"Nickyyyyy... Nicky! Hello! Hello, Nicky. So good to see you in the flesh, at last."
The voice was high pitched and a touch reedy. Very feminine. Quite young, as well. All that was grasped in moments. The tone of the voice could only be called dulcet, as though designed to pull one's attention. That didn't remove the fact that there was an element to it that set both Nick's and Judy's fur on end, for all the worst reasons.
Both the rabbit and the fox experienced similar atavistic reactions. The urge to flee was very present, as was the increase in heart rate and a spike of adrenaline, but that was where the similarities ended. Nick was instantly all business. The voice was disturbing to him and he'd seen the worst Hell had to offer. There was something very wrong with whoever owned the voice drifting out of the shadows.
In Judy, however, the voice called up several hot, mean emotions most of which were directed at the fox. They lasted until a figure resolved itself from the darkness at the opposite end of the hall. It was a deer.
A doe, specifically. She was indeed young. No greater in age than her early twenties, at most. Under any other circumstances, Judy would have called her shapely and rather lithe. However, two things detracted from the youthful creature before her. One was her pallor. The deer looked washed out and ashen, her brown fur was well kempt but would have been more fitting on a corpse. The second was the fact that she was wearing a form-fitting leather skirt and jacket, quite obviously homemade in serial killer chic. The only source for leather was living mammals and the possession of it was considered the most heinous of crimes by mortal and angel alike. Judy fought to keep her last meal down as that fact registered.
Her revulsion and anger at the fox boiled towards a fever pitch until he stepped between her and the deer. That sent a flurry of other emotions through her and her anger shifted towards herself for having them.
Instead of dwell on her emotional state, she snapped acerbically at Nick, "Another ruined mortal?"
"Not one I've ever met."
His tone was even and considering, but the tension in his movements belied his laconic stance. He wasn't lying. He couldn't. That meant whoever this was new him, but he didn't know her. That was concerning. Especially considering the eerie presence and sense of malice radiating from the swaying form.
Judy stepped to the side, trying to see around him, but was halted by his raised paw on her shoulder. There was no force in the action, but it still stopped her cold. It's placement and position were specifically designed to keep the principle in place and the defender aware of their exact position at all times. Judy knew this because she had been a demonstration aide for a class at Officer's School; an advanced class for bodyguards and guardian angels. Another small piece to the puzzle.
In the absence of her brain, her training took over and she, as the de facto principle, did her part of the exercise. Her paw came up to rest lightly on top of his. It was supposed to be a show of trust and acceptance of the bodyguard's role. According to the training, she had just signaled she would follow his lead and trust his choices. In this circumstance, it felt oddly intimate.
"How sweet! You're protecting the little angel. Hello, angel! Hello, keeper of the flame!" the doe called while waving enthusiastically.
"You have us at a disadvantage."
"Of course, I do. It's easy."
"What's your name?"
"I don't have one. This meat does… Did. Did? It did, but I forget it."
"The meat... what meat?"
"This body, silly boy! It had a name before I used it. Now, it's all broken... broken... you know how it is. Toys break so easily, especially these little mind-things."
A deer wearing leather. Real leather. While Judy retched quietly behind him, Nick had to admit he was subtly impressed, despite his mild discomfort. No one had gotten the drop on him in a very, very long time. He hadn't even perceived the presence of whoever this was. It was clear, however, that they were not stable, or in good shape. He needed information. He also needed a distraction from the feeling of Judy's paw on his. What he'd done in stepping in front of her had caused a sharp spike of pain through his head. Memories were boiling right at the edge of his awareness. The last thing he needed was an episode here and now, or to think too long on why his tail was bristling.
"Do I know you?"
"You're sure she isn't one of your floozies?" came the quietly intense voice of the rabbit.
"I told you I've never had the pleasure of her acquaintance, until now."
The deer giggled. "So jealous, isn't she Nicky?"
"I'm not jealous," Judy snapped.
"And defensive," the leather-clad mammal crooned. "Still, she's always been that way, hasn't she?"
"It's only been a few days since I've met her, so I can't say I'd know," Nick replied lightly. He had no desire to antagonize whoever this was. They were sounding less sane by the moment.
"Few days? Wha- oh, yes... the "time" thing. Yes..."
Nick and Judy exchanged a look that plainly said they both understood. The person speaking to them was flatly insane.
"I do forget about that at times. Not being free to perceive all of time at once is a challenge I'm still not used to after all these years." She paused, seemingly in deep thought. "Years... years? Eons? Instants... it's all the same to me. Let's go with years. That seems to be the one you understand best."
Nick elected to ignore the second part of the deer's babbling. "That must be quite troublesome for you, being a prisoner. I heartily empathize." Nick's sarcasm was lost on the deer, as her gaze wandered aimlessly around the room. "I love what you've done with your cell."
Once more attention focused sharply on Nick. "Cell? What cell? You get reception down here? Lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky you!"
"You claim to be a prisoner, so wouldn't this be your cell?"
"Oh, no! No… Not here. This is just a place where we meet."
"Who is this "we" and how do you make it to meetings if you're locked up?"
"Meat. Just meat. Meat meetings!" The deer cackled and wandered to a pile of rocks, where she lounged. "Finger puppets are such fun, aren't they…"
Nick blinked before dropping into a deeper ready stance and rolling onto the balls of his feet. He was not about to be caught flat-footed if he needed to run. Even sitting, this mammal was not to be trusted.
"Of all beings, you would appreciate, yes? Imprisonment appreciation!" The deer giggled and swayed in her seat. "So many times you've been confined. So many... and so much pain. You know what it is to lose a part of yourself, don't you? You lose and regain so many pieces... like those toys. What were they? Legos?"
An undercurrent of tension crept into Nick's voice. "As much as I'm enjoying this conversation in no way whatsoever, could you tell me what you want?" Judy caught the thread of unease and gently squeezed the fox's paw, offering assurance. She was rewarded in seeing his shoulders relax fractionally.
"Want, want, want?" the doe sing-songed. "To be free like you, of course."
Nick practically snarled, "I'm not free in the slightest."
"Oh, but you were and are and will be, Nicky... freer than any angel ever before. Freer and stronger and delicious. Your children will be the same."
"Now, I know you're crazy."
"Crazy? That's insane, yes? Insane? That's the opposite of sane. What is sane, Nicolas? Could you tell me?"
"I'm fairly certain you wouldn't understand it if I did."
"True! Small concepts aren't worth the energy and I must use mine well."
Judy piped up. "You mean the souls you've stolen."
"Be silent, candle!" the deer boomed, her suddenly resonant voice bouncing off the stonework walls. "Be silent or I will spare you the future you had when I was imprisoned!"
"Whoa! Easy there, lassie! Talk to me," Nick piped up, moving to conceal Judy from the deer's sight. "We were having a nice, if creepy, conversation. Let's continue it."
As he spoke, Nick opened the bond and gripped Judy's shoulder, hoping she would listen.
Don't antagonize the crazy one. It doesn't like you. Let me do the talking.
In response, Judy huffed a breath.
"Awww!" The squeal was accompanied by a pair of hooves meeting next to the unsettling deer's face in a childlike display. "Look! It pouts. It pouts so cutely."
"Don't call me cute!"
Judy, be quiet. Please.
The cutesy pose remained to the eye, but the voice was flat and deadly. "I'll call you whatever I desire, light-bearer. Including 'appetizer' if you speak out of turn, again. While we're speaking of fine dining, thank you for that little soul, Nicky. The searing of your mark was a delectable touch."
Nick grasped at that. "So, you are the one responsible for the lost souls, I take it?"
"Lost? What a quaint notion!"
"Quaint?" Nick replied incredulously.
"Why yes, silly little todd! How can something be lost when it's put to its proper purpose? Do you call a carrot lost when your rabbit eats it? Or sin lost when you feed? Certainly not!"
"You're telling me you… eat.. souls. Is that right?"
"What else would I do with them? Mint coins?" Nick raised an eyebrow at the less than subtle jab at the Coins of Mammon, while the deer giggled inanely. Whoever this mammal was they were dangerous, even by his standard. If the overwhelming sense of malice wasn't enough, Nick got the sense that he was in the presence of something bad. Intrinsically, inarguably bad.
"Alright, let's say that I believe you. Then, I have to ask, who are you to eat souls?" The tension in Nick's mind must have come through with his words because Judy fell silent and gripped his paw. He could feel her trembling. Aloud, Nick continued in a forcedly light manner, "You were also about to tell me to what I owe the pleasure of your company this fine witching hour?"
"Owe me? Yes... you owe me so much. This is just a part of the tab." She seemed to stare into space for a moment and her whole demeanor changed. "Where am I, now? You! Rabbit with the white-fire spirit! Did you summon me?"
"Whitefire soul?"
"White and burning and muted by her foolishness. Such a bane, now. And a boon, later! For both of us! And you too, fox! I'm glad you summoned me. This is entertaining!"
"I didn't summon anyone!" Judy replied in exasperation. "You've been here talking to us the whole time!"
"I was? Was Baphomet here? I needed to talk to him about something important. A newly minted guardian, I think. I want him. He'll be such a good toy. Does so much for me..."
There was an edge of hysteria to Nick's forced laughter. Judy felt his paw go rigid. "I'll be sure to pass the message on to Buffy when I see him. Now, was there something you wanted from me?"
"Only for you to get what you've worked for. What I've given you. I just wanted to say hello, here, but you ask so many fucking questions and thinking like this is unpleasant. I think I told you things you shouldn't know. Things that will hurt you. Isn't that marvelous?"
Nick had reached the end of his patience and snapped, "Who are you? What are you? Answer me!"
"Such an angry angel. So proud to give me orders. That's why you fell, foolish morsel. Pride. Pride and poisoned words..."
"And who are you to speak to me of pride?"
"The marionettes! They dance! They dance for me!"
"Tears and ash! What is wrong with you?!"
In response, the doe deer giggled maniacally and grinned vacantly at them. Judy tensed as the piercing, yet empty stare drilled through her. A tremor wracked the deer's frame and for a moment lucidity seemed to return to her before she burst into tears. They couldn't tell is they were from laughter or misery.
"Oh, Nicky… So forward…"
Tension roiled through Nick as he prepared to fight for their lives, or run for them. The doe fumbled with the buttons of her jacket and pulled back the leather flaps. All the fight drained from both of them. All that remained was a panic-driven desire to flee.
A pink, feverish-looking slit ran from her mid-chest all the way to her groin and a matching horizontal slash adorned the line of her ribs. The puckered flesh surrounding the folds slowly peeled back revealing putrid, rotting black meat. From the rips and tatters of the mammal's body, a cross-shaped mouth of sorts formed. It was made of sucking flesh, randomly placed teeth of a hundred varieties, tentacles and eyes nestled haphazardly in the pulsing meat, giving no sense of rhyme or reason.
Nick whispered, "No..."
The doe laughed in the sickly-sweet voice before it gave way to a booming shriek. The black mouth spoke and her face became a rictus of agonized delight. "Run little morsels! Run! Run into my arms as fast as you can!"
They fled.
Judy found herself scooped into Nick's arms as he ran, his demonic powers carrying him as fast as they could. The gate, passages, and sewers they traversed in their path to reach the subterranean cathedral passed in a matter of blinks. All the shaken and emotionally battered rabbit could do was hold on to the fox that carried her and try not to cry. Minutes, or possibly moments later, Judy opened her eyes as concrete met her hind paws once more. She opened her eyes to a visibly shaken, struggling vulpine.
During his flight with Judy, he'd enjoyed a little respite from the effects of the evening's revelations. However, the mental preoccupation that his flight had provided vaporized the moment his angelic burden's feet touched the ground. A small part of him that wanted to remark on her scent and the feel of her in his arms tried to make itself known, but was neatly squashed by the mental image of what that deer had hidden under her monstrosity of a dress.
"Nick?"
His mind reeled as memories he'd buried centuries ago boiled up from the depths.
"Nick?"
His back ached as though the wounds were fresh and panic clawed at him.
"Nick?!"
He was being held down on bloody knees as the obsidian blade fell again.
"Nick!"
Suddenly, Nick's world was filled an earthy, flowery scent. He slowly came back to himself and realized he was indeed on his knees. His forehead was pressed flat against Judy's chest and her arms were wrapped under his jaw while her chin planted itself on the crown of his head. She was holding him tight, almost as tight as his paws gripped his thighs. Once he grasped that she was real, the rest of his situation came to him.
She was crying. He could hear her ragged breathing and felt her racing heartbeat against his head. She was trembling; obviously terrified. Their ordeal in the catacombs had affected him badly and he was older than dirt, having seen more of hell than most could imagine. It only made sense that a relative innocent, warrior or not, would be hurting. Yet, she had chosen to try to comfort him, rather than herself. A sick burning feeling rose and settled under his solar plexus.
Nick tried to move his hands and felt a series of sharp pains as he did so. Apparently, in his terror, he'd sunk his claws into his own flesh and hadn't felt it. A sharp jerk, and a little pain later, his paws were free. That was when Judy's trembling entered Nick's awareness. Collecting himself, Nick sent a flush of his flames to his self-inflicted wounds and to his claws, burning away the blood and closing the punctures. Very gently, lest he frighten her more, Nick brought his paw up to stroke Judy's back.
"I'm back, Carrots."
In response, Judy shivered and sagged. Nick caught her as her knees gave out.
"You stupid demon! You scared the hell out of me!"
"Odd thing for an angel to say." Nick huffed a weak laugh as she thumped a fist into his chest. "We can't stay here."
"Where are we?"
"Tundratown, it looks like."
"You got carried away."
"For a good reason, I think," Nick commented as he stood. "And you were the one that got carried."
"Now, I know you're feeling better. You're being pedantic."
"A little, maybe. I think we need some company. Come on."
Judy nodded and followed the fox through the snowy byways.
They ended up in a chain sports bar. Not Judy's taste at all, but it did have a crowd and enough background noise to be comforting. More importantly, the entire population of the place was composed of arctic and sub-arctic species. Not a deer doe or buck in sight.
Their peace lasted only until they were seated and served their appetizers.
A timber wolf in a slim black dress welcomed them and guided the rather shaken pair to a booth in the middle of the restaurant. Judy was sure Nick had recovered somewhat, but he was far from his usual self. Not a flirty word passed his lips and his attention to the hostess was perfunctory at most. It took them a few minutes to get the booth's heater adjusted to a comfortable level for them, and it wasn't long after that their server arrived.
The mountain goat ram was as enthusiastic as any mammal could be working the graveyard shift at a round-the-clock food service job. Meaning, he mumbled his way through the interaction and shambled off with as little effort as he could get away with. As it was the early hours of the morning, there wasn't much need. Sporting events on the other side of the planet were most commonly enjoyed from a DVR at one's leisure. The restaurant was only open to service those also on graveyard shift, or mammals like Nick and Judy; exhausted and stressed after a long, miserable day. Being close to a public services hub for the district assured a steady, if subdued, stream of customers. Enough to keep the place operating, anyway.
Company, but not a crowd. Exactly what they needed.
Nick ordered a beer on draft, largely to have something in his paws to focus on, while Judy opted for coffee. Nick was right, she had to admit. There was something comforting in the presence of other mammals. Once their server had departed, they settled into their seats and tried to digest their day.
The silence stretched.
Judy cracked first.
"Hey. You ok?"
"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies."
"So, well enough to be a smartass, but otherwise, no?
Nick chuckled, "You're getting good at reading me."
"I wouldn't say that, exactly."
"You pulled me out of my attack on the street." Nick met her eyes and she swallowed thickly. "No mean feat there, sweetheart."
She didn't want to think too much about it at that precise moment, any more than she wanted to hear him call her by endearments. An uncomfortable lightness in her belly popped up every time he did, anymore, and she found it distracting.
"Lucky guess."
"Even if I give you that one, it was risky."
She couldn't say he was worth the risk. Such an admission would be tantamount to suicide, but she thought it very loudly to herself before replying,
"Catatonia won't get you out of our deal. Sorry." Nick barked a laugh and Judy smiled. Her follow up neatly turned the tables. "I'm more interested in why it worked. You were on your knees and shaking like a leaf. Does hugging your head always calm you down?"
Nick cleared his throat before he answered. "Last I checked rabbit helmets didn't work any better than tinfoil."
"So why did it work, then?"
Memories of her scent rolled through his mind and he forced them down. "That's an excellent question."
"And that's an evasion."
The ram server chose that moment to reappear and plunk their drinks down in front of them. Under a minute later he was gone to put in the first appetizer Judy saw on the menu. His warning of "It may be a while for that," was vigorously waved off. Through the exchange, her eyes never left the fox. She was sure he was buying time. It was confirmed when he proceeded to take the longest sip she'd ever seen, despite taking almost no liquid from his glass.
"Well?"
"What is a source of water, Alex?"
"You want jeopardy, you'll get it. Now, answer me."
"Judy… I'll answer you, but not now."
"Why not?"
"I'd prefer someplace… private."
The way he said that had her reconsidering. "Why don't we just leave it for now, then?"
Nick smirked. It faded as Judy turned to the one thing she knew would distract them both.
"We have a problem, Nick."
"Just one?" Judy's flat look drained what little good humor he had mustered. "We're both shaken. We need food and a shred of composure before we dive into that topic."
"Leave it for a little later?"
"After food, please." Then, more lightly, he added, "Add it to the list," and winked.
Judy stuttered out a laugh that was only half nervous. There were a lot of things that could be on that list and she suspected not all of them terrified her.
Their orders arrived after a few minutes of anxiously companionable silence and they were finally calming to the point where they felt mildly mammalian when it all went wrong again. Judy finally felt calm enough to be intelligible, so she pulled her phone to contact her CO and report. The moment the device was on, it was alerting for emergency communications. Judy's shocked confusion was interrupted by Nick's tremulous voice.
"Judy, look."
"I can't, Nick. I need to call Bogo. There's a crisis!"
"That might be a little difficult, considering he's probably dead."
Judy blinked and looked at the fox, who just pointed at the nearest big screen. The newscaster's voice finally registered in her attention. Her ears dropped after the fifth word and then the shakes started.
"We are here at Precinct One, where the attack occurred. According to reports, a number of officers are among the slain in this attack. No statements have been released by either the ZPD or City Hall, but that's hardly a surprise considering the scope of the crisis."
The screen cut away from the newscaster and showed a montage of videos taken from camera phones, all displaying officers and civilians under attack. "These unknown assailants struck just over an hour ago, murdering several key officers and city officials. The attackers then went after any mammals nearby, wielding knives. The specifics of the weapons are unclear, but they appeared to have been homemade. We have preliminary reports of seventeen officers slain, including Chief Bogo, as well as at least two dozen civilian casualties. The numbers are not yet confirmed and the actual death count is presumed to be significantly higher."
The screen cut back to the newscaster. "Of further concern is the sudden increase in gang-related violence that has sprung up all over most of the city. Dozens of reports are flooding in of shootings and assaults in every district of the city. Speculation abounds about how this attack came about, but one thing is certain. Whether this was an inside job or not, the gangs are taking full advantage of the chaos."
The newscaster and the anchor at the studio continued to babble, but Judy was no longer listening. Once her CO was reported as dead, she went to her phone and scrolled until she found a file marked Alpha Black; the highest priority communication there was, and confirmation that her worst fears were true. The only reason to receive such a communication was Bogo was dying when he sent it. I was the final emergency communication no angel wanted to receive.
"Carrots? What's wrong?"
"Bogo's dead. I have the confirmation here." She tapped the email and her phone registered a full set of new security authorizations. Everything from total access to the mainframe to the status and transponder logs for the other angels in the city were hers; access befitting the senior ranking officer in the city. "Apparently, I am one of two angels left alive in the city."
"Say what?"
"I didn't stutter, Nick. As of now, I am the acting commander of the Wager Officers in the city."