Double or Nothing: One in a Million

The Burning Hunter Gatherer

The group approached the hill slowly and silently, crouching behind a large fragment of fiery bone while Azazel tucked himself on his knees, toes bent back and ready to pounce while he toyed with the chains wrapped across his sleeves. Jack pressed himself against cover, loading special bullets into the magazines of his dark black pistols. "So you mean to tell me he's just been standing there?" Cynthia shook her head, fixing her glasses. "Not a he. An it. I'm not even sure what species of creature it is supposed to be."

The group poked their heads over the mound of bone and fiery flesh, where they were met with a ghastly and ancient sight. A tall, skeletal figure stood with crossed arms in front of the crown of the Flamecrested Harbinger. A tattered, ancient sack tied around their neck while bones jutted from their stitched and torn burlap mask, and two fiery eyes glared out into the horizon. A pair of large, serrated ax heads sat upon their back, skulls hanging from a belt of thorns and dust. No shirt could cloak their half eaten, melted flesh, and what little remained was pure, fiery muscle.

Jack propped himself down against the wall, spitting onto a hot patch of bone. The saliva dissolved quickly. "Yikes. What are we thinking?" Lucifer shook his head, leaning to gather the group into a huddle. "He appears to be some form of hunter gatherer, a spirit from the ancient past who once hunted these Harbingers for sport." Cynthia snapped her fingers, pointing to the crouched King of Hell. "You read my mind. So we're all in agreement that he clearly knows how to fight, right?"

Jack and Azazel both nodded, but the Lord of Wrath reared his chains and pounded his flaming fists together. "Ah, screw that. We all know you kids and this old man(he gestured to Lucifer with gleeful eyes) have the greatest fighter in all of Hell on your side. Why not use him?" Lucifer sighed, dropping his shoulders while his wings folded back into his suit. "I taught you better than that, Azazel. I'm not one to deny how powerful you are when backed into a corner, but we can do without that energy for now. Let's at least see what they have to say."

Jack nodded, unfolding his arms with his guns ready. "Right. Let's reason with the guy first, eh?" He muttered, raising his fedora to the air. As he moved upward, something flashed across the sky, striking the bone of the ancient nightmare with a solid and audible vibration. Jack hit the ground on his hands and knees, eyes wide with shock. "Okay, guess he's not reasoning." The group lunged over the mound of bone and fiery flesh, jumping into combat against the ancient warrior. As they drew close, the ax from behind the mound swirled and snapped through the air, spiraling back toward them.

Only one of the group could have noticed the attack so harsh and fierce, however. The descendant of the ancient warrior himself. "GET DOWN!!" Azazel roared, throwing Lucifer to the ground. Cynthia leapt into a twisting flip above the ax while Jack turned and seized it by the handle, swinging with it as he planted his boots and slung the weapon back toward its owner. The fiery hunter, on the edge of the great nightmare's crown, caught the ax without even turning to look. "Who are you? You are not one people, nor are you distinct from one another."

Azazel rose from the ground, his arm blades snapping against the floor as the chains on his sleeves unfurled, glowing red hot. "I'll show ya who we are, you maniac!" "Azazel, stop!" Lucifer called, but the Lord of Wrath charged forward, his ferocity blistering against the hot, dry wind as he leapt over a ruined structure, still lodged in the Harbinger's backside. Azazel cracked his chains, reducing a pillar to dust as he surged forward, lashing out at the ancient warrior. But the masked hunter dodged the blow, sweeping with a fist of bone and rope.

It sent the Lord of Wrath flying backward into the ruins, breaking a pillar against the blow. But still, the flaming Tyrant of Torture surged forward again and again, his stamina never ending, fueled by violence and hate. In the distance of the Demonic beast, Jack and Cynthia watched from afar, while Lucifer continued to spectate from the sky above. "We should help him, right?" Cynthia asked, but Lucifer chuckled, landing beside the Demoness and planting his hand on her shoulder with three good pats. "Ha! No, of course not. Let the Lord of Wrath have his fun. We must find a solution to this madness while he's busy."

Jack stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. "Then it's settled. Lucifer, you go with Cynthia. See what kind of distraction you can make that would steer this thing toward imminent doom." Lucifer was struck with an expression of confusion, but Cynthia turned her attention elsewhere, puzzled for an alternative reason. "You want us to do...what, exactly?" She asked. Jack crouched for a moment, rubbing his eyes. "Sorry, ash flakes. Ahem, anyways," he continued, gesturing a thumb toward the volcanos that sprawled across Wrath's fiery surface.

"The volcanos. We're gonna throw this guy back into wherever he came from, boil him all the way through." Lucifer stepped forward, arms crossed and a concerned expression set beneath his spiked locks. "Sin Hunter, how would we do that? And even if we could, we have witnessed what this beast is capable of. A mere volcano wouldn't be enough to stop it." Jack grinned, flashing his canines to the King of Hell. "But you can. If we can drag this thing into a volcano, you can cast some kind of spell to trap it forever, right?" At this, Lucifer was stunned by the tactical approach.

His fingers reached his chin, tapping thoughtfully. "It could be...yes, that could work. It wouldn't be eternal, but I could attempt to cast a binding spell, confining this Flamecrested Harbinger to the volcano until the moment it reaches its demise." Cynthia laughed, striking her palm with her fist. "Ha! And since it's experienced death already, we can just lock it there forever!" Lucifer's eyes sparkled with delight. The plan could work. "Exactly! Oh, Doctor, Morpheus has never said a false thing about your prowess! Yes," he replied, turning to the Sin Hunter, "it could work. It will require a lot of magic, but I think that's reasonable to achieve."

Jack nodded, rolling his sleeves back and whipping out one of his blasters. "Great. Then you two shapeshift, or transform, or something, just get this Harbinger's attention." With a turn and a wicked smile of malice, saliva foaming at the corners, Jack finished with, "I'll see if Azazel can't get some help with that ancient fossil."