Stone Jungle Rumble (Smallest cat vs biggest rat)

The further she went into the tunnel, the stronger the stench of rotten flesh and ripening fluids became. It flooded Jane’s nose, and a stray thought made her receptors shift and change to another set.

“This guy is a huge problem,” she muttered to herself as she exited into another series of waterways. It made her think of the aqueducts her current companions were holing up in, but while those at least had running water and a purpose, the fetid pools here indicated this part of the underground city seemed to have not been accessible or usable for a long while.

Nonetheless, Jane saw hints of activity. More bones and scraps littered the ground in a manner suggesting a trail of rubbish, like something dragging its finds away without caring about what got dropped. Inefficient. Sloppy. Here something was, trying to get in on Jane’s territory, and all it was doing was inviting her over to get shown the door.

Down a winding staircase, Jane saw the path opening up until the underground made room for a whole street, houses on either side half-crushed by more above. There were snaking alleys, vacant rooms, the illusion of life, though as Jane passed a block, she found that more of it had fallen into a large underground sinkhole that looked like a cross between a garbage heap … and a nest.

Most of the stone had been pushed to the edges, leaving a mess of timber and fabric far below her. Perhaps if it had been outdoors and better appointed, Jane could see herself spending a night or two there.

The stink of Malevolence made the allure even more tempting, and Jane let herself follow the scent, knowing something was on the other side.

With her bare feet, it was strangely easy to dance her way downwards, bouncing and landing on one old stone spar to the next, with ruins admitting her approach as she continued descending.

Touching down deftly, Jane worked her shoulders in anticipation and began carefully pacing past the odd wooden beam here and there that poked through the oversized animal bedding, flattening and kicking aside stray debris as she did.

It was here, she knew it. The only question was how to draw it out - and so she flung a taunt into the darkness.

“Don’t keep me waiting, you know!”

When no answer was forthcoming, a cheekier sneer broke onto her lips as Jane called out again.

“What if I mark this place as mine? I’ll just walk to whatever you sleep on and-”

A mound of wooden detritus exploded behind her in an eruption of splinters, and the Chimera twisted around to see grasping claws and bucktoothed jaws lunging through the air at her face.

The voices said to trust in her body, and so Jane let it move for her. Kicking away, she felt the subconscious twining of her limbs, spinning her in space so her feet and clawed hands could dig into the rubble to slow her movement enough that she could see what attacked her, and Julio before her.

It wasn’t a pretty sight, to be sure. Certainly, it seemed to have begun life as some kind of rodent, though whatever corruption it suffered had twisted its origins beyond almost all recognition, leaving only a bloated monstrosity in its wake. Its small limbs had become gnarled and misshapen from uncontrolled muscle growth, with several additional appendages tearing out of its back to grasp at the air in different angles. The torso had widened to the point it might have actually split in two, but it was difficult to tell from the multitude of enlarged rodent heads that had burst out of the neck cavity, screeching in disharmony, all aglow with the baleful fire of Malevolence.

How long had this monster festered? How did it come to be?

Jane knew it was important to know, but all she could think of now was that it had made a mess, and it would keep on making a mess for all around her as long as it lived.

“A rat’s what’s fouling up my home, huh?” She spat. “Figures!”

The creature sang a chorus of hunger and plowed through the wood nest, carving a path straight for Jane.

Who knew how men or women would have fought it, had they had shields, spears, or anything else. Jane, however, was all territorial instinct and clawed fury, and despite her smaller body, simply sprinted forward in turn.

The impact was not something to be proud of, admittedly. Jane was no behemoth, and the moment she shoulder-checked the oversized rat, she was bowled over and then trampled by the hands and legs that were supporting the beast.

It wasn’t exactly her finest hour. But a hiss from her end, and a pair of outstretched hands changed things, as she grabbed two wrists of the monster. Dragged along, Jane managed to dig her feet into the debris to pull herself upright while giving her the leverage to bring the monster to a halt – or rather, Jane’s anchored position made it pitch over in its sprint, spinning until it slammed onto its back.

Without wasting a moment, Jane leapt atop her enemy while trying to wrap her hands around one of its necks.

Slight as it was, the grip was still crushing one of its throats, and the beast thrashed, righting itself before running blind around the nest, while the smaller woman was dragged along, snarling and cursing.

Soon enough, the whole underground city had become a scratching post – the corrupted creature ground its flesh against every hard outcropping in a desperate attempt to pry off its opponent.

Every effort, however, only further encouraged the woman to keep fighting harder. She didn’t know what she was doing, but she did know what had to be done. That, more than anything, was what made her melange of a body – ungulate, feline, reptile – act in response.

The tighter her grip became, the harder and sharper the claws in her fingers grew, until they were nearly spearing the largest rat neck through, eliciting a screech then a gag as it all but bellyflopped into the stone floor, this time providing enough force to throw Jane loose, even as her fingers tore out its neck, making it spew warm blood.

Still, now it was Jane on the back foot, the irate beast now atop her, its own over-muscled arms slamming and pummeling her in revenge. Jane felt no fear, though. As always, more animal than ever, what she felt was a challenge, and a desire to overcome.

“This isn’t your home! It’s mine!” She screamed, body twisting the instant she saw its largest fist dive for her chest in an attempt to crush her. Her own two hands rose to catch it, and while it was enough to stop it, it slowed it enough that it was right where it needed to be when spiralling bone – or was it horns? – erupted from her torso and limbs to become a thicket that impaled and skewered through the arm, trapping the enlarged rodent in place.

All the while, that manic possessiveness ordered the whipping serpent tail to wind itself around one of the creature’s legs, and where it once tapered off into a tip, the scales shifted and tore open until a fanged mouth emerged and clamped its long teeth into the meat of its thigh to inject all manner of venoms into it.

Jane tore into it, one arm drawing back to keep stabbing and goring the rat’s corrupted chest with its hand full of horns and claws.

Despite all the death it had sown, the creature now found itself in a situation that filled it with fear and desperation. Somehow, it was the one in danger.

Even with its burning leg and agonized arm, and a neck that gushed freely, the creature struggled to escape, and with a squeal, the monster leaned back, allowing the horns in its dominant arm to lacerate and tear what it may, so long as the mangled limb was pried free.

Jane came loose again, this time more disoriented and off guard. The thicket that comprised her body was now encumbering her, and though she was dragged along several more feet by the tail snagged onto the monster, eventually its mad scramble wrenched itself completely free, letting the chimera tumble to a stop before watching the injured monster leap away into the shadows.

Elsewhere, the men and women of the underground had gathered by the riverside, preparing to use it as their path to slowly file away. Next to Velstrik was Julio, bandaged, and while not fighting fit, he was able to stand and move with difficulty.

“When I make it back to those farmlands, I’ll see to reporting what I’ve seen and making sure help comes. I won’t allow you to be preyed upon in my absence,” the knight promised.

“I hope you get help before Jane gets into trouble,” Velstrik sighed. He was, yet again, interrupted by a cry of alarm, before another voice exclaimed, “Jane!?”

Velstrik and Julio’s heads turned in equal alarm, and from the darkness came the easy saunter of the strange syhee. Unnerving enough as she was with her features that she hid as well as she could, so she was at most just a cat syhee with horns, it was not as easy to ignore this time with the blood painting her face and the cloak she wore.

“Damn thing got away,” was all she said as she crouched by the waters to pull up several handfuls of water in an effort to clear her face, which helpfully revealed the sealing wounds that looked like something had grown from there, not unlike the stubby stray horns that still poked through near her wrist, where they were slightly less of a problem.

“Jane… you look terrible,” Velstrik dumbly added.

“Yeah, but you should see the other guy,” Jane managed to laugh, after spitting out some bloody water. “It’s not over yet, though. Hell, I don’t even know where it came from, but it’s full of the Malevolence you guys told me about. Until I take it down, you guys better stay out of this underground.”

There were murmurs of unease. To think that even under Forness, the fell power was still seeping in through the cracks.

“You’re going to keep fighting it?” Julio asked.

“I have to,” Jane answered. “It’s not going to make sense for anyone, but I just know this: it’s either it or me, and I know I gotta win.”

“Once Julio is well enough,” Velstrik mused, “a report must be made.”

“Tell them then,” Jane said, shrugging. “I’m competitive, but I’m not stupid. The most important thing is that this guy dies. The hows of it are’t my problem.”

“Even if I report about you?”

“What, are you afraid I’ll never be able to set foot above ground?” Jane teased, with a snort, before shaking her head. “It’s not like that’ll ever happen, anyway. Don’t worry, guys, I’m pretty sure I’m where I need to be, right now. Top of my list is staking my claim on this part of the world. Afterwards, I can worry about what Forness thinks of me.”

Jane wouldn’t brook any more discussion after that, insistent as she was on her separate path.

Over the days, the men and women who were abandoned by the world would slowly make a new trek to fresh ground. As they walked past a certain point, they’d see the Chimera, sitting on an outcropping to watch them leave.

It wasn’t like they felt any safer with her around, but there was something about her final proclamation that made them still have a strange hope as she turned tail and walked back into her hunt in the darkness.

Were these ruins a place she could claim? If so, if she was willing to call them friends… would they have a place to stay, even under the aegis of a monster?

It was a strange thought to have, but if there were devils better worth knowing, Velstrik was still a better neighbour.