The day was like any other. The clouds in the sky lazed past the sun, the wind rustled the trees as an old codger rustles skirts, and the air was alive with the sounds of nature. So it came as quite a bit of a surprise to Leon when, arriving on the ground floor of the Night Creatures base that morning, he found himself watching two people make out on the ruins of a couch in the central room. For a good five minutes, the scene played out: two strangers wrestling with their mouths on the couch, and Leoncio standing with mouth agape and brain not fully processing the development.

After a few moments, however, things do click for him, and he coughs into his hand, trying to not appear rude. The two break apart and look towards him, giving him a good view of their faces. The one on top, a girl, had strangely shiny skin and half of her face was covered in dirty bandage. The visible half, however, was quite beautiful. Her black hair came back in a ponytail, and though her outfit consisted of scraps of cloth, it seemed to perfectly suit her. It also made it impossible to not notice the very sharp and dangerous looking short spear.

The other one on the bottom, a guy, looked inhumanly white, with features that looked drawn on aside from his mouth and nose. Wearing all black and a black bandana, he gave the impression of being a punk more than anything. The pickaxe at his side seemed to obviously belong to him. He raises his hand in greeting. Leoncio can only do the same in turn.

“Yo, what’s up my man?” the guy calls out. “So, this place is back in business, huh? I thought once that pyro left, this place would stay deader than this gal’s heart.” He snickers a bit, only to have the spear end up lodged in his chest by the girl. Leon backs away, startled, only to hear more laughing coming from the guy. “Ok, ok, bad joke. You know I love you.”

The girl gets off the guy’s lap, pulling her spear free and heading out. The guy rubs his covered head a bit, looking embarrassed over the whole deal.

“Who… are you people?” Leoncio asks. “And how are you alright after that?”

The man looks over at Leon, and snickers a bit more. He stands, and walks over, placing his hand on Leoncio’s shoulder. “Well, the answers for both are kind of the same, really.” He has a big smile plastered across his face as he answers. “I’m Manny Ken, and I’m one of the old leaders for this clan you’ve gone and decided to take over, kid. Though, I’m gonna take a guess and say you didn’t earn it the usual way. Guy who took over after me could honestly never lose to a runt like you.”

Leoncio knocks Manny’s hand off his shoulder, looking at his hand as he does so. “You… your body feels weird.”

“Probably because I’m a puppet. Did my name not give it away? My dad wasn’t exactly the most creative bastard around, especially when he moved away from science into the realm of crazy evil blood magic. Still, can’t really complain about being alive, now can I?” He points at the door. “My lady friend slash significant other is Kizu. I don’t know her full story, because she likes to get a bit more stabby if I ask, but she’s a living doll that got abandoned in the desert. First thing she did when we met was cut off my arm. Isn’t she just amazing?”

Leon is quiet, and leans against a wall, taking this all in. “...so why exactly are you here?”

Manny places his hands on his hips. “What, I can’t come to my old base and make out with my lady whenever I feel like? Respect for your elders really has gone out of style with you humans nowadays. So sad; truly, truly sad.” He taps his head. “How’s about this for an answer; I’m here to make you the official leader of the Night Creatures. I’m also here to crash for a while, and probably will continue to do so from time to time because I still really like this place. Got a problem with that, then you’re gonna have to put on your big boy pants and try to stop me.” He walks over to the couch and grabs the pickaxe, hefting the tool onto his shoulder.

“What do you mean… ‘make me the official leader?’ This place was abandoned. There was no listed clan leader or members.” Leoncio’s blood starts to heat up as the conversation goes on.

“Easy enough. Let’s fight for say… five minutes? Make it out intact, then you’ll officially be the leader of this clan, and I’ll tell you all sorts of things about it from my time as leader. Especially info on the founder, which you may seriously want to know anyways.” Manny walks past Leoncio, whistling some old-timey carnival tune as he heads down the stairs. “We’re going to the old sparring room by the way! I’ll meet you there; can you get Kizu for me? She’ll watch the match to make sure you don’t die.”

Leon rubs his temples, letting his head cool for a moment. “Why is this all happening so early in the morning. I was about to go for a walk, I didn’t want to fight anyone today.” Seeing no real way out of the situation, however, he went to the door to try and find the still mysterious Kizu that Manny had been with. Exiting the base, he found her not too far off, sitting on a rock and watching the sky. Leoncio eyes the spear she still has in her grip, not wanting to get too close within its range. “Uh… Kizu, right? Um, Manny wanted me to ask you to come watch us fight… do you think there’s any way we can avoid that? I don’t know him, and I really have no reason to fight with him.”

Kizu turns to him, watching him with her lone, emerald eye. “Once Manny decides on a fight, you’ll not stop him.” She slides off the rock and heads for the door. “If you’re going to survive, don’t hold back. I can fix any damage to his body; yours is a different matter.”

Leon gulps as he realizes just how serious this situation is. He had no reason to fight, but was he so cowardly he’d run? That he’d abandon his base, abandon his fellow clan member? He grips one of his prayer beads in hand, letting the polished wood calm him as he begins to repeat his mantra to himself. “Om, Shanti, Invati.”



Leoncio sits across the sparring room from Manny, stretching out his muscles. The puppet calls out to him. “Yo, kitty! You ready to stop being a pussy yet, or are you gonna run with your tail between your legs as soon as I give ya a good one?”

Kizu, from behind the protective glass of the observation room, speaks over an unseen intercom. “Manny. Calm yourself. You’re acting like an idiot.”

Manny rubs his forehead, then leans against his pickaxe. “I haven’t had a good fight in some time, hon. I’m just hoping this guy will let me enjoy myself.” His expression turns to one of contentment when Leoncio turns to face him. “That’s a nice look in your eyes, kid.”

Leoncio clenches a fist, breathing in and out slowly. “I really don’t want to fight you, but since you’ve left me no choice, I’m just gonna go all out. Like you said, you’re just a living doll. I don’t have to worry about killing you.” As he spits out the last sentence, his eyes start to turn gold, his muscles tensing in preparation.

Manny hefts up his weapon onto his shoulders, smiling. “That’s what a proper Night Creatures leader is supposed to be like. Come on, show me what you’re made of!”

Leoncio rushes forward in a leap, like a cat pouncing towards its prey. He makes it about half the distance before his face is met with cold black metal. Feeling his nose break, he falls, the collision with the pickaxe lowering his speed. Once he connects with concrete, he backs away, his hand going to check the damage as a gloved fist connects with his already broken nose, sending him rolling backwards in a ball of pain and disorientation.

“Jeez,” Manny says, shaking his hand as he picks his weapon up. “That was way too easy, and my punches aren’t even all that hard. Get up.” He hears a sound like a wind blowing past, then notices his body feels lighter. Looking down, he sees his arm resting motionless on the floor. He looks back at Leon, who is now crouched against the wall, arm folded across his chest.

The boy lets out a growl, before rushing once more on all fours, closing the distance easily and grabbing Manny’s head. With a roar, he smashes it into the floor, the puppet being quite light, then picks him back up, only to slash him across the chest. Four claw marks appear carved into Manny’s chest, tearing his shirt to near ribbons, and the puppet falls onto his back, not moving. With the puppet no longer moving, Leoncio’s blood begins to cool down, his eyes slowly shifting shades back to green, his breath slightly labored. It comes as a surprise to him when he feels something grab his ankle.

“Huh?!” he cries out, looking down only to see Manny’s severed arm clenching on tightly. He shakes his foot, when a thought occurs to him. He turns back to Manny’s main body, which is now standing, pickaxe held high. He gives Leoncio a grin.

“Ooo, so close,” he says, bringing its side down hard on the boy’s head. For a moment, everything is bright, then it fades to black. When Leoncio wakes up, he finds himself lying on the ruined operating table in the medbay, Kizu’s face directly above his own. As he looks at her closely, he notices that she really isn’t human, yet is still quite beautiful. A faint blush manages to reach his face. She pulls back, and looks out the door.

“He’s coming to. No signs of brain damage. Nose will need about a week to heal.” A second later, Manny walks in, looking as though nothing happened, though his shirt is still destroyed.

“Hey,” he says, an awkward grin on his face. “Ah, so, uh, sorry about that. Might’ve hit you a bit hard at the end. Kinda got that old battle lust brewing. Still, I didn’t use either pointy end, so ya know, you’re still alive and everything.” Kizu gives him a look, and he rolls his eyes. “Alright, look. I really am sorry, dude. You’re totally fine as leader of the Night Creatures, and you’re a good fighter. You’re still a bit green though, so I think I’ll help you sharpen your fighting senses a bit. After all, there’re a lot of folks out there that don’t like the name of this clan, even if the stuff that happened to give it that bad rep is long in the past. And funny enough, the past has this weird habit of showing up again, ya know?”

“Yeah,” Leoncio says. “I guess… I guess you two can stay here for a while. I mean, it’s more your base than mine I guess. I just found it and they said I could keep it.”

“Hey, hey, it’s definitely yours now! Spine up a bit, pussycat, you’re a Night Creature! Now, let’s go have some alcohol to celebrate you not being a little bitch after all!”