pushed further and further away.

The situation was bad again. All of Dan’s senses, including his new animalistic ones, were telling him so.

Still, he stepped forward. He would not retreat. He could not retreat. Facing down two of the strongest fighters Dan had ever met, he knew that he should run and regroup. If he did that, Dan felt, he would never move forward again.