Chapter 11: The Bill Always Comes Due

Bunnyburrow…South Bunnyburrow...Present Day

The pickup truck containing the trio had finally made it to South Bunnyburrow. Kaiden realized it took them longer than expected, as telling the story caused him to drive slower than what was usual for him. Nick and Judy, however, were too caught up in his story to comment on their driving speed. It seemed each time they delved into the worn and weary fox's life, they felt just a little bit older, a little bit more understanding of who their friend was. And yet, they knew the most painful memory was still to come, the one that cast the final piece in the forge that created the broken, damaged fox before them. Judy was speechless, and Nick blown away, both trying to process what they just heard.

"Sorry about that," Kaiden apologized.

"What?" Judy asked.

"I feel like I keep tugging your heartstrings every five seconds. I told you my past was a sad one," he explained.

"No, it's alright. I understand why you want to tell us, why you want to tell someone," she replied.

"Heh, I've never been one for therapy," Kaiden joked.

"If that's how you want to look at it. I just look at it as listening to a friend," she replied, placing a paw on Kaiden's arm.

The sudden touch caused Kaiden to look to his right and at Judy. Meeting her gaze, he smiled softly.

"Thanks. I, um, appreciate it," replied Kaiden.

Shaking off his vulnerable state as he turned his eyes back to the road, Kaiden noticed they were approaching a familiar gate at the end of the road, a metal sign bolted on the front of the gate stating in bold letters 'Private Property, No Trespassing'. A property fence extended out from both sides of the gate and into the fields on either side of the road. Kaiden brought the truck to a stop in front of the gate, then opened the door to get out. He walked up towards the gate, fumbling through his key ring to find the correct key. Locating it, he unlocked the padlock on the chain link. After doing so, he wrapped the chain around a part of the gate's metal frame and locked the padlock again as he swung the gate open.

Judy noticed that the action seemed practiced, as if Kaiden had done this many times before and was running on automatic. After he got back in the truck and put it into gear, they continued on, Kaiden driving the car on the private path behind the gate and onto the property.

"So where are we?" asked Nick.

"Home," Kaiden answered cryptically.

"Pretty land, actually," Judy said.

"I went on to serve for another four years, in various parts of the world, more of the same really. Topple dictators, force regime change, taking out threats before they became threats. At least, that's what I told myself. Use whatever euphemism you want, but in truth, we were a hit squad, killing mammals because we were told to by an agency that we never questioned. And I realize now that's why they recruited us as children. So we would see them as mother and father, and to operate from that point of authority."

"What changed?" asked Judy.

"What do you mean?" Kaiden asked.

"I'm saying, what clicked for you? You had to feel something or think something. Something that woke you up finally," Judy replied.

Kaiden finally brought the truck to a stop, putting his arms on the wheel and staring off into the distance. He knew what Judy was asking, what that defining moment of realization and horror that comes from waking up from a delusion was.

"Lily," he answered.

"Lily?"

Kaiden nodded softly.

"I would look at her when I would come home, and she would smile, thinking I was doing a good job, protecting Zootopia from bad mammals, giving me praise. I would look back and go along with it even though I started to realize deep down it was all a lie. I didn't want her to live with that anymore."

"I was no hero, she was. She used her talents and abilities to save people. She became a doctor and then a biologist, saving people, working to make the world a better place. I told myself I did the same, just in a different way, but that wasn't true. I helped make the world worse while patting myself on the back, and at the end of the day, told myself that I was doing a 'good job'."

Judy didn't know what to say. Nick, on the other paw, had been thinking about this whole thing and decided to step in.

"Look, you got conned, I mean obviously in a big way, a huge way, for a long time. And maybe on some level you knew what you were doing was wrong, like a little voice screaming at you to stop. But you ignored it, told yourself that 'they' deserved it, and used that reason to justify what you were doing," he explained.

"Nick..." Judy started to chide.

"No, Carrots. I've been sitting here listening to all of this, and if this is about him being honest with himself, the truth is that, on some level, he knew it was wrong, regardless of the justifications, the reasons, the evasions. He knew."

"And boiling it down like that, he's somehow going to find a way to forgive himself?" Judy asked defensively.

"He will NEVER forgive himself!" Nick exclaimed at her.

Judy reeled back a bit at the statement and loud delivery.

"I'm sorry to say it like that, but it's the truth. He will never forgive himself. Because this kind of thing, you don't come back from, not all the way," Nick continued.

Judy turned back to Kaiden."Is this true?"

Kaiden nodded. "He's right Judy. The truth is, no matter how many years go by, I don't think I will ever forgive myself. Not really, and perhaps even on some level, I think I deserve what's happened to me. Perhaps it's poetic justice."

Kaiden craned his head around and studied Nick for a moment.

"So Mr. Wilde, what's your unforgivable sin?"

Nick's eyes opened up defensively.

"What do you mean?"

"Your little statement back there tells me that what you speak of, you speak from experience. So, you know mine. What's yours?"

"Hey, this whole 'journey to self-discovery' today isn't about me, it's about you my friend," Nick pointed out.

"Mmhmm," Kaiden softly replied.

Judy looked back at Nick in wonder, curious about what his secret was and why wasn't he telling. Something from his past that he too was ashamed of. It was interesting to note that it seemed like a lot of her friends had their own tragic stories and the emotional baggage attached to them. Perhaps someday Nick would tell her, but she decided now was not the best time to press him about it.

Kaiden drove a few more yards and stopped the truck in front of a burned-out husk of a house. Turning off the engine, he opened the door to get out, the hinges making a loud squeak as it opened. Nick also opened his door, and the three exited the vehicle, the truck's doors making loud 'thunks' as each door shut. There was a calm and solemn silence as they stared at the house. After a few moments, Kaiden started to pace towards it, Nick and Judy trailing close behind.

Walking up the treaded path, years of neglect had overgrowth starting to reclaim the space the house occupied. The black husk of the house was being infiltrated by the fresh green growth of new life and plant matter growing up into it. Kaiden ran his paw over the tilted and slanted door frame that used to be his front door, grabbing the handle before prying it open. A breeze of distant smoke still lingered in the house. Stepping into the decrepit abode, Kaiden noticed that nature had continued to work on the damage the fire had caused. Nick and Judy followed, their paws causing the floorboards to squeak and shift under their weight. The wallpaper on the decaying walls curled and flaked, falling gracefully to the floor like leaves, scraping and shifting as they moved. Judy could see the older fox looking around, seeing the house for what it was and what it used to be. She swear she could make out the past being reflected off his brown eyes.

Judy could see that this place was more than just a house, an abode or a dwelling; it was a home, his home. The long history of her friend that had been revealed to her so far told her how important such a thing was to him, and why its loss was so painful. She had never known loneliness until she moved to Zootopia, and as awful as it was, it was short-lived. She had been spared the pain of having to endure it for years, decades on end. But of what little experience she had with it, she understood its unpleasantness and the idea of how it could become worse with time.

Nick was all too familiar with the specter of this place, a warm place of hearth and home, carved up and consumed by the world like a fillet. Unlike Judy, this reminded him of his own sins. Perhaps not nearly as literal as the burnt wood of the house, but the feeling left him with the same empty feeling as his own past.

As they moved through the house, they came upon the dining room table, though like everything else the contents were burnt. The table, however, was still set for the meal they had. Kaiden picking up one of the partially melted forks, studying it and then the layout of the table. The fox huffed while staring at the fork gripped in his paw. After a few moments, he looked back at the duo.

"Do you come here, every year?" asked Nick.

"No, in fact I haven't been in here in almost as long as she's been gone," Kaiden replied.

"I thought you said you come down here every year?" asked Judy.

"I come down to visit her grave. I usually drive by the house, but I haven't set foot in here since after the fire," Kaiden clarified.

"This time, now that Jarod is dead, I just felt–" Kaiden choked on his emotion.

Judy stepped forward and held a paw on his arm.

"It's amazing how your life can be going one way, and then just like that, it's changed forever," Kaiden commented.

Putting the fork down in its original spot, he turned and led them over to the back door, which was connected to an attached greenhouse. Several panels on the greenhouse were popped out, possibly due to the fire, vandalism or simple neglect. A cool breeze blew in through the gaps, licking the fur of the three mammals.

"Did Lily have a green thumb?" asked Judy.

As Kaiden ran his paw over the empty pots and planters, reminiscing about days past, he smiled fleetingly at a memory.

"Yeah she did, I mean she was a farmer's daughter," Kaiden answered.

"But more than that, she was investigating all sorts of different plants for their medicinal properties, research and the like," he clarified.

As they went down the row, the broken planters had spilled their contents onto the table, small patches of dirt collecting in the grooves of the wood. At the end was a smaller table that sat along the perpendicular wall. The plants on top of it had survived, grown wild. The glass panels above the table had been blown out as well, providing ample access to rain water, sunlight and the occasional pollinating bee.

"Lilies," Judy spoke.

"Yeah," Kaiden said with a sigh.

"Your wife's?" she asked.

"Yes. No, I mean...I grew these for her, just something to liven up her lab."

Kaiden and Judy were staring at the wild lilies that had been thriving at the end of the greenhouse. Kaiden smiled softly, remembering all the times he would catch Lily just looking at the flowers and brightening up with that infectious smile of hers.

"Did you wife also grow night howlers for some reason?" asked Nick.

Kaiden snapped out of his trance and turned with Judy to face the younger fox. Nick's concern was apparent, as there were indeed several night howler flowers growing wild on the far end of the greenhouse. Two surviving flowers amidst several dead bulbs in the planters, but it was evidence of deliberate planting. The two paced over next to Nick, Kaiden pondering for a moment.

"Yes, she did grow them along with several other plants and flowers. In fact I remember her making a big deal about them. She even went so far as to contact the Zootopia City Council about the dangers they posed," Kaiden explained.

"Whatever happened with that?" asked Judy.

"They did what most politicians do. They casually dismissed her and pretended the danger didn't exist," Kaiden replied.

"Though I will say, the letter she got back was more than she expected. They at least tried to seem like they were taking it seriously, but she told me that the response on their part was 'all bark and no bite'."

"Class 3 Botanical…" Judy muttered as if completing a thought, her paw on her chin.

Kaiden raised an eyebrow at her words.

"A Class 3 Botanical is a plant or tree that's suspected of having toxic properties, but hasn't been evaluated yet as being conclusive. Which basically means that there isn't a law against growing, distributing or selling them, and the whole thing just sounds like a warning. But not in any way that actually tells you anything."

"A disclaimer?" Nick offered.

"Pretty much. Sort of like 'in case you actually hurt yourself or other mammals, don't say we didn't warn you'."

"Hmm, so Lily got it on the books," Nick concluded.

"Yeah, that's what it sounds like. God, I can only imagine if she hadn't, the fact that Bellwether could have, and no one would've had any idea."

"Heh, who's to say Bellwether would have even known about it," said Nick without thinking.

Kaiden pondered that thought for a moment.

"Kaiden, no, there was no way she could have known. I mean she tried to do the right thing in telling someone about it," consoled Judy.

"I know, I know, just a series of unfortunate events that in the end, you never really know where you're going to end up," replied Kaiden.

He explored the bench that the planters were sitting on and found a small old picture frame. It was gold colored, though not made of gold, and hinged. It squeaked slightly when he opened it, finding two pictures inside of him and Lily. One of them was their wedding day, another was from one of the many outings they would take, this one specifically a picnic in a nearby glen. The grass was yellow and the leaves orange, signs of fall, her favorite season. Gone was the harsh heat of the summer, but before the dreadful cold and snow of winter. It was a time when the last vestiges of the grass and trees lingered before their slumber, and the cool and sweet smell of the leaves hung in the air as they were cast off the trees.

Kaiden turned and faced the pair, recollecting the details of that horrible day intermingling with his sweet memories. His recollection bubbled to the surface.

South Bunnyburrow…9 years ago…

The Ellison's home was a humble one, some would even call it average in its construction except for a few custom amenities Kaiden had built for Lily. One of them was a greenhouse attached to the rear of the house, and long bench tables were added in it for her to grow her plants in. Lily had started to dabble in the auspices of seeking out natural medicines and remedies that may be lurking in the various fauna that existed in the world, even having a few imported from faraway lands to find themselves taking residence in her greenhouse. The equipment was the traditional fair for any aspiring gardener: planters, water cans, gloves, hand tools, soil, and water piping running throughout. However, near the front wall of the greenhouse where it connected to the main house was a smaller table that contained a variety of lab equipment: a microscope, beakers, flasks, Bunsen burner, even a centrifuge. Everything one would need to distill down the various components of the plants growing nearby. It definitely gave the appearance that Lily Ellison had become some sort of would be apothecary or alchemist, but her intentions were scientific and in earnest. She had realized that medicine was starting to explore the understanding that nature itself may hold the key to some of the most deadly maladies that veterinary science had been struggling to cure for years. That answer may be found in some shrub growing on some rock in the middle of some godforsaken place halfway around the world, and she was endeavoring to be the one to find it.

Today was the couple's second anniversary. It was also in this month two years ago that Kaiden left the MIA, deciding that he had had enough of it all. The secrecy, the missions, the death, and the countless nights he lay awake knowing that Lily was doing the same, wondering if he would either come walking through their door or get a visit from some nameless sub-director offering condolences and the subsequent folded flag. He had done enough to make her worry, and decided then and there to end his association with them. Settling down to the much calmer home and hearth that he had been wanting, he considered it early retirement, and it hadn't arrived a moment too soon. He wasted enough time as it is, and what he had left in this world was going to be spent with his beloved rabbit.

Lily had achieved a great deal. The monies from Kaiden's salary had managed to pay for her schooling, keeping her from suffering the horrible consequences of debt. She was able to become the doctor she always dreamed of being, and worked at Zootopia General for a time, even earning her place on several prestigious research groups. In addition, she was also able to help her family in the way she always wished. Along with her father's help, she managed to repurchase the Harrington Farm and her childhood home. It seemed as if the universe was cycling towards itself, and many things that were lost were becoming found once again.

And when the chance to finally be with her favorite fox arrived, she jumped at the opportunity. Being part of a research team didn't require her constant presence, especially with teleconferencing and email. This allowed her to explore both her passions: her career and her love. Kaiden and Lily married and settled down in South Bunnyburrow, a place that more than anything was their home. Of all the locations they could have chosen, this place held special meaning for them. Both their lives happened here, some moments good and some bad. But with Kaiden's constant travels and Lily going back and forth between Zootopia and Bunnyburrow, it only felt like a house for the most part, not a genuine home. That is, until two years ago. Kaiden quitting the MIA, coming back to Bunnyburrow from that world of espionage for the last time was both a source of jubilation and the end of an era. They decided from now on, they would be a family, and this house would be a home.

Kaiden had decided to take the time to think about what he wanted to do with his life. In many ways, he paid with enough blood, sweat and tears to earn this quiet existence, but he still desired to feel useful. Having spent many days helping his father-in-law with the farm, a good head and a strong back served Kaiden well with his work. It was good work, honest work, and nobody needed to die to plant and harvest crops like carrots and rutabagas.

Kaiden came home one day with a few bags of groceries, many of which were straight from the grounds of the Harrington's farm. Carrots, peas and potatoes made up part of the produce, but the couple's mutual favorite product of the family farm was strawberries; sweet, delectable, soft and comforting. As children, they had often sat in the fields in front of the Harrington house sharing a basket of strawberries, Lily's little rabbit paws picking off the green stems and leaves and popping them into the young fox's mouth. They would be smiling at each other, with small seeds stuck in their teeth, and giggling, carefree and unaware of the harshness of the outside world. Those were the times when for them, there was no outside world, and those precious moments existed simply in a microcosm of themselves. It was one of the few pleasant memories that Kaiden had, one that was pure and innocent and wholly happy.

Kaiden was planning on being the one to make dinner that night, doting on his favorite bun, showing her how much she meant to him, but more than all that, celebrating their glorious freedom. 'So many years wasted,' he thought. He noticed that Lily wasn't home. She'd told him she wasn't feeling very well and was in fact finally planning on seeing one of her colleagues at the local hospital to have it checked out. Seeing her ill this morning, in fact several mornings in the past week, Kaiden concluded that perhaps it was some stomach bug that was going around.

Though he could try for elegance, in light of his wife's currently unagreeable stomach perhaps a simple but hearty stew was in order. After all, it's the celebration of their union that counts, not the menu. Kaiden plugged the nearby kitchen sink with its stopper and filled it with warm water, emptying the fresh produce into the sink to wash off the dirt. In the meantime, he could collect the fresh herbs that he had growing in a planter in Lily's greenhouse. He went out to the herb planter and started to gather them, pinching and twisting the stems. A slight faint fragrance started to fill the air, causing Kaiden to instinctively sniff. He smiled softly as the aroma tickled his nose. After a few moments, he noticed there was another scent in the air. It was an even fainter scent, one that he had not noticed till the herbs had cleared the palate of his nose. It was familiar, and struck an emotional chord within him.

Kaiden swung his head around inspecting his immediate surroundings, then out the windows of the greenhouse. The hairs on his neck stood up on their own, he didn't know what it was but something was amiss. Setting the herbs gently on the table in front of him, he walked to the back of the greenhouse and went out the glass door. Outside, his backyard, which was a sizeable acreage of land, he stood up on the rise just behind the house. He scanned the land, seeing nothing but rolling hills, shrubs, and trees going all the way to the horizon. Yet that feeling in his head, like a persistent buzzing, was still there. After a few minutes he began to dismiss it as a flashback of memory, a momentary glimmer from a time when he constantly had to be on his guard. Turning to walk back to the house, he opened the rear greenhouse door, stopping and turning his head as he caught the blur of a shadow in his periphery.

"Only two years, and your instincts are already dulling," said the voice.

Kaiden spun his body to face the figure, the image resolving into a familiar feline shape.

"Jarod?! What are you doing here?" asked Kaiden, almost defensively.

"Come now, is that anyway to greet an old friend?" the lynx smiled and brushed his paws against each other as if cleaning off dirt.

"We didn't exactly part on the best of terms," Kaiden replied coldly as he approached.

"That's not how I remember it. You wanted to leave and we didn't say or do anything to stop you," Jarod countered.

"Yes, but you didn't exactly welcome the idea. None of the MIA case officers did," Kaiden replied.

"Well, you were one of the best. It was a shame to lose you."

"Cut the crap Jarod, what do you want?"

"Who says I want anything. Can't an old friend visit another?"

"Not when said friend has decided he wants nothing to do with his former life," Kaiden said, gnashing his teeth.

"Well I'm sorry to tell you, it doesn't work that way. You don't get to do what you did and expect to never have it come to call on you again."

"So you do want something," Kaiden concluded.

"Of course I want something. I want you back on the team. But I know you have this Farmer Ellison kick right now."

"It's not a kick, or a passing fancy or whatever you want to call it. It's my life, and I want to live it my way, one of which includes not being involved with the MIA or any of you ever again."

Jarod scoffed.

"How bad did you really have it Kaiden? I mean when you really think about it, how bad was it really? You've had a chance to do things that mammals only ever dream of doing."

Kaiden looked at Jarod as if he had two heads.

"Are you serious? Are you listening to yourself right now?" Kaiden asked rhetorically.

"They kidnapped us, they stole from us, robbed us of our childhoods, our chance at a normal life, gone. They trained us, turned us into weapons and then let us loose upon the world. Bringing pain, suffering and death in our wakes," Kaiden explained.

"Oh for– don't be so maudlin. You make it sound like you had some grand destiny that was interrupted," Jarod sneered as he rolled his eyes.

"No! Not a destiny, but a life! MY LIFE! It was mine and they took it from me, from all of us. They didn't even give me a chance to mourn my parents before they came to take me away. The life I could have had here."

"A life scrounging in the dirt?" Jarod fired back.

"So what?! Huh, So-fucking-what?! If I wanted to live a life in the dirt then that is my choice. I never wanted to do what I've done, or to know what I know. I wanted to live a happy normal life, a simple life. And they took it from me."

Kaiden was livid, the hackles of the fur on his neck were standing on end. His body was stiff, practically shaking from the simultaneous anger, sadness and pain. Jarod simply huffed.

"You're so fucking selfish," Jarod responded crossing his arms.

"What?" Kaiden replied incredulously, practically chuckling at the apparent absurdity of such a response.

"You heard me, you're fucking selfish. You think this is ALL about you," replied Jarod sincerely.

"Of course it's about me, we're talking about my life," Kaiden clarified.

"Which means nothing in the larger scheme of things," Jarod fired back.

"Your life, my life, our whole team's lives mean nothing when it comes to the larger goals and ideals. When it comes to making sure society itself is secure and orderly, just and true."

"But I wanted nothing to do with that," Kaiden said, "I never did. What gives anyone the right to just decide someone else's fate, to just 'take' like that?"

"Fate, God, the world. Who knows the reasons for these things. The point is YOU were chosen, YOU were given this responsibility, and YOU owe it to those who gave it to you to finish it," Jarod answered.

"How can you be so cold towards your fellow mammal? And why do you seem to deify this idea of 'authority', as if they have some divine right to decide what is and isn't for everyone?" Kaiden asked.

Jarod paused for a moment. He uncrossed his arms, stood up straight and looked Kaiden square in the eye.

"Because they built all of this. Everything we see, everything we have, they built. In short, they 'own' us. And I would say being on this side of the fence is a far sight better than what they have planned," Jarod replied, pointing towards the ground as if standing behind a literal fence.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Kaiden asked confused.

Jarod paused again.

"Ya know, sometimes I wonder if your brains really are in your ass. Did you ever wonder why we went to the places we did? Wonder why we would topple some dictator, and then the Army moves in or some private military contractor? The times we would 'appropriate' some scientists? We're all pieces on a chess board moving around, part of a larger and much longer plan than even I suspected."

"I don't care. I don't care about any of that anymore, and I don't want to be a part of that anymore. Leave me alone, just let me live my life in peace and quiet, and the MIA or whoever will never hear a word from me again," Kaiden replied resolutely.

Jarod took a breath, letting out a loud exhale.

"She really means that much to you?" the lynx gestured towards the house.

"Yes. Yes she does. She's my world, she's my life," Kaiden said aggressively.

Jarod shook his head as if he couldn't believe what he was about to say.

"Ok then. I mean I can clearly see that she means that much to you. I guess I can't fault you for that. Fine, I won't trouble you again. You have my word on that."

Kaiden breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you," he replied honestly.

"Oh don't thank me. Ultimately it's not my decision, you know that. But I think I can impress upon them your strong disinterest in whatever is going on."

"Goodbye Jarod," Kaiden said, offering his paw.

Jarod hesitated for a moment, then took the offered paw.

"Goodbye Kaiden."

Inside the house, the telephone rang, its ringing offering an almost unsettling addition to the moment as the two mammals continued to stare at each other, and not in a completely friendly way. Jarod broke the tense silence after the fourth or fifth ring.

"You going to get that? It might be important."

Kaiden broke the pawshake and ran back into the house to answer the phone. He picked up the cordless receiver off its charging base, pushing the 'Talk' button before raising it up to his ear.

"Hello?" asked Kaiden.

"Hey hun," Lily replied back.

Kaiden smiled. "Hey Bun-bun. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling better. I went to see one of my colleagues about something. I wanted to make sure I was alright."

"And are you?"

"Of course dear, I'll be ok. In fact, I'm better than ok, but we can talk about it tonight when I get home. You planning one of those famous dinners of yours?" Lily inquired.

"You know it," Kaiden responded cheerfully.

While Kaiden was talking on the phone, he carefully went out the front door of the house. He looked down the side and then around the place, but Jarod was gone without a trace, seemingly disappearing back into the ether from which he came.

"Are you alright foxy?" asked Lily.

"Yeah, I'm good. Real good," he replied.

"No you're not, I can hear it in your voice. Did something happen?"

Lily had this uncanny ability to detect when Kaiden was uneasy about something. She was more in tune with detecting things about mammals than he was, and yet ironically, he was the former intelligence officer.

"Nothing hun, I just miss you and wish you were home already," Kaiden replied, relaxation sweeping over him.

"I'll be right home silly, *mwah*." she said, making a small smacking sound against the microphone.

Kaiden grinned. "I'll see you then. I love you."

"I love you too."

Kaiden took the phone away from his ear and pressed the 'End' key, the phone beeping on the press. He took a look around again, feeling more at ease this time. Shaking his head, he turned back towards the house to continue making dinner.

Several hours later…

Kaiden and Lily were lying on their couch, having finished the lovely dinner so carefully prepared by him and relaxing with full bellies and happy hearts. He caressed and kissed his dear bunny, watching her enjoy every minute of it.

"So, did I manage to appease your taste buds?" Kaiden asked.

"Mmmm, baby, you always manage to hit the spot just right," she replied back, smiling suggestively.

"Heh, you're bad.

"You know you love it," she said, kissing him on his wet fox nose.

"Yes, yes I do," he replied before kissing her deeply.

Her paws stroked his cheeks, and then she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. Breaking the kiss finally to come up for air, they smiled at each other. Kaiden managed to retrieve a small box he had hidden in the couch, a small paw-held box with purple wrapping and a white lace bow.

"I got you something," the fox said, holding the present with his paw.

Lily was surprised; she smiled and giggled like she did when they were young. Her laugh was infectious, making anyone who heard it grin from ear to ear. She took the small box from Kaiden and marveled at it for a bit, enjoying the simple mystery of it, wondering what her fox could have gotten her. These simple moments she cherished more than anything. Pulling gently on the bow as it came undone and fell gently to her lap, she worked at the wrapping trying to open it, but her excitement gave way and she tore into it with vigor. Kaiden chuckled at her antics, and his smile grew wider waiting for her ultimate reaction.

"Oh my god." She held her paw to her mouth when the opened the lid, the hinge giving a slight squeak.

She retrieved the contents and her eyes glistened up as they filled with joyful tears. It was a necklace. The necklace. The heart halves from their love pendant they broke apart so long ago to share between them. Kaiden had taken the halves and soldered them together so that they were now whole and unified, forming the perfect heart that completely expressed his feelings on the matter.

"Oh Kaiden, our heart," were the only words she could muster.

The fox smiled softly and took the necklace, putting it around her neck and closing the clasp shut. He held the pendant piece and flipped it over to show her. In addition to having it fused, the normally blank back had an additional inscription that he added.

"No matter where you are, I will always be with you," he recited.

Lily sniffled as a tear crossed her cheek. She rubbed his paw with her own and looked at him with absolute adoration in her eyes.

"It got me through a lot of tough times…You got me though a lot of tough times," Kaiden said.

She hugged him hard, practically squeezing him with her little rabbit arms.

"I love you," she said, her voice muffled and thick with emotion as she dug into his neck.

"I love you too Lily. More than anything in this world," Kaiden replied fondly.

They held each other for what seemed like forever, listening to each other's breathing, feeling the warmth of their bodies. Lily leaned up and nuzzled his ear.

"I have something wonderful to tell you," she whispered.

Before Lily could finish her sentence, there was a sound in the house. It sounded like the back door of the greenhouse slamming shut. Kaiden immediately snapped out of the moment, the two of them looking in the direction of the sudden sound.

Kaiden put Lily on the couch and stood to his feet, starting to walk towards the back door.

"Baby, what is it?" she asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

"Just stay here, I'll be right back." Kaiden replied holding a paw up.

Kaiden crept slowly to the back door of the house and peered into the dark greenhouse. Nothing stirred. Opening the door and creeping inside, he grabbed a nearby spare metal basin pipe that was left over from the drain system he made for Lily's planters. Holding it like a club, he peered around the greenhouse and went to the back door. It clearly showed signs of being forced. He swung open the door, pipe at the ready. His heart raced as he cautiously sniffed the air. Someone was here, an unfamiliar smell assaulting his sensitive nose. He followed it over to the nearby apple tree, the scent seemed strongest there. He jumped the last few feet hoping to catch the hiding attacker, but nothing was behind the tree. Kaiden didn't know what to make of it. He turned to go back to the house when he experienced it.

The pain of the prongs, the crackle of electricity, the metallic taste in the back of his mouth, the sharp pain to the chest. He knew he had been hit with some kind of electrical weapon. It caused his muscles to seize up immediately, and a wave of agony washed over him. He didn't even realize he lost his balance until the ground seemed to come up and smash him in the face.

He couldn't move, it hurt to breathe, the daze of conscious and unconscious thoughts seemed to blend together in a mélange of surreal quality. Sleep tugged at him, and he would have likely taken hold had not the screams of a nearby rabbit jarred him back to the land of the living. His eyelids feeling as if they were iron curtains with weights attached, he forced them open and managed to turn his body along the ground to face the sounds.

Lily was trying to climb out the window, something grabbing at her legs.

"Kaiden! Oh god, help me!" she screamed, terror in her eyes.

"Get off! Get off!" she cried, kicking at her attacker.

Kaiden's eyes went wide. A surge of adrenaline kicked him, blood forced its way into his locked muscles.

"Lily!" he muttered as he tried to right himself.

He managed to get to his knees when he noticed the lights of the house were dark, and she was dragged back into the darkness she was trying to escape.

"Kaiden! Please! Help!" she screamed hauntingly.

He forced himself to his feet and took two steps forward when he saw it. Two bright flashes, accompanied by the thunderous and familiar sound of gun shots. The flashes illuminated a form, but he couldn't recognize what it was. It was too quick, but the lack of sounds from Lily was enough to make the fox's blood freeze. Kaiden frantically stumbled back to the house, going in through the rear door. He ran in headlong, practically falling over himself to get back inside.

"Lily? Lily!?" he cried out.

Going to the window where he last saw her, he found her necklace on the floor illuminated by the moonlight casting in through the sill. He gathered it in his paw, terror gripping at his heart.

"Lily!" he screamed again.

Looking in the living room, Kaiden found nothing on the couch. He turned and looked in the kitchen, spotting a form lying face down on the floor. It was partially occluded by the kitchen's center island counter, but still in the familiar shape of a rabbit.

"Oh god Lily!" he called out, taking several shaky steps towards it.

As Kaiden approached the form, his awareness became momentarily less focused on the body in front of him. He caught the glance of movement, its color a brilliant red. He turned to see red numbers on a display attached to a large block of C4. In that moment, Kaiden realized several things. The first, there was only one mammal who could be responsible for this, taking his vengeance out on him and his wife. The second, Lily was already dead, the pool of blood underneath her was about the approximate volume of a rabbit's body. And the third, lastly, that the timer read '00:01', and that it didn't matter if Lily was dead, as he was about to die with her.

A flash of light erupted, and a raging fireball enveloped him, the house becoming an instant blaze. The fox simply felt an overpowering force, not even realizing that he had been flung through the air and slammed against the front wall of the house. All manner of glass and shrapnel had perforated and penetrated his body. The pain immediately set in, like the feeling of being flensed by a thousand tiny daggers, the particulates in the air adding additional levels of pain like salt in the wound. He coughed and sputtered, feeling the uneasy and full sensation of fluid pooling in his gut. The initial sensation of internal bleeding.

His fur was soaked with his own blood. Deep cuts and wounds abounded all over his body, and to make matters worse, the fire licked at him, scorching and burning. The daze caught up to him, his vision blurred, his bones felt broken, and it started to become increasingly painful to breathe.

The charred rabbit body had been thrown next to him. He couldn't recognize her anymore save for the clothes she was wearing that were shredded and burned. Tears filled his eyes, a combination of pain and sadness.

He tried to speak, to say he was sorry, but the intense heat from the hot air burned his vocal cords. All he could do was groan painfully. He reached his paw over to her, realizing his arm was shredded with hot glass and metal, that the immense pain he was in made him unaware that his fur and skin was crisping and bleeding. The searing intensity of it lit up his brain like a fireworks display.

He didn't know how long he sat there, but instinct took over. He had to get out, get away from here, but not without her. Through the pain, the seized muscles, the peeling flesh, he grabbed her into his arms. He grunted in excruciating pain as he tried to stand up.

Grunting as he stood to his feet, he held her body close in his arms. He staggered over to the door. Each step was fire, the bone fragments digging into raw nerve, the taste of ash in his mouth, the tears in his eyes. The smoke was billowing, making it harder and harder to see and breathe, it stung his eyes, it choked his lungs.

Trying to grab at the door handle was difficult. His blood-soaked paws made the handle slippery and he couldn't get a hold on the knob and the strength in his paws was not enough to overpower the lack of grip. He had to resort to ripping a small piece of fabric from Lily's clothes and blotting the door knob enough to turn it.

He forced open the door and stepped out, the fresh oxygen rushing in and encouraging the blaze. Frightened, he picked up his pace, grunting with each step. Suddenly, the gas main blew, blowing out the windows of the house. He screamed in pain as he felt fresh glass pelt him in the back, a large shard slicing his left ear. Gaining a few more feet before finally collapsing to the ground, he rolled face up and stared into the sky.

Bright stars in a veil, the nearby moon casting light down upon the burrows, he finally took a moment to process what just happened. He began to sob through the blood pooling in his mouth. It was a sad pathetic sob, sickly and suffering, crying out for relief from the absolute misery he was feeling.

In mere moments, the fox had lost everything near and dear to him in the world, and now simply waited for the release of death to finally put his woes to rest. He closed his eyes, preparing himself for the end, but alas it would still not be that easy.

Kaiden heard the sounds of approaching pawsteps. He opened his eyes to see someone standing over him. The silhouette was backlit by the moon, its shape feline. He didn't need to see, he knew who it was. The figure knelt down to him.

"Why?" Kaiden managed to squeak out with a ragged breath.

"If you had just come back, I could have spared you this. I could have spared you both this," Jarod said, gesturing towards the burning house.

"I know you don't understand, and now you never will. But the world is changing, and they won't let anyone stand in their way."

"W-w-who?" Kaiden whimpered.

"I think you've known for quite a while but you've been too afraid to admit it," Jarod replied.

"We are the invisible paw. We are the Illuminati. We came before and we will be here after. We are forever," he recited.

Kaiden realized that his life, all of his life, he had worked for the devil, and he was now figuratively and literally burning for it. But more than that, his nightmare, his terror had come true. Lily, his gentle and sweet Lily, had suffered for it as well. He didn't try to fight anymore. He realized what he had wrought, and this was the final price for all the suffering he caused.

Jarod stood and leveled his pistol at Kaiden's head, the fox offering an upward bloody paw toward the lynx, as if pleading, begging. They locked gazes, the moment stretched into a small eternity, and the world became eerily quiet.

"Goodbye…Brother…" the lynx said sadly.

A flash, a loud cacophonous bang, and all went to black.