User blog:Shadowblade777/Fanfic: Demonic Pair

Prologue: A Mysterious Ally
"*Pant pant pant*" A human male was fleeing from a band of monsters chasing him. "You won't get away! Bloody Fissure Thunder Thrust!" one of the monsters armed with a sword shouted and made a sudden straight dash for the human. "Shamshir!" a monster fly overhead simultaneously fired a gust of wind at the human as well, but he moved to the side, barely managing to evade the attacks. "T-they're catching up...!" the human panicked as he darted away from the monster the slid past him.

A pair of animal monsters appeared in front of the human and tried to tackle him, aiming their claws at his body, but he ducked and slid under them, once again narrowly evading their attacks. Suddenly, a puddle of liquid appeared and a slime girl emerged in front, trying to embrace the human and trap him, but he jumped high enough to avoid her grip. "I... I can't... I can only run..." the human kept panicking as the monsters chased him.

"Is all you can do run? You disappoint me." a voice said as a swarm of fog suddenly surrounded the human. From it, a crossbow bolt was fired, impaling itself into the human's leg, causing him to scream in pain as he collapsed onto the ground. "Hmph, was that all you could do? What a coward..." the same voice said. The fog disappeared and another monster came into the human's view, holding a scythe right up his throat. The other monsters chasing him were laughing sinisterly. "I... I'm about to die..." the human said in fear. "Is this... how it finally ends...?"

Suddenly, a humanoid figure appeared out of nowhere, to the scythe-wielding monster and attacked with a sword. The monster was knocked back, but flipped onto her feet and coughed blood. "What?! Who the heck are you?!" the monster shouted angrily. This figure was wearing black clothing with a hood and a metal breastplate, and a demonic-looking double-bladed sword. "Hmph... Were you really going to waste your life like that, human?" the figure asked.

"Who... Y-you are...!"

Chapter 1: Lone Act
''It's been several days since the fall of Ilias, but the evil lingering across the world has still not been fully contained. A villain hellbent on destruction of the world had her plan failed, and is now on the run from the Dark Assassin Shadow...''

At the mansion of the deceased Shirome Artiste, a colossal chimera wrecked through and flew out of the roof, causing a massive tremor around the Forest of Spirits. Beneath where the figure flew out of was the underground Biolabs, where the human and ex-Promestein underling Solomon, and the red insane succubus Akame Artiste stood. Tamamo and Shadow quickly arrived on scene. "My perfect revenge, ruined." Akame said as she shook and rubbed her head before noticing Tamamo, and immediately fled. "Shadow! Capture her at once!" Tamamo ordered to the assassin, which he complied without a word.

Akame fled to the outskirts of the mansion and was running along the ground of the Forest of Spirits, but she didn't get far, as Shadow tailed her from the treetops. "Enough running! Shadow Snare!" Shadow shouted and summoned dark snares to trap Akame's movement. With his enemy trapped, he jumped down and attacked. "Blink!" Akame shouted and teleported out of the trap, causing Shadow to miss. "Pesky little insect! First my plans fail, and now you're here after my ass!" the insane necromancer shouted as she summoned zombies to her defense. "Incompetent minions..." Shadow sighed as he instantly cut down the zombies in a flash while staying in his spot as if he never moved.

"Grr...! Death Scythe!" Akame shouted as she gripped onto her scythe tightly as its bladed portion suddenly expanded into a large red magical crescent. Shen then slammed it down into the ground, creating a large shockwave that darted towards Shadow. "... Bloody Tornado." Shadow muttered as he spun rapidly, slashing as a tornado and nullifying the shockwave. Shadow immediately rushed to Akame and performed a powerful slash to her chest, sending her tumbling across the battlefield and into a tree. "A rather sad attempt to flee, and even sadder attempt to fight." Shadow muttered.

As Shadow stood over Akame, the necromancer suddenly started laughing. "Our fight? Over? No... you're a fool to think that I'd go down so quickly!" she said as she stood up, immediately healing all her wounds. She teleported a distance away and then took out a potion and drank it, and proceeded to summon a large magic circle in front of her. "Sonic Slash!" Shadow wouldn't idle and quickly darted towards her, but his attack was blocked by an invisible barrier. "Tsk tsk, impatient." Akame taunted as Shadow continued attacking the barrier, to no avail. Shortly after, there was a very loud, piercing roar that shook the entire forest, and pushed Shadow away from Akame. A large figure then emerged from the magic circle.

The zombie was a very large, bipedal dragon-like creature. It possessed green coloration that faded into gray, a muscular upper body, with a thick hide littered with short, jagged spines along the back and tail, plus a narrow snout with a large lower jaw, covered in multiple rows of spines spreading outwards from the teeth. It has massive, powerful hind legs, but, instead of wings, tiny and poorly developed forelegs. It let out another massive roar that forced Shadow to cover his ears. "An ancient, prehistorical brute dragon." Akame began. "With unmatched, insatiable hunger, infamous for its status as a super predator... It's not meant to rape, it's meant to devour." As she said that, the creature began to drool and proceeded to march over to the zombie corpses. With its massive jaw, it began gnawing at the flesh, making short work of a free meal. "Quite the Devil Dragon, I believe it was called. Let's see how well you handle this!"

"Ancient...? Promestein imbued herself with ancient seaweed..." Shadow muttered to himself. However, the monstrosity wasted no time in attacking, using its powerful hind legs to leap toward Shadow and take a bite. He quickly dodged and made a slash to the creature's tail, but it didn't flinch. The Devil Dragon didn't hesitate to turn around to take another bite; Shadow narrowly avoided, but the creature's saliva dripped onto his free arm, and felt it weaken a bit. "Corrosive...? I'll have to finish this fast." Shadow muttered and went for a head-on assault. "Phantom Blow!" he shouted, attacking the creature ten times. However, the creature again did not flinch, and interrupted the attack by biting onto Shadow's sword. "Shadow Storm." he muttered as he released his weapon and leaped backward. As the creature prepared to devour the weapon, it began to rotate on its own and flew towards Shadow, scraping the beast's jaw. As Shadow gripped his weapon, he felt the saliva on it get onto his sword hand, weakening it.

The Devil Dragon reared back a bit before letting out a menacing roar again. The creature's body began to swell and turn blood red, along with its eyes, and also had a crimson lightning around its face; the monster was clearly enraged. "Enveloping Darkness." Shadow muttered as a dark aura enveloped around his body. The creature charged towards Shadow with its hulking body, but he moved out of the way, causing the beast to slam into a tree. It then quickly turned around and proceeded to stomp with its massive hind leg, but that too was dodged as he used Shadow Meld to enter the shadows of the ground. The creature then began to drool again and proceeded with another charge. This one, however, turned out to be much slower, giving more leeway to dodge, and the creature again lodged itself in a tree in a much longer period of time. "I see... So it uses excessive stamina." Shadow commented as he felt the corrosion on his arms begin to wear off. "Demon Cutter!" Shadow fired numerous dark energy blades at the creature's rear, slicing into its back and severing its tail.

Drooling, the creature growled and turned around. It quickly trampled forward, but instead stopped right at its tail and began to devour it, quickly making short work of the free meal that Shadow 'presented'. "I-it's own tail...?!" Shadow said, shocked a bit. The creature then let out another piercing roar, again forcing Shadow to cover his own ears. As the creature roared, it reared back and spat out a crimson haze at Shadow, hitting his vulnerability spot on and knocking him into a tree. He groaned a bit as he tried to recover, but found that his Enveloping Darkness was replaced by sparks of crimson lightning, and his body feeling weaker than from the corrosive saliva. "Hahaha! This is the power of the ancient dragon!" Akame boasted. "A power that'll snuff out even your darkness! Now, finish him!"

Letting out one more menacing roar, the Devil Dragon marched toward Shadow and opened its large jaw, preparing to eat him whole. He struggled to resist the dragon's power weakening him, but such efforts were completely futile. The beast moved in to devour Shadow, and gnawed on his body. Shadow let out a scream as Akame laughed sadistically, watching his body being chewed on like a dog toy. "Sonic Slash!" a voice shouted as a figure suddenly slammed into the beast's side, knocking it down while pushing it off Shadow. "What is the meaning of this?!" Akame's laughter turned into anger she glared at the attacker. On closer inspection, the attacker was... Shadow? "Hee hee, hello... cousin." the same, female voice said as another figure appeared from behind one of the trees: Chrome Artiste. On her fingertips were strings attached to 'Shadow'. "D-dollmaker?! You?!" Akame glared at her cousin, piloting what was actually a marionette of Shadow, as Chrome fed the real Shadow a potion. "An antidote to that Dragonblight." she said. Shortly afterward, the crimson sparks of lightning surrounded Shadow faded, and the dark aura returned.

"T-thanks for your help..." Shadow muttered as he turned his attention to the marionette duplicate of him from the Dollmaker. "It's already well equipped for combat? Impressive..."

Chapter 2: Shadowy Duet
During a mission to find Solomon, a formerly wanted man who evaded capture, one of Shadow's investigations led him to Chrome, a former accomplice. However, the church's doors were locked and the window curtains were rolled down, but there was a very very faint noise coming from inside. Shadow used Shadow Meld to enter the church and looked around. "Ahh... M-more... S-shadow...!" moaned a voice within the church. What little visibility in the dark church showed a young-looking succubus on all fours at the altar, with what appeared to be a human-sized marionette-like figure on her rear. After a few seconds, Chrome let out an ecstasy moan and collapsed forward, with the marionette falling on top of her. "H-haa~ M-my sex doll... w-was a com-complete suc-success...!" Chrome said as she took a few deep breaths. Once she collected herself, she tried to get back up, only to look in front of her and see Shadow. "E-eek! You should have knocked, you little sneak!" Chrome shouted, blushing and covering herself with her hands.

"It's been two years, huh?" Chrome said with a smile as she sat on Shadow's lap, fully clothed. "The Monster Lord gave me a chance to redeem my family's reputation. She's deathly afraid of ghosts and despises zombies so she banned them both, but the lost arts of doll making... It's quite a passion~ Do you see this marionette before you?" Several magic strings formed from Chrome's fingertips and attached themselves to the marionette she presented. With a wave of motion from her hand, two wooden logs were ejected out of the marionette's right hand and their ends were fashioned together; it was a blade staff weapon. "Mostly I've made miniature dolls, but this a secret project of mine: making human/monster-sized marionettes. You were the base of this marionette. It's just a prototype, though." Chrome finished, smirking. "Oh? Promestein made a doppelganger of me before, but if you aren't using it for evil purposes... Even though it's just a start, your prototype seems really well-crafted; must have invested a lot of work in your new profession. I'm sure the Monster Lord will be pleased once you present your show." Shadow said while petting her head. Looking around, the human spotted other smaller dolls of various other characters such as herself and Luka; the only human-sized one was the marionette of Shadow. It was only fair for Shadow to tell her about his journey up until now; she was very amazed to hear how far he had gone.

"So, what brings you here, Shadow? It's not just to see me, is it~?" Chrome asked. "I'm looking for a wanted fugitive. Solomon. I figured he might have visited you..." he told her. She then quietly stared at two dolls; both of them resembled Solomon. "Oh, Promestein's little pet? Two years ago he tried to investigate the manor, and unfortunately for him Promestein was there to capture him. However, he hasn't visited me at all, but I will let you know right away once he does." Chrome replied, hugging Shadow. "... I see. I appreciate the offer... he must have completely passed San Ilia and made way to Sabasa Castle straight away." he sighed softly. "Hey, don't feel down. You're tying up all loose ends, aren't you? I'm sure you'll accomplish your goal!" Chrome said, cheering Shadow on. He smiled and kissed her lips. "Thank you... You've changed so much over the years, it's cute, really." Shadow smirked and laid her on her back, but she used her magic strings to stop his movements, flipping the pair over so she straddled him. "Ah ah ah! I'm not going to let you 'assassinate' me like last time~ Just lay back like a good boy and let me take care of you for the night~ I'd have to thank you here, it's a good time for me to try something new~" Chrome said, giggling as she stripped herself and Shadow and dropped her hips down on him he just laid there letting her take him on her wild ride. Letting out a pleasurable moan, she manipulated her Shadow marionette to take her from her rear; the two Shadows double teaming her. "Ahh~ Y-yes! It feels so wonderful! I've missed this so much...! To be double teamed like this... A-amazing~!"

"Only a month... and the dollmaker already created a weapon in a short amount of time? It seems that the Artiste's lost arts of dollmaking is no laughing matter. Perhaps it would have been better if you picked this talent before necromancy." Shadow commented. "Hee hee. But this talent seems far more advanced and complicated." Chrome said before turning to Akame. "My cousin... I thought you were soft, but now I see that you're completely insane. Going with the foolish Fateburn, and the useless dollmaking talent? Hah! Let me put on full display why the Artiste values necromancy!" Akame gloated as she summoned more zombies who all shambled towards the Devil Dragon. The creature recovered from its fall and drooled again, preparing to make a meal out of the newly summoned corpses.

"No, cousin. I think you're more insane than my elder sister was." Chrome said as she snapped her fingers. "Eviscerating Thread." In a sudden flash, all the newly summoned zombies were completely severed into minced meat before turning into dust; numerous thin metal threads were shimmering where they had cut the zombies. Akame looked on in surprise as her creations were cut down with minimal effort. "It's my duty as an Artiste to eliminate any outside our family who use our techniques! Akame! You have been judged unworthy of our family's secrets!" Chrome said as she sent her Shadow puppet ahead.

The Devil Dragon was clearly exhausted again as it drooled even more, especially after Chrome denied it of a meal. With Chrome's threads in place, the creature had very limited movement; the real Shadow stared in awe as Chrome's puppet zipped around the creature almost as fast as the original, striking again with Sonic Slash. "It's not perfect as the original..." Chrome said. "Not as fast, nor it can use your power of darkness... Of course it needs a lot of tweaking, it's just a prototype. But it's a good testament to my skill. Assassinate, my puppet!" With the creature staggering, the Shadow puppet mounted the creature and performed a powerful backstab, causing it to fall over.

Akame began to seethe. "Urgh... I won't... be bested by you! Not by this damn inferior puppet!" she angrily shouted as she began to channel magic. A mass of darkness began to form around the Devil Dragon. "Enrage! Rise to the apex of your form!" Akame shouted, finishing her spell.

<!--==Epilogue 1: Allies...== It's been three days since Shadow awoke from the nightmare, but since then he had something on his mind, something he needed to say to someone.

"Chrome?" Shadow said, knocking on the church door of San Ilia. The door openly shortly. "E-eh? Shadow? I didn't think you'd be the one to knock. Last time you sneaked in." Chrome said as she invited him in, looking at him curiously. "C-Chrome..." Shadow began to say nervously. "I... This isn't like me for me to say this but... I wanted to thank you. If it wasn't for you and your marionette's aid, I wouldn't have been able to capture Akame, or escape the nightmare she sent me into." Shadow said, explaining his experiences about the nightmare while looking at Chrome's marionette copy of him. "You helped me realize that I wasn't alone... As silly as it may seem, I met someone in there, an ally exactly like me, only more feminine personality-wise. When I met her, I remembered you, so I placed my trust in Phantom. If it weren't for both of you, I wouldn't have escaped. I really wanted to thank you for this, Chrome." Shadow smiled a bit and hugged her. "I've always fought most of my battles alone... but you helped me understand that I'm not truly alone."

Chrome looked up at Shadow in awe and surprise, then blushed and hugged him back. "Shadow... It's quite touching for you to say that. I'm quite glad I could help. You along with Luka really did help see the errors of my ways back then, so I thank you for that as well. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have gotten far with puppetry. Your story is quite intriguing, really."

"Hmm~ Hmm~ So this little girl is what inspired you to me~?" a female voice rang from inside the church. A figure appeared then appeared from the shadows on the ground, standing a few feet away behind Shadow; she wore the exact same clothing as him. "Oh? I didn't think you'd come out and play, especially since you're so reclusive, Phantom." Shadow said as he turned to the figure. "Ah? So you're Phantom? It almost seemed like you were a figment of Shadow's imagination. You almost feel... familiar somehow." Chrome giggled as Phantom approached and petted her head. "She's quite adorable isn't she~? I see why you've taken a liking to her~" Phantom giggled before turning her attention to Chrome's puppets. "My oh my, a dollmaker! A lot of fun toys here and there~ We could all have a tea party~!" Phantom smiled as she pulled out a stuffed bear and started hugging it. "Eh...? She's not what I expected..." Chrome looked on, puzzled. "It's a much longer story..." Shadow sighed.

"Oh~ Another Shadow~?" Phantom stared curiously at the marionette copy of him. "How interesting~! We could all have a tea party right now~!" Phantom giggled as she summoned a tea set from the shadows and sat in one of the chairs. "E-eh...? Huh?" Chrome was even more puzzled than before. Shadow simply sighed and sat in one of the chairs. "Oh don't mind me, I'm just playing along to her wishes." Shadow said to Chrome. "Uhh... Oh, what the heck..." Chrome giggled and sat in one of the chairs and magically manipulated her dolls to join as Phantom started pouring tea.

Epilogue 2: ... Always Present and Ready
"... So that's what she was after... all this time..." Shadow muttered. It's been sometime since Akame was captured, but she escaped and schemed again. Shadow, joining the Heavenly Knights and the reformed Solomon, proceeded onward to confront Akame, who had recreated and used the White Rabbit on herself.

"Disgusting. Looks even worse than... Black Alice's 'true' form." Shadow said, weapon drawn. "All this time, she coveted that power, and I let my guard down and gave it to her... This ends now Akame! I can't let you use her power for mischief!" Before anyone stood up to the plate, Shadow quickly took it. "... Leave this to me. It's my fault she acquired that power when she put me in the abyss. I played a major role in her plans and now I can't let her put them into complete fruition. Let's kill this monster, Phantom!" As Shadow cried out the word 'Phantom', a pressure of darkness began to radiate not from his body, but his sword; only his weapon was glowing in radiant darkness. The darkness it exerted began to surround Shadow and cover his body like a fog. The fog eventually faded, with his weapon still glowing, and from the fog emerged a perfect copy of Shadow, standing right next to him. This copy first appeared as a shadowy silhouette, but quickly changed its shape to match Shadow's appearance, clothing, weapon and all. His allies looked on in surprise.

"My my..." Phantom telepathically spoke to Shadow. "Playing the noble hero are you? But she did steal our power and use it to recreate the White Rabbit... Oh I'm very concerned that she figured out your darkness was used to create it. This'll be a fun dance~"

"Naturally you shouldn't know this skill, Akame." Shadow began to say. "This wasn't a part of my technique until I escaped the hellish nightmare you sent me to. Phantom helped me escape, and will now help me defeat you! Ready, Phantom?" Shadow turned to his clone, Phantom, who quietly nodded in agreement. Afterwards, the two quickly rushed toward Akame.-->