The Three Demons: Trial

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 1: The Deal

In the pitch-black darkness of the Koriganian night, when no star could be seen in the sky, one bright beacon stood out. The countless lights of the Royal City made the city shine like a sun when seen from a distance. Even from space the lights of the city peaked through the dense atmosphere like a candle in a thick fog. Within the city's limits the lights lit up the never-ending streets and walkways as if it were daytime. The dim glow of holographic billboards that floated lazily overhead cast constantly changing colors down upon the raging rivers of people walking below. While the blaring sound of speeding hovercraft mixed with the murmur of voices and the montage of alien music gave the brilliant city a voice like no other.

Just as unique and diverse as the sounds and colors of the city were the hundreds of species that made up the cities populace. Ranging in size from only a couple feet tall to giants the size of two story buildings and varying in shape from shapeless blobs to humanoid shaped beings these people bustled about like on any Earth city. Like mindless drone they went about on their own agenda's, seemingly unaware of those around them. In a place where different species mixed so roughly this was often a good thing. In the intergalactic community getting involved in someone else's affairs could be deadly. It was for this reason that no one said anything as a man rudely pushed his way through the streams of people. He was of average height, about six feet and four inches tall and firmly built.

He had narrow, crystal-blue eyes that off set the menace in his half cocked smirk. He looked mostly Koriganian but instead of hair stiff, yellow spikes covered the top of his head and green scales covered his temples and the sides of his neck. He was dressed in an old, tattered brown jumpsuit with orange pads on the shoulders, elbows and knees. Multiple pockets sat on the front of the suit and on his legs, while a metal and leather utility belt was wrapped around his waist. His forearms were also adorned with metal gauntlets that had glowing, blue strips of light running around the knuckles and wrist. Finally, a large broad sword sat idly on his back; the lights of the city flashing over its emerald green sheath and the intricate, golden vines that adorned it. The vines spiraled up its length, twisting into sharp shapes like the thorns of a rose bush, before ending in a spiral pattern at the top of the sheath. The grip was just as elegant, with a black ivory handle topped off with a small skull with a small green jewel on its forehead.

The man walked with smooth, purposeful steps as he made his way through the endless crowd. He slowly descended through the numerous layers of raised platforms that wrapped around massive buildings and snaked through the entire city. He seemed to be off in his own world as he slowly walked across a larger platform that sat between four buildings. A dozen or so vendors lined the platforms outer edge, chanting and yelling as they advertised their goods. No matter what time it was the cities energy never subsided. In the middle of the night children still chased after one another. Laughing and giggling, they ran circles around the man before disappearing back into the sea of people.

It was the same everywhere he went. That is, until he reached the ground level of the city. A shocking transformation took place before him. The bustling streets filled with life quickly emptied of all signs of life. Only piles of trash, scraps of metal, and the occasional, small pile of excrement lent any clue to the existence of life. The bright lights of the city seemed to disappear as well; only a few dim lights hanging from the walls of buildings illuminated the silent streets. It was like this throughout the city. As giant buildings soared upward toward the sky, taking with them the life of the city, the lowest levels fell into decay. The ground upon which the magnificent city had been built became like a basement, largely forgotten in the minds of residents unless a problem arose. There were some areas of the city where the ground level was in much better repair and seemed much more livable. But this was not one of those areas.

As a matter of fact, the man was walking into one of the roughest parts of the city. The 180th district to be exact. District 180 was one of five districts that made up the area known to the people as "Shenzo". Pirates, thieves, drug dealers, gangsters, bounty hunters, rapists, and every other form of scum in the universe, right down to the lowliest pickpocket, almost exclusively populated Shenzo. Only the bravest and stupidest of people dared walk the streets and walkways of this area. Even the royal police and military stayed clear of the area, which just made it all the more appealing to criminals. But despite the dangers the man kept a casual pace as he ventured deeper into the area. Slowly, the sounds of disorder began to fill the air. The roar of blasters and the screams of men echoed in the distance and in all directions. It was a sound that would make even the most hardened soul cringe and yet the man went unfazed by it. He almost seemed to enjoy it, looking around with a smirk on his face as if he had finally come home.

The man finally turned off of the streets and headed down a long alleyway that, like the rest of the area, was lined with mounds of garbage. The alley ended in a steep staircase that led underneath a building and more resembled a cave with water dripping from the ceiling, dampening the walls and stairs. As the man descended down the stairs a cycloptic man, dressed in no more than rags, ran up to him and extended his three-fingered hands like a cup to him.

"Please, sir, can you spare a few credits for a ragged old man?" begged the cyclopes in a shaky and withered voice.

The man sneered. "Out of my way, worm." With a violent shove, the one eyed man went tumbling down the stairs. Then, as if nothing had happened, the man casually strolled by the cyclop's lifeless body at the bottom of the stairs.

The swordsman made his way down another long alleyway. A small stream of sewage ran down the middle of the alley, illuminated by a few holographic signs advertising dancing girls and a hole in the wall pub. The man glanced up at the dancing girl sign, paused in front of the door, and then checked his pockets. Seeing that he had no form of currency at all he continued on with a disappointed sigh. A few minutes later he was back in the dark, once again pausing as he looked around confusedly. He was standing in the middle of an intersection between four different streets. Even though all four streets looked and… smelled the same he appeared to be looking for a specific detail. After a moment of vocally arguing with himself, he chose the street running to his right and regained his stride as he headed off.

Another series of streets and alley's passed him by until finally he came to a stop. He was in the middle of an artificial valley, formed by the sloping sides of two buildings. Suspicious as to why he had been told to come to such an open area, the man carefully looked around. Rusted, metal crates sat piled randomly along the edge of the valley and a set of rotted wires stretched, a few feet overhead, from one building to the other. His eyes continued to dart in every direction, searching for signs of life, but none could be found. The man whipped around to check out the street behind him, he found no one, but as he turned back around a mysterious figure suddenly appeared in the middle of the metal valley. The man quickly widened his stance, not knowing what the shadowy figure's intentions were.

For a few moments the figure just stood there silently, not moving at all. The hair on the back of the man's neck stood on end as the air seemed to become electrified. A large stone settled in his stomach as an unbelievable sense of dread began to fill him.

"You are Tokajo Gira?" the figure suddenly asked.

Its voice was smooth, confident, and strong but madness could clearly be heard, lurking underneath. "What's it to ya?" snapped Tokajo, the stone in his stomach was rapidly growing. Out of instinct, the man reached over his shoulder and grabbed his sword. But as he began to lift the blade from its sheath an icy hand suddenly clasped his own and forced the weapon back down.

"You won't be needing that." came the same, smooth voice, this time from behind.

Tokajo suddenly realized that the figure was no longer in front of him and with a shaky glance back over his shoulder found it standing right behind him. He could now see that the figure was a man, slightly taller than he, dressed in a baggy, black cloak. Most of his face was hidden by shadow and only his chin and mouth were visible. His skin was pale white, giving his exposed, right hand a ghostly glow even in the dim light.

"You don't draw a weapon on your employer after all." said the man as he released Tokajo's hand.

"You're… you're the guy that contacted me?" asked the swordsman as he began to turn around. But he found no one.

"That is correct." said the cloaked man's voice.

Tokajo whipped around and found the shadowy figure now standing back in the middle of the valley, as if he had never left the spot to begin with. "Heh, that's a nice trick," blurted Tokajo in a sarcastic tone. The fear in him was slowly receding, "well then what is it you want me to do?"
"So direct, you aren't very patient are you?" chuckled the mysterious figure.

"No, I'm not. This society wastes enough of my time already, I don't need formalities eating up anymore of it."

"Bitter too," chuckled the man once more, "Though I suppose such an attitude would be expected of some one whose entire existence is against the unwritten rules of the world." Tokajo just sneered. "What is it like to be a half-breed, to be a walking taboo?" asked the cloaked man with a psychotic, toothy grin on his face.

"It would be fine without people like you around," snapped Tokajo, taking a threatening step forward, "I get sick and tired of people looking at me like I'm some filthy animal! Now if insulting me was your only reason for summoning me here I…"

"I assure you that my reasons for summoning you are purely professional. My intentions were not to mock you, as a matter of fact you being a half-breed just made you all the more better choice for the task." explained the man with a fake sympathetic tone.

The swordsman gave an unconvinced huff and folded his arms over his chest. "How does me being a half-breed suit any sort of task?"

The man gave another short chuckle. "It doesn't so much aid in the task as add a… poetic twist to it."

"Poetic twist? What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that your life is taboo and so are the lives of your targets. There's poetry in one taboo life destroying the life of another life just like it. You attack them even though you know how they feel and in the process become the same kind of person you yourself despise." said the figure with a twinge of excitement in his voice.

Tokajo stared at the man for a few moments. He was beginning to doubt the sanity of the man and whether or not there was any reason at all for him coming. "You've wasted enough of my time. If you're not going to tell me anything about the job then I'm leaving."

With that, Tokajo turned and began to walk away, but as he did the mysterious man let out a long, deep laugh and then said: "The task at hand involves none other than Kioko, 'The Demon Pirate'."

The swordsman stopped dead in his tracks as his eyes widened and his mouth fell open. "I knew that name would catch the interest of a bounty hunter like yourself." said the man slyly.

Tokajo whipped around and found the man standing an arms length away. "How does it involve Kioko?"

The man gave another toothy grin. "He is involved because he is a close acquaintance of these people." The man reached his hand into his left sleeve and withdrew a small piece of paper. He raised the paper in front of the bounty hunter revealing a photograph. It contained the images of a large, four-eyed qwelta-qwuanian, a noodly, one-eyed plorganarian, two small, furry creatures, one pink and one blue, three more smaller, furry creatures of similar color in front of them, and then two female beings. All of them were standing in front of a series of tall brown plants with flat, green tops and were apparently near a blue ocean. Tokajo grabbed the photo from the man's hand and studied it closer. His focus fell on the two, fairly attractive, females and a confused look came over his face.

"What species are these two?" asked the bounty hunter as he pointed to the two females.

"They are humans. Surely you must have heard of their race?"

"Those are humans?" exclaimed Tokajo, "I've heard of them, yeah, but they don't look anything like I pictured them. I mean, when I heard about how low tech their species was I pictured them being drooling, hunchbacked, mindless creatures."

"You got the 'mindless' part right at least," blurted the man, "They are hopelessly simple minded creatures."

"So are these people my targets or something?"

"They are your secondary targets."

"Secondary targets?"

"Yes, your main objective is to capture this creature," said the man as he pointed a long finger at the strange pink creature that had two long antenna on it's head, "Once you capture it you will bring it back to me alive. Everyone else in that photograph is to be eliminated."

"Ok, but first, what exactly is that thing I'm catching… and when does Kioko come into play in this?"

"Your target and the blue creature next to it are both illegally produced genetic mutations. Created by the qwelta-qwuanian in the photo," explained the man, "I'm sure you've heard of him, his name is Jumba Jukiba."

Once again Tokajo's eyes widened as he looked to the man. "That's Jumba? Then those must be his…?"

"Experiments, correct. The pink creature, your target, is experiment 6-2-4, a siren-like experiment with the ability to bring out the evil in one's heart or seal it away. The blue experiment next to her… is experiment 6-2-6."

"You're kidding," blurted Tokajo, "That's 6-2-6, the monster that had the Federation all worried? It looks more like a child's house pet than a galactic terror."

"Oddly enough, that's what he's been for several years now. The youngest human female in that picture keeps him like a pet." smirked the man.

The bounty hunter let out a small chuckle. "Heh, a 'vicious' beast tamed by a measly human. Just goes to show how whinny and pathetic the Federation is. To get so worked up over such a tiny creature… it's embarrassing almost."

"Yes, but don't go and underestimate him. Despite his size he does have considerable power. In fact, it would be wise to not underestimate any of them."

"Even the human's?" asked Tokajo with a small laugh.

"Especially not the humans," replied the man, in probably what was his most serious tone so far, "While they're not developed enough to pose an immediate threat, their actions can be spontaneous, unpredictable, and illogical." The man once again reached deep into his left sleeve. "That is why I' am giving you this," the man then pulled out a small blue ball and handed it to Tokajo.

"What the hell is this thing?" asked the swordsmen as he looked at the numbers '6-2-7' printed on the side of the orb.

"That is Jumba's most recent creation, an enhanced version of 6-2-6 with a few changes of my own. He will act as your accomplice."

"Whoa, uh uhh! I don't work with others. I do my jobs solo and no other way." shouted Tokajo angrily.

"The only reason why I am giving you this experiment is to better ensure the success of this mission!" snapped the man with a snake like hiss as his right hand shot up and wrapped itself around Tokajo's throat. With very little difficulty, the man lifted the now frightened bounty hunter off his feet and into the air. "I need this mission to succeed, do you understand? If you fail me I will not hesitate to kill you!"

With that the man's anger seemed to vanish. He lowered Tokajo back down to the ground and then took a step back. "I apologize for that outburst. I' am trying to keep my anger in check these days, but it sometimes gets away from me."

"No… kidding." coughed Tokajo as he held his throat.

"However, I cannot stress enough how important it is that this mission succeed."

"Why? What's so special about this experiment 6-2-4 that you'd go through all this trouble?"

The man gave a toothy grin that practically stretched across his entire face and another psychotic chuckle escaped him. "What makes 6-2-4 so special… is that she is Kioko's weakness," Tokajo's attention was once again ensnared, "Out of all those people in that picture, she holds a truly unique connection to the demon himself. And so by capturing her, I will have captured a piece of Kioko, and thus be one step closer to having my revenge on him." explained the man, barely containing the twisted excitement in his voice.

"Now wait a minute," blurted the swordsmen, "If I managed to bring in Kioko, I'd be set for the rest of my life. I'd be able to stop living in my cramped ship and I'd be able to afford good food and… other essentials," said the man as he mind drifted back to the dancing girls, "So I want a go at him myself, got it?"

The man gave another small chuckle. "Very well then, if you capture 6-2-4, Kioko will most certainly try to rescue her. When he comes, I'll give you the first go at him."

Tokajo was silent for a moment, as he looked the mysterious man up and down. "Ok then," he finally said, "There's just one more detail that needs to be covered before I go and catch your experiment. I don't work for free after all."

"Of course," replied the man as he once again reached into his sleeve. A moment later he pulled out two small cards, each had a series of sharp twisting symbols on them, "500,000 credits now and 500,000 when the job is complete. Not to mention the large sum that could come if you catch Kioko." said the man as he handed the cards over to Tokajo.

The bounty hunter took the cards, looked at them closely and then tucked them into one of the pockets on his chest. "Congratulations, you got yourself a bounty hunter. I'll have that experiment to you in no time." said Tokajo with an arrogant smirk before turning and walking away casually.

"I hope so… for your sake." The man said quietly to himself as he watched the bounty hunter turn the corner.

There it is, the first chapter of the newest Demon series! And yes "The Three Demons" is the newly appointed title of this series. Well at least for the stories after this point. While the prior stories had a usually lighthearted feeling behind them, these stories will have a much darker and more mature feel. Not to say there won't be humor though. Anyway, Let me know what you think about the title and please review.