The Department of Special Affairs
Fang strolled into the conference room and slouched into the chair across the table from the captain. It was tempting to put her feet up, but she'd learned the hard way that there were some things Amodar wouldn't put up with, even from her.
"So, captain, got another case for me?"
To his credit, Amodar didn't seem the least bit bothered by Fang's apparent lack of respect. He'd known Fang for a while now, and she was a little rough around the edges. He'd first run into her when she was just another punk kid for the bad end of town. A few years and a more than few arrests later, she and her sister were out on the street, kicked out of the orphanage they'd grown up in. Those had been bad times, and Fang didn't like to talk about them, but eventually they'd run into each other again, and Amodar had managed to sneak her into the academy.
Fang had cussed him out for the better part of two years for that, but in the end, she'd graduated top of her class. After all, the Department of Special Affairs wasn't interested in tact and decorum. The only thing the department was looking for was people who could get the job done, and that was exactly the sort of thing Fang excelled at. Whatever needed doing, no matter how hard it was, Fang got it done, and quickly too.
"You could say that." Amodar pushed a folder across the table. "The police handed this one over to us earlier today."
"And I'm only getting this now?" It was seven o'clock in the evening, a few minutes shy of sunset. She tugged the folder over and grinned. "This better not be another ghost hunt, Amodar. You know how much I hate those. Sure, you might run into something interesting every now and then, but most of the time it's just a little wall banging and cutlery rattling. You'd be better off sending in one of those civilians exorcists that advertise in the papers."
Amodar chuckled. In theory the department was supposed to handle all instances of supernatural crime, but in practice, they turned a blind eye to civilian operators provided they stuck to the easy stuff. "Read the file. You might even find it interesting."
"Oh?" Fang glanced down at the folder and flipped it open. "If you think it's interesting, then I know it's going to be good. Let's take a look."
With practiced ease, she scanned through all of the relevant details of the file. Standard operating procedure dictated that the police serve as first responders for any and all crime. Once a crime had been confirmed as involving the supernatural, the department brought her in and she got to do her thing.
In this case, three victims had been identified, all young men between the ages of seventeen and twenty-four. All lived in the crime-riddled downtown area – the same area she and Vanille had come from. The fact that all three were dead didn't mean much, not when the downtown area was almost always involved in some kind of gang war. What did matter was how they had been killed.
The photographs told the story, or at least, part of it. All three of the young men were nothing more than withered, dried out husks, like the mummies in a museum. Their faces were also drawn into the same mask of absolute terror. According to the file, all three had died in the last week.
"Interesting enough for you?" Amodar asked.
Fang tapped one finger on the folder. Already, her mind was putting together all the details, trying to find something that fit. "At first glance, it looks like something a wraith would do." She flipped to the photographs. "When a wraith kills, it's pretty common for the victim to look absolutely terrified. But I've never seen a wraith shrivel someone up like this, and there's no sign of frostbite or extreme cold." She frowned. "And I know we've had vampire trouble lately, but this is definitely not a vampire." She pursed her lips. "What do you think?"
"I suspect it's a demon." Amodar sighed. "But that's not much help, not when there are so many different kinds of demons."
"That's the truth, all right." Fang reached into her jacket pocket. Oh wait, she'd quit smoking, or rather, Vanille had decided that she should quit smoking. And like she always did – even if she'd never admit it – Fang had folded like a paper bag. It was probably for the best. Smoking wasn't the healthiest habit, although people in her line of work didn't tend to last long enough for smoking to matter. Hell, Amodar was one of the oldest men in the department. "So, do we know what kind of demon it is?"
"No, which is why I've asked the Church of Etro to send one of their experts."
Fang made a disgusted sound. The Church of Etro… they might have centuries of history and tradition behind them, and they might know more about demons than anyone else, but they were the absolute last people Fang would have gone to for help. She could still remember the look on the matron's face when she'd had to throw her and Vanille out of the orphanage. The old woman hadn't wanted to, but the Church hadn't given her a choice. The matron could either get rid of the troublemakers or lose funding for the orphanage. Fang had loved the old woman too much to make her choose, so she'd gone and taken Vanille with her, and somehow they'd survived.
"Fang," Amodar said softly. "I can ask someone else to handle this case."
Fang shook her head. She already owed Amodar enough for all he'd done for her. She didn't need to owe him yet another favour they both knew he'd never cash in. "I can handle it." Her lips curled. "Or you could just let me sort things out my way. It worked last time, didn't it?"
He laughed. "Really? Is that how you'd describe it?"
"Well, yeah." Fang shrugged. "I killed the demon, didn't I?"
Amodar grinned. "Yes, you did. You also levelled two square blocks of property along the waterfront."
"It was a big demon." Fang ignored the flabbergasted look on Amodar's face and pressed on. "And it wasn't like they'd finished building those apartment blocks yet. And with that demon around, they were never going to get anyone to move in. The way I see it, I did them a favour. Besides, they had insurance to cover all the damage."
Amodar bit back a smile. Fang's case report had made for entertaining reading right up until the point the mayor had marched into his office with murder in his eyes. "I never did get the chance to ask you: where on earth did you get an RPG from?"
"The rocket propelled grenade?" Fang smirked. "I always keep one in the trunk for those close encounters of the demonic kind."
"I see." Amodar made a mental note to have Fang's trunk searched. "In any case, the mayor doesn't want a repeat of that, and I assured him that this time, things will go more smoothly. Hopefully, with the assistance of the Church, we'll have a better idea of what we're up against and reduce the amount of property damage."
"So, who are they sending?" Fang rolled her eyes. "Please tell me it's not another old biddy."
Amodar smiled. "Not exactly." He raised his voice and glanced out the door of the conference room. "Sister Claire, if you could come in now that would be great."
"Sister Claire?" Fang rolled her eyes. She could already imagine her: old, hunched over, and just waiting to lecture Fang on all of her many moral and spiritual failures.
She was half-right.
The woman who walked in through the doors of the conference room to sit beside Amodar wore exactly the kind of severe expression that Fang expected of someone ready and willing to lecture on moral and spiritual failings at the drop of hat. But she couldn't have been a day over twenty-three.
She wasn't dressed like the nuns Fang was used to either. The wimple on her head was the same black and white concoction the Church stipulated, but instead of the usual habit, she wore form-fitting black trousers, a white, long-sleeved shirt and a black jacket modified to vaguely resembled the upper half of the usual nun's habit. Oh, and she had a gun holstered at her right hip and… a sword, of all things, on her left hip.
Well aware of the fact that the nun was watching her – and not the least bit bothered by it – Fang continued her perusal. If the gun and sword weren't clue enough, the modified uniform made things clear – this Sister Claire was someone trained for combat. And from the slender, toned body beneath the clothes, and the smooth, precise way she moved, she was probably very good at it.
"Are you quite finished staring?"
Fang lifted her gaze and grinned. The nun had the bluest eyes she'd ever seen along with full, firm lips. She had strong features too, strong but feminine, and there was definitely a proud sort of look about her as she glared down her nose – and it was quite nice nose – at Fang. Well, she could glare all she wanted, Fang wasn't about to stop staring until she was good and ready to. It was just a shame the wimple hid Sister Claire's hair.
"Why, does it bother you?" Fang replied flippantly. "And seriously, a sword? What do you think this is, the Middle Ages?"
Colour filled the other woman's cheeks, and Fang wondered if perhaps there was a special place in Hell just for her, since it had to be some kind of sin to think a nun looked sexy when she was angry. That and the ogling – that was probably a sin too.
"I beg your pardon." Sister Claire's eyes narrowed, and Fang winced. Maker, the woman could glare. "Could you repeat that? I believe I misheard you."
Fang grinned. So she wanted to play things that way. "I believe I said something about your sword and how useless it is since we have guns now. You know, like the one you're carrying on your right hip except bigger." She put her revolver on the table. "You know, something like this."
"Useless?" Sister Claire scowled. "You think my sword is useless?"
Amodar raised his hands to call for calm. "Look, if we could just –"
There was a metallic hiss, and Fang's eyes widened as she took in the tip of the sword only a hair's breadth from her face. Maybe she'd been wrong about the useless part. She hadn't even seen Sister Claire move. And then, just as quickly, the sword was gone, back in its scabbard, and Sister Claire was back in her seat like nothing had happened. But there was a smirk on her face, one that Fang really, really wanted to get rid of. Amodar must have seen the look in her eyes, because he was up on his feet in an instant.
"That's enough," Amodar said. "You two can kill each other in your own time, but first, let's try and focus. We have a demon to hunt."
Sister Claire gave Fang another small smirk and then reached into her pockets for a data recorder to plug into the display unit on the table. An image sprang up on the wall at the far end of the room. It showed a big, inky ball of darkness punctuated by two red eyes.
"After reviewing the case file, I believe that this is what we are up against." Sister Claire stood with perfect posture, and Fang made a conscious effort to slouch even more in her chair. The nun's eyes narrowed, but she continued with her presentation. "Its name is not important, but suffice it to say, the Church has encountered several demons of this kind before, and we have learned to recognise their handiwork. In the past, demons of this kind have preyed primarily on the dregs of society. They gain strength by consuming the souls of their victims, and by targeting the… undesirables, they can go quite some time before being noticed."
Fang frowned. "Those undesirables are people too, sister, even if they are the dregs of society. I used to be one of them."
The blue-eyed woman smiled serenely. "Used to be?" Fang shot to her feet, but once again, that damn sword stopped her in her tracks. "Sit down, Officer Yun." Sister Claire smiled. "Yes, I know who you are. And yes, I have read your file. Sit down."
Fang sat. Sooner or later, she'd get the jump on the other woman, and once she did, the first thing she was going to do was get rid of that sword. Honestly, what kind of a person used a sword in this day and age? The crazy kind, that's who.
"So how does it kill them?" Fang growled. "And why do they end up all shrivelled?"
Sister Claire pressed a button on the display unit. The next image was clearly taken from an old book. It showed a man suspended in mid air, the black cloud all around him. "The demon kills it victims by devouring their soul. To do this, it requires a large degree of physical contact. The more victims it takes, the stronger it becomes, and the more solid its form. Given that this particular demon has only killed three people, it should still be relatively vulnerable to bright light. That is, I assume, another reason it has confined its predations to the less… reputable parts of town."
"Vulnerable to light, huh?" The thought of working with Sister Claire still didn't sit well with Fang, but the chance to use a few of her old favourites was definitely welcome. "We can use flash bangs. I've got a dozen in the trunk."
Amodar made a disgusted sound. "Really? Is there anything else I should know about?"
"No." It was probably better if he didn't know about the sniper rifle she had hidden behind the back seat, or the shotgun she kept in a special compartment built into the driver's side door. Demon hunting was dangerous business, and it was usually better to have too many guns than too few. "That's about it."
"How do you plan to find the demon, Sister Claire?" Amodar asked. "The police patrol the area regularly due to the high incidence of normal crime, and none of them have seen a thing."
"I can sense it," Sister Claire replied. "If Officer Yun would be so kind as to drive me through the area, I should be able to locate it."
"Wonderful." Her and Sister Claire in a car for the whole night, could things get any worse? Fang grinned. "I don't suppose Etro herself came down from heaven and gave you that ability, did she?"
"She did." Sister Claire's voice was perfectly flat. "And I have spent most of my life training to use it properly. Now, if there are no more questions, perhaps we could get moving. With each death, the demon will only grow stronger."
"Yay," Fang mumbled as she followed Sister Claire out of the conference room. "We can be car buddies."
Sister Claire's hand went to the sword at her side, and Fang immediately ducked, expecting another attack. However, the nun merely smiled gently. "Well, it seems you can learn."
Behind them, Amodar shook his head. Somehow, he got the feeling that things were not going to work out as he had hoped. Oh well, might as well get started on the paperwork early.
"Can someone get me the mayor's schedule for tomorrow?" Amodar shouted. "I think I'm gong to need it."
X X X
The car ride was definitely not Fang's idea of a good time. Make no mistake, she loved her car, loved the feel of it when she pushed it and herself to the limit, but Sister Claire was the very opposite of good company. The nun sat still and silent in the passenger seat, her eyes roving constantly over their surroundings, her mouth firmed into a thin line. Any question that Fang asked was either ignored or answered with as little room left for conversation as possible. Hell, she'd fought demons that were chattier.
On the upside, all the driving around did give Fang the chance to look at Sister Claire a bit more. Sure, the nun had the personality of an angry hedgehog, but she was very nice to look at. Even her profile was striking, and Fang couldn't help but wonder if maybe the nun shouldn't find another line of work. After all, killing demons didn't pay nearly as well as it should, even if it was a lot of fun. At some point, a lock of Sister Claire's hair slipped free of her wimple, and Fang felt her lips twitch up into a smile. Pink. The scary, sword-wielding nun had pink hair. That was just too good. She wanted to say something, but the look in Sister Claire's eyes promised a swift, horrible death, and in the close confines of the car, Fang wasn't confident she could dodge the nun's sword.
"It is a sin to ogle those dedicated to Etro's work." Sister Claire kept her gaze fixed outside the car. "And your thoughts are so sinful that I feel sullied merely sitting here."
"Oh?" Fang grinned. "And what would you know about sinful thoughts, have you been having any about me?" She was pleased to see the other woman's cheeks redden. It was surprisingly fun teasing her, although getting stabbed would probably put a dampener on that. "Besides, doesn't Etro teach forgiveness and all that… you don't really seem the forgiving type."
"I am more than willing to forgive those who genuinely regret their actions." Sister Claire's scowl deepened. "You, officer, regret nothing."
"Is that so?"
"Yes." Sister Claire's eyes narrowed. "As I have told you, I have read your file. Theft, assault, drunkenness, debauchery – your list of sins is long and, dare I say it, almost impressive. Were it not for all the work you have done providing for your sister, I would conclude that you are a lost cause."
"A lost cause?" Now, this was interesting. "Is that why you're so angry? You think you can save me or something? Well, I've got news for you sister, I don't need saving. I've been doing fine on my own, and I'll keep doing fine on my own." Fang chuckled. "Besides, you should be happy. I'm killing demons now, that's Etro's work, isn't it?"
"In a way." Sister Claire folded her hands in her lap. "You might think the Church has forgotten you, Officer Yun, but there are those who still remember. An old woman who runs an orphanage, perhaps, one whom you have not visited for some time."
Fang stiffened. "That's none of your business."
"Perhaps it is not." Sister Claire looked back out the window. "But the truth is, you should be more than you are." Her voice hardened. "Ever year, your department and the Church have to deal with more cases, and every year, more of the innocent are caught in the conflict. And still you continue to play solider."
"And what would you like me to do?" Fang replied. "Join the Church?"
"No." Sister Claire turned and pinned Fang with her gaze. "We are fighting a war, Officer Yun, and we are losing, slowly perhaps, but surely. Individuals such as you should not be throwing themselves into battle after battle. You should be training others and leading. Ask yourself, how many demons have you killed? Now imagine the difference it would make if there were five others like you."
Fang's hands tightened on the steering wheel. "Amodar set me up, didn't he?" That clever old codger.
"Yes, he did." Sister Claire lips twitched. "The Church and the department are both aware of the state of affairs. Our.., partnership is intended to foster greater cooperation between our two forces, and in time, we would be expected to train others to a similar level of skill."
"So, you're good then?" Fang asked. Sister Claire wasn't so bad when she was talking rather than trying to stab her.
"Very much so."
"Still doesn't explain the sword," Fang muttered. "And you trying to stab me with it."
"I assure you, if I wanted you stabbed, you would be." Sister Claire huffed. "As it is, I thought it best to lay down the rules of this partnership. You keep your eyes and hands to yourself, and I will not have to cut them off."
"Come on," Fang grumbled. "You're a nun. I'm not about to jump you."
"Your file is very detailed," Sister Claire said. "Very detailed. I thought it better to be sure." Her eyes widened. "Wait! Stop here!"
Fang slammed her foot on the brake, and before she could even get her door open, Sister Claire was out of the car and headed toward a dark alley across the road. Fang grabbed her shotgun, a handful of flash bangs, and ran after her. As they reached the alley, there was a wet thump and a corpse tumbled to the ground. In the flickering glow of the streetlight, it was very clear that they'd come to the right place.
"Be careful," Sister Claire murmured. "The demon is nearby."
They edged toward the alley, and Fang had to blink to make sure she wasn't seeing things. There, at the back of the alley, was a roiling mass of shadows. When Sister Claire pulled out a flashlight and shone it upon the demon, the seething black cloud shivered and twisted in upon itself. At the centre of it all was a pair of crimson eyes.
"Prepare yourself," Sister Claire said. She put one hand on the hilt of her sword. "It knows what we are."
"Of course it does." Fang bit back a curse. Why were the demons always so well informed? "And don't worry about me, I've fought enough demons to know what I'm doing."
There was a hiss and the air grew thick and heavy. Malice radiated outward from the demon, and for a split-second Fang's mind was overtaken by images of slaughter and murder. She saw bodies stacked high and set aflame, great mounds built of bleached bone. Her jaw clenched and the images vanished. It was another one of the demon's ploys, an attempt to shake her resolve and drive her off.
"Nice try." Fang pulled the pin on a flash bang. "Let's see how much you like this."
She tossed the flash bang, ignoring what sounded almost like a curse from Sister Claire – but that couldn't be because everyone knew nuns didn't swear – and covered her eyes. The resulting flash was blindingly bright, but when it cleared, the demon didn't look the least bit hurt. If anything, it seemed angry, the malice in the air growing ever more oppressive as the cloud of darkness that was the demon's body grew larger and larger.
"We may have been mistaken," Sister Claire said as the demon's growing form cracked the walls on either side of the alley. "For it to have gotten this large and to have such a tangible form, it must have consumed a great many more than three people."
"So, what does that mean?" Fang lifted her shotgun and fired. She might as well have been throwing popcorn for all the good it did. The blast simply disappeared into the demon's billowing form. Damn it, she'd even had those shells properly blessed too. "Well?"
Sister Claire's reply was lost in the din as every single streetlight in the area exploded. Immediately, the street went dark, and all around them houses, shops, and other buildings began to go dark as well. Somehow, Fang doubted this was a coincidence. With only the faint light of the moon shining down on them, the demon grew larger still, until the buildings on either side of the alley came apart in a shower of crushed brick and broken wood.
"Run!" Sister Claire urged. "Go!"
They turned and ran full-tilt for the car. Fang hurled herself into the driver's seat, and the instant Sister Claire was inside, she slammed one foot on the accelerator. The nun lost her balance, and lurched forward. Her head cannoned into Fang's stomach and the dark haired woman hissed.
"Damn it, are you wearing a helmet under your wimple?" Fang pawed at Sister Claire's shoulders to try and get her off.
"Be still!" Sister Claire growled right before she lifted her head and caught Fang on the chin. "Watch the road!" she barked.
Fang clutched at her chin. "I would, but you're not making it easy." She glanced into the rear view mirror. The demon was racing down the street, less a cloud now, and more a tide of boiling, inky shadow. Everything it touched withered and died, and she sent a silent prayer to every deity she could think of to keep people off the streets.
"You're the expert," Fang shouted. "What's your plan?"
"The demon's heart lies at the core of those shadows," Sister Claire said. "We need to use light to drive the shadows back long enough for one of us to strike at its heart."
"That sounds simple," Fang said. "But it really, it's not." She glanced into the rear view mirror again. "Are you serious?"
"What?"
"Look!" Fang barely managed to keep the car on the road as they rounded a corner at eighty miles an hour. "That damn demon is going to throw a car at us!"
Sister Claire turned. "Oh."
"Yes, oh!"
There was a crash and a car hurtled through the air. It struck the building in front of them, and Fang jerked the steering wheel to the side. They barely managed to avoid it, and Fang bit back a curse as a cloud of rust enveloped the windscreen. The demon had touched the car for only a second or two, and it had already decayed that badly. Unbelievable.
More cars hurtled toward them, the demon gaining as Fang was forced to swerve all over the road to avoid the projectiles. At least it was the middle of the night, so there wasn't much traffic. Finally, one of the cars clipped the back of hers, and they spun, skidding off the road and into a fire hydrant.
The speed of the crash tore the fire hydrant apart, and a stream of water spewed up as the car imbedded itself in a brick wall. Inside it, Fang groaned and shook her head. Her ears rang, and she was seeing double, but she needed to move. Staying still meant getting killed because if that demon got its hands on her, she was dead. Her eyes widened. Sister Claire, where was the nun?
"Open!" Sister Claire growled as she leaned back and kicked her door. There was a trickle of blood down her brow, but she seemed all right. Certainly, she hadn't taken more than a few seconds to slice the airbags apart with her sword. "Open!"
Finally, the door burst open, and Fang followed her out of it. The demon was only a few seconds away now, and it had grown to be as big as a house. In the twilight, it looked almost completely solid, pitch-black limbs appearing from within the mass of undulating shadows.
"Do you have any more flash bangs?" Sister Claire asked.
"I've got more in the trunk." Fang glanced over at her. "Have you got a plan?"
"Yes." Sister Claire nodded. "Distract it, and when I give the signal. Throw all of them."
"Distract it?" Fang's brows furrowed. "What do you…" She trailed off in shock as Sister Claire turned and ran down the street. No way. No freaking way. The nun had just left her to deal with a house-sized demon. A snarl crossed her lips as she glared up at the demon "Oh, that's it. Never mind the property damage, you killed my car, prepare to die!"
She hobbled to the back of her car and popped open the trunk. Damn it, her head hurt, her car was a wreck, and her guns better still be working otherwise, she was in a lot of trouble. Thank the Maker! The flash bangs were still in one piece, and she quickly tucked them into the tattered pockets of her jacket. Even better, her assault rifle was still in working condition too. It was a pity she hadn't had time to get another RPG – that would have been quite handy to have around now.
"Over here," Fang shouted. "Over here, you stupid demon!"
Bullets streaked through the air as Fang opened fire and stumbled away from the remains of her car. The demon turned to follow her, the bullets simply vanishing into the cavernous shadow around it. But Fang wasn't done yet. As the demon stepped into the large pool of water around the car, Fang turned and shot at the power lines. Sparks flew as the bullets tore through the thick electrical cables. One of them tumbled down and landed smack bang in the middle of the puddle.
For a split-second, the demon flinched as electricity raced through the black miasma that was its body. Then, from the top of the building behind her, Fang heard someone shout.
"Now!" Sister Claire bellowed. "Throw the flash bangs now!"
When had the other woman gotten up there? Fang shook her head. Of course, the nun hadn't run away. She must have been looking for a fire escape. But why would she need one… oh. If the demon's heart was in the centre of the black, twisting cloud, then it would be far out of their reach, which meant that she was planning to jump down and hit it. She smiled. How utterly crazy.
"Right!" Fang grabbed the flash bangs, and threw them toward the demon. "Cover your eyes!"
Even with her eyes closed, and her face turned away, Fang was still hard-pressed not to wince as the blinding light burst outward. The demon roared, howling in pain and fear, and Fang heard Sister Claire yell a few words. Then there was a sound like an overripe tomato bursting before a wave of force lifted Fang and threw her through the window of the shop behind her.
When she finally managed to drag herself to her feet, she couldn't help but let out almost hysterical laughter. Amodar had wanted to reduce the property damage. Boy was he in for a nasty surprise. With the demon dead, most of the lights had come on, and their light fell upon a scene that looked straight out of a war zone. The street had been torn up for the better part of a few miles. Cars littered the area, some imbedded in nearby buildings, and others rusting by the side of the street. Where the demon had been, there was now a crater about thirty feet across and ten feet deep. Every single window on the street had been blown out.
As for Sister Claire, the woman's was lying on her back in the middle of a small lake as the fire hydrant continued to pour water everywhere. Her wimple had been badly singed, so now her pink hair floated beside her. Fang groaned and staggered over to her.
"Nice." Fang pretended to look carefully around the street. "I think you missed a few things though."
Sister Claire reached for her sword, which was imbedded point first in the cement a few feet away. "If I was not in so much pain, I would stab you."
Fang reached down and helped the other woman up. "Come on, we need to get to a hospital."
Sister Claire made a face. "Keep your hands to yourself, officer. I can stand on my own." She swayed.
"Really? It doesn't look like it?" Fang eased the two of them down onto a bench that had somehow remained unbroken. Sirens rang out in the distances, but they were getting closer. "So… how much trouble are you in with the Church for all this?"
Sister Claire sagged against the bench. "As much as you shall be in with your superiors."
"Not a bad way to start though." Fang grinned.
"Yes, I suppose we could both be dead." Sister Claire closed her eyes. "Wake me when the ambulance arrives, and I promise that if you even think of touching me inappropriately, I will cut your hands off."
"Oh no, you've got a concussion." Fang jabbed Sister Claire in the arm with one finger. "Stay awake." She grinned. "Say, while we're waiting, why don't you tell me about all that horrible stuff I'm supposed to have done."
Sister Claire straightened. "Yes, that would help pass the time. I will start with your debauchery. According to your file…"
As Sister Claire rattled off a rather long – and scarily accurate – list of Fang's indiscretions, Fang felt a smile creep across her lips. Sure, the nun was bossy, violent, and downright sanctimonious a lot of the time, but she couldn't remember the last time she'd had this much fun. And if training a team with Sister Claire meant having this much fun all the time, well, maybe that wouldn't be so bad.
X X X
Author's Notes
As always, I neither own Final Fantasy, nor am I making any money off of this.
So, yeah, I can't say exactly where this one came from. It's based on Fangrai February Prompt #78: AU prompt. Fang and Lightning fight the supernatural. I thought to myself, well, if they're going to fight the supernatural then one of them needs to be a priest or something (The Exorcist is one of my favourite movies of all time), and it would be nice if one of them was something a little different, just for a bit of tension. And voila, this is what my mind came up with (for better or for worse). It was also fun to switch a few things around (Fang knowing Amodar, for instance). Besides, it was also a lot of fun to poke at Fang a little. Lightning is a nun (of all things), so yes, there is probably a special place for people who ogle her and think thoughts of a more… sinful nature.
If you have the time check out my blog over at razieltwelve(period)wordpress(period)com. You should also check out at Fangrai February at fangrai(dash)February(period)tumblr(period)com. I can't say that I covered every prompt I wanted to, but seven is more than I expected to get done.
I also want to put out a call to all of the readers of Ordinary Heroes. I need your help! For various reasons, I would like a piece of fanart inspired by Ordinary Heroes. It should be a minimum of 625 pixels on the shortest side and 1000 pixels on the longest side, up to 1563 pixels on the shortest side and 2500 pixels on the longest side. Ideally the short side would be the bottom/top and the long side would be the right/left side. I've been working on a surprise related to Ordinary Heroes, and the image would definitely help. Those of you who recognize those dimensions can probably guess what it is. Message me if you've got something!
Also, if what I've written doesn't make any sense, you have my apologies. I haven't been sleeping well lately, and in between working on my own stuff, I've been writing stuff like this (it's about 5:00 AM in the morning here…).
As always, I appreciate feedback. Reviews and comments are welcome.
