The Chameleon Loop

“The demons come, who has invaded our refuge?” Whispered the four approaching fireballs.

They slunk across the stone like animals, creeping forward. One paw extended as four legs carried each of them forward. They’re not fireballs, but fire-foxes? Nox realized.

Behind him, Nora began to strip, taking off her external layers and then the internal layers as well. Drawing a great deal of attention from the hunters, male and female.

“What are you doing Ruby?” Nora Asked.

“Let my progeny in, Remember, you are sharing their sanctuary. Now don’t disturb me.” Ordered Ruby.

She crawled across the cavern floor and curled up beneath a particularly large mana crystal, totally naked. But that wasn’t what disturbed the hunters, in seconds they began to smell the scent of her black day, and the foul ichor began to emerge from nora’s body, explaining her sudden forte into nudity. Which was as reassuring as it was pungent.

“A black day in this labyrinth? What a time to get fucked sideways.” Nox muttered, sticking his head through the gun hole.

“Hey, you uhm, fire foxes. Who’s your daddy?” Said Nox. He hadn’t meant to be foolish, but his words betrayed his aggravation.

“Why do you ask us this question cousin? You know we have no father.” Said the fire-foxes, still edging closer.

One turned to look kat the outer entrance, eyes wide with fear. Whatever the ‘demon’ was, it had them on edge, enough to make the foxes openly approach strangers. Which is a good way to get killed, in fact, it’s the dumbest possible thing you could do. Thought Nox. From his position on the floor he could have shot two of the fire foxes before the others could even reach their fortified crack.

“A slip of the tongue,” Nox corrected, “who is your progenitor? Give us their name and appearance.”

“Mother Mae is our originating soul, she has many names and many forms, but a white kitsune is her favorite. But her teeth must be revealed, and her paws carry our greatest claws.” Said the lead firefox.

It was at the inner crevice now, not even ten feet away from Nox. Aligned with his pistol’s iron sights. If he squeezed the trigger gently, he could put a bullet through the fox’s head.

“Liam, don’t let them in. Ashley’s wounded and Ruby is–” Said Nora.

Unbridled malice interrupted her, washing through the cave like an electrostatic fog near a freshly charged supercapacitor. The four fire foxes spun, swinging their tails in a strange arc that gathered their flames into a fireball and hurled it towards the outer crevice. Towards the true demon.

It swatted a fireball with one of its six lupine paws, and slithered forward. The six legs and elongated form created an undulating lope. Pair that lope with its emaciated head, neck, torso, and elongated tail, and the creature was at least twelve feet long. Like a serpentine fox, made of bones. Its legs seemed to have no muscle, yet bones protruded from their joints like hidden daggers, and most disturbing of all was its face. Where there should have been a reasonable maw, there was only a pile of teeth. Fangs which extended into the mouth as well as through the creature’s jaws. Creating a beard of incisors on the bottom and top of its lupine jaw.

Its undulations evaded two fireballs, but the fourth and final shot connected with its hip, knocking it a foot back, and leaving it otherwise unharmed. Until Nox squeezed the trigger on his 1911, steadily tightening his grip until the trigger broke, sending an 11.5 millimeter shard of mana crystal into the demon’s front shoulder. The demon staggered, and let out a howl of pain that made everyone’s ears ring.

“He’ll kill us now! Let us in!” Pleaded the firefoxes, their flames largely diminished by their fireballs.

They looked pitiful now, like starving juvenile red foxes. Mundane in everyway except for the odd flickering of their russet coats. Two of them darted into the crevice and Nox was forced to make a snap decision.

“Get in! Don’t touch us!” Shouted Nox, startling the hunters.

Nora and Taylor looked like they wanted to stab Nox, but the foxes were faster. Quick as fox lightning they ran through the crevice, hopping over the hastily erected wall with an ease that mocked the hunter’s sweat. The final fox even dashed through Nox’s gun port, using his shoulder as a ramp to leap beyond him. Little turd, Thought Nox, sending another bullet towards the demon snake fox of bones.

Which the demon managed to dodge outright, watching the bullet as it zipped past it’s face. By pouncing sideways. The monster’s speed was ungodly, and Nox’s jaw actually hit the stone floor.

“How the fuck can it dodge a bullet!” Nox gasped, already aligning the next shot.

At the sound of his words the creature turned and fled. Whether from the arrival of an unknown quantity or because it feared his guns wasn’t knowable. But Nox breathed a sigh of relief as the suffocating malice vanished.

Two hunters stepped over Nox, cornering the four firefoxes with overlapped shields and sword points.

“This is our home! You dare threaten us within our sanctuary?” Said one of the fire foxes, touching its tail to the other three foxes. Fire flowed across their backs, moving to cover the speaking fox.

Its flames gave it volume, raising its hackles as it prepared a fireball. Yet the hunters pressed inwards, menacing the fire foxes with their blades.

“Guys, leave them alone.” Said Nox, making both party’s turn their ire on him.

“You should have shot them!” Snapped Taylor.

“Why let them in?” Asked Nora.

“Jesus, Taylor, would you two just shut up and think for a half second?! Or have you forgotten who is inside Ruby? What do you think will happen to her if the fox inside her wakes up and finds out we killed her family?” Said Nox, pinching the bridge of his nose and holstering his pistol.

That stopped the hunters in their tracks, and made them step back. Cautiously disengaging from the fire foxes. While the fire foxes retreated as well, one of them approaching the prone Ruby, who was now covered in the black day muck. Its flames heated the mire, and began circulating the scent of a meth head reducing urine in a saucepan.

“Oh, hey uhm… Fire foxes, can you not stand so close to Ruby, you’re cooking her filth.” Said Nox.

“Fire… Foxes?” Said the lead fox, opening its maw and cackling ‘hehehehehehe’ as only a fox could.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gx_jRfB-Ao (Here, enjoy a real fox laughing. It’s a happy hehe instead of a conniving hehe.)

He caught a wiff of Ruby’s black goo with his canine nose and leapt away. Magnetically repulsed by the wretched scent. Though he did a good job of concealing his disgust.

“We are not mortal fire - fox, we are Shakko!” Corrected the lead fox, retreating into one of the nearby dens.

It walked in three circles then lay then tucked itself beneath a brilliant mana crystal. With the three other Shakko gathered in a heap on top of it. Squishing together like cats poured into a bucket. Except for their flames which grew to engulf the four creatures. Arcane heat cause the mana crystal above them to liquify and drip onto them, empowering the Shakko with liquid mana.

Nora, her body piloted by Jesus, guided the party. Any who were suffering the first effects of mana sickness were placed under black crystals, and paired with their other halves to practice their spells. Meanwhile the C rankers stood watch, knowing the E rankers would have nothing besides their foreign fists to protect the other’s with. While Nox searched through his system for anything that might save Ashley. Unfortunately there was nothing, no alternate tabs, or any home page plastered with ads for -20% off if you buy the super premium masochism master package.

Damnit all right to hell! The one time I could use a shop and it’s not fucking there!

Liam, just like all the hunters, was forced to watch their party decay. Lala died first, with blood filling her eyeballs as mana cancer crystalized in her arteries and tore her apart from the inside. [human soul +1] But she wasn’t the only one, Zoe died an hour later from a similar growth [human soul +1]. Though if it developed independently or had been caused by their swapped bodies couldn’t be ascertained. Which turned their attention to Nora and Jon, the next weakest hunters. We have no way of guessing what will happen, Nora swapped with Jesus… If they are somehow linked, then she could drag him down or Jesus could be mitigating the mana accumulation.

Jon was an unusual case, since he was a therapy hunter of D ranking. A rare mutant who gained tremendous and very regulated powers from the gene therapy that often altered which powers activated between doses. The kill team quickly retrieved Ruby and Nox’s therapy doses and dispensed them to Jon and Nora. Prophylactically injecting them with a heightened dosage to combat the mana saturation.

As the hours passed, Nox’s mana buildup forced him to shift his body, a welcome change for his broken ribs, but Taylor handled the build up differently. By ignoring Nox’s earlier warning Taylor unlock the other accumulated souls, including those of Zoe and Lala. Unlike the rangers, the two diviners increased all three bars, slightly lengthening their health and stamina –an almost imperceptible increase– but their mana bars nearly doubled.

“Ah, what the hell! It’s supposed to lower our mana!” Shouted Taylor, frustrated at the instant recharge.

Worse still, their mana recovery rate had quadrupled, and now it was becoming difficult to keep their mana low. Should I just shoot Taylor now? Will I double my power if I kill him? He felt as though two angels were whispering into his ears, the dark angel guaranteeing him power and the angel of light supplicating for patience. Taylor could be a bit of a bastard, but no soul had granted Nox its full power, and there was no reason to think that Taylor’s would. Combine that fact with him being in Nox’s body and the conclusion of peace was forced. No way am I about to shoot myself in the face. Thought Nox, looking at his own face and shuddering. It felt impossibly wrong.

“Stop screwing with those options Taylor! I left those locked for a reason.” Snapped Nox.

“You might be happy as a furry but some of us are decent human beings!” Answered Taylor, quickly becoming the voice of the dark angel on his shoulder.

His hand wandered towards the 1911 on his hip, when he noticed a second tab on the window. Curious, he selected it, absolutely certain that it hadn’t been there before.

[Spell list]

Protect 1/10

Heal 2/10

Enhance 1/10

Divine 1/10