In a hospital bed at Zootopia Central Hospital, Davies was lying in a hospital bed. For a little over a day ago, his life was turned upside down. Not only had he been possessed by the Legion of Night, an entity that appears in mammals with neurological differences from bases mammals that are exposed to Night Howlers.
But he had learned, that his boss, and girlfriend. Anna Blackpaw, was a Vampire, an honest to goodness Vampire. A Vampire that had all but drained him dry of his blood. Now, he was stuck, receiving new blood. To replace what Anna had drunk.
"Mr. Hopps. There is a rabbit woman here to see you." A nurse said, peeking his head through the door.
"Send... send her in," Davies said, exhausted and light headed. And into the room, a rabbit women did enter... Anna Blackpaw.
"Leave us to our privacy," Anna said with a clearly somber look on her face, and the nurse closed the door behind her. Anna then fired darts from a hidden fun, disabling the room's security cameras.
"Have... have you come to finish the job?" Davies said, trying to put on a brave face. When in fact, he was terrified beyond rational thought.
"Davies... there is no need to pretend with me. I can see your heart beating faster... please. For your sake if nothing else, calm down... I never meant to harm you." Anna said as she removed her jacket, placed that on a chair. Then she moved the chair towards Davies chair.
"Why... why did you never tell me? Did... did Judy know?" Davies asked, struggling to stay awake.
"Would you have accepted employment from the undead? Would you have even believed me if I just told you the truth in the first place?... and not right away no, we only met in person two weeks after the Stampede of Doom incident. Nick was suspicious of my financial situation, and they interviewed me and... Well. I figured that keeping them both in the dark about the truth would be futile." Anna explained somberly.
"...was your Vampirism... the secret that the Mask wanted you to admit?" Davies asked.
"Yes... but that does not diminish the truths we shared-"
"Are you even really who you've said you are? How many more lies are you hiding-"
"DAVIES OCTAVIUS HOPPS! CALM YOURSELF! THOUGH I AM LOATH TO USE THIS ABILITY ON THE MAN THAT I LOVE, YOU OBVIOUSLY WON'T LISTEN TO REASON AS YOU ARE." Anna said, her voice booming with ancient arcane power. "So... instead of just telling you, I'm going to show you," Anna said.
"S-Show me what?" Davies asked uncertainly.
"How I came to be... just close your eyes," Anna said as she took Davies paws into her own. And Davies reluctantly closed his eyes.
XXXX
"Where... where am I?" Davies asked as he had somehow arrived in a village. A strange sort of mist hung over the village
"This... this is where I was born. Rabbits-Burrow, you would not recognize the name. For it was over a thousand years ago that I lived here." Anna's voice explained as sectoral rabbits started to manifest.
"Okay... so where exactly is this place?" Davies asked.
"England, around... well I don't entirely remember the dates. But it was in the 990's, in the north. Fairly close to the border with Scotland. How far exactly... is not important. What I'm showing right now, is the day everything changed. When my world... was turned upside down." Anna's voice explained, as two small rabbit children ran past Davies. Both were predominantly brown and black furred, one having a black right arm, and the other having a black left arm.
"Is... is one of those kitt's you?" Davies asked.
"Yes, that was I and my twin brother Jonathan when we were eight years old, I was known by the name Annabeth in those days. That day... is still as clear as crystal. Jonathan had completed our chores, while I had been going around the village rigging every doorway I could with a bucket." Anna's voice explained.
"Wait, you exploited your brother for chores, while you did the 'bucket of water over the door' trick?" Davies asked indigently.
"Yes... it is not something I am proud of. Both for exploiting Jonathan during our childhood and for the pranks I pulled on my fellow villagers... and for the record. It wasn't always water I put into the buckets when I did those pranks... nor was it... always, conventionally CLEAN water." Anna's voice explained.
"Okay... that's really gross, but not THAT unexpected if I'm honest. So... what exactly happened on this day?" Davies asked.
"I'm getting to that. Now, the day went fairly normal. Mother and father would lecture me about exploiting Jonathan to get out of work, and for dumping water and... waste-"
"Anna, we're all grown-ups here. You don't NEED to censor yourself." Davies interrupted.
"True, but I know how much profanity bothers you. At any rate, it seemed to just be another boring day in Rabbits-Burrow... but then, at the stroke of noon. Rabbit-Burrows Liege-Lord arrived." Anna said, as the sectoral image of a black wolf appeared, clad in armor. "Draco... Long-Fang.
"Oh... I think I know what this is about. I heard that sometimes, some predator nobility take prey to serve as either food or hard labor." Davies said.
"Indeed, he specifically called it a 'Rabbit Tax'. He'd take away rabbits at the time of his choosing... but this day. My father encouraged the mayor to stand up to Draco... but it only brought his wrath upon us." Anna's voice explained as spectral predators burned the village to the ground. Rabbits attempting to escape... but were easily cornered by Draco's men. "Jonathan and I... we were the only ones to escape" Anna's voice explained, as sectoral images of Jonathan and Annabeth looked back at the burning ruins of Rabbit-Burrow.
"Oh... wow I... how did you survive?" Davies asked sympathetically. The environment then changed to Annabeth and Jonathan walking through the woods at night.
"We just... wandered through the woods. Night fell, and we ambushed by bandits." Anna's voice said as the bandits in question appeared. "I tried to be brave... protect Jonathan. But let's be honest... what chance would an eight-year-old rabbit have against seasoned killers? That would have been the end of it... but I believe I will let this next part speak for itself." Anna's voice explained.
XXXX
Out of the treetops, a fox in a green hooded cloak leaped down in front of the two rabbit kitts. "Top of the evening lads, ya mind tellin' me why your harrasin' these fine young bunnies?" The fox asked, speaking with an Irish accent.
"We haven't had meat for three stinkin' days! Now stand aside red-pelt! Or we'll eat ya as well!" A bear said.
"Well, if'n you don't mind my saying so... a fox and a pair of rabbits won't nearly be fillen enough for you boys. So, why don'tcha go somewhere else for your eatin'?" The fox continued, Annabeth and her brother Jonathan just looked confused by this stranger.
"True... but why pass up some fun when you can find it?" A wildcat said as he played with his sword.
"I see... you boys have a minute to run." The fox said as he drew his weapon.
"And what can a little fox do?" A wolf asked, ignoring that the fox's eyes started to glow an eerie golden color.
"A fair question... what can a fox do against, such big, strong... STRAPPING predators?" The fox said, obviously mocking the bandits.
"Hmm, this fox thinks he's the Devil himself." A stoat said in amusement.
"Oh believe me lads... as far as you need to know. I, AM, the Devil himself. HAVE AT THEE!" The fox shouted as he leaped at the bear, killing him quickly as he tore out his throat. "KIDDIES! AVERY YER EYES!" The fox shouted as he quickly did in the rest of the bandits. His mouth covered in blood by the time he was done.
"W-Who... who are you?" Annabeth said, putting an arm before Jonathan protectively.
"How rude of me, I be Sir Scath. Hedge Knight of the Emerald Isle, once the right hand of the High Kings of Ireland... now, I wander across this enormous bog you Anglicans call a country. Saving poor innocence's like yourselves from monsters such as these... now. I believe I should know your names little ones." Sir Scath said, kneeling down to the kits.
"I'm Annabeth, and this is my twin brother Jonathan... now, WHAT are you?" Annabeth said suspiciously. "I normally wouldn't ever ask, but... you tore out a bear's throat! And... and what did you do to the stoal?!" Annabeth asked, noting that the torn up corpses of the bandits, and the stoal in question being drained dry of blood.
"Ah... how about I take you, little moppets, home, which way is-"
"Follow the smoke; you'll probably be able to smell its ashes," Annabeth said curtly, pointing to the pillar of smoke behind them.
"I... I don't understand." Scath said.
"A-A mean wolf, burned our village to the ground, and killed everyone!... we're the only ones who escaped," Jonathan said, finally speaking up.
"Hmm... a Long-Fang, am I mistaken?" Scath asked.
"Yes, now answer my question fox!" Annabeth demanded.
"If I must... I am a Vampire. An undead creature that drinks blood and can only be killed through extraordinary and unconventional means." Scath explained.
"And... you just save complete strangers in the middle of the woods?" Annabeth asked.
"It's a dark world we live in little ones... no sense in not making the attempt to make it right. Now... I know of a place where you may stay. A secluded village away from the prying eyes of the mortal nobility." Scath said.
"Hmm... fine, but if this is some manner of trap. We're both coming back to haunt you!" Annabeth swore.
"Oh, that is far more likely than you might believe," Scath said.
XXXX
"Sir Scath took us both to the hidden village, of Exile. A place hidden away by ancient and powerful magic, and where Vampires and mortal mammals alike lived and worked in... Relative harmony, there was strife from time, to time. But they were passing moments of mistrust and misunderstanding." Anna's voice explained as the surrounding changed to a village, filled with mammals of all shapes and sizes.
"So you Vampires figured out Zootopia centuries beforehand... actually seems right to me," Davies commented.
"Despite the... reputation of Vampires, many of us saw the practicality of protecting mortals. If not just to maintain our only source of sustenance, blood. But... as much out of nostalgia and sentimentality for our mortal lives, as much for cold pragmatism, but enough about general Vampiric politics during the Middle-Ages. Shortly after our arrival, Sir Scath took us under his wings as his own children. Jonathan took to the art of black-smithing like a duck to water... me on the other hand... I was too angry to be truly grateful." Anna's voice explained.
"Wow... you look REALLY cute when you're angry!" Davies said as the frowning specter of Annabeth looked at Jonathan through a window as a bison helped him at the forge.
"Regardless, I convinced Sir Scath to teach me in the ways of swordsmanship." Anna's voice explained, as the specters now showed Annabeth and Sir Scath practice fighting. "As the years went by, I grew better and better. Fueled by my desire to avenge my family and home... at the expense of Jonathan, I'm sorry to say." Anna's voice explained as the specter of Annabeth grew older.
"I'm having this weird feeling of déjà vu," Davies noted.
"Perhaps... but then the fateful day came. When I believed I was of age to finally face Draco Long-Fang." Anna's voice said.
XXXX
"Faith and begorrah child, I've said this to you every year since your thirteenth. I will not turn you into a Vampire! Especially for such a petty of a reason as revenge!" Sir Scath said in irritation with the rabbit he had helped raise for a little over a decade.
"But I need Vampirism to kill Draco Long-Fang!" Annabeth protested.
"So it's a lack of faith in my trainin' ya have?" Scath said.
"No... It's just that I seriously doubt that even with your training. I could take down a wolf!" Anna countered.
"Annabeth... little Annabeth Inle... you have been so consumed with vengeance. You have ignored every attempt at making friends amidst the rest of Exiles citizens. You barely even know Jonathans betrothed for goodness sake!" Scath said.
"But I-"
"Blast you girl! Now I'll be off for the next day or so out of the village. You better behave yourself and be alive when I get back... and in that time. I want you to do something OTHER than brood about vengeance! For that matter, try to actually talk to people. Like Brandon Bunnison for example, I've heard a rumor in the Blood Tavern that he's sweat for you." Scath said.
A few hours later, Annabeth was at the village blacksmith shop. "Annabeth... please tell me you're not here to bug me about the sword again," Jonathan said irritably as he pounded his hammered, repairing a scythe.
"It's been a month since I asked about the sword." Annabeth protested.
"Yes... but not only do I still remember that. Ringing in my ears, but I also remember telling you. That despite my skill at creating weapons, working on a silver sword would take time! Especially seeing how poor a material silver is for making weapons!" Jonathan said in irritation.
"But silver is ideal for making weapons that can kill monsters, including Long-Fang!" Annabeth said.
"And I agree with you that would work... BUT-"
"But nothing! Is it finally ready, or isn't it?" Annabeth interrupted, Jonathan looked unamused.
"Fine, it's in the back room in a chest, alongside a proper steel sword. If only so that you might actually survive against Long-Fang, thanks for asking me about Daisy by the way." Jonathan said as Anna entered the back room in question, opened the chest, and took the swords. "You know there are better ways to spend a birthday then wolf hunting. For example, I went walking with Daisy in the meadow. I don't think I ever had that many buttercups in my life. And I finally worked up the nerve to propose to her." Jonathan said bitterly as Anna left the blacksmith shop with both swords without even saying goodbye. "If Scath asks where you ran off to, I will tell him the truth!" Jonathan ranted as he accidentally broke the scythe blade.
"Family issues?" A farmer asked.
"My only blood family is more stubborn than a mule. You tell me?" Jonathan said.
It wasn't too long when Annabeth found Draco Long-Fang and a hunting party after nightfall.
"It is time, to finally make things right," Annabeth said to herself, as she took out a crossbow. She took aim and fired a bolt into one of Draco's hunters. Chaos erupted, as Annabeth picked the hunters off one by one until only Draco was left. Annabeth leaped down from the canopy before the black furred wolf.
"What... what is the meaning of this?!" Draco asked.
"My name is Annabeth Inle. You killed my family and my village of Rabbit-Burrow. Prepare, to die!" Annabeth said as she drew her silver sword. And leaped at Draco's throat... only to be grabbed in one paw by Draco.
"Hmm... prey... only good to be eaten, or to slave away for your betters. But what's this... TWO swords?" Draco said as he took Annabeth's swords. "Silver, AND steel? Did you think that I was a monster? Oh, little bunny... it's cute when you whelps in particular act like you can be more than simple farmers." Draco said, as he plunged the steel sword into her heart, and dropped her. "And why would one even make a silver sword anyway?" Draco said as he forced the silver sword against his armor. The sword bent wildly. "See... it's useless against proper armor. Now... I leave you to bleed." Draco said coldly as he left Annabeth to bleed out, with both swords by her side.
This would have been the end of Annabeth... but fate was with her. As Sir Scath arrived, terrified for his adopted child.
"Blast it, child! I thought I told you to stay home- and what's this?! A silver sword?! When did you have Jonathan even make this!?" Scath said, panicking while he tried to apply healing herbs to Annabeth's wound.
"No... it's too late... the sword... went through my heart. Sir Scath... papa... if you want to save me... you know what-"
"Fine! But if I ever learn that you deliberately did this, specifically to become a Vampire." Sir Scath said, he then drained Annabeth completely dry of her blood, and afterward, dropped but a single drop of his own Vampiric blood into Annabeth's mouth.
At that moment, the mortal life of Annabeth Inle was over... and the existence that would become Anna Blackpaw began.
XXXX
"For the record, I earnestly believed that I could take Draco despite his experience and the size difference... I only wanted Vampirism in the first place to try to even the playing field." Anna explained, as the specter of her mortal self, ascended to Vampire-hood.
"...your... you're not Annabeth the Vengeful, are you?" Davies asked.
"Yes... and on that subject. Scath warned me, that unless I kill him in seven days' time, I would be stuck as a Vampire forever. I quickly went to work, as with my nascent Vampiric powers. I returned to the burnt out ruins of Rabbit-Burrow. And raised an army of skeletons of its former inhabitants, tens of thousands of rabbit skeletons, all for the purpose of avenging what happened to them over ten years ago." Anna's voice explained as the specter of the Vampiric Annabeth raised up the skeletons.
"And... well actually, I don't entirely remember how the rest of the story goes," Davies admitted.
"Uhg... I assailed Castle Long-Fang. Killing every member of House Long-Fang, and burning the castle to the ground, it should have ended that night... but to my eternal annoyance. Draco himself had escaped. So for the next week, I hunted for him in the nearby woods... wasting my time looking for the perfect dramatic moment to kill him. By the time I finally cornered him, my last and only opportunity to regain my mortality had slipped through my fingers... but I didn't care." Anna explained as the destruction of Castle Long-Fang, the hunt for Draco in the nearby woods, and his apparent death came. Via the bent silver sword through his heart.
XXXX
Annabeth stood atop the cliff in triumph... but her laughter from finally dealing with the wolf that had destroyed her family, friends, and home. Quickly turned into attempts at crying, at the revelation of what had fully happened to her and the implications therein.
"That's another thing about Vampirism I should have told you about in the first place. We can't cry... just let it all out little Anna." Sir Scath said as he approached Annabeth.
"I... I can't ever have children... I can only move about at night... and... and I'll outlive my brother!" Annabeth sobbed as Scath hugged her.
"And do you know what you do now, with eternity itself before you?" Sir Scath asked, Annabeth just shook her head. "You make the most of it with those you were born with... now let's get home. You have an estranged brother to make amends with." Sir Scath said as they both proceeded to go home.
When they both returned to Exile, Annabeth wasted no time in making her way to the blacksmith shop. "Annabeth... what are you doing here?" Jonathan asked as Annabeth woke him up.
"Jonathan... I'm sorry that I haven't treated you well." Annabeth said.
"Apology accepted, now I have a busy day-"
"No... I'm not only sorry for how I behaved in Rabbit-Burrow. But for being so focused on getting revenge... that I completely ignored you. And... did Sir-"
"Yes... you got what you wanted most," Jonathan said bitterly.
"Look... I've lost my mortality, to have a chance at a normal life. I want, to make amends with you. Set things right between us... before it's too late." Annabeth said.
"You... you mean that?" Jonathan asked in surprise.
"I do... if you need any help with your wedding to Daisy. I will lend my services. But for now... just get some rest." Annabeth said.
XXXX
"The wedding itself was beautiful, and lasted until the following dawn... that was also when I learned that what happens when a Vampire when in direct sunlight." Anna's voice explained as the wedding played out, and when the morning sun came. Annabeth's skin shriveled to the point, where it looked as if she were a malnourished and burnt out husk.
"...I just have one question... why didn't you look like that when we first met?" Davies asked, terrified at the withered spectral husk.
"It may not be surprising to you... but Josephus is also a Vampire." Anna's voice said.
"Not really, but that doesn't answer the question," Davies said.
"He is knowledgeable in the ways of Vampiric Alchemy. But that is a story for a later time. For years after that, I helped watch over my brothers family. Keeping Jonathan and Daisy's children and grandchildren safe from harm, this way of... existing, made me content, happy. Truly happy for the first time since I was a child in Rabbit-Burrow... but then. 1066 came around, and the Normamals invaded England." Annabeth said bitterly.
"And... what happened then?" Davies asked nervously, suspecting that it would be a painful memory for Anna.
"It is all right Davies. It still stings... but not as it did back then. And it was brought back to my mind last night... when the Legion of Night took control of you. It reminded me... all too well of how Jonathan died." Anna's voice said.
To be continued...