Thankfully the vixen was willing to let him ride the elevator down, he didn't even have to ask.
"You know how to get around," Marcus managed to quip as the doors shut.
The fox rolled her eyes, "Is this your attempt at a joke or flirting?"
"I feel like someone could live in this city their entire life and still not know about places like this."
"When there's no place to call home, there's nothing to do but explore."
"So, what else can you show a lowly born country boy such as myself?"
"And why exactly does a country boy want tours of run-down boiler rooms and roof top jungles all of the sudden?
"Never felt like I belonged at home, and you do a good job of reminding me how little I belong here. Thought maybe..."
"If you knew some more of this city's secrets, you'd somehow fit in?" Fiona cut him off.
"Yeah, that about sums it up."
The vulpine heaved a heavy sigh as the elevator chimed and opened its doors.
"Why do you feel like you need to fit in somewhere?"
"Isn't that what everyone wants?" he asked. "To feel like they belong to something or someone?"
"Now I really can't tell if you're flirting with me," she grinned her signature wry grin.
"I don't get it," Marcus proclaimed in confusion, "what do you want then?"
"I already told you, kid," Fiona replied firmly as she stepped out into the desolate halls, "revenge."
"I know, but on who?"
"Maybe not on the best of terms with your parents..."
"Right, sorry, I should have known," he looked to the floor in shame as he did his best to keep up with brisk stride.
"It's fine, I don't expect you to understand."
But I want to.
"Maybe you could tell me about them?"
"I don't need a therapist," the fox spun on her heels with a growl, pushing a clawed paw into his chest. "And you can stop following me around anytime you like."
"Weird isn't it?"
"What?" she snarled.
"Having someone follow you around."
Half a smile returned to the vixen's muzzle, "Fine, I get it, you don't have anything better to do on your day off do besides follow me around like a sad little pup."
"Well, that's what you wanted, right?"
The fox looked away.
I knew it.
"That's what I thought," the kid replied with a sense of smug satisfaction. "You either want my company, or you want something. Which is it?"
"Can't a girl just be nice for a change?" the fox pleaded with him as she pushed her way through a door and into Station Square's rotunda.
He stood there following her gaze upwards, letting the sun's light bathe him in warmth, "You're the one part of my new life that I like, you know that?"
"Ewww," Fiona gagged, "now you're definitely flirting with me."
Maybe, he conceded to himself. But more than anything he was trying to be honest with her, the way she had him.
"You're witty, dangerous, adventurous, and probably the first person who hasn't turned their back on me."
She had nothing to say to that, so he kept going. "You didn't have to help me."
"Which time?" she teased him.
"But you did. Every time I think I'm in over my head you're there to remind me that I am, but that I'm not alone."
"Are you done being sappy?"
"Are you done pretending you don't like having me around?"
"No."
"Well how about you show me around the city while you continue to act like you don't want to?"
"There's a tour bus outside, I promise the tour guides are as enthusiastic as I am."
"That's not the same and you know it."
"Fine," the vixen relented, "but I'm only doing this so we can get rid of those sad looking puppy eyes you've been wearing for the last five minutes. They're making me uncomfortable."
"Alright!"
"What do you want to see?"
"Uhhh," he paused, "You know, whatever."
"Could take you to the top of the Over Park bridge," the fox suggested.
"I've had enough heights for one day," he assured her. "What do you have that's off-limits and ground level?"
"Plenty."
"Anything scary?"
Fiona laughed, "for who, you or me?"
"You," he teased her back.
A stern look overtook her as she motioned for him to follow her back to the subway.
"Hey!" he called after her, "Where are we going?"
"Where you asked," she responded as she ducked under a turnstile. "I can show it to you... I just can't go in."
Marcus did his best to convince his body to vault over the machines while calling after her, "Wait, you're actually scared... I didn't think that was possible."
"Probably not for any of the reasons you're thinking," she assured him.
"So... what is it, some kind of haunted building?"
"What? No," the fox rolled her eyes as she stepped onto another downtown train. "There's only one place in the entire city that Ixis has forbidden me from going. You've seen what he does to people who disobey him."
"Huh, why doesn't he want you going there?" he felt compelled to ask as he followed her.
"Not sure, but I have my suspicions."
Marcus wanted to press her, but it wasn't often he saw a look of conflict on the vulpine's face. It was getting easier to read her. Behind the teeth, the smirks, and burning eyes were what Fiona didn't want others to see, her emotions. The looks and feigns of anger were all a facade designed to keep people out, including herself. She had told him as much.
By being someone else, he reminded himself.
This time he felt compelled to sit down next to her.
"Plenty of other seats."
"I think I realize what actually scares you," he replied quietly. "And I know it isn't Naugus."
Her glare seemed to defy the insinuation that she was capable of fearing anyone or anything else.
"Yourself," he replied as the fury behind her eyes intensified. "You're afraid that someday you'll see yourself as the monster you see in Ixis... that you'll wake up and that's who will be staring back at you in the mirror, a monster."
It was hard to meet the intensity of her gaze head on, but there was no giving in now. Only the sound of their train care clattering along filled the void her silence.
"That's what you're trying to protect me from, isn't it? So, who's protecting you?"
A gong sounded and vixen hopped back to her feet, marching out the doors as sullen as she had been when she decided to drag him on this adventure.
Great... I've gone and made her mad again.
"Fiona," he called after her.
Predictably she had nothing to say.
"Are you mad at me again?"
She wouldn't even give him the satisfaction of an answer as she bound up the platform steps.
"Is it because I'm right?"
The fox stopped just as she stepped outside into the midday sun, "Let's be clear, you don't owe me anything."
"What?" he replied as he finally caught up to her.
"I know what you're trying to do, I don't need you looking out for me. I've done that just fine myself for years now."
"Then why do you insist on helping me?"
"Because," the fox grinned as she began to wag her tail, "you need it."
Marcus sighed. It was true. As tough as he thought he was, Capitol City was something else. He had scraped by on pure luck so far.
"Come on, it's just around the corner," she insisted with an energetic energy.
"What is?"
"The Den of Shadows," the vixen replied in a mockingly spooky voice.
"Is that really what it's called?" he felt the need to ask as they veered down a desolate alley.
"Yup."
"I thought you said we weren't going to a haunted place."
"Far from it," Fiona assured him. "It's a meeting place for unsavory characters."
"Sounds like the Barn Yard..."
The vixen sighed, "There's two places you can go in this city when you need something that isn't available through conventional means. Ixis Naugus, or The Den of Shadows."
"So, it's a black market?"
Fiona shrugged, motioning over her shoulder "Not really sure. I'm not allowed to go in."
"But what about me?" Marcus asked as he inched his way towards the cellar's steps, peering down into the abyss. "Ixis never told me anything about it."
"There's no point in risking it," Fiona assured him, "He probably wasn't worried about you finding it the same he was with me."
The allure of the void, the ever-growing expanse of darkness beckoned him. He placed one foot on the warn wood, waiting to see what repercussions would find him.
"Don't," she scolded him. "Ixis always finds out."
"I won't tell if you won't," he smiled back at her as he descended.
"Please," she nearly begged him. "Marcus! Don't be stubborn."
But her pleas grew strangely quiet, even just a few feet down.
"Wow, it's dark in here," he whispered to himself. "Hello?"
The floorboards creaked beneath his weight; dust was heavy in the air.
"I don't get it, it's just an empty basement."
"Our clients don't usually show up at noon," a voice assured him.
Startled, Marcus spun around to find a pair of green orbs staring at him.
Definitely a Mobian, but I can't tell what kind.
"Uhhh, hi?" he asked in a whimper.
Yeah, okay, this place is scary.
"Hello Marcus," came the creature's pleasant reply.
This is getting worse by the second... why couldn't I have listened to Fiona?
"Sorry, I uhh, I think I got lost."
"Of course, the stairs are right behind me."
Is this some kind of trick?
"Wait, just like that? You're going to let me go?"
"What kind of place do you think this?" the mysterious critter asked.
"Some kind of black market."
Or a murder pit. Definitely a murder pit.
"Yes, that's a reasonable assessment. We're a bazaar of information. And most certainly not the kind of place that allows our patrons to get hurt."
Well that's a relief, the scary shadow creature says I won't get hurt...
"So, I'm safe here?"
"I assure you, this is the safest place in the city." the creature proclaimed, motioning to a dimly lit table. "Care to sit?"
"Why?"
"Why indeed."
So this is how I die...
The black space around the Mobian's eyes came into focus.
"A racoon," Marcus muttered, confirming his suspicions.
"I am, but if you'd prefer to talk to one of your own, I can arrange for that."
"No!" he nearly shouted, "I mean, I just wasn't who you were. Mobians don't scare me. I came here with a fox, but she didn't want me to come down here."
"Ahh, Fiona."
"You know her?"
"We know everyone, Marcus," another voice answered.
Who the hell are these people and how many of them are there?
We? the kid gulped as he tried to peel back the darkness with a squint.
A tall lanky man had already taken up the seat next to him.
How did I not see him? He's only inches away.
"I see..." Marcus joked... "So... who is we?"
"Johnny," they both answered in unison.
"Both of you?"
There was no reply.
"Johnny?" Marcus asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"Yes?" they again replied in unison.
Kind of weird, but then again... this whole place is weird.
"How do you guys know me? And how do you know about Fiona if she's never been down here?"
"It's our job," the racoon replied as he sharpened his claws against one another.
"We trade in information," the man replied as he lit a cigarette.
These guys may be the definition of scary, but I don't get why Ixis doesn't want us coming down here.
"Huh..."
"You seem confused," the racoon said in voice that vaguely reflected concern.
"I just figured there would be more to it."
"You're wondering why your friend wouldn't follow," the man replied confidently. "Her fears are not unfounded. Her employer is scared of what she might find down here and has thus forbade it."
What could Fiona possibly find out here?
"Should I be concerned?"
"That depends," the racoon answered, "are you here to help yourself or her?"
"I... well no... but wait are you saying I could help Fiona?"
She's certainly helped me a lot recently. Maybe I could return the favor.
"What she wants is well known to us."
"And what's that?"
"Revenge," the man answered plainly.
"I know that already."
"But do you know on whom?" the Mobian replied through a whisper.
"You mean the person who killed her parents?"
The pair nodded in unison.
"And you guys know where to find him, is that it?"
"We do."
"So how does this work? I do you guys a favor? Pay you?"
"We're able to trade in favors, credits or equally valuable information."
"What's the catch?"
"Smarter than he looks," the man whispered in the direction of his furred friend.
What's that supposed to mean?
"There is no catch per se," the Mobian replied plainly, "but there's always consequences."
"You mean like if Ixis found out? Wait why doesn't he want her to know?"
"Another question that we also know the answer to."
"Are you going to tell me? I don't get it, what do you want in return?"
"In return for what?"
"All of it. Her parent's killer, why Ixis won't tell her. All of it."
The pair grinned, "nothing."
That's never good. Nothing in life is free even if it is.
"Why?"
"Ixis is a competitor."
"So you think this will hurt him somehow?"
The unlikely pair shrugged in unison.
No backing out now.
"Give it to me then."
The racoon grinned, baring his dagger like fangs as he slid a slip of paper across the table.
"What's this?"
"What Ixis doesn't want Fiona to find. What he's hidden from her all these years, and not without reason."
"Are you saying he had something to do with it?"
"No," the lanky man answered. "He was looking out for her as much as he was himself."
"Then why would he hide it?"
"Revenge is quite the motivator," the human replied as he took another drag on his cigarette.
"It's what's been driving her all these years..." Marcus muttered.
Would she even be the same without it? These two are as manipulative as Ixis...
It was clear they were trying to take one of Naugus' most powerful pieces off the board. If Fiona ever found her revenge then what motivation would she have to keep her going?
But something still doesn't add up.
"I don't get it," Marcus proclaimed, "Why not find someone else to give this to her? Seems like if you guys know everything and everyone you could have made this happen already. "
"We have rules about that sort of thing..." the racoon hesitated. "We're not allowed to intervene, but if someone were to inquire on her behalf, well, then we wouldn't be making it happen would we?"
"This seems like cheating," he felt the need to point out. "You basically handed this to me."
"Ahh," the human began, "but you asked for it. You asked for 'All of it'. You could have just as easily left, but just like our little den, your curiosity got the better of you. The choice to leave was always yours."
Marcus felt the need to massage his temples. This is not the right day to be hungover.
"I..." he began, but instead found his feet. There's no fixing this, just making it worse.
"Please come back anytime you like," one of them called out to him.
They had goaded him into asking all so they could dance around some make-believe rules. He had been made a pawn in someone else's game that he wanted nothing to do with.
I thought I was helping... now I'm not so sure.
It felt as if there a new weight on his shoulders as he ascended from the depths of darkness, each step harder to pull himself up than the next. He was in an impossible position.
I should tell her, Marcus thought to himself... I owe it to her.
But the mere fact that someone wanted her to know rubbed him the wrong way... would I really be helping her? What would she to do this guy if she found him?
Fiona had just the previous night confided in him that she despised what Ixis did. Yet if he handed her that slip of paper, then he was handing her an excuse to become everything she hated. She'd be no better than a man who hurt people for a living... a monster.
I don't want to be the reason she wakes up to find someone else staring back at her in the mirror. I still have a choice in that.
"You look like you saw a ghost," the vixen laughed nervously.
Shielding his eyes, the kid did his best to discretely pocket the crumpled paper.
"What was down there?"
"Nothing," he assured her. "It's all deserted. Lots of dead-end hallways and cobwebs."
"Huh..." the vixen shrugged. "Well sorry to disappoint you."
"Oh well," he shrugged, "thanks for showing me anyway."
"Don't sweat it, still plenty more to see if you want."
"Yeah," he paused, "I think I'd like that."
"Or..." the fox hesitated.
"Or?"
"We could get into some trouble instead."
Marcus couldn't help but smile.