A/N:

Answer time! See below for details.

Betas by Damlone, Blueberryandhoney, and OnceNeverTwiceAlways.

Edits by OnceneverTwiceAlways

Proofreading by Wodahseht

Sweet buttery fuck was this a good chapter to write!

Donations are welcome in my ko-fi account if you're so inclined. Check my profile for details. Happy reading!

"The truth."

Judy nodded weakly. It was all she could manage as she reeled, trying to come to terms with all the new revelations. Nick was right. They were in it up to their necks. Her discoveries had all been made in the face of their circumstances, rendering them small and pitiful. They understood their world better, but now…. Their world was falling apart, so what difference did it make? Until they were out of danger, nothing else mattered.

Before she could work up a response, Nick turned to the two newcomers.

"Finnick."

"Yes, boss?"

"You have what I asked you to get?"

"Yeah." Finnick pulled a bone amulet from around his neck and tossed it into the air. Nick snatched it before she could see what it was. "I assume you know how to use that."

In response, Nick pulled a pawful of Coins from his pocket and laid them on the table. "Payment in full."

"Payment is offered and accepted." The fennec intoned formally.

"Good. I presume you have something to occupy yourselves with for a while?"

"We do, but you gotta know something first."

"And what is that?"

Gazelle piped up, "The Host is planning something. I don't know what. They didn't tell me the plan, just my part."

"I find myself unconcerned," Nick replied, acidly. "Heaven's meddling is no surprise, and I have more pressing concerns. Now, make your point, if you please."

"Sir—I…" Gazelle snapped her jaws shut on the formal address.

"Zelle..." Finnick gasped, stunned.

"Cursori, please take a deep breath and spit it out," Judy ordered.

"When I gave your report to the Host, they gave me orders to prepare a Gateway."

"Hardly a surprise, if they're planning to send in troops," Nick mused. "What makes this significant?"

"My orders were to lay the foundations for a Gateway and layered containment, including temporal binding. They did not tell me any capacities, however."

Judy rubbed her chin. "You mean you have no idea what sort of back up you'll be getting?"

"Correct. That's essential knowledge when creating anything so complex. The power of whomever or whatever passes through the Gate will strain it and me, because I created it. Too much power comes through and I'll burn to a cinder."

Nick sighed, toying with his glass. "A neat way to tie up a loose end…"

"That was our thought, as well," Gazelle confirmed.

"What led you to that conclusion?" Judy inquired.

Finnick chuckled darkly. "You aren't the only ones paying attention, rabbit. Something ain't right around here, and the Host is involved. If I didn't think so before, I would now."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because if that 'as above so below' bullshit is right, then Heaven is as fucked as Hell right now. And if Hell would fuck over an operative to tie off a loose end, I'm damn sure Heaven would too."

Nick emptied his glass. "The imp has a point."

"I ain't just a pretty face, Wilde."

"You ain't even a pretty face, Finny."

The imp scowled at his boss. "I been around a long time, and I've seen plenty. None of this has a good feeling."

Judy shook off the growing dread and asked, "What will you do?"

Gazelle answered, "I'll follow my orders to the letter, but only to the letter. Finnick will watch my back."

"And cover our asses." Finnick jangled his new wealth. "I have a few tricks up my sleeves."

"Alright," Nick grunted. "You two do what you have to and be back here before midnight. Get all the information you can and make a list of your assets." He shrugged. "It looks like the four of us are in this together. Assuming you have no objections, of course."

Gazelle's reply of "It is better to be the Devil's right hand than in his path" left Judy blinking incredulously.

"I saw it in a movie," the rumanid supplied with a shrug.

Finnick shook his head muttering, "Come on, Zelle. Let's go."

"Don't worry, Finny!" Nick called after them. "The golems will remember you when you come back."

As soon as the imp's grumbling had faded down the hall, Judy turned to the red fox lounging in the room's only chair.

"Speaking of golems, why did your welcoming committee grab me, if I've already been here?"

"Your arrival was before I turned this place into a Bastion of Hell. They were asleep, so no introductions." Nick glowered from his seat. "And you're not dodging anymore."

Judy clenched her fists, but couldn't meet his eyes. "I'm not dodging anything."

"You've been dodging this topic since you slapped this binding on me. I didn't care at first, but that's changed. And you've had plenty of time to prepare yourself. So, let's hear it."

"I did promise you an explanation," she muttered resignedly.

"Yes…" Nick sneered. "How good of you to remember. Now, what is the Bond?"

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Judy muttered, "…It's what I said. Communication and location."

"Enough games!" Nick slammed his palm on the table. "We've been over this. That's the first level. The Truant's Summons, as I recall. I don't care about the trivialities of every nuance. You said there were four tiers. Explain. Now."

"I'm trying to." Between his anger and the anticipation of how much worse it would get, Judy's panic sent her voice quavering. "The second level is shared emotion and experience. You've made use of those already."

"Yes, yes. Level three?"

"At the third level a bonded pair can share…" Judy gritted her teeth. "A portion of their power or strength."

Nick's glare was calm and deadly. "Are you telling me that you can sap my strength?!"

"NO! No. I can't. I can only use what is willingly given."

"So, we're already at this third level of yours."

"We are…. As the Bond grows deeper, more and more power can be given."

"Judy…" Nick crooned with a stiff smile.

"Yes?"

"We're past that, aren't we?"

She nodded miserably. "I think so."

"You…think so…"

"I don't know."

"How in Creation can you not know?!" The fox asked, the beginnings of a growl in his voice.

"Because I don't! I've only used this spell once before. I had an apprentice while I was assigned to the Fringe, and we ended it once he was reassigned. It never moved past the first stage."

"At least there's that," Nick huffed, pouting.

"That I've only had one before you?" Judy scoffed. "I didn't take you for the jealous type."

He sneered. "I meant that you didn't lie about being able to undo the binding."

"I told you I'd undo it when this case was done."

"There are a few issues I have with that promise, Carrots," Nick commented as he reclined, resting his jaw on his fist. "You made the promise, but that was then. Now, this Bond is well outside your experience or control. We're also at least into the third stage of it, aren't we? And that's assuming one huge fact."

"Which is?"

His voice was deadly calm and even. "Demons keep their word. Do angels? You might have meant it, but as we both know circumstances can make liars of anyone. Are you sure you even can?"

"I did mean it!" Judy cried indignantly. "And I intended to remove it once the case is over. If you still want it gone, I will…. I mean—" She huffed. "If it can be, now…."

Nick's voice was drippingly unimpressed. "You have no idea what you're doing, do you?"

"The Summons is easy to lift at the first level. The caster can use the counter spell, and it's done. The second is basically the same, but more of a challenge. It hurts more."

"Hurts as in…?"

"Hurts, as in pain. Sometimes it can weaken your powers." Nick's silence was too heavy for her to bear, so she hurried on. "The third… Requires a little more."

He sneered and waved his paw. "Like what, pray tell?"

"For both parties to be willing in terminating it. Otherwise both will pay a higher price."

"Of course. And the fourth?"

Judy's shoulders slumped, and her ears drooped as well. "The final level of the bond can't be broken."

Corkscrews of wood peeled off the table top under Nick's claws. "What is the final level? What is it you aren't saying?"

"Communication and location, emotion and sensation, strength and support…. If you were a mortal, what would those be the building blocks for?"

"…You have got to be kidding…."

"The Bond is rarely used past the first level anymore. The Host encourages that by continuously reassigning us, but they also impart the dangers of it during training. The deeper the trust, the deeper the Bond. Absolute trust equals an absolute bond." Judy shrugged miserably. "We're already at the third level. What you might call as close as you can get."

"This is absurd."

"The evidence is right there on your paw…" She held up her own paw. "And mine. In the fourth stage, the Bond marks will show each of us the other's greatest secret: our Names. The sigils will only be comprehensible to us, but the result is the same."

"Something you'd only tell if you trusted each other completely."

"And that's it." Judy's smile was defeated and bleak. "Speak the Names, and it becomes a Soul Bond."

Nick's throat was suddenly dry. "Soul…."

"As in 'one mind, one body, one soul'. One being."

"Why…." He swallowed thickly. "Why would you bind me with that, of all things?"

"Because I was desperate! I needed to get you on a leash. I knew anything that would restrain or hurt you would end up with me dead. The lowest level of the Summons can be broken with a thought, so I wasn't worried when I cast it. Then…things changed."

"What changed?" Nick spat. "I became too valuable? You wanted a pet? What happened that 'changed' things?"

"Don't you dare get pissy with me." Judy fumed around her unhappiness. "Both of our Marks have shrunk. That means it was both of us. It can't progress without both Bondmates being in sync. It's the nature of the spell and can't be faked or forced. I started to trust you and care about you. We wouldn't have gotten here if you didn't do the same for me."

"It's hard to believe that when this has all been predicated on deception."

She flinched. "I know. But in spite of everything, here we are."

"I must admit, little angel, I am impressed. You've pulled off a con-job worthy of an archdemon. And on me, of all beings." Nick shook his head ruefully. "You could teach a class on manipulation."

"You've been manipulating me this whole time!"

"Of course, I have," he retorted. "I'm a demon! It's my nature to tempt and manipulate. But I would remind you that I've been transparent about that at every step. And I gave you my word not to use my powers to seduce you from the very first night we met. Because you EARNED that. In turn, you deceived me, bound me against my will, and dragged me along at your heel, after I'd already agreed to help you. And all because I didn't live up to your expectations after One. Single. Day."

"I know. I regret that." Judy squared her shoulders. "Binding you against your will was wrong. I'm willing to undo it now and take the consequences, if that's what you want."

"What I want has nothing to do with the bond. You say you regret binding me. I find that difficult to believe, considering we are so close to a Soul Bond."

"I regret hurting you. But not what I did."

He rolled his eyes. "Of course not."

"What do you want me to say? I did what I had to in the only way that gave me a chance of survival." She wrung her paws helplessly. "I had no idea we'd end up here! How could I? How could any of this even be possible, other than as a fever dream of a mad Creator."

He bared his teeth and hissed. "Do not speak to me of myths and lies."

She watched the demon stand and move towards the door.

"What do you want, Nick?"

He stopped with his paw on the door knob. "To know the rules again. To go a few hours without having the world tip under my feet for once. We're a long way from that. So, in the meantime, I think I want some time to myself."

"I can remove the Bond."

"So you said." Nick looked over his shoulder at her. "Will that serve a purpose?"

"It would be righting a wrong. That's purpose enough."

"How angelic an intention."

She ignored the barb. "I said I would at the end of this, but it may be safer to do it now before things get any worse."

"Define 'worse', rabbit."

"Yes or no?"

"Is this part of your penance?" Nick asked snidely. "Asking permission instead of simply doing?"

"If that's what it takes. Well?"

She'd managed to stay strong through his anger and was genuinely willing to do what it took to keep her end of their bargain. Ending the Bond would be costly and excruciating, but it could be done. Doing so would leave her crippled at best, broken at worst, but it was possible. It would keep her honor intact even as she was ruined in every other way. At that point, not even the Host would want her for vivisection. She would simply be cast into Hell where she'd go mad and end her existence as a mindless demon. A bleak prospect, but she'd made her bed. She'd sleep in it. If nothing else, she would at least have her honor.

Nick opened his mouth to speak, but Judy couldn't believe what she heard.

Nick's voice was a harsh whisper. "Do you know what the best prison you can make is, little angel?"

"I don't understand."

"Hell has the market cornered on prisons. But there's one that it just can't manage, no matter what they do. Can you imagine the one restraint that Hell, of all places, can't master?"

Judy could only shake her head.

"The prison you don't want to escape."

Nick fumed as he stalked through the halls of his home. He was struggling.

There were too many things happening. Too few that he had a handle on. Nick liked control. He didn't need a ton of it—it had been a rare treat in Hell for the first few million years of his first sentence there—but he did need a little. Just enough that he had something to work with. As long as he had that, he had a chance to apply some…leverage.

Nick smiled bleakly at the memory of one of the few souls he'd ever been fond of. He'd spoken to Archimedes many times over the millennia among the virtuous pagans of the First Circle. It was he who had given Nick a saying that he always liked to remember. "I shall move the earth, if you give me a lever long enough and a place to stand." His mind was all the lever Nick had ever needed. It was finding a place to stand that was tricky. There had been plots, plans, and schemes aplenty over the eons, and they'd always afforded him some form of control, even when he was in freefall. His second condemnation to Luxuria was made bearable only by the fact that he'd planned it and had known it was to a specific end. Now, he had no plan. It had all changed. Too much, too quickly.

I'm sorry.

The words through the Bond were accompanied by a sick, burning feeling in his gut. Her emotions were bleeding through. Nick closed the connection and kept moving.

It felt good to move. He felt compelled to do so after their talk. He didn't know why exactly, but he did. Nick knew it was an emotional reaction and that it meant something, but he hadn't the faintest idea what. He didn't want to know, either. Not yet. Not when he was already feeling so lost.

Arriving back in his sanctuary, Nick set about getting something accomplished. He slapped the bone amulet Finnick had given him onto the top of his chest, and ripped it open. Inside was not the usual collection of relics, supplies, and weapons. Instead, there was a void containing four books, a small box, and a stoneware bottle. Removing the objects, Nick closed the chest and took the amulet. It landed on the table with more force than necessary and was followed by the rest of the objects in his paws.

Nick snatched the book on top of the stack and flipped the little volume open. He snapped it closed again with a grimace. The Canticles of Misery were the last thing he wanted to read. He was already miserably unhappy. He didn't need help from the Prime Scripture of Hell. There was nothing in the book that would help him. There were chapters upon chapters devoted to relishing one's agony, but nothing on the topic of where the pain came from.

Nick was not in Hell. His pain was not due to where he was. It was from another source—someplace he couldn't name within him. It was crippling.

An hour later, Nick had read nothing. Worked on nothing. Accomplished nothing. All he'd managed was staring into space and hurting to the tune of his claws tapping on the table top. The worst of it was the echoes of Judy's unhappiness through the Bond. Her guilt and regret rattled through him, leaving a sucking hollow in his gut and his attention ruined.

It hurt.

And it was made worse again by the remorse he felt for causing her that pain. That was the hardest part for him to understand. He never felt regret. Never remorse or guilt or anything of the kind. So this was new. New and unpleasantly distracting.

The illusion of her crying herself to sleep flitted through his mind. He was on his feet and moving before he'd realized what he was doing. It was absurd. She was not so weak or pathetic to stoop to that. He muttered all the reasons such an idea was absurd to himself as his paws glided over the stone and wood floors of his home. She was strong. Potent. Willful. She was no simpering female. Nothing like his usual toys. She was special. Unique. Profound.

Worthy.

The word brought him up short in the cloisters. A thrill of elative panic rolled through him. This was wrong. All of it. It only stopped his feet for a heartbeat. Gold coursed through him like blood, while fury and hunger clawed him. He didn't bother wondering why anymore. Nick knew he was drowning in conflicting drives. Such conditions were part of his very nature, so he addressed his situation the only way he could—he followed his instincts. All of them were screaming for him to go to her.

The prickling of his Bond Mark led him along. Through the cloisters and halls to a place he didn't think twice about until it was too late. The need to find his angel drove him on, until he was inside the room she occupied. It was full of steam and running water and a very naked, very surprised rabbit with bright red ears sitting in a bathtub. The only thing that kept her modesty was a wreathing pall of water vapor, which only made her more enticing.

"Nick! What are you doing here?!"

Nick blinked for a moment and forced his usual smile onto his muzzle. "I smelled rabbit stew, so I thought I'd check on dinner."

"Very funny." Judy grumbled as she fished a towel from a stool by her tub and draped it across her collarbones. "Also, not entirely true."

"Oh?"

"You may have closed the Bond earlier, but I could still feel you until then. You're in no better shape than I am."

"Hence the bath to calm yourself, I suppose."

"And to wash the guilt off…"

That gave Nick pause. As jovial as he'd been forcing himself to be, she wasn't having it. "That's how you want to do this, then? No sugar coating?"

"I feel awful, and dancing around the situation with your usual jokes won't help us deal with it." Judy hid her face for a moment. "I…I really don't want to have this conversation, especially here and now, but it needs to happen."

"What's wrong with here and now?"

In response, the rabbit gestured to the tub and herself, indicating her nudity.

"I'm not seeing a problem."

Judy huffed. "You like seeing me vulnerable?"

"Quite a lot," Nick admitted with a shrug. "But more so in this moment for the karmic irony of it all."

"What are you talking about?"

His smile deepened to a grin. "Earlier you came clean."

"Oh no…." She groaned and flopped her head onto the side of the tub.

"Now, bare your soul, Carrots."

"I just asked you to be serious. It's been ten seconds, tops!"

"I am serious. No one ever said you can't be serious and humorous."

"Puns aren't humor," Judy griped, kicking the stopper out of the drain. "They're a travesty against language."

"I prefer to think of them as a linguistic dominatrix."

Her head cocked adorably at the absurdity of the statement. "What?"

Nick's grin turned rapacious. "You groan and smile in pain and pleasure at the same time under the verbal lashing."

"I don't even know what to say to that."

"Your ears got redder and you're smiling despite yourself. You don't have to say a thing."

"I do, though." Judy tucked her towel around her frame and lifted herself out of the bathing vessel. "I owe you an apology."

"You said you were sorry."

"I did. But I need to say it to your face."

"Well?"

"Can I get dressed first?"

He leaned back against the tiled wall. "No one's stopping you."

Until that instant, Nick had felt his control over the moment growing. He was fairly sure of where he stood and how to guide the conversation they were about to have. With any luck, they'd get this over quickly and—with her a little embarrassed and him a little mollified—they'd be back to common ground. He was prepared for what was coming and had a handle on the situation. He was decidedly not prepared to see her square her shoulders and, with a defiant lifting of her chin, pop the tucked corner of her towel out of place and let it fall to pool at her feet.

To his credit, his jaw didn't hang open. It just felt like it did.

Under his stunned gaze, she took one step towards him. Then another. And another. Never breaking eye contact. All Nick could do was stare. There was no artifice in her expression. No deception. Nothing hidden. Baring her soul was what he'd suggested and, now, it looked like she had taken it literally. The Bond was wide open. Judy knew exactly what she was doing—literally and symbolically—and she wanted him to know it.

She padded past him and out the door, asking, "Are you coming, Nick?"

So much for a handle…

His thought earned him the feeling of her trembling smile as she walked down the hall. A moment later, he followed her. He was brought up short again a few breaths later when he found her by her bed, settling his shirt back onto her shoulders. Her fingers closed the garment, but only fastened a few of the buttons around her midriff, leaving most of her barely hidden—if not completely exposed.

"Judy…." Nick breathed hoarsely. "You are playing a dangerous game."

"I've been playing it since I attacked you a week ago."

He chuckled. "Has it only been that long?"

"It feels like decades." She raked a paw over her ears. "I wouldn't be surprised if it was centuries."

"That would only happen if I snapped my fingers. Might've happened."

Judy fiddled with her garment and smoothed it with her paws before hopping onto the bed and sitting. Sensing her distress, Nick pulled a chair to the bedside and sat, placing himself eye-to-eye with the rabbit. They were closer than he'd intended. His arm was able to rest on the mattress. He was further surprised when she shimmied closer to him.

"When I first found you, all I saw was a demon from the Host's watch list. I needed to make a name for myself, so my CO would trust me. Everything I did was calculated. I knew the risks, the dangers. At every turn, I knew I was getting myself in deep." The firmness of her voice displayed her sincerity and awareness of what she was saying and to whom. "If I failed, I'd be a traitor or disciplined within an inch of my life. If I succeeded, though…."

"You'd have a hell of a feather in your cap."

Judy nodded. "All I've ever had is my career. I worked my tail off to earn the chance to come here and serve the Host. To be at the most important outpost they have, in the most critical time we've ever had. I always try, and work, and push to be better. I never turned down an extra assignment or let an opportunity to do more pass. It's always been my way. If I'm going to do anything, it's all in or not at all."

Nick snickered at her turn of phrase. "Extra patrols, second shift filing, attacking an archdemon with a taser and a butter knife…"

She swatted his arm.

"Now, I see it was pointless. Since I met you, my world has fallen apart." She sighed and wrung her paws. "I thought I could handle this. All this time, I knew I was playing with fire. But I thought it would be worth it because I would have given Heaven the upper hand over you. If I had to give my life to end you, I would have and it would have been a death in honor and service."

"To that end, you took risks." Nick hummed. "You know, If I didn't know any better, I'd say you fell for me right from the get-go. Not that I'd blame you. I am irresistible."

The corner of her mouth rose with her eyebrow. "You mean egotistical."

"Six of one, half dozen of another. Either way, binding me was ballsy."

"That was where it started going wrong."

"We demons tend to upset angelic plans," Nick replied with a smirk. "It's one of our favorite hobbies."

"Well, pat yourself on the back because you've done a spectacular job in this case," Judy ranted sarcastically. "I wanted to tear down a demon and prove my worth. Instead, we've torn down the Host and proven yours."

"Judy?"

"I don't have the Host anymore, Nick. I know what's waiting for me if I return to them. If I'm not vivisected on sight, the only place I'm headed is Hell." Tension flooded her frame. "Some part of me still wants to fight you and this crippling temptation. It's telling me I should release my power one last time and throw myself against you, so at least I can sell my life dearly in the Heavens' name."

For an instant, blue flame licked across her brow and traced along her wings before fading. She slumped, drained, as the flames passed.

"That little voice has been weakening every day, and now…" Judy sighed. "I can't stay blindly loyal anymore. The voice is gone."

Nick had been a little off kilter since she'd dropped her towel in the washroom. Since then, she'd had him off balance. Watching her shrug and stand on the mattress, he felt as though he was on the top of a roller-coaster in the dark, not knowing what was about to happen. She reached down and lifted his paw, using it to pull him to his feet. He acquiesced with no hesitation.

Before he could speak, she shushed him. Her trembling paw slid from his lips up along his muzzle to his cheek. She smiled and swallowed thickly. "If I'm going to Hell, I may as well get a head start."

Nick's mind went blank when her lips pressed against his for the first time. This was not what he'd expected. The why and how of their first kiss had played out in his mind many times, but none had come close. It was clumsy and tentative. She was a complete novice, and it showed. However, that only lasted in his mind for an instant. All thought was blasted from his consciousness as the electric bolt of emotion tore through him. He didn't know if it was his emotions or hers or both, but they left him dizzy.

Their lips parted a small eternity later. Before his eyes could flutter open, he felt her latch onto his chest and huddle in.

"Are you sure about this, sweetheart?" His voice was husky and rough in his own ears.

"No." Hers was throaty and muffled by his chest. "I'm so scared, Nick. But there's one thing I know."

"What's that?"

He felt her steadying breath through his fur. "That you keep your word."

His paws came to rest featherlight on her hips. "What do you want?"

"That when I fall..."

Anticipation, hunger and joy raged through him. "Yes?"

"Catch me."