The masked kabuki stood in watch in the distance, they observed a young Horizon Shimmer with her school friend, Yuna as the two were leaving the school to get into an expensive car. The figure patiently observed from a rooftop as the car began to drive off, waiting for the right moment to strike.

They retrieved a device from under their cloak and opened it. A red flame ignited from the small disk-like object and swayed in the direction that Horizon was, confirming the masked figure’s suspicions; Horizon had the box, there was no doubt about that.

Crouching down, they placed the device back into their cloak and retrieved a small nearly invisible disk, and prepared to throw it. Once Horizon’s car was in range, they tossed the clear disk in its direction and it landed on the car, attaching itself. Once the device was connected, the Kabuki checked their phone upon their left wrist and pulled up a live map showing the coordinates of Horizon’s vehicle.

The tracking device worked flawlessly. Horizon wouldn’t be able to travel far without them knowing, and that was more than enough. Now that they were certain they could keep an eye on her, they could acquire the box at their leisure while they attended to other matters.

Inside the car, Horizon leaned back while the auto-pilot took her and Yuna to Horizon’s home. “So, how was school?” Yuna asked.

Horizon shrugged. “It was okay.”

“So, we’re going to your place then?” Yuna blushed.

Horizon simply nodded. “Is that alright?”

“Yes, that’s fine...” Yuna nodded.

The two were silent for a few more moments before Yuna looked down to the monitor in the car, noting that the time was 4:08 PM. Horizon looked down at the clock as well and made an audible. “Hm.”

“Hm?” Yuna tilted her head.

Horizon shook her head. “I don’t know, something about seeing that gave me deja vu...”

“Seeing what?” Yuna blinked.

“The time.” Horizon pointed.

“What about it?” Yuna asked.

Horizon paused, trying to think hard about why it bothered her, but she couldn’t pinpoint it. “I don’t know, it’s probably nothing.”

Yuna decided to change the subject. “So... This Summer Flare... Aren’t you scared that she’s going to kill you?”

“Why would I be scared?” Horizon asked.

Yuna frowned at how brave Horizon was, it made her feel so pathetic in comparison. “Because, by the sound of it, she’s very deadly... She isn’t going to give up so easily either, so maybe you should be on your guard.”

Looking over at Yuna, Horizon’s usual neutral face seemed more off-putting than usual. “Being afraid will not change the situation any, right?”

The computer wizard couldn’t disagree. Horizon’s bravery wasn’t from nerves, but instead, from pure logic. Was Horizon a completely logical girl? Was it possible for her to have no emotions? Was it possible for anyone? Yuna was still so curious as to what a smile would look like on Horizon’s lips.

Yuna nodded in agreement. “I suppose so...”

Horizon tilted her head once more. “Is something bothering you?”

“I’m just... Worried about you...” Yuna admitted.

Horizon reached out and offered her hand to the girl. Yuna’s face turned red as she stared at the offered hand and then took it in her own. Horizon rested their hands and gave Yuna’s a gentle squeeze. It made Yuna’s heart race but confused her at the same time.

“I am told that this is a gesture of comfort when people worry?” Horizon asked.

Yuna nodded gently. “Y-yes... It is...”

“Is this acceptable?” Horizon questioned.

“Yeah... It’s nice actually... You have soft hands...” Yuna smiled.

“Expensive hand lotion,” Horizon replied.

“I promise that I won’t let anything happen to you if I can help it...” Yuna changed the subject as she squeezed Horizon’s hand harder.

Horizon blinked. “You’ve done a lot as it is.”

“Yes, and I plan to continue to do so, which reminds me, how is Moon doing?” Yuna asked.

Taking her hand back, Horizon gestured over her phone and pulled up the hologram of Moon. When their hands parted, Yuna felt a sense of sadness overcome her.

Moon waved to Yuna and bowed. “Greetings, Horizon, and Yuna! I’ve finished downloading your recent patch number 0.88, Yuna, and applied the fixes in my processing to all data that I’ve gathered. I should be about 8 percent more accurate now.”

“Not bad work, Moon. So what can you tell us about Summer Flare so far?” Yuna asked.

“I shall pull up my notes, one moment.” Moon bowed before pulling out a window with text on it and placing it next to himself.

Summer Flare is a mysterious creature, upon further analysis. She has specified her species as a Kirin, which appears to be based upon the mythical creature of the same name, however, she insists she comes from another world known as “Equestria”, which appears to be some kind of alternate dimension. This is particularly interesting as she asserts that magic originates from the Equestrian universe.

Upon further study, her affinity appears to be fire, and she is capable of increasing the temperature of her fire magic exponentially when angered. Her power seemed to be directly linked to anger and fury. Her body seems to withstand far more damage when powered up and is even capable of running fast enough to keep up with a motor vehicle going at full speed.

Explosives seem to slow her down only slightly, as when fully powered up, she can utilize her fire to create a sort of shield to protect herself. This, however, does not mean her body is impervious to conventional weaponry as scans indicate that her skin is just as vulnerable as any ordinary human’s. It could be optimal for damage upon the kirin to take her by surprise.

Summer’s resolve seems quite sturdy as she seems to be difficult to distract from her primary objective.

As far as we know, she works for a mysterious group with some kind of ulterior motive. This group is likely Equestrian in nature, and its leader is more than likely the person who trained Summer. What they hope to accomplish is still a mystery, but Summer does not appear to be privy to their goals, as she has suggested she is in the dark about such things, though admittedly she does not seem to be very interested in their primary goal.

Calculations suggest that her full power has yet to be witnessed as there appears to be reserve energy within her body. It is unknown what her body’s limit would even be.

“She sounds quite deadly...” Yuna gulped after reading the information.

Horizon nodded in agreement. “Even with the three of us, we weren’t a match for her.”

“I can probably modify the mask that Candy made for you so that Moon can be used in the lens, that should give him better combat analysis in real-time for you.” Yuna offered.

“That would be ideal.” Horizon agreed.

Nova crossed her arms as she whistled with an impressed tone as she stepped foot into the Apple family’s home. “Nice digs you guys got here, pretty cool!”

Candy blinked as she looked around her own house trying to determine what constituted as “cool”, but could find nothing. Were Nova’s standards really that low? The house was nice, but not anything to brag over.

“So you guys really don’t have a home then? That wasn’t just an exaggeration?” Candy asked.

Jasper coughed and looked at her with disdain. “Candy, it ain’t polite to say such things.”

Nova seemed to ignore her rudeness and nodded gleefully. “Nope, we basically live out of the car or hotel rooms really. It doesn’t make much sense to buy a house or rent an apartment when we’re never at any one place for too long. Thanks for inviting me over, by the way.”

Candy nodded. “It’s no worries, I have to get your measurements to make you a suit after all, and I’m sure my older brother wants to stare at your ass some more.”

Jasper coughed and almost choked on his own saliva at that statement before shaking his head. “What!? No!”

Nova faked a frown as she looked over her shoulder at him and gave her rear a wiggle. “Really? That’s a shame.”

“This will take some time, Jasper why don’t you go and talk to Ms. Razorclaw for a bit while I do this, you could learn from her wisdom, and I think she’s outside weeding.” Candy waved her hand to dismiss her brother.

Jasper was about to object to her telling him what to do but decided it wasn’t worth an argument over, besides he was actually quite curious about Cinder Razorclaw anyway.

Stepping outside, Jasper walked around to the back of the house to see her casually ripping weeds out of the ground with little to no effort. Her dark skin seemed to compliment the setting sun quite well. It was odd that someone with such a gruff-looking exterior seemed to have a heart of gold. Cinder was such a well-mannered woman for her appearance that it was almost unsettling.

Walking closer Jasper lowered his hat and nodded his head. “Need any help?”

Cinder glanced up at him with a smile and declined. “No thank you, it wouldn’t be right of me to accept your help when the whole reason I’m doing this is because of the fact that your family pays me to do it. So it should be expected of me.”

“A woman of good morals.” Jasper crossed his arms and nodded.

“Very much so,” Cinder agreed. "Where I am from, honor is the most important quality that you can have."

“Y’all said that you’re from Equestria, right?” Jasper asked.

“Yup. Dragon Scar originally, but I lived in Equestria for some time before I came here,” Cinder explained.

“Is it possible to go to this Equestria place?” Jasper questioned.

Cinder shook her head. “The portal to Equestria can’t be opened manually from this side. It would require someone over there to open it.”

“Manually?” Jasper tilted his head.

Standing up, Cinder tossed a fistful of weeds into a trash bag before nodding. “Yup, but the portal opens up on its own for about three days or so every 30 moons.”

“So... Could like... demons come here?” Jasper asked.

With a raised brow, Cinder shook her head. “No. The portal is protected now with anti-demon magic. Demons can’t get through anymore thanks to the Princess. Demons that try will find that their powers are removed and likely will die.”

“How did the demons get here then?” Jasper questioned.

Cinder shrugged. “Some other way. I don’t know too much. While I was a trusted ambassador for the Princess, there were still many secrets that I wasn’t authorized to know. Twilight is one of the leaders of an entire country after all, and I was an immigrant from a foreign nation, so naturally, they aren’t going to easily tell me about national secrets.”

“I see... You said that you helped Twilight in some kind of war though?” Jasper recalled her mentioning such a thing in passing.

Grinning, Cinder nodded. “Yeah, was pretty incredible. Seeing all of those within the resistance fight was truly something. After the war, I was also part of a rescue mission for Princess Twilight, and then ultimately after that part of a mission to overthrow the overlord of Dragon Scar.”

“So killing demons wasn’t all you did then?” Jasper chuckled.

Shaking her head and making a fist with her metal arm she made a heroic pose. “Nope, the Razorclaw family has been full of amazing warriors that fight all kinds of insane things. My brother Ash was the Blade of Dragon Scar before he died; the most feared swordmaster. His skill with a blade was unmatched.”

“Sounds pretty honorable. I’m glad that y’all have so much pride in your heritage,” Jasper responded.

Cinder shrugged.

Changing the subject, Jasper pointed to her arm. “Hope it ain’t rude, but I’ve been curious about your arm for a long time now...”

Looking at the robotic appendage, she flexed her fingers before looking back at him with her other hand running down her mechanical arm as her reptilian eyes focused on it. She couldn’t remember what it was like to have both arms anymore.

“It’s a reminder to never give up.” She grinned, her fangs showing as she did.

Jasper didn’t quite understand. He tilted his head in confusion.

Sensing his confusion, Cinder explained further. “The arm is gone, but the heart is still there.”

“How did you get it?” He asked.

Cinder shook her head. “It’s an ancient story and not one that I think you have the time to hear anyway.” The woman pointed to the house as Candy stepped out with her hands behind her back and a large grin on her face.

The girl was soon accompanied by Nova who came out as well. The two approached as Candy rattled off her newly acquired information. “Well, I can safely say that Ms. Novalight here will make a fine addition to our team, as her measurements are perfect for making something truly amazing.”

Jasper rolled his eyes. “Does her figure really have anything to do with our mission?”

“Don’t act like you don’t want to know!” Candy winked as she glanced over at Nova who gave a flirty giggle.

“Young love, how refreshing...” Cinder commented.

“We ain’t-“ Jasper attempted to correct her, but he was ignored.

“Were you ever in love, Cinder?” Candy asked.

Cinder let out a sigh. “Once.”

“Really? What happened?” Candy questioned.

There was a short silence that was broken by Cinder whose words seemed more thoughtful. “I’m two thousand years wiser, that’s for sure.”

“They break your heart?” Candy blinked.

Cinder nodded. “You could definitely say that.”

“Musta’ been horrible...” Jasper frowned on her behalf.

“The past can’t be changed. I learned from my mistakes... You kids would be wise to be careful around demons though. They’re tricky, and often times when you think they’re beaten, they had new tricks up their sleeves...” Cinder warned.

Nova stepped forward with a fist raised triumphantly. “Demons? No big deal. I’ve killed worse.”

Cinder smirked at the young teen and let out a hearty laugh. “I love your bravado, let’s just hope it doesn’t get you killed.”

Summer Flare took a good eight hours to get her anger back under control, which was embarrassing, as she wasted so much of her power, acted like a behemoth, and was still not done with her mission. While she had hoped to be able to defeat Horizon and her friends without resorting to such barbaric tactics, a part of her was excited that she got to use her true power.

Anger is what fueled her strength, and it always had been. All kirin would become dangerous when angered, but Summer Flare was exceptional in that regard. The fire of her anger burned hotter and longer than most of her kind, and as a result, her temper was explosive.

When her master first found her, she had no control over her anger. She was nothing more than a wildfire burning everything in her path, even her own parents. Her entire village and family were incinerated because of her. She lost control, and at the time she was frightened.

She remembered standing outside of the burning rubble when he first showed up. Her master, he was a serious creature. He told her how to continue living, he put the fires of her anger to use, he gave them a purpose. In time he would train her to become something greater than she imagined.

It took years, but he showed her how to control her anger, how to suppress it, and channel it when she needed that extra power. Even Summer Flare was frightened by what her true power could actually do. The girl didn’t know regular emotions, only extremes. It was mandatory that she was taught how to suppress all of her emotions. In a way, she was somewhat envious of how Horizon Shimmer seemed to do it so easily with no practice.

Sitting down on the floor of an old abandoned business within the city limits, Summer inhaled and sighed. Her mission was unchanged: kill Horizon Shimmer and retrieve the box she had. Her master wanted the box, so she had to make sure she returned with it. That was all there was to it.

Her phone rang but the girl took a few seconds to compose herself. After eight rings she finally answered. “Hello?”

A projection came out of the phone on Summer’s wrist and a familiar disturbing character appeared before her. He was shorter than most men, but she tried to ignore it.

“Summer Flare, I couldn’t get a hold of you, where were you?” He asked.

“I was contending with our problem...” Summer stated plainly.

“So the Shimmer girl isn’t dead yet?” He questioned.

“No.” Summer shook her head.

He shook his head in disapproval, his eyes filled with annoyance and vicious intent. “Summer, you have a mission and I expect you to carry it out. If you can’t do that, then maybe I should play with you...” He raised up a coin that was between his thumb and index finger, presenting it.

“I’m working on it, Eight Ball,” Summer said.

Twirling and flipping the coin between his fingers, Eight lowered his hand and leaned in, adjusting his glasses as he did. “Listen to me, carefully. Kill this girl and bring back the box, tonight or you and I will be making a little wager, do you understand?”

“I understand.” Summer nodded.

Leaning back, Eight smirked at her. “I hope you understand, I can’t have dead weight keeping this organization down. If you can’t cut it, then you’re a liability and we are not in the business of taking care of liabilities.”

“Horizon Shimmer will be dead before the night is over,” Summer promised.

“Good, glad we’re on the same page, now get to work.” Eight nodded before hanging up abruptly.

Summer wasn’t afraid of his games, in fact, she didn’t really fear death at all. She had long since accepted that she would likely die in her line of work, as it was part of her training. She knew that eventually killing for a living would lead to enough enemies that one was sure to catch up with her when she was at her most vulnerable.

Eight was likely to kill her even if she did manage to kill Horizon. The only thing that would likely save her is if her master stepped in. His word could easily overturn Eight’s if he was so inclined.

Horizon was slippery, but Summer knew where she lived, and that meant she could get the job done that night for sure; Eight didn’t make empty threats.

Picking herself up, Summer prepared to go and take down her prey. If she returned with the box, she saw herself having a chance at living past tomorrow.

Horizon returned from her walk-in closet wearing the outfit that Candy had made for her and sat down on her bed next to Yuna who was working on the lens of her mask. She made a few final adjustments and then grinned as she offered it to Horizon.

Taking the mask in her hands, Horizon quickly fastened the mask upon her head and blinked a few times as she noted her vision was better behind the mask than it was prior. “Impressive.”

“I took the liberty of adjusting the lens to match your prescription for starters...” Yuna pushed her own glasses back up her nose.

Horizon nodded as she glanced around the room.

“I have also not only installed a filament between the panes of glass necessary to make the lens which allows Moon to be utilized with the lens, but...” Yuna grinned as she paused while Horizon noticed what she was about to mention herself.

On-screen, Horizon could see live readouts of her current speed (0 KM), heart rate, and other various health monitors along with it.

“I have upgraded him to act as a heads-up-display. His processing power was improved so he can provide accurate statistics in real-time along with combat suggestions. Moon, please go over the new features for Horizon.”

Moon appeared in Horizon’s vision and quickly donned some glasses while he held a scrap of paper in his paw reading off his new features which also displayed on screen for Horizon.

-Heads-up-display or HUD will monitor surroundings at all times and indicate where damage is coming from along with assessing environmental and enemy risks. No more accidentally stepping in lava! You’re welcome!

-New health monitoring will detect serious injuries and recommend medical assistance necessary to mend. In addition to this, the risk assessment system will warn user of potentially fatal injuries and work to prevent them. Count on us to keep you alive!

-Active combat scanning or “ACS” is a new system that can analyze combat data in real-time and indicate weak points on foes along with offering appropriate counter-attack strategies. The ACS is self-learning and capable of adapting to the fighting style of the user. It’s truly amazing!

-New vital detections means the system can now even keep an eye on magic reserves within the user. No need to worry about overexertion anymore, workouts are about to give some serious gains!

-Stealth systems are now operational. The system will now assist in mapping the best paths to get the drop on foes and remain undetected. Decibel level monitoring means that the system can issue silent warnings to the user when they are making too much noise. They won’t know what hit ‘em!

-Active Magic Scanning! Wowzers! With this amazing new feature, the system will get a read on opponents’ magic reserves to give readouts of their capabilities and potency of their magic abilities.

-Second Wind. We all need one sometimes. With second wind, give your opponent’s a big surprise; when you go down, get back up! Second wind administers an adrenaline shot via the user’s phone on their wrist with a hardware modification. Give the bad guys the middle finger!

“That’s all very impressive, Moon. You’re more useful than ever.” Horizon nodded as she praised the digital assistant.

The dog swelled up with pride as he puffed his chest out. “I live to serve you, Miss Shimmer.”

Removing the mask, Horizon nodded at Yuna. “This will be a big help, thank you.”

“Y-you’re welcome...” Yuna blushed and tried to hide her face behind her long locks.

“I suppose the only thing left now is to practice more...” Horizon stated.

Yuna blinked in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“The last two times we encountered Summer Flare, she managed to defeat us with relative ease. This is likely due to the fact that she is a far more seasoned fighter than we are, so we will need to practice and train to take her down, is that not logical?” Horizon asked.

Yuna admired how simple Horizon made things seem. If something defeated her, the solution was just to practice more and train harder.

“I suppose that is true, and hopefully Moon will be of use during any training...” Yuna smiled.

Horizon nodded before letting out a yawn. “Either way, we should get some rest before it gets too late.”

Yuna checked the clock, noting it was 8:08 PM, and nodded in agreement. The two girls climbed into the luxurious bed that Horizon owned and when Horizon turned away and closed her eyes, Yuna couldn’t help but stare at the girl that she wished she could call her own. Horizon Shimmer was a social enigma, but she was kindhearted deep down and insanely cute.

As Horizon fell into a proper slumber, Yuna leaned over her and examined her face. The messy locks of hair made Yuna realize that she could start to see a resemblance between the girl and the paintings of her mother around the house. Horizon’s hair was far shorter, but Yuna liked it.

Reaching down with a hand, Yuna gently stroked Horizon’s head, resting her palm on the sleeping girl’s cheek as she stroked it with her thumb. She would do anything for Horizon.

In her sleep, Horizon mumbled something, causing Yuna to lean in closer to listen.

“Equestria...”

Just what was Equestria? Yuna knew less than she’d like about it. All the data that they had acquired told her that it was another world altogether, but what kind of world was it? Was it true that magic was rampant there? How could such a place exist? Surely it would be total chaos if magic could do the things that Summer Flare was capable of?

Either way, Yuna considered it a ghastly place if creatures like Summer Flare could reside there along with whatever other demons ran amuck in their own world now. If anything, Equestria was a disease infecting their world, right?

Getting out of bed, Yuna carefully exited the room and pulled up Moon on her phone. A projection of the dog appeared before her letting out a yawn. “Yuna? Isn’t it late for you?”

“I couldn’t sleep, something is bothering me...” Yuna said.

“What’s on your mind?” Moon asked.

Yuna sat down in the hallway and leaned her back against the wall as she held her wrist out for the projection. “Equestria...”

“Ah yes, the mystical other world...” Moon nodded in understanding as he gripped his chin.

“These monsters came from there, but where does killing Sunset Shimmer come into play?” Yuna questioned.

Moon sat down and looked up in thought as a thought bubble appeared above him while he processed all the information he knew so that he could formulate a guess. “Well, perhaps that box contains something from Equestria?”

“That’s sensible, but that means that Sunset acquired an object from Equestria...” Yuna said.

“The object could have been here all along. These demons may not be the first visitors from that world. Sunset could just be a victim of circumstance; wrong place, wrong time,” Moon suggested.

Is that really possible though? Yuna couldn’t believe it was a coincidence.

“Maybe she traveled there and took it...” Yuna countered.

Moon blinked and stood up. “That’s possible, but we aren’t even certain of how one can even get there. On top of that, what benefit would there be to going and stealing such a thing to bring it back here? It is more or less luring the demons right here...”

That definitely didn’t make sense, but Yuna was starting to formulate a logical explanation. “Maybe...”

She touched her lip with her thumb as she thought it over. “Maybe, she didn’t intend for them to follow her back. Perhaps she hadn’t expected them to be capable of such a thing. The box could have been brought here to ensure that it couldn’t fall into the wrong hands, after all, an entire universe separates it from whoever would want it, right?”

Moon followed her reasoning and nodded. “I suppose that makes sense. So Sunset Shimmer likely intended the box to be safe here. I guess, she miscalculated...”

“Not much can be done about it now...” Yuna frowned.

When Horizon opened her eyes, she found herself in an empty white space. There standing before her was the other version of herself that she had seen before. The same robe covered her nude body, and Horizon could see her bare feet sticking out at the bottom.

“We meet again, Horizon...” The other spoke.

Horizon nodded. “So we do.”

“Your abilities are growing every day, but there’s still so much for you to learn...” The other said.

Horizon came closer. “Is this a dream?”

The other Horizon raised an eyebrow. “So what if it is?”

“Well if this is a dream, and you are just a dream version of myself then I can not accept any information you provide as credible as there would be no way of you knowing things that I didn’t already have knowledge of; as you’re just a manifestation of my own memories in that scenario...” Horizon explained.

The other Horizon waited a few seconds before replying. “An astute observation, but one I’d expect from you, or myself in this case. While it’s true that would be a distinct possibility, wouldn’t you wager it’s unlikely since you are already conscious of that fact.”

“I don’t follow...” Horizon tilted her head.

Lowering her hood, the other Horizon began to explain. “If you are already aware of the fact that I could just be a manifestation of your own consciousness, then wouldn’t it be pointless for me to be so if you were already aware of such a fact? That would mean there would be little purpose of your brain trying to trick you as you’d preemptively regard any information I gave you as false.”

Thinking it over, Horizon determined her logic to be completely sound. If this girl was merely just her mind playing tricks on her, it wouldn’t be a very productive trick to play as she was already suspicious of such a thing.

“Very good point...” Horizon nodded.

“Does that mean you’re regarding me as real?” The other Horizon tilted her head.

“For the time being, it seems as though that is the only conclusion I can draw, so I do not have much of a choice...” Horizon responded.

The other Horizon chose to leave the matter there and changed the topic to her original concern.

“Equestria certainly seems like a dangerous place, doesn’t it?” The robed Horizon questioned.

“It would appear so...” Horizon agreed.

The robed figure walked past Horizon and waved her hand, making an image of a quaint little town appear. Horizon glanced at it and saw horse-like creatures wandering around, conducting their day-to-day lives as if they were human. Was this what Equestria was like?

“A world parallel to our own... A place where magic is abundant, isn’t it interesting?” The other Horizon questioned.

Horizon couldn’t lie. “It is.”

“That box you’ve been holding onto comes from there, and those demons won’t stop until they get their hands on it. Summer Flare is only the start of your problems...” The other warned.

“What can we do then?” Horizon asked.

“Master your magic. It is exactly as Angel said: a new demon lord waits to be crowned, and it will take everything you and your friends have to defeat them...” The other explained.

Horizon’s eyes shot open and she was back in her own bed, but Yuna was at her side, standing up next to her, shaking her awake. It took a good eight seconds to register what was going on, but Horizon quickly had determined that Yuna had purposefully woken her up. “Yuna? What’s going on?”

“Moon is detecting Summer’s energy readings and she’s approaching this house!” Yuna warned.

Nodding, Horizon came to a stand and wandered over to her walk-in closet. She spoke to Yuna from within the closet by speaking loud enough for Yuna to hear. “You should stay here where you’ll be away from the fight. Without magic, you’ll be a sitting duck.”

“I understand... I wish I could do more than offer moral support...” Yuna frowned.

It annoyed her that all of her friends had magic and she did not. Everyone else could protect Horizon with their powers, yet all Yuna could do is hope that Moon would keep her safe. She felt weak and pathetic, but there wasn’t a thing she could do about it.

When Horizon exited the closet, she had donned the tight stealth suit that Candy had made for her and quickly made a few adjustments before placing both of her clawed gloves onto her hands and her mask upon her face.

Yuna noted the dog-like tail that was part of the costume, realizing that Candy clearly was a girl who cared just as much about aesthetics as she did practicality.

Looking back at Yuna, Horizon spoke calmly. “I am going to lure her away from the house, call Jasper and Candy, and tell them to be on alert.”

“You’re going to face her alone!?” Yuna blinked.

Horizon shook her head. “If things get too out of hand, I’ll call Jasper and Candy for back up.”

Coming to a stand, Yuna placed her hand near her heart and gulped. “P-please be careful...”

“I will.” Horizon nodded before racing out the door and down the stairwell.

The teen made a hard right and made her way into the garage. Ordinarily, she would take a car, but this scenario called for more versatility. Taking one of the eight motorcycles parked in the garage, Horizon started it and peeled out onto her driveway, making her way out to the city proper.

The wind ripped through the girl’s hair as she noted the sky above her was starting to form rain clouds. That was fortunate, as the water likely would slow down Summer’s fire abilities.

With her eyes on the road, Horizon observed Moon’s readings in her lenses. Summer had taken the bait and was giving pursuit to Horizon. All was going according to plan.

Before she knew it, Horizon could see the girl chasing after her on foot. Summer’s feet were moving at incredible speeds as she jolted toward the teen. Just narrowly, Horizon managed to dodge a fireball hurled at her from behind and swerved into the entrance to an unfinished construction project.

The building she had entered was left half-constructed years ago and offered no exit for Horizon. Sighing, she parked her bike and hopped off.

Summer carefully followed Horizon into the building with burning hands and eyes as she stared Horizon down. “So, you chose to run into a dead-end?”

Horizon shook her head. “I guess I just chose our battleground.”

Checking the phone on her wrist and observing the time, Summer spoke up. “It’s 11:48... I am supposed to kill you before the night is over... So that gives me twelve minutes to roast you...”

“Why does your group want the box so badly?” Horizon asked.

Summer shook her head as the fires on her hands grew larger. “Hell if I know, and hell if I care. I’d tell you to hand over the box or die, but at this point, my orders are to kill you regardless if I get the box or not...”

“I don’t want to have to kill you, Summer Flare,” Horizon warned as she lowered her stands and raised her left claw in the air, letting the right one dangle in front of herself.

“Then you’re in luck because I doubt a pathetic creature like you even could kill me. You’re human, thus you’re weak and poor at magic. I am a kirin, my abilities with magic are natural and genetic, giving me the advantage here.” Summer growled.

Horizon shook her head in disagreement. “Or perhaps since you’re so used to magic, you lack the ability to think creatively with it.”

“We’ll see about that...” Summer hissed before tossing a dozen fireballs in Horizon’s direction.

While she hadn’t had too much time to practice or train, Horizon found herself far better at dodging attacked by Summer than before. With Moon’s HUD on her side as well, her reaction time was improved significantly.

The digital canine companion began to take in data about Summer’s attacks as she began to hurl several salvos of fireballs in Horizon’s direction, only for the girl to continue to dodge them. With the last set of them causing her to backflip to avoid them.

“Excellent landing!” Moon praised as he held up a paper with the number 10 upon it.

Horizon ignored his praise for now and kept her eyes on Summer who didn’t seem to be tiring out in the slightest.

Taking a chance, Horizon conjured up a few light spears and began tossing them in Summer’s direction, which of course proved useless as Summer’s flaming hands were able to bring up flaming walls of protection with ease; stopping every attempt to hit her with the light spears.

Horizon needed a new plan of attack. Every attack she threw at her was blocked, that meant she needed to hit her when she wasn’t expecting it. Moon’s stealth features came to mind. If she could get away and get the drop on Summer, she might be able to take her down.

Taking the girl down meant killing her though, and while Horizon wasn’t keen on the idea, she recognized that it had to be done.

Quickly leaping into action, Horizon jumped and grappled a scaffolding and climbed it. She began to hop from scaffold to scaffold as the building began to ignite into an inferno.

She needed to be quick before the fire burned everything down and trapped the two of them inside.

Horizon kept herself moving as she dodged attack after attack and finally dived behind some fire that had grown.

Summer was unable to see her prey beyond the fire but began hurling more fire in her direction, only to get frustrated when no sounds of a direct hit were heard. At that point, so much smoke-filled the air that visibility was reduced. While she could sense Horizon’s power, where it was, was uncertain.

Horizon waited for the right moment before she leaped out from the smoke and gave a fierce slash to Summer’s back, shredding a part of her clothing and making her stagger forward. She hisses in pain as she gripped her back with a single hand, rubbing the fresh wound.

So she can be harmed by conventional attacks. Horizon thought; knowing that Moon was likely updating his intel on the girl as they spoke.

Summer wiped away black blood and flicked it off of her hand. “A clever move, but I promise you won’t get a second chance to do that...”

Ignoring her threat, Horizon leaped back into the smoke and spoke as she moved around so as to confuse Summer of her location. Summer’s eyes attempted to follow where the girl’s voice came from.

“Why do demons bleed black?” Horizon asked.

Keeping her head moving around to try and follow the sound of Horizon, Summer answered the question, but kept herself alert. “Our hearts are filled with demonic energy which pumps through our veins. Because of that, we bleed black, it’s a trait that proves one is a pure demon.”

“Then why does a demon’s blood and body disappear upon death? The stuff seems to dissolve into thin air...” Horizon questioned from the unseeable void.

Summer tossed a few random fireballs out, hoping to hit something, but instead, ended up just igniting more of the building. “Demonic energy returns to hell and destroys the host body in the process... Now are we here to talk about demons or fight? I don’t have all night. I have eight minutes to present your head to that cocksucker, Eight Ball or he’s going to slit my throat...”

Eight Ball? Horizon wondered who she was referring to, but realized that she likely wouldn’t get a proper answer. It appeared as though Summer wasn’t interested in answering anymore questions. In actuality though, Horizon was merely using them to buy herself enough time to consider a better plan going forward. She could try and launch another surprise attack, but Horizon guessed that such a strategy wasn’t going to be as effective if used in succession.

Coming out from her smoky cover, Horizon slashed at Summer, only for the woman to dodge the attack and counter with a flaming punch. Horizon narrowly escaped and the two exchanged attacks that the other would dodge or block while Horizon attempted to probe for more information.

“Why would a kirin like you become a demon?” Horizon asked before moving her head out of the way for another punch.

Summer swung a few more times only for the agile teen to move out of the way. “I had no real choice. Kirin will set things ablaze with their anger, and my anger already burned down my entire village. I had nothing left until master found me!”

Horizon swung her claw in an upward motion, just barely making contact with Summer’s cheek. The woman ignored the small scratch and continued to try and beat Horizon into the ground.

“Your master only took you in so that he could exploit you, you know? He trained you to be a weapon to fight for him,” Horizon explained.

Her words didn’t seem to calm the girl down. Summer whipped her arm, making a trail of fire follow, igniting more of the building that was already burning down. “I don’t care! Master gave my life purpose again, so if he wants to use me, he can!”

“Sounds pretty weak if he has to use children to get what he wants...” Horizon pointed out.

Ducking down low, Summer uppercut Horizon, knocking her back and causing her to land on her butt. Rubbing the spot where she got hit, Horizon watched as Summer clenched her fists tighter, making them burn even bright than before. “You have no idea... Master is stronger than you could ever imagine.”

Horizon found that hard to believe. If he was in fact, so strong, why would he resort to training essentially a child soldier to fight for him? What angle could he possibly have for recruiting Summer?

“That’s a lot of loyalty for your master...” Horizon said.

Summer shook her head before stepping closer to Horizon with her hands burning a beautiful blue flame that lit up everything around her, even the inferno around them seemed to pale in comparison to Summer Flare’s magnificent fire abilities. The girl clearly was deadly in a dry environment.

“Master is the only one helped me... I would do anything for him, he gave my life purpose again...” Summer explained before swiping at Horizon.

The teenager leaped backward to avoid the flurry of flaming swipes and kept her distance as Summer continued.

“When the fires of my anger burned down my whole village, he saw good in me, he saw my flames not as a burden, but as an untapped talent. He taught me how to harness the power of my anger and control it... He taught me how to see clearly...” Summer stated.

A distorted voice called from above the two of them. “Then you won’t like this.”

Catching Summer’s attention she looked up and sure enough the moment her head turned a deadly black arrow soared through the air and impaled her left eye. She screamed in agony and gripped the arrow as black blood dripped down her face. She staggered on her feet trying to pull it out, but the arrow’s head was jagged and thus could not simply be pulled out without causing more damage.

“FUCK!” She screeched as she gripped it with both hands trying to determine the best approach to the problem.

From a scaffolding above, a figure donning a black cloak jumped down and landed in front of Summer. Horizon got a good look at their face seeing a black kabuki mask covering it with a hood over their head.

Summer attempted to fight back and swung a flaming hand at them, only for the kabuki to dodge with ease. Summer’s abilities were hindered as her focus was trying to alleviate the pain she was in. With a single hand on the arrow, her other hand focused on trying to fight off the kabuki who retrieved a knife from insider their cloak.

The butterfly knife swiped at Summer who kept stepping back to avoid the blade, and occasionally trying to block it with fire magic, but with her abilities impaired, she wasn’t successful.

The kabuki swiped left and right and after eight swipes, one connected with Summer’s face, slicing her cheek right open. She stumbled to her knee and the kabuki lunged forward and stabbed her in the stomach with the blade. Twisting the knife, Horizon watched as the girl fell off of the weapon and grip her stomach before collapsing onto the ground, slowly bleeding out as she worthlessly held her hand over the wound to stop the bleeding.

After the kabuki was finished it flicked the knife in its gloved hand and looked back at Horizon. The two stared at each other for only a few seconds before the stranger held up an empty hand and spoke in the same computerized and distorted voice from before. “Surrender the box to me.”

Horizon shook her head. “I don’t even know who you are. That would be ill-advised.”

Lowering their empty hand and instead raising the hand holding the blade as they took a fighting stance, the kabuki spoke up. “You need to learn the difference between a request and a command; give me the box, now.”

Brandishing her claws, Horizon took her own fighting stance and prepared to do battle with the kabuki.

The masked assailant swung the blade, swiping at Horizon’s neck only for Horizon to narrowly dodge it. The kabuki ducked down and took another attempt to stab Horizon, but Horizon stepped out of the way in time to avoid harm. Moon was running assessments on the new fighter, but his data was limited since this fighter was moving quickly and concealed most of their body in a cloak.

“Horizon, whoever this guy is, he’s not an ordinary fighter, his moves look incredibly experienced. He’s definitely well trained, I would advise avoiding further combat if possible! I’m mapping an escape route for you now!” Moon warned as a 3D map of the building was placed on the screen.

Horizon dodged attack after attack while Moon mapped out a path, but each attack seemed to get more fierce than the last one. Whoever the kabuki was, they were far more formidable in battle than Horizon was.

Their fight was interrupted when a fireball came from their left. Both glanced over at Summer who had brought herself to a stand, gripping her oozing wound with one hand and holding the other out to produce the fire attack. She panted as the flames in her eyes died out and her face looked far more pained than before.

She was covered in sweat and her skin was turning pale. The kabuki shook their head as they watched her attempt to muster the strength to summon another fireball. The power in her was so weak at this point that the kabuki was able to swipe the attack away with their knife as they stepped forward and slashed at the girl.

Summer blocked with her arm only for it to be sliced open with the sharp blade. Blood sprayed from the new wound but Summer ignored it while she tried to channel more fire.

Seeming to grow less amused with each failed attack, the kabuki kicked the girl in her open wound sending her down on her back. Summer tried to pull herself up only for the kabuki to place a boot on top of her chest, pinning her to the ground as they brandished their knife. The masked assassin’s distorted voice echoed through the air. “Pathetic... Look at you, about to die and you still pointlessly try to finish a worthless objective. This is the fate of your kind. You can’t even move anymore and all you want to do is kill, unable to realize that you’re already dead... What a waste of life you turned out to be...”

“Y-you’re wrong...” Summer spat up black blood. “I served master... I want to be useful for him...”

“You’re nothing more than a pawn to your master, a worthless throwaway chip in a game far bigger than yourself, child. Now you get to die...” the kabuki spoke.

Another voice, this one, male called out from above. “Enough!”

Looking up, the entire group could see another cloaked figure standing atop a scaffold. Quickly, he jumped down and gestured for the kabuki to step aside. “Black Kabuki... We meet again. You’re a real pain in our side, you know that?”

“Come to see your lackey die? Noble, when did you grow a heart?” The kabuki asked.

He stood firm as he gestured again with his hand. “The girl is no threat to you now, I ask you to step aside so that I can have a final word with my student...”

The kabuki shrugged and stepped off of the girl and then leaped onto a nearby scaffold. They looked back and pointed to Horizon with their gloved hand. “This isn’t over, Horizon. You will surrender the box one way or another, these matters don’t concern you.”

Raising a brow, Horizon watched in confusion as the black kabuki hopped up a few scaffolds with ease and then eventually jumped out of the building entirely.

The hooded man scoffed before kneeling down on his knees to see Summer. Horizon quickly drew her claws and raised them ready to attack. The stranger didn’t even turn to face her as he responded to his threat. “I know that you don’t have the nerves in you to attack me from behind like that, so why bother making an empty threat... Give me a moment to say goodbye to my student, would you, kid?”

Horizon saw no reason to comply with him, so she shook her head.

Sighing, he extended his hand and black tendrils came out of the ground swatting at Horizon. She jumped back and swiped at them but noted that they grew back just as quickly as she had severed them. No matter which way she went about it, she could see no way to get past them.

The stranger scooped Summer up and held her so that she could look up at him. She could see under his hood and despite her vision being blurry, she knew that he was watching her. “M-master...” She coughed.

“You’ve grown quite a bit since we first met, haven’t you?” He asked.

She nodded. “It’s all because of master... You helped me grow...”

“Such a good little student, aren’t you? If I ever had a daughter, I would hope she was half as dedicated as you are...” He spoke.

Horizon was confused, but it sounded as though this stranger genuinely cared about Summer.

“I failed master... I’m sorry...” She frowned as tears started to come out of her good eye.

“Don’t cry, little one. You did your best...” He spoke quietly.

“I wanted to be useful for master... That’s all I’ve ever wanted...” She sobbed.

He shook his head as he stroked her cheek and wiped her tears with his thumb. “You’re too hard on yourself.”

“I love you, master... I always have. I don’t care if you feel it back, so long as I got to be useful for master, that’s all I cared about... Was I useful for you, master?” She questioned.

He nodded. “You have never stopped being useful from the moment we met.”

She found herself smiling as she looked up at him. “I didn’t think I remembered what happiness felt like... Until now... I was useful for master... I have no regrets then...”

He nodded as she reached up and tried to touch his face, only to fall short with her arm falling back down across her chest. “Get some rest now, it’ll be over soon...” He instructed.

“Goodbye, master... Thank you for giving my life meaning again...” She nearly whispered before closing her eyes.

He carefully set her down and seconds later her body evaporated into the same dark black mist that the last demon Horizon fought had become upon death.

Standing up, the stranger turned toward Horizon, his face still concealed behind his hood as he stood tall. Horizon kept her claws up and reason to battle, but the stranger just chuckled. “You don’t stand a chance against me, so I’d put those down if I were you...”

“You’re not getting the box,” Horizon stated clearly.

He shook his head. “Eight was hasty. In its current state, that box has no use to me yet. I’m not about to waste my time trying to take it from you just yet when it’ll only require more effort on my part to utilize it. Keep it for now, but know that I will come and take its contents when the time is right. For now though, I have a kabuki to chase.”

“Who are you?” Horizon asked.

He laughed gently. “Someone who should have died a long time ago. Now I’m just a husk chasing an impossible mission.”

“If you think your goals are impossible, why continue?” Horizon questioned.

“I have nothing left to lose now. Stand in my way and die, human. Consider yourself warned. I’ll keep my eye on you...” He spoke.

He turned and jumped to the same scaffold that the kabuki had taken and made just as hasty an exit.

Horizon stared at where Summer’s body had fallen just moments ago and wondered what happened to demons when they died, but she had to cut her thinking short as she remembered the building was burning down and no doubt the fire department would arrive soon and that would mean she’d have a lot of explaining to do.

Quickly, the girl sped up her step and hopped back onto her motorcycle and revved her engine. With a few more seconds, she peeled out of the building and began to make her way into the darkness of nightfall just as she could hear fire sirens heading her way.

She had escaped death just narrowly, but the black kabuki had her confused. He didn’t seem to be working for the same group that Summer had been serving, yet he too seemed to want the box. Why though? Were there multiple factions chasing the box? How many were there?

What bothered her more though was that the mysterious hooded man had said that the box was useless in its current state. Did he mean that they would need to find a way to open it before he wanted it? That had to mean that not even his group knew how to retrieve its contents, right?

Things just seemed to get stranger and stranger. With Summer Flare dead though, Horizon could focus more on her next move; before that though, she would need to get home and update Yuna, Jasper, and the others.

The black kabuki finally reveals himself!