NBA Dramatique: Day of the Beast

In Hell, the only music is bad music. Beastly was currently listening to a number of songs that he wasn't particularly fond of, but his options were limited. He needed a theme song. Something to get himself pumped up before battles.

Don't need nothin'
But a good time
How can I resist?

Maybe that one. He loaded the track onto his music player and headed for the Pit. He listened to his songs as he made his way down the paths from his own quarters and did his best to dance with the songs he had.

Beastly was a pure Demon - created from the lake of fire. He reveled in his wickedness. He was a prankster and was skilled at the verbal goad. He liked to spit on his own skin to hear the sizzle as it boiled away. Everything about being in Hell was something he could enjoy. Especially the Pit.

The Pit was a large theater formed in a caldera that was the central feature of the Demon's lair. This was the easiest and most obvious point of entry to the cursed underworld. The walls of the Pit were stepped, and they would fill with all manner of damned creatures to watch as the Demons fended off attacks or, even better, brought back armies to kill in fun. This night was an example of the former, as the Underground had found their way to the caldera.

Beastly had been paying attention to the stories of the Underground. He liked the secretive nature of their organization and their willingness to leverage the sordid past of their city. However, as he pushed through the gathering crowd of bat-winged ghouls starting to fill the Pit, he caught his first glimpse of the Underground fighters. They did not look as though they were intimidated by their surroundings, nor did they seem prepared to lose.

The Demons took defensive position within the Pit quickly. Beastly looked to the Demon Prince for a moment and wondered if he might be able to steal his crown. Maybe another year or two, he thought. The Underground launched the attack. They were resilient and strong, and were quick to rebound from any offensive the Demons pressed. The Prince made a move to strike mightily against the enemy, but a crafty young fighter crept up behind him and disrupted the blow. Charmers attacked and drew blood.

The Underground fighters were either tall or fast, and the Demons were finding it difficult to keep them held off. If not for their Prince, they might not have stood a chance. Fortunately he was a dominating force, and attacked with speed and fury, over and over again. Beastly watched him with awe and envy, just glad again that they fought together. The Underground seemed to have the advantage when a lull in the fighting came about, and an anxious energy took hold of them. Beastly could hear them shout excitedly amongst each other things like "he's coming" and "he's ready". The Demons formed a defensive line in preparation, then Beastly saw what the Underground had brought.

A monster, dressed in the form of a man, was making his way towards the front lines. Heavy chains swung from his wrists and the indentation of a heavy collar could be seen on the man's neck. Beastly was excited in a morbid way to see what this monster might do against his fellow Demons. The lull died and combat was again engaged. Beastly tried to stay close to the giant, though not close enough that he would be squeezed and crushed. He watched with fascination as the hulk jumped high into the air and brought severe pain down upon the Demon Jole. The Pit erupted in a cacophony of howls from the spectators. As Beastly continued to stick close to the monster, though, he could tell that it grew tired quickly, and that it struggled slightly to manage such a massive frame.

The simple fact of this fight was that the Underground was stocked with killers, and the Demons were still not matching the effort. They were distracted and disorganized. The Prince almost single-handedly was keeping the Underground from completely over-running Hell, but it would be a much harder task to claim victory. The Underground attacked from near and far, and never gave up. They could not match the Demon Prince with a single man, but they could overcome his power by being deadly in numbers. Victory for Hell in this contest was always within reach, but the Demon fingers never quite closed around it. With a thunderous final blast of hellfire, the Prince conceded defeat. He waved a hand in the air and the watchers on the walls were instantly gone, then slashed the air with his other hand and the Undergound fighters were teleported out of the Pit. Only the Demons remained, silent over their loss.

The Demon Prince started to scream and curse at the rest of them for the job poorly-done. Beastly listened for a moment with diminishing attention as words were tossed out about being outcast and defending the realm and the devil himself and on and on. Beastly was bored with it. He slyly stuck the listening devices back in his ears and pressed play for more of Hell's music.

I get mowed down
But I get up again
You're never gonna keep me down