So here I am

So here I am. Completely tied up, being taken to face the Ministry of Demons. I should have seen this coming. The Ministry has very few rules, yet I've still managed to break almost all of them. I happened to be caught breaking rule number 3, associating myself with Oomays. What can I say? I simply couldn't help myself.

I'm not being put on trial. While the Ministry does pride itself on being civil, I've already broken too many laws to be granted a trial. Breaking demon law has only one outcome, death.

Executions are not a public affair. We aren't monsters. Someone's death should be private. I'm currently being taken to the ministries base of operations, a deep cave located high in the mountains. We've already been traveling for days, but I don't mind that too much. These demons are all far larger than I am, so they've been carrying me most of the way.

While I'm not particularly fond of any of these demons, I do wish they'd talk a bit more. I find myself almost constantly talking to whoever my host may be at the moment, so it's a bit awkward sitting here in complete silence. You can't really converse when you're about to be executed. No one wants anything to do with you, and I'm sure they don't want to risk forming any attachment to the one being executed. 

"We're here, heathen. You'd better be ready to face the Ministry. They've been waiting"

Finally, someone spoke up. It was the large demon currently carrying me. He was a pretty standard bipedal demon. No flashy colours, just blacks and browns. I wasn't fond of him, but at least we're finally talking.

"They better be ready" I said "they've only been after me for the past century"

"Longer than that.. try not to piss them off further. It'll only make this harder than it has to be"

He took me down inside of the cave. It's dark and damp, with a strong scent of oil and rotting flesh. The cave is also very dark, but that isn't too big of an issue for us demons. Most of us have excellent night vision, myself included.

The descent only took about 15 minutes. This cave has many branching pathways, that twist and turn all over the place. It was made that way so only those who knew the way could find the Ministry. They don’t particularly like visitors, and they don’t want any non-demons entering.

Inside, there was a large and mostly empty room. The room was circular in shape, and the ceiling was a dome. Hanging from the ceiling was a large chandelier, dimly lit by candles. Around the perimeter of the room were stands, for the members of the Ministry to stand behind. Each stand also had a candle on it.

At the stands were each of the 41 Ministry members. They all looked relatively similar, as members had to fit the criteria before joining. One part of that criteria is that they have to be able to write, meaning that the vast majority of them were bipedal. There were also no exotics either, meaning everyone was pretty much the same in terms of colour. A pretty bland bunch of demons if I do say so myself. I find it hard to believe that these 41 individuals were in charge of all our laws. It's baffling.

The demon carrying me placed me in a small cage at the very center of the room, and then promptly left. Like I said, executions aren’t a public affair. Only the Ministry members are allowed to be present. What a sorry bunch of demons to be stuck with in my final moments.

The demon I assumed to be in charge stepped down from her stand and walked a few feet in front of me. She has a very mustelid esque face, with long horns that curled behind her head. She’s also quite tall and lanky. Her legs were extremely long, and I honestly have no idea how someone could walk with legs like that. They’re too long and thin, or maybe I’m just use to my short stubby legs. Who knows? She also had very large wings, that she opened up while walking towards me, as if to appear larger and more intimidating.

“Klaus Wicker. It’s been a long time since we’ve last seen you. It seems your host finally slipped up. Pity, for you anyway.” She said this in a very monotone voice. Obviously, she wasn’t happy about the situation. Like it’s any better for me.

“He didn’t slip up. He got too cocky. You know Oomays, heh. Dumb as rocks sometimes. At least he wasn’t as bad as-”

“Silence! I will not tolerate your chatter. You have been found guilty of multiple crimes, including making alliances with Oomays, and harming fellow demons with malicious intent” She sighed “It’s a shame, really. You’re one of this world's oldest demons. Why you decided to turn on us I’ll never know…”

She pulled out a large blade. A large blade compared to even to her. This thing is almost 3x my body length. It appears to be jagged and worn, with the remains of previous kills still lacing it. A ceremonial knife, no doubt. What else would the Ministry use?

“Alder, it’s time.” She said this to another demon in the stands. He stands up and walks over to me, taking the knife on his way over. This can’t be it for me. I refuse to go down like this, but what can I possibly do in this situation? These demons are enormous compared to myself, not like I can put up much of a fight tied up in the first place. There has to be something I can do…

Alder came closer, and began to open my cage. I need to think of something before it’s too late. My time left in this world is quickly running out. Wait! My mouth was left uncovered. If I can just get myself close enough, I might be able to bite him. Sure, I can’t control my hosts, but if I use him as a host the Ministry will be forced to kill him in order to get me off. Then I can make my escape! He reached his hand into the cage, and I threw myself forward. Perfect! My body’s now lying directly on his hand!

Before he had the chance to pull away, I dug my fangs into his hand. He screamed, and tried to pull his hand away, but it was too late. My body was already melting into his. The hand I bit became gloved, and the rest of my host outfit began to cover him. His body became completely covered. It was now clothed in an iridescent black outfit, including clawed boots and a hood. Finally, my antennae popped out of the top of his head, and my tail engulfed his. The transformation was complete, he was now my host.

“Dammit, Alder! We warned you about his abilities! What the hell is wrong with you?!” Her voice is seething with anger.

“Lady Vira! I-I didn’t think he could actually-”

“SILENCE! You’ve failed me. Us. The Ministry as a whole! You do realise what must be done now, don’t you?”

“My lady, I really didn’t, uh.. I mean… I..”

As they talked, the rest of the Ministry got up, and were now closing in. Many of them have knives, or other weapons. They’re also equipped with various demonic abilities, much like myself. Unfortunately for them, my abilities are far more useful in this situation.

As the demons readied their weapons and powers, Alder began pleading with them. It’s obvious he doesn’t want to die, but that isn’t my problem. If he didn’t want to risk this outcome, he shouldn’t have volunteered. Or, did he? I have no clue what the hell happens around this place. Regardless, it’s none of my concern. Right now I need to worry about an escape plan.

Unfortunately for me, while infecting a host I can only see from their eyes. He isn’t looking around, so I can’t get an idea of how to get out of here. Yeah, sure, there’s only one way out, but I can’t just make a b-line straight for the exit. I’m small, maybe I can squeeze through a hole in the wall or something. I don’t know. Time is running out.

The Ministry finally attacked. While infecting a host, we each take half of the damage from any injury, so I’m preparing to get hurt, bad. They struck, and I felt intense pain almost immediately. My skin was being cut and burned. Eventually, it became too much for me. If I don’t bail now, I’ll be too injured to escape. I was planning on letting Alder die before leaving, but I’m afraid of what will happen to me if I let this continue.

I waited for a few more seconds, until I saw an opening. Then I left my host, and bolted. I flew in between two of the demons, and headed toward the exit. As expected, they stopped attacking Alder and began to chase me. Upon exiting the room, I took a left turn down a small branching path, and hid out of sight. The path I went down was far too small for the members of the Ministry to enter, so even if they did find me here they wouldn’t be able to do anything.

Luckily, they didn’t see me. They quickly scattered themselves throughout the cave. With all the branching pathways, it’ll take them hours to find me! That gives me just enough time to figure out what to do next, as well as tend to my wounds.

I spun a quick web and used it to patch my wounds. I can’t make too much with all these injuries, but at least I can stop some of the bleeding. Being so small, I don’t have much blood to lose, so any bleeding at all is dangerous. The burns hurt too, but they aren’t my primary concern. 

While I waited, I started planning out what to do next. Obviously the Ministry won’t just let me off the hook. They’re known for the violent and persistent search for criminals. Unlike Oomays, demons don’t care about disturbing the peace, so they’ll do whatever it takes to capture a criminal. If I stay around here, they’re bound to find me.

It took several hours, but eventually the search stopped. I can no longer hear the shouting and cursing of the Ministry. They either went home, or went back into their stupid hideout. I don’t know, and I don’t care. As long as they’re gone. I’ve been thinking about what to do during this time, and I think I finally have a plan.

Cautiously I started to wander out of the cave. I made sure to hide myself away at any sign of danger. Surprisingly it didn’t take long to get out. I’m even more surprised that I was able to find my way out at all. This cave has so many twists and turns in it, I was almost sure I’d get lost somewhere along the way. Guess not. Now, time to continue on with my plan…