It's a deal

“So, we bustin’ the front or sneakin’ in by the side?” “You ask that like I’m stupid,” I sighed exasperatedly, taking one look at the legions of AD-52 armed Diamonds striding up and down before the front portcullis and slipping instead through a dark nook in the wall.
“Intruder! Club Guards, unshuffle and move out!”
Right. That could prove problematic. “Err, Chessur? Any suggestions?” I called out semi-nervously as Club Guards seemed to march out in droves from the guardhouse. “I thought I’d never hear you ask.” Grinning widely, he pulled out a syringe full of bubbling crimson liquid, stabbed it into my forearm and emptied the load into my veins in one fluid stroke. Immediately, searing pain razed through every nerve in my body, bringing me to my knees. “What…have you done?!” “Time to raise some havoc! The dogs of war are loose!” proclaimed Chessur, cackling in glee as he leapt forth to face the first line of Clubs.
“Arrgh!” my moan of pain slowly morphed into a growl of rage as the transformation took hold. From my skull and shoulder blades, curved, jet-black horns punched through skin, extending a meter past my head and midriff. Beginning from the new-grown horns, my skin inflamed a deep, angry red. Tendons and muscles stood out, taut, on my arms and legs. Finger bones elongated and burst out of my fingertips, ending in malicious claws. In my sight, the warm bodies of the Club Guards glowed red, and an unquenchable bloodlust bubbled wildly to the surface of my thoughts.
Bounding forward, I swung my knife in a wide arc as I descended, felling half a dozen Clubs before they could move their axes skyward. Another squad stepped forward to take their comrades’ place, and in a quick succession of alternate blade strokes I slew the five enraged Threes. On my left flank, Chessur batted away helpless Twos ad Fours, then pinned an armoured Six by his neck to a pillar while crushing the skull of a Seven underfoot.
Man, those were some, pardon the pun, bloody good fighting skills.
“Maybe you haven’t noticed, girl, but you’re slicing thin air,” smirked Chessur. My blood lust took a back seat for a slight moment as I looked around the Fortress courtyard. Twenty-odd Club Guards lay in various positions of death, and the austere brick floor was now covered in a fresh, fine red mist. Striding over assorted body parts, I didn’t even feel out of breath. One Seven twitched towards his weapon, and I flung my knife, impaling him at its quivering tip. My skin just had to choose this fine moment to lose its healthy colour.
“Don’t look at me, I ain’t got any more of that stuff,” hissed Chessur from across the room. Just then,, a Four of Diamonds, obviously alerted by the dying screams of the pathetic Clubs, stepped through a hidden door behind Chessur. Taking one look at the carnage,, shock flitted across his face, and he hefted his AD-52, ready to fire at my feline ally’s back, who simply turned around and ripped his throat out. While I fully appreciated the meaning of “senses of a cat”, Chessur picked up the machine-dealer and shoved it in my direction. “I’d suppose this might come in handy against the Diamond, though you’ll need to find cartridges yourself. Good luck getting small…” As his outline dissolved, a door rumbled out of view, revealing a spiraling staircase leading up the barbican. As if to make my decision easier, a trio of Diamond Guards emerged and began firing across the courtyard with me in their sights as I sprinted for the stairs, up the tower and onto the battlements.
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However, even as I fired a deck into two Diamonds and sawed off the head of the last, an unearthly shrieking reverberated off the stone, seeming to shake the Fortress itself. Two spectre-like creatures with literally jaw-dropping maws floated up on either side of me. “That savage shriek is just the tip of the iceberg that is the Boojums’ repulsive personality. They’ll eat anything. Dispose of them or become a meal. ” “You know, I really am more interested in their vulnerability.” I threw my knife at one, but it simply darted off to avoid the blade, leaving an opening for the other Boojum to howl her head off at my back, making me tumble head over heels along the long battlements. And though I was twisting and turning to nail them down, whether with razor cards or knife, the annoying ghostly screamers were simply flitting about too fast for the eye to follow. Soon I was feeling pummeled and pissed by their high-pitched keening.
Chessur scowling, by the way, is an interesting sight. “Hit them while they prepare to scream, fool!” His bony tail twitching erratically, claws flashed out at one Boojum that had paused before me, and with a flurry of swipes, it screamed in agony, misty fingers attempting to staunch the rush of vaporous essence out of various gashes , then abruptly burst into flames, reducing it to a pile of sparkling dust glinting against the dull brickwork. Following his lead, I rolled to avoid the bone-rattling howl of the second while reloading my dealer, then pumped two dozen cards straight into its demented face, noting grimly its pyrolytic demise. Maybe that wasn’t so hard after all.
“Collect that dust. Tell you more about it later,” said Chessur while looking at something past the battlement walls. “All well and good, but this won’t get me inside Skool.” “Indeed. Entering Skool requires a real leap of logic,” he stated with a glint in his eyes, pointing in the distance. Following his gaze, I realized that the so-called “Skool” was a Victorian style mansion-like building…teetering back and forth upon a seemingly wooden pole. The twenty-metre drop from the battlements wasn’t helping. Trying to gauge my jump, I called out to thin air, “I can hear your sarcastic little laugh, Chessur!”
Well. Here goes nothing then.