The cold metal table presses against the lioness's back and restraints of a thick, leather-like material grabs her limbs. She's tilted at a sharp degree, allowing her to look out over the bare room. The fur upon her face is matted, stuck together from dried tears. Concrete walls surround her, uninterrupted except for a thick, windowless door that now begins to open.

The jaguar steps through in one movement, a grin flashing her white fangs.

The lion doesn't miss a beat. "Where is he? Where the fuck is my husband?"

"Do you honestly believe that talking to your captor like that will get you answers?"

"Please!" Tears begin welling up again. Whisper attempts to fight it, not wanting to show her weakness. "Why are you doing this? Please just tell me where he is!"

"You'll be happy to know that, as promised, neither I nor my associates have laid a paw on him."

"Then, please, just let me see him. Just once!"

The jaguar cracks a laugh, a laugh that whips at Whisper, whips through her spine and causes it to tingle and to curl. "Be patient, you'll see him shortly." She leans close to Whisper and pats her on the top of the head. She flinches but the restraints keep her in place. "I just wanted to come by and commend you for your excellent performance."

"My- what? What are you talking about?"

"You gave me all sorts of juicy little bits for my mind to chew on." As she talks, she walks around the table, staying barely within Whisper's sight. "You and that zebra. All sorts-"

"What are you talking about?" Whisper shouts.

From the corner of her eye, she sees the jaguar make a quick movement. The cold steel of a barrel is suddenly pressed against her temple. "Do not interrupt me. Do not ever interrupt me."

The welled tears break over and stream down her face. "Okay, okay. I-I won't, I promise."

"Do you?"

Whisper pauses as a surge of anger begins flowing through her and mixes with the soul-crushing lake of distress turning in her stomach.

"Do you?" The jaguar screams.

"Yes!"

The gun is pulled away.

"You bitch!" She shouts as the anger erupts.

The jaguar's crackling laugh is let loose again. "You're a fun one. Most of the others just wet themselves and leave it at that."

The lioness's heart sinks. "Others?"

"Well..." She grins. "Shouldn't have mentioned that. Ah, oh well. Doesn't matter."

"What others?"

The jaguar uses a claw to gently stroke down Whisper's face. "Sh- Sh- Sh- Don't worry about that now."

Whisper clenches her paws. "They will find you."

"Who? The police?"

"Yes."

The Jaguar pauses and locks her lapis-blue eyes to her, her face contorted in disgust. "And what makes you think I give a damn?"

Whisper is stunned into silence, stunned not from the words but from the way they are stated—with the utmost sincerity.

She leans in next to Whisper's ear and says, with delicacy, her breath brushing against her fur, "That's right, I don't care." Her voice rises a little. "I almost wish it." She jumps back, her voice continuing to grow. "I almost wish they would bust that door down right now and put a bullet between my eyes!" By the end of the sentence, she is yelling, her voice echoing through the small chamber.

Silence ensues and, briefly, Whisper can do nothing but listen to the vanishing resonances as she attempts to piece together this broken creatures motivations. Eventually, a small, weak voice escapes her.

"What the hell happened to you?"

The jaguar's grin reappears. "You're right, my lion friend, it's about time we move along!"

A miniscule sense of familiarity eases through Whisper but she's unable to place it.

The Jaguar reaches for something out of Whisper's sight, something located above her. She fumbles with it a bit before a black box appears. It's a screen attached to an arm mount much like the ones used to hold surgical lighting.

Whisper looks at it in confusion. "What the hell is this?"

"Everything will become clear…" she abruptly begins staring blankly at a wall, "…and not clear, shortly."

"Please, I just want to see my mate; I just want to see Henry."

The jaguar chuckles. "Just sit tight and enjoy the show, alright?"

"Please!" Shouts Whisper.

She begins walking towards the door…

"I just want to know he's alright!"

…pries the heavy piece of metal open…

"Is that too much to ask?" She pleads.

…glides through it…

"I will fucking kill you! I hope you know that!" Whisper promises.

…and slams it shut.

The tears return and she lets loose a powerful roar. "I will kill you! I will kill you and everybody who works for you! Do you understand?"

The jaguar casually struts around the outside of the room, through another door that leads to a small hallway, up a flight of stairs, and into a booth filled with various electronic equipment that hums and buzzes. From here she can see, through a window, the underside of the tilted table; from here, Whisper is unable to see her. The jaguar glances at a screen embedded into a panel. Whisper's face shows with utmost clarity and in vivid color. She presses a button and a recording icon appears in the upper-left corner.

The jaguar smiles.

She flips a switch and the mounted screen within the room activates.

"What are you doing?" The lion shouts.

The jaguar presses another button and the screen beams down an image.

Whisper looks upon it with confusion before she, with horror, recognizes what she's seeing. It is the last thing she remembers; she and Henry are standing within the middle of the pit, looking upon each other.

"What the hell?"

The smile widens as the jaguar presses one final button, a button with a sideways triangle on it.

The image begins to move.

Whisper stares with both fear and interest, drawn in by the sense of mystery, a mystery involving the only one who can inflict this ache upon her heart when missing.

'What the hell happened?'

She sees something impact her upon her back, something that seems to instantly vaporize. It hits with a harsh thud.

'Yes, that's right.' The memory of a small pain between her shoulder blade returns. For a brief moment, nothing happens. Whisper can only hear the shaking breaths of her and Henry through speakers she assumes are hidden throughout the room. But then, she notices a wave of rippling muscles coarse through her.

"Henry-." She hears herself let loose a pained sigh. "Henry, run. You have to run."

Utter confusion grips her mind, confusion and fear. She barely remembers saying those words and, the way they're said… Her voice sounds nothing like her own.

"Wha-? Wait, what do you mean?" He sounds just as terrified but she still finds his voice soothing and can't help but focus on every syllable.

She sees herself bare her teeth and let loose a growl.

With an abruptness similar to two trains colliding at a hundred miles an hour, realization explodes through her mind, it explodes and rips her soul into small, fleshy chunks. She roars a roar unlike any she's ever released. It's not great and powerful like a lion's typical sound. It tears and scraps, a high-pitched screech layers upon it, and, as it bellows forth into the confined room, blood moistens the back of her throat.

"Whisper?"So innocent. His voice sounds so innocent.

"Henry, for fuck's sake, run!" She yells to the empty room as she begins pulling against the restraints.

"No…"

She sees herself launch at him, launch with a viciousness that she's never been able to muster. But he manages to doge it, a very small amount of relief coming to her. "Run you bastard! Why aren't you running?"

She hears the damn bitch shout something in the background, something she is unable to make out. She sees herself draw closer for another attempt, her body hugging the ground, death within her eyes.

Standing in the booth, the Jaguar stares into the monitor, at the face of Whisper. She stares at it without emotion.

"Henry…" she sobs, a flood of tears sliding down her cheeks. "Just run! Damn you! Run!"

P-p-please, no. Dear, please" She sees him fall to the ground, to his knees. Oh my god, Whisper, my Whisper. C-Can't you- Oh, no. Oh no-no-no-no." Whisper watches this and she whimpers, heart beating in thick, fast beats. She's mesmerized by what she's seeing now, fear has utterly gripped her and frozen her muscles.

"Y-You're in there. I kn-kno-know you are." She pounces and she sees her claws grab a hold of his leg, leaving long, bloodied gashes. Her mind locks itself out. Everything doesn't seem real. What she's watching is somebody else. "Whisper! Please!" The bitch begins to laugh and she screams some more inaudible sounds.

Then she sees Henry kick her in the face, causing her to stumble. "Dear, oh shit… please," she pleads, a spark of hope reigniting. "Get away!" She pants. "Please, get away!" Her muscles unlock and she pushes forward against the restraints with every bit of energy in her worn body. It hurts but she doesn't notice. "Get away dammit!"

Another one of her paws smacks into his back and brings him down flat on his stomach.

"NO!" She lets loose another broken roar, her throat tearing further.

She sees Henry turn over and stare into her eyes.

"Don't give up! Don't you fucking give up!"

As she sees herself lung, she turns away and closes her eyes as tightly as possible. But there is no way to block the sound, the sound of her mate's neck snapping.

For a brief moment she sits there in her created darkness, unmoving and unthinking, eyes clamped.

Then, like a bomb, a noise blasts itself through the room. It can only be compared to the screech of a banshee, a banshee being slowly ground into small pieces. It's coming from the lioness's maw, not that anybody who heard the sound would believe it. She continues to scream as more blood explodes within her throat. Like her mind, her vocal chords shatter. She thrashes against the restraints, tearing her fur and burning her skin as they skid across their surfaces.

She wails and wails and, even as her vision begins to blacken, she continues to wail. Even as the blood works its way into her mouth and falls out over her chin, dripping upon and down her chest, she continues to wail. Even as wounds open up on her thrashing arms and legs, she continues to wail.

For quite some time thereafter, she continues to wail.

Even after her voice gives out.