Kain looked out into the unforgiving Canadian wilderness. It was the middle of winter and the winds were howling and whipping the snow into the face of the demon hybrid. The frosty winds would have frozen any other person to the bone by now. Kain found it annoying and uncomfortable, but his hellish origins allowed him to survive such conditions. He was on a mission.
	He had heard reports of disappearances. Not kidnappings, as there were no ransom notes left and no evidence of struggles. Someone or something was causing the first-born children to vanish in clear view of whoever they were with. At first, petty tricksters were blamed. Then it was thought that those that had disappeared were all in on a massive prank. Until finally, a witness reported seeing a  tall, red sinister figure talking with one of the victims just moments before the girl's disappearance.
	It was that last bit of evidence that attracted the attention of the hybrid. Kain had an older sister that he never knew. His parents kept it a secret, but the mystic knowledge of the demon within revealed to Kain the nature of the events surrounding her existence and subsequent disappearance. It was like a genetic memory, only he wasn't alive just yet at the time of the tragic incident. But the story behind her abduction chilled his soul worse than any blizzard ever did.
	It was a similar day to the one he was in just now. Stinging ice winds, blizzard conditions and a small cottage Kain once called home were all present. Even now as he approached the old cabin, long abandoned by the family, he got chills from the mystic recollections. His mother, Aislinn, was in the kitchen making dinner for herself and Jewel, Kain's father. The demowox's sister lay upstairs, she had gone to bed early complaining of a fever and seeing a tall red man grinning at her. The wolf/xweetok hybrid girl was thought to be suffering from a serious flu and the "visitor" was merely a hallucination brought on by a 105 degree fever. The doctor was on his way when he got stuck in a snowbank some miles out. Suddenly there was a blood-curdling scream.
	Jewel was the first up the stairs, his claws out and ready to protect the girl with all his might. When he kicked the door down, he saw the intruder his daughter had warned him of. It was a tall, grinning demon that looked like what humans would call the Devil.
	
"Stop where you are! You will not take my daughter from me!" Jewel shouted in a fury at the diabolical intruder.

"On the contrary, I will do as I please. This girl has a higher calling than you could possibly understand. She is to be a servant to the greatness that is me," the demon said as he waved his hand.

	Jewel fell under a spell as he drifted off into a deep slumber. His memory of the night's events slipping from him as the visitor chuckled. The Xweetok was powerless to stop the abduction.

"She is to serve me, Mephisto, til I see fit to devour her soul. You will remember nothing of this night. As for your woman, she has fallen under the same spell as you. Now forget this night, creature. Forget about your dear Natalie. For she has already forgotten you."

	And with that, Mephisto disappeared and Kain's parents slumbered til morning. They would remember nothing. But Kain remembered. And he would find her. He would save her or at least prevent others from being taken.
	He wiped away a couple tears as they fell on what once his bed, and before that his sister's bed. He now understood the nightmares of his youth that he once could never explain. He sat in the chair formerly occupied by his father on many a cold night as this. He gazed into the barren fireplace that no longer offered heat. 
	It was then that the door to the cottage was kicked down and an angry growl paired with the glint of metal claws attracted Kain's attention. The form that stood in the door was about 5'4" and smelled of cigars. His hair jutted out the sides in an all to familiar fashion.

"So there you are, bub," the man said as he stood just out of clear sight, "I've been tracking you for days and now I found you."

"Do... I know you?" Kain inquired.

"No, bub, and I havta be honest," the gritty voice replied as he threw down his cigar into the snow, making a soft hiss before he stepped into the light, "I reckon you wont have the chance to know me before I gut you and make you scream the location of where you have them."

Kain rose from the chair and looked curiously at the runt that stood before him. Sure the man was full grown, but at 7' tall, he only came to sternum of the canid. He looked the guy over and grinned, then laughed histerically.

"First off, I have no idea what you're talking about. Secondly, you think a runt like you could possibly do much more than scratch me?" Kain teased as his eyes glowed like embers.

"Ok, punk, have it your way! This Canucklehead is gonna show you exactly what he can do," the angry man shouted as he lunged at the demon, "And it AIN'T very nice!"

	Kain sidestepped the attacker with ease with a look of disbelief. This man really thought he could take him on. He decided to indulge the foolish assailant in combat. He looked at the firestoker by the fireplace and made a slight gesture. The iron bar flew across the room, nearly missing the head of the clawed man. It was then that he recognized him.

"So you are Wolverine... of the... X-Men, isnt it?"

"Thats right, bub! You can tell me where the children are now or I can find other ways to get you to squeel." 

	Wolverine lunged forward again as did Kain. Punches flew into faces, scratches and nicks covered both their bodies. Kain landed a solid hit onto Wolverine's back, meritting nothing more than a grunt and the stoker snapping in two. Adamantium was far stronger than iron. He made another gesture and the head of the broken piece of iron shot back like a bullet and puntured deeply into the side of the pissed off mutant. Striking forward his claws found their mark and ripped into the demons abdomen.
	Wolverine hissed and gripped his side. Kain grabbed at his open gash in his belly. Both men fell to the ground for a moment, each on their knees. The berserker was on his feet first as he approached his target. SNIKT! The claws were out and he was closing in on the hellspawn canine. 
	"So, ya gonna tell me now or do i haveta hurt ya more, bub?" Wolverine threatened. In an instant, "Logan", as the mutant was also called, howled in pain as he felt the demon inside his head. The memories of his sister flooded Logan's mind as he screamed and fell backwards from the unexpected psychic attack. After the memory played out, Wolverine looked over at Kain.

"So, it was Mephisto... not you?"
Kain merely nodded as he began to heal. Wolverine also was healing as they just exchanged stares and said nothing. They merely nodded at each other in agreement. Kain knew full well that the X-Men had run-ins with the dispicable foe. An alliance would prove invaluable to both of them.

Wolverine helped Kain to his feet then lit another cigar.

"Mephisto, we're comin for you, you sonova bitch!"

(to be continued in part 2)