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Description
   “What do you mean, ‘he got away’?” The Lord held the unfortunate demon captain by the head, the creature struggled helplessly in it’s grasp.
   “P-please sir.” It shrieked desperately, “He was stronger than we predicted. How were we to know he would come armed?”
   “You don’t EVER question my judgement, creature.”  The huge claw let go of the demon and it tumbled to the ground, hitting the hard surface at the centre of the candle circle. “I find no-one makes that mistake twice.”
   Before the captain could move a large reptilian foot swung from the shadows and pressed down on its head, pinning it to the ground. The doomed creature flailed around frantically, trying to pull itself from underneath the taloned foot, as the Lord continued to increase the pressure. There was an uncomfortable crunching as the demon’s skull gave way under the immense strain, and the captain lay still.
   The Lord withdrew back into the darkness, it made a deep throaty growl and two smaller demons scuttled over to the ring of candles. Quietly they picked up the corpse and carried it away.
   “So,” The Lord rounded on the small collection of demons that stood beyond the halo of light. “Is anyone else going to explain to me what happened?”
   The assembled creatures shuffled around apprehensively, this wasn’t the best of situations. Running now would be like signing your own death certificate, but being this close to the Lord when it was in this mood could be just as fatal.
   The huge entity snorted at this show of cowardice. It truly despised these beings and, were it not for the fact they were still needed, it would have killed them all already.
   “I have lost five…” It looked across at the retreating carcass. “…Six of my best fighters today.  Now I need a reason, right now, why you should all leave here alive!”
There was a nervous scuffling and one being stepped forward.
   “The suppression device.” It’s head darted from left to right looking for an escape route.
   “What about it?”
   “We managed to affix one to the target during the fight, it showed positive signs of working.”
   “Then how did the target escape?” This was said quietly, but the Lord’s icy undertones were very obvious in the otherwise silent realm.
   The ill-fated demon made a strangulated noise and stumbled backwards. “There was something, some sort of powered vehicle, our forces couldn’t hold it back. It took the target and fled. I already have a squad on its trail.”
   “Good, report any findings directly to me, and send another squad to find the second target.  Do I make myself clear… Captain?”
    The new demon captain nodded vigorously and scampered away, relieved. The other demons saw this as a cue to beat a hasty retreat themselves.
   The Lord watched them go with clenched fists. Soon they would be needed no more and it could rid itself of their disgusting sight, until then it would hold back and keep them in line.

   Shadco felt himself slipping back into consciousness. All his muscles were tense except for his right arm, which he couldn’t feel at all. He could feel a warmth  across his body and realised his reaper garb had been removed; leaving him in his white, cotton, under-robe shorts. He was laid out on his back; there was a soft surface beneath him, possibly a bed.
   He tried to sit up and was hit by a sudden wave of nauciousness. Stars danced in front of his eyes and he slumped back.
   “You won’t feel right for a while.” Said a deep male voice from behind him, it had a thick accent that Shadco had never heard before. It sounded calm, almost soothing, despite the depth at which the owner talked.
   “You were under heavy sedation,” Continued the mysterious speaker. “I’m amazed you managed to last as long as you did.”
   Shadco grunted; he felt helpless, a position that he hated to be in, and on top of this what he was going to say next was going to sound incredibly clichéd.
   “Who are you and where the hell am I?”
   There was a metallic click and a gun barrel was pressed into his cheek.
   “I think the question here is who are you, my friend? My scanners identify you as a demonic entity. I would appreciate a little explanation, if you please.”
   “It could possibly be because I am a demon, idiot, or hadn’t you figured that out as a possibility?”
   The gun was withdrawn and a tall figure moved into view. His large ears, one that flopped down halfway along its length, instantly identified him as a rabbit. He looked like he’d seen too much in life and his face seemed to naturally settle into a grimace. His fur was coloured dark grey lightening towards the tip of his ears and around his muzzle, which lacked the stereotypical buckteeth.
   “You have spark, I like that.” He offered his left hand, which Shadco accepted, pulling himself into a sitting position. The rabbit was wearing a heavy green military-style jacket; it hung open revealing a white tank top underneath. His three-quarter-length khaki trousers were held up with a loose leather belt and were cropped in a peculiar way at the base.
   “My name is Dalin, I’m from the Laangaet dimension.” He tapped the distinctive, three-ring skull tattoo on Shadco’s arm. “And you must be a member of the Reaper Academy.”
   “Shadco Drestus.” Shadco tried to raise his right arm but found it completely unresponsive. “Uh…?”
   Dalin stuck his hand into a pocket lining the inside of his jacket and pulled out something resembling a large metal clamp. He tossed it down next to Shadco.
   “That is a suppression device, the creatures must have attached it to your arm during the fighting. It is a contraption that the demons have been constructing in secret. Apparently it uses a concoction of different chemicals to slow bodily function, physically tiring out the wearer and completely restricting any powers or abilities they may have. I can’t be certain of the details, I only know this much from a demon I wrung it out of. However, whatever that chemical soup is, they must have put a concentrated version into this one. The anaesthetic knocked you out cold, damn near killed you. Your arm should still be numb for a couple of hours yet.”
   Something from the last passage had disturbed Shadco.
   “You say you got this information from a demon?”
   “Yes. Killed the little bugger afterwards, of course.”
   Shadco’s brow furrowed.
   “What were you doing with a demon?”

Description
   “What do you mean, ‘he got away’?” The Lord held the unfortunate demon captain by the head, the creature struggled helplessly in it’s grasp.
   “P-please sir.” It shrieked desperately, “He was stronger than we predicted. How were we to know he would come armed?”
   “You don’t EVER question my judgement, creature.”  The huge claw let go of the demon and it tumbled to the ground, hitting the hard surface at the centre of the candle circle. “I find no-one makes that mistake twice.”
   Before the captain could move a large reptilian foot swung from the shadows and pressed down on its head, pinning it to the ground. The doomed creature flailed around frantically, trying to pull itself from underneath the taloned foot, as the Lord continued to increase the pressure. There was an uncomfortable crunching as the demon’s skull gave way under the immense strain, and the captain lay still.
   The Lord withdrew back into the darkness, it made a deep throaty growl and two smaller demons scuttled over to the ring of candles. Quietly they picked up the corpse and carried it away.
   “So,” The Lord rounded on the small collection of demons that stood beyond the halo of light. “Is anyone else going to explain to me what happened?”
   The assembled creatures shuffled around apprehensively, this wasn’t the best of situations. Running now would be like signing your own death certificate, but being this close to the Lord when it was in this mood could be just as fatal.
   The huge entity snorted at this show of cowardice. It truly despised these beings and, were it not for the fact they were still needed, it would have killed them all already.
   “I have lost five…” It looked across at the retreating carcass. “…Six of my best fighters today.  Now I need a reason, right now, why you should all leave here alive!”
There was a nervous scuffling and one being stepped forward.
   “The suppression device.” It’s head darted from left to right looking for an escape route.
   “What about it?”
   “We managed to affix one to the target during the fight, it showed positive signs of working.”
   “Then how did the target escape?” This was said quietly, but the Lord’s icy undertones were very obvious in the otherwise silent realm.
   The ill-fated demon made a strangulated noise and stumbled backwards. “There was something, some sort of powered vehicle, our forces couldn’t hold it back. It took the target and fled. I already have a squad on its trail.”
   “Good, report any findings directly to me, and send another squad to find the second target.  Do I make myself clear… Captain?”
    The new demon captain nodded vigorously and scampered away, relieved. The other demons saw this as a cue to beat a hasty retreat themselves.
   The Lord watched them go with clenched fists. Soon they would be needed no more and it could rid itself of their disgusting sight, until then it would hold back and keep them in line.

   Shadco felt himself slipping back into consciousness. All his muscles were tense except for his right arm, which he couldn’t feel at all. He could feel a warmth  across his body and realised his reaper garb had been removed; leaving him in his white, cotton, under-robe shorts. He was laid out on his back; there was a soft surface beneath him, possibly a bed.
   He tried to sit up and was hit by a sudden wave of nauciousness. Stars danced in front of his eyes and he slumped back.
   “You won’t feel right for a while.” Said a deep male voice from behind him, it had a thick accent that Shadco had never heard before. It sounded calm, almost soothing, despite the depth at which the owner talked.
   “You were under heavy sedation,” Continued the mysterious speaker. “I’m amazed you managed to last as long as you did.”
   Shadco grunted; he felt helpless, a position that he hated to be in, and on top of this what he was going to say next was going to sound incredibly clichéd.
   “Who are you and where the hell am I?”
   There was a metallic click and a gun barrel was pressed into his cheek.
   “I think the question here is who are you, my friend? My scanners identify you as a demonic entity. I would appreciate a little explanation, if you please.”
   “It could possibly be because I am a demon, idiot, or hadn’t you figured that out as a possibility?”
   The gun was withdrawn and a tall figure moved into view. His large ears, one that flopped down halfway along its length, instantly identified him as a rabbit. He looked like he’d seen too much in life and his face seemed to naturally settle into a grimace. His fur was coloured dark grey lightening towards the tip of his ears and around his muzzle, which lacked the stereotypical buckteeth.
   “You have spark, I like that.” He offered his left hand, which Shadco accepted, pulling himself into a sitting position. The rabbit was wearing a heavy green military-style jacket; it hung open revealing a white tank top underneath. His three-quarter-length khaki trousers were held up with a loose leather belt and were cropped in a peculiar way at the base.
   “My name is Dalin, I’m from the Laangaet dimension.” He tapped the distinctive, three-ring skull tattoo on Shadco’s arm. “And you must be a member of the Reaper Academy.”
   “Shadco Drestus.” Shadco tried to raise his right arm but found it completely unresponsive. “Uh…?”
   Dalin stuck his hand into a pocket lining the inside of his jacket and pulled out something resembling a large metal clamp. He tossed it down next to Shadco.
   “That is a suppression device, the creatures must have attached it to your arm during the fighting. It is a contraption that the demons have been constructing in secret. Apparently it uses a concoction of different chemicals to slow bodily function, physically tiring out the wearer and completely restricting any powers or abilities they may have. I can’t be certain of the details, I only know this much from a demon I wrung it out of. However, whatever that chemical soup is, they must have put a concentrated version into this one. The anaesthetic knocked you out cold, damn near killed you. Your arm should still be numb for a couple of hours yet.”
   Something from the last passage had disturbed Shadco.
   “You say you got this information from a demon?”
   “Yes. Killed the little bugger afterwards, of course.”
   Shadco’s brow furrowed.
   “What were you doing with a demon?”