AN: Quick trigger warning of suicidal thoughts. That's all I really have to say right now. On to the story.
Ch 7: A Meeting of Hope and Truth
Louis's pacing in his private office. 'What the hell do I do now?! My life's a total wreck! I'm unemployed! I can't afford to keep the mansion without some high profile job!' He holds his head. 'But Philip would never allow me to even be a janitor! I can't keep my house anymore! I have to sell it! I have to get an apartment in the slums!' The stag stops walking and stares down at the floor. 'But I couldn't even keep that without a steady job! Philip would ruin any attempt I make to have one! I'm screwed!' Louis looks up at the portrait of Oguma. "This is your fault!" He runs over to the portrait and tears it from the wall. Then, Louis drops it on the floor and starts ripping it to shreds. "You put so much responsibility on my shoulders from day one! You never showed me an ounce of affection until the day you died! All that trying to live up to you did was drive everyone I care about away! YOU BASTARD!" Once the stag calms down, he's able to see the damage he's done. 'I've accomplished nothing but leaving scraps of canvas on the floor.' Louis sees he still has one scrap in his hand.
The eye of Oguma is staring at Louis as if it can see his very soul.
'Who am I kidding? I brought this on myself. I tried to have it all. Power and fun. It all blew up in my face. The son created from my fun has taken my power from me. I didn't actually have that much power anyway. I deluded myself. Azuki and the Board of Directors had all of the real power. Any changes I wanted to make, they shot them all down. I was just a figurehead. I'd actually convinced myself that that was being powerful. For what?! Security?! In the end, that choice cost me everyone who matters. Legoshi and Haru would never accept me again after I'd kept away for over twenty years. Marie could never forgive me for putting myself first when she needed me to be her father. Juno…' Remembering everything she had said about him during her own interview makes the stag feel empty and hollow. 'She's written me off as worthless. Maybe I am.' Louis sits down at his desk. 'My own irresponsible ways led to Philip having a life full of hatred and hardship. The mother, whoever she is, is now in his crosshairs because of me. I have ruined so many lives because I was selfish.' He opens a drawer. 'I can't even take one step in an attempt to change or make amends since Philip would stop me every time.' The stag reaches into the drawer and grips the gun inside. 'Perhaps the only option left for me is death.'
The door to the office flies open and Agata rushes in. "Boss!"
Louis lets go of the gun and grabs the drawer in case he needs to close it. "What are you doing in here?!"
"You got a call!"
"I told you to screen all incoming calls!"
"But Boss, the—"
"Just get out and leave me in peace!" 'Just give me the freedom to end my useless life.'
"The call's from Juno!"
Hearing that name makes the stag instantly straighten up and take his hand off the drawer. "Juno?"
Agata holds up the stag's cell phone. "She's on the line now. She's waiting for you."
Louis scrambles out of his chair, dropping the scrap of portrait that has Oguma's eye on it as he does so. The stag runs to Agata, grabs the phone, and holds it to his own ear. "Juno?!"
"Hi, Louis," the she wolf's voice answers from the phone's speaker.
Louis starts to tremble. 'That warm tone. She hasn't spoken to me that way in years.' "I am really hearing you right now? You actually called me?"
"Yes. I did. I'm really talking to you right now. Louis…I'm sorry about what happened last night."
'Has it only been that long since Philip?' "Juno, you speaking to me with compassion is already doing wonders for me."
The other end of the line is silent for a moment. "Louis? Could you meet up with me?"
The stag smiles. "Yes! Anytime! Anywhere!"
Agata smiles seeing his boss so animated. 'He hasn't been this happy…ever now that I'm thinking about it.'
Louis nods hearing the meeting time and place from Juno. "Yes, I'll be there. See you." The stag hangs up and turns to Agata with a smile. "I'm heading out." He walks from the room.
Agata gets to work on cleaning up the remains of Oguma's portrait. 'I'm guessing this all means the Boss isn't trying to live up to you anymore. Good. The attempt put him through hell.' The lion notices the open drawer and looks inside. His heart almost stops at the sight of the gun. 'Oh shit!' He looks to the open door. 'Thank you for calling, Juno. You saved him.'
Later…
Louis enters the cafe. 'How nostalgic. The same cafe Juno and I would meet up at in our youth. It's strange how empty this place is.' He walks over to the counter and reads the sign.
'Have a seat. Bought this place out for the day. From, Juno.'
The stag chuckles. 'She made sure nobody would bother us after last night.' He sits at a nearby table and looks down at his hands. 'I've been cursed twice now. Philip has cursed me to be unable to get a job to support myself anymore.' Louis looks at his right hand's palm. 'Twenty years ago, Juno cursed me to be unsatisfied with a fangless marriage. That's been working from the moment I married Azuki. I'd find myself looking at all sorts of carnivore women and wishing I could sleep with them. When Marie was conceived, it fully hit me who I chose to be married to. I had to run to Mask Le Strange because I couldn't deny my urges anymore. I desperately had to feel fangs and claws in the most carnal of ways. Unfortunately, that curse produced Philip, who grew up to blame me for the hard life he got.' A cup is suddenly placed in front of the stag. "I'm sorry, but I haven't ordered anything…yet." He stares at the animal who served him.
Giving a sad smile is Juno. "I figured you'd want what you always ordered whenever we met." She places her own cup right across from his. The she wolf is caught off guard when arms wrap around her.
"Juno," Louis breathes into her neck. 'It was always you. Every carnivore I was with, no matter what species, I always wanted them to be you.'
Juno enjoys the hug, but she's also uncomfortable with it. 'He was never this affectionate with me. Louis really must be broken inside to do this.'
The two separate and take their seats across from each other.
"Did you hear about Xander and Delilah?" asks Juno.
"No," says Louis. "What happened?"
"Police went to see them after that broadcast yesterday. Delilah was found hanging from a noose. Xander tried to run and got gunned down for his effort."
"Serves them right. What about that kid they were raising?"
"Malcolm's birth mother came looking for him. Heard she's planning to raise him now."
"Good for him. Much luckier than Philip."
Juno stares down at her cup. "You're right about that." The she wolf lets out a huge sigh before looking back at the stag. "Louis—"
"It's all my fault."
Juno blinks and tries again. "Louis—"
"I had to go and get some she wolf pregnant! Philip had to get a shitty life because of it!"
"Louis—"
"I feel so conflicted! A part of me wishes I'd gone after you that night on the train, that I could've given up Horns Conglomerate and had a life with you!"
Juno stares at Louis.
"At the same time, I don't want to imagine a world without Marie in it."
The she wolf fidgets. "I talked with her last night after the broadcast."
"Really?!" Louis grabs one of Juno's hands in both of his. "How is she?! Is she okay?!"
The she wolf has to keep herself from smiling at this display. 'Marie should welcome her father back. It's obvious he'd be better in the role for her now.' "Marie's fine. Even with all the stuff going on, she's doing very well with Goshen as her rock and his parents supporting both of them."
Louis lets go of Juno's hand. "That's a relief. If I wasn't afraid of what Marie's reaction might be and Goshen breaking my nose, I'd go to them and say I'm glad they're together."
"Goshen really would break your nose. He's gone through similar training to Legoshi."
"Not surprising." Louis shakes his head. "We've been keeping things centered on me the whole time. What about you?"
"Me?"
The stag smiles a little. "Of course you, Juno. Is that Freedom to Love Movement going strong?"
Juno nods. "It is."
"That's great. How's…Milo?" The memory of that antelope who'd been at the ball with Juno fills Louis with jealousy he's no longer repressing. 'The jealousy doesn't feel as bad since I am not trying to deny I'm feeling it anymore.'
"Oh. We broke up right after the dance."
Those words fill the stag with absolute joy, but he doesn't let himself smile. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. He was a comforting friend, not a deep relationship."
Louis feels a more savage part of him roaring in victory. 'She's available now. Take this chance! HAVE HER!' "You know, I'm glad you decided to meet with me, Juno. You being so nice to me again is wonderful."
Juno frowns. "While I'm happy about that, that's only half the reason that I asked you to come here."
"Oh? What's the other half?"
The she wolf looks at the stag with sad eyes. "Do you know why I became a Beastar?"
"To show carnivores in a more positive light and promote interspecial love."
"Both are true. However, I mostly just wanted to get your attention."
That's news to Louis. "You did?"
"I'd hoped being a Beastar would appeal to your love of power and you'd leave Azuki for me. I underestimated the hold she and that company had on you."
Louis looks down at his cup, unable to respond to that.
"After you broke up with me, I tried the dating scene hoping to get over you. None of the dates were appealing to me. Fed up, I decided to go to a club for interspecial hookups."
'Understandable.'
"There, I saw the most handsome herbivore man."
'Do I really need to hear about some other guy you fell for?'
"He ended up going with some other she wolf before I could get to him, but I had become determined to have him at least once. So, I returned there every night for a week hoping I would see him again."
'Of course Juno would do that.'
"Lucky me that he showed up exactly a week later. I strolled over to him and wordlessly convinced him to go with me to a side room."
A few words stick out in Louis's mind. 'Wordlessly? Side room?'
"I let him know that I didn't want him to kiss me."
"Why not?"
"I didn't want him to recognize me."
"Recognize you?"
"He'd recognize me despite my dyed fur and the mask from Mask Le Strange."
Louis's eyes widen. 'Mask Le Strange?'
"Despite that, I wanted to make certain that he'd remember me. I bit his right shoulder."
The stag places a hand on his own right shoulder, where one of his favorite scars is.
"When I finished, I ran my claws down his back, which made him finish inside me."
Louis places both hands on his lower back as the realization hits him. "It was…you. You were the one I've always remembered as the best I ever had."
"That's quite flattering." Juno takes a drink. "Of course, I never went back fearing you'd eventually figure out it was me."
'I wish you did. If I'd known it was you…I would've left Azuki despite her being pregnant with Marie at the time.'
"That's when I decided to become a Beastar to get your attention. However, I was forced to go into hiding for some time."
"Why?"
"The result of lying to you about being on the pill."
Louis feels his heart almost stop. "What?"
"Louis, you once told me Oguma named you after kings. I did the same thing…with our son…Philip."
The stag feels the entire world around him shatter at this revelation. 'You're…Philip's she wolf…mother. You're the one…who…' "Why?"
Juno puts down her drink. "Why what?"
"Why did you give Philip to Child Services? Why didn't you raise him yourself?"
"No matter how progressive things get, making an unwed mother a Beastar is considered questionable."
Louis stands up. "Why didn't you let them know he was a hybrid?!"
Juno stands too. "Because I was looking at things through rose tinted glasses!"
"What the hell does that mean?!"
"It means I thought it didn't matter! I assumed anyone who'd adopt him would be loving to him! I believed I'd eventually convince you to leave Azuki! I would've told you about Philip then and we could have given him four loving parents!" Juno looks down at the table. "That all went to hell when they announced Philip was dead. Our son was dead. Xander and Delilah were not even sad about it." The she wolf looks at Louis with tears in her eyes. "I saw you at Philip's funeral…with Azuki. The way she had her arm in yours, it was so controlling. You were like the car she was driving. Philip was nothing to you."
"I told you I looked into his death!" Louis screams at her. "My own instincts begged me to…and I did! And what right do you have to claim I didn't care?! You never told me Philip was our child!"
"There wasn't any point in telling you that anymore! As far as I knew, our son was dead! You weren't the brilliant and proud stag that I'd chased after for years! You'd become an empty puppet for a soulless business! I ended up suffering for nothing!"
Louis looks down at the table. "Now…we find out Philip's very much alive and he vows vengeance for the life we did give him."
Juno looks down too. "He went through so much pain and hardship because I didn't keep him. Because I didn't tell Child Services he was a hybrid."
"We weren't there for him. He's only known Xander and Delilah as parents. For that, he brought me to ruin. I…deserved that."
"I'm not looking forward to what Philip has in store for me. Still, it's what I have coming after what I did."
The stag and the she wolf lock eyes.
Louis sighs, shakes his head, and gives a sad smile. "We are a pair of royally screwed up animals."
"We really are," says Juno.
The back door to the cafe slams open, an animal silhouetted against the sunlight. "I could not agree with you more!" He walks in flanked by an alligator-rhino hybrid and an eagle-vulture hybrid. The deer-wolf hybrid grins at his parents.
"Philip," Juno says in shock. This is the first time she's been anywhere near her son ever since giving birth to him.
"You're here," Louis says feeling wary about what this could mean.
"Obviously," Philip says with a smirk. "Ben."
The eagle-vulture hybrid walks over to the curtain hiding the menu. He pulls it back with a grin, revealing a camera. "Say hi. You've been on live stream from the moment Louis walked in."
The stag and the she wolf stare in horror at the camera.
Juno grips her chair tightly. 'Everything we said to each other was heard by his viewers. The world knows the truth about us now.'
Philip turns to the alligator-rhino hybrid. "Andy? What do the comments say?"
The large hybrid opens up the laptop he's carrying. "'She's terrible.' 'Juno is a heartless bitch.' 'Her actions spit in the face of interspecial love.' 'I can't believe I ever looked up to her.' 'She shouldn't be a Beastar.' It keeps going on and on like that."
Louis is shaking with rage at how guilty and miserable the she wolf looks. 'Maybe Juno did questionable things, but those comments are uncalled for.'
Philip's ears twitch and he turns to his mother with an unsettling smile. "You might want to take out your phone."
Juno blinks, not exactly catching what her son said. "What?"
"Check your phone. I just heard it vibrate. See what it says."
Louis feels dread as he watches the she wolf take her phone out. His fears are confirmed when her tail and ears droop.
Philip's smile gets wider. "What does it say?"
Juno stares at her phone for a moment. "It's from the Beastar Association. 'Your actions are deemed unfit for a Beastar. Therefore, it's been decided that your status as Beastar is hereby revoked effective immediately.'"
Louis places a hand on Juno's shoulder. 'She's been kicked out already? That's cruel.'
Philip cackles with delight. "That was so easy! It didn't take that much effort from me to bring you down, Mother! Guess it means that you had a lot of secret enemies just waiting on the sidelines to get rid of you!"
"ENOUGH!" shouts Louis. "You won! You ruined our reputations like you wanted to! Are you happy now?!"
Philip chuckles. "How amusing. You think I'm done with you."
Louis realizes something as Philip snaps his fingers. 'Wait a second. He has three hybrid friends. Where's the third?' He turns when he hears a grunt of pain.
Juno has her hand to her neck for a moment before collapsing.
"Juno!" The stag holds the she wolf as she loses consciousness. He pulls a dart from her neck and looks around to find the cheetah-chimpanzee hybrid coming out from behind a plant in the corner. 'He must have been hiding behind that the whole time.'
Philip holds up a spray bottle. "Scent Mask really does wonders. Mother couldn't smell Casey's presence. Now, it'll take time for Casey to switch to the herbivore dosage. If you got hit with the carnivore dosage, that would kill you. So, you've got a chance to do what herbivores do best and run away."
Those words fill Louis with anger. 'I spent my life running away. I ran away and denied my origins. I ran away from my weaknesses instead of owning up to them.' The stag looks down at Juno's unconscious face. The memory of that train ride twenty years ago fills his head. 'Juno, you may have been the one who stepped off of the train, but I was the one who ran away from my own feelings. Deep down, I've hated myself every day for that choice. Juno, this time, I refuse to let you go.' Louis glares at Philip while holding the she wolf tightly.
All the hybrids stare at this display, unsure how to take it.
"Hmm," says Philip. "Surprising. Well, it's not like you would've escaped us anyway."
Louis feels a prick in his neck and blacks out with Juno still in his arms.
AN: So, Juno is Philip's mother. The deer-wolf hybrid and his gang have taken her and Louis. What will happen? This is the halfway point of Kingdom Fall. See you all Saturday!
